Notes from the Field:
The International Congress on Kerala Studies

by Richard W. Franke and Barbara H. Chasin
22 September 1994

More than 1,500 scholars and political activists attended the first International Congress on Kerala Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 27-29 August, 1994. The Congress was organized by progressive academics and activists at the A. K. G. Centre for Research and Studies -- named for a famous peasant and labor leader -- and held on the nearby campus of Kerala University. About 40 foreign academics were present, along with many Indian intellectuals from outside Kerala. The majority of the 550 papers were read by Kerala academics or activists who also made up most of the audiences. Most papers were presented in English, with about 5% being read in Malayalam, Kerala's principle language.

The first day of the Congress included opening speeches and six symposia on (1) The New World Order, India, and Kerala; (2) Technology, Environment, and Development; (3) Survey of Kerala Historiography; (4) Lessons of the Left Movement in Kerala; (5) Crisis in Kerala's Higher Education; and (6) Evolution of Kerala Culture and Language.

The second day included 67 panels running in four time slots covering all the remaining papers. The final day had summary reports on the various sessions followed by closing speeches. Among the 67 sessions were papers on:

The Congress was originally organized around five major themes: Natural Resources and Geography, Kerala Economy, Kerala History, Society and Politics, and Culture and Language. It brought together scholars with common interests in a particular area of Kerala studies such as Malayalam linguistics. It also brought together political activists and academics working on aspects of Kerala that could be applied to the state's social and economic problems. A theme of many Congress presentations was the Kerala model of development: its achievements, limitations, and future prospects. Almost all sessions with topics that could have a development -- or Kerala model -- aspect, did.

The emphasis of the Kerala model papers and discussions was on the many and serious problems faced by the state's people. Although Kerala has rightly been praised by outside observers for its accomplishments in literacy, life expectancy, infant mortality, and other development areas, intellectuals and activists within Kerala are becoming increasingly concerned with threats to the model's sustainability. They stressed the need for new initiatives. A few papers attacked the basis of Kerala's development, and several drew attention to groups that have hardly benefited from the much-lauded achievements:   tribal peoples, female agricultural laborers, female household servants, female stone crushers, and migrant workers from nearby Tamil Nadu state, among others. Other questions concerned the ability of Kerala to continue its relatively egalitarian, participatory, mobilized, activist approach to development in the absence of substantial economic growth of the kind that has been absent in recent years.

One major theme was the threat posed to Kerala by India's recent acceptance of World Bank and IMF Structural Adjustment Loans. Kerala's people-first approach seems in conflict with the emerging world order which brings the assets of the Indian state into the hands of finance capitalists who want to buy and sell them to make money. Economist Prabhat Patnaik questioned whether price controls on essential goods can be maintained in the present situation. One result of a market economy might be that better-off consumers in Punjab would buy Kerala's rice, exacerbating the state's chronic food shortage and driving up local prices that would no longer be protected by an effective public food distribution system -- up to recently one of Kerala's most remarkable achievements. Economist M. A. Oomen remarked that Kerala might be the most seriously affected of all the Indian states by the policies being implemented in New Delhi.

A related subject was the tasks for the left movement in the new situation. Among the proposals debated were: (1) the need for the left to enter into a dialogue with religious communities without compromising its commitment to secularism, (2) the need to re-invigorate mass organizations and try to prevent them from becoming only front organizations for particular political parties, and (3) the need to regain the cultural influence enjoyed by the left in earlier times such as the 1950s, and (4) the need to go from talking about women's equality in theoretical Marxist terms to taking actions to bring women into participation and into positions of leadership.

Women themselves took an initiative on this last point. Few women had presented papers. About 30 women participants held a special meeting to discuss their concerns. They were especially critical of gender being relegated to two separate sessions instead of being integrated into various panels. They also agreed that the concept of politics used by many at the Congress was too narrowly confined to political parties and government agencies. Several women spoke of the importance of discussing mass struggles, many of which transcend formal political structures. They also felt that the Congress should have paid more attention to the women's movement in Kerala. Their concerns were reported to the Congress at the summing up plenary session.

Despite the criticisms and concerns, an atmosphere of optimism and energy pervaded the Congress. Most of the talks were by academics, but activists crowded the hallways and cornered professors at the book exhibits to pose questions, challenge statements, and ask for further sources. A fair amount of dialogue thus occurred at the Congress, and it is likely that the Congress served to inspire and energize activists who would return to their youth, peasant, labor union, women's, or other organizations to argue for new initiatives and further actions in the interest of Kerala's ordinary people.

Despite the difficult logistics of housing and transporting so many people in a city with limited facilities, Congress organizers managed to keep everything running smoothly. Left-affiliated mass organizations provided back-up services. The difficult task of feeding participants was taken on by the Kerala State Agricultural Workers Union, the Kerala State Committee of CITU, the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (confederation), and the Federation of State Employees and Teachers Organizations. Morning and afternoon tea was donated by the Kerala Peasants Association.

The first International Congress on Kerala Studies was overall an informative and inspiring event. The 1200 word abstracts for the papers fill 993 pages in 5 volumes (and one small supplement) as printed for the conference. Extra copies of certain volumes may be available. Full texts of papers can be requested from the individual authors whose addresses appear with the abstracts. For information on obtaining the program and available abstract volumes, contact: Dr. T. M. Thomas Isaac, AKG Centre, Thiruvananthapuram 695 034, Kerala, India..

Anyone wishing a copy of either the abstract or the full text of the paper by Richard W. Franke and Barbara H. Chasin, entitled The Relevance of the Kerala Model in the Emerging World Order can contact us on e-mail at franker@mail.montclair.edu . We will e-mail the text unless you specify otherwise. We can also be contacted at the Department of Anthropology, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043. FAX 973-655-7031.

For a detailed and comprehensive report on the themes of the Congress, see:

Thomas Isaac, T. M., and Michael P. K. Tharakan. 1995 Kerala: Towards a New Agenda. Economic and Political Weekly 30(31-32):1993-2004, August 5-12 1995.

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