Home > 2005 Issues > May 22, 05

Debate A third front in the offing By Jayapradeep V. Like in other states, in Kerala too the Hindus are at the receiving end because of their factious existence. But now two major communities of Hindus in Kerala-Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam and Nair Service Society (NSS)-have decided to work together. SNDP Yogam is the official establishment of the Ezhava community, which is the largest community among Hindus, while the NSS is the official establishment of the Nair community, which is the second largest. It is a dream come true for the majority community, who has been under the yoke of minority appeasement by the major ruling political fronts-UDF and LDF Both the communities account for about 80 per cent of the total Hindus and about 52 per cent of the total population of the state. A Joint Action Committee (JAC) has been constituted, which decided to bring other communities like Brahmins and tribals together. Some leaders of these communities have already extended their willingness to a joint action. The SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappaly Natesan and NSS general secretary P.K. Narayana Panicker took the initiative for a joint struggle to attain the legitimate rights of Hindus. Recently in separate statements, the two leaders said that due to the competitive appeasement by both the political fronts-UDF and LDF- the majority community has reduced to rubbish. No rulers ever count their feelings; but only treat the majority as political slaves to carry their flags. Kerala Letter Like the Muslim League, the Christian factions, who pursue narrow communal objectives, are also wholeheartedly embraced by the two leading political fronts. Outrageous sops to minority organisations for garnering their support are very common in Kerala. In the Congress-led UDF, the other major constituents are the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and Kerala Congress-a church-controlled political party. So the UDF itself and with the help of the Central Government is appeasing the minorities. The CPM-led LDF also does not lag behind in appeasing the minorities. The just-concluded CPM's state conference was held at Malappuram. Muslims predominantly dominate the Malappuram district. The venue was willfully chosen. At the conference, green festoons were also displayed along with red ones. After re-election of Pinarayi Vijayan as the party state secretary, his first mission was to appear as a guest of honour at a meeting of Sunni Muslims at Calicut. A prominent Malayalam daily recently revealed that the richest one among individual/corporate in Kerala is CPI(M). But it is another truth that the combined assets of Christian churches are manifold to that of CPM. The promoters of the above said JAC point out that, in the state, after Independence, as a result of the misrule of both the fronts, socially, economically and politically the minorities achieved incomparable growth. Moreover, 80 per cent of the state exchequer goes to the salaries of government servants, of which a large chunk goes to educational sector. In Kerala, there are two types of private educational institutions. One is ?aided? and the other is ?unaided?. The government meets the salary of teachers, others, and all other expenses of the aided educational institutions. Of the aided educational institutions, the lion share goes to both Christian and Muslim institutions. More than a century old and founded by the great saint Sree Narayan Guru, the SNDP Yogam and its associates run only 50 schools. The NSS having more than 90 years of standing has 146 schools. Whereas there are 1,200 schools for Muslims and 3,200 for Christians. Here it is worth mentioning that while the public exchequer meets the expenses of these schools, the appointments in those institutions are made by the management. So, without observing any reservation rules or conducting public test, the management at its whims and fancy, appoints its own ?lambs? in those schools/colleges. The Hindu temples in Kerala are managed by Devasom Boards. The government, from time to time, nominate the Members of the Board. The huge collections from these temples, which come about Rs 1,000 crore per annum, go to the public exchequer. As usual, ?the public fund goes to many purposes including the grant to minority organisations,? the JAC leaders said. The majority community has been swallowing the astringent of neglect in the allotment of schools/colleges by the government, apportionment of public posts in corporations and boards. Shri Natesan, general secretary of SNDP Yogam, had been on a war path against major political parties for reduction of seats to Hindus in each general election. When the former Chief Minister A.K. Antony stated the obvious about minorities cornering all the benefits and ever resorting to blackmailing tacts, he was pilloried by the ?secularists? and the minority leaders. It was very much a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Thus, the present SNDP-NSS unification move is to be welcomed and nursed. But Christian priests have come out openly against this initiave. In 1949, the first Hindu unity initiative was made under the leadership of great R. Sanker and Mannathu Padmanabhan. R. Sanker was then the general secretary of SNDP Yogam and Padmanabhan was the general secretary of NSS. But due to the peculiar political climate at that time, the unity move did not come true. It is a fact that in a society unfairly dominated by a few minority communities, the path to safety for the majority is to come-together. The leftists sniff the danger. Such unity will seriously erode their power base. Hence, the growl of distaste and panic in the horizen. For, far too long, these ?secularists? have preyed on the divisiveness that blots the majority community.

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