Fifty years is not a significant period in the history of mankind but it is certainly significant to a people who shared a common language and culture but remained divided for centuries and came together only 50 years ago to form a single political entity. Even though as a social & cultural entity Kerala was in existence for centuries it was integrated into a political and administrative unit only on Nov. 1, 1956 when newly independent India was reorganized into language-based provinces as envisaged by India’s first Premier Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Congress party in power at Travancore-Kochi legislature was initially apprehensive about the Communist bastion Malabar region joining them to form a united Kerala as it could tilt the political balance in favor of the Left. In the first election to Kerala assembly in 1957 their fears came true. Communists in alliance with Kerala Socialist Party won and formed Kerala’s maiden government. It was led by the communist theoretician E.M.S. Namboodripad which introduced two important legislations; Education Bill and the Land Reforms Act.
Abraham Valiyakala of pro CPM Navodaya organization is of the opinion that it was the first EMS ministry, which set a direction to Kerala’s development and laid the foundations by passing the Education Bill and initiating the Land Reforms Act. But Srinivasan Amarambalam, general secretary of the Saudi chapter of Indian Cultural Congress disagrees to it stating that social reformers like Vagbhadananda, Sri Narayana etc, set the progressive agenda of Kerala’s progress much earlier and political parties from the right & left were always near unanimous in following that agenda hence political parties from the Left cannot take exclusive credit for that.
In 1964 the Communist party split into CPM & CPI and the latter went to the Congress camp. Parties from the left and right changed sides and often influenced the election results but during the eighties stabilized into Left Democratic Front & United Democratic Front led respectively by CPM & Congress. Governments formed by alliances have advantages and disadvantages. Sareena Riyasuddin, daughter of assassinated Communist MLA Kunjali and a teacher at Dammam Indian School is of the opinion that the unrealistic and often narrow-minded demands of junior partners restricts the leading party’s ability to act freely in the better interest of Kerala.
Shamsuddin Kayippuram, a former Kerala Library Council member and currently Convener of Pallikkoodam Literary Forum feels that it is time for Kerala to return to single party rule to give much needed political willpower and thrust to governments to act freely and decisively to implement its programs. He says that now much time is wasted on placating the junior partners to keep the alliance intact. Even then it cannot go unnoticed that both the LDF & UDF governments are handicapped mainly due to internal bickering within the main constituents Congress and CPM which is a result of careerists and powermongers taking control of the party apparatus.
Kerala came to existence during a socio-political climate, which was a creation of great reformers like Vagbhadananda, Brahmananda Shivayogi, Sri Narayana etc. Literary giants like Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, M.P. Paul, Thakazhi, Bashir, Mundassery etc too played their role during its formative years. Though the Left Movement was in the forefront other political forces too were moving in the same direction. A vibrant and open society, which was guided by the spirit of equality, social justice and fraternity, was the actual force behind these transformations. Kerala made considerable progress in public health care, education, and women’s empowerment etc during the first half of Kerala’s 50 years. Life expectancy rose from 45 years to 73 years and literacy rate from 47 percent to an admirable 94 percent. Women came out from the kitchens to society’s open spaces and stood with men in almost every walk of modern life. These are only a few indicative benchmarks.
However, it is regrettable that the process was not continuous and left certain segments like the Dalits & fishermen marginalized and out of the developmental circle. The fruits of modernization and development were mainly consumed by the upper class. Dalits, backward communities like Ezhavas, Muslims & Latin Catholics were denied their due share of wealth and political power. Proponents of class struggle failed to take stock of the hidden forces of casteism prevailing in society which resulted in the marginalization of economically & educationally backward classes. Though there is a current trend among Muslims and Latin Catholics to move toward the political left, Dalit leadership is tilting more toward militant Ambedkarism. Toward the late eighties Kerala started losing its grip on social justice and slipped toward consumerism. Though placed sixth on per capita income Kerala is the No. 1 consumer state in India. Keralites being just over 3 percent of Indian population surprisingly consumes more than10 percent of the total consumables. Unemployment has now increased from 7 percent to an alarming 21 percent.
Ruby Joseph, a teacher at Dammam IES and international vice president of Global Malayalee Council said that the Left movement by their militant and irresponsible trade unionism has driven away potential investors especially the labor-oriented heavy industries from Kerala. But C.V. Jose, editor of Prabhatham magazine disagrees and points out that there are other reasons. Kerala cannot provide cheap land required for heavy industries and lack of raw material and insufficient infrastructure are reasons for Kerala’s industrial backwardness. He adds that it is only natural for a trained, qualified and globally recognized manpower to be organized for collective bargaining.
Kerala at 50 is at a crossroad. The famed Kerala Model praised by Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen and United Nations is finding it difficult to sustain the growth parameters it has achieved due to its increasing inability to interfere in favor of the weaker sections by investing in public sector. Unrealistic wage increase in the farming sector without corresponding increase in farm products have left the farmers to dire poverty. Liberal economic policies of central government and market forces unleashed by globalization are forcing the government to cohabitate with an increasingly powerful private sector.
Though many like Navodaya chief Abraham Valiyakala urge LDF government to increase budget allocation for education and health care it is a foregone conclusion that no government could realistically afford to do that. Mammoth hospital complexes are spurting all over Kerala making the government sponsored public health care system insignificant and inadequate thereby making specialized medical care unattainable for the common man. Professional education field is now plagued by encroachment of the so-called self-financed institutions. The much talked about initiative to control admission procedures and fee tariffs of self financed colleges failed to take off due to an half-baked legislation introduced by current LDF government. Sadly the future of Kerala doesn’t look as bright as it was 50 years ago. Old answers are no more relevant. Both LDF & UDF are concerned about electoral mathematics to gain power rather than daring to seek new solutions to new challenges. No such intellectual enquiries are attempted honestly.
Gulf Malayalee Federation President Ashraf Ali said that the political parties and people are equally to be blamed for this stalemate. Once installed in power people forget that they are the masters and allow the politicians to have their way and wait for the next election to punish them by replacing them with the erstwhile opposition. This practice makes the politicians irresponsible and self-indulging, as they are sure to return to power after 5 years, he says.
Sureshkumar Kalathil, Saudi East Toastmasters Council’s assistant governor, thinks that Kerala should rearrange its developmental priorities. Being densely populated it cannot accommodate heavy industries hence should concentrate on developing IT sector and tourism for which Kerala has abundant potential.
KMCC activist Sakir Ahmed finds Kerala’s higher education sector in total disarray, as governments are not giving required attention to it. Populist measures are given priority hence basic and vital issues are often neglected. He think that the ideological gap between the political left and right is slowly narrowing and this is not in the best interest of the common man as it denies him an opportunity to choose from two different options.
PGR Nair, founder president of association of Malayalee Professionals in Saudi Arabia (AMPS) feel that the greatest threat to our society is opulent materialism and greed associated with it. Average Keralite has become a self-centered showman trying to project himself through the vulgar display of material wealth. PGR doesn’t recognize religious extremism as a growing threat because he is confident about the strength of Malayalam language as a powerful overriding factor uniting Keralites irrespective of religious colors. This is a sentiment shared by K.M. Basheer, Amir of Kerala Islamic Group in Saudi Arabia. However he added that it is regrettable to note that the benefits of contemporary development and growth are reaching only the rich upper crest of our society; if this is not rectified to the advantage of the poor the resultant inequality and frustration could lead to chaos detrimental to society.
Abdullah Manjeri, global vice president of World Malayali Council is more optimistic about the future of Kerala. He feels that our past failure in industrialization was a blessing in disguise. Now it is time to concentrate on IT industry and eco tourism, which promises high employment rate and lucrative returns. If politicians irrespective of their party affiliations come forward with the much-needed sense of direction (which they lack now) towards this kind of economic growth, Kerala’s future is going to be bright & promising.