Kerala This Week Ver 3.01, 2008

If you let it rot long enough, the stench will finally get to you. That is a lesson Kerala is learning, slowly, surely, and on a daily basis. The latest example is that - well, its actually today's example - a hardline, loyal party man had to finally call the spade from within his party, a spade, (and another spade, a monkey) giving the PB pre-poll jitters and sending the usually nagging lot to a huddle.

Whether it is due to his well-known rivalry against his arch rival within the party or a prelude to his almost certain exit with the image of a clean leader or actual respect for the constitution, the man stood up to refuse to politicize (and downplay) the charges of corruption levelled by the CBI against the communist party general secretary which includes siphoning off hundreds of crores of rupees in the pretext of getting us elecrticity and even a cancer therapy center. In any case, this single act requires appreciation, and kudos to the man for showing that he has a conscience (perhaps he discovered it a bit too late, or even searches for it selectively), but its something most of the other leaders, irrespective of the camp, appear to have lost forever.

While some of the party folks downplayed the corruption charges, most others childishly said its a conspiracy, blaming the central government and oppossition. Sadly, even some of the ministers criticized the CBI and said they will "deal with it politically", rather than legally. This is perhaps the saddest response any state can get, and even more painful is the fact that it reflects the state of Kerala today. If the people holding the highest positions of the government, supposed to uphold the constitution and ensure justice, respond this way, it is not suprising that the people of Kerala get no justice. It should not suprise us then why party workers rampage private and public property without second thought, party goons beat up police publicly, political leaders release criminals from jails by threatening cops. All this while the state rots.

If the UDF were in power today, and if these charges were against a member of the UDF or Congress, then all hell would have broken loose and the LDF party workers would have ensured that the government fell. But fortunately, or unfortunately, the UDF leaders appear to be less violent and are using the situation more as ammunition for the forthcoming elections. And rightfully so.

After hartal tourism and responsible tourism, now its the turn of paddy-field tourism. Students from Virginia, USA, landed in Kerala for a hands-on experience of traditional cultivation in the paddy fields of Kerala. May be a good idea, just in case we need people to work in our farms since all our hard working farmers are on the verge of suicide and the other lot are busy with party work. But if you are a party man and you have crores of money to invest, then we have better options such as entertainment parks, resorts, and even a "health and recreation center". The CPI-M, after "the successful launch of an amusement park in Kannur", under the banner of the Perinthalmanna Co-operative Health and Recreation Centre, is opening a Rs.40 crore center in 6.5 acres of land.

It also looks like the soothsayer's prediction of doomsday is finally nearing. It appears that the global economic crisis is forcing back Keralites from across the world back home, in hordes, even as the great professor is still working on the math, with some good help from the Planning Commission to make the numbers. While the people in Kerala are themselves struggling for even basics like water (the infamous Japan Bank for International Co-operation drinking water project has ensured that theres plenty of water on the roads from broken pipelines, but none for drinking still!), electricity (increasing power tarrifs and incessant power cuts and its not even summer), and making ends meet, wonder what is in store for us in the coming years.