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Kerala's cup of woes

When a Class V student talks so casually about organising a demonstration, you know it's time to move on!' a friend told me ruefully. His child was studying in Kerala. The class-teacher apparently forbade the students to switch on the fan. The aggrieved youngsters' first reaction was to try a wildcat strike. My friend and his wife had a different reaction --- to move out of Kerala with its freewheeling attitude that encourages organising a 'samaram' at the slightest provocation. Both of them love their home state, so it wasn't a decision they made lightly, but they have now settled in Delhi.

Those parents who are still in Kerala need not, however, fear that their own wards shall be similarly tempted. After all, the question of switching on a fan won't arise in the first place when there is no power at all!

Don't laugh. Given the Antony ministry's decision to roll back the hike in electricity tariffs, there is a real possibility that the state shall soon plunge into darkness. If tariffs aren't raised, there won't be any money to pay the bills; without money to buy electricity, Kerala is on a one-way track to a new Dark Age.

How did Kerala get into such a mess? Within living memory the state used to have a surplus of power, enough that it would sell the same to neighbours. But lack of maintenance, successive governments scared to take tough decisions, and a phenomenally poor work culture have contributed to the current state of affairs.

It is not just electricity that has been mismanaged. Kerala's finances have been handled so badly that the state is close to being officially declared bankrupt. A K Antony got a small taste of how bad affairs were almost as soon as he assumed office. He wanted to fly to Delhi on official business, but his office found that Indian Airlines was reluctant to issue the chief minister a ticket. Why? Because Kerala's pending bills with the airline had crossed all decent limits!

The new chief minister's early steps were courageous enough. He took on the unions, imposing some restraints on the flabby, pampered government servants (a term that covers even teachers). That was possible largely because the civil servants found themselves utterly deprived of public sympathy when they went on strike. But, the people of Kerala seemed less eager to pay more for electricity.

Part of the problem is that the political leadership has utterly failed to educate the people. There is a competitive populism, where the groups in opposition denounce every sensible economic measure as "following the BJP's policies".

Kerala has been dominated by two fronts --- one each led by the CPI-M and the Congress. And each recent assembly election has been dominated by a 'throw the bums out' mood --- the Left Democratic Front winning in 1987, the United Democratic Front in 1991, the Left returning in 1996, and then the Congress-led front in 2001. The simple fact is that both fronts have failed to provide decent administration, and they suffer at the hustings each time.

But administration is almost bound to suffer when neither of the two major parties --- the Congress and the CPI-M --- has a majority in the assembly, forcing both to cater to the whims of a multitude of smaller groups. Hard decisions are never taken. (It took a warning from the Reserve Bank before the Antony ministry moved against lazy public servants.) When such a decision is taken, you can be sure that the opposing front will take to the streets to protest against the "anti-people measures".

The result is that everyone in Kerala seems to believe that his/her life must be subsidised. Keralites want cheaper rice, cheaper transport, cheaper electricity, and totally free schooling. Who is going to pay for all this? Since everyone expects the Government of Kerala to pick up the tab, small wonder that the state is rapidly heading for bankruptcy!

Adding to the mess is the increasing lumpenisation of life in Kerala. I remember that differences in opinion could be discussed in a civilised fashion; today, they are just as likely to be settled in a street-fight. Even political murders no longer make quite the headlines that they used to. So help me, even church faction fights are now being settled on the streets!

The good news is that the state is close to hitting rock-bottom. The Antony administration has no choice but to follow the path of reform, to face down the trade unions, and to educate the people on the need for change. (Antony could take a leaf from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who raised power and water tariffs only after telling the voters why these steps were important.)

'God's own country' was some advertising copywriter's inspired description of Kerala. But if matters don't improve soon --- or at least stop becoming worse --- Kerala will soon have a new tag --- 'Bihar of the South'!

T V R Shenoy