Kerala 2005 - of Planning Commission

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was also a compelling internal dynamics that contributed
to the political acceptability and commitment to the task
of decentralisation. In Section 3.1, we noted that up
to the late 1980s, there was a situation of economic
‘crisis’ in Kerala’s development process due to the
poor performance in the commodity producing sectors.
Over the greater part of the 1990s, however, with a
‘turnaround’ in economic growth, the prevailing mood
among analysts and observers of Kerala’s development
was somewhat mixed, if not of ‘despondency and
despair’ 22 though the problem of unemployment, in
particular educated unemployment, continued to loom
large. The focus of discussion in the International
Congress on Kerala Studies held in 1994, for instance,
turned out to be on “the contemporary crisis and the
possible solutions rather than on the much acclaimed
achievements of the past.” 23 The expectation was that
the spectacular achievements in social development
would, and should, lead to much higher levels of
economic development and greater inclusiveness than
that achieved so far.
Decentralisation, implying governance closer to the
people and hence more responsive, was seen, if not
as a panacea for all ills, as a way out of this logjam.
It was expected to facilitate local-level development
by mobilising both people and resources to strengthen
the productive base, especially in the primary sector by
creating and maintaining public and collective goods,
such as in land and water management and agricultural
extension. In fact, the urge for decentralisation went
beyond this. The aim was the establishment and
institutionalisation of local self-Governments and
Kerala's attempt at a participatory, systematic and
transparent process of decentralised planning has been
hailed as another of its unique achievements (discussed
in greater detail in Chapter 9).
4. Concluding Observations
This chapter has attempted a synoptic review of
Kerala’s development experience, specifically the
historical underpinnings of its human development
achievements, in which the role of public action both
for the people by the State and by the public for itself
played an important role in furthering its achievements.
The phase of ‘human development lopsidedness’
in the State continued for over a decade, causing
considerable concern and generated a wide debate on
the sustainability of the Kerala ‘model’ of development.
A quantum increase in emigration since the latter half
of 1970s, especially to the Gulf countries, muted the
intensity of the economic ‘crisis’. However, the fact
that the economy did not spiral downwards in terms
of human development indicators but experienced
a ‘turnaround’ in economic growth in the late 1980s
in all sectors, but more specifically the service sector,
injected a fresh look at the development experience.
It encouraged us to hypothesise about the possibility of
an emerging ‘virtuous’ cycle of growth in which early
achievements in human development, people seeking
work in labour markets outside Kerala, and remittancedriven
growth in consumer demand resulting in
service sector growth, appeared to be closely linked.
The persistence of unemployment, in particular
educated unemployment, is perhaps the most serious
form of capability failure and is much more ‘open’ in the
specific context of a literate/educated Kerala. That the
revival process too, expected to equip the unemployed
to seize employment opportunities anywhere, should be
participatory in nature was resolved by the converging
of intensive rethinking on questions of governance
which would yield better development outcomes. The
expectations from decentralisation, which would bring
the Government closer to the people and hence be more
responsive, transparent and delivery-oriented, were
very high. The Constitutional Amendments in 1993
facilitated the shift towards decentralised governance
and Kerala is one of the few States that embarked on
this process seriously. Subsequent chapters take up
each of these issues in more depth.
22 For example, Tharamangalam (1998).
23 Isaac and Tharakan (1995).