Unrest in Kerala

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28922, 16 June 1959, Page 14

Unrest in Kerala

• Popular unrest is nothing new in the Indian State of Kerala, which has the only Communist U, government in the British Com- ( monwealth. The Keralite Com- < munists were put into office in April, 1957, on a minority vote: .jand they keep their slender majority in the Legislature with the support of five Independents. Their powers are held under the constitutional rules of the demo- ’ cratic Indian Federation. To i prevent anarchy, the central ■ Government could substitute Presidential government for the Legislature: but Mr Nehru and his colleagues in New Delhi would hesitate to resort to so drastic a course. Kerala’s rulers are confronted with a seemingly impossible dilemma: they must . either conform to the democratic principles laid down in the Indian Constitution and subordinate their party beliefs, or adhere to the Marxist-Leninist creed of the single-party State and the doctrine of violence as r a means to political ends. Their desire to proselytise for communism throughout the Indian sub-continent has impelled them to moderate their political and economic programmes in an endeavour to convince their compatriots of the peaceful •'' merits of their creed. Inability to , remedy the social conditions that brought them to office is prob- ' "»bly the biggest single cause of the current disturbances. Kerala, formed by fusing Tra vancore and Cochin, is India’s smallest State, but it has the highest density of population (974 persons to the square mile). It grows 56 per cent of India’s tea and 96 per cent, of its rubber. It has a virtual monopoly of pepper and cashew . nut exports. Yet many of its 14 • million people are appallingly L poor. After the grant of Indian independence, Kerala first .. elected a Congress Party Government. This was succeeded by an advisory regime, directly responsible to the Indian PresiP dent. Then, briefly, Kerala had p. a Socialist Government Corruption and other malpractices

thwarted progress. Caught in a wave of disillusionment, the Keralites succumbed to a concentrated campaign by the Communists. Even the numerically important Catholic community, which might have been regarded as a bulwark against communism, was unprepared to support the Congress Party. In free, unrigged elections, the Communists emerged the largest single party. The new Government at once showed itself either unwilling ®r unable to maintain : order. The police were demoralised; and Communist labour leaders fomented widespread disorders. Kerala’s is a plantation economy; land-owners were a logical target for the Communists. Frustrated by the Indian Government in its efforts to expropriate land, the Kerala Government began to attack the capitalists with the familiar weapon of unreasonable taxation. Turning to the task of indoctrination, the Communist Ministers, by their Education Bill, took control over the schools, many of which had previously been run by the Christian churches. An army of village welfare officers was appointed; and committees were set up to supervise local officials. Opposition to, these changes was soon manifest But the Kerala Congress Party had become supine; . opposition leadership was poor; and the illiterate masses looked eagerly for promised land reforms, increased employment and industrial expansion. The Communist promises are still largely unredeemed. The Government has adopted violent means to suppress its critics. Unemployment and poverty remain as widespread as ever. News of the Tibetan revolt has doubtless penetrated into even the remoter areas of Kerala. If the Congress Party can mobilise its allies, Mr Nambudripad’s Government may be overthrown before the elections of 1962; but the Congress leaders will need to realise that neutralism is a poor defence against communism.