New Kerala story: State name change to Keralam divides UAE’s Malayali expats

Dubai: A proposal to rename the south Indian state of Kerala as “Keralam” has sparked debate among the UAE’s large Malayali community, with many welcoming the cultural assertion while others question its timing, practicality and global recognition.

The discussion follows India’s Union Cabinet approval of the Kerala government’s move to align the state’s official English name with its Malayalam form, “Keralam”, citing cultural heritage and linguistic authenticity.

Home to more than a million Keralites, the UAE has long been a second home for Malayalis whose identity is deeply tied to their birthplace. The proposed change has prompted reflection on language, identity and global branding among expatriates.

Dubai-based RJ and Malayalam actor, Mithun Ramesh, told Gulf News the move to change the anglicised spelling may have symbolic value but is unlikely to alter how people speak or refer to the state in daily life for many years.

“For decades, many have called us Malabaris because Kerala is on the Malabar coast and we have had to correct them. People are often confused between Malayalam and Malayali, and we constantly have to clarify this. Keeping our state’s name in our own language in official records is fine, but it doesn’t dictate how people will refer to it in everyday life.”

He said it sounds awkward to say Keralam Tourism or Keralam Police, as these entities are known by the name Kerala. “Officially, there may be a change and it will be implemented at the expense of taxpayers, but for expats like us, it won’t make a big difference. In our lingo, I don’t think this will change for at least a couple of generations, just as many of us still say Cochin instead of Kochi and Bangalore instead of Bengaluru.”

Award-winning Malayali journalist and author in Dubai, Sadiq Kavil, urged people to look beyond nomenclature and focus on the secular values the state has long been known for.

“It is not without reason that the world-famous writer William Shakespeare asked, ‘What’s in a name?’ A name alone does not give full meaning to anything. In today’s times, when people are divided even on the basis of names, it is frightening to see situations where ‘stories’ are fabricated for political gain,” he said, making a reference to the movie The Kerala Story  and its upcoming sequel The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond that have sparked controversies about religious, social, and political narratives in the state.

“Whether the name of our homeland is ‘Kerala’ or ‘Keralam’, what must be preserved are our secular values and brotherhood. The unity and love we upheld in the past, beyond caste and religious divisions, must be protected like the pupil of the eye. It is the wish of every Malayali that we never lose that lofty secular consciousness,” said Sadiq.

Ambujam Satheesh, chairperson of the Expert Committee, Dubai Chapter of the Malayalam Mission, believes adopting the Malayalam form universally could strengthen cultural identity.

“I feel our homeland should be known by a name in our own language. Our official language is Malayalam in which the state is written as Keralam. Unifying it everywhere will bring greater clarity. This could be a historic change,” said Ambujam who recently won an award for promoting the mother tongue overseas through Malayalam Mission, a Kerala government initiative to teach the language and culture of the state to expat children.

“As a promoter of the Malayalam language, it will make me proud if my state is known as Keralam,” she added.

However, Nissar Thalangara, president of the Indian Association Sharjah, one of the largest Indian expat community groups in the UAE with majority of members hailing from Kerala, questioned the rationale behind the move given Kerala’s established global brand.

“Kerala is an internationally recognised name. The state is becoming more cosmopolitan and globally known. The Kerala Tourism Department has spent millions promoting the brand worldwide. I don’t see any valid reason for changing that name when the state is already known as Keralam in Malayalam.”

He alleged that the sudden move to approve the name change just ahead of the upcoming election in the state is politically motivated.

The Kerala government had approached the Union Government in 2023 and 2024 for the name change. However, the approval from the Cabinet’s Committee came through only now, he pointed out.

“I feel this move may be part of an agenda ahead of elections. Let the governments focus instead on priorities such as education, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and agriculture.”

Long-time UAE resident Youseph Sageer, who has been active in socio-cultural groups and events for four decades, said the change is unlikely to resolve longstanding confusion about Malayali identity in the Gulf.

“We are still not widely recognised as Keralites by many people outside India. Many Arabs call us Malabaris and refer to our language, Malayalam, as Lughat al-Malabaria.

Personally, I prefer calling it Keralam rather than Kerala though I am not sure what difference this change in name will make to our identity. However, I feel the central government has supported the Kerala government in this move because it itself is attempting to change India’s name to Bharat.”

For Susan Jose Desmond, a Malayali born and brought up in Dubai, the debate touches on emotion and identity more than spelling.

“Though I was born and raised in Dubai, Kerala, popularly known as God’s Own Country, is not just a name to me. It is emotion, identity and pride. It carries decades of history and global respect,” said Susan, a social worker with the Samaritans Ministry of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai.

“While Keralam is deeply rooted in our language, Malayalam, our identity is not defined by a single added letter at the end of a word. Authenticity lives in our people and our culture, and I am proud to call it Kerala and proud to be a Malayali though we are primarily Indians.”

Kerala itself is a post-independence creation, and the anglicised name is not from the colonial era of India.

The state was formed on November 1, 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, by merging Travancore-Cochin with the Malabar district of the erstwhile Madras State and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara district, uniting Malayalam-speaking regions into a single state.

Many scholars believe the state’s name derives from “Kera” (coconut tree) and “alam” (land), meaning “land of coconuts”, a reference to the region’s lush palm-lined coastline and agrarian heritage.

Another theory traces the name to the ancient Chera dynasty, which ruled parts of the region in early historic times, suggesting “Keralam” evolved from “Chera-alam” or “land of the Cheras”.

Supporters say the name changing move honours linguistic heritage, while critics argue it could create administrative costs and global confusion. As the debate continues, the conversation among UAE Malayalis reflects a wider question: whether a name change strengthens identity or simply changes how it is spelled.