Can We Do What Karnataka Did?

I was on a much needed holiday to Kerala. After persistent requests, my boss agreed for a 5 day leave and I booked the first kf flight from Mumbai to Kochi. Its not that I could have easily afforded it but a bagful of credit cards and a above 300 stand on waiting lists on most trains made me to go by air. Kochi was not my final summit, as it was Haripad. Aravi was also with me. We hired an auto from aerodrome and got down to Athani then a bus to Alwaye then to Ernakulam and then a bus to Tvpm. It was a mockery of travel and I quickly observed that I was getting more inadaptable to Kerala climes. The jubha that I wore was making me sweat profusely and the total chaos on a Saturday morning office hour also was not making my travel worth enjoying.

Inside the KSRTC super fast to tvpm via haripad.

I settled at my fav. seat just behind the driver. My mom had always warned never to sit behind the driver but still I do that almost every time. Aravi retired for a snooze and i opened up the latest issue of outlook. The cover story being BJP’s thumping and near unexpected win in Karnataka. Even more surprising for me who was raised in a political environment which boasted of only two political fronts, the left and the never right UDF (either u or me). In between my serious reads I often passed some passing glances on the moving objects on the outside.

The images shown by the self projected gods own country was thoroughly disturbing me. The consumerist face of Kerala was highly visible on the hundreds of billboards that popped on either sides of the highway. It was of hotels, 24 carat gold stores, bars, real estate developers etc. the Crumbling living spaces, eroding family values, highly affluent life styles,spiritual anarchism and the total disregard for environs. the Kerala I knew a few years back has witnessed a whirlpool of transition. It is no longer a haven of simple, sincere, innocent and laidback junta. It is on its high way up to match with more affluent societies you will see anywhere else. Is it a sign of a state moving ambitiously up or a misled society who are agonisingly on a deep disastrous journey to nowhere? I simply don’t know!! So what.
all alarming signs of a nation on a freefall. Kochi, where I touched down, which is set to undertake some gleaming projects in near future look like a place still not fully graduated beyond a big town. It took me 2 hrs to get out of Ernakulam for a 20 km stretch. There were more cars in streets than pedestrians. Kerala is still in a royal honeymoon. People are lazing around with all that it is provided by the nature. Nature has pampered us with everything, Rivers, rains, Sea, Mountains, climate, soil and we respond to this by taking it with all might forgetting that there is surely life after us. Kerala is behaving more of as a rogue American state. There is now minimal cultivation (except the rubber which made many prosper), degrading environment, land mafia, hartal, employee unrests, spiritual anarchism, suicides, over boozing et all. Sizable chunk of Kerala’s productive population is out of state cos the near zero industrial presence.
Even after all these grave issues Kerala is still surviving but the question is for how long. I too don’t know it’s a mystery. Human development indexes claim it to be the most literate state in India but of what good when these people can’t get a job in their state. The best male female ratio when it reports the maximum no. of sexual abuse and home violence .its all happening in Kerala ironically considered being the most ideal place to nest in by many (including me)…
This sorry state has in a big way been paved by the political scenario in Kerala. The hype and promises shown by the left at the beginning of their term is largely unmet. Sadly it again proves that everyone can play devil advocate with élan and all our leaders play the role well when they are in opposition benches. The down fall starts when the transition occurs from the opposition benches to the leaders of the ruling party, the might and vigour they had previously shown is largely oozed out. Once they grace the power citadels they make a mockery of the reputation and agenda they preached and spread. Communism in Kerala is ailing even if nobody openly admits. The one thing that all Malayalee communists forget is what Marx prophetically said “there is only one constant in this world and that is change”. The role played by communists in grafting the socio- economic frame work is world known and the Kerala model of development has achieved magical acclaim. The well being secular mosaic, cultural movements it paved, the revolutionary land reforms, the strengthening of unorganised sectors are all milestones communists rule in the state. The strengthening of the society on class, religious and economic bands have been in a big way fashioned by the reds. The acerbic ideology and principles of communists are nowhere to be seen. The pleasure that the militant employee unions and trade unions get out of running the industries and job providers fails to brighten up my imagination A Volkswagen official once quipped the redtapism and sloth ness shown by Kerala towards VW when they came up with setting the factory in Kerala. It later went to Poona and it in its last stage of development. The business activities growing up in the vicinity of the plant makes me regretfully feel what a big miss it was to have them out. This was just one of the incidents in a long procession of our lack of concern for states development. Keeping in mind all they did in the yesteryears I feel they need to refashion themselves very rapidly. Times are changing its good to be sounding against exploitation but shouldn’t be at the expense of state’s devt.
As far as congress party is concerned less said the better. They run on wafer thin principles and are the perfect opportunists. they very well know that as soon as the left gov. came in power that their wait for the power citadels is just 5 yrs away, after which they will be running the gov on a 2/3 majority as is repeated in history.
But by assuming power can congress initiate any change the answer may be in full earnest be a big no. so there exactly lies the need for alternate option and eventually a third front.

The correlation

This is just a vague and a infactual conclusion. Get a more bigger participatory democracy in our state. Give more push to the newer parties and candidates. Karnataka has well shown us that to break out of the mould give the less formidable a chance. Crack more options and give the next in cue a chance. Let’s get a Yediyurappa from someone of us. There can be differences in geographical sizes and the aspirations of the people of the two states but the bottom line would be to vote for a change. A change which is unprecedented.

My arithmetic

A government of
Congress alone = hopeless
Left = wud have been gr8 10-15 yrs ago. wud be much better if they undergo some tumultuous changes in outlook.
Third front {BJP + Madani’s PDP+ congress - M, B, independents} = more vocal and hence more democratic. Can be good. Let’s give it a try.

P.S. All expressions are time bound and as is the nature of politics can always be subjected to change. And Still red at heart.