Kerala Eye

Anoop Jacob, son of the late T M Jacob, won the Piravom bye election. No surprise there. The voters know which side the bread is buttered. A young minister is any day better than an ageing comrade who will sit in the Opposition. The victory of the UDF candidate was a foregone conclusion. The sizeable margin of over 12000 votes must have delighted everyone in the UDF camp. Wonder how many bonus votes were earned by comrade R Selvaraj’s dramatic resignation from the legislature a week before the polling date. Wonder how many women (and men) voted against the LDF after V S Achuthanandan stooped to the level of describing Dr.Sindhu Joy as a woman of easy virtue. Psephologists, analysts and observers will find it hard to estimate this. But it is anybody’s guess – and guess it will remain.

Which of the Jacobite Jacobs will win the Piravom seat? Kerala waits with bated breath. We will know in a week’s time. And after that we can look forward to another bye election in Neyyattinkara. Which Nadar will it be? A Congress Nadar or a communist Nadar? Can any party deliver our State from the clutches of caste and religion? As Tagore might have said, “Into that heaven of freedom…will God’s Own Country awake?”

Comrade Achuthanandan has done it again! This time he described Sindhu Joy as a commodity used and discarded by the UDF leadership. Even an imbecile could not have missed the sexual innuendo. How an octogenarian could bring himself to refer to a young woman in such crude terms is beyond the comprehension of the cultured Malayali.

VS Achuthanandan has earned a reputation for maligning women. What he said about his opponent Lathika Subhash during the 2011 election campaign remains fresh in the minds of the public. This time VS has crossed the limits of decency and greatly embarrassed the CPM leadership on the eve of the Piravom bye election. Perhaps KB Ganesh Kumar was not entirely wrong when he said in his controversial speech at Pathanapuram that Achuthanandan has sex on his mind.

As the news of the resignation of Neyyattinkkara MLA, R Selvaraj, hit the headlines, Mallus are left wondering who this guy is. Well friends, this is the very same man who made history by increasing his assets from 1.1 lakhs in 2006 to 42.8 lakhs in 2011. Now he apparently has enough wealth to fight another election without LDF support and he is not so keen to sit in the Opposition for four more years. So he went straight to the Speaker, G Karthikeyan, and handed in his resignation. Then he made a grand announcement to the Press.

CPM leaders called him a traitor. Quite understandable. With the Piravom bye election barely a week away, the timing of Selvaraj’s resignation was perfect. He managed to get maximum mileage for himself and inflict the maximum damage upon the CPM, which was lying in wait for the fall of the UDF Government.

Today in Kerala every MLA is a precious commodity irrespective of the party to which he or she belongs. Selvaraj has decided to dream big. He believes he will win one more time. And who knows if the stars shine upon him he could even become a minister. Man proposes, God disposes.

Cardinal Mar George Alencherry has successfully marred the image of the Catholic Church in Kerala if his recent interview to an Italian magazine is to be believed. The Cardinal seems to have committed the unpardonable sin of ‘sleeping with the enemy’ and doing in Rome as the Romans do.

When two poor Indian fishermen were shot down in cold blood off the coast of Kollam by two Italian navy men who were guarding a cargo vessel, it was an emotional issue for the Indian public and a legal and political issue for the Kerala Government and the Government of India. At best it was a case of mistaken identity. At worst it was a cold blooded Mafia-style operation driven by a paranoid fear of pirates. What business has a Cardinal or any religious entity to interfere in this tragedy? Ponn urukunnidathu poochakendhu karyam?

The Cardinal’s reported statements are shocking in many ways. Does he really expect Prof. K V Thomas and Kerala’s Catholic Ministers (whoever they are) to be sympathetic to Rome? Who is he to give instructions to our Ministers? Why did he forget to call Sonia Gandhi?

In fact now is the time for Sonia Madam to prove her patriotism – one way or another. The Cardinal’s sin is inconsequential.

A high powered UDF Committee met at Thiruvanathapuram to discuss the Kochu Pillai-Valiya Pillai dispute. The constituents of the Committee were RC, OC and PC. (To help the uninitiated Mallus, it may be mentioned that RC is Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC President, OC is Oommen Chandy, Kerala CM, and PC is the irrepressible PC George, Chief Whip.)

“This father-son street brawl is causing acute embarrassment to the UDF,” RC started.

OC had a tired and harassed look. “Well everyone knows that father and son are on different planets,” he said cautiously. “But what I simply can’t understand is Balakrishan Pillai’s callous attitude towards his own son..”

“His own son?” PC interjected, “How can you be so sure?” PC always spoke his mind. No editing. No censorship. No fear. No hesitation.

RC intervened. “Can’t you see the striking resemblance, you moron? Ganesh Kumar even has Pillai’s voice. How could you even imagine…”

“I know! I know!” PC conceded quickly, “It’s just that Pillai-achan’s behavior often sends the wrong message.”

OC looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Yes, even a step father wouldn’t behave…” he said, choosing his words with abundant caution.

PC’s face bore an I-told-you-so look as he glanced at RC.

OC continued, “We are facing tough challenges on the political front. The LDF is trying hard to wrest the Piravom seat from us. Our coalition partners are on their own track. I don’t have to mention which group is giving the most trouble.” Now it was PC’s turn to look sheepish.

“We can’t afford to lose a single MLA,” RC stated firmly. “What if Ganesh is provoked into resigning his Assembly seat? Just imagine that!” For a moment RC almost sounded like actor Suresh Gopi.

PC grinned from ear to ear. OC spoke up. “That would be disastrous. Pillai will rush in to contest from Pathanapuram, and he will lose his deposit.”

“And the Government will fall. We all fall down! Amen.” PC announced, unperturbed.

RC was silent for a while. Then he said calmly, “Leave this to me.”

OC and PC looked at RC in surprise. “Whha..t are you g.g..ggoing to do?” they stuttered in unison.

“I shall call them to Indira Bhavan at 9 a.m. tomorrow,” RC explained. “Then I shall lock both of them into a small room and leave them there for the rest of the day. At 5 p.m. I shall open the door of the room and let the survivor out.”

PC heard a thud. He looked to his left. OC had fallen to the floor in a dead faint.

When the Oommen Chandy Government decided upon the early release of R Balakrishna Pillai from the Poojapura jail, little did they realize they were letting a rare genie out the bottle. The genie suddenly grew in size and started wreaking vengeance on anyone he could lay his hand on. And who happened to be the conveniently available scapegoat? His young son K B Ganesh Kumar, who after a hat-trick win from the Pathanapuram constituency, was now a Minister in the UDF cabinet.

The genie had a dream – a grand dream of realizing his political ambitions. Oh no, he was not ready to retire yet! At the age of 77 he could not sit and wait until the next election came round the corner in 2016. Something had to be done NOW. Either the UDF Government had to fall in 2012 or Ganesh Kumar had to resign his Assembly seat and allow Pillai Senior to contest. (The genie in his superior wisdom thought that victory would be a foregone conclusion.)

The genie carefully weighed his options. What if he evicts his son from his party, the Kerala Congress (B)? What if he asks the CM to remove Ganesh from the cabinet? What if the party directs Ganesh to resign from the cabinet? What if the party orders Ganesh to resign his Assembly seat? Every option would have desired and undesired consequences, intended as well as unintended consequences. And every action could have a snowballing effect instead of an equal and opposite reaction as Isaac Newton had predicted.

Let us take a look at some of the options and their consequences and perhaps we will be able to guess what the genie will do next.

OPTION 1: Throw Ganesh Kumar out of the party.
Desired Consequence: Teach GK a lesson for refusing to obey the Party Chairman.
Undesired Consequence: GK can sit in the legislature as an independent, start a new party, affiliate it to the UDF and even become a minister once again.

OPTION 2: Humiliate GK and unseat him from the ministerial berth, while retaining him within the party as a primary member without any official position.
Desired Consequence: GK would soon learn to toe the party line.
Undesired Consequence: GK would remain an MLA and go about criticizing and exposing the party leadership. The genie would soon be nowhere – no minister and no election.

OPTION 3: Provoke GK into quitting the party.
Desired Consequence: GK would fall victim to the anti-defection law and lose his Assembly seat. In the ensuing bye-election, Pillai senior would contest from Pathanapuram and win with the support of the UDF.
Undesired Consequence: The seat would go to the LDF. Or worse still, GK would contest against his father and win. The UDF would evict the KC(B) from the ruling coalition and the LDF would refuse to touch the party with a barge pole.

OPTION 4: Demand that GK resign his Assembly seat and make way for Pillai Senior.
Desired Consequence: GK resigns.
Undesired Consequence: The UDF Government soon falls for want of majority. GK starts a new party, Kerala Congress (G). He puts up Santhosh Pandit as his party’s candidate to take on Pillai Senior at Kottarakkara. The sitting MLA Aisha Potti is mortified and promptly withdraws from the contest.

The genie pondered and pondered and pondered. He wondered which of the consequences would actually occur. Would GK join the Congress or the Mani group or any of the LDF constituents? What would happen to the KC(B) then? Would there be any Party left?

In any case nobody is getting me back in that bottle, the genie thought to himself. And he sat down to make his plans.

God appeared before R Balakrishna Pillai and said, “I am immensely pleased by your devotion and your penances during the past year. You have borne your trials and tribulations with fortitude. I wish to give you a boon.”

Pillai Senior was thrilled. “Bhagavan, you have given me everything,” he said in a humble voice. “But there is only one thing I need now.”

“Well, I have a small condition,” God explained.

Pillai Senior was curious. “What is that, Bhagawan?”

“Your son Ganesh Kumar is a true devotee of mine. He regularly visits my temples. Moreover he is virtuous and does not harm even a fly.” As God spoke, Pillai Senior felt distinctly uncomfortable. He wondered what was coming next.

God continued, “I shall give you whatever you choose, but I shall give Ganesh Kumar twice as much. If you tell me you wish to live a 100 years, then your son will live to be 200. If you ask me for a BMW, I shall give him two BMWs. If you ask for a seat in the Kerala legislature, I shall give Ganesh and his followers two seats.”

Pillai Senior gasped. He paused for a moment and then said in a triumphant tone, “Bhagawan, I wish to be blind in one eye.”

Poonjar MLA and Chief Whip, PC George, was lying low for a while. He was unusually quiet for too long and this should have made anybody suspicious. And then all of a sudden he bowls a bouncer! He moves the High Court demanding a CBI investigation into the eleventh-hour decision of former CM, VS Achuthanandan to hand over the State Data Centre to Reliance.

VS is now on the defensive. In party circles his detractors are moving heaven and earth… (Oops! That was a typo! Should we say ‘sky and earth’ since the word ‘heaven’ does not appear in the Red Dictionary?)…Well, they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that VS is cornered, isolated, silenced, and made irrelevant and inconsequential. VS is facing charges of nepotism following his decision to give 2.3 acres of government land to his relative, T K Soman. His son, Arun Kumar, recently had his Ph.D. registration cancelled and moreover his appointment as ICT Director is being challenged.

PC’s timing is perfect. The Piravom bye-election is round the corner. The UDF needs a shot in the arm. Constant bickering within the Congress and among the allies is taking its toll. The CM is floundering – earnest but over-worked, confused and disoriented. The LDF is shamelessly wooing the Congress allies. The people are wondering WHO will be the first to defect. Will it be the KM (Kaalu Mari) Mani group? We don’t know. But the risk of losing Piravom hangs dangerously over the head of the UDF Government like the sword of Damocles.

VS is finally getting a taste of his own medicine. For years he used the sword of litigation to attack his political opponents. As if his vitriolic tongue wasn’t enough! But he went too far when he obtained a jail sentence for R Balakrishna Pillai from the Supreme Court and gloated over it for months. Even those who strongly disliked Pillai turned against VS after this event. VS started digging his own grave when he tried to trip up his own Party secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan.

Now that his opponents have decided to use the same tactics against him, VS is fighting a losing battle. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. PC may have the last laugh after all.

What if this popular devotional song is sung by a group of young women leading a march to Sabarimala? Today Sabrimala is out of bounds for women and girls between 10 and 50 years. The question on people’s minds is: When will women enter Sabarimala? Times have changed. Traditions have changed. The world has changed. Can Hinduism afford to remain unchanged?

Temple entry for women at Sabarimala is being denied on specious grounds. Lord Ayyappa is a brahmachari they say. If he is a true brahmachari, why would the presence or absence of young women make a difference to him? Isn’t Lord Ganesh a brahmachari too? Why aren’t women kept out of his temples? When Manikandan asked the Pandalam Raja to build a temple for him at the spot where his arrow would fall, did he advise him not to allow women in the temple? Of course not! Then who started the ban? When did it start and why? Is there any justification for its continuance today in defiance of the constitutional right to equality enjoyed by all citizens?

The family of the Sabarimala tantri is trying to misguide the public by bringing forth ridiculous arguments to justify the continuance of this discriminatory practice. Women have not come forward to demand temple entry they claim. How many women should come forward? From the legal standpoint is it not enough if one single woman stakes the claim? When non-Hindus discuss this matter, it is immediately portrayed as an assault on Hinduism and all Hindu organizations suddenly close ranks.

Another false argument is that there are temples meant exclusively for women, such as the Attukal Bhagavathy temple at Trivandrum, so why can’t there be a temple exclusively for men? Because the law of the land prohibits discrimination on any ground. And besides, men are not prevented from entering the Attukal Temple. This is cleverly worded misinformation on the part of the tantri clan.

When former Devaswom minister, G Sudhakaran stated that men consume alcohol and enter the Sabarimala temple he spoke the naked truth but his statement invited a vicious backlash. There are virtually no restrictions on men entering the Sabarimala temple. How many of the estimated 3.5 crore pilgrims who visit the place annually have undertaken the mandatory 41 day vratham? Why didn’t the tantri family conduct a random survey to find out?

It is time we seriously consider which are the traditions we need to follow and which ones we need to discontinue. Why must all poojas be performed by Brahmins? Why must all poojas be performed by men? If the eldest female member of the Thazhamon madom can perform pooja at the Chengannur Mahadeva Temple (during the Thriputhu), why can’t other women perform poojas at other temples? This is not a matter affecting Hindus alone. Christianity and Islam are also struggling with issues relating to women and religion. Can a woman be Pope? Can a woman be an Imam? Will this happen in the 21st century?

When will non-Hindus enter the Guruvayur temple? The answer is they already do – provided they are unknown and unnoticed. Recognizable persons like Yesudas, who are true devotees, are denied entry. What is the logic? Is the urine of a child dirtier than that of an elephant? Is menstrual blood more impure than elephant dung and urine? When will we get answers to these questions? Isn’t it better that civil society debates and resolves these issues rather than stray individuals taking everything to the Supreme Court?

In the early 20th century people of the backward castes were not allowed to enter temples. Toady even to speak of denying entry to a scheduled caste person would amount to sacrilege. How did this transformation come about? There were catalysts, social reformers who made the change happen. Sri Narayana Guru consecrated a sivalingam at Aruvippuram in 1888 and got away with it despite stiff opposition from the Brahmins. The Sivagiri temple was started by him in 1912. AK Gopalan’s satyagraha in November 1931 compelled the caste Hindus to open the doors of the Guruvayur temple to members of the backward classes.

In 1936, Maharaja Sri Chithira Thirunal issued the Temple Entry Proclamation stating: “Profoundly convinced of the truth and validity of our religion, believing that it is based on divine guidance and on all-comprehending toleration, knowing that in its practice it has throughout the centuries, adapted itself to the needs of changing times, solicitous that none of our Hindu subjects should, by reason of birth or caste or community, be denied the consolation and the solace of the Hindu faith, we have decided and hereby declare, ordain and command that, subject to such rules and conditions as may be laid down and imposed by us for preserving their proper atmosphere and maintaining their rituals and observances, there should henceforth be no restriction placed on any Hindu by birth or religion on entering or worshipping at temples controlled by us and our Government.”

Royalty was responsive enough. Is our democratically elected government equally capable of rising up to the aspirations of the people? Are the fundamentalist forces stronger than the will of the people simply because they are better organized and have vested interests to defend? Will our highest courts take a pro-active and progressive step? Or do women have to wait for another messiah to help them in the arduous climb to Sabarimala?