From Kerala to ‘Keralam’: A Step Towards Restoring Our Identity, Says Tarun Chugh

New Delhi: Participating in the discussion on the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 in the Rajya Sabha today, BJP National General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh extended his full support to the Bill and urged the House to pass it unanimously. Chugh said that this is not merely a matter of changing the name of a state, but an important step towards freeing independent India from the colonial legacy and the marks of slavery that were imposed upon it. He said that continuing to carry names and symbols imposed or popularised during colonial rule as though they represent the identity of free India is neither necessary nor acceptable.

Tarun Chugh said that those who ruled over us, enslaved our country and attempted to suppress India’s civilisational identity cannot continue to define the symbols through which a free India identifies itself. He said political independence cannot be limited to the transfer of power. True independence must also mean intellectual, cultural and civilisational freedom. Erasing the blot of slavery and restoring India’s own historical identity must be an essential part of this journey.

Chugh made it clear that this is not an attempt to rewrite history, but to move beyond identities altered, imposed or popularised under colonial rule and restore an identity rooted in our own history and culture. He said that India today is an independent and confident nation. Therefore, its constitutional identity must reflect a civilisation that takes pride in its own language, culture, traditions and history rather than continuing to carry the imprint of the colonial period in which India was subjugated.

Responding to those who ask, “What is in a name?”, Tarun Chugh said that the question is not what is in a name, but what all is contained in a name. He said a name is not merely a collection of letters. It carries historical memory, cultural consciousness, civilisational identity and the lived experience of an entire society. If the identity of a colonised country was altered or defined according to the convenience of its rulers, then reviewing and restoring that identity after independence is a natural step towards leaving behind the mentality of subjugation.

Tarun Chugh said that India achieved political independence from British rule in 1947, but many remnants of colonial thinking and symbols of slavery continued in public life for decades. He said the India of today is not prepared to accept this mental slavery. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is rediscovering confidence in its roots, languages, traditions and civilisational heritage. Removing the remaining colonial imprint is therefore not merely symbolic; it is a matter of national self-respect.

Chugh said that the journey from Kerala to Keralam is part of this larger national sentiment. It is not about imposing a new identity on a state, but constitutionally recognising an identity that has remained alive in the language and cultural memory of its people. He said ‘Keralam’ has long existed in popular usage and cultural consciousness. Therefore, this is not the creation of a new identity, but the restoration of an existing one to its rightful constitutional place.

Tarun Chugh said that the land of Keralam is also the sacred birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya, who strengthened India’s spiritual unity and gave a powerful expression to the country’s civilisational oneness. He said that from Kaladi, Acharya Shankara travelled across the country and strengthened the consciousness of an integrated India. This is an India whose identity was not created by any colonial power, but shaped over thousands of years by its civilisation. Independent India must therefore define itself through its own civilisational heritage, not through the imprint of foreign rule.

Chugh said that the marks of slavery are not confined to buildings, roads or place names; they can also survive in the collective mindset. If independent India continues to treat identities inherited from the colonial period as the final and unquestionable truth, then political independence risks coexisting with mental subjugation. India must decisively move beyond that mindset.

Responding to the Opposition’s argument that changing a name will not bring development, Tarun Chugh said development and national identity are not contradictory. Placing the figures before the House, he said that between 2004 and 2014, during the UPA period, Kerala received approximately ₹46,300 crore in tax devolution, whereas between 2014 and 2024, this increased to approximately ₹1.57 lakh crore. In grant-in-aid, Kerala received around ₹25,630 crore during the UPA decade, compared with ₹1,56,214 crore under the Modi Government, representing an increase of 509 per cent.

Tarun Chugh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 is not confined to economic growth. A developed India must also be mentally free, culturally confident and proud of its civilisational identity. He said India is progressing rapidly as a major global economy, but economic strength must be accompanied by the confidence to shed the remaining layers of colonial mentality.

Chugh congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah for taking forward this constitutional process. He said that restoring identities rooted in India’s own linguistic, historical and cultural traditions is part of the larger process of freeing the country from the remaining marks of colonial rule.

Chugh said that the meaning of independence cannot simply be that the British left India. Independence also means that Indians have the freedom to define their own identity, honour their own history and view their civilisation through their own eyes rather than through a colonial lens. Carrying the marks of slavery on our foreheads is not the destiny of free India. Erasing the blot of slavery, leaving colonial mentality behind and restoring India’s self-respect is the true meaning of honouring our independence.

Tarun Chugh urged all members of the House to rise above party politics and support this historic effort. He said that the journey from Kerala to Keralam is not merely a journey from one name to another. It is a journey from colonial mentality to self-respect, from the remnants of foreign rule to India’s own civilisational identity, and from the memories of subjugation towards a confident and self-assured India.