On 18 July 1967, Madras State was officially renamed to Tamil Nadu.
At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North Kerala and Bellary of South Canara.
The Tamil speaking region Kanyakumari was merged to Madras state which was earlier a part of Travancore-Cochin.
In 1967, all the political parties of Madras State spoke in one voice, following a fasting protest by Sankaralinganar(resulting in his death), on their demand to rename the state as Tamil Nadu.
A resolution was passed unanimously in the Madras State Legislative Assembly by the government led by the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu C. N. Annadurai seeking to rename the state as Tamil Nadu.