| |
The
Dusty Path to the Comrades Ultra-Marathon
-
more
...................................
HEELS
ON FIRE LAUNCH
IN LONDON
Wednesday, 26 April, 7:00 pm Crown Tavern
Hindu
May
11,2006
more
...................................
Business Standard
May 6, 2006
more
...................................
Indian
Express
May 2, 2006
more
|
|
Kerala-
God’s own Country
is a striking example of the India known for its “Complexities
and Contradictions”, when it comes to debates related to
development. It has the distinction of being the most densely
populated region in the country (870 persons per sq km against the
country's average of 324) with one of the lowest per capita
incomes. A range of statistics make it an interesting case for
social development. As a society, Kerala is literate- it has the
highest newspaper-consumption per capita in any spot in India, it
has the lowest infant mortality in India, the highest life
expectancy, and a declining rate of population growth.
The
Gender and Development issues when discussed in the context of
Kerala, have an interesting story to tell. The status of women and
education was traditionally based on the joint family system that
was matrilineal. Although the system no longer exists, it has left
a legacy in the important role women play in public life and
administering Kerala's famous system of health care. Kerala’s
achievement in health in spite of its economic backwardness and
very low health spending has prompted many analysts to talk about
a unique “Kerala Model of Health,” worth emulating by other
developing parts of the world. (Kerala achieved the health status
at par with that of USA spending roughly 10 US $ per capita per
year in comparison the US spends about 3500 $ per capita per year
on health care)
Presently Kerala has occupied a position of economic leadership
because it has moved farthest up the ladder of human development.
Encouragingly, Kerala has a good chance of raising its Human
Development Index (HDI) above 0.8 in the next 10-15 years and
become the first Indian State to attain high development status.
Kerala ranked Number 1 in education and healthcare; Number 3 on
social sector investments; Number 3 in affluence level, and Number
5 in terms of infrastructure penetration and investment
attractiveness, amongst all states in India (IBEF, June 2004).
However, Kerala is in no position to rest on its laurels, with
States like Tamil Nadu fast catching up (Tamil Nadu is ahead in
some aspects of health and it has a higher progress in education
and income generation- the three indices, which constitute the HDI).
Some
of the challenges that face Kerala include the sphere of higher
education. Its industry has stagnated for years. In the fastest
growing sectors of the economy, such as information technology,
pharmaceuticals or automobiles, Kerala is yet to make its foray.
It has yet to explore some of its strengths like the fishing and
the tourism industry. Promoting the Private Sector and encouraging
Public-Private linkages is an still an arena best ignored in
Kerala.
Kerala
is an blaring example of some of the contradictions faced by a
Country, wherein
schemes such as the National Rural Labour Employment Guarantee are
of little use to the State where most of the jobless are highly
educated. Inspite of the State being flooded with unemployed
people, it is compelled to import workers from Tamil Nadu and even
Orissa, due to the acute shortage of unskilled labour.
The
development versus environment debates are well comprehended in
the context of Kerala, with its unique environmental features
including Wetlands and the scenic backwaters. You may be
interested to know, that these presently serve as a huge relief to
the State Sanitary engineers, who deem it their birthright to
discharge untreated wastes into this fragile eco-system!!!!
Kerala
also has the distinctive feature of being rain blessed and still
short of water. Despite getting an annual average rainfall of 3000
mm which is 2.5 times higher than the national average and having
two monsoons spread over six months, the state has been
experiencing water scarcity since 1980. Its no surprise to find
the State suffering from an acute drinking water shortage.
Politically
Kerala's love for socialism is indisputable. The authenticity of
that love has admittedly done much good to the State, bringing it
well up the development path, putting Kerala well past the
infancy-stage of development. How
much further can socialism take Kerala? Has Kerala outlived its
diet of Socialism, should Kerala embrace Capitalism? Does the
Kerala policy framework need re-evaluation? We do not have the
answers, but as you may have realized we seem to be fueled in some
unusual ways to tickle our minds with some of these debates. Well,
join us!!!!
The
run shall pictorially trace the development graph of Kerala. Maybe
you could join us in our forum, hoping to find some answers, which
we completely acknowledge is very difficult, but we do hope to
raise relevant questions!!! For all you know, next time maybe it
won’t be a run that we will think of to find the answers or will
it……
Hmmm!! Then what will it be…Stay in the loop and you shall find
out!!! |
|
