Debates around the “politics of social justice” are conspicuous by their absence as Kerala is all set to face back-to-back elections in the coming months, social critic M.N. Karassery says.
In an interview to The Hindu, he points out that all political parties are now busy talking about development alone, which can’t be called an ideology. “It was the Kerala Congress, which first spoke about development as an ideology. Its leaders wanted to show that they were different from the Congress. But, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Josef Stalin too talked about development,” Mr. Karassery says.
He notes that ensuring social justice is more important than bringing in development. “The Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, has huge and impressive buildings and good infrastructure, but K.K. Harshina, a home-maker, is yet to get justice from the authorities there [after a surgical instrument was reportedly left behind in her stomach following a medical procedure].,” he says.
Similarly, Bindu, a Dalit woman from Thiruvananthapuram, was taken into police custody after she was accused of theft. “The police used abusive language against her when she sought some water to drink. Ms. Bindu was later found to be innocent. The same police ensured that Unnikrishnan Potti, the accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, got his favourite vegetarian food while in custody because he is a Brahmin. Where is social justice here?” Mr. Karassery asks.
