New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has criticised the Union government’s decision to approve the renaming of Kerala to “Keralam,” arguing that symbolic changes are being prioritised over developmental needs. He pointed out that the state has long been referred to as Keralam in Malayalam, questioning what practical difference the change would make in English usage.
Tharoor remarked that while the Centre had cleared the proposal to alter the state’s name, it had not sanctioned major projects or new institutions for Kerala. He cited the absence of an AIIMS and what he described as a lack of significant allocations in the Union Budget. According to him, the focus on renaming stands in contrast to pending demands related to infrastructure and development.
In a separate social media post, Tharoor also raised a linguistic query about how residents of the state would be referred to if the name officially becomes Keralam. He suggested that commonly used terms such as Keralite and Keralan may not seamlessly adapt to the revised nomenclature, adding a note of satire to his remarks.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal earlier this week. The decision comes months before the state assembly elections, in which voters will elect 140 members. The Election Commission of India has yet to announce the polling dates.
The move follows a resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly seeking the official adoption of “Keralam” in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who introduced the resolution in 2024, has maintained that the name reflects the cultural and linguistic identity of the Malayalam speaking population and aligns with longstanding historical aspirations.
