Song of the Titanic

As the newly elected General Secretary and Captain of a sinking ship, Mr. Yechury's claim over Kerala's high per capita income as an attribute of the decades of Communist Rule is not surprising enough in an effort to gather a lost glory. Of course, Communist Rule had brought in landmark laws that metamorphosed the socio-economic fabric of the tiny stretch of land on the South West Coast of India, which hitherto had been known to outsiders as a lunatic asylum for the most inhumane exploitation under the caste system. Kerala, though not the richest state has got some of the enviable human development indicators comparable to that of the advanced countries of the world- be it literacy, sex ratio, per capita income, standard of living etc. Can the communists have all the credits for these? If so, why were they so biased to Kerala where they could not afford a steady rule as compared to West Bengal? That means there were something more to Kerala's advancement than a mere communist rule. The work of Christian Missionaries that not only made laudable achievements particularly in education and health but also set an inspiration to follow for Hindu Organisations like NSS and SNDP. Though religious in color and character, these organisations despite their non-secular flaws, complemented the State's effort in ensuring timely services for the citizenry. On the employment side, the Oil boom on the other side of the Arabian Sea absorbed the excess of the skilled, the semi-skilled and unskilled workers. In effect, the non-state actors have to be credited rather the Government who only fulfilled the job as an administrator.