Kerala development model - propaganda busted

I am sick of this propaganda of the Kerala model of development. Let me burst this. By Sreevidya Balasubramaniyam. You can follow her on Twitter here. 

The link to her thread on Twitter is here.

1. Literacy

Kerala had 47% in 1951, 6 years before Communist party formed their first government. This is thanks to the efforts taken by the Kings of Kerala especially southern states.

India's national average then was 18%.

Distant second was Maharashtra with 28%.

Fast forward to 2021. Kerala is 96.2 and India - 77.95%.

In terms of percentile increase, Kerala despite a head-start from the rest of India made an increase of 49.2 percentile points (pp), and India made a jump of 59.95pp and MH - 55pp.

Overall, India's improvement in literacy was a good 10.93pp above Kerala's achievement.

So what exactly was this Kerala Model that is worse than average India?

2. Infant Mortality

In 1951, the all India rate was as high as 27.4 and it fell to 7.3 by 2018.

In the same period,

Kerala could improve only from 18% to 6.9% - a mere 11.1pp improvement against India's overall improvement on 20.1pp.

India did a much better job than Kerala did.

So, what exactly was this Kerala model that is worse than average India?

4. Life Expectancy

In 1970 - 75, this was 62 for Kerala, 50 for India.

From then until 2002 - 06, Kerala added 12 years whereas India added 14 years, and UP and TN during the same time added 17 years.

So, what exactly was this Kerala model that is worse than av India, UP, TN?

5. Poverty

Kerala's rate of reducing headcount poverty index was better than national average or any state. This is mainly due to the high PQLI for the century.

Availability of water and sea food is a game changer for Kerala and Goa.

However, what about BPL?

% of people below poverty line (BPL) is the right index which is on par for comparison with other states.

In 1993-94, Kerala had 31.3 and India had 45.3.

In 2011-12, Kerala reduced this to 7.1, and India to 21.9

KL = 24.2pp, India = 23.4.

Not a big difference.

States did better than Kerala during this time:

Andhra (35.4), Bihar - yes, Bihar (26.6), Haryana (24.7), HP (26.5), Odisha (26.5).

Its obvious many state made at par or better than Kerala during this time. Kerala's improvement is no great story.

Increased PPP and collective bargaining power have helped poor people to rise above poverty line. This is a credit that Communists can take briefly.

I said briefly as it drove people out of state for livelihood which brings down the state's Happiness Index.

6. Real Growth

Kerala's real growth as a percentage of GSDP stood at 8.07 in 2014 which was way behind other states like Goa, Bihar (yes Bihar) and Gujarat (yes, Gujarat).

7. Fate of Agriculture

Communism killed our most important means of income for the state.

From 56% to GSDP in 1960, it fell to a pathetic 9.34% in 2012-13.

All this, while establishing and maintaining 72 public sector departments, all created for 'developing' agriculture.

Both Communists and Congress MUST explain to the people of Kerala how the ground slipped

under our very feet and why Keralites had to go to other states and countries and live in exile.

You must also explain to the people of Kerala why you don't have GUTS to do another land ceiling.

Can you confirm all lands ceased from Hindus have gone to the needy and worthy?

I challenge you to do another land ceiling today.

You will not, because you know it is not Hindus, but other communities who will lose their lands and you will cease to exist as a party if you did that.

Finally, the most shameful indicator.

8. Role of expatriates in economy.

The so called Kerala model has everything to credit those Keralites who work outside the state and keep sending money so that the government is running a state.

In 1972-73, the % of remittance to NSDP was a mere 0.51.

In 2008, this rose to a colossal share of 31% of NSDP.

Today, more than 3 persons in 10 are not living in the state and are sending money to the state to sustain lives.

This coincides with every growth indicator discussed earlier in this thread.

Sorry, no credit to Communists.

Now, let's have a looks at some more human indicators of the state and see where Communists have taken us.

1. Suicide rate

UP with 16% of India's population, has the LOWEST rate - 3.1%

Literate Kerala?

Brace yourself - a whopping 24%. That is almost 8 times that of UP.

2. Alcohol consumption, Kerala is in the top 5 states, UP is nowhere to see in this ranking.

3. Rape rate - see her thread on this to see the GLORY of Kerala. 

4. Divorce rate - with 5 divorces every hour, Kerala leads the chart.

I can go on and on on.

Overall, all the human development indicators clearly dismantle the Kerala Model propaganda quite ruthlessly, the last few indicators we seldom speak define quality of life in Kerala.

There is a long list and I will share it another day. We need to debate this.

I can add drugs, tobacco, roads, potholes, bandhs, non-availbility of food items, fresh veggies, power cuts, temple loots and much more.

Hindus are poorer in Kerala than X and M. I can write a 1000 page report on how this happened.

For now, Kerala Model busted.

Education standards in Kerala (lack thereof)

Marks Jehad, a thread on Twitter explaining the sorry state of education in Kerala. You can read it on Twitter here. 

1. Prof Rakesh Pandey says Kerala students are dominating DU because anyone can get 100% marks in Kerala Board. This is true. After II Class in Eng Hons from Hansraj, DU, I easily topped MA Eng in Kerala as Kerala standards were pathetic.

Kerala students are now dominating DU because anyone can get 100% marks in Kerala Board

Out of 206 students admitted under the unreserved category, more than 95% of them have studied from the Kerala state board

https://tfipost.com/2021/10/kerala-students-are-now-dominating-du-because-anyone-can-get-100-marks-in-kerala-board/

2. During PG, I partied 2 years, traveled, became a champion quizzer, never looked at the books, walked out of boring lectures and in the last month crammed 18 hours a day. Got First Class, topped college, topped uni in viva. Kerala syllabus was a joke.

3. At least in uni, there was a semblance of standards. In schools, Kerala Board is beyond pathetic. I studied ICSE. Anyone who studied it knows how tough it is. It's equal to British O Level. Compared to it, CBSE was a joke. Compared with CBSE, Kerala Board was a joke.

4. During holidays I used to visit my cousins in Kerala. Looking at their books I used to be filled with a mix of amusement and envy. My cousin's Class X books were like pamphlets compared with our big fat Physics textbook from Britain, AC Bagchi's Biology and 2 huge math books.

5. Plus, we had 2 English exams, 2 Hindi exams, a fat Economics book, separate History, separate Geography, separate Civics textbook, Chemistry. God knows what else. In contrast, my cousins were studying in Class X what we used to study in Class VI. No wonder they were so happy.

6. I remember thinking, it wasn't fair. Here I was struggling with so many subjects and books and my cousins' entire Class X subject was equal to what we had completed 4 years ago. In some subjects, Kerala Class X students were studying the ICSE equivalent of Class III.

7. If DU allows Kerala students to flood into campuses in Delhi, it would be totally unfair on students from the rest of India who have way higher standards. This could result in competitive marking with perhaps Bihar Board chasing Kerala to the bottom of the barrel.

8. The greater danger is communist, Harmful and Ricebag students from Kerala will inject toxic ideologies and jehad into DU's campuses. There will be frequent hartals and campus violence.

 

9. The truth is, there is absolutely no teaching in Kerala colleges due to frequent strikes by students unions. DU is set to follow suit if it admits Kerala students in large numbers.

10. At any rate, why are Kerala youth coming to DU? What happened to their wonderful, 100% literate state with Harvard-beating education? Or have they just realised they have turned Kerala into another Bengal - a post communist dystopian nightmare?

Ends

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