Which Nava Kerala are we heading towards?
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The LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala completes four consecutive years in its second term today. For the first time in the state, the LDF, having completed nine years in power and entering its tenth, is confident that its governance will continue into a third term. Celebrations marking the occasion have been taking place under the leadership of the Chief Minister in district headquarters from the north to the south of Kerala since April 23. In his preamble to the fourth anniversary celebrations, the Chief Minister stated that this occasion is a message Kerala is presenting to the world—one that embodies comprehensive, all-encompassing development and social progress grounded in equality and fraternity.
While extending congratulations to the government that has completed nine years in office, Madhyamam pointed out at the start of the celebrations that Nava Kerala must become a reality not through claims, but at a practical level—one that people can truly experience. The intense efforts made by the government to overcome difficulties caused by pressure and tightening from the central government should not be overlooked. At the same time, the Left government has the responsibility to safeguard the state from falling into a crisis that could overthrow Nava Kerala, which embodies equality and fraternity, particularly in matters of internal affairs that lie solely within the state’s jurisdiction and cannot be blamed on the Centre. However, alongside the central government’s anti-people policies, the state government—which raises its voice against them—has, through its own shortcomings, also become a double burden that the people of Kerala must endure. Those most affected are the marginalised sections of society. The police department, directly overseen by the Chief Minister, has come under the most criticism in the Left government. The fact that it has largely been used to oppress the weak and those living a stigmatised life is a paradox of the Left-led government in Kerala. The hardships faced by those living hand-to-mouth over the past three weeks are prime examples of this.
Popular rap singer Vedan, also known as Hirandas Murali, was arrested by the Forest Department with six grams of cannabis, and the police also seized a pistol from Pulippally. He was charged under stringent sections carrying up to seven years of imprisonment — this is just one example. The arrest, in a case for which he was to be released on station bail, was made amid extraordinary uproar. Upon discovering the pistol in Pulippally, the Forest Department rushed to make the arrest without allowing any further investigation. The Left government’s Forest Minister told the court that Vedan should prove his innocence. Vedan’s rap performance, which had been confirmed as part of the government’s anniversary celebrations, was cancelled by order of another minister. However, widespread criticism arose from all quarters that Vedan’s harsh arrest in the Left’s own land—which claims to strive for an ‘equitable Nava Kerala’—was evidence of double standards. The court restrained the police’s haste. As a result, the government was shaken. It suppressed the matter, released Vedan, and later compensated him by offering him opportunities to perform on stage.
Even before the uproar over that incident subsided, news emerged of a Dalit woman being arrested and brutally tortured by the police, who kept her at the station for 20 hours on the accusation of theft. The woman, Bindu, a Dalit, was subjected to inhumane treatment at the Peroorkada police station following a complaint by a household where she worked, after a necklace reportedly went missing. The police allegedly forced her to confess to the theft and registered a case. They denied her the food brought from home, and when she asked for drinking water, she was told to use the toilet instead. Once the family informed the police that the necklace had been found, she was released with a warning not to return anywhere near them. Mentally traumatised, Bindu later approached the Chief Minister’s office with her lawyer to file a complaint. However, according to Bindu, the officials there did not even read the complaint properly and instead attempted to justify the police’s actions. As in previous incidents, once the matter became controversial, the government attempted to save face by suspending the Sub-Inspector of the station. The Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, P. Sasi, later explained that after Bindu arrived at the office, the complaint was taken seriously and instructions for an investigation were issued.
It was on 22 February 2018 that Madhu, an Adivasi man from Attappady, was lynched by a mob on the allegation of stealing rice. At the time, the Chief Minister described it as a barbaric act unworthy of a civilised society. Five years later, the same barbarity repeated itself when an Adivasi youth who had come to the premises of Kozhikode Medical College to be with his wife was accused of stealing a mobile phone and some money, and was subjected to a mob assault. Then too, when the Adivasi community sought justice, it was the police who responded with curses and humiliation. Even as Kerala boasts of having moved forward from the age of renaissance into the third phase of Nava Kerala, the inhuman treatment of marginalised lives remains unchanged. If this is the harsh and unfeeling system of power the Left government upholds even towards the pain of Adivasis, Dalits, and other backward communities, what kind of Nava Kerala is it really leading us into?
