Re: [nukkad] Verdict is Yours : 118

I don't think high literacy and intellectual capabilities have
anything to do with spread of communism in Kerala. It may be the other
way round.

During the first half of 20th Century, Kerala was perhaps the worst in
terms of untouchability, caste discriminations etc. Swami Vivekananda
once called Kerala a House of Mad People. It was the sustained work of
early Communists that transformed Malayalees, at least superficially.
The untouchables and the underprivileged were made aware of their
rights and were organized to  fight for their rights. When the
Communists entered electoral fray, it was this mass base that helped
them win the first election in 1957. When they came to power in 1957,
they set out to reform the education sector, to ensure that teachers
are paid decent salaries etc. and those moves put Kerala firmly on the
road to achieving near 100 percent literacy. Adoption of small family
norms etc. were fallouts of the achievements in education sector.

While commending the Early Communists for this, one should also not
forget the enlightened attitude of the then Maharaja of Travancore,
who was reformist enough to put education on top of his agenda.
Travancore had a headstart over Malabar in terms of education.

Communists still hold on to its base, in spite of degeneration of
quality of its leadership. It is the Communists who set the agenda in
Kerala Politics and Congress and others merely reacts.

I have little understanding of the politics of West Bengal but from
what I understand CPM systematically spread its tentacles in every
village so much so that any dissenting voice is silenced promptly.
(Nandigram violence was perhaps an attempt to make an example of
dissenting people). Other political parties find it impossible to
penetrate the Party villages, where the writ of the Party Boss only
runs.  Similar experiments have been successfully completed in several
villages in the Kannur District of Kerala.  It is only the RSS that is
fighting the CPM hegemony in Kannur and that leads to constant clashes
between CPM and RSS workers in Kannur. In the first week of March 7
persons were hacked to death due to such political rivalries. The
violence is usually less when Communists are out of power (i.e. when
they don't control police).

Though the contribution of early communists to the development of
Kerala cannot be ignored, the present day communists are
systematically undermining democracy. Swami Vivekananda called Kerala
a House of Mad people on the basis of its abhorrent castiest
practices, that description still holds good, albeit in the political
context.

I don't know how a spaniard reacts to a bull-fight but in Kerala,
political heat is generated because there is substantial opposition to
Communists, especially among the Muslims and Christians. Unlike West
Bengal where Party Villages are well entrenched, in Kerala, Communists
and anti-communists are evenly balanced. It is a small minority of
discerning voters that votes out the incumbant Government.

Keralites are Socialists at heart. They give equal chance to
Communists and Anti-Communists to loot the State for every alternate 5
years. That is until the Communists succeed in establishing Party
Villages in other parts of the State. There after they all will be
communists, the west bengal way.

To answer Dr. Gupta's query, the difference may not be between the
communists of WB and Kerala, but the educational achievements of
Kerala. What the Communists helped to achieve, may be coming in the
way of their converting Kerala into a collection of Party Villages
like WB. Like the Narakasur.

Venu





On 3/19/08, Dr.M.C. Gupta  wrote:
>
> [This message contained attachments that have been removed.]
>
>
> 1. Kerala and WB are at place 1 and 12 in order of literacy rates in India.
> There are 10 states in between. WB is nowhere near Kerala. See
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_India
>
> 2. Intellectuality is not a known or defined or measurable variable
> recognised or used in knowledge / psychology / brain related fields.
> Comparing intellectuality of two societies may be a wild goose chase.
>
> M C Gupta
>
> ============================================
>
>
> On 3/19/08, Indian Rediff  wrote:
> >
> > I'd like to say that it is the high literacy and intellectual
> > capabilities of both regions that makes Communism so attractive -
> > intellectually.
> >
> > What they forget (being so intellectual) is that when human beings are
> > put in charge of making these ideals work, they get reduced to their
> > lowest common denominator - greed.
> >
> > Which is why democracy and capitalism are the only systems that appear
> > to work - but sadly are still inadequate froma  poor person's POV.
> >
> > Of course, this is my own unintelligent POV.
> >
> > Sai
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 2:42 PM, Dr.M.C. Gupta  wrote:
> > >  I have always wondered what is common to Kerala and West Bengal,
> > rendering
> > >  them the only bastions of the Left Communist ideology in India.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from
> > the animals. [Thinks] Except the weasel. - Homer Simpson
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
> --
> Prof. M C Gupta
> MD (Medicine), MPH,  LL.M.,
>
> Advocate & Health and Medico-legal Consultant
>
> mcgupta44@gmail.com
> www.writing.com/authors/mcgupta44
> http://mcgupta44.blogspot.com/
>
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