Kerala Guv signs Bill making Malayalam sole official language of state

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 4 (PTI) Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Wednesday signed the Malayalam Language Bill 2025 which makes Malayalam the sole official language of administration in the state, Lok Bhavan sources said.

The Bill, which was passed by the Assembly in October last year, had faced opposition from the Karnataka government, which was concerned that it would force students from the linguistic minorities living in the border region of the two states to compulsorily learn Malayalam.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had tried to allay the concerns by pointing out that the Bill contains a clear and unambiguous non-obstante clause to safeguard the rights of linguistic minorities, particularly the Kannada and Tamil speaking communities.

"Key provisions ensure that no language is imposed and linguistic freedom is fully protected. In notified areas, Tamil and Kannada speakers may continue to use their mother tongues for official correspondence with the Secretariat, Heads of Departments, and local offices, with replies issued in the same languages," he had said.

The Kerala CM had further said that students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam are free to choose languages available in schools in accordance with the National Education Curriculum.

The Bill mandates Malayalam as the compulsory first language in all government and aided schools in Kerala up to the 10th standard.

It also mandates steps to promote dissemination of Malayalam language in all schools in the state.

The Bill further states that students from other states and foreign countries studying in Kerala whose mother tongue is not Malayalam shall be exempted from writing the examination in Malayalam language in the 9th and 10th standard and Higher Secondary level. PTI HMP KH