Kerala Assembly Unanimously Backs Name Change to Keralam in Presidential Reference

The Kerala Legislative Assembly has taken a significant step toward officially renaming the state to ‘Keralam’ by unanimously approving the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026. This move follows a reference from the President of India seeking the House's opinion on the matter. All 10 clauses of the Bill were endorsed without opposition during the assembly session. The resolution seeks to align the state's name with its linguistic and cultural identity in Malayalam. This legislative approval marks a crucial milestone in the constitutional process required to formalize the name change at the national level.
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