The Bubble of Kerala must burst An account of how misled the electorate has been.

 In the wake of the recent election debates and propaganda, I happened to fall into a number of charades of words which left me emotionally drained out. One of the key issues of our interest had been the "prominence of Member of Parliaments from Kerala at the center". Being a residental non-malayalee since birth, I was forced to take the "aggressive lad speaking against the motion" stand in most circumstances. There was a dogged effort from my opponents to rebutt any argument I pose with a set of important yet cliched points :

1. Kerala has the highest literacy rate in the country.
2. It is a frontrunner in terms of the HDI.
3. Inclusive development had been the key to the above achievements and panacea of all problems in the state.

Map of Kerala

 I was miserble. Honestly shaken when I was simply overpowered with these dogmatic mantras for every rebuttal. I set out to demystify and break-down the scenario.

Maharajah of Travancore

 History teaches you that Kerala has been a prosperous state since time unknown. Its spice trade with the rest of world and the role of an bridge it played between various trading kingdoms on either side of the seas has been one of key reasons for its prosperity and well-being . And the prosperity of the then kingdoms of Travancore and Cochin can still be observed in the riches and magnificence posed by the temples and monuments.The Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, on whose sands I used to summersault as an 8-year old clad in the traditional silk "mundu", is known as the "El Dorado" of India. Therein resides assets and antiquities whose face value could nothing be short of a 115,000 million dollars. The prudent potentates of Travancore had deposited in order to offset any shortage or crisis that might afflict their kingdom. So the upshot is that Kerala has been, inherently, a well-off state.

Velayudhan Chempakaraman Thampi, a Dalawa(Prime minister) of Travancore who led the one of the earliest rebellions against the British East India Company.

Barring a handful of dissidents like Keralavarma Pazhassiraja, Kunhali Marakkar and Veluthambi Dhalawa(Also the fictional Kelu Nayanar from Santhosh Sivan's Urumi :P ) who fought for their land, we were never rebellious in the freedom struggle. We had goodwill among the British and the Kings were canny enough to put their acquaintance to the advantage of their people.

Kerala's achievements in education- near cent percent literacy rates, gender equality, free and universal primary education, etc are well known. It is undeniable that Kerala has "one of the" highest literacy rates in the country. At a 93.91% it is only second to the Tripura which recently pipped Kerala with a 94.65%. The per capita spending on education by the rural households in Kerala was reported to be 41, which is almost double the national average. This culture has been deeply ingrained the history of the state.

   

Chrisitan missionaries played a critical role of interweaving various strata of the society through education.

 At the turn of the century, a number of Christian missionaries that gained roots(Catholic missionaries from Portugal and Anglican missionaries from the Great Britain) established elementary schools and institutions across the lengths and breadths of the state which was very keen on promoting education. The awareness of an "educated diaspora" was made pervasive, thanks to such missionaries. The thing of beauty about saintly foreigners is that they act like one. They were truly messengers of the Lord himself(not the Queen :P ). They welcomed people from different walks of life; from a manifold of social segments and strata; into their gates with open arms. Rev.Kuriakose Elias Chavara, a key social reformer of the 19th century, aired the idea of "a school for a church"(which is why schools in malayalam are known as "pallikudam"). Also the kings believed in empowering their people. Their innumerable ties with across the globe resulted in cognizance and eventually they used it for the well being of the people and trend of attaining "Primary education" continued through the decades and has resulted in this appreciable achievement.The contribution of the Highness' of the various kingdom is unparalleled. To quote some, His highness Swati Thirunal installed the Maharaja's College(now University College) and Maharaja's School. He also set up the Trivandrum Observatory which is an outcome of his avid interest in astronomy and physical sciences.

Kerala has the most pleasant climate in the country.

Kerala lies along the coastal line. Neither are we forayed by frequent adverse weather conditions nor any natural phenomena that are precarious. We have a moderate and balanced climate that is the best in the country.The temperature lies between 18ºC-33ºC which is rendered pleasant in a country where it lies between 10ºC to 43ºC.The climate is so pleasing that it allures/allured tourists and migratory aves from across the globe. Part of Kerala's success in achieving near-developed-world levels of basic health indicators results from a rapid expansion of medical facilities. Another part derives from the development of public health and disease prevention programmes by enlightened maharajahs. We have been able to encage deadly contagious diseases from searing through the state.

So in effect, the achievements of Kerala is a focalization of a number of favorable conditions which PRE-EXISTED, contrary to the claims of the so-called linguistic and regional fundamentalists! And I strongly disapprove of and pity anyone who attributes any of this COMPLETELY to a particular political regime in the state.

The aforementioned feats courtesy of the largely historical implications and the marginal contributions of the succeeding legislatives, no doubt laudable, is a thing of the past. The higher education standard in the state is an ignominious affair. It has persistently been on the decline. The reasons cited by various organisations which conduct consensus are : Lack of proper infrastructure, poor teachers to students ratios,etc. There has been an exponential increase in self-financing colleges and schools to cater the societal demand. But significant compromises have been made in the quality of education rendered. Though Kerala succeeds in attaining a near cent % achievement in elementary education, the drop-out rates ascend as soon as the child gets into 10th. Only about 50% of the students who appear for the 10th matriculation examination get through in spite of liberal valuation and provision of grace marks.

The quality of higher education in the state is abysmal thanks to the political parties who have been making the resourceful students their pawns.

Government schools and colleges are plagued by student politics upon whom the two political parties have a commanding say, which has resulted in an employability deficit.As per the Economic Review report  2012, Kerala is in fourth position in unemployment level among states, with an unemployment level of 9.9 per cent.The report indicates that among the larger Indian states, the unemployment level in the state is the highest in India. The ones with "Gulf-NRI daddies" survive while the ones without, cannot find any respite. Manual labourers and small-time retailers are unwilling to pitch their shops and services in Kerala and instead flock to other states like Tamil Nadu  and Maharashtra or the middle-east(and contribute to their respective state's SDP ). Even the ones who graduate are forced to find jobs elsewhere.In the process of catering to the limited segments of white collar job markets within the state and outside,education in Kerala remained frozen as an inert academic exercise. Unravelling this paradox of the low-growth-high-literacy of Kerala throws up some really harsh facts. Kerala, irrespective of all the advantages it had as a resourceful state, is left to languish. Job generation has been in doldrums thanks to some irresponsible governance and policy paralysis. Literacy in the state has become a liability. 

P.s : Kerala accounts for 10% of the total suicides in the country at tops the statistics in student suicides which simply buttresses the fact that the education system in Kerala is haphazard. 

Kerala is the state with least employability; a staggering number of people remain unemployed.

The same conundrum of low-growth-high-literacy can be linked with the lack of adequate industries in the state. The skewed nature of the state's economy has been primarily due to the "money order economy". Kerala lives off remittances and it lacks a manufacturing base. It hasn't been able to attract giants in various fields to set up their shops , when states with lesser HDI and literacy like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been able to. Kerala's pet projects : The Vizhinjam Port and the Smart City which can provide significant strides in the economy. God knows who is impeding the development of the state? The funnier thing is there has been unprecedented pressurising for a mug's game called Aranmula Airport Terminal.

The proposed Vizhinjam Port project with no environmental hassles has been stalled for reasons unknown.

Reflecting on the leaders who we have sent as our representatives, what have they done substantially for the betterment of the state? Post the E.M.S, K.Karunakaran era, strong regional leaders who laid off all their partisanship and worked for the betterment of the state, we have a dearth of robust leadership. Let it be the Left or the Right, both have priorities greater than what they have been chosen for. We've had many minister from the state in the form of A.K.Antony, E.Ahamed, Shashi Tharoor(MoS), K.V.Thomas, etc but none have been able to channelize their power and position for the betterment of the state. For God's sake, where do these people go after the elections? They sparsely visit their constituency to understand the grievances and plight. If none of the political formations in Kerala could capitalize on the advantageous situation they had during independence, what have they remarkably achieved sitting in the air-conditioned cabins and travelled in beacon lit cars? 

The only detour in the story is with O.Rajagopal of the BJP who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh(1992-2004) and was made the MoS for Railway and later Defence and Parliamentary Affairs under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government. Mr.Rajagopal's tenure at the center had been illustrious and lucrative for the state of Kerala.

• 12 New Trains for Kerala including Janashatabdi, Amrita,Ananthapuri, Maveli, Gurudev express trains which have now become an inevitable part of daily travellers across Kerala.
• Doubling of Railway Lines was made possible by BJP. This was one of the major development leap in the history of Indian Railways in Kerala.
•  In 2002-2003, used 14.17 crore Rupees for development of slum areas in Kerala.
• Saved KSRTC from bankruptcy by arranging Rs. 100 crore from HUDCO fund. 550 fast passenger and 350 mini buses were purchased using this fund.
• Prior to the modification of Christian Marriage Act, he called up a meeting of topmost leaders of all prominent Christian Communities in Kerala, which in turn became a milestone in the history. This paved the way to enable Christian women to inherit ancestral properties, which
  was denied to them previously.

 And the list goes on. Domiciled in Kerala, he never again could represent the people in the lower house. For a man who had done such impressive work for the state, it was the most thankless way Keralites could respond. And I will stick my neck to say that none in recent times have been dilligent in what he was entitled to do. And I believe the electorate of Kerala will not be misled by the bogus claims of Shashi Tharoor developing Trivandrum.(He made the people of the state red-faced by his indulgence in the IPL Scam and the dubious mystery death of his 3rd wife is yet to be solved)

"Shashi Tharoor's development in Trivandrum"

This election calls for sensibility and prudence from the electorate. This bubble of ill-information must burst. As the saying goes, "You can cheat all people sometimes, You can cheat some people all the time, but never all the people all the time".  The blog post is a food for thought for all the voters who will cast their votes this summer. And I strongly believe that you will choose your representative wisely. Jai Hind.