Shashi Tharoor: Kerala now Keralam: Centre gives nod for name change; Shashi Tharoor quips, ‘Keralamite, Keralamian’? | India News
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved a proposal to change the name of Kerala to ‘Keralam’. A senior Congress leader reacted to the change Shashi Tharoor With wordplay, Anglophones now ask the state’s residents what to say. The MP from Thiruvananthapuram also said what happens to terms like “Keralites and Keralans”.
“All good, no doubt, but a small linguistic question for the anglophones among us: What will happen to the words ‘Keralite’ and ‘Keralan’ now for the inhabitants of the new ‘Keralam’? ‘Keralamite’ sounds like a germ and ‘Keralamian’ sounds like a rare earth mineral…! A contest for this launch from @CMOKalingala. Says Tharoor in a post on X.The Union Cabinet approved the Kerala government’s proposal to change the name of the state in a meeting held on Tuesday. The decision was first taken at the newly inaugurated Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Secretariat Complex Sevatirtha.The move followed a unanimous resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly on June 24, 2024, urging the Center to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution to reflect the name ‘Kerala’. The assembly had earlier passed a similar resolution in August 2023, but the home ministry suggested technical changes, urging the state to take it up again.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who moved the motion, said the state referred to as ‘Keralam’ in Malayalam and the demand for a unified Kerala for the Malayalam-speaking people dates back to the national independence struggle. “The name of our state is written as Kerala in the First Schedule of the Constitution. This Assembly requests the Center to take immediate steps to amend it as ‘Keralam’ under Article 3 of the Constitution and rename it as ‘Keralam’ in all languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution,” Vijayan said.The resolution sought changes in the First Schedule under Article 3. After the review, it was indicated that the First Schedule of the Constitution would require amendment.Assembly elections are scheduled in the state in April-May.
