05-07-2012, 04:15 PM
KERALA MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT IN DEEP CRISIS
The narrow coastal strip in the Southwest corner of India with
a less than 4 percent of India’s population is among the smaller
states of Indian Union. The three units (The native states of
Travancore, Cochin and the Malabar District which was directly
ruled by the British as part of the Madras Presidency) which were
welded into one linguistic state of Malayalam Speaking people on 1
November 1956 were almost insignificant non-entities almost
ignored on the national scene. All these spectacularly changed with
the formation of Kerala state and especially when, following the
second republican general election a Communist-led ministry was
voted to power in the state on 5th April 1957 under the leadership ofEMS Namboothiripad.
The installation of EMS Ministry was not a bolt from the blue.
It was the logical culmination of kerala’s politics from the days of
freedom struggle during which the left wing and especially
communists won the hegemony in the popular movement. It was a
story of mass and class mobilization of people, for the fulfillment of
their immediate day-to-day needs and the ultimate aim of
independence and social advance. It was also thrilling and
occasionally chilling saga of both unarmed and armed struggles
interspersed with prisons, torture, bans and hangmans hoose.
These struggles embraced the entire spectrum of and variety of
social life, with special emphasis on abolition of untouchability,
caste hierarchy, land reforms, workers rights, educational advance,
literary and cultural revival. A number of different organizations
were built up to pursue these objectives and newspapers, magazines
and books were published systematically for the edification and
enlightenment.
Foundations Well-Laid
Because of these traditions of mobilizations, struggles and
articulation of popular demands, the first Kerala ministry had
almost a ready made agenda and Man of action. Chief Minister
EMS had an exceptionally talented team and without wasting time
they plunged into action in different fields like land reform,
decentralization of power educational reform, people-friendly police
policy, prison reform, spread of irrigation projects, rural health care,
revival of traditional industries, first steps towards advanced
industrialization.
Though the Chief Minister in his very first address to the
people over the All India Radio made it quite plain that
establishment of communism or socialism was not on his immediate
agenda and that he was concentrating on the implementation of the
promises made by Indian National Congress during the freedom
struggle and which were ignored on assuming power. He made
special references to congress resolutions on land reforms and
peoples rights in their Karachi and Faizpur resolutions. But
unfortunately the congress opposition with the support of vested
interests and communalists every popular measure adopted by the
ministry and describing even primary reforms as “totalitarian
communist designs” against democracy, church and religion. This
campaign ultimately resulted in the central government dismissing
EMS ministry even when it enjoyed a clear majority in the
legislative assembly.
This high-handed action in contravention of the spirit of the
constitution of India, not only slowed down the pace of social and
economic reforms but opened the flood gates of communalism and
casteism which has become the bane of Kerala politics even into the
21st century. But inspite of this sad nemesis of the first bold
experiment of social, economic and cultural reform in a state, the
successive governments which ruled Kerala during the fifty years of
its existence, often alternating between left and right, were never
able toe extricate themselves from the foundation stones of Kerala
model securely laid in 1957-59. Some ministries took up the
reforms to higher levels (like the second EMS ministry in 1967-69)
some others tried to slow down but none could stop the process or
reverse the momentum.
The Paradoxes
It is in this background that the so-called Kerala Model of
Development wit its abolition of land lordism, high literacy
percentage, women’s education which equals or even surpasses
men’s, ideal limited families, lowest child mortality and highest life
expectancy rates in the country, housing levels far better than the
rest of India etc. has attracted the attention of the world and earned
praises from World Bank to UNCTAD. The statistics and indices of
these remarkable achievements are too well-known to require any
repetition. The essence of all these is the high quality of life
achieved by the people and creditable social indices.
Euphoria over these incomparable achievements began to
subside during the last ten or fifteen years. How long the state will
be able to support these social security measures without any
growth in agricultural production or any signs of industrial growth.
From the mid seventies onwards Kerala’s agriculture is stagnant andin some key areas like food production is on a fast declining plain.
Traditional industries like coir, cashew, handloom, beedi,
bamboo mats etc. are in a state of deep crisis and there is no sign of
any significant rise in investment in modern industry.
Unemployment and especially educated unemployment rate is
perhaps higher in Kerala than other states. This is partly alleviated
by the migration of workers, technicians and professionals to other
countries and their remittance to home is a major source of Keralas
livelihood. But such sources are temporary and shifty and cannot berelied upon as permanent anchor.
A political structure and modus operandi suited to this new
turn in Kerala’s development which would prove as historic as was
the new turn taken about half a century ago, was devised and
initiated by the same man who led the first turn – viz
EMSNamboodiripad. It was devolution of substantial power to the
local self government institutions with sufficient representation for
dalits, women and other marginalized and weaker sections of
society. The development planning in this system is not from the top
and state level but from the grass root level. Planning is a popular
process with grama sabha (village assemblies) taking the lead.
Though there may be sectors of development which require state
level planning fifty to sixty percent of funds are utilized by
Panchayats, to implement their plans. So the planning and
development in a large measure is taken away from ministers and
bureaucrats at the helm and taken over by the people at large.
Education, health, environmental protection, agriculture, irrigation,
small-scale industrial enterprises including minor hydro electrical
projects. Representative democracy, which require delegation of
powers to representatives till the next elections is transformed, to an
extent by participatory democracy. The pople are not at the
receiving end of a patronizing state, but they are empowered,
trained and encouraged to shape their destiny themselves.
This experiment was a big success during the Left and
Democratic ministry of 1996-2001. But the right-wing ministry of
United Democratic Front (2001-2006) which followed almost killed
the process. Now the Left and Democratic front has again come to
power six months ago. It is hoped that the decentralization of power
and people’s planning is again taken up and Kerala Model is revived
with necessary corrections. Though the limitation of being a state
with limited powers are huge road blocks on the way, an alternate
development plan as we have explained can go a long way to save
Kerala from the brink of catastrophe.