Malayalam has been officially declared as the official language of Kerala after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar signed the Malayalam Language Bill, 2025 into law. With the Governor’s assent, the legislation will come into effect immediately across the state.
The new law mandates the use of Malayalam in government and applies to semi-government bodies, public sector undertakings and cooperative institutions. The legislation aims to strengthen the position of Malayalam in both administration and education through a series of sweeping reforms.
As per 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 available in Malayalam.
The Department of Information Technology will be tasked with developing open source software and accessories for the effective use of Malayalam language in the field of Information Technology. With the coming into force of the Act, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Official Language) in the Secretariat will be renamed as the Department of Malayalam Language Development. The government will also create a directorate for the development of Malayalam language under this department.
The introduction of the law faced opposition, particularly from the Karnataka government, which raised concerns among the Kannada-speaking linguistic minority, especially those residing in Kasaragod. However, the Kerala government says the legislation would include safeguards to protect the interests of linguistic minorities. In addition, students from these sections will be able to pursue their studies in the languages of their choice available in schools in Kerala in accordance with the National Curriculum.
In addition, students from other states and foreign countries whose mother tongue is not Malayalam will also be exempted from writing the Malayalam examination in classes IX, X and higher secondary level.
Published – March 4, 2026 8:33 PM IST
