On Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy and why Kerala is no country for good men
Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy is not your politically-right, headline-maker bro; he is not social savvy; he is happy in his ill-fitting clothes and does not call for sartorial challenges. Neither does he take up populist causes nor does he parade populism. No fancy Bullets for him; no happy birthday cakes, no film connections. Worse, he is apparently apolitical. That all are a crime in Kerala and so he becomes a soft target for so-called social intelligentsia to web-lynch him
We, the Malayalis, are the most literate yet the most shallow. We are the custodians of morality yet the keepers of vices. We have excellent minds yet thrive in mediocrity.
Mediocrity that outshines content in social media. Mediocrity that is celebrated by influencers who have the gift of the gab (after all, being literate, writing a social post with flair comes naturally to most).
We are fiercely political yet lamely neutral. We condemn bigotry and fanaticism, yet we fan the flames of divisiveness. We say we are secular, yet we have the most communal parties parading as mainstream decision-makers (add to the mess, the BJP).
We are a confused bunch of people. And our frustration vents and wells in social posts that are hideously political, communal and personal.
As our social timeline shows, we are against idolizing but we love to hero-worship. We say we are crusaders of nobility but when it comes to the absolute truth, we are chickens.
All the above apply to me too because, after all, I am just a simple Malayali.
I profess no moral high-ground; I am as good or as bad (worse) than you. And I mean nothing in the bigger scheme of things.
I have no followers to influence and no political agenda or axe to grind. I owe no affiliations, just obligations to countless people who helped me along the journey with their unrequited giving.
But when, I see social lynching by Kerala’s intellectuals, the social influencers, who use words to peddle and propagate divisiveness, I believe I must write at least a Medium post — as a cathartic piece for my soul.
And I write this for Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy, a prodigious student who chose government service over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The IAS topper of 1991 was the poster-child of a ‘model student’ for people of our generation, who are now in their fifth decade of Malayali-ness.
He was destined to be on the league of Dr. Babu Paul, Malayatoor Ramakrishnan and CP Nair, illustrious IAS officials, who wrote so goddamn well and were literary heroes of our time.
Much has changed since then: The IAS cadre of Kerala is now more inclusive; the bureaucrats are brasher, brazier and savvier. Reel-life scenes now act out in real life leading to profuse social media applause.
When Swamy joined the civil service, expectations were high but soon enough it was evident (or we are made to believe) that there was only so much a bright young scholar could do amidst a bunch of street-smart, uncouth politicians. He was painted as slow — a tag that he couldn’t shrug off. (No media has squarely queried him on that either, I presume).
But he was unwavering in his fight against administrative corruption so much that he was in 20 jobs in 22 years (or to that effect). (Read more trivia about him here — none of that befitting the idols of today; no Bullet rides, no family cake-cutting, no film connections)
The icing on the cake was when the Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose, who himself was once alleged of accumulating disproportionate assets (before being exonerated by the court), recommended that Swamy is not fit to continue in service.
It could not be coincidental that Dr. Jacob Thomas, who as Vigilance chief had pushed the case against Jose, and Swamy are both hated and grounded by the current LDF government, which claims to be the apostle of clean administration.
Swamy says there is no ground or logic to Jose’s move and contends that he has been victimized for his anti-corruption stance. The chief minister has returned Jose’s recommendation; so it is stalemate now.
But will we give a lending ear to Swamy? Will the government look into his words — and smoke out the corrupt — instead of brandishing the man’s words as a loser’s defence?
Perhaps, anywhere else in the world people who claim to be ‘for the truth’ would have stepped forward to defend Swamy.
But not so in Kerala. Other than the puerile, evil-intended responses of the BJP activists (who want to politicise the issue), the so-called Malayali social generation is hardly concerned. They are busy pursuing trolls.
And there is reason.
Swamy is not like the other ‘collectors’ that Kerala’s youth and public idolize. He is not the prince charming; he is a simple man, happy in his ill-fitting clothes, and down-to-earthiness (which is no pretention).
He is not the bro you will find on social media making smart aleck comments. He doesn’t invoke sartorial grace or petty headline grabbing fights that in the bigger scheme of things contribute little to the people. He is not populist in his public avatar.
And he is a misfit in today’s world of bureaucratic bros, who rather than (or should) be the shadow warriors for the people, revel in petty limelight. He doesn’t gel in with a crowd of publicity hungry, much like the journalists of today who seek instant fame on the telly than do back-breaking homework. This man simply doesn’t belong to a world where everything is bite-ized.
As a soft target, you can mock him and that is exactly what the Leftist social lynch mob is doing now.
Here is a report by one of the advocates, who revels in social attention (after all he needs that for his profession) and has this vacuous moral high ground in everything he posts.
With one mega-rant, this baby-faced lawyer (good-looking is a must it seems for social idolatry in Kerala) reduces Swamy to being a disaster, painting him as a person who refused to do his administrative duties, a person who takes too long to react, a person who, according to the lawyer, is fit only to be a tutor.
This is precisely the malice that has hit Kerala’s public and media; we merely revel in punchy sound-bites.
What if they cast aspersions on perfectly good people — without even giving them the platform to respond…
What if they plug in their political agenda — not even considering for a moment that their party or government too can go wrong…
The fact is that Kerala’s breed of social influencers (the new social elites) have a ready platform to take an extra mile for their rant thanks to equally opinionated online portals.
In his first response to the media, Swamy was nearly in tears.
He choked on his words — and at that moment, I realised that being hurt is the bane of Kerala’s good men. Others will continue to be ‘Liked.’
ENDS
In Kerala, we must live with disclaimers. So here are mine:
· I do not follow the social influencers; I have no regard or disregard for them because they don’t matter to me. Their views are irrelevant to me just as mine are to them.
· I am not affiliated to any party, and my belief in the spirit of socialism (that I do not deliver in real life) is hardly reflected in any of the political parties in Kerala
· I do not live in nostalgia nor do I care much about contemporary Kerala, which has left me behind as a bad follower of live TV, social media feeds and the countless commentaries of experts
· For once, my ignorance of Kerala, is my periodical bliss
· Finally, I do not know Raju Narayana Swamy. My only personal interaction with him was when he was Sub-Collector in Alappuzha and I, as a reporter, was covering a tragedy. The man, to my recall, was efficient, hands-on and on-ground (I can’t tell the same of several of other bureaucrats whose paths I have crossed since)
