Death Not Merely a Number in Kerala (Alex V. Koshy)
Published on 06 May, 2020
The only breath of fresh air has been Kerala, a state that has been on its toes since late January when the first coronavirus patient was identified. Steered by the steely assertiveness of a chief minister and his team spanning across key departments, the battle was waged early. It is clear now with the flattening of the curve there that the war will be won against COVID19, at least in this current stretch.
Each fatality resulting in a demise is not merely a statistic in Kerala, there is a pause.
The moment lends itself to remember the family left behind, an admission from the state government that this should not have been, and that a life could have been saved. Each life is valued, whether it be the two-year-old Anvitha who had to be transported to Hyderabad from her home in Alleppey for emergency cancer treatment to Thomas, 93, and his wife Mary, 88, who marched out victorious of Kottayam Medical College albeit in a wheelchair.
A state many wish that could have been their country in times such as these. A federal constituent that resides in an imperfect whole of a nation’s edifice, crafting bespoke solutions to address disasters the magnitude of which towers over neighboring Western Ghats, a hundred times over.
‘Kerala Model’ Is Nothing But Giving Voice to People
The core state leadership held daily press briefs with meticulous updates on the spread of the virus in the state and measures being taken to prevent its spread. The government has successfully managed to uphold the asset of democratic ‘trust’ that the people bestowed on its political leaders.
Political thinker Pierre Rosanvallon in Good Government – Democracy beyond Elections writes, “…for to govern is also to speak – in order to explain oneself, to look forward, to set a course, to account for ones’s actions…to govern is to speak.” Further he adds, “ a genuinely democratic politics gives voice to the lives people actually live, makes the purposes of public policy legible and the obstacles to successfully carrying it out understood, finds the words to express the nation’s feeling at moments both of trial and triumph.”
Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan is undoubtedly a leader to reckon with. As eminent journalist, author, professor Gary Younge said, “the farther you are away from power, the more you see.”
(The author is a Delhi based commentator. He tweets @trubleisafrend. This is a personal blog and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
Each fatality resulting in a demise is not merely a statistic in Kerala, there is a pause.
The moment lends itself to remember the family left behind, an admission from the state government that this should not have been, and that a life could have been saved. Each life is valued, whether it be the two-year-old Anvitha who had to be transported to Hyderabad from her home in Alleppey for emergency cancer treatment to Thomas, 93, and his wife Mary, 88, who marched out victorious of Kottayam Medical College albeit in a wheelchair.
A state many wish that could have been their country in times such as these. A federal constituent that resides in an imperfect whole of a nation’s edifice, crafting bespoke solutions to address disasters the magnitude of which towers over neighboring Western Ghats, a hundred times over.
‘Kerala Model’ Is Nothing But Giving Voice to People
The core state leadership held daily press briefs with meticulous updates on the spread of the virus in the state and measures being taken to prevent its spread. The government has successfully managed to uphold the asset of democratic ‘trust’ that the people bestowed on its political leaders.
Political thinker Pierre Rosanvallon in Good Government – Democracy beyond Elections writes, “…for to govern is also to speak – in order to explain oneself, to look forward, to set a course, to account for ones’s actions…to govern is to speak.” Further he adds, “ a genuinely democratic politics gives voice to the lives people actually live, makes the purposes of public policy legible and the obstacles to successfully carrying it out understood, finds the words to express the nation’s feeling at moments both of trial and triumph.”
Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan is undoubtedly a leader to reckon with. As eminent journalist, author, professor Gary Younge said, “the farther you are away from power, the more you see.”
(The author is a Delhi based commentator. He tweets @trubleisafrend. This is a personal blog and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
Facebook Comments
Leave A Reply
മലയാളത്തില് ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന് ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക
അസഭ്യവും നിയമവിരുദ്ധവും അപകീര്ത്തികരവുമായ പരാമര്ശങ്ങള് പാടില്ല. വ്യക്തിപരമായ അധിക്ഷേപങ്ങളും
ഉണ്ടാവരുത്. അവ സൈബര് നിയമപ്രകാരം കുറ്റകരമാണ്. അഭിപ്രായങ്ങള് എഴുതുന്നയാളുടേത് മാത്രമാണ്. ഇ-മലയാളിയുടേതല്ല
EMalayalee Available in MediaAppUSA
Copyright © 2024 emalayalee.com - All Rights Reserved.
Webmastered by MIPL, Web Hosting Calicut Kerala