On the day of the grand finale of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters 2024, Subhashini Ali, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), provided an insightful experience into four basic aspects where the country could have done better.

In her session titled ‘Reimagine India,’ Subhashini delved into the areas of poverty, secularism, elimination of caste and gender equality while raising questions about what could have been done better.

Subhashini said that the kind of land reforms that were enacted in Kerala is the bedrock of the Kerala Model.

“If my grand-aunt at the age of 100 can live in a comatose condition in her house alone without any of her children, it’s because the Panchayat has a healthcare facility and palliative care is provided. These are things that people of Kerala take for granted. They do not exist in most parts of India,” she noted while adding that land reforms are essential for the progress of any country.

Subhashini argued that one of the reasons land reforms did not happen in India was because of the reason that although the country’s post-independence leaders in-principle agreed with the need for land reforms, they compromised with landlordism and feudalism. “They did not want to risk upsetting the feudal vested interests on whom they depended for a lot of support,” she said.

The veteran politician explained that when she reimagines India, she reimagines a country that she once saw from the roof of her house in 1971— a time when every single field that belonged to her house was taken away by the government and given to those people who practised agriculture. “We were one of the families that did not go to court,” she proudly recalled.

If India is to be united and if the country is to progress, the defence of secularism is absolutely essential, Subhashini observed. She also pointed out that state administrations have failed to protect minorities whenever they should have come to their defence.

Talking about caste oppression, she said the most oppressed of the dalits belong to the states where there are the highest number of landless; where they are, therefore, also unable to access education and health.

“In Kerala, there are efforts being made to improve government schools. More children are getting enrolled in government schools than private schools. That’s something I feel very proud about. But in the rest of the country, government schools are being closed down,” she said.