Now say Kerala, not Kerala. Why Shashi Tharoor got angry on the decision of Modi government: – ..

News India Live, Digital Desk: The identity of Kerala, the beautiful state of South India, is now officially going to change. The Modi government at the Center changed the name of the state. ‘Keralaam’ Has given its approval to the proposal to do so. However, politics has now become heated over this linguistic and cultural change. Veteran Congress leader and MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor has taken the central government to task, questioning the “timing” and “manner” of this decision.

Why was the name changed? What is the logic behind this?

The Kerala Assembly had long ago passed a resolution unanimously, urging the Center to change the name of the state from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralaam’ under Article 3 of the Constitution.

Malayalam Identity: In the local language Malayalam, this state is always called ‘Keralaam’.

Cultural Pride: The state government argues that the word ‘Keralaam’ should be used in official documents and even in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution so as to respect the linguistic heritage of the state.

Center seal: The Home Ministry has now given the green signal to this proposal, after which the process of name change has started.

Shashi Tharoor’s objection: “This is just politics of distraction”

Responding to this decision of changing the name, Shashi Tharoor has made a scathing attack on the Central Government. Following are the main points of his opposition:

Question on priority: Tharoor says that when the country and the state are facing unemployment and economic challenges, then it is incomprehensible to give priority to issues like changing the name.

Translation problem: He argued that saying ‘Kerala’ in English is easier and globally accepted, while ‘Kerala’ is primarily meant for Malayalam speakers.

Just headline hunting: Terming it as “name changing politics” of the Modi government, Tharoor said it was just an attempt to divert public attention from the real issues.

What will change for the general public?

Government Documents: Now in future, ‘Kerala’ will be written instead of ‘Kerala’ in all gazettes, identity cards and government correspondence of the Central and State Government.

constitutional amendment: A bill in this regard will have to be brought in the Parliament so that changes can be made in the First Schedule of the Constitution.

special Notes: This is not the first time that the name of a state or city has been changed (like Orissa to Odisha or Bombay to Mumbai), but the issue of ‘Keralaam’ is considered quite emotive due to its linguistic roots.