Kerala Saar, 100% literacy Saar!  (2025)

Just after assuming office as the BJP’s new Kerala State President, Rajeev Chandrasekhar—the technocrat-entrepreneur-turned-politician—declared his mission to "salvage" Kerala, which he described as a miserably failed state. Mere days earlier, Union Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman had lamented in Parliament that Kerala was in shambles due to practices like Nokkukooli.

Ironically, the same week, India Today, the country’s premier news magazine, introduced a new metric to gauge national progress—the Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB). This social barometer, designed to measure the "invisible infrastructure of inner discipline," was based on four key parameters: Civic Behaviour, Public Safety, Gender Attitudes, and Diversity & Discrimination. In collaboration with a data analytics firm, the survey assessed 21 states and one Union Territory, analysing responses from 9,188 individuals to evaluate societal and personal behavioural trends across regions.

And who emerged the best in this country’s first-of-its-kind ranking? The “failed state” of Kerala. The worst? Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s model state, ranked 22nd. Four other states at the bottom five included two more “saffron showpieces”: Gujarat (20) and Madhya Pradesh (19). The other laggards were led by Aam Aadmi Party and Congress: Punjab (21) and “India’s Silicon Valley”, Karnataka (18). The two that followed Kerala at the top were Opposition-ruled states: Tamil Nadu (2) and West Bengal (3). So, is it Kerala that needs to be urgently changed as Seetharaman and Chandrasekharan want?

Though the BJP, the United Democratic Front, and much of the mainstream media have largely ignored these findings—just as they do with many of Kerala’s recent accomplishments—due to their prevailing hostility toward the Left Democratic Front government, they certainly deserve recognition. However, while it may be petty for the Opposition and the media to overlook these achievements, it would be equally absurd for the current government to claim sole credit.

Like all of Kerala’s well-known successes, these, too, are the result of sustained efforts over generations—not just by successive governments but by the common people of Kerala and even many from outside who contributed to the state’s progress. The same holds true for Kerala’s shortcomings, for which collective responsibility must be acknowledged. Recognising and celebrating these achievements is not about self-congratulation but about reaffirming the principles and policies that made them possible, ensuring we do not stray from that path.

The survey assumes national significance on another count as well. As it says, these findings prove the uncomfortable truth, a “less-than-perfect undertow” of a nation coursing towards economic superpowerdom and becoming the world’s third largest economy. It points out that “India’s journey to developed nation status requires not just economic transformation but an attendant behavioural revolution - one that nurtures inclusivity, respect for rules, gender equality and civic responsibility”.

The survey revealed several troubling behavioral patterns among Indians. It found that 61% were willing to pay bribes to get things done, 69% believed male members should have the final say in household matters, and 50% opposed interreligious and inter caste marriages.

The findings also highlighted the stark contrast between different regions, with Southern India—known for its better human development indices—consistently outperforming the North on most GDB indicators. However, Karnataka stands out as an exception, lagging behind on various GDB parameters despite being the country's global high-tech hub and benefiting from Southern India's overall stronger performance.

The analysis of four broad parameters of the survey, based on the perceptions of residents about their respective regions, included the following components:

Ironically, Karnataka, home of India’s most modern and cosmopolitan city, reported the highest incidence of harassment of women in public places. Tamil Nadu emerged the best on this count as well as in reporting of violent crimes they witness in their areas to the police. Punjab was ranked at the bottom in safety in public transport vehicles like buses, metros and local trains, in which Maharashtra emerged the best. Karnataka fared most poorly in obeying traffic rules.

Interestingly, Kerala, ranked as the safest state, sees stray dogs as the biggest threat to its public safety. The survey noted that 96% -the highest in the country- of respondents from Kerala didn’t want stray dogs around. It is hardly surprising since Kerala recorded a staggering 3,16,000 dog bite cases in 2024, up from 1,35,000 in 2017. “In Kerala, the threat is not from one’s fellow citizens but from their feral, four-legged counterparts”, writes Vikram Singh, former Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, in his guest column.

On the theme of Gender Attitudes, the survey found that while Indian society embraced gender equality in education and employment, entrenched patriarchy continued to shape household decisions and personal freedoms for women. This is proven beyond doubt with 69% of the respondents saying men should have the final say in household decisions. This sentiment is most pronounced in Uttar Pradesh, where a stunning 96% endorse this. Kerala, though not at all immune to entrenched patriarchy, emerged as the best in this category, with 75% of the respondents saying women should have an equal right in household decisions. Kerala did well on the four other questions, too. 96% of Kerala respondents asserted the right of women to manage their earnings. On political decisions, too, 96% of Kerala wanted women to make their own choices instead of voting for the same candidate in elections as the male members of the family. Kerala also reported the highest among (67%) those who thought women should be free to marry against the wishes of their parents. The survey found that 31% of respondents from Andhra Pradesh believed that husbands had the right to beat their wives if they object to their household decisions!

In the category of Diversity and Discrimination, the survey says that Kerala emerges as a beacon of inclusivity in India. Despite priding itself on its diversity, the results show India as deeply fragmented when it comes to acceptance and discrimination. Madhya Pradesh was ranked at the bottom on this, which illustrated “the stark regional disparities in social attitudes”. Kerala fared the best in this category, rejecting restrictions on food habits, opposing employment discrimination and welcoming interfaith and intercaste marriages. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra followed Kerala, while Karnataka figured in the last lot along with Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Kerala’s performance was remarkable on the different questions posed by the survey. While 88 % opposed restrictions on food types (such as meat or beef) in their localities, 94% supported inter-religious marriages and 88% opposed religious discrimination in employment opportunities.

Shockingly, 90% in Chandigarh were opposed to interreligious marriages, even when 91% supported intercaste weddings. On all these counts, Uttar Pradesh fared on expected lines. While 84% of respondents oppose intercaste marriages, 51% believe in discrimination based on religion in employment. Gujarat, despite its history of communal clashes, springs a surprise by not being too keen on religion-based discrimination. Odisha appears as the most sectarian on tolerance to food habits. However, it is relieving to note that nationally, 70% of respondents have no problems with having neighbours from other faiths, though a menacing 72% from Uttarakhand reported discomfort with diversity. Unlike other South Indian states, Karnataka disappoints by having a whopping 94% opposing interfaith marriages.

The category in which Kerala made a relatively poor performance was in Civic Behaviour, where it was ranked 5th. This parameter where Tamil Nadu emerged the best was made up of public attitudes towards littering, travelling without a ticket on public transport and willingness to help fellow citizens in need or distress. West Bengal and Odisha occupied the second and third spots, while Punjab ended at the bottom. Though Kerala too is known for its cavalier attitude towards public cleanliness and hygiene, those who disapproved in the survey of throwing litter on the streets was the highest (98%) in our state! Kerala also topped (98%) in being opposed to tampering with electricity meters to reduce bills. As Dipankar Gupta wrote in his guest column, one conclusion from the survey was that most people in India know what the right thing is to do, and then they don’t do it!

The survey results could not have come at a more opportune time to Kerala and its government. For, besides the condemnations from the BJP, a controversy has been raging in the state over the praise lavished by Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor, on the state’s startup system and the so called “anti-business” Kerala emerging as the best performer in the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) rankings of 2024.

Not just on the economic front, serious concerns are emerging about Kerala’s moral and social fabric as well. The state has witnessed an unprecedented surge in brutal crimes and rampant drug abuse, even involving minor children. Kerala’s progressive and inclusive image took another hit when Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan, the state’s highest-ranking bureaucrat, revealed the lifelong prejudice and vilification she has faced due to her dark skin. The contradiction becomes even starker as the India Today survey’s accolades to Kerala coincide with the relentless, round-the-clock agitation by hundreds of impoverished ASHA workers, who, since early February, have braved the sun, rain, and government apathy to demand an increase in their paltry honorarium.

Therefore, while Kerala’s performance in the GDB survey is certainly commendable, it also underscores a crucial reality: its ranking is only relative. The findings highlight not just Kerala’s strengths but also how alarming the state of the social fabric is in the rest of the country.

Nonetheless, as Sarada Muraleedharan pointed out, while colourism is deeply embedded even in progressive Kerala, it is only in this state that it could spark such a widespread debate. Kerala saar, 100% literacy saar.