Kerala is supposed to be a
socialist paradise with the best social and gender indicators, frowning on
economic growth and globalisation. But a look at the latest crime data suggests
that even Kerala's image as a civilised paradise for women is much exaggerated.
Of all states, Kerala has the
highest crime rate of 455.8 per lakh people, over twice the national rate of 196.7. India's Crime Capital is Kochi (817.9) followed by
Kollam (637.3).
Now, crimes are underreported in
India, especially in the north. So, Kerala's high crime figures represent, in
part, proper recording of crimes. Even so, the figures look uncomfortably high.
Crimes Against Women
Kerala has the highest female-male ratio (1084:1000 against
the national 940:1000) and the highest female literacy rate (92%). This is
attributed to a historical lead in education, matrilineality and enlightened
gender attitudes.
Yet crimes against women in Kerala
are shockingly high. The rape rate in Kerala (2.9) is almost one and a
half times the national
rate (2.1). The rate of assault on women with intent to outrage
their modesty is 10.7
in Kerala, thrice as high as the national average (3.7). The rate of
insults related to the modesty of women is 1.4, against the national 0.8.
Kerala does far better than India
overall in dowry
deaths: its rate 0.1 against the national 0.7. Yet cruelty to women comes in at the
rate of 15
per lakh population, almost double the national 8.8.
The highest rates for cruelty are
in two other Marxist strongholds — Tripura (23.4) and Bengal (21.9). Can this
be attributed entirely to Marxist transparency in reporting ? Nobody will
believe the very low rate of 3.7 in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who are clearly
guilty of gross under-reporting.
Kerala has a relatively low rate of
murder and theft, but its cheating rate is almost double the national average.
It is the champion in criminal rioting (31.4 against the national 6.2). This
may explain the state's extraordinarily high rate of criminal hurt (60.7
against the national 27.7) and arson (1.6 against 1.0). We need more research
on these subjects.
Crime data are an additional
reason to rethink the famed Kerala model of socialist development. For decades,
Amartya Sen and Mahbub ul Haq (creator of the
Human Development Index) lavished praise on Kerala for achieving high social
indicators through government intervention while being poor and growing slowly.
New research shows this to be substantially illusory.
Rethinking the Model
Despite land reform and Marxist
pretensions, the state is virtually the most unequal in India (with a Gini
coefficient of 0.392 against the national 0.336). True, it has the highest
Human Development Index, Life Expectancy and Literacy, and the Lowest Fertility
and Infant Mortality Rate. But these have not arisen by emphasising welfare
over GDP or economic growth.
Kerala has been among the richest
five states (measured by per capita income) since 1980-81. It has the Highest Per Capita spend in rural and
urban areas. It is among the fastest-growing states, with a peak growth rate of
10.4% in 2007-08. This owes a lot to rising remittances from overseas
Keralites, which now account for 32% of state GDP. So, Kerala's high social
indicators are correlated not with poverty or lack of economic growth, but with
rising Mammonisation.
~ THE ECONOMICS TIMES
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