DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective

DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective
By:
Dr. R.K Suresh Kumar
Dr. P. Suresh Kumar

Submitted By:
Ubaid Ur Rahman Dogar
AS# 157
Submitted On 14 April 2014

DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective

DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective
Dr. R. K Suresh Kumar and Dr. P. Suresh Kumars book Development, Politics and Society;
Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective is a beautifully written and deeply reported
account about the question that has been a conundrum for economists and academicians alike:
Why the Indians most socially progressive State of Kerala is so economically laggard? Often
referred as Mystery inside a riddle inside an enigma, Kerala Model of Development has a lot
of credits but its political foibles, overly ambitious goals and feckless ideological clashes have
derailed the progressive march of this model. Kerala finds itself condemned to lurch between
disastrous short fixes chalked out by the Indian National Congress in its tenure and the
unrealistic goals outlined by Communist party of Indian which held reigns for much of the years
in Kerala.
Dr R.K Suresh Kumar and Dr. P. Suresh Kumar hold commanding positions specialized in
Development Economics, Governance and Planning and Education. Both are on faculty positions
of universities in Thiruvananthpuram and have written extensively for journals and periodicals
on the governance models in Kerala. Dr. R.K Suresh Kumars works include Democratic
Decentralization In Kerala: The Role Of Grama Sabhas A Study (2006) and Governance and
Development: Lessons and Experience of Kerala (2007). The collective argument of Suresh
Kumars books not only highlight the influence of Communist party on the social development
in Kerala but also illustrates its weaknesses that put the halt on the economic progress of the
state. In short, the left-wing politicians tried hard to insulate themselves from the right-wing and
earned the trust of people through their rhetoric but could not implement their prescribed models
effectively when came to power.
Dr. R.K Suresh Kumar and Dr. P Suresh Kumar, in this book, initially establishes his case by
tracing the roots of social development in Kerala which began with the advent of spiritual leaders
who preached social equality and freedom to people of the state. The activities of those
communist leaders laid the foundations of the Kerala society in which downtrodden and
marginalized lower-caste strata of the society got the uplift. The communist party vehemently
put forward the strong narrative of abolishment of pathetically manipulative caste-system and it

DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective

also cultivated the linking of humanist values with the material production means. The people
bought their narrative of empathy towards others and they also trusted them in their efforts to
link human values to means of production base which could water-down the social inequality in
the society.
The Communist Partys rhetoric finally helped them to come to power through ballot in 1957.
Though the people-centered governance model looked absolutely fine on paper but, Suresh
Kumar argues, it failed to deliver practically. The most egregious error in development policy
was simple one: the socio-economic landscape of India, in which communist ideological
premises were to be implemented, was completely ignored. There was no theoretical base on
which strategies were designed which created a sense of chaos and confusion. Land reforms and
educations reforms, the two most important areas to be worked upon, were brought but it is
worth noting that they were tested without taking into account the socio-economic repercussions.
It is important to mention, the writer explicitly states, that the communist party was so inwardly
looking and went for strong state control. It out-rightly negated the participation of private sector
which disastrously impacted the growth and threw into vicious financial crisis. Another
tragicomedy was that Communist Party, when came to power, realized that the constitutional
framework of India puts a lot of bars on the fulfilment of its promises. The result was all too
evident: the Communist Party was thrown out of power in 1959.
Suresh Kumar adds important details to that fact that under non-communist rule, Kerala
regressed further and its social indicators took a nosedive. However, Communist party, when
stayed outside the power, did not act as a responsible opposition. But it realigned itself and came
back stronger, now with more focus on increasing production base and access of people to state
resources.
The reforms introduced by Achutha Menon, leader of Communist Party, hold a milestone
achievement as his tenure from 1969-1977 saw a significant foray of remarkable land and
education reforms. The greatest achievement of Achutha Menon was that he employed a very
fine amalgam of capitalist line of growth and ventures of extreme left. He also avoided
ideological clashes within the party and strengthened the institutions in the state. His model
showed that effective land reforms could be introduced under the ambit of constitution which the
earlier communist regimes failed to realize. But his model could not be sustained due to the

DEVELOPMENT, POLITICS AND SOCIETY

Left Politics in Kerala: A Disinterested Perspective

center ruling partys antagonistic policies towards growth and more deviated focus on welfare
programs. This shift towards distributional norms, Suresh Kumar argues, was partly due to the
rift in the communist party in 1964.
Suresh Kumar may sound prescient when he warns that openness to correction is the strength of
communism. Prospects of success of communism, Suresh Kumar concludes, in Indian soil is still
very much possible if its core concept of humanism is blended with conscious living which
can result in harmonious existence of human consciousness with material planes.
While the book gives a very detailed account about social progression and various reforms
implemented in various points of time in Kerala but the attentive reader will notice that the writer
never really gets around disapproving any of communist partys reforms and he scarcely touches
the progress made by the non-communist governments in Kerala. Suresh Kumar seems intent on
holding on to the communism in Kerala but time and again in the book, he criticizes their flawed
policies and creates dubious situation as to how the communist model can be effectively
implemented. In the end, although, he does give some vague implementation strategy of
blending humanism with human consciousness but it is too subjective and abstract.
The extensive historical background of social evolution in the starting chapters of the book make
it mundane for the readers. Perhaps the writer has tried to build strong theoretical foundation but
it appears disjointed and appears overstretched. The references are also given at the end of each
chapter instead of at the same page which makes it difficult to turn over the leaves of the book to
check the end notes.
This book offers a rigorous insight into the dynamics of left politics in Kerala. It develops a clear
understanding of politics, society and development of Kerala. It explores new vistas of Kerala
political landscape and provides a refreshing perspective about the left-wing politics. This book
is certainly a significant contribution to the existing literature on development and politics in
Kerala. The persuasive writing style of the writers makes it readable and easily understandable
for anybody interested about the future of Kerala.