1 week ago
11
Malayalam has officially been declared the official language of Kerala, after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar signed the Malayalam Language Bill, 2025. With the Governor’s assent, the legislation comes into immediate effect across the State.
The new law mandates the use of Malayalam in government administration, and extends to semi-government bodies, public sector undertakings and cooperative institutions. The legislation aims at strengthening the position of Malayalam in both governance and education through a series of wide-ranging reforms.
Under the provisions of the Act, Malayalam will be made compulsory in government and aided schools up to Class X. Government orders and court proceedings will be made available in Malayalam.
The Information Technology department will be tasked with developing open source software and accessories for the efficient use of Malayalam language in the field of information technology. With the law coming into effect, the Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Official Language) department in the Secretariat will be renamed as the Malayalam Language Development department. The government will also constitute a Malayalam Language Development Directorate under the department.
The introduction of the Bill had faced opposition, notably from the Karnataka government, which raised the concerns of the Kannada-speaking linguistic minority, particularly those residing in Kasaragod. However, the Kerala government has maintained that the legislation would contain safeguards to protect the interests of linguistic minorities. Besides, students from such sections will be able to pursue their study in the languages of their choice that are available in schools in Kerala in accordance with the National Education Curriculum.
Besides, students from other States and foreign countries whose mother tongue is not Malayalam will also be exempted from writing the examination in Malayalam language in Classes IX, X and the higher secondary level.
English (US) ·