IIMS Palakkad gobbled SC/ST Funds; Actor from marginalised community humiliated

Institute of Integrated Medical Sciences (IIMS), Palakkad, Kerala has recently been in the eye of a storm for insulting an upcoming actor, Bineesh Bastin. Hailing from the marginalised community, Bastin was first invited as the chief guest to a college day function and then prevented from going on stage at the same time as director Anil Radhakrishnan Menon whose North 24 Kathaam had picked up the National award. Menon had reportedly refused to share the stage with Bastion, a mason-turned-actor.

A shocking back story is that this Government Medical College in Palakkad was built with money diverted from funds that was originally meant for improving the basic living conditions of people from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. Established by the then Oommen Chandy-led Congress government in the state, it was a first of its kind institution set up by the state government, diverting more than Rs800 crore meant for SC/ST communities.

Never in their long and chequered history have Dalits and Tribals of Kerala, who continue to be battered due to marginalisation and severe exploitation, yearned for a medical college of their own. They had sought better education and health facilities along with restoration of their alienated forest lands and dwellings. But the Congress promised an exclusive medical college comprising super-specialty treatment facilities for Palakkad in the election manifesto of 2011 with an eye on the preferences of voters in Palakkad assembly constituency comprising predominantly of the members of upper castes.

Caste, Kerala, Society

By K A Shaji

October 25, 2019

Documenting the Tribal Folk Tales of The Nilgiris

A mother and her toddler were alone in their little hut in the mountains. As the child played happily outside, the mother went about her chores, pounding millets and chopping greens for the evening meal. Her husband would return, to have the meal, bringing back their buffalo herd.

Suddenly the mother heard an unfamiliar sound and peeked outside the door to check on her baby. To her horror, she saw a tiger basking in the sun, right outside the house. The little boy had happily crawled over and climbed onto its back.

For a moment she did not know what to do, for if she made a noise or attacked the tiger, she was sure, her son would be killed. She went back inside and crushing the greens she had been cutting, put them into a dish and poured some honey over it. She pushed the plate out of the door to where the child could see it.

Culture, Features, Life, Society

By K A Shaji

October 21, 2019

CBI exonerates two Kerala orphanages; Media in the dock

After five years of investigation into how 579 children from underprivileged families in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar had landed up at the Palakkad Railway Junction, on their way to two major orphanages in Kozhikode and Malappuram, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now found nothing illegal about it. Children from poorer backgrounds, even if their parents are alive, are free to seek admission to such orphanages expecting a better future and such initiatives did not involve any kind of child trafficking, observed the CBI.

For reasons best known to them, Kerala’s mainstream media paid little attention to the final report filed by the CBI in a judicial magistrate court in Kochi last week absolving Mukkom Muslim Orphanage in Kozhikode and Anwarul Orphanage at Vettathur in Malappuram of any illegality for soliciting children from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. The media was not so indifferent in 2014 when these 579 children were detained at the railway station on the suspicion of alleged trafficking.

Eight people from the three states who accompanied the children on the long journey were arrested by the railway police when media dubbed them as operatives of an inter-state child trafficking mafia. Without hearing the side of the arrested people and orphanage heads, the television channels had vied with each other in telecasting breaking stories reinforcing their assumptions of child trafficking involving huge money. The then Kerala BJP President V Muraleedharan had immediately asked for a CBI enquiry.

Media, Society

By K A Shaji

October 10, 2019

Wayanad needs Urgent Solutions to coexist with Environment

While going through a petition seeking the lifting of night traffic regulations on the Bandipur National Park stretch of Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766, the Supreme Court made a chance observation that an alternative route be explored, facilitating permanent closure of the national park stretch. This evoked huge protests in the northern hill district of Wayanad in Kerala—the largest protest the district has ever witnessed. True this: devoid of any rail link and located close to Mysore in Karnataka and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu and accessible from the rest of Kerala only through ghat roads, it is a lifeline for Wayanad.

A hunger strike was organised in Sulthan Bathery Town by various youth organisations with the backing of all major political parties and Rahul Gandhi flew down from Delhi to express his solidarity. Thousands took part in the mega rallies held in various parts of the district. The protestors shouted slogans against a few local environmentalists, who according to them, had tried to mislead the Supreme Court and its learned judges. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rushed to Delhi to seek the intervention of the Centre in convincing the Supreme Court about the implications of such a ban on the hill district, affecting tourism and normal life.

Though the hunger strike was called off following assurances from the Centre and Karnataka that no plan for permanent closure of the route was under consideration, the real issue continues to remain unaddressed. At one level, a few self-proclaimed environmentalists with unrealistic goals are making the issue complex by engaging in a prolonged process of litigation. They seek more travel regulations on the route without factoring in that the road had existed for centuries facilitating trade, commerce and other interactions between the Kannadigas and the Malayalis.

Development, Economy, Environment, Features, Kerala, Life, People, Politics

By K A Shaji

September 9, 2019

Decoding Arif Mohammad Khan

As a crusader for reformation of Islam from within the community, Arif Mohammad Khan veritably is seen as a progressive Muslim face. But above all that, Arif Mohammad Khan has passed the Hindutva litmus test—among the few Muslims who has managed to accomplish that. His appointment as the Governor of Kerala is ample proof of his loyalty to the ruling dispensation and makes him a flag-bearer of the BJP’s ostensible inclusiveness.

In this context it is interesting what Khan has to say about the insecurity of the minorities. He termed Muslim persecution in the present political climate a myth and refused to lend an ear to the worries and anxieties of the minorities. He claimed that the feeling of alienation in the Muslim community actually began in 1986 and not in 2014. Khan reiterated in a newspaper interview that there were no major riots in the first five years of the Narendra Modi government. And he becomes the second Muslim to be appointed by the BJP as governor—the first was Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla, who too had a similar perspective.

As far as Khan is concerned, India’s Muslims are responsible for their own problems. In his own words, the seeds of the problems lie within. By saying so, he denies the existence of majority communalism and its hate-manufacturing factories. He has said that Hindutva poses no challenge to the minorities—giving legitimacy to the hate speeches and provocative statements of the proponents of aggressive Hindutva.

Opinion, Politics, Profile, Society

By K A Shaji

August 18, 2019

The Ezhava Uprising in Kalpathy

It has been several centuries since the Tamil Brahmins migrated from Thanjavur and surrounding areas to Kalpathy, on the outskirts of Palakkad town, in Kerala. Kalpathy has preserved its unique culture and heritage that is far removed from that of their neighbors’ outside the community. The row houses of the village, whose kitchens still prepare the traditional cuisine, retain its old world charm.

On a typical morning, the heady aroma of filter coffee accompanied by the chanting of Vedic hymns by Brahmins with scared ash on their foreheads, welcomes you to the village. Women wearing kanakambaram flowers on their head can be seen drawing the traditional kolams in the courtyards. The village has always attracted the curiosity of outsiders and the annual Radholsavam (car festival) at the local temple is a big draw. Tourists descend in hordes, especially from foreign locales, to experience the perfect blend of music, rituals and the pulling of the traditional chariots.

The village caught the headlines for all the wrong reasons when Justice V Chitambaresh of the Kerala High Court—at a Tamil Brahmin global meet at Kochi, where a large number of the participants were from Kalpathy—described Brahmins as ‘twice born’ with ‘all good qualities.’ The speech by a sitting judge denouncing caste-based reservation for socially backward communities brought on scathing criticism for its open exhortation for economic reservation, apart from placing Brahmins above all other castes and communities. J Chitambaresh, a native of Kalpathy, had brought the heritage village once again into focus with his controversial statement.

Features, History, Kerala, Society

By K A Shaji

August 15, 2019

Kerala Unprepared for Climate Change: A Clear and Present Danger

It was a gut-wrenching sight when Malayalam Television stations flashed poignant scenes of the landslide at Kottakkunnu in northern Malappuram district, where the body of a two-year-old boy was recovered clinging to his dead mother. When the landslide struck and mud and debris entombed their home last Friday, 22-year-old Geethu had tried to shield her toddler by tightly embracing him. Rescue workers struggled to separate the entwined bodies.

The accident occurred while Geethu’s husband Sharad was diverting the small stream that was gushing into his backyard. Sharad had a providential escape but his wife and child were not so lucky and his mother Sarojini is still missing.

The rescue operations face severe hurdles in Wayanad and Malappuram as rain continues to bombard areas susceptible to landslides. Central forces and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on rescue operations in landslide-hit areas are finding it challenging to unearth people buried under the debris and tons of mud. While landslides, mud slips and flash floods continue to cause enormous amount of misery in the hill areas, reports from coastal regions give the picture of a turbulent sea gnawing away at the human settlements. The general impression of Kerala as a totally safe zone is turning into a fable now.

Daily, Development, Economy, Environment, Kerala, Politics

By K A Shaji

August 2, 2019

Magsaysay award for Ravish Kumar: A Paean to the Awarder

There are few occasions when an award or recognition honours the right person. In a world where corporates, interest groups, religious heads and corrupt politicians enjoy clear sway over the media, it’s indeed a rarity to see serious public interest journalism that speak for the underprivileged get recognized and honoured. Most of the awards and fellowships in the field of mass media are controlled by powerful corporates and they normally reach only those who are subservient and pliable.

It’s in this context, the committee that chose NDTV’s Ravish Kumar for the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award deserves applause and appreciation. Initiated in 1957, it’s the highest honour in Asia that celebrates the memory and the standards in leadership set by the third Philippine President after whom the award has been named. Every year, individuals or organizations in Asia who engage in selfless service, and are transformative influencers in the manner of the late Philippine president, are awarded.

Like elsewhere in the world, in India too, responsible journalism requires enormous courage these days. Often, journalists lose their fighting spirit under threat, intimidation and appeasement and simply surrender to the ruling elites. Newspapers and television channels desist from engaging in their role of critically examining government programs and policies. The all-pervasive crony capitalism has succeeded in reducing journalists to the role of stenographers, with no ability to critically engage with issues and events.

Daily, Featured, Media, People, Trending

By K A Shaji

July 30, 2019

The Untouchable Brahmin who fought Kalpathy’s Orthodoxy

At a recent global conclave for Tamil Brahmins in Kochi, mainly comprising of the residents of Kalpathy agraharam in Palakkad, Justice V Chitambaresh of the Kerala High Court, standing from his twice-lofty position, both as a judge and a Brahmin, held forth about the twice-born Brahmin: “Now, who is a Brahmin?” he asked, “A Brahmin is dwijhanmana—because of poorva janma sukridham (good deeds of the past life), he is twice born. According to the judge, a Kalpathy Brahmin, the Brahmin has certain distinct characteristics: clean habits, lofty thinking, sterling character, vegetarian and a lover of Carnatic music.

Though his statements raked up a huge controversy, no one remembered Krishna Swami, the Brahmin outcast from the same Kalpathy agraharam as Justice Chitambaresh, who had once earned the wrath of his own community for working among the untouchables. Krishna Swami was an untouchable Brahmin.

An untouchable Brahmin is an oxymoron but nothing else can describe the late freedom fighter, T R Krishna Swami, better. He was the founder of Sabari Ashram at Akathethara in Palakkad district, which was once widely known as Kerala’s Sabarmati. Presently an orphanage with humble settings, this institution was visited thrice by Mahatma Gandhi during his journeys to the South.

Culture, Features, Religion, Society

By K A Shaji

July 11, 2019

Kerala’s lone tribal panchayat Edamalakudy needs urgent intervention

The first episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio show—Mann Ki Baat—in his second term took me down memory lane at the mention of ‘Akshara Arts and Sports Library’ at Edamalakudy, one of the remotest tribal settlements in Kerala.

Nestling in the dense forests of Idukki, the library is promoted by PV Chinnathampy, a small tea shop owner and primary school teacher P K Muraleedharan. It came to my notice while trekking through the difficult region along with noted journalist and Magsaysay award winner P Sainath about six year ago.

Edamalakudy constitutes Kerala’s first and only tribal grama panchayat deep inside Eravikulam National Park. We were an eight–member team comprising journalists, filmmakers and academics, and our endeavor was to study the functioning of tribal women units of Kerala’s celebrated Kudumbasree Poverty Eradication Mission in Edamalakudy.

Development, Features, Kerala, People, Society

By K A Shaji