UAE Malayalis Welcome Kerala’s Proposed Name Change to Keralam
The UAE’s Malayali community has warmly embraced the Indian government’s proposal to officially rename Kerala as Keralam. For expatriates across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, the shift feels less like a change and more like a restoration of linguistic and cultural identity. For over a million Malayalis living in the UAE—the largest Indian state diaspora in the country—the name Keralam has always held emotional and traditional significance. Community leaders note that Malayalam speakers have consistently referred to their homeland as Keralam, while “Kerala” represented the colonial-era spelling used in passports, maps, and official documents. Many in the Gulf compare the move to the renaming of Bombay to Mumbai or Madras to Chennai—an overdue correction that aligns with cultural roots. Supporters say the term Keralam has origins linked to the Chera dynasty or the phrase “Land of Coconut Trees,” reflecting both heritage and geography. Not everyone is fully convinced; some argue that “Ke...
