‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’: What is the process to change the name of an Indian State?

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday (February 24, 2026) approved the renaming of the State of ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam.’ On June 24, 2024, the Kerala Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to rename the State

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What is the process to change the name of a State in India? Let’s take a look.

Article 3 of the Constitution

According to Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, Parliament may, by law, alter the name of any State. The article also states that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless where the proposal contained in the bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the president to the legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the president may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired.

This, in simpler terms, means that the State Assembly first passes a resolution for the change of the name and sends it to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It is then sent for the recommendation of the President to Parliament. Such a Bill can only be introduced in Parliament after the President recommends it.

The next step is to send the Bill to the affected state’s legislature to get their views within a set time. A crucial point to note is that the State’s opinion is not binding. Parliament can move forward even if the State disagrees.

The Bill is then introduced in either the Lok Sabha (Lower House) or Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and must be passed by a simple majority, i.e. more than 50% of the members must be present and voting in any of the houses.

Once passed by Parliament, the Bill goes back to the President for final signature. Once signed, it becomes an Act, and the name is officially changed in the First and Fourth Schedules of the Constitution.

Important changes to States’ names

India has a long history of changing the names of States. In 2011, the name of Orissa was changed to Odisha through the Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act and the name of the State’s language was changed from Oriya to Odia. In 2007, the name of the northern State of Uttaranchal was changed to Uttarakhand.

Can India become ‘Bharat’ the same way?

The process of changing the name of the country is significantly more complex than changing the name of a State. As Article 3 deals exclusively with changing the name of States, changing India’s name would require a formal Constitutional Amendment under Article 368. 

Article 1 of the Constitution, which defines the country as “India that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States…,” would also need to be amended.

In order to exclusively use just one name for the country, the amendment Bill must be passed by two-thirds of members present and voting in both houses of the Parliament.

It also requires the support of more than 50% of the total strength of each House.

The Supreme Court of India has twice (in 2016 and 2020) rejected pleas to rename India to Bharat, stating that both names are already official and the Constitution refers to both ‘Bharat’ and ‘India,’ signalling that they may be used interchangeably.

(With inputs from PTI)