After providing the first Dalit President (KR Narayanan) to the Nation, Kerala has attracted the lime light again by providing the nation with the first Dalit Chief Justice of India in the person of Justice KG Balakrishnan. The elevation of Justice Balakrishnan in the fiftieth year of formation of Kerala is from every angle, the best new year gift for the state that is in the forefront of social advancement in all South Asia.
The Kerala experience shows that the rise of the underclass has been brought about by education and not by Marxist activism. It also shows the irrelevance of Marxism as a revolutionary force in social advancement.
Sri Narayana Guru who attained Samadhi after a decade of the October revolution focused only on education to emancipate the poor and under privileged. He had no good word to speak about the Revolution. Chattambi Swamigal, Ayyan Kali and other social reformers also emphasized the role of education in emancipation rather than violent revolution.
In Kerala, Marxism worked against emancipation of the under class by promoting neo feudal politics. It provided new opportunity to the scions of feudal families to extend exploitation and domination of the underclass through politics.
Feudalism in Kerala would have crumbled without Marxism and feudal scions would have been compelled to work hard for a living but for Marxist politics.
Leaders like Jyoti Basu to EMS to Nayanar to AK Gopalan to Prakash Karat (the Marxist supreme leaders)rose from the upper crust of feudal society. Much of their stories show that they used ideology to ride and cling to power, rather than for emancipation of the oppressed from poverty and backwardness.
If the Marxists leaders were indeed, different from the normal run of leaders, they would not have been Chief Minister for life (like Jyothi Basu ) or assumed chief minister ship again and yet again (like EMS).
In 1957, EMS was working for the party in New Delhi and TV Thomas was the elected leader in the Kerala Assembly. TV Thomas was a capable leader. EMS had therefore, no business to come down to Kerala to take up Chief Minister Ship. Afterwards also, there were occasions to yield chief minister ship to Suseela Gopalan, VS Achuthanandan etc., but the upper caste leaders clung to power.
The record of the leaders proved that the secret agenda of the Marxist leaders was always power and not emancipation.
In 1947, the Marxist had labeled Jawaharlal Nehru a Kerensky in the hope that there will be an Indian Lenin who would establish proletarian dictatorship in New Delhi. However in the first decade of the third millennium they are quoting Nehru to oppose globalization and liberalization (embraced by China) forgetting that had Nehru been alive this would have been his policy too.
If the career of Marxism in Kerala is examined in historic perspective, it can be seen that it had only blocked the path of progress of the state. What progress that Kerala has achieved is indeed in spite of Marxism.
West Bengal was ruled by Communists for over a quarter of a century. It has today 28% of its population under poverty line in place of 12% of population in Kerala.
A party that opposed introduction of auto rickshaw to supplant manual rickshaws, that opposed modernization of coir, cashew production and mechanization of agriculture and finally introduction of computer deserve a place in museum but it is active in Kerala only because of its Goebellsian propaganda.
Individual empowerment through education is anathema to Marxist mass politics. Because of this Marxist see education as their greatest enemy.
Just as the Marxists have a vested interest in poverty, they have a vested interest in backwardness in education also.
Torpedoing of quality education has been (and is) the main agenda of the Marxist leaders in Kerala today.
They know well that education will empower the poor through better employment opportunities. The Marxists cannot visualize a Kerala where they will not have enough uneducated and unemployed followers to shout slogans and block production and development.
If the career of Marxism in Kerala is examined in historic perspective, it (the movement and its leaders) had only blocked the path of progress of Kerala.
But for the Marxists, education would have had faster growth and better standard in Kerala.
The destruction of quality education was (and is) the main secret agenda of the Marxist leaders in Kerala. They know well that education will empower the poor through better employment opportunities. They cannot visualize a Kerala where they will not have enough blind and uneducated and unemployed followers to shout slogans and block production and development. Prosperity in a democracy is the enemy of Marxism (all over the world Marxism has waned when the countries got prosperous).
The secret agenda in mounting violent opposition to the Self Financing initiative of the UDF in higher education, was not only to help the Education sharks in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on receipt of consideration, but also to thwart the very growth of higher education in the state for keeping Kerala backward.
Marxist activity has also been responsible for bringing down the quality of education in government run schools and colleges. Mass education and higher education is indeed the greatest threat that the Marxists are facing today.
If the career of Marxism in Kerala is examined in historic perspective, it (the movement and its leaders) had only blocked the path of progress of Kerala.
But for the Marxists, education would have had faster growth and better standard in Kerala.
The destruction of quality education was (and is) the main secret agenda of the Marxist leaders in Kerala. They know well that education will empower the poor through better employment opportunities. They cannot visualize a Kerala where they will not have enough blind and uneducated and unemployed followers to shout slogans and block production and development.
Marxists has been particularly responsible for bringing down the quality of education in government run schools and colleges mainly used by the poor. The leaders have seen to it that their wards are sent to the best private institution in or outside the state.
The secret agenda in mounting violent opposition to the Self Financing initiative of the UDF in higher education, was not only to help the Education sharks in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on receipt of consideration, but also to thwart the very growth of higher education in the state.
KS Ben the old communist leader who passed away in Alapuzha in his 83rd year is an example of thousands of brilliant citizens who failed to give meaning to their lives by adoption of Marxist road to emancipation.
With focus on education, people like Ben would have been better empowered and led richer lives.