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The Indian state of Kerala, widely known as ‘God’s Own Country’, may soon officially rename itself ‘Keralam’.
India's Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Kerala government’s proposal to change the state’s name, aligning it with the name used in the local Malayalam language.
The central government's approval comes over a year and a half after the Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government passed a resolution on 24 June 2024 to change the name.
While the difference appears subtle, the shift carries significant symbolic weight. “Keralam” is a combination of two words: ‘kera’, which means coconut in Malayalam, and ‘alam’, which means land or place. Together, the words translate to the ‘land of coconuts’.
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