The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Comparative study on the development of Kerala, Cuba

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 10, 2007
ePaper

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Comparative study on the development of Kerala, Cuba

T. Ramavarman

A Canadian Federal agency is supporting the project

Kerala and Cuba have achieved impressive
social development
Study to bring experiences of Kerala and Cuba under global spotlight

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A team of social scientists have embarked on a study to compare the development experiences of Kerala and Cuba. The study is titled “Lessons in human development: a comparative study of Kerala and Cuba.” The principal investigator is Joseph Tharamangalam, Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Mount St. Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, who is from Kerala.

The study is being undertaken in partnership with three co-investigators, Henry Veltmeyer of St. Mary’s University, Halifax; Eugenio Espinosa of the University of Havana; and the economist and former State Planning Board member M.A. Oommen, who is now with the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.

The project is being supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, a Canadian Federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in social sciences and humanities.

Prof. Oommen and Prof. Tharamangalam told The Hindu that Cuba and Kerala stood out among a small group of countries or societies that had achieved impressive human and social development and poverty alleviation despite low economic growth. This was in sharp contrast to the most typical models of development growth with “endemic deprivations” and without equity. And both Cuba and Kerala could achieve these results through initiatives that had a basic and consistent commitment to social development.

Both Kerala and Cuba, they said, had undergone tremendous social transformations through the interventions of mass movements influenced by ideals such as equity and justice. Though Kerala did not undergo a revolution along the lines of Cuba, the State had gone through strong social reform movements, which culminated in the formation of a Communist Ministry in 1957.

What are the differences? Cuba is a strong, socialist State with a centrally controlled and planned economy, as well as education and health services. On the other side, Kerala is part of the Indian Union with a mixed economy and a private sector, the latter especially important in the delivery of education and health, they said.

Also, Cuba has a political system promoting non-party (the Communist party is not an electoral party), consensus politics in contrast to the vigorous multi-party and adversarial politics in Kerala. There are geographical, historical and cultural differences also.

They said the objective of their study was to bring the development experience of Kerala and Cuba to the centre of global discourse on development. The experience of the two was of global and world historical significance. These cases could offer useful lessons to the 1.2-billion people below the poverty line. Both Cuba and Kerala could remove endemic deprivations to a great extent and could achieve high human development levels in a short time without waiting for the trickle-down effects of high economic growth. Their records in literacy, life expectancy and infant mortality rates were on a par with those of the developed countries. They could sustain these achievements even during periods of stagnation and crisis.

The success stories, they said, prove that such deprivations are needless, and that dehumanising deprivations can be eliminated in a short time at low costs. Affordability is not what makes the difference. Public action and an interventionist State (with state-society synergy) make a huge difference. They said both Kerala and Cuba were facing tough challenges of managing globalisation and reforms without compromising the human development gains made.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala