Its definitely not a matter of pride for any Malayalee to be known as a part of the most crime prone state as per the NCRB statistics. When I read about this news first in Times of India, I was very disappointed because people whom till this day considered Kerala to be 'God's own country' and the most literate state in India are going to address Kerala as the most crime prone and the most dangerous state of all. I found flabbergasted expressions in the words of people who tweeted this news on twitter.
This news can be looked into positively as well as negatively. Let me talk about the latter view before I take a positive stand on the findings of NCRB.
Kerala to my understanding is a comparatively conservative state. I happened to watch a television programme in which a well known Television anchor was criticised by a public viewer about her dressing calling it indecent. From what I saw, this lady had dressed very decently and always wore dresses which suited her quite well in the programme. You switch to a hindi channel, almost every single girl would be dressed similarly if not more scantily. If public considers this TV anchor's attire indecent, I wonder how they would react to other channels. This is the mindset of the people of Kerala.
Kochi according to the statistics is the most dangerous city with a crime rate of 1879.8. It is to be noted that Kochi is the best city in Kerala in terms of cosmopolitanism and leisure facilities as per a ToI survey. Both goes together. When people of backward mindset get to meet people with a forward mindset, all is not well between them. Fort Kochi, a part of Ernakulam (Popularly known as kochi) and the most tourist attracted place is said to be not safe after sunset. I have tried walking through this place with a couple of my friends past 10 in the night and we were stopped by two policemen. They doubted we were some kind of hooligans and initially spoke rudely. But when they were convinced about our whereabouts and who we were, they became soft and politely asked us to leave the area saying it was not safe.
I have had similar experiences in Trivandrum where even students of the age 14-15 have got "quotation teams" of their own. If one of them don't like your attitude, they got you beaten up. The same above mentioned ToI survey has rated Trivandrum to be the best city to live in Kerala with allround facilities. Compared to Kochi, Trivandrum is less cosmopolitan. Crime rate here is high because it is also the center of politics in Kerala. The legislative assembly, the CM's office all being in the capital city, it is also the favourite place for the Hartal loving political maniacs to begin their series of strikes. Almost every year, there are conflicts between students of the Kerala University (identity of the so called 'students' are never verified) and the police force. The reasons would be silly. But the student protesters start off in a violent manner by pelting stones and creating a public fracas.
Then comes the exquisite nectar;- "Alcohol". Outside Kerala, other than hailing from the most beautiful state in India, a Malayalee is populary known for his love affair with alcohol which even the international journalists of BBC has given due attention to (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8557215.stm). Saying that you are a malayalee and that you don't drink is something which you have to struggle to convince. Its true that the annual consumption of booze in Kerala is way higher than any other state in India. People wait for festivals and occassions to open a bottle of liquor which is "celebration" in Kerala. No matter however religious or traditional it is, there is no celebration without a taste of this divine syrup. And unlike drinking to get a good mood by having 2-3 pegs, Malayalees generally drink to get royally drunk by finishing a full bottle and falling into that plastered state. And when one is that high, normally he does not tend to get a control of himself. That is when the evils spill out. Another reason for the crime rate to go this high.
Now let us see why in a way Kerala ought to be proud about this statistics. Policing so far as I know is very strict in Kerala. Law is Law and there is no way you are going to escape once you get caught. I must say that there are some brilliant cops in the state who have brought some big names into the limelight of crime. The bright side of the National Crime RECORDS Bureau statistics is that every crime is getting recorded. Nothing is escaping from the eyes of law. The criminal may get acquitted later on. But there are complaints lodged and FIRs filed which is nothing short of an acclamation. Even petty offences like smoking in public, riding without a helmet etc are caught and fined by the police in Kochi. As I had earlier mentioned, in the dangerous fort Kochi area, police do patrolling in the night to keep the citizens safe. This is definitely some good job by the police. Dons and Mafia kings rule in Mumbai. People take out guns from nowhere and shoot for creating a scratch in their car in Delhi. Bihar, U.P, Haryana, are places which has been in news forever for honour killing taking place in their rural areas. There are places in Tamil Nadu and Andhra where one word against a chief of the area can end up leaving you headless. And of all these places it is unbelievable that crimes are much higher in the tiny Kochi. It is a plain truth that in almost every other state of India, so much of crime go unnoticed or ignored either via means of corruption or lack of interest.
My point is, the statistics show that crime rates are high in Kerala because the crimes in Kerala are reported and recorded which does not necessarily happen in other states. Your chances of escaping an offence by bribing a police officer are subtle.
Kerala is a place where all people are equal. You cant expect a rikshawallah or a maid servant to show high level respect to the upper class that you see in other parts of India. Having said that, I must emphasise on the fact that people in Kerala are turning out to be over qualified.You throw a stone randomly and the probability is high that it hits the head of an MBA graduate. The labourers in Kerala treat their master as nothing more than a human being. If you don't want them, dismiss them, but next day, expect a strike in front of your house.
Statistics could not be wrong. Along with trying and covering the loopholes, it has to be read in a positive way. Life is different in Kerala. It can be fun living in Kerala for those who act and think like a mallu. Being a Malayalee myself, I have never in my wildest dreams considered it to be a dangerous place to the extent of taking a risk.
No comments:
Post a Comment