Kerala Higher Secondary Model Question Paper

There is a raging controversy in Kerala about the question paper for the mid term examination in the Government higher secondary schools. The question papers are set by teachers’ affiliated to the communist unions.
In the mid-term Plus 1 examination, students were asked to comment on the media coverage of the death of Mercy Ravi, suggesting that the death was overplayed because she had been rich and influential.
There was also a suggestion that students write to the editor, protesting against the lopsided treatment of news, giving `undue’ importance to the death. (of the Federal Minister’s wife).

The congress affiliated teachers union could come out with the following question paper to counter their communist counterparts.

Write an essay on one of the following.

(1). Explain why communist parties constantly agitate for increased wages when according to the Dus Capital workers are not to be paid anything more than what is necessary for their daily sustenance.

(2). According to the communist manifesto all land belongs to the state. Then why do the communist parties support redistribution of land to the landless?

(3). Why is it said that communism is the offspring of jealousy?

( Anyone who answers all questions satisfactorily will be promoted to Std.XII immediately).

The Kannur fiasco

There is a big uproar about the enrolment of hardcore communist party voters in Kannoor from other constituencies. The United Democratic Front (Opposition in Kerala) should have considered this scenario earlier as this is what happens when you try to eat the cake and have it too. It’s next to impossible to beat the Left Democratic Front (the communist ruling alliance) in a by election when they are in power. They will utilise the entire government machinery to their advantage not to mention the substantial number of their bogus voters. If the LDF wins they will claim the earlier trend seen during the recently concluded Parliament election in which the UDF romped home in majority of the seats to have been reversed (in the short span of 5months). The UDF should not have pulled out the sitting MLAs to contest the parliament elections and avoided this needless by-election. This is called bad planning and I am reluctant to bet on the UDF.

Living Puritanically.

The following is an excerpt from (Senior counsel Supreme Court of India) Soli J. Sorabjee’s Soliloquies in the Sunday Express of the 11th October : Pre -censorship of Nehru Edwina Movie.

At long last the film Nehru – Edwina has been okayed by the Government of India. It is reported that the ministry of Information and Broadcasting had called for a copy of the film’s script and asked the producers to tone down some intimate scenes featuring Nehru and Edwina. If true this is deplorable pre – censorship. And pray what are intimate scenes? Holding hands, or lying in each other’s arms or kissing and embracing? Such scenes depict deep mutual affection and do not necessarily have sexual implications. If Nehru, a warm blooded Kashmiri, were passionately fond of Edwina, does that diminish his stature as a great national leader? No mature, balanced person would think so except those who are obsessed with sex and discern it in every physical act or gesture. In the past publication of letters by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to his close friend Emile Schenold evoked vociferous protests.

Are we living in the puritanical reign of Oliver Cromwell? For God’s sake grow up.

My question to the interested readers is that, do the above apply to all presently married warm blooded people or to the so called Great National leaders only?

Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer - Dewan of Travancore / Random thoughts

Dewan Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer standing next to
His Highness Sree Chitra Tirunal Balarama Varma the Maharaja of Travancore.
click on the photo to enlarge (photo courtesy Kerala police history.com)

Southern Kerala has not seen development since Travancore days, says former Royal (Click on Text to read)
It is the truth and nothing but the truth, what His Highness. Sree Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the Mharajah of Travancore said about Sir. C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the erstwhile Dewan of Travancore. It is for the first time someone at his level or rather anyone at all is publicly praising Sir. C.P. I fully concur with HH. "C.P. should not have been mistreated".

The following is the comment I had posted in the blog about Sir. Mirza Mohammad Ismail - ‘Musings from Antique Origins’ http://muralirvarma.blogspot.com/2009/02/sir-mirza-mohammad-ismail-kcie-obe.html. “You are absolutely correct in your observation that the quality of administration of the princely states had been great with the contributions of men of exceptional caliber like Sir Syed Mirza Ismail and Sir C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer. India and more particular Kerala suffer from lack of such able administrators. In my opinion Kerala is in this present state of morass may be because Sir. C.P. cursed this state for having tried to kill him.

The Communist parties of course have an understandable hatred towards Sir. C.P because he would have crushed them. But 'Malayala Manorama' the leading right wing daily in Kerala too have an animosity towards him. They state that he deliberately sealed the newspaper office and liquidated the National and Quilon Bank in which the present Chief Editor K.M. Mathew’s father Mammen Mappilai was a director. Not only that, he even incarcerated Mammen Mappilai. Recently I happened to see (couldn’t read) a book written by Prof. Sreedhara Menon, in which the actions of Sir.C.P. regarding the National and Quilon Bank is lauded. In the book it is written that but for his timely action the public would have lost their deposits in the bank.

The Pottamkulam family to which I belong too has an axe to grind with Sir. C.P. See the attached pages from our family history. But I always took the entire episode with a pinch of salt for two reasons. one, as a Diwan who encouraged economic and industrial reforms could a man of such high competence be communal and or jealous whatsoever, and two the lack of business acumen coupled with the legendary extravagant lifestyle of the people in the picture too may have contributed to the cause of the shut down.

I must point out that Mr. & Mrs. K.V.Thomas Pottamkulam (my great grandfather's brother)were supposed to be close with Kaudiar Palace especially with Amma Maharani Karthika Tirunal lakshmi Bayi. It was he who originally bought the Ammachy Kottaram (Regent's summer palace) at Kuttikanam, Peerumade, Idukki district, Kerala; from the Regent Maharani Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and made it his residence before selling it to its present owners the Kallivayalils (incidentally my maternal grandfather's brother).

I admire Sir.C.P. maybe because of the belief that he would not have allowed the communists to be anywhere near where they are now, keeping Kerala still in the socialist era . I also appreciated his call for independent Travancore (for which the State Congress too disliked him). But had Travancore been independent and in the course of time became a democracy, the communists when they come to power by rotation as it is happening now in Kerala, would have implemented the land reforms act much more stringently and none of the other parties would repeal it when they come to power for fear of loosing support of those who got the land for free. The plantation sector escaped the Kerala land reforms act because of certain control of Indian Parliament.

Click on photo to enlarge

(Translation) "If that K.V. Thomas is allowed to to grow and become successful like this, he'll become very rich" Sir.C.P. said to his secretary on their way to Trivandrum after inaugurating Travancore Wood Works with a Golden Key. The rapid raise of KVT was such that even the Dewan of Travancore became jealous.

Click on photo to enlarge

(Translation) In 1938 The then Dewan of Travancore Sir C.P. Ramasawmy Iyer himself came to inaugurate Travancore Wood Works which had about 1000 workers. Surprisingly on his return to Trivandrum he issued orders to stop cutting of trees within an area of 10 square miles of the factory and put pressure for foreclosure of all bank loans.

ASEAN Free Trade Pact & Kerala Farmers

The Communist Party as usual showed its cadre strength with the human chain from one end to the other across Kerala against signing of the ASEAN free trade agreement. As a grower having major interests in Rubber and cardamom and minor in coffee and pepper, we are more worried and afraid of the local leaders of the Marxist party and their support to indiscipline and militancy among workers than all the so called ill effects attributed to the ASEAN trade pact. We can live with competition from any part of the world but not communist highhandedness and extortion.

Does anybody remember when, why and the outcome of the last human chain protest carried out in Kerala? Bet the recent one too will meet the same fate.