Madras State renamed Tamil Nadu

14 Jan 1969 · Chennai

With the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968 in force, the state officially took the name Tamil Nadu.

The Annadurai government moved a resolution in the state legislature, after which Parliament enacted the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act in 1968. The Lok Sabha approved it on 22 November 1968 and the Rajya Sabha on 5 December 1968, and the President signed it on 20 December 1968. On 14 January 1969, which fell on Pongal, the law took effect and Madras State became Tamil Nadu. The renaming met a demand long linked with Sankaralinganar and the Dravidian movement.

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