[www.keralites.net] Kerala vs. Modi's Gujarat

 

Kerala vs. Modi's Gujarat..

 

One of the most heated debates is on in your group on the topic, with some self-righteous Keralite worthies claiming that the Kerala model, whatever it may mean, is better than Modi's communal politics and police excesses

 

So, here is some fodder for thought.

 

Gautam Adhikari, ex-editor of the Maharashtra Times writes in TOI today (13/7/13) and some interesting parts..

 

.."Take two states at opposite extremes of India, geographically as well as in economic performance, Gujarat and West Bengal. Both were at the high end of economic and industrial indicators when India became a republic, Gujarat, with minor ups and downs over the decades, remains near the top of India's charts of well-performing states; West Bengal, which began to slide in the 60s, somewhere in the low end. The one major difference between the two states lies in economic culture. Gujarat has historically been pro-business. Gujaratis are entrepreneurial and have proved their acumen in India and overseas. The social and intellectual climate in Gujarat is not disdainful of wealth. And also, their social attitudes currently seem to coincide some with Modi's since he's been elected thrice.

 

Bengal culture, however, is anti-business. Modi has, by all accounts, led a clean and efficient administration and Gujarat has done well under his leadership. Be is batting on a culturally friendly wicket."

 

(Me: You simply replace Bengal with Kerala, and the only difference in the comparison is that Kerala wasn't all that industrialized even at Independence. One doesn't agree with the thesis that Keralites are good but not their politicians, for the leaders after all come from amongst the masses which are anti-business. To all those who claim that the Kerala model is superior, I ask, is it edifying for the successive governments in Kerala and for the people that elect them to drive out millions of natives from its soil in search of jobs to the not-so environmentally and socially hospitable desert-like West Asian gulf countries?

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