Kerala Piravi at 70: Keralam marks first formation day under new name

Kerala, now officially called Keralam, marks its 70th formation day, Kerala Piravi, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the first since the state's new name came into force. To mark the anniversary, Chief Minister V D Satheesan is scheduled to inaugurate the state-level "Festival of Kerala 2026" at the Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram at 4 pm, with Health Minister K Muraleedharan presiding, according to an official announcement reported earlier in the week. The festival is meant to showcase the state's cultural heritage, artistic traditions, sporting achievements and social progress. Governor Om Prakash Mathur, in his greetings for the day, said Keralam, formed in 1956 on linguistic lines, had developed a distinct identity over seven decades.

Kerala Piravi is the day the state remembers how it came together. On November 1, 1956, the Malayalam-speaking regions were brought into a single state as part of the reorganisation of Indian states along linguistic lines. For seventy years, the day has been marked with cultural programmes celebrating the state's language and arts.

This year carries extra meaning because of the name. "Keralam" is how the state has always been called in Malayalam, and the Assembly argued that the official name should match the people's own language. The change needed an Act of Parliament under Article 3 of the Constitution, which amends the list of states in the First Schedule. With that process completed in August, this is the first Piravi on which the official name and the everyday Malayalam name are the same.

The Festival of Kerala is the government's main public event for the anniversary. By bringing together the state's art forms, its sporting record and its social progress, the festival presents the 70-year journey as a shared cultural story rather than only a political one. For visitors and Malayalis living outside the state, Piravi programmes are also a chance to reconnect with traditional performance arts and music.

Short-term: Cultural programmes, school events and official celebrations take place across the state on November 1, with the Festival of Kerala as the main state event in Thiruvananthapuram. Many organisations are using the new name in their greetings for the first time.

Long-term: The official name Keralam will gradually replace Kerala in central and state records, maps and signs. The 70th anniversary also gives the new government an occasion to set out how it wants to present the state's heritage and development to the rest of India and to the world.

Who is affected: People of Keralam and the Malayali diaspora; artists and cultural groups taking part in Piravi programmes; government departments updating records to the new name; and tourism and cultural institutions in the state.

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