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Not one political party in Kerala has the right to point fingers at any party. Every one of them has succumbed to various pressures to gain power or stay in power. This process has made communalism in the state grow from strength to strength. In fact, Kerala’s claim to be a secular state with an enlightened people has long been disproved — ever since the “liberation struggle” of 1959, launched under the leadership of the Congress, the Church, Muslim minorities and other communal organisations, to overthrow a democratically elected communist-led government.
Recently, Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony observed that the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that minorities have gained considerable political advantage because parties have succumbed to pressures from them. He went on to say that money flowing in from the Gulf and the US had created social imbalances. His observations have met with a mixed reception. While he has been accused of pandering to soft Hindutva by his political opponents, including those in his own party, BJP leaders have welcomed the statement, seeing something they can exploit in the next election.
It would be fair to say that Antony realises the mistakes committed by the Congress and recognises that one of the curses Kerala is suffering from is that of governments playing into the hands of communal parties under the pretext of protecting minorities. The growing communal divide, based on religion and caste, has gravely hampered advancement in the state. Leaders of political parties across the spectrum have appealed to NRIs and other investors to come to Kerala. They have jointly extended their hand of cooperation. But when a proposal is accepted during the rule of one front, the other will oppose it and vice versa. Whether that particular project is good for the state is of secondary consideration. Most investment schemes, therefore, have been vetoed on the basis of petty rivalry, with the state emerging as the ultimate sufferer.
No government in the state has so far behaved in a non-partisan manner. It has invariably bent over backwards to appease religion and caste-based parties in the search for stabilising its rule. Take the district of Malappuram, a Muslim stronghold, formed when the League was in alliance with the then Marxist-led government. The Congress-led front, when its turn came, succumbed to the demand of the powerful Nair community and created Pathanamthitta, a district where there is a Nair majority. Everything thus comes to be viewed through the lenses of community identity: New districts, state sector corporations, PSC memberships, judicial appointments, new universities. The divide extends to every field of activity. Even writers and artists are recognised on the basis of religion and caste!
The Muslim League — considered by the Congress high command and the Left to be communal at the national level — is conveniently considered secular in Kerala, even as this party shifts its allegiance from one Front to the other for its own purposes. The Indian National Congress first aligned with it, claiming that it is secular given the “special situation” that prevailed. That “special situation” was only to keep communist parties and their allies at bay. The Congress only had an “affair” with the League in the 1959 elections, following the fall of the first communist ministry in the state led by EMS. But the CPM, in order to wean the League away from the Congress and to get a majority, “married” it in 1965. This led to the formation of the CPM-Left front ministry of EMS. When that ministry fell in 1969, the CPM promptly divorced the Muslim League, and the Congress gratefully accepted an alliance with it. In the process, the Muslim League emerged as a crucial player in Kerala politics. In the sixties, it was granted only a few seats in a coalition. Today, it demands and gets a large chunk of the total 140 assembly seats in the state.
No government or party, at present, can take a decision without getting it endorsed by religious and community leaders and, consequently, the only real minority left in Kerala are those who believe in secularism. This lot is neither in a position of being able to exert an influence on the administration, nor is it taken seriously by the administration. What Antony said, he has said out of his own helplessness. But, unfortunately, reactions to his observations have only made things extremely difficult for him.
The fact is that in Kerala today
the truth cannot be uttered, regardless of its relevance. Does Swami Vivekananda’s
description of Kerala as a “lunatic asylum” still hold true?
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