 |
||
|
||
|
||
A powerful field that can control the society is education. At present the education sector in Kerala is under the control of minorities, who are politically influential and economically sound through the remittances made by the Non- Resident Keralites (NRK). While the minorities manage 3,340 schools in the state, the entire Hindu jatis altogether are in possession of 194 schools only. The Muslim and Christian communities altogether manage 223 arts and science colleges, whereas all Hindu jatis together manage only 42 colleges (vide Matrubhumi daily, September 28, 2002). Out of the 433 professional colleges, only 86 are government-owned, 89 are Hindu-managed while 258 are managed by the minorities (G.K. Suresh Babu, Kesari Annual, 2004). While all minorities are permitted to impart religious education in their respective educational institutions, this right is denied to Hindu institutions. Moreover, the Hindu students in the minority institutions are forced to study moral science, which infuse anti-Hindu sentiment in them. This is the best known Kerala model of secularist-democratic paradigm.
Why does it happen so? No doubt, the reason is that Hindus are economically as well as politically a marginalised group in Kerala. The lessons in history of the ancient civilisations were destroyed by the Semitic religions' invasion, and the situation is not very different from the present state of affairs for Hindus in Kerala. A major share of the state exchequer is spent on the maintenance of education in the state. The last 48 years in the history of education in the state reveal that only one Hindu minister handled the portfolio of education and that too for a period of four years and three months; for the rest of the period this portfolio was handled by only minority communities-this is the reality. The minority ministers, who managed the portfolio of education, helped the minority community managements in an out-of the way manner. Lending to minority educational institutions a helping hand-both the Right and the Left coalitions- played a similar role. Both coalitions are still following minority appeasement as their de facto policy. This will result in an alarming situation. Out of the state's 1,99,000 school teachers of all classes, the Hindus' (inclusive of SCs/STs) share is 38 per cent only; the rest are minorities. As per the 1997 statistics, Kerala has 14,200 college teachers; 76 per cent of the college teachers belong to the minority communities (G. K. Suresh Babu, op cit.). All these are instances of an unorganised, demographically ever-shrinking Hindu community of Kerala.
In the health care scenario also, the minorities have a clear upper hand. The Hindu community has only 10 hospitals as their own, while 928 belong to the minorities (Matrubhumi daily, op cit.). “Two three multi-speciality hospitals are functioning in every town. Who is controlling this multi-million investment sector?” (Malayalam Varika, op cit.).
Similarly, the Hindu share in the industry, agriculture and commerce is 28, 24 and 22 per cent respectively. At the same time, the Muslim share is 30, 23 and 40 per cent and Christian share is 35, 40 and 36 per cent respectively (Matrubhumi daily, op cit.). I think, like the Hindus of Kerala, no other community in the world is marginalised as much. In several sectors, Hindus lag behind, but in the case of suicides they are in the fore-front. Kerala’s suicidal rate is above the national average, i.e. 30.5 for every lakh. A recent NGO study reveals that 92 per cent of the total population which committed suicides comprised of Hindus, 6.5 per cent of Christians and 1.5 per cent of Muslims. Insolvency is the main reason for the mass suicides in Kerala.
The Kerala government’s allotment of new self-financing professional colleges has come as a rude shock to the marginalised Hindus of Kerala. Due to the economic backwardness of the Hindus, it is difficult to compete with the minority communities for starting professional colleges. The result will be the kick out of those who are now living as socially and economically backwards in the Hindu society. In the medical education field alone, the Hindus will lose 250 seats every year. Those Hindus who come under the purview of reservation will lose 3,800 engineering seats and 100 MBBS seats every year. After two decades, in the SC/ST section alone there will be a shortage of 74,000 engineers and 2,000 doctors at the present rate.
Education and economic progress are closely linked with Kerala life. Therefore, any imbalance that is arising in the educational field, even though it is negligible, will be reflected a hundred times in the economic scenario. In the near future, because of educational backwardness alone, Hindus will be forced to live on the periphery of the society.
In the democratic process, votes are decisive factors. No doubt, the numerically ever-shrinking Hindus will lose relevance in the political structure of Kerala in the near future. Since Independence, for every decade, the Hindu population in Kerala has been falling at the rate of more than 1 per cent. If this trend continues, within not less than three decades Hindus will lose their majority status in the state. At present, technically the Hindus are the majority community. But the minority religious groups have a clear sway over the political, economic and educational fields of Kerala. It is no wonder that Hindus of Kerala, who are destined to be minority in the near future, will be thrown out of all fields of socio-economic activities. This will be a great tragedy for Hindus. In 1947, Muslims of India were a minority community with a 24 per cent share. But that much strength of the Muslims led to the division of India. Nagaland and Mizoram have turned into Christian-majority states. Soon there broke out discontent and insurgency along with divisive tendencies. To a large section of the Christian brethren, the Hindu became an indigestive element in the north-east. If so, what will be the history of Kerala after three decades?
(Concluded)
(The author is Head of the PG Department
of History, CMS College, Kottayam, Kerala-686 001. His residential address
is Chavanickamannil House, Vadavathoor P.O., Kottayam, Kerala-686 010.)
|
||
|
||
|
||