I am amazed by the views of Mahesh Vyas in “Kerala is actually No. 1” (June 28). To start with, Kerala has had a far from peaceful history and any school student will tell you that violent battles were fought in God’s Own Land, among themselves, against neighbouring invaders and against the colonial powers.
Also, Keralites did not discover the advantage of exporting labour to the Gulf in the 1970s; enterprising Malayalis have been working in Yemen, Burma, Malaya and Singapore since the 19th century. Many made large fortunes out there.
Moreover, Vyas says the Malayali communist does not bring the state to a halt when the government raises oil prices. Is he aware that district-wide bandhs happen almost daily? Most of the state-wide hartals are called by the government itself! Yes, Kerala has not experienced a Nandigram because no industrialist in his right mind wants to set up a project here.
Srilakshmi Namboothiri, Alwaye
