Author: Dr C.I. Issac
Publication: Organiser
Date: September 26, 2004
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=42&page=41
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.)
