Recent political scenario in the country has ignited a some interesting developments that rarely happens in a federal system. Some forces in the north trying to tarnish the image of the state of Kerala and discouraging travel to the state. As Kerala is a tourist attraction point and tourism industry contributing a major share of the GDP of the state, they are calculating that as north Indian tourist stop travelling to the state, it will definitely affect the economy of the state negatively. But I’m thinking that such moves will not do any significant impact on economy of Kerala. Here is the reasons.
- Kerala is not just depending on the tourism revenue from domestic travelers. Though plenty of travelers in parts of the country seeing the state as their first priority to visit as tourist, tourism authority of the state is more concerned about visitors from abroad and they have done most of their branding initiatives in foreign countries. As a result, Kerala ranked as one of ‘must to visit’ places by most of the travel magazines and websites. Apart from that, recently incidents reported from Goa and other major tourist points; cow vigilantes are attacked tourist by accusing she abused cow. Such incidents will affect tourists from other countries to choose Kerala over ‘cow affected’ states.
- Economy of Kerala is based on the inflow of foreign remittance especially in gulf region. One out of six employed Keralite now works overseas. As of 2008, the Gulf countries altogether have a Keralite population of more than 2.5 million, who send home annually a sum of USD 9.25 billion, which is more than 15.13% of Remittance to India in 2008. NRI deposits in Kerala have crossed the magic mark of Rs 1 lakh crore, soaring by more than 17% from Rs 93,884 crore to Rs 1.1 crore at the end of 2014-15 in the space of just one year. Kerala created the progress with the money that expat community sent as foreign remittance and the state maintaining its strength with the same.
- Large base of Keralaites working foreign countries. The remittance indicated in point no. 2 is not coming from few rich who are doing business in gulf countries. It is coming from the large base of malayali population there. For instance, one can easily communicate by their local language i.e. Malayalam in most cities of the middle east region. Many gulf countries using Malayalam as a language for official communication and in sign boards due to the large base of Malyali expats in their country. This presence is due cultural synchronization and difficult to find an alternate because of it.
- Ability of Kerala people to learn languages of other states and country. Decades before north Indians are started travelling in search of a job to Kerala, Tamil people were occupied most such jobs. Instead making them learn Malayalam, Keralaites learnt Tamil to make communication easier with them. On the other side, Malyalees who traveled to other big cities of the country and abroad, learnt their local language. An average Malayali might be knowing Tamil, Hindi, Arabic, English in addition to his local language. This ability of Keralite people to learn languages, making him a most wanted resource in workplaces, across the world.
- You cannot sell cheap political tricks to a Malayali. Kerala is a state with high political awareness. Obviously this high politicization has some side effects. But the positive side is, every announcements, decisions, offers, statements etc. will be critically evaluated and scrutinized before accepting. This habit of Malayali makes him to float above all political stunts. Kerala is maintaining a political stability since the formation of the state.
- Though the performance of Keralite students is average in national and international competitive exams, as a society the standard of education is very high in compare to other states of the country. Kerala is not just a full literate state but it is an educated state which can be weigh against many developed countries. Educated workforce will continue to contribute to the economy, irrespective of the economic opportunities inside the state.
- Kerala community is highly exposed to outside world due to its expat nature and travel habits. Even before the large scale migration to gulf countries, Keralites are famous for setting up their small businesses in towns and interior parts of the country. Men and women from the state are frequent travelers to outside world and familiar with their values system and culture. This nature provides them immunity towards all kinds of biases. This nature help the community to build a brand among the international community especially in middle east region.
- The first digital state of the country, Kerala has highest internet penetration. So as in the social activeness, the state is very active in social media also. When Maria Sharapova, International tennis player felt the hot of the power of Mallu Netizens after a remark about Sachin Tendulkar couple of years back, the web-world realized the strength of the Kerala Community in the space. Keralite community is capable identify and monetize economic opportunities across the globe.
- Religious harmony of the state is remarkable. Even the relationship between different cast is far better in comparison with other parts of the country, though it is not completely satisfactory. Recent developments in ensuring rights of transgenders is also a major achievement.This social harmony strengthens the social fabric of the state and dividing forces cannot encroach easily into the system. As the state continue to maintain a peaceful environment, economy is going to strengthen further.
- It was a popular joke that when Neil Armstrong landed in the Moon, he saw a mallu selling tea there. This joke signifies the presence of Keralite every where in the globe and his hardworking mentality. Mallu is busy with building his family and the society he belongs to. He rarely find time for other actions. Though Malayali is interested in politics, he never allow the politics to kill his comforts and relationships. Hardworking nature of the Keralite population will fetch results in also, not just inside the state but wherever he making his efforts.
As far as Kerala provide value to its visitors, it respects various religion and cultures, it provides equal opportunity to its citizens, nobody can damage its dignity and fame.
