Kerala ; A Land of Beauty, Development & Paradoxes

Kerala A Land of Beauty ,Development & Paradoxes by K Rajasekharan Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA)

Kerala : The Land of Coconuts
Kerala is the land of Coconuts (Kera), rivers, rain, Kathakali, snake boats & backwaters
It has 560 km length & 60 km breadth
44 rivers, 34 lakes & 448 Km of inland water ways are their in Kerala
There exists 30 dams across those rivers

Enchanting Beauty of Flowing Streams

The Myth about Kerala
The myth says Parasurama, an avatar of God Mahavishnu threw his battle axe into the sea and the land of Kerala emerged from the sea
Parasuram’s life goal was to set free the world from the arrogant rulers who he killed. As a way of penitence he handed over the conquered land to Brahmins
Then he sat meditating at the northern part of Kerala at Gokarnam, later reached Kanyakumari and throw his axe to north reclaiming the land up to Gokarnam
It was Kerala, the myth says

Social Reformers
Sree Narayana Guru 1885-1928
Ayyakali 1863-1941
Cahattampi Swamikal 1853 -1924
Mannathu Padmanabhan 1878 – 1970
Dr Palpu 1863 -1950
V T Bhattthirippad 1873 -1932
Muhammed Abdul Rahiman 1898 – 1945
and many more…..

One of the world’s 50 greatest places as per National Geographic

The panoramic backwaters, lagoons and water bodies make it a paradise for tourists

Kerala at a glance
Area 38863 sq.km
Population 3.18 crores
Urban 82 lakhs (26 percent)
Rural 2.35 crores
Density per sq.km 819
Sex ratio 1058 females/1000 males
BPL percentage 12.05 (1999-2000)
Literacy 90.92 (W 87.86)
SC/ ST population 10.9 % (9.8 SC+1.1 ST)

Greenery in hill stations

A Dense State
Kerala is third dense state in India followed by West Bengal & Bihar
Kerala represent 1.8 per cent of total area of India and holds 3.43 percent of population
Kerala is the only state where women exceeds men
Annual population growth was 0.91 % in 1991-2001 as against 1.93 in India & 1.2 in the world

Some Advantages it have
Receives heavy rain, evenly distributed natural resources including rivers
Settlements are evenly dispersed without rural-urban distinction with a piece of fenced land around each house
Good international contacts since 3000 BC
Excellent road & rail network
Keeps cosmopolitan & progressive outlook
The greenery, fertility of soil & abundant water make Kerala resourceful

Art forms in Kerala
Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Thiruvathira etc are the classical dance forms in Kerala
Kathakali combines dance,drama & music .One needs to know the meaning of gestures to appreciate it fully

Kerala has been famous for martial arts such as Kalari Payattu

Women in Kerala
Much ahead of their counterparts, marry at 21 (men at 28-9)
High literacy, fewer children, marry later & Live longer
More in numbers than men
Low paid, sexually harassed & less powerful in politics
Kerala ranks highest in per capita use of gold
Women have 1.9 children – One of the lowest in India

Styles of Dress
Simplicity and elegance are the trait of Malayalee dress
Diverse types of dresses from traditional to ultra modern are popular now
Use of footwear is very common
Fashion dresses reache Kerala so fast

Wedding Dress - Styles

Kerala Food Styles
Typical Kerala food is boiled rice with a few vegetable dishes served on a banana leaf
Kerala dishes range from Puttu and Kadala curry to hot appam & spicy chicken curry / mutton stew
Hindus prefers vegetarian food Muslims and Christians like non-vegetarian
Coconut & spices are added to every dish

Bio-diversity in Kerala
Western ghats is one of the 24 biodiversity hot spots in the world
The State contains
more than 4500 species of flowering plants,
102 species of mammals,
476 species of reptiles,
89 species of amphibians &
202 species of fresh water fishes

Diversity in Festivals
Onam is the most important festival in Kerala
Thrissur Pooram - an elephant pageant - is a temple festival
Pulikkali is another festivity
Edathua Perunal & Malayattur Perunnal a re Christial Festivals
Chandana Kudam is Muslim festival
Colourful festivals add beauty to Kerala life

Thrissur Pooram :Elephant Pageantry

Keralites particularly Hindus perform rituals to please Gods

Theyyam in North Kerala

Boat Race & House Boats

Boat Race

Beautiful Beach at Kovalam

Formation of Kerala State
Kerala was formed in 1956 merging princely states of Travancore, Kochi and Malabar area of Madras presidency
Around 30 rulers were there in erstwhile Kerala land when formed
Kerala had a distributed feudal polity before that

Revenue / Local Administration Divisions
Revenue Administration
14 Districts
63 Taluks
1452 Villages
Local Administration
Rural
14 District Panchayats
152 Block Panchayats
999 Grama Panchayat
Urban
53 Municipalities
5 Corporations

Achievements in Health
Kerala has outstanding achievement in the health sector due to its
low infant mortality,
high life expectancy at birth ,
low birth rate ,
low death rate and
virtual elimination of many communicable diseases .

Health Indicators of Kerala Indicators Kerala India Birth rate (Per thousand) 15.00 23.80 Death rate (Per thousand) 6.40 8.10 Infant mortality (Per thousand) 15.00 58.00 Maternal mortality (Per thousand) 0.87 4.37 Fertility rate per woman 1.70 3.30 Life expectancy Male Female 70 73.62 64.10 65.60

Health Institutions in Kerala
In govt we have
2711 Allopathy Health Centre,
871 Ayurveda institutions,
561 Homeo dispensaries
In private we have
4288 Allopathic institutions,
4922 Ayurvedic Institutions,
3118 Homeo dispensries
Kerala Health University deals with all streams of health care

Luxurious Private Hospitals Inadequate public facilities

Family Matters
One-third houses in urban and 64 per cent in rural
Family comprises of 4 on average
85 per cent lives in pucca houses
More than 2/3 get drinking water from well
45 percent of men and 1 percent of women drink alcohol

Very Poor Mental Health Increasing Life Style Diseases
Kerala suicide rate is 3 times higher than national average.
It contributes 10 % of Indian suicides.
3-4 % of Keralites suffer from mental disorders
Life style diseases & aging pose health challenges in Kerala Society

Educational Institutions
Engineering Colleges 84
Medical colleges ( Allopathic) 13
Medical Colleges (Ayurveda) 14
Homeopathy Medical Colleges 5
Arts & Science colleges 290
Higher education Universities 8

Government Schools Loose Glamour

Increasing English Medium Schools

Schools in Kerala : Statistics
LP,UP & High Schools 12646
Government Schools 4500
Private aided Schools 7284
CBSE schools 587
ICSE schools 100
Central Schools 27
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya 14
Higher Secondary School 1656
Vocational Higher Secondary 375
Student enrolment 48.42 lakhs
Drop out rate 0.86 in LP,0.79 in UP, 1.86 in HS

Employment in Gulf Countries
Kerala got one crore , crore rupees from gulf in the past 25 years – 7 times higher than central assistance or more than twice the Karala state budget
In 2007 we got 24500 crore -1/5 th of SDP which means daily 60 crore rupees
18.5 lakh people work in gulf in 2007

Unemployment Problem in Kerala
Kerala labour force is around 237 lakh, 2.5 % of Indian labour force
No of job seekers are 37.56 lakh in 2004
No of professional & technical work seekers are 1.78 lakh
Employability of technical work seekers are poor

Spread of Banks in Kerala
The bank branches in Kerala on March 2008 were 3843
Average population per bank is 9000 as against 15000 in India
Banks have customer services such as core banking-banking, phone banking, ATMS etc

Techno Park employs 12500 IT Professionals & has 104 companies 18,12,000 Sq Feet

Public Sector Enterprises
111 public enterprises are there in Kerala
The returns form public enterprises are very low
Govt is making huge investment
Govt fixes very low user charges

News Papers & Magazines
Number of magazines1483 Dailies: 200; Weeklies 178; Fortnightlies:174; Monthlies 762; Quarterlies: 95; Others: 74
Number of Malayalam Newspapers:1137; Circulation of Newspapers: 30 lakhs Circulation of weeklies: 22.63 lakhs; Circulation of monthlies: 10.63 lakhs

Increasing Radio & Television Channels
There are 7 All India Radio stations with reach in the entire State
Doordarsan is the prime channel covering entire State with 3 High Power Transmitters(HPT), 18 Low Power Transmitters & 2 Very Low Power Transmitters (VLPT)
There are many satellite channels too

Housing : Not a Serious Problem
Kerala has 65.95 lakh households and 65.32 per cent housing units with shortage of only 0.63 per cent
68 per cent live in permanent houses, 21.6 % in semi-permanent
56 per cent houses are good, 36 per cent livable and 8 per cent dilapidated
People prefer to live in fenced independent houses

Poor Public Sanitation
Kerala has largest coverage of house latrines in India
48 per cent of 65.95 lakh households have sanitary latrines
Over 60 per cent of household latrines are located close to open dug wells causing health risk

Poor Solid Waste Management
Solid waste management in the State is poor
Fifty per cent of the waste generated in Kerala is allowed to decompose on road margins, drains, canals, water bodies or open space
Bio-Medical waste is a problem due to AIDS / Hepatitis
68 per cent of SW is bio degradable & 32 per cent is non-degradable

Mounting Hospital & Solid Waste Biogas Deals with Bio Wastes

Religious Composition
Rigorous caste system existed ,but without religious rancor
Religious institutions make life more serene and sacred
Kerala population consist of
56.2 percent Hindus
24.7 percent of Muslims,
19 percent of Christians & 1 per cent others

Hindu Temple

Fast Declining Forest Wealth
In 1800 ,75 per cent was forest.
In 1900, it declined to 38 per cent &
in 1940 to 33 per cent
1940 – 1970 was the period of destruction of forest
Kerala retains around 10 per cent of fast declining forests
Silent valley national park is the only piece of evergreen forest
The valley is even devoid of chirping of insects
Vehicular transport is possible upto 21 KM away

Once Appreciated Kerala Architecture
Kings permission was needed to have a tiled roof up to 1930s in Kerala
Kerala houses had low walls, slopping roofs and over hanging eaves
Reinforced Concrete Cement made its entry in 1950s and became popular in 1970s giving way for flat roofed box type structures
Eighties were marked by low cost eco-friendly houses of Laurie Baker style
Commercial buildings are becoming high-tech with glass,steel & aluminum

Portuguese, Dutch & English influenced Kerala Architecture

Kerala Countryside An example of Scenic beauty

Road Network & Transportation
Kerala has 4.2 per cent of road network in India with 44.42 lakh vehicles on March 2008
The length of road per people & road density per area is much higher than national average
Traffic grows at 10 per cent while road at 5 per cent
Railway coverage is very high-188 stations
We have 3 air ports &18 ports
Out of 1.54 lakh Km of road length 1.04 lakh Km road is held by Panchayats
26 % of panchayat roads are black topped, 60 % are gravelled

Kochi International Air Port The First Private Air Port in India

Increasing Vehicle Accidents
8 persons die per day on the road
15 accidents per thousand vehicles against 7.5 nationally
12 per cent accidents in India takes place in Kerala with 1.18 percent area and 3.17 per cent population
Kerala has 50 lakh vehicles

Growing Consumer Markets
Kerala stands foremost among States in per-capita consumption expenditure
You can see consumer markets everywhere in Kerala and consumerism is growing
Public Distribution Shops is available at every 2 sq km that feeds the poor

Public Distribution System
Dates back to ! July 1965
Targeted public distribution system with categorized card for Below Poverty Line exist since 1 July 1997
Coverage of Ration Card for families is almost full
Poor below poverty line get 35 Kg of rice for Rs 70 per month

Way Side Vegetable Selling

Increasing Alcohol Consumption
Most drunken state
Per capita liquor consumption in Kerala is 8.3 against 4 liters all India 7 is rising
Alcohol increases fracas, felony , suicides, accidents and street violence,
takes away household peace & productivity
16 per cent Keralites consumes alcohol
Drinking causes 60 per cent of vehicle accidents & 1/3 of industrial accidents

A Toddy Shop The drink can be a chemical creation

Kerala Tea Shop A Debating Place for Rural Poor

Proud Legacy of Kerala Legislature
Travancore, a Kingly state in Kerala, formed a legislative council in 1988 for the first time in India with 2 non-official & 6 official members, for 3 years
In 1904 Sree Moolam popular Assembly was established with 100 members to associate people with administration
In Cochin Legislative Council was established in 1925
1920 onwards Malabar had representatives in Madras Legislative Assembly

On 1 July 1949 Travancore & Cochin merged together and the assembly had 178 members altogether from both
Travancore –Cochin became the constituent part of India in 1950
In 1957, Legislature was formed with 127 members in the first Assembly
It has 141 members now

Legislative Assembly Building

Governance in the State
Elected a communist Government in 1956, first in the world. Govt. follows socialistic welfare measures
The right and left fronts forms Governments in alternate elections
Congress (INC) and Communist (CPI-M) are dominant parties.
Party politics is the lifeblood of every Malayalee
Political workers are well trained, eloquent & well versed in persuasion
Secretariat building started functioning on 23 -8-1869

Kerala Secretariat

Kerala High Court Building Largest ,but with poor aesthetics

Progressive Developments
Kerala is a pioneer in land & labour reforms
Un-touchability has been eradicated
Absolute poverty has been reduced
It has success in family planning & workers education & may have zero population growth by 2035
Average monthly per capita consumption expenditure in Kerala is highest in India

Changing Land Use in Kerala
Net sown area is 56 percent
Forest constitutes 28 %
Non- agricultural land use is 10.52 %
Food crops comprises 13.6 % of gross cropped area
Only 13.6 % of net cropped area is under irrigation

Unencouraging Agricultural Situation
94 per cent are small holdings of .15 hectare against national average of .40
Much of Kerala is mainly under plantation crops, leading to food deficit
Rice is staple diet ,but produced much less
Kerala accounts for 92 % of Indian rubber,70%of coconut,60%of tapioca and almost 100% of lemon grass oil

Coconut occupies 41 % of net cropped area and provides livelihood to 3.5 million families
Rubber, tea, coffee, and cardamom occupies 29 per cent of net cropped area
Crops like pepper,Tapioca, Areca nut, banana, cashew, ginger etc are cultivated
Agriculture growth is declining - from 45 % of SDP in fifties to 11% of SDP now

Beautiful Paddy Fields : A thing of the Past

Why Agriculture Declines?
Decline in productivity& area
Environmental degradation
Absence of irrigation for non-rice crops
Lack of agri-related businesses
Poor investment in agriculture
Non existence of agri-storage facilities
Unregulated import of agri-produces

Milk & Egg in Kerala
Milk production in the State is declining whereas in India it is increasing
In egg, the gap between production and requirement is widening
Meat production is keeping pace with demand

Tardy Industrial Development
Industrial development is staggering
We have 18271 private factories& 4.05 lakh jobs
Kerala is well known for its traditional industries like cashew, handlooms, handicrafts and bamboo which engages 1 million people
Information Technology is in the booming stage
Tourism is gaining importance & have generated 8 lakh jobs in 2004
Kerala accounts for about 1/3 of Indian marine exports

Infrastructural Advantages
Kerala has the highest telephone density in India with 32 lakhs land phones and highest number of mobiles
Road length per lakh is 458 .8 Km against 259.2 Km for India
Kerala has post office for 7.7 sq km with a total of 5077 in the State
Eight out of 10 socially developed districts in India lie in Kerala as per ‘India Today’
Kerala is the first baby friendly state as per Unicef

Precarious Power Sector
The first hydel project was in 1900 at pallivasal. It was a private project of Kannan- Devan firm
We have 24 hydel projects – 2617 MW
5 Thermal projects – 1810.60 MW
1 wind project –2 MW and
77.9 lakh energy consumers

Rising Crimes in Kerala
1239 Murders in 2003-2004
13428 House braking incidents
1424 Rapes
1211 Unidentified bodies
6605 Cases of Absconding
5441 Vehicle theft

Protest March is a Common Sight

Menace of Paralysing Hartals
123 in 2003
Working days were only 160
In 2000-2004, 662 Govt vehicles damaged in hartals
One day hartal makes a loss of 700 Crore
In 2005,32.5 lakh man days lost due to workers strikes

Kerala tops in Consumerism
Spent Rs 2100 for mobile phone in 2007 by one Crore mobile users
Kerala is said to hold 25 per cent of Gold Use in India
Kerala tops in per capita loan by individuals

Cultural Heritage of Kerala
Kerala’s folk music, mostly devotional, has rugged beauty with its rhyme and rhythm
Contributions of Swathi Thirunal & Raja Ravi Varma in music and painting respectively are unique
The chenda, and chengala are dominant percussion instruments of Kerala

125 year old building of Art Museum at Thiruvananthapuram Probably, the oldest Museum in India established in 1855 Old Art Gallery in Thiruvananthapuram

Land of Ayurveda too
Ayurveda is a holistic system for prevention & cure of body ailments, based on plant drugs
Yoga and meditation are popular
Both refreshes the body and mind together

Massage & Yoga for Health and Beauty

Tourist Places near Thrissur
Athirappally water falls is 63 KM away
Vazhachal water fall is again 5 KM away from Athirapally
Peechi dam, Vilangan Hill, Elephant yard etc are other near places
Sakthan Thampuran Palace is an archeological piece with 6 acre garden

Athirappally Water Fall near Thissur

Arresting Beauty of Athirappally

Other Tourist Places
Thiruvananthapuram – capital city – is an abode of temples ,mosques and churches,Kovalam beach,Veli back water, Neyyar dam & ponmudi hill resort
Periyar wildlife sanctuary at Thekkady and Hill station at Munnar
Sabarimala & Guruvayur are pilgrim centers
Kochi & Kozhikodu are cities worth seeing

Traits of Keralites
Highly sociable
Good at friendship but bitter in enmity
Strong in conviction
Firm / persistent in action or in opposition
Clever at manipulation or propaganda
Intelligent,highly critical,sensitive,emotional
No hero worship
Appreciate seeing violence but not ready to engage in

Kerala is a Land of Paradoxes
Mounting fiscal crisis in public coffers
Major percentage of govt spending is unproductive
Growing unemployment / ‘Jobless growth’
High wage rates / low human productivity
Traditional industries are in doldrums
Growing corruption and rent- seeking
Investor unfriendliness / Constant bandhs, red tapism etc
Inefficiency in services
Low quality of education / low regulatory mechanism causing problems

Continues …
Growing population of aged 60+ (10.8 %)
Organized class opposing technologies
Increasing lifestyle diseases
High incidence of suicides (9145 in 2003 / 9244 in 2005) Kerala is third in India
High vehicle accident deaths
High use of alcoholic drinks
Flattening of hills, cutting of trees & filling of fields for raising concrete structures

Kerala Greenery is Fast Fading Can we do anything to reverse this? Thank You

Kerala ; A Land of Beauty, Development & Paradoxes

by K Rajasekharan

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Kerala ; A Land of Beauty, Development & Paradoxes Presentation Transcript