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Introduction
A striking balance between civil society and social capital is being articu-
lated, at times, when developing societies strive for making participatory
democracy meaningful. This paper recasts civil society in the light of social
capital that is well accounted in Kerala, the state of India. The attempt here
is to locate civil society in its context specific to make-sense of its role in
road to modern state apparatuses, thereby radicalizing democratic practices.
The paper focuses on the dynamics of civil society that rests in a specific
historicity with multiple actors involved in Kerala. It is no way to suggest
that the entirety of civil society was born out as an autonomous entity. In-
stead, what we propose is the social capital that in fact would always condi-
tion the centrality of civil society. It is assumed that the quality of civil soci-
ety is largely dependent upon the extent of social capital possessed by the
diverse social spectrum of society unleashed through their constant protest
and collective mobilisation. This would remind us once again that because of
these protests, spearheaded by the marginal groups of Kerala, that squarely
challenge the hegemony of the state, its discriminatory policies and exclu-
sionary tendencies.
The experimental bit of the paper examines the trajectory of social capital
on the one hand and civil society on the other. For this purpose, we examine
certain generic processes such as articulations of cultural identities, origins
and implications of social protests, formation of civic organizations and
groups, and networking of associations in the historical milieu of Kerala
society. True, theoretical congruence of civil-society and social-capital can
easily be reflected the way development model was conceived and informed,
whilst one traverses into the successive normative conditions for the state
formation and its expediency. Moreover, collective effort of the several exi-
gencies with social sectoral development led to the creation of an imagina-
tive development model paradigm. These developmental successes, in fact,
are tied up with exclusively high level of social capital. Even a casual ob-
server can easily take note of it (Heller 1999). However, the highly cel-
ebrated Kerala model is not left without criticism. One of the challenges was
that of a cumulative deprivation and systematic marginalization of the sub-
altern sections that has been a blot onto the very Model. Nonetheless to
mention, persistent exclusion left out the marginalized communities to es-
chew the fruits of development itself. Although, social sector development is
effectively driven by the state apparatuses through its new governing strate-
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
Civil society and social capital paradigm, indeed, is the striking theoretical
framework in a modern democratic institutions, to examine how and on what
extent citizens are associated within the state-society framework. As they
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
make sense of the life conditions of Dalits and Adivasis in Kerala. Civil
society in general can be an outcome of protest spearheaded by the diverse
social groups in the state and enabled critical social capital. Therefore, Dalit
and Adivasi struggles in the contemporary times with fragmented social capi-
tal-multiple deprivations-is an epistemological location in our analysis. These
local/micro protests have both local implications and global ramifications.
Moreover, they too generate pressures from below and from above to recycle
democratic institutions.
It is true that there are social historical forces and their ideological positions
in the nineteenth century that contributed to shape civil society with high
quality of life in Kerala today. It is to be noted that the first set of popular
protest foreground in Kerala was in the form of identity politics and it was
not class politics-the bulwark of Left Politics (Oommen 2004 and 2009: 29).
Instead of projecting developmental trajectory as a result of full literacy rate,
education, foreign influence and land reform, Aloysius (2005) argues that it
was to be seen as an ideological and attitudinal transformation that shaped
social relations. Consequently it brought about inclusive collective action
among the lower rungs of society against the spirit of region specific socio-
cultural hierarchy. In the process of transformation through civil society
engagements, all the social categories could effectively participated and mu-
tually benefited.
In fact, social scene in the pre-modern Kerala, similar to the rest of
India, was highly conservative and hierarchically organized based on caste
system. Cultural backwardness, in fact, was tyrannical than feudalism as
Namboodiripad (2010: 111) described it as Jati-Jenmi-Naduvazhi
Medhavitvam. It means multiple forms of domination of the upper caste, the
jenmies and local chieftains. No doubt, the origin and development of jajmani
system here was inseparably linked up with the existence and development
of the caste hierarchy (ibid 112) classified into three groups as Namboodiri
(Bhrahmins), backward communities (Ezhava) and slave (Paraya and Pulaya)
castes (Travancore census 1854). As usual, Bhrahmins were free from all
societal and religious disabilities, and enjoyed absolute freedom. But below
of them, were treated as low caste and all of them, in one way or another,
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
Class mobilization:
Appropriation of Political Society?
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Suresh Babu G.S.
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
Social capital:
Circulation of Class to Caste
after a serious of court petition lodged by the landlords with the support of
the mainstream political parties. Moreover, the successive governments had
no political will to implement successfully in time. Two enlightened organi-
zations, Nayar Service Society (NSS) and the Christian Churches backed by
the Congress-dominated coalition of opposite party under Vimochana
Samaram (Liberation Struggle) disowned the radical land reforms Act of
1957 (Radhakrishnan 1981:A129). Unnecessary time lagging taken for the
implantation of land reform, in other words, benefited the landlords and their
perpetual claims and reclaims for retaining surplus land with them.
While critically analyzing the Kerala Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill
1979, Tharakan was of the view that, because of the monopoly of the higher
caste, Dalits could not have gained much from the land reforms. He says:
Since access to the land market in Kerala, was traditionally dic-
tated by the caste hierarchy, there was virtual monopoly of the higher
castes and communities in respect of both ownership and tenancy rights
on land. From this we surmise that the benefits of abolition of tenancy
would have also accrued to those castes and communities who formed
the bulk of landless agricultural population. For the latter, gains from
land reforms would have been limited to the benefits from conferment
of ownership on Kudikidappu. Though socially significant-they being
the most deprived sections of the agrarian population-the actual gain
through this measure was quite marginal, at a rate of only 0.8 acres per
family (Tharakan 1982: 158).
Implementation of land reforms for which Kerala is well known and the
legitimate claim of the Dalits, who have traditionally been tillers of the soil,
for cultivable land, had never been recognized. The Adivasis, on the other
hand, have been deprived of their land-base by marauding non-tribal immi-
grants with the help of state machinery. Both communities these sections
have been considered only as eligible for ‘charity and welfare’ (Kunhaman
2002:100). True, the dominant groups, by its hegemonic relations with the
state apparatuses, were completely destabilized its willpower to implement
land reform.
Intellectual Capital:
a ‘Closed’ Civil Society?
While critically analyzing the role of media in creating vibrant civil society
and social transformation, Robin Jeffrey’s studies on [Not] Being There:
Dalits and India’s Newspapers poses a question of why no Dalits and their
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voices in the news room. Perhaps, Kerala known for its mass media circula-
tion and literary culture is not different from the rest of India with regard to
caste prejudices (Jeffrey 2010: 201). True, complete absence of Dalits in the
media houses may lead to high probability of biasness and stereotype of
generating news on Dalit question. Contrary to this, readership, as empirical
study shows, were shown to be better among Dalits in Kerala. While analyz-
ing the extent of social capital, from a sample study, indicates positive trends,
for instance, political participation, involvements in associations and net-
works. But, it was differently distributed among different social categories.
An empirical study reveals that primordial identities, such as caste/religion
(2 and 4 percent respectively), were meager before linguistic identity (51
percent). Apparently, every day 87 and 79 percent used to read news paper
and listen to radio news respectively. Every second person in the state used
to discuss ‘public issues’ outside the household in every day. Interestingly,
data on the lower strata of society, such as Dalits and Adivasis in all three
indicators were observed to be better than the rest (Blomkvist 2003).
It implicitly shows that the people with less socio-economic resources
tends to establish and engage themselves in organizations, such as, primarily
trade unions and large chunk of voting turn out for the Left Party. However,
within the same group relatively with education and income, is less likely to
take part in politics (ibid). In other words, human capital possessed through
education and other advantages from the state, at times, has not yet helped
Dalits and Adivasis to form social capital in the different domains of public
life. The cultural capital with social stigma of caste, perhaps, perpetually
displaces them both epistemologically and empirically from the public sphere.
Moreover, rest of the social groups who have already possessed social capi-
tal through education and relative developmental benefits largely gained from
the state exchequer were not ready to share these scarce resources with de-
prived sections. For instance, major chunk of privately managed and publically
funded educational institutions in Kerala have not yet ready to operationalise
affirmative action policies challenges the very notion of equality in circulat-
ing full knowledge capital among Dalits. Had they been accommodated way
back in 1957, they would have mobilized now not merely in terms of sharing
common resources, but also developing their own intellectual capital for the
development of themselves and society at large thereby greater inter-subjec-
tivity. In all probability, they would have relatively improved cultural and
intellectual energy to cope up with knowledge economy in the new social
order of things. It is heartening to know that only 3.5 percent (6554) teachers
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Suresh Babu G.S.
were in the state belong to Dalits and Adivasis against the total 185064
teaching post (GOK 2003). Wittingly, both the state and the civil society
players totally excluded Dalits from circulating intellectual growth process
(Babu 2010: 214-215). Above all, due to the overarching of intelligentsia
with one dimensional class analysis, displace the Dalits organic voice to
articulate themselves.
It is being argued that the development experiences on the unique social
sector development of Kerala, was based on ‘averages’. In this average game,
subaltern communities for instance, Dalits, Adivasis, and fish folk, were
kept out its general achievements. Right to live in their cultural habitat has
threatened as and when the state announces mass displacement in the name
of ‘development and progress’. True, without paying attention to the cultural
sensitivity attached with their lived experience. In this context, Adivasi leader
C.K. Janu states that,
The life-cycle of our people, their customs and very existence are bound
to the earth. This is more so in any other societies. When projects are
designed without any link to this bound, our people suffer. This may be
wrong if looked at from the point of view of civil society. But it is self-
evident when we go to the newly formed colonies (Bhaskaran 2004:
47).
No doubt, there are critical reflections by the organic intellectuals on
not only challenging the oppressive character of the state, but also articulate
with their own terms grounded on everyday life experiences. However, civil
society with its hegemonic cultural order and alien theory of class completely
displace organic voices that are essentially available within the democratic
system. This implicitly shows fixed ontology of civil society of Kerala on
Dalit and Adivasi question that supposed to be inclusive and holistic.
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
reform and unmasks its historical failure to bring about any substantive
change. On the other hand, the protesters challenged the authorities for the
illegal encroachment4 and transfer of forest land to the private and multina-
tional companies. Similarly, the Aralam farm story reveals another telling
consequences of how the state converting large portion of farm land into
private limited company although half of its portion would have been used
for rehabilitating the landless as part of post-Muthanga agreement (Sreerekha
2010). Interestingly, soon after these protest, there has been a public atten-
tion, particularly media unearthing outsiders and private companies who
illegally encroach the forest land with the support of the political parties5.
The popular Plachimada struggle, triggered off in the Palaghat district of
Kerala, against Coca-Cola Company shows how the state is insensitive to
the ecosystem and subsequently privatizing the natural resources that are
being critical for the survival of subaltern communities. Paradoxically, the
state went on to violating the land utilization act for the multinational com-
panies to establish their project, began to exploit natural resources indis-
criminately. It completely jeopardizes the state being privileged over its suc-
cessful land reform policies for the landless masses. Ironically, it was under
the left front government, the company got sanction to began its bottling
plant in 1998 (Pillai 2008:126-129). The class character of the state, in other
words, was exposed once again.
Among other things, these observations show that the complete be-
trayal to the subaltern communities in Kerala largely by the state and its neo-
liberal logic of development. These new changes, coupled with other things,
shed light on the contemporary understanding of growing awareness of op-
pression (Raman 2007) and deep anxiety of our future. The huge gap be-
tween what the projected model of the state on the one hand and the everyday
tyranny of the Dalits on the other shows the fragmented social capital of the
community and it inability to arrive into the threshold of civil society en-
gagements. In other words, the fragmented social capital shows the multiple
deprivations of caste, class and power relations that circulate at various
levels. General developmental deprivation index captured by the Human
Development Report (2005) of the state, for instance, point to this fact. To
begin with, deprivation index based on the crucial variables such as quality
of house, access to drinking water, good sanitation and electricity, the dis-
parity among Dalits were found to be apparent. The incidence of deprivation
among them in Kerala was reported to be 45.5 and 57.9 respectively how-
ever, for total population of the state was 29.5. It is to be noticed that, in all
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
districts, the deprivation index shows higher than 50 among the Adivasi popu-
lation.
Though the social disabilities were sought to be removed through legis-
lation, political economy of the state through a set of reforms not only changed
the extent of social conditions of Dalits and Adivasis, but also worsened
further. For instance, agriculture was the backbone of the lower castes in
terms of their social, economic and occupational life, apart from given stig-
matized identity. A comparative study among the agricultural labourers over
the years shows tremendous change. Among the Dalits, for instance, it came
down to 55.79 percent in 1968 from 66.34 in 2005. Similarly, among Adivasis,
it was 33.92 from 81.42. Among the backward classes 16.86 and 38.92 and
others it was 19.32 from 16.61 respectively. If the change among the adivasis
agricultural lobourers were fallen down to 47 percent followed by other back-
ward classes by 21.16 percent and Dalits by 10.55 percent, for the rest it
was increased by two percent (see UNDP 2005 and Sivanandan 1979)
Occupational changes among the Dalits and Adivasis were largely due
to the lack of cultivable land holding and most of them were reported to be
landless6. Similarly, 19 percent, Dalits were under below poverty line al-
though they constitute 9.81 percent of the total population of the state. In the
case of Adivasis, it was thirty percent, though they form only 1.14 share of
their total population (UNDP 2005). It shows how the state driven welfare
programs were conceived with uncritical to its long term implications. As
the available data shows, Dalits are huddled in around 12,500 colonies oc-
cupying just 3/5 cents7 (one cent is 1/100 of an acre). Moreover, while
narrating the social settings of residential areas in rural villages in Kerala,
Osella and Osella (1998:190) reveals that the Dalits were continued to live
on segregated areas at the edges of the paddy-field where they are still over-
whelmingly employed as labourers.
In addition to that, micro-studies on the newly decentralized planning
process, which happened to redefine development and participation with its
popular campaign, shows that it failed to retool on how to redefine priorities
according to felt needs of marginalized communities like Adivasis. As a re-
sult, as and when Grama Panchayats formulate policies exclusively for
Adivasis development, the latter remained to be passive recipients without
much critical reflections on how to redefine their priorities, methods of imple-
mentation etc (Suresh 2009). There was a representation of voluntary
organisation among Dalits and Adivasis in different committees in order to
prevent the habits of diverting special component plan (SCP) funds and
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Suresh Babu G.S.
The context in which the Dalit and Adivasi protest in Kerala needs a theo-
retical reflection in the light of post-developmental sensibility. To begin with,
post-developmental state has increasingly become alien to its people as it
sponsors violent means to debunk the cultural protest waged by the deprived.
Secondly, the aggrieved parties critically evaluate the crisis of development,
and subsequently articulate with new set of social actors and networks being
labeled as new social movements. The crisis of development, perhaps is its
uncritical imagines of new domains which leave behind the developmental
process. As against the conventional system of development, new enquiry
seeks out fresh areas of resistance and political practice (Escobar 1992).
Demise and failure of development led to the emergence of new social move-
ments with new set of question, including very paradigm of development.
It’s universalizing appeal, sometimes, critical to the nation-state and tran-
scends its boarders too. Instead of addressing social problems, the welfare
state itself payoff new set of problems to its citizens.
The recent Dalit and Adivasi upsurge crack the base of claims made by
the civil society apparatuses and social capital nurtured by the imaginary
model of development of the state. A fundamental question one may ask that
why civic engagements of the social collectivities in addressing the problems
of social inequalities, and democratization of public spaces remained to be
silent in the aftermath of state formation of Kerala. The reason for silence
can be two. First, the state has slowly assumed a centripetal force, in and
above of all developmental questions of its citizens, through manipulation of
public policies. Corollary to this, post-colonial state formations, with its
new imaginaries of development and transformation, created enthusiasm,
though short-lived, among the people of Kerala. Secondly cooption of cul-
tural collectivities under the two dominant oppositional political parties, re-
sulted to scuttle the autonomous organic voices supposed to be emerged even
after the state formation. The public sphere derived from diverse cultural
protests, were tightened by alien concepts like proletariat class and as a
result there was a hegemony of the state with its class nexus. Overpowering
of class above of multiple social deprivations virtually silenced the organic
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Civil Society with Fractured Social Capital Foregrounding
Notes
137
Suresh Babu G.S.
were with less than one acre (see GOK. 2003, and to know micro impacts See
Saradamoni 1981).
7. www.civilsocietyonline.com/jan08/jan0819.asp (accessed on 15th Sept. 2009)
8. For instance, its District level convention of Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS),
one of the strong Dalit organisation in Kerala held in Nedumangadu,
Thiruvanthapuram; the state secretary revealed that how Dalits representation
purposefully avoided by excluding from such committees (Keralakaumudi, 1 Janu-
ary 2009, Trivandrum edition).
References
Suresh Babu G.S. is Asst. Professor in the Dept. of Sociology, University of Jammu,
Jammu and Kashmir.
Email: gssbjnu@gmail.com
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