From dissent to conformity

Thrissur: Amid the cacophony generated by a mix of sensational issues, those engaged in the ongoing election debates seem to be dodging a serious analysis of a vital challenge facing the state: The shrinking of public space. This silencing of dissent has been achieved by co-opting potential dissenters through inducements or by sidelining them altogether. Coercion—often leveraging the power of social media—is also widely used to tame non-conformists.As in other sectors, a kind of beneficiary ecosystem has become entrenched in the state's cultural sphere. Artists and writers are rewarded not for aesthetic innovation or original thinking, but for demonstrating loyalty. "The intellectuals who are part of this beneficiary ecosystem help normalise contentious policy choices and seek to present the exclusionary and technocratic governance system of the LDF as normal," said economic historian K T Rammohan. Kerala has had a chequered legacy of challenging power and hegemony in its various forms, dating back to the early 20th century—and perhaps even the late 19th. Individuals, small groups, and major organisations have all contributed to this rich tradition of questioning established authority and dominant ideologies. The spirit of questioning had penetrated to deeper levels during the renaissance movement and the freedom struggle. Writers, artists, theatre and film personalities, along with numerous cultural movements, sustained this avant-garde stream in both pre- and post-independence periods. Some were directly involved in struggles against caste hierarchy, landlordism, gender discrimination, human rights violations, and other forms of subjugation and exploitation. Others wove these themes into their creative work, while some focused on subverting established aesthetic norms. Looking back, it seems almost unbelievable that eminent jurists such as Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Justice Subramanian Potty, and Justice Chandrasekharan Menon, along with social activists like Jubba Ramakrishna Pillai, took up issues related to the human rights of Naxalites—groups now widely portrayed as part of dreaded terror networks. Several cultural activists also faced police brutality during the Emergency. "That the public intellectual should maintain a clear distance from power is an accepted norm, and this value has been steadily eroding over the past decade. In Kerala, writers have traditionally aligned with the Left, and a large section of the new generation of ambitious writers now seem primarily interested in securing a place within the publics cultivated by the Left on social media platforms. They gain wider access if they adopt a submissive stance toward the ruling Left, which in turn makes them favourites of publishers," said noted academic and activist J Devika. "If you raise even a minor voice of dissent, stakeholders in this beneficiary ecosystem will either isolate you or descend on you like a pack of rabid dogs," said Yuhanon Mor Meletius, metropolitan of the Thrissur diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who was once a staunch Left sympathiser. Corruption in Kerala has become organised and decentralised, making it complex—almost impossible—to mobilise cultural resistance against it. Stakeholders in this decaying system exist at every level of society. A craving for instant gratification appears to dominate large sections of society. Even our aspirations seem to have narrowed, stripped of long-term vision. "It is difficult to cite any major social reforms beyond the era of renaissance figures like Sree Narayana Guru," says Gandhian writer K Aravindakshan. Activist-writer M N Karassery offers a different perspective on the slowing of social reform. He points out that conservative priesthoods united on a common platform during the infamous ‘Vimochana Samaram' (Liberation Struggle) against the first elected ministry in Kerala. This collaboration between the clergy and vested interests deepened with the formation of the ‘Sapthakashi Munnani', the seven-party alliance that included even the Muslim League, under CPM leader EMS Namboothiripad in 1967. Today, conservative clergy wield a kind of hegemony in Kerala's socio-political sphere, making it nearly impossible to challenge them. The fading of movements such as the campaign for a uniform civil code following the Shah Bano case (1985), or the more recent struggle for the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala shrine, illustrates how deeply conservatism has taken root in Kerala—once celebrated as a cradle of progressive movements. Even those who organised campaigns like the ‘women's wall' later maintained silence when the LDF govt reversed its stance to preserve traditions and rituals. This, he argues, is a stark example of the erosion of independent public space in Kerala. Social scientists suggest that Kerala's transition from a predominantly agrarian economy to a remittance-driven, service-oriented, and speculative one has also shaped the mindset of large sections of its population. Unbridled consumerism and the stresses of relative deprivation appear to have fostered insecurity and a relentless rat race, even among cultural leaders. "No govt is a guarantee in a democracy. Any govt can succumb to autocratic or corrupt tendencies. The only safeguard against such decay is the nurturing of a vibrant public and democratic space—and this election outcome will determine the direction we take," says economist K P Kannan.