How Kerala got rich
Read More
0 items
-
$0.00
0
Be the first to know the latest updates
Whoops, you're not connected to Mailchimp. You need to enter a valid Mailchimp API key.
40 Comments
jmathai
I was born in the US but my parents are from Kerala and I still have family there that I visit.
One thing I found interesting was the pride in literacy and education. Kerala has a 96% literacy rate which is the highest in India [1].
It's one of my favorite places to visit. Unlike other parts of India such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderbad — it's tropical and lush with much less pollution than what you might see in those other parts of India.
My parents have a home in a rural community which hasn't changed much in the past few decades compared to somewhere like Bengaluru. It's quiet and slow with a high important on family relationships. No doubt it's westernizing, albeit slower than other parts of India – but for now it still holds much of the charm I've known since I was a kid.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_India
gleenn
[flagged]
srameshc
In the 1980s, many Keralites were courageous enough to leave the land for better prospects abroad, many in the Middle East and the UK. I remember going to my friends place and find their houses were modern and it was the first time I saw a glass door. Not to mention some of my Keralite friends are the most sincere and hard working and they have risen to very high ranks regardless of their grad scores and academics.
xnx
Doesn't a Kerala temple contain in excess of $22 billion worth of gold?
kappi
Looks like this is one sided political propaganda article. Googling shows real picture.
Unemployment is at 40%.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_in_Kerala
Kerala is in the grip of a surging drug crisis
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/kerala-is-in…
Kerala rooting on central govt to solve state's Rs 26,000 crore monthly expenditure crisis
https://keralakaumudi.com/en/news/news.php?id=1498119&u=kera…
eamag
how -> through Gulf migration remittances fueling private investment (especially in services), enabled by a skilled population and a more market-friendly political environment
the_arun
Kerala reminds me of California when it comes to natural landscapes. I really love that place.
Coming literacy, what does that mean? They all know how to read & write in a particular language? OR they have passed minimum undergrad?
xyst
[flagged]
crawsome
I chuckled at "Litearcy Rate" written on one of the graphs…
j0hnM1st
[flagged]
the_arun
Vasco da Gama, is credited with discovering a sea route to India by sailing around Africa in 1497-1498, though India was not new to the world, and the people of India were not "discovered" by Europeans. He entered India through Kerala (Calicut).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama
greekanalyst
It's pretty crazy how many new billionaires have been minted in Kerala.
https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/money/malayalis-make-in…
aylmao
There's a lot to this article, but one interpretation of it is that it is a story somewhat similar to China's— a history with communism and gradual opening-up to private capital and the global market. In the case of China, capital has entered due to its huge export market. In Kerala there seems to have been an important capital injection from remittances, and a growing tourism industry. The article summarizes it as such:
> In short ways, four forces of change – Kerala’s reintegration with the global economy, remittances from the Persian Gulf, strong welfare policies from a legacy of Leftist government, and private investment from individuals and businesses who shared the remittance flows – have combined to form the structure of Kerala’s miracle of human wellbeing with economic growth.
MathMonkeyMan
Paragraph after paragraph restating the question, then:
> In short ways, four forces of change – Kerala’s reintegration with the global economy, remittances from the Persian Gulf, strong welfare policies from a legacy of Leftist government, and private investment from individuals and businesses who shared the remittance flows – have combined to form the structure of Kerala’s miracle of human wellbeing with economic growth.
ghoomketu
If Kerala can do it why can't other states like Bihar do it too? (Not asking rhetorically)
From what I see from the article the major gains were from investment in health and education which should be a no brainer.
zkmon
India has a vast variation of cultures. A few states in India look like they are quite detached from mainstream India, in terms of issues, economy, norms, politics etc. This is true for north-eastern states as well and probably J&K too. It's like a colorful patch-work of different cultures.
However, there is nothing good or bad with these variations. Tourism also adds to its economy. Higher per-capita doesn't always mean a good thing. Sometimes it comes at a cost of family separation etc. Kerala is also known for high levels of alcoholic consumption and unhappiness rates.
alephnerd
> Fifty years ago it was one of India’s poorest states
Yea that is a absolutely wrong. A state that had the highest literacy rate at independence will unsurprisingly remain at the higher end of developmental rankings..
In the 1970s Kerala was already comparable to Indian states from a human development and economic standpoint because of a strong shipbuilding and cooperative agricultural program (same with then undivided Punjab) [0] and by 1990 had developmental indicators comparable to Delhi NCR.
Instead, we should look at states that were historically more undeveloped than Kerala but are now within range of Kerala.
As such, a better rags to riches model to dig into is Tamil Nadu [1] or Haryana [2] – both were on the lower end of India's HDI rankings in 1990, and now outperform most states and lead India in GDP per Capita as well.
Himachal Pradesh [3] and Jammu Kashmir [4][5] are two others to also look at, as they are historically undeveloped agrarian Himalayan border states with laggard developmental indicators that used land reform, cooperative agribusiness, mass rural education drives, and specialized manufacturing (Pharma in Himachal, Food Processing in Jammu) to have high HDIs.
[0] – https://eacpm.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/State-GDP-Wo…
[1] – https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-rep…
[2] – https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/comment/birth-of-h…
[3] – https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-rep…
[4] – https://ras.org.in/index.php?Article=land_reform_in_kashmir
[5] – https://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-strategic-myth/9788194717560…
dilawar
Kerala is also the only state in India where the rural population lives longer (2-3y on average) than the urban population!!
dartharva
The dominant majority of Keralite youth that can, still emigrates to other states and countries. I have come across hundreds of Malayalis outside of Kerala who talk fondly of their homes, but refuse to admit there being any scope of nontrivial academic or professional growth within the state.
On the other hand.. yes, Kerala is very beautiful in many ways. I wish I was born there because it's nigh impossible to settle in permanently otherwise.
ArthurStacks
[flagged]
1zael
My great-grandparents were landowners in Kollengode, a village on the foothills of the Western Ghats. They operated on a system of sharecropping, which the Communist party took away (along with their land) in the 1970s for redistribution. While this eliminated much of our family wealth, most of the next generation family members weren't disturbed by it because they were proud of Kerala's reputation of having the highest literacy rates and human development standards in India due to these reforms.
Many people think of North Indians as the de-facto "business" class in India, but Kerala's long history of international trade has given its posterity a rich history of merchant knowledge. My parents started a technology company in Kerala and have seen the Communist party swing from traditional land and educational reforms to private market support. This in large part due to remittances from the Middle East fueling the state economy.
The ecological risks from climate change (e.x. the mass flooding that occurred in the past several years) is a real risk that claimed the lives of several employees at my parent's company. Kerala is posed to become the biggest success story out of India, but it needs to remain vigilant in investing in private markets and infrastructure projects to address these risks and maintain sustainable growth.
never_inline
In before Malayali exceptionalists and Indian RW start world war 3 in comments.
benced
Kerala has extremely aggressive out-migration (including my entire family): it is a bad place to be ambitious, particularly with the France-like union culture. If India is to become China-rich or Mexico-rich, my prediction is Kerala will regress to the mean of India states. Its model seems geared towards being an extremely good place to be poor (which is a huge achievement to be clear: they dealt with COVID better than the US, universal literacy is amazing etc) but not towards getting richer.
snyp
Love Kerala, highly underrated tourist destination IMHO compared to the more traditional Indian destinations.
__rito__
Kerala is a very empty place. People emigrate parmanently or stay outside for decades. Elderlies live on their own. Schools and home remain empty. It is just intuitively sad. One should read this interesting piece- "Kerala: A ghost town in the world's most populated country" [0].
Many laborers from my state- West Bengal travel to ameliorate the labor shortage of Kerala. Because their laborers are in the Gulf. The unskilled labor wage in Kerala is almost twice of my state.
There is a common phrase in Bengal- "Kerala money" to explain big, well-made houses in villages mired with poverty. Many people, mainly Muslims migrate en masse to Kerala to earn a relatively much higher income and save the money to build big houses and buy motorbikes. We call that "Kerala money".
[0]: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64936519
merillecuz56
[dead]
redzedi
y is this on HN first page? by wat measure is Kerala rich? No industries if exports bodies to ME, commie rule for decades atrophied all industry. It's a political hitjob against India central gov, HN should keep its standard above this shitshow
geocrasher
The subject of Kerala resulted in one of the most memorable conversations I've had with a doctor that wasn't about medical stuff. My late wife had to have an emergency procedure and her regular doctor was not available, and so she got a wonderful Indian doctor (Context: This was near Seattle WA). Having worked with many Indians, I felt comfortable asking him which part of India he was from and he said "Kerala" and at the same time we both said "God's own country" and his face LIT UP. "OOOhh, you know Kerela!?"
"Kerala is Hawaii at a tenth the price! You must go. The people there love three things: Alcohol, Food, and side to side head bob Alcohol!"
He was delightful, and he took great care of my wife. I fully intend to visit Kerala at some point.
amriksohata
Same old fake caste tropes, article just smells of academic nonsense. The story of Keralas success could be applied to any state in India due to recent government policies, even Gujarat is doing better.
malshe
I have visited Kerala a few times and I really loved it as a tourist. However, my company also did some work there and we found local labor unions extremely difficult to deal with. Never acquired any new clients there once we finished initial projects.
2511
I am not from Kerala but I have spent the last 25 years there. I have family in Kerala.
Kerala got rich because of emigration. Sometime during the 80s, Keralites began migrating to gulf in very large numbers. The foreign remittance is the biggest reason why the state is rich. It can be said the proximity to sea and a history of trade with gulf countries enabled Keralites to migrate. And of course, the will and courage of the early emigrants to migrate to a different country.
If we look beyond the foreign remittance, there are quite a few issues in the state.
Unemployment is much higher than national average[1]
Kerala youth are struggling with the drugs problem, in high numbers.[2]
Very little industrial investment because its a state with communist government and not industry friendly.
There are towns where every household has someone abroad. Only the elderly are living in those big houses.
[1]https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/kerala-am…
[2] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/kerala-is-in…
Nevermark
I find the over use of "socialist" as a negative term to apply to any mutual investment, regardless of returns, so myopic.
Families are "socialist". Investing in each other and their young.
Wealthy families are even more "socialist". Dramatically so. Investing in offspring through childhood, higher education, and often long after.
For good reason. Education and health have a compounding impact on people's potentials, for themselves and as a benefit to others.
Key word here is: Compounding
That being said, all investments must be prioritized against a total balance sheet. Debt also compounds. And Kerala demonstrates health and education are a matter of prioritization of efforts, even more so than money.
mempko
Turns out investing in your own people returns dividends. Unfortunately, the current administration is divesting from the American people. DOGE, and it's cutting of federal grants is a direct example of this divestment. What's happening now in the US reminds me a lot of a mixture of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, where the Chicago economists came in and their shock therapy and large divestment decimated the wealth and health of ordinary people.
jimnotgym
Needs a Tldr!
hshshshshsh
* Access to sea routes from west and east. Easy access to ideas from around the world. Christianity and Islam came to Kerala long time back peacefully.
* No big invasions from outside India. North India constantly faced Invasion.
* Tropical weather which makes doing agriculture easy.
* Good rainfall and no need to worry about water. Many Indian states you need to worry about water accessibility.
* No shit given to anyone caste or religion for the most part except for things like marriage.
seltzered_
Just sharing bookmarks, see also https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/16/4481 (talk link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u-OdFBARXHg ) (via https://ashfordhall2018.wordpress.com/ ) for some further research on Kerala, India and economics.
shelled
These are my personal/anecdotal observations, of course, for a state I love.
Compared to many other better states and cities, the places in Kerala have this combination of low expenses, good government/public health care. It’s utter shit in most of India — including other rich states like Karnataka (~Bangalore). The place has no or less hostility to outsiders, a general non-RW political atmosphere, and being less polluted or free from it. While Tamil Nadu (~Chennai) is ahead of Kerala in many ways, it kind of falls behind on integration points and weather (that's just a personal preference).
I see one more difference there (this is kind of specific, and I just wanted to take an example) — all over India, people are scared of cops. Severe chronic fear of the police (from the British times; maybe continued). You don’t get in their way, you don’t talk to them, you don’t argue with them, and you hope they never notice you exist. Mostly! Not in Kerala (and to some extent in Tamil Nadu as well) — in Kerala, police in most cases don’t get that some kind of feared reverence at all. It has always heartening to see police getting questioned by locals there when they demand something from the people. I am someone originally from the Indian North, and it was an alien experience — just like seeing government/public hospitals in villages and small towns that are well-equipped and functioning.
The thing about protest culture and the so-called union culture that right-wingers and/or the "economically progressive" folks accuse Kerala of — is actually a highly educated populace (very close to 100%; let that sink in — because we are talking about India) standing up for their rights and not allowing either the corporates or the government to steam-roll them. Is that ideal? I don't think so. But then they easily forget that Kerala always had a left-leaning ideology and India’s centre never had any left majority Govt (hell, not even significant representation), which means the state has always been at odds with the centre—and still did well literally on its own.
The Indian right-wing loves to hate on Kerala (you might see some right here; veiled or direct; or not; and that's alright – I guess, people just like and dislike things) — calling the state and its people with left-bashing slurs and abuses. There have been concerted efforts to flare up the Hindu-Muslim divide in the state, which has worked almost everywhere — with great success in the North India (which is the mostly uneducated, mostly conservative, mostly poor and backward India) and to good success in Karnataka (~Bangalore) and Maharashtra (~Mumbai). These last two are among the richer states of India, while the North is generally a proper shit-hole (I am originally from there).
One can go on and keep counting the majestically built homes that are empty most of the year because the well-off occupants mostly stay out of the state or India or attribute everything to the Gulf. But the bottom line is it is much better than the hellhole that most of India is. They also conveniently forget that it has been in direct and active trade contact with the rest of the world (especially Europe) from very old times. The state has one of the oldest mosques and churches in the world (not just India). I have seen the tech industry of Kerala very closely. There are some boutique software places in that state – not very big (except one kinda famous FOSS photos, 2fa app shop), some service industry but not gigantic like in other states et cetera. Do I have hopes from the place? Yes. Will it be fast? I doubt it.
Do their socio-economic-political choices have their drawbacks and unflattering outcomes? Yes, of course. But I think Kerala state and its people have realised one thing—that by virtue of being in a third-world country like India, they have two options: either keep working and keep getting better at a slower pace while maintaining a better "quality of life" compared to almost all of the rest of India or give in and become a sweatshop like a lot of India currently is and for them if that means moving out of India to do work and earn money and send money back home then so be it.
teleforce
TL;DR:
"From a historical perspective, Kerala has at least four distinct qualities that most states in India do not share. First, it has a centuries-long history of trade and migration, particularly with West Asia and Europe. Second, Kerala is rich in natural resources, which have been commercially exploited. Third, Kerala boasts a highly literate, skilled and mobile workforce. Finally, the state has a strong Left political movement. Any story we tell about its advances in health and education or its recent income growth must refer to some of these longstanding variables."
Cherian
I was born in the second southernmost district of Kerala, Quilon (now Kollam). I am now a U.S. citizen in the Bay Area. Growing up in Quilon, I attended an Anglo-Indian boy's school called Infant Jesus – in a small strip of land called Thangassery, people predominantly spoke English. I was taught British dialects emphasizing pronunciations that mimicked the world stage. I didn't really understand it until much later in life.
In my 20s, the contrast hit when I traveled across other parts of India.
Kerala has a mix of Western population that decided to stay back after the Indian Independence that brought with them Christianity, education, hospitals, and the Catholic culture. Kerala is also one of the few places in India where you can eat beef without inhibitions.
The writer hasn't emphasized this enough, but when oil struck the Middle East in the 1960s, the massive influx of blue and white-collar labor (who had the English language and engineering skills) that helped set up what's now Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman, and many other countries was built by Malayalees. My father-in-law was one of the earlier engineers at Aramco in Saudi. The Middle Eastern money has flown back to Kerala thanks to high bank interest rates (nearly 10%) and landlocked real estate that helped raise the state's GDP.
shw1n
A funny anecdote from my grandfather (I was raised in California but family's from Kerala) related to the migration of Keralite workers to Gulf was from when he went to Bahrain to supposedly build a magnificent church as the lead engineer (he was a civil engineer).
It was supposed to be his life's work and he said he left with grandiose aspirations.
Only to get caught in the Kuwait War and barely make it back in a bus of refugees.
He always used this as a reminder of "pride goes before a fall", but I personally just found it a fascinating reminder of the sheer random horrificness that life can bestow out of nowhere.