Every view has a counter, every opinion can be different, and at News18, we value each one of them. To present these views and opinions to you – the reader – is not just a job, but also our duty.
News18 kicks off a new series, Sticking Point, which will have prominent opinion makers from across India and the world face off on varied topics through their written words. Sticking Point will be the voice of diverse authors, as they debate on a particular subject of national and international importance, and more importantly, one that enlightens our reader.
The media provides a platform for the man on the street, for those in positions of power, the influencers and opinion makers to float an idea that is sometimes ahead of its time. For sure, media renders a yeoman service in moulding public opinion. Given its reach, it has the power to change mindsets essential to make changes to policies and practices that eventually improve the life of the people.
It is easy to see how the media has helped great thinkers and reformists bring about societal changes in every walk of life, in India and across the globe. Debates and discussions the media sparks off and facilitates often lead to the emergence of positive ideas and solutions to the most vexed problems.
But the caution one needs to exercise is to prevent proliferation of ideas that may lead to stress, strain and strife among people.
When my colleague from the media pointed me to this write-up arguing for a case to turn Kerala, the country’s most literate state with social indicators that are way higher than the national averages and a state that seems to be blessed by the Gods themselves when it comes to natural beauty, into a Union Territory, the question that popped up in my mind is – Why fix something that ain’t broke?
Although there is some strength in the argument that Kerala lags far behind in economic development and growth, and that the state has had to fight for even basic ‘development’ and logistics (rail, air services, for example), these reasons are applicable to other regions as well. True, what Kerala contributes to the national exchequer by way of taxes and what it gets back in return are unfavourable, just like the other South Indian states of Karnataka and Tami Nadu, both progressive, prosperous, and developed with thriving manufacturing and services sectors.
It is easy to find fault with the successive central governments for ignoring Kerala, including the current regime, which seems to have formed the basis for author CR Raveendranath’s piece, which argued for a direct central rule in the tiny state by turning it into a UT, with its own government with little autonomy.
Is Kerala so “broken” that it needs fixing is a radical idea questioning the formation of states in the first place that needs more debate, discussion and perhaps involvement of people from Kerala.
True, there may be a section of people in Kerala who will argue that nothing has gone right in the state and that only centrally administered strong and focused investment activity and stress on infrastructure will help push Kerala to its true economic growth potential.
Politically, Kerala, one of the most stable states, which witnesses a two-horse race between the Congress and Left, the very mention of making it a Union Territory is sure to kick up a storm, with charges galore of a backdoor entry of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is finding the state a no-go area so far.
UT, NO GROWTH GUARANTEE
Can the economic situation of a state improve dramatically by converting it into a Union Territory as the article seems to suggest? At the outset, it does not guarantee economic growth and progress just because the political control goes in the hands of the centre.
Other than giving more power to the central government, something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposed as the Gujarat Chief Minister, converting the state into a UT does not guarantee growth and development. But it surely impinges on the democratic values and undermines the Federal spirit of the Constitution.
If we recall the righteous stand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Federalism, any proposal to convert a State into Union Territory would be fraught with the danger of attracting grave charges at a time when the institution of governors is being questioned. The opposition-ruled states are accusing the governors of functioning like the agents of central government, a charge that even Prime Minister Modi made as the Gujarat Chief Minister.
In fact, he had, at a party meet in Lucknow in 2011, moved a resolution that accused “the Congress-led UPA government at the centre of usurping law-making powers of the state, misusing investigative agencies, exploiting statutory and constitutional bodies to undercut states and getting governors to work as political agents”.
So, firstly, any suggestion to alter the political structure of any state in India, given the atmosphere of trust deficit between the ruling party at the centre and opposition parties that rule some of the states is bound to spiral into a political controversy.
The abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and truncating the state into a smaller region with Ladakh carved out as a union territory was peaceful and led to a spurt in tourism in the Valley. But this does not warrant or necessitate replication of the strategy applied in a strife-torn border state to a relatively peaceful and communally harmonious and stable state like Kerala. Currently, there are no necessary or sufficient conditions to take a similar action to help administer the state more efficiently.
The author rightly acknowledges the high social, public health, educational and literacy parameters of Kerala, but feels that these are not enough to face current-day economic challenges, which he argues would get focussed attention if the state was turned into a UT.
I am sure he has concluded that the political system in the state needs an introspection — even after seven decades of Independence, the state lags compared to its neighbours who have grown much faster — after an in-depth study and his own analysis of the situation.
CONVINCING KERALA DIFFICULT
To float an idea, perhaps, his observations may be enough, but convincing the state and its people needs strong facts and data to indicate that they are true and that there is empirical evidence that UT status has done wonders for a similarly carved-out area.
Besides, how does one navigate the political arena by forcing a decision by suppression of choice and will of the people of the state needs to be pondered over and looked at carefully. Especially, given the fears and apprehensions of the state governments run by opposition parties that similar ideas may be floated with respect to any opposition-ruled state.
Just like the topography, climate, environment and geography of each state is different, the possibilities, prospects, outlook and the suited economic model, too, differ, as doubtless, the author, a management expert, surely must have considered.
Kerala has its inherent and natural advantage in tourism, as a state blessed by the god. It benefits from the postal money order economy – remittances from workers around the globe of Kerala origin. True, Kerala may not offer many opportunities for jobs from its tourism, agriculture and limited manufacturing sector, and many of its able-bodied men and women migrate to different places in India and abroad. But isn’t it the case with many other states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, from where hundreds of thousands of workers migrate to more prosperous and progressive states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh in search of livelihood?
It has been pointed out that Kerala finds it difficult to pay salaries to the state’s government employees, but even the most prosperous Punjab and a few other states have faced similar situations in the past. It must be remembered that Kerala also alleged that it gets short-changed, like other states in the South, in terms of devolutions from the centre and that it contributes more to the national exchequer than it gets back in return. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has on record said that Kerala received a paltry 25 paise for every Rupee of tax it contributes to the centre.
Let’s look at Kerala’s numbers that put its economy at the ninth largest in the country, with an annual gross state product of Rs 9.78 lakh crore in 2020-21 and has a per capita GSP of Rs 257,711, which was the sixth largest in the country. Kerala is also a heavily urbanised state and is the state with the least percentage of people below poverty line. Its per capita income is also six times the national average, which has fuelled international migration for low-end jobs, even as Keralites have migrated across India and abroad for high-paying jobs. For this reason, the Kerala economy is supported heavily by expatriate remittances, but at the same time, the state has done well for itself in tourism, healthcare and services, although a lot needs to be done in the IT sector that promises a lot.
SURE, KERALA NEEDS TO SHAPE UP
Yes, one does tend to agree with Raveendranath that much is desired to be done in Kerala on the manufacturing and agricultural front. Governance issues crop up time and again, given the penchant of the Left ideology to erect roadblocks in the path of capitalistic ventures, to an extent that recently a big-time investor facing the wrath of the government was sent an airplane by the Telangana government and he decided to put up his plant at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in that state instead.
But one must also appreciate that Kerala’s size, shape, geography and resources dictate an economic model specific to it, one that is ideal for it. Clearly, there is a view that Kerala cannot afford a heavy industrialisation strategy that other states can, given its rich environmental capital. What economists in the state would argue for is a mix of MSMEs, value-added services like IT and high-value fruits and crops in the agriculture sector to propel economic growth in the ‘God’s Own Country’. Farm sector continues to be a source for worry as it lags behind and fails to contribute significantly to the state’s growth. The reasons are not far to seek: small landholdings, falling productivity and low capital formation. But it sure has a potential for high-value added crops such as fruits, plantation crops, organic products and medicinal plants. Kerala surely needs modern farming techniques and practices, but the state can get those without being turned into a Union Territory. What is clear is that the government, already under other burdens, cannot alone ensure agricultural development and needs private sector involvement. And this is a political and ideological question that the government of the day needs to find answers to.
Currently, services sector accounts for a little over half in the state’s GDSP, which is a good thing. But an area of concern is that the state needs to leverage its progress in education and health to ensure that its services growth takes place in high value-added entities such as IT and it becomes an IT major like Karnataka, TN and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Also, one does agree with the author, as also several like-minded Keralites, that the state needs to step up its value-added services – IT software, financial services and luxury tourism — so it can focus on engineering, research and development, and software products. Also, the state needs to address industrial backwardness that stems from traditional reasons – heavy trade unionism and an investment unfriendly image and somewhat hostile attitude of the government as well as a section of the populace to private sector.
Given the topography, land for huge projects is unavailable in Kerala and hence the state needs to focus on MSME to expand its industrial base. But yes, to do everything, Kerala needs to pump up its investment. Kerala has also received only 0.63% of private investment projects completed in India, as per CMIE data, which is significantly lower than top performing states like Gujarat (13.39%) and Maharashtra (11.99%).
LET KERALA BE …
To accomplish all this, making Kerala a union territory is not a sufficient and necessary condition. Faster economic development, growth and prosperity can be achieved without any change in the current political system, which has stood the test of time. Kerala has never seen a secessionist or separatist movement and is one of the truly integrated entities in India. Keralites have made a significant contribution in every walk of life.
Yes, the central government has, theoretically, the right to convert any state into union territory and vice-versa based on administrative and political reasons, cultural distinction and strategic and defence importance, but this again begs the question: Why fix something that ain’t broke?
The author is a senior journalist tracking social, economic, and political changes across the country. He was associated with the Press Trust of India, The Hindu, Sunday Observer and Hindustan Times. Views expressed are personal.
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