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- Feb 20, 2021
- 9 min
Unravelling Backdoor appointments, the struggle of PSC rankholders and what ails Kerala Politics
The issue of ‘backdoor appointments’ to government and public sector jobs have animated politics in the state. What is the reality of the situation? A meme based on the question of ‘seniority’ at death from the film. In the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking, one of the sub-plots involve Sai Kumar arriving in Kochi to take up a job offered to him on compassionate grounds after his father died in a fire. Unfortunately, he finds his appointment blocked (yet again) by a lady
- Feb 14, 2021
- 3 min
Another Assault on the Tantri, Temple And Tradition.
From An Unknown Utsavam, Credits: Mathrubhumi The inherent dissonance in the State Government(s) running Hindu Religious Institutions and proclaiming itself to be ‘secular’ is an apparent contradiction that has been repeated to death by many in the ‘right’ side. The idea that devotees should have direct control over the temple institutions that they worship is now a mainstream idea among the Online ‘Right’. Yet, the idea has not had sufficient political mobilization on the gr
- Dec 22, 2020
- 12 min
The Great Red Resurgence
An Analysis of the 2020 Kerala Local Body Elections A jubilant Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan with other LDF leaders: Communist Party of India State Secratery Kanam Rajendran, CPI Leader Panniyan Raveendran, Former State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and other LDF leaders including Jose K Mani are visible. (Credits: TNM) The results of the Local Body Elections in Kerala have undoubtedly shocked everyone, including the Left Democratic Front who emerged as the overwhelming vi
- Dec 14, 2020
- 4 min
Can HR & CE Departments be secular?
No, they cannot. On the recent decision of the Karnataka High Court to dismiss two petitions challenging the appointment of two non-Hindus in the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments Department. The Karnataka High Court recently dismissed two petitions challenging the appointment of Non-Hindus in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of Karnataka. The first petition sought to restrain a Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim from entering the Mahalingeshwara T
- Dec 12, 2020
- 5 min
The Inevitable Death of Two Front Politics in Kerala
K. Karunakaran (UDF) and E.K. Naynar (LDF) who were the scions of the two fronts in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the Assembly elections in 1982, prompted by the resignation of K. Karunakaran, Kerala has experienced Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) rule one after another. This ‘settled’ nature of politics has meant that vote shares vary only slightly among the two fronts, with the major constituents of the LDF and UDF staying intact. While factions
- Sep 20, 2020
- 5 min
Communist Green, Gold and Red
Communist Green (Chromolaena odorata) an invasive plant species, seen in Road sides of Kerala The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been struggling with its political narrative in Kerala since the Sabarimala debacle of the 2018 issue and the disastrous results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Election. After admitting the Sabarimala debacle in May 2019, a controversy broke out over a rape accusation against Binoy Kodiyeri, the son of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the CPI(M) Kerala General
- Apr 4, 2020
- 2 min
Regarding Disaster Relief Fund allotment to Kerala
A brand new controversy has broken out regarding the allocation of disaster relief funds to States in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The problematic issue seems to be the ‘paltry’ ₹157 crore Kerala has received, despite having a high number of cases. However, this allocation was not made today but was made as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission Report tabled in the Parliament on 1st February 2020. The ₹157 crore Kerala received is the first installment
- Sep 8, 2019
- 2 min
The aesthetics of Onam
If you were to take a walk in any of the cities or towns of Kerala this past Thursday or Friday, you would see a higher than usual proportion of men and women decked out in traditional clothes. Men would be wearing a mundu and shirt, along with shades (if they are cool enough to pull if off) while women would be wearing what is referred to as a “Kerala set sari“, sometimes with a set of Jasmine flowers on their hair. It is a phenomenon across Kerala, on the last working day b
- Nov 14, 2017
- 4 min
Industrialization: an examination of land usage in Kerala
An article examining land usage in Kerala and the question of industrialization. A paddy field in Kozhikode. Paddy production has declined by more than half since the 1980’s in Kerala. (Credits: Ajeeb Komachi) I had written an article on how the Kerala Model is non-existent and how the state is entirely dependent on Remittances. Many of those responses I have received were about how the state has no land for massive industrialization. Is this so? Firstly, Let’s look at the d
- Jun 20, 2017
- 3 min
Kerala: The “Money Order economy”, indeed.
But what if the money order never got through? Kerala’s Economic growth since the late 80s has been the product of a remittance economy. As I have discussed multiple times on social media, Kerala’s economy is an unstable one, composed as it is, primarily of remittances sent in to Kerala by Non Resident Keralites which totaled over ₹71,000 crores in 2013. As I had calculated, 36.3% of Kerala’s economy is derived from remittances. This is why Financial Express famously describe
- May 27, 2017
- 2 min
No beef hasn’t been banned.
The recent notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has run into controversy as it restricts the sale of cattle slaughter in animal markets. In response to the rules, Kerala (with a communist government) has called it a “neo-fascist” move to turn India into a “Hindu Rashtra”, as it bans beef. Well, a close reading of the rules notified – “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 “ Betrays that beef has not
- Apr 9, 2017
- 4 min
What you think is not the last word on things.
Written in response to “The cow is not our mother, Hindutva means nothing to us”: A devout and ‘proud’ Malayali Hindu” This article was published as the response of those belonging to Hindu Community of Kerala. I deconstruct it and decipher it. Written as “A devout and ‘proud’ Malayali Hindu” Certain ignorant fundamentalists now in power should understand this before targeting Malayalees for their defiance against myths of Akhand Bharat and the beliefs of north. I’m sorry, bu
- Mar 29, 2017
- 3 min
A welcome break for Kerala
The Transport Minister of Kerala Shri A.K. Saseendran resigned on Sunday, just hours after a newly launched private channel aired an alleged obscene/lewd conversation with a woman who had approached the minister for registering a complaint.
A congressman from his student life, he has been a prominent face in Kerala Politics for more than 30 years. When Sharad Pawar rebelled against Sonia Gandhi’s stewardship in the late 90s, he too joined the Nationalist Congress Party, whic
- Mar 26, 2017
- 2 min
Is a light metro necessary for Kozhikode?
The Kerala Budget has focused itself on investing in “high class infrastructure” to be engines of growth. A variety of projects are to be developed under the reliable stewardship of the KIIFB, including Highways, Stadiums and Elephant Rehabilitation Centers. One of the main projects mooted for urban infrastructure is the Light Metro Projects in Kozhikode and Thiruvanathapuram. (From my understanding of Thiruvanathapuram as well, I believe these observations made in the contex
- Mar 24, 2017
- 4 min
Reviewing Public Sector Employment in Kerala
The Public Sector is no longer the primary employer in the organized sector. I had written an article on Swarajya almost a month ago, about PSUs in Kerala and how Public Sector Employment is viewed in the state. I had briefly reviewed the burden that is being created on the state for the unreasonable number of ‘employment opportunities’ that were being ‘created’. After the release of Kerala’s Economic Review for the last Financial Year (2015–16), one can have a more through r
- Mar 22, 2017
- 3 min
100 crores for building theaters and 10 crores for Library Council: Warped Priorities?
Kerala has one of the leading HDIs in the Country, which is even comparable to developed nations. The continuous investments in the welfare, health and education sectors funded by the Gulf. In recent years, as I have noted, the unstable nature of the Kerala economy has come into the fore: how long can the state depend upon remittances by NRIs? Coming to the point of the article, Kerala leads in literacy in the country. This has been the result of a variety of social reform mo
- Mar 21, 2017
- 2 min
Kerala’s Budget exposes the state’s lacunae in acquiring land.
The 2016–17 Kerala Budget has been in the news including international media for promising a “right to internet” forget that it is by and far just a declaration, with a fund established to develop an optical fiber cable network. What caught my attention, however are some of the other declarations/announcements in the Budget. I am concentrating here on a single announcement here, one relating to the Kozhikode Airport. This was the announcement that was made: A rather innocuous