Prophetic Gadgil & Iyer

Perhaps there is no other province or unit of governance in the whole world is more blessed than the so-called God’s Own Country of Kerala in Indian nation. Kerala, which is a mere 600 kms in length and maximum 150 kms in breadth, enjoys 40 odd rivers, atleast a couple of major fresh water lakes and thousands of minor water bodies. Yet when one monsoon rainy season fails, there is no electricity and even drinking water in this little piece of land. Even half a century after electing the first pro-poor leftist government in the whole world, the progressive and fully literate Keralites have miserably failed in setting up a credible ruling dispensation that can create and sustain the bare minimum requirements for human sustenance. The two warring confederations of political parties, with ulterior religious agendas, are failing to see the basic requirements of modern human beings irrespective of his caste or creed.

Present day Kerala is far behind most other states in India in terms of basic infrastructure requirements needed for industrial growth. But the beauty of Kerala lies in the fact that it is landlocked between Western Ghat mountains on eastern side and Arabian Sea on the western side. It is the best suited land for agriculture and non-polluting industries. But the uncontrolled population growth has overran all the advantages of this beautiful piece of land. Kerala cannot sustain a population of more than 25 million if we are aiming to achieve idealistic Socialism atleast in terms of food, health, education and employment. Hidden agenda of vast sections of our society controlled by foreign interests in resisting all forms of population control is taking Kerala to disaster at an accelerated pace. Krishna Iyer committee’s report for population control has been shelved without even a debate.   

In this engulfing gloom of self-inflicted catastrophe, the brilliant report about conservation of Western Ghats by Prof. Madhav Gadgil committee has come as a ray of hope. It is not one of those amateurish exercises of intellectual verbosity prepared by glorified messiahs of ecology. Gadgil’s report is painstakingly prepared and full of intellectual honesty. Prof. Gadgil is nothing but a prophet who has come to give the final warning to Keralites. All its findings are cent percent truthful and all its recommendations are fully implementable. If it is not taken seriously at least now, Kerala has very little future to look forward to. Land Mafia and Uncontrolled Reproduction must be resisted at any cost by forceful implementation of Gadgil’s and Krishna Iyer’s reports. Otherwise, our Own Country will belong to Dog’s and not to God.    

Kerala En'GULF'ed

The recently concluded investors’ meet by name “Emerging Kerala” has shown in very clear terms the destiny of Kerala. The fact that it was inaugurated by no less than the Prime Minister of India and the determined presence of Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission during its deliberations clearly indicates the way a comparatively less developed state like Kerala is going to emerge. Almost all the projects presented during the meet have an NRI content and most of them are based in the Gulf. This is only natural given the fact that a vast majority of NRIs from Kerala are based in the Middle East. But what is worrisome is the hidden agenda involved in all the projects under proposal, namely the allotment of land on free basis or on lease for long periods. And once allotted to an entrepreneur for a particular project, the chances of recovering it (even if unutilized) are very remote. Vast tracts of precious real estate are already in private hands by clever use of this tactic.   

Ruling dispensations in Kerala in contemporary times are really under the combined might of minority sections and the role of politicians and interests representing the unorganized majority is getting marginalized every day. This is reflected even in the number of ministers from the majority community in the cabinet. The free allocation of highly priced land in Kerala assumes great importance in this context. Most of the entrepreneurs from the Gulf represent certain ‘clear’ interests and vast tracts of prime properties are getting allotted by the powers who do not reflect the majority interests. For those have been following the events, the signs and symbols which signal the interests of organized sections in Kerala are very obvious. It is indeed a God’s Own Country, but the question of “Which God” is assuming great significance. Allegiance to foreign Gods are on the ascent through India and Kerala leads this say to sure doom. Forced, coerced  and lured religious conversions have already taken its toll in Kerala.

Another ominous sign that has great significance is the overwhelming importance for industry over agriculture in a predominantly agricultural society. One of the powerful people even went to the extent of suggesting that Kerala need not try to be self-sufficient in food, because the nation is already self-sufficient. This lopsided development philosophy has already ruined many states in the country and it is bound to have serious repercussions in pre-dominantly agrarian society like in Kerala. Everyone knows why Kerala is called the God’s Own Country? It is because of its lush green landscape which is only possible because of Nature’s bountiful blessings. Already overloaded with the highest density of population in the country, Kerala does not have any real estate other than for minimum domicile, agriculture and forests. Perhaps those who are conspiring against this arrangement do not want to control their population, but convert Kerala into an industrial society for their future generations to control.

Mullaperiyar Dam'age’

Bharat was divided on the basis of religion into India and Pakistan (and now Bangladesh). Thereafter India was split into several pieces on the basis of languages. Tamil Nadu and Kerala came into being on the basis of languages, but the umbilical chord that runs through the nation in the form of our common culture and civilization cannot be erased so easily. Moreover, Malayalam, the language of Kerala, is nothing but an offspring of Sanskrit and Tamil in almost equal measure. But the horrific picture of a Mullaperiyar Dam (situated in Kerala for providing water for a few districts in Tamil Nadu) that is about to burst at any time has brought in more damage to the friendliest of relations that have existed for hundreds of generations. An innocuous dam that is providing lifeline to more than four districts of Tamil Nadu has suddenly become a water bomb that is threatening the lives of millions in Kerala. 

Every dam is a potential hazard and it is definitely more so when it is over a hundred years old. Mankind has mastered the science of predicting almost anything except of course a few natural phenomena like earth quakes. They can occur at any place and at any time. The scientific explanations in terms of fault planes that occur later remain as irrelevant and useless as our explanations about the fluctuations in currency rates and gold prices after they occur. But such unpredictable natural phenomena have never prevented mankind from progress and development. We have always found reasonable solutions to all our problems by use of appropriate technology in scientific ways. The same scientific temper should have taken the lead in finding a solution to the dam issue. But instead some known evil forces have taken the lead to misuse the opportunity for their own petty ends. The damage it has done is much more far-reaching than the reach of life-giving water it provides. 

Real Reasons

Biggest bane of Kerala’s political democracy is the existence of ‘needle’ communal parties and its complete polarization into two political coalitions. Though power always shifts from one to the other every five years, these needle parties always find a few slots in the ministries and that invariably results in the undoing of whatever good the ministries achieve. It is quite surprising to note how such rabidly communal parties can operate in a so-called secular country. A nation which was divided on the basis of religion can allow the growth of communal political parties only at its own peril. Yet the narrow political objective of the so-called national parties is failing the soul of Indian nation once again. There are so many reasons to conclude that the present spurt in dam alarm is on account of meeting of minds of two such rabidly communal political parties in power – one with intense local interests and another one because they are indifferent about the place.

The timing of the spurt in agitation is also very much noticeable. Sabarimala shrine has been a problem for many for many decades because of its location amidst an unfriendly environment. Its unprecedented growth in terms of number of pilgrims and the resultant potential of evolving into a much awaited unifying force multiplier cutting across all forms of man-made divisions within the majority community is a nightmare for many political players in the God’s Own country. The state has the maximum number of emigrants and most of the major decisions about Kerala now are taken abroad by collegiums of our own men and international forces with their own agenda. It rarely happens but the dam provided a unique opportunity for all the players to come together and make the best ‘use’ of the dam. After the Sabarimala season the whole cacophony has died down and that makes the situation much more suspicious.

Real Solutions

But the potential problem associated with any water reservoir dam is always existent and it has to be addressed in normal course in a purely scientific manner. A dam is also to be treated as a utility with an economic value associated with it, and like all utility equipment, its annual depreciation must provide enough reserves to rebuild once it passes the allowable age. Mullaperiyar dam has already crossed its limit and technologists must suggest the best solution. India has some of the best technological institutions and brains in the current world and it is not at all an issue to get a study done within a few months. Politics is a curse when it gets mixed with anything else and politicians must be kept out of the picture in all such scientific pursuits. This should include even those who have come into politics from the fields of science and technology. Only ‘sitting’ technologists must indulge in such scientific studies. And in a democracy like India the final decision will always be that of the elected government.

It is also time for all of us to understand that other than unconditional love (which is perhaps only from parents and spouse), all that sustains our lives has a price. Strictly speaking there is absolutely nothing that is free of cost. This is true with regard to the air we breathe, the water we drink and the earth we tread on. Whatever be the history behind it, all the beneficiaries of Mullaperiyar dam must realize that they have to pay for the services it is providing and allow for reconstruction when its useful life is over. It is drinking water and breathing air, and not oil and gas, that are going to be the premium commodities in twenty first century. The beneficiary state must be willing to compensate the rightful owner of dam and its water in the case of Mullaperiyar. Kerala and Tamil Nadu must be willing to finalise a purely commercial agreement for sale of water, and not in wasting their time and energy by allowing petty politics (and politicians) to hijack such sensitive issues.

 
But all said and done, the damage caused in the name of dam’s age, is going to take years to heal. The mean manipulators have also tasted success by the fall in number of Sabarimala pilgrims and the sense of insecurity it has created among those who visited Sabarimala this year. There is no doubt that the same evil forces will be at full bloom next year too at the same time to repeat their show of insane solidarity. They know very well that a few years of repeated efforts will achieve what they really intended. Barring the laudable levels of literacy achieved by the state, all other indications about Kerala are highly alarming and worrisome. The God’s Own Country in terms of its landscape and natural resources is slowly slipping into another Valley of Discontent, quite in line with a nasty NRI agenda.        

Overloaded Planet

It has been quite clear for sometime now, that Earth is an overloaded planet. The six billion human load is unbearable and making life more and more miserable for an increasing number of people every year, though there exists some organisations making a living out of this business of population growth. Sustainability is the hottest topic in every international forum now and it is quite surprising that all of us are missing the fact that our own planet has already reached unsustainable proportions. The utopian concept of Socialism can be thought of in two ways – bringing in ‘equality’ either by trying to make all people rich or by making everyone poor. By increasing the denominator, whatever be its justification, the chosen route seems to be the latter. At this rate one of our future children will definitely step on the destruction button for planet Earth.

India is one of the most overloaded geographical areas in the whole world and within it the state of Kerala presents the extreme limits of population density. Not a single rainy season passes off in Kerala without spurts of Dengue fever, Rat fever, Cholera, Jaundice etc., etc. What is the most important reason for this? Nothing but an unsustainable number of human beings per square kilometre. Kerala has one of the maximum density of population and the ‘safe’ inhabitation land area now available is carrying almost double the advisable number of people. The net result is pollution of all water bodies, lack of safe drinking water, lack of infrastructure to process the human waste etc., etc. Almost three fourths of all human problems relate to population explosion and yet there are no serious attempts to control it. The revered Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer has recently come out with a report recommending strong measures against population explosion and as usual all religious retarders have jumped in.

Discourage Overproduction

There is no doubt and no two opinions about the need for children to sustain humanity. Nobody has ever questioned that. And nobody questions the relevance of marriage and family in human lives. All the questions now center around the number of children each family must have. But invariably the religious retarders always succeed in confusing birth control measures with abortion and pro-life slogans and defeat any initiatives in population control. All they want is license for uninhibited reproduction like animals. All forms of excuses (including God) are drawn into the debate to camouflage and confuse any debate between restrictive reproduction for common good versus wanton reproduction with ulterior motives. Though God often finds a mention in their arguments, the real motives behind increasing ‘tribal’ strength is crystal clear to everyone.

It is always the organized religious groups that oppose any restrictions on population growth. The logic is obvious. The strength of any organization is directly proportional to its strength and all organizations want to be strong and powerful. And all organizations are self-centered and bothered only about their own God, their own office bearers and their own tribe in that order. The point they often miss is that the whole world is interconnected and each of us (including our man-made Gods) are dependent on each other. Any attempt to grow beyond the limits of sustainability will unleash destruction from within our own system. An overcrowded Earth is an unsustainable entity and no amount of organization or religion can remove the limits. Restriction in numbers is one of the basic requirements in any organic system and Earth is no exception.

Encourage Restriction

Restrictions are often positive when compared to complete ban imposed by religious doctrinaires. Like animals, every man is born free and what ultimately differentiates man from animal is due to the reasonable restrictions imposed on him or her by the society. Our culture is nothing but a sum total of the impact of these restrictions. But for these restrictions and regulations, man will go down the evolution chain again to the level of animals and birds. Present condition of humanity is even more precarious. We have in our midst a set of people who are monopolizing the custodianship of all morality and liaison with God. Acceptance of reasonable restrictions, as opposed to illogical do’s and dont’s imposed by such monopolizers, is the need of the hour. If they are not shown their place, perpetrators of such obscurantist ideologies will make our lives unbearable mentally also. While population explosion is putting our physical existence at risk, victory for religious obscurantism will make us animals again.

Imposing reasonable restrictions on the size of families should come natural to any society or government in twenty first century. It is common knowledge that Mother Earth cannot sustain a population of more than say 4 or 5 billion humans, which is just one living species among millions of others in this planet. We simply do not have the natural resources to sustain so many human beings and all natural disasters happening now are indeed man-made in a way. And restricting our numbers is the only way to ensure progress and development with social justice. This has been proven beyond doubt in almost all European countries and states like Kerala in India. The present high standard of living in colony-dependent European countries and self-sufficient Asian states is additional proof for this. The only mistake that happened is the case of some European countries is that they went into a negative growth in population.

Justice Krishna Iyer’s recommendation to Kerala government to impose restrictions, including penalties, on families with more than two children is a progressive step in the right direction. It is exactly what is needed in a progressive society with cent percent literacy, highest rate of family suicides and complete consumerism. Kerala is not producing anything sufficient enough for itself other than children which further increase its needs. Thus it is caught in a vicious circle and the only way to break it is to restrict its population growth. Other than the petty minded religious hierarchy, no one is expected to oppose it. But the famed Kerala elite must speak out and defeat all the religious obscurantism that is overtaking Kerala these days.

Half-Converted Kerala

Kerala, the most ‘progressive’ state in the Indian union, is more than half converted and religious conversion was unbecoming an issue in Kerala these days. But the recent demise of Kamala Suraiyya (Madhavikutty or Kamala Das) has highlighted the issue once again. The story goes that she was lured into Islam by the tricks and nuptial promises of a much married, learned and cunning lawmaker belonging to an overtly communal party. Madhavikutty’s literary works represent some of the finest aspects of uninhibited and immaculate Hindu culture that had once prevailed in most parts of Kerala. She could easily differentiate between the quintessence of pristine love of ‘gopikas’ for Krishna vis-à-vis the cheap commonplace lust, by deft handling of both in her stories and poetry. The fact that even such a tall literary figure could fall an easy victim shows the reach of proselytization forces in a region of India with the highest literacy rate. What is happening in Kerala today is bound to be repeated in all other parts of India as our skewed version of secular education is spreading everywhere. Like in Kerala today, Hindus are bound to reduce themselves to a minority community in their own nation one day.

The unfortunate saga of conversion in Kerala begins from around 1500 AD when the first European colonizers landed at one of those beautiful beaches of Kerala. Though we had traders, fugitives and tourists landing at Kerala’s long seashore from time immemorial, damages by them remained limited to their excreta in the coastal belts. The highly structured Kerala society then was impenetrable to foreigners who were much below in terms of social and economic evolution. Cooked-up stories about adventures of one Saint Thomas who could convert the forward castes are nothing but mythology invented as afterthoughts. Kerala’s decadence started much later when the naturally symbiotic caste system became rigid and triggered internal revolts. Foreign religions were waiting at the sea and seacoasts for such an internal upheaval for easy penetration into the much coveted God’s Own Country. In 500 years they could convert more than 50% of the population is no mean achievement for the proponents of the two major religions in the world today.

Silent Terrorism

What happened in the last five centuries and what is happening in Kerala today is nothing but silent terrorism in the form of organized and externally fuelled religious conversion. It was Christianity which started first with the intention of conditioning the ground ready for European colonization. In every colony of ‘ours’, we need quite a few of our ‘own’ people. In distant lands the only way to get ‘our own’ people is by way of aggressive and accelerated cultural conversion. Religion is an integral part of culture and religious conversion is the best tool available for easy conditioning of the target population. Increasing rigidity of the caste system provided a golden opportunity for the European missionaries to penetrate into the Indian society. Enemies of India had budgeted big sums for the project and India’s toiling masses could be easily made disgruntled and aggrieved. As most of them were lacking any formal education, tricking them into a new religious system was easy with the help of material inducements in terms of milk powder and rice.

The next predator in Kerala started their work in terms of organized conversion much later. Though we had sizeable number of Muslim population in the coastal areas, especially in the north Malabar region, their intrusion into the interiors of Kerala as an organized religion is only about one century old. The Mapillah Rebellion in 1921 was perhaps the first organized assault aimed at religious conversion under the guise of so many other objectives. Though North India was under Muslim rule for several centuries, its influence in the southern regions of the country was minimal. Also their enmity with the European colonial powers was not helpful in increasing their numerical strength by targeting Hindus. But the situation has changed drastically in the 20th century when millions of Oil money started flowing into Kerala. Increasing their number by all means and capturing power by organized might is high on the agenda of the Muslim mind of Kerala.

Suicidal Indifference

Any nation or people in decay will ultimately have only themselves to blame. The current status of Hindus in Kerala is at a highly critical juncture in this regard. Three or four prominent Hindu sections are totally indifferent about the overall status of the Hindu religion and society in Kerala today. The leaders of these sections are forgetting one of the most important rules of science and history – any culture can survive only if there is the minimum quantity. Most of these sub-sections of the Hindu society namely Nairs, Ezhavas, Brahmins and OBCS are fighting more among themselves than for their combined rights. They have left their weakest brothers (Adivasis) at the complete mercy of the two predators vying for numbers and real estate. Almost the entire five lakh Adivasis of Kerala will either die off or get converted, and their entire property will ultimately lie with one of the predating groups.

Much has been said and written about the suicidal indifference of Hindus in Kerala and the catastrophe impending their community a few generations from now. None of the Hindu community leaders of any significance have shown the courage to speak up for consolidation and caution. It will be only at their extreme peril that the entire spectrum of Hindu society in Kerala can feign ignorance to the following basic FACTS:-

• Hinduism is no more the dominant religion in Kerala. As half of those born as Hindus are genuine communists, Hinduism is only at par with Islam and Christianity in Kerala. And uninhibited religious conversion is still rampant in many parts of Kerala.
• Kerala has the highest (family) suicidal rate in the world and at least 75% of them are Hindus.
• Hindu temples are the only one in government custody. All income from temples (which are only from Hindus) flow into the common government coffers.
• Kerala politics is overwhelmingly dominated by leaders belonging to the two dominant communities and parties which are overtly communal (Muslim League and Kerala Congress).
• There is almost complete monopoly of the two dominant communities in the print and electronic media in Kerala.
• Almost all Hindu families in the current generation have only two children. But one can invariably find three children in all Christian families and four children in most Muslim families. This trend is almost confirmed if they are more educated and richer. This clearly shows a determined and deliberate effort to increase the numbers.
• Christian clergy and Muslim religious leaders are freely indulging in politics in Kerala which is a part of the so-called secular republic of India. Many times they openly challenge the authority of democratically elected governments and the rule of law, with no impunity.
• Ownership of land (especially high valued), number of professionals (doctors, IAS officers etc) and untaxed (and unaccounted) income from abroad are disproportionately high in favour of the two dominant communities in Kerala.

The few critical aspects listed above point to a determined and calculated move by the foreign religious ideologies to establish their superiority over Kerala within one or two decades. Both are now equally organized, resourceful and determined to achieve their ultimate aim. The apparent discordant notes among subsidiary factions within these religious forces are designed and serve as deceptive distracters for those who are opposing the move. In Kerala (also India) today, anything Hindu or Hindutva is condemnably communal, Muslim or Islamic is secularly acceptable and Christian or Christianity is laudably broad-minded. Any one who talks anything about Hinduism or Hindus are ostracized in public life and politically unacceptable. Barring unforeseen developments, Kerala’s Hindu goose will be cooked and eaten with full satisfaction as precisely planned. And once that is digested, the harvest of entire South India is only one decade away and Indian nation a few more. Only organized reforms and determined positive action can save Hinduism from the combined onslaught of its three known enemies.

Mafia Malayalam

Most dictionaries define Mafia as a close-knit or influential group of people who work together and protect one another's interests or the interests of a particular group. Though such a definition gives a less sinister image, the real Mafias are much more complex and dangerous than that. Those who make up a Mafia are generally devoid of any scruples, morality and sense of justice. If Italy was the land that gave a glorified identity to the Mafia gangs, the newly emerging rich among middle class is making India a fertile ground for development of ‘Mafiadoms’. The diversity of India in anything and everything is providing the right conditions for the formation of numerous Mafia groups in every field of human activity. As always Kerala is once again leading the country.

The God’s Own Country, as the tourism sector would like Kerala to become, is a curious mix of religions, ideologies and communities. Hinduism was once the dominant faith in the state, but it has been systematically relegated to the background now. It was always an uneven playground for the majority faith. Most of the land in Kerala once belonged to temples and all temples came under the control of government when the new rulers dawned in 1947. Then it became an unequal competition between the highly handicapped majority community and the rejuvenated and pampered other communities. Religious conversions flourished and the levers of power shifted to the firm hands of others in no time. The huge influx of foreign money has altered everything in Kerala now. It is nothing but a complex conglomerate of numerous Mafias, NGOs, GOs, political parties and community organizations. A little more about the dominant Mafias may be useful to some.
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Land Mafia

The most formidable of Mafias in Kerala is the Land Mafia. Their reach is unbelievable and depth is unfathomable. There is no exaggeration at all when some recent researchers concluded that tons of money (literally) are being pumped into the real estate business in Kerala every month. So many factors have contributed to the sudden spurt in land deals and the advent of Mafia gangs. With the bank interests dropping daily, the nouveau rich were looking for a sink when so many new projects got announced in Kerala. Some of the projects may never come and most of the projects that may take off will never get finished within our lifetimes. All landed people are rich on paper, but nobody can sell their land so easily now. Large scale transactions are inevitably handled by the Mafias. Irrespective of ownership, a few people decide on who is going to sell, who is going to buy and at what price. Huge influx of ISI fake currency has also boosted the buying power of a select few. The Land Mafia in Kerala scaled new heights recently when they succeeded in selling government land to the government itself at very high prices!!

Education Mafia

Education sector in Kerala is another fertile ground for Mafia operations. The unique concept of aided schools in Kerala, where government money is spent for salary and School Owner appoints the teachers, provide a remarkably attractive scenario for the Mafias. The situation got all the more attractive when the new horde of self-financing professional colleges also arrived on the scene. It is very interesting to note that 90% of these new ‘milch cows’ belong to the so-called minority communities. Though illegal, crores and crores of rupees are collected every year by way of capitation fees and most of them in this business have recovered their investment many times over by now. But one thing is very clear – that pure merit forms only about 10% of the overall factor that decides one’s admission into any of these self-financing (sic) professional colleges. The truth that ‘divine’ clergy forms an integral part of this Education Mafia shows the depths of degeneration that Kerala has fallen into.

Tourism Mafia

Tourism sector has always been a favourite grazing ground for the moneyed Mafia with foreign connections. Logically and logistically the tourist resorts provide the correct coverage and investment opportunity for the Mafia. This also provides a safe passage for the organized harvesters to indulge in religious conversion activities masquerading as tourists. Vast areas of forest land are being encroached everyday by a Mafia operating in this field under the guise of promotion of eco-tourism for earning foreign exchange for the nation. They operate in close collaboration with the agriculturists of commercial crops – a special category created (by the Mafia) for escaping the provisions of all types of Land Reforms Acts. Acres and acres of forest land are first leased out from the government for cultivation of commercial crops like cardamom and then diverted into tourism sector by illegal construction of buildings. The futile attempts by the incumbent government to reclaim such lands have been sabotaged within no time. And no government could stand up to this Mafia when it comes to facing the courts in the case of Cardamom Hill Reserves.

Population Mafia

The clever in any democracy knows that it is ultimately numbers that matters most. Once you have the numbers, power is just the next election away. Organised communities know how to make most out of their numbers (and consequent power) because the very basis of their organized religion is path to power. Working together as a Mafia towards increasing their population and projecting an image of co-operation with the government in their family planning efforts are the favourite tools of such people. The famed ‘accidental’ third-child among well educated Catholics in Kerala is the best example for this. Grabbing land from the hapless Adivasis by arranging organized migration is another technique of the population Mafia to establish themselves. Of late, their friends in the Health department have even started arranging sterilization camps for the Adivasis, so as to make it much easier for these encroaching migrants to take over the entire lands.

Media Mafia

Most Keralites suffer from an overdose of petty politics and almost everyone is afflicted with prejudices based on pre-conceived notions. In this land of colored channels and newspapers, the worst affected is the mass media. It is almost impossible to find any media professional who is really independent. Almost all senior journalists are fellow travelers of some known political or religious groups. Each news channel and newspaper has an agenda (other than pursuing truth) to attain and they tend to work together or against as a Mafia. It is very easy to identify and predict the news report by each reporter just by looking at his name, employer, location and attire. The only option in front of those who are looking for independent news & views is to draw up their own conclusions after listening to a couple of news channels with their known prejudices and leanings.

Minority Mafia

This is a unique breed of Mafia developing in recent times in this unique land of Mafias. The aim and objective of this new Mafia is continuous spotlight on the special rights for minorities in Indian constitution, permeating these privileges into all relevant & irrelevant fields as much as possible, taking anticipatory action to perpetuate these privileges forever and most importantly, putting the majority community in constant apology and defensive mode by reminding them about the ‘atrocities’ and ‘pogroms’ they are alleged to have committed in the past. India’s peculiar brand of secularism comes very handy for this Mafia in their activities. All religions are equal in India but followers of some religions enjoy special privileges as minorities. What a brilliant way to promote organized religious conversion and destroy everything that is Indian!!

The net effect of these multitude of Mafias on our civil society are the drastic fall in values and highlighting of wrong role models for the growing generations. Heroes are those who could become rich in no time following none of the established routes of struggle & hard work in education, employment or business. Heroes are those who can harm the majority and national interests by canvassing for condemnation by foreign friends for baseless allegations by malicious propaganda. Heroes are those who can compromise on national interests and creep in back door into the corridors of power. Mafias are posing a big challenge to Indian nation and it is worth spending a few minutes on this during the ensuing anniversary of our liberation from the Whites.

AGENDA FOR NAIRS

Example is better than precept. For Malayalees, there is no one who has demonstrated it more convincingly than one of our own ex-Chief Ministers viz C. Achuta Menon. Days after relinquishing office as the Chief Minister of Kerala there were many who could see him circling Trichur round as one among us. He was one of the longest serving Chief Ministers of Kerala and he happened to be in power during the dubious Emergency era. Yet there is no one who hates him and bears any grudge against him. What was the reason for this uniqueness, especially in a politically volatile state like Kerala? Was it because he was erudite and an institution-builder who initiated the Centre for Development Studies, Centre for Earth Sciences and Sree Chitra Medical Institute? Yes, partly. But his greatest contribution to the public life of Kerala was definitely not that. It was his unique ability to call it a day from active politics when he knew it is time. Prof. Sanu is yet another exemplary example of this unique quality in public life. It is really unfortunate that these icons could not become role models for many others of our present generation.

One of the biggest and greatest institutions in Kerala that has been badly affected by the absence of Achuta Menons is the Nair Service Society (NSS). If there is any one institution that has stagnated so badly for the last 25 years, it is the NSS. The greatness of this institution is well known to almost all Malayalees, whether he or she is a Nair or not. It is perhaps the only community organisation in the whole world whose founding fathers swore that their efforts to uplift their own community shall not affect the well-being of any other community in any manner whatsoever, in the inaugural oath itself. It makes all the Nairs (whether member of NSS or not) proud about the greatness of their tallest leader viz. Mannathu Padmanabhan. NSS has contributed so many leaders to Kerala’s public life in later years. But now the society is moribund and its future looks challenging for even the most optimistic of its members. To make matters worse, most of the trumpeted activities of its leaders are aimed at destroying the reservation benefits being enjoyed (legitimately or not) by brethren communities.

Reservations are the bone of contention in almost all parts and spheres of India. It is foolhardy to expect everyone to realise and acknowledge the advantage and legitimacy of reservations on the basis of economic status in such a situation. It would take another 50 years for the ‘reserved’ communities to realise their mistake and the poorest of poor among them will see to it that it happens. But the paramount question for the leaders of ‘unreserved’ communities is to ask themselves whether it is worth wasting time fighting the communal basis of reservations. Instead, organisations like NSS can do quite a lot of positive work to better the conditions of poorest among their own community. Those who need direct help in the community must be identified and necessary help (not in terms of cash alone) must reach the deserving within a reasonable time. In this twenty first century, the identification process must be IT enabled and the skill development part shall definitely have an element of Agriculture, which is our traditional trade. To make this happen, the powers-that-be in NSS must constitute two task forces viz. NairsIT and NairsAgri without any further delay.

NairsIT

There are hundreds from the community who have made it big in the IT Industry and many are willing to help out in this. What we need is the infrastructure and manpower to constitute and maintain a database of almost all the members of the community. If possible it should be a world-wide one. A brilliant model for this exercise is the social security database in Belgium called CIMIRE (Compte Individuel Multisectoriel – www.cimire.be ). Millions of records are maintained in an Oracle database pertaining to millions of people in a very cost effective manner. There should be a similar setup at the NSS HO in Perunna at the earliest. The extent of details can be unobtrusive and minimal but the coverage must be maximum possible. Advantage of such a database at HO is priceless and is well understood. News and views can be broadcast to those who should know it in no time and help can be channelled from where it is available to where it is required. I am cent percent sure that a Mannam Memorial Medical College would have come up at Pandalam if only we had such a database and the authorities had utilised it to collect $2000 each from just 25000 Nairs world-wide. The power of a live website and database for a community is simply beyond words.

NairsAgri

Agriculture is essentially the culture of all Malayalees and it is more so with Nairs. Whatever be the advancements we may make in any other fields it is absolutely essential to maintain the ground if we are to survive as a community in Kerala. The pressure on Real Estate Kerala is unprecedented and nefarious designs are already in force to capture the lands. The only way to encourage current owners of land to retain it is to make agriculture remunerative. NSS must take the lead in this by providing information, technology and financial aid, if needed, to diversify and make a living out of agriculture. More and more retired employees from other fields can return to agriculture and keep our agricultural culture alive. It must become remunerative and fashionable again to own agricultural land. Only a community effort can achieve this. Many other communities are proving it in Kerala right in front of our eyes. We should open our eyes at least now.

Lastly, it is of utmost importance for NSS leadership (and all others of Hindu fold) to remind themselves repeatedly that Nair community is NOTHING, if it is not an integral part of the Hindu society in Kerala. And Hindu society in Kerala is one of the most endangered now. The signs in Kerala society (be it politics or education or health or industry or administration or social) are very obvious and ominous now. Until and unless the dividing issues are kept aside and there is a united attempt to counter the onslaught from various local and foreign quarters, there will be only insignificant number left in the community within Kerala by 2050AD. Kerala Hindu Society is like a wall on which all of us can read the various writings. But if the wall itself is destroyed, we may not even get a chance to read the writings on the wall. Consequences of inaction and indifference will be unexpectedly devastating.