How Did The Indian Communist State of Kerala "Flatten The Curve" of COVID-19?
Foreign Affairs Update
The Indian state of Kerala on India’s southwestern coast, has had a long history with communism. Kerala is one of three Indian states that currently have an elected Marxist government. Tripura and West Bengal are the others. The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) have held power off and on in the state for over thirty years. The brief history on why communism has gotten a foothold in this southwestern region of India, dates back to the 1920’s and 30’s when the Malabar District and other local states were under British colonial control and had a large peasant workforce. The extremely anti-colonial Muslims of the Malabar coast influenced the local population and educated them about politics and how to create communal systems. The Malabar Muslims not only had to deal with British merchants taking advantage of their coastal economy, but the Portuguese to the north in Goa, treated the local population terribly. So one can say that there was a fertile ground for communism to grow in Kerala. A new left front was created later on to give more workers’ rights for rent and to plant the seeds for agrarian reform. Some semblances of agrarian reform would come later during the Indian National Congress party’s rise to power after the 1947 partition.
But what does any of this have to do with how Kerala has handled COVID-19 so far? Well, for one thing, they know how to mobilize thousands of citizens on command. The first key is the village councils that exist all throughout the state (not unlike other types of “soviets” in other communist areas of the world). As has proven effective in other countries, communist councils of some sort are very effective in mobilizing large, often agrarian, populations quickly. This is because there is a communal approach to politicking in Kerala and officials don’t use patronage and bribery to attain seats of power. The approach doesn’t involve one or two high ranking officials who are given unearned authority. It involves community activists, doctors, scientists and organizers. The BBC reported on this council approach just recently. According to Shahina Saleem, “We were ready from the very beginning. We realized a storm was coming and we erected our defenses before any other state in India.” Obviously, as with any infectious disease, acting right away and using aggressive mitigation techniques are the keys to slowing the spread, especially in dense populations like India. But Narendra Modi and the federal government didn’t act early. Modi was having fun with Trump in Delhi at a stadium packed with 75,000 people back in February, while Kerala was informing citizens and beginning to act. The next logical question to ask is, just how was Kerala ready to combat this extremely deadly disease?
That comprehensive answer lies somewhere in between their excellent healthcare system and that comradeship I mentioned earlier. Kerala’s healthcare system is a model for the rest of India. The galvanization of the population happened because the local village councils opened up community kitchens, organized WhatsApp message boards, provided free lunches to 1,200 people in the state and encouraged locals with empty apartments or available housing, to take in those who needed isolation. Many Indian homes have multiple floors and the local village councils asked some property owners to reserve top floors for isolated patients. Once that was done, they initiated a 28-day quarantine which was much more stringent than the national guidelines coming from Modi’s administration. As a cherry on top, contact tracers were hired en masse. Many of whom were already trained, due to India’s past experiences with epidemics. They were young, healthy and often local students. Almost all of these things have either not happened or have happened to a lesser extent in much of the western developed world. That lack of communal spirit and organizing is a distant concept in America. But in Kerala, if you speak to any of the locals, it comes second nature.
I mentioned earlier the healthcare system. It’s excellent. They have 330 beds per 100,000 people. It’s the highest ratio in India, which is astounding given the fact that Kerala is India’s 12th richest state. Kerala state's healthcare system can truly match any developed nation. This is not an exaggeration by any extent. There are no hospitals that rely on expensive surgeries to keep their doors open. There’s a state health fund that can keep getting replenished if a specific hospital or clinic begins to bleed money. Investment and priorities matter, and the Marxist officials who have run the state for decades have invested heavily in healthcare infrastructure. This includes most notably, solar-powered health clinics, great human development indicators (HDI), pollution control programs and pediatric care that rivals western nations. There’s also after-school public health lectures from community doctors and an emphasis on providing quality food to schoolchildren starting at a young age. Kerala has the lowest child obesity rate in India because of this. Taking into account the low-income residents of Kerala, the state sponsors other health schemes such as lab tests, medicines and consultations. I can only speak for myself and tell you that in America, we have to deal with third party companies in order to get lab tests (anyone who’s been to LapCorp or Quest Diagnostics will fill you in on how that experience goes). By mainstreaming the supply chains and making healthcare a human right, Kerala not only effectively cuts out any middle man profit motive, but takes the concept of healthcare right to your front door. All of these state-funded healthcare initiatives don’t just grow out of thin air. They require a dedicated state government and a communal attitude that emphasizes the old phrase “We’re only as good as our weakest links.” As we watch the COVID-19 virus spread across continents and not discriminate based off race or socio-economic conditions, the world should not only congratulate Kerala but study their system so we can learn how and why it’s important to prioritize healthcare as a human right.