The Union Cabinet approved the long-standing demand of Kerala to be renamed Keralam. It marks a rare instance of political consensus across the board, in the backdrop of the trailer of The Kerala Story 2 setting the internet on fire. Some formal legislative business might still be pending, but it can safely be concluded that Keralam, rather than Kerala, will go to polls come April.
Shakespeare's famous adage - "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - may very well hold true for Kerala, but the change of nomenclature has thrown up mixed reactions in the state. It is a fact that Malayalis aren't generally as passionate as their Tamil brethren when it comes to identity - unless, of course, a propaganda film targeting them comes along. There also seems to be a generation gap between people who have welcomed the move, as opposed to those who aired their disapproval of it.
Whereas the older generation has received the news wholeheartedly, the millennials seem less enthused about it. Kerala has always been Keralam - with an 'anusvara' suffixed to it - in Malayalam, the spoken language in the state, while in Hindi, it became 'Keral'. It's also not uncommon to see people misspelling Kerala as 'Karela' (bitter gourd), often leaving a bitter aftertaste for those at the receiving end of it.
Provenance of Keralam
A lot of misconceptions have also emerged in the wake of the change, especially regarding the provenance of Keralam. And so it becomes even more important to contextualise its historical significance. While multiple theories are ascribed to the origin of Keralam, most scholars agree that it is derived from 'Cheralam', the land of the Cheras (Chera dynasty). Keralam is a Sanskritised derivative of Cheralam, according to Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer, the great Malayalam poet.
This is seconded by (the late) eminent historian MGS Narayanan, who had specialised in Kerala history over the course of his lifetime. There is another theory on Cheralam coming from 'cherive-alam' in Tamil, which translates to the sloping land sandwiched between the mountain (Western Ghats) and the water (Arabian Sea), over time becoming Keralam. The likes of Indologist MG Sasibhooshan place as much emphasis on this theory as the popular one.
According to the Malayalam dictionary Sabdatharavali, Keralam is also identified as the land of the Kera, or coconut trees; 'Malayala Nadu' (land of Malayalis) is listed as the closest synonym to Keralam. Another synonym for Keralam is Malabar, supposedly coined by spice traders, a mix of "Mala" (hill) in Malayalam and "bur" (country) in Arabic/Persian - as recorded in William Logan's Malabar Manual.
German scholar Herman Gundert, who compiled the first Malayalam-English dictionary in the 19th century, placed emphasis on the theory put forth in Keralolpathi - whose provenance is disputed - of Keralam originally extending from Gokarna in Karnataka to Kanyakumari in the south, which would encompass the districts that make up 'Tulu Nadu' in Karnataka today, along with Kerala. This theory in Keralolpathi also corresponds to the legend of Parasurama, one of the ten avatars of Vishnu, credited with the creation of Keralam in the Puranas.
The earliest historical record of Keralam is seen in Ashoka's edicts (as Keralaputra or son of Chera) from 3rd Century BC, as recorded in John Keay's seminal work, India: A History. There are many references to Keralam in Sanskrit texts over the centuries, although there was no specialised strand of history-writing in Sanskrit, according to Kerala Sahitya Akademi president K Satchidanandan. There are references to Keralam even in epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha, as per writer MN Karassery.
Keralam as a Marker of Identity
In spite of Keralam being geographically divided into the princely states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar at the turn of the 20th century, the longing for a united Kerala was foremost in the literature of the times. The evolution of the Malayalam language from the 15th century also helped instil a sense of common identity among its speakers, leading to the sentiment of a united homeland. It was Ramakrisna Pillai, editor of Swadeshabhimani daily, who began writing about the 'Aikya Keralam', or a united Keralam, in the early 1900s, which caught on gradually.
The resolution adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1920 at Nagpur, to organise provincial committees on a linguistic basis, led to the convening of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) at Ottappalam in 1921. This gave a fillip to the idea of a united Keralam, followed by the convening of the Nattu Rajya Praja Sammelanam (State People's Conference), under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1928 at Ernakulam.
Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon's immortal lines, "Bharathamenna per kettal abhimana poorithamakanam antharangam, Keralamennu kettalo, Thilakkanam chora namukku njarambukalil" ("when you hear the name Bharat/India, your heart must swell must pride, when you hear the name Keralam, blood must throb in your veins"), not only contributed to the national freedom struggle but also exhorted Malayalis to claim their own motherland.
The demand for a united Keralam reached a crescendo in 1946 when India was on the cusp of Independence, even as Travancore Diwan CP Ramaswamy Aiyer was plotting to chart out an independent course for the princely state. VP Menon, secretary in the interim government under Sardar Vallabhai Patel recalls in his book, Integration of the Indian States, how he was besieged by representations on the formation of a united Kerala when his mandate was limited to the integration of the states of Travancore and Cochin.
Restoring Cultural Identity
The State Reorganisation Commission had a Malayali in Sardar KM Panikkar, and the state of Keralam came into existence on November 1, 1956. However, the first schedule of the constitution recorded Keralam as Kerala, which continued until now. The state Assembly passed resolutions in 2023 and an amended version of it in 2024, calling on the Centre to effect a change of nomenclature, which finally got the ascent.
For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, it may mark another instance of fulfilling its goal of cultural restoration. It may be recalled here that the BJP's mothership, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had pitched in for Kerala to be renamed to Keralam in 2016.
There are differing voices that argue that the state should not have initiated a name change, given how the phonologies of languages differ. For many, it may be much ado about nothing, but for the likes of MN Karassery, who have been using Keralam instead of Kerala over the years, it is a moment to celebrate.
(Anand Kochukudy is a senior journalist and columnist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
