Election

The province of Kerala has the first democratically elected communist government in the world. The elections happen every 5 years and they have just happened. We are waiting for the results. The voter turnout is over 75%. 50% of the seats are reserved for women and in this election they are expecting that the elected women will outnumber the men for the first time. Big stuff! We have been endless loudspeakers for the last week and the political signage is plastered on every available space.

Even though there are 3 cities (maybe more) in Kerala with over 3 million people most of the province is rural – with a lot of travel being done on vast riverways.

In Kerala all families can own land and homes and in many families the women are the landowners. The womans name is also carried on to the children. The christian and catholic families have chosen to continue with the patriarchy with the mans name being inherited.

Many of the women running in this election come from poorer areas and have formed land cooperatives where poorer people can go and farm and grow and sell food back to the community.

As far as education – Kerala is the first and only province in India to have 100% literacy. That means all of the people can read or write in one of the main languages. Malayalam is the language of Kerala. But the children can also learn English and Hindi and Sanscrit in school. They love to practise their english on us foreigners – calling out as we go by. “How are you? “What’s your name?”

Election Results

It took a few days for the results to come in. In Kootalla a man was elected. Sorry I couldnt catch the name. The trucks were rolling around for a day or so with music and the loudspeakers announced the winner. Ladies were walking around giving out candies to celebrate. I gave my 2 candies to 2 kids and wished i had more for the grandmother who looked a little sad that she missed out. I asked the ladies at Sreedhari if they had voted for this man and they all said ‘yes and that he is a good man. Using repition for emphasis they said “He is a good man, good man.”

Malayalam can be spelled either forwards or backwards and be the same. I forget what the word for that is.

I dont claim to be an expert on the politics of Kerala and appreciate any feedback, additions and corrections. This is what i am gleaning as i go.