Monday, June 23, 2008

Cry My Beloved Kerala

After each blog about Kerala I take a solemn vow that it’ll be my last. Many who visit my blogs on Kerala have come up with the uncomfortable poser that implies meaningless cribbing/all bark and no bite on my part – and they do have a point. Like they ask, what purpose does mere raving and ranting of a nonentity serve? Hence my resolve to keep mum while Kerala goes to the dogs its own way. But I find myself breaking that resolution over and over again. This time, the provocation was a heartbreaking sight I witnessed, peeping out through the blinds on the second floor of the building where I happened to be when the commotion took place.

Before I relate the episode, just a word about the significance of it: Right now, the opposition in Kerala is on the rampage, on account of a Class V11 textbook that they want withdrawn. Political parties no longer believe that ends DON’T justify the means. The concept of peaceful and civilized protest has been rooted out of the political soil of the state, and goonda raj reigns. Peeping out through the aforementioned blinds, I got a glimpse of the tragedy behind the goondaism in Kerala politics.

It was the last working day of the week at College. A handful of party workers (youth wing) shouted slogans outside the college gate and succeeded in getting the classes suspended for the day. This is a regular thing which we in the education sector have come to accept as part of ‘training the youth to become responsible citizens in a parliamentary democracy’. (Small wonder college teachers in Kerala chose to send heir children to the neighbouring states for post +2 education). To come back to the episode, as the trouble makers were withdrawing from the college gate after they achieved their goal, I ran to the window to have a good look at this tiny group which, in a matter of minutes, brought the days activities in an academic institution to a full stop.

What I saw continues to give me sleepless nights.

In all, there might have been 16-18 young men. Of those I spotted only five people who had that hard angry bigoted demeanor of seasoned party workers, the ‘leaders’ of the group. The rest were all young boys, very young boys, most certainly 2 or more years less than 20. Most of them were uniformed – probably from some professional or Arts & Science colleges that were trying to bring about discipline in their institutions by imposing the uniform rule. They stopped right below my window. The leaders started discussing something very animatedly. The hard, ruthless, pinched expressions on their faces and their aggressive, belligerent body language were scary, to say the least. In contrast, the fledglings who were with them just stood there looking from one leader to the other as the discussions continued. It was the expressions on their faces of these boys who have hardly shed their baby fat, that upset me. They were thoroughly bored, totally unenthusiastic, absolutely uninterested. Obviously they didn’t give a damn about any text that was prescribed for any class. They just stood there, some silent, some talking and laughing quietly at some private joke, obviously unconnected with the burning political issue at hand, while the ‘leaders’ continued their ‘serious’ decision on the ‘grave’ political issue. Soon the group split into two. One went northwards and the other southwards, led by the leaders. I saw the leaders say something to the their apprentices in both the groups as they moved in opposite directions. AS though following instructions, the youngsters – all of them- took out phones from their pockets and started speaking into them. In all likelihood, they were arranging reinforcement at the next venues to which they were headed to pursue their disruptive activities.

How did those boys, hardly out of their knickers, get into the company of these cantankerous characters up to no good, I wondered.

Were they paid for the day to add to the numbers of the strikers?

Were thy threatened and coerced into joining the party that meant nothing to them, to which they apparently had no ideological or any other affinity?

Where are they parents? Why are they so helpless that they can’t see to it that their offspring go to college and pursue their studies instead of becoming tools in the hands of anti social -yes, I mean anti social, it’s not a slip of the finger tips- elements?

My heart went out to the mothers whose hearts must be bleeding, at the fathers who must be racking their brains to figure out where they went wrong.

And I get an awful sinking feeling when I think of the fate of my beautiful Keralam whose future citizens are being moulded by such worthless scums.

9 comments:

  1. I dont think many parents are aware what their kids are upto once they leave for college.

    That explains why most young people take to drinking, smoking etc as soon as they start college. It somehow gives a wrong sense of freedom young minds always wait for. Sad!

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  2. Madam
    Its unfair you got agitated only seeing youth congress rallys now became violent. But have you ever responded when SFI DYFI goons attacked banks, offices and burnt may govt vehicles on Rajani suicide issue. The real reson was Rajani has been in love with an SFI leader and he cheated her. Ummen Chandy suffered a heavy setback due to this mudslinging done by CPM at that time.

    Its SFI and DYFI the facist forces in Kerala who induce violence. Its now for the first time congress resort to violence, its because Gandhian protests doesnt carry any weight. media person want something burning if to report an agitation. So blame it on Media

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  3. unfortunately we live in a state (I was born&brought up there)where all & sundry are strongly aware of "all our rights" but do not even understand the word "duty". The deep entrenched roots of communism has created an egaliatarian society( than the other states of India) but has spewed forth this whole group of political scumbags who simply dont believe in working at all,and preventing workers from doing so...look at our secretariats,our attimari,i mean look at everything in the State! The best of Kerala,for this reason is not in the State,but all over the universe...as some jokingly suggested" there will be a mallu thattukada on the moon".Disgusting is the first in the litany of words that is apt to describe the situation.From God's own land this has degenerated into his forgotten strip of green!Progress will pass us by(whatever means of measuring it-jobs,quality of life),if we dont kick out such unruly elements.Kick out these buggers from college,we dont need a lesson in citizenship and all that crap,we need to learn how to sit in our colleges.listen to lecturers,take down notes,write exams..do the thing that people call an education. Sit down in the library and read Karl Marx if you want to..but DO NOT DISRUPT day to daylife in the name of an education into politics.Shame on you,Kerala.Shame!!!! when will you get your act together?

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  4. @ annon
    i would have got equally agitated had it been Dyfi or SFi or BJP or god's own party. No one can be forgiven for messing around with the youth. I was reacting like a mother and a patriot. have no political affiliations whatsoever

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  5. the second comment to your blog sums it all up ! here you are trying to reach out to the heart of the problem and the only message mr. anonymous seems to get is 'why is she criticizing the opposition?'. Kerala, being such a highly literate and politically conscious state I can't sometimes help wondering whether these are actually desirable attributes for a population!!

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  6. @ renu
    good that kerala still generated such anger among NRIs.Strong feelings r better than indifference. so long as the NRIs on whom the state is so dependent is angry, there is some hope - provided they do something. people who give money can always be armtwisters
    @mathew
    u r right mathew. kerala has proved that literacy and political consciousness do not create civic sense, sense of responsibility and , as renu said, a sense of duty. The violence continues. everybody is disgusted.we, the people, feel so helpless and useless

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  7. yeah,i agree with mathew.opinions like those of anonymous are our doom....their outlook is clouded so much that there is no room for reason,common sense or thinking outside the box! They tend to have low discount rates and are short sighted.Most political systems are the products of their respective eras.You need some sort of discerning ability to understand the process.This is what a solid education does,tells us where we are in the scheme of things and what we need to do to be better.Sadly in the instance of Kerala political consciousness has come back and bit us hard in our a%%%%%. It is a sorry state of affairs,but it is even gruesome to see people think that it is not!

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  8. Just a personal q... have you taught at Little Flower College, Guruvayur?

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