Why does the Kerala Government Want to Change The State’s Name?

Context: 

Recently, the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution to rename the state as Keralam as in Malayalam, Kerala is named as Keralam.

About Naming of States in India:

• The First Schedule of the Indian Constitution: It contains the list of states and union territories and their extent and territorial jurisdictions. 
• Article 3 of the Indian Constitution: It deals with the formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States.
• Formation on Linguistic Basis: States were reorganized on linguistic basis on November 1, 1956. 
• Initiation of Renaming Process: The procedure of renaming the state can be initiated by either the Parliament or the State Legislature.
• Requirement of Approval: To change the name of a state, approval from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs is required.
  • To change Kerala into Keralam: Urgent measures are required to amend under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.

How has India renamed places since Independence?

• Renaming soon after Independence: 
  • An Effort to Wipe out the Colonial Past: Kingsway became Rajpath and Queensway became Janpath
  • On Names of Well-Known Freedom Fighters: Various statues and institutions earlier named on viceroys and British royalty are now replaced by Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad, Pandit Nehru, etc.
• For the Sake of Linguistic Correctness: Anglicized places were restored to their original names. 
  • Examples: Bombay became Mumbai, Calcutta became Kolkata, Madras became Chennai, Bangalore became Bengaluru, etc. 
• To Project Pride in a Regional Hero: To celebrate Shivaji, Victoria Terminus became Shivaji Chhatrapati Terminus. 
  • Other well-known landmarks named after him like the Prince of Wales Museum. 
• Memorializing Leading Members of the Political Party: Connaught Place became Rajiv Chowk, Mughalsarai (UP) became Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, etc. 
• Recently Renamed Places: By 2022, an estimated 57 cities and at least nine states were renamed.

Rationale behind Renaming of places in India: 

• India’s Rapid Development: India’s growing population is associated with major infrastructure expansion and each new project, street, or square needs a new name. 
• Sense of Indian identity: Changing colonial names has been done to give a sense  of Indian identity. 
  • Example: Britishers named the city of Visakhapatnam as Waltair. 
• Admired for Generosity and Kindness: The renaming of Aurangzeb Road to Dr APB Abdul Kalam Road for universally admired  generosity and kindness. 
• Communal Pride and Identity Politics: Renaming places considered as a powerful tool for promoting a  particular brand of identity politics. 
  • Example: Faizabad district (UP) was renamed as Ayodhya. 
• Political Changes: Renaming places can become a testing ground for political changes that go beyond symbolic politics. 
• Preserving Culture: Gurgaon was changed to “Gurugram” because that was the name of the city in the past. Gurugram comes from the Mahabharata story of Guru Dronacharya. 
  • Similarly, Allahabad is renamed as Prayag. 
• Revival of Civilisational Consciousness: Renaming can help to revive civilisational consciousness and restorative justice in India, which has been the victim of invasions and colonialism. 

Challenges in Renaming places in India: 

• Sows Confusion: In a global economy, changing names after they have gained universal recognition sows confusion. 
• Only tangible changes: Renaming results in tangible changes, but several intangible aspects of places continue to be associated with the lived reality of communities. 
  • Example: Varanasi is culturally will always be “Banarasi”. 
• Cultural Genocide: The renaming of places and “reclaiming” of monuments are part of a large and long process of cultural genocide. A community feels diminished if it is made to think that it has not made any genuine, original contribution to the life of a nation of which it is a part. 
• The Economic Cost associated with a Name Change: All the name change costs public money, from revisions in signage to official documents and assorted data sets. 

The Path Ahead:

• Upholding of Constitutional Values: The court’s warning against misusing history and its command to uphold the concept of fraternity established in the Constitution’s Preamble must be followed.
• Re-educate Present Societies: Rather to change names, historical knowledge should be inculcated by providing education and awareness to present societies.
• Revamp Philosophy of Naming: Naming of infrastructures should be done on such a basis which avoids wasting social capital and the court’s scarce time. 
• Keep Politics out of it: Renaming processes should be kept away from politicizing. 
• Prioritize Growth: Lawmakers should prioritize growth rather than prolong social division and fragmentation. 
• Following of Global Protocols: 
  • Geographical Titles: India should take the global examples of naming like top airports around the world have straightforward geographical titles. 
  • Example: Amsterdam, Beijing, Dubai, Incheon, Los Angeles, and Munich. 
  • On the Basis of Number & Direction: Similarly, in many countries, streets are named by their simple number and direction which should be both user-friendly and conflict-reducing. 

News Source: Firstpost