‘Keralamite or Keralamian?’ Tharoor’s witty wordplay after renaming of Kerala

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor offered a trademark witty take on Tuesday after the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to rename Kerala as Keralam.

In a light-hearted post, Tharoor wondered what would happen to the familiar terms “Keralite” and “Keralan” used to describe people from the state. “All to the good, no doubt, but a small linguistic question for the Anglophones among us,” he wrote.

Suggesting humorous alternatives, he quipped that “Keralamite” sounds like a microbe and “Keralamian” like a rare earth mineral, adding that the Kerala government might even consider launching a competition to coin a new term.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the proposal to alter the state’s name from Kerala to Keralam.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly had earlier passed a unanimous resolution on June 24, 2024 seeking the change. The proposal was subsequently examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs and cleared after concurrence from the Law Ministry.

Following the Cabinet nod, the President will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the state Assembly for its views under Article 3 of the Constitution, after which the Bill will be introduced in Parliament.

Meanwhile, in a separate post, Tharoor also expressed delight over C Rajagopalachari being honoured with a statue at Rashtrapati Bhavan, recalling his long-standing admiration for the former Governor-General’s liberal economic views and constitutional principles.