The Nair Service Society (NSS) colleges central committee, which runs several educational institutions, recently issued a circular which said teachers working in the colleges under it should submit a separate sheet showing the dates on which they have taken extra classes to compensate for the teaching hours lost during their leaves. This is applicable for those who have even taken maternity leave. The NSS is an organisation which represents the privileged Nair community. The order, issued by the secretary of the NSS college central committee on March 14, has put women faculty who have availed maternity leave in a spot. "On verification of the documents/ proposals received from the colleges for issuing the placement order/for permission to constitute the selection committee, it is seen that most of the teachers entered 100% as their score in Table-1 'Teaching and Learning Related Activities'. For teachers who have availed Casual Leave/ Duty Leave/CML/Earned Leave/Maternity Leave/Paternity Leave/Loss of pay Leave etc during the academic year, the Principal has to submit a separate sheet showing the dates on which they have taken extra classes to compensate the teaching hours lost during their leave,” the circular read.  A copy of it has been seen by TNM. The circular requires women teachers to compensate even for the maternity leave availed by them. MR Unni, who issued the order, told TNM that the purpose was to ensure that the students do not suffer because of the loss of class hours. "The intention of the order is not to make teachers take extra classes to compensate for the loss. It is for the college to make extra arrangements for lost hours. This has nothing to do with maternity leave; it is the right and privilege of female teachers. We wanted to ensure that the principals had made alternative arrangements so that the students won't suffer,” he said. However a teacher refuted this claim. “In this circular, why should a principal give an explanation on the maternity leave taken by a teacher?  And it is obvious that principals won’t oppose orders by the management. Principals can prepare the response only after checking individual records of teachers and in this case the teachers will have to provide the explanation for the class hours lost which is absurd in the case of maternity leave,” a teacher told TNM. The teacher added, “All teachers have to fill up forms with the points they got for the lectures given and other academic performances like attending refresher courses to get promoted. It is true that the orders are sent to principals. Orders will not come individually to teachers and there will never be a direct communication with the management and teachers in orders like this. Hence the claim that it was sent to principals and not teachers is absurd as the onus is on the teachers to come with explanation or record for the classes lost,” the teacher added.  

The five men on the hills, raising their glasses together, could be just any gang chilling out on a cold day. Except, these are all known faces for Malayalis, actors of great calibre who are no longer with us. Bharat Gopy, Nedumudi Venu, Innocent, Murali, and James Chacko are seen laughing together in this scene from the 1985 film Chidambaram that is now being circulated with a new label – Heaven. Innocent is the last of the five men to pass away, dying of COVID-19 related complications on Sunday, March 26. He was 75 years old and had been a part of Malayalam cinema for more than five decades. While he played varied characters, Innocent was most known for his unique brand of comedy, helped by the singsong dialect of Thrissur and an adorable set of expressions. The others in that scene from Chidambaram were all known for their very different methods of acting. Gopy was a favourite choice of filmmakers creating offbeat cinema. With his long hair and balding head, he’d play unconventional characters, unabashed to be loud in his gestures and speech. Read: Remembering Bharat Gopy, a one of a kind actor Nedumudi Venu, who passed away in October 2021, was mourned a lot, with long tributes paid for the many emotions he so easily brought to the screen. His unique voice, the sadness that came with it, the songs he sang, the ease with which he switched between mean and comic characters, are all terribly missed. Read: From nice old man to villain, here are a few of Nedumudi Venu’s unforgettable roles Murali died in 2010, leaving behind a bunch of likeable and hated characters, all of which were equally appreciated for the authenticity he brought to them. A man of the theatre, whose voice cracked when he cried on the screen and a man who made you laugh with him, Murali was undoubtedly one of the best Malayalam cinema had. James Chacko, an actor who worked in more than 150 films playing many supporting characters in his three-decade-long career, too was part of that iconic scene. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ആമിയുടെ നിരഞ്ജൻ (@aamiyude_niranjan) The film Chidambaram was made by legendary director and cartoonist G Aravindan. Led by late Smita Patil, who made her Malayalam debut in it, and Sreenivasan, the film is considered a classic. It won the National Award for Best Feature and five State Awards.

Kerala, on Tuesday, March 28, bade a tearful adieu to one of its most versatile actors who never let adversities, including the dreaded cancer, dull the sparkle of his signature smile. Innocent, who passed away on Sunday, was given full state honours by the Kerala government and laid to rest in Thrissur. Prior to the burial, his mortal remains were placed at the St Thomas Cathedral - his home parish in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, as thousands of teary-eyed mourners looked on. After battling for life at a hospital for nearly two weeks, the 75-year-old passed away on Sunday night, leaving his fans recalling numerous characters he brought to life in the over 700 roles he performed in a glorious career spanning five decades, that began in 1972. Read: ‘Adichu mole’ to ‘Tony kutta’: Ten Innocent scenes Malayalis can’t forget The whole of Monday and Tuesday morning saw people from all walks of life thronging with Innocent lying in state, in his traditional Kerala attire - a 'jubba' and the 'mundu' - his trademark attire which he never ditched even as an MP in the Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. As a mark of respect, all shops and establishments at his hometown in Irinjalakuda downed their shutters till 11 am, when his body was lowered into the family graveyard, beside his parents. Before moving the body from the house, he was given a state funeral by the Kerala Police. Though a glorious career that extended to five decades has ended, the charismatic actor and his characters will remain etched in the memories of people for decades to come.

A bus with 62 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur returning from the famed Sabarimala temple overturned on Tuesday, March 28, after it lost control. Authorities said that all the passengers were rescued. The accident took place at Nilakkal located in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district. Pathanamthitta district collector Divya S Iyer said that the police, fire department and the locals managed to rescue the pilgrims and the injured have been moved to a local hospital, while some were taken to the Medical College Hospital at Kottayam. Local legislator KU Jenish Kumar said that he would visit the accident site soon. According to reports, there were at least eight children inside the vehicle and the driver is under treatment for serious injuries. Preliminary inquiry also suggests that the accident might have been caused due to overspeeding.

The Lok Sabha secretariat has withdrawn the disqualification of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal PP. In a notification dated March 29, 2023, the secretariat has said that the disqualification ceases to operate in view of the Kerala High Court’s stay on the conviction of the MP. The notification stated that an intimation was received from Kerala HC that an order was passed on January 25, 2023, suspending the conviction and sentencing of Mohammed Faizal. “In view of order dated 25.01.2023 of the High Court of Kerala, the disqualification of Shri Mohammed Faizal PP, notified vide Gazette Notification… dated the 13. January, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(11(1) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements,” it read. Also Read: Rahul Gandhi conviction: What the RP Act says on disqualifying an MP, MLA Faizal was convicted in an attempted murder case and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Lakshadweep court on January 11. Along with Faizal who is the second accused, two of his brothers, and another person were also sent to jail in the same case, which pertains to a scuffle that broke out during the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign. In this scuffle, Congress leader Mohammed Salleh was brutally attacked by a group of people. Among those who are alleged to have taken part in the scuffle are Faizal, his brothers, and others. In the brutal attack, Salleh was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to a private hospital in Kochi. Soon after the conviction, on January 13, the Lok Sabha secretariat disqualified him as an MP. However, even after the Kerala HC stayed the conviction, the notification was not withdrawn. Right now, a case is ongoing at the Supreme Court, after Faizal filed a petition in this regard. Read: 'What fundamental right is violated?': SC to disqualified Lakshadweep MP

This article is the second in TNM’s ‘Access Denied’ series, which dives into the issues and needs of certain sections of society that are confined to the margins and denied access to the mainstream. TW: Mention of suicide, violence Ousted by her family for asserting her identity as a woman, Padma (name changed) was all of 18 when she realised ‘transgender friendly’ Kerala was not going to be kind to her. There were not many ways forward, the few trans women she knew at the time had advised her. No one would employ a trans woman, and she did not even have a degree. If she wanted to survive, let alone one day undergo the surgeries she hoped would finally allow her to be comfortable with her body, she had but two options — turn to sex work, or beg on the streets. So at the age of 19, Padma made her choice. She became a sex worker. “Life has been a struggle, as one would expect,” she says. “Many people are uncomfortable, even angry, with how we don’t conform to their concept of a rigid gender binary. In addition to that is the shame associated with sex work and begging. Due to this dual stigma, people often do not even think of us as humans who deserve respect.” One day, Padma hopes to undergo a gender affirming surgery. A distant dream, she says. “As of now, I am struggling to make ends meet. I do not have the funds for a surgery. But I am slowly learning to love my body in small ways, through my clothes and how I express myself.” The Kerala Social Justice Department has a scheme in place to provide financial assistance to trans persons undergoing gender affirmation surgery, which should have ideally come as a solace to many like Padma. As detailed in its website, the government will provide a maximum amount of Rs 2.5 lakh as financial assistance for the surgery, in addition to another Rs 1 lakh for breast implantation and Rs 36,000 for postoperative care (Rs 3,000 per month for 12 months). But the problem, trans activists point out, is that this amount is paid only as a refund. “Most trans women are disowned by their family and live their life stranded on the road. A majority of us don’t have access to education or jobs. Yet, we are expected to arrange lakhs of rupees for the surgery by ourselves, and apply for a refund only after the procedure is completed,” says Raji (name changed), a trans woman. “Even the refund is provided in instalments, that too after a year or so,” she adds. Besides, postoperative money is not provided to individuals aged above 40 years, as the age limit for availing funds is between 18 and 40. Padma doesn’t understand why. “Do our needs stop to matter after a certain age?” she asks. Thiruvananthapuram-based trans activist Sreemayi suggests that a more viable option would be for the government to tie up with a hospital and provide the money for the surgery directly. “This way, we at least won’t be forced to turn to sex work or begging to save money,” she says. But according to Vasuki, a trans rights activist based in Thrissur, what the government needs to do first is set up a facility equipped to conduct gender affirmation surgeries. “As of now, trans persons have no option but to get the surgery done in private hospitals and submit the bills to the government, and then wait for years to get a refund,” she says. The primary reason gender affirmation surgeries are not carried out in Kerala’s government facilities is simple — the lack of trained healthcare personnel. Reconstructive surgery is indeed a complicated procedure, says Dr AK Jayashree, professor and head of the department of community medicine at Kannur Government Medical College Hospital. “But if government doctors are provided adequate and rigorous training, it can be accomplished,” she says. Private hospitals in the state, meanwhile, have been notorious for their botched surgeries, which often leave trans women with excruciating physical pain, additional mental trauma, and little to no support to hold on to. “This is what pushed Anannyah over the edge,” Krishna (name changed) says, as she recalls the young trans woman radio jockey with bright eyes and a vivacious voice. Less than a week before her suicide in July 2021, Anannyah Kumari Alex had alleged in a media interview that she had faced gross medical negligence during her surgery at a private hospital in Kochi. “After Anannyah realised the surgery was botched, the doctor’s response was that they would ‘try again’ to fix what went wrong. Was that what a doctor was supposed to say?” Krishna asks. Read: Anannyah’s story isn’t new: Kerala lacks support for trans persons undergoing surgery Even if the surgery is ‘successful’ at the outset, it usually comes with an additional set of health problems, says Tara (name changed), a trans woman sex worker. “Some of us face urinary continence, and some have issues with their intestines. There are people who struggle with back pain all their lives due to breast surgery. This is in addition to the pain we go through during hormone therapy and laser treatment for hair removal,” she says. “It is also not uncommon for us to see deaths, during and after surgeries.” Viji, a queer activist and Thrissur District Transgender Justice Board member, says incidents such as this happen due to the non-existence of a uniform protocol while performing surgeries. “Each hospital does it in a different way. We even have three different types of surgeries that can be performed based on the amount of money we can provide. Not all of them would give us a functional vagina,” adds Viji, who is also the president of Karma, an NGO for queer persons. “Besides, the hospital is supposed to assess the person undergoing the surgery for at least six months before the procedure. This is a precaution most facilities overlook,” says Dr Jayashree. The government should consider introducing unified guidelines on how to perform vaginal reconstruction surgery, Sreemayi agrees. “If the surgery is done properly, the touch sensation of the nerves there can be retained without fail. An informed system has to be implemented to ensure this,” she says. Shyama S Prabha, former Transgender Cell project officer under Kerala’s Department of Social Justice, says the government is currently working on implementing a uniform protocol for gender affirmation surgeries. “This was one of the hurdles that had come up while the government was discussing the provision of financial assistance for surgeries. The other was the difficulty in making surgery expenses uniform,” she says. When asked about the age bar for surgeries, she says the 18-40 age range was fixed when the Government Order was first released. “However, there was an application to remove this bar and the plan is currently under negotiation,” she adds. Beyond the surgery But of course, this does not mean every trans person wants to undergo a surgery. Gender affirmation is simply a process through which an individual recognises and affirms their gender identity, Raji points out. There are several other affirming procedures that trans persons depend on to overcome their gender dysphoria, explains Viji. “This can range from resorting to conventional dressing styles of the gender one aligns with, to surgically altering their sexual anatomy. Some undergo breast surgery alone, some bottom surgery, and others both. There are also individuals who wish to exist on a continuum, a spectrum that gives space for their own expression of gender,” she says. Raji adds that while there are a number of medical procedures such as hormone therapy and laser treatment besides surgeries, social interaction is also an important aspect of gender affirmation. “Using the right pronouns of an individual and not discriminating against them, ease of access to legal procedures such as changing names in documents, and being included in welfare schemes are all important,” she adds. ‘Imagine PMS, but every day’ Then there are the significant mental health costs that accompany procedures such as hormone therapy, says Viji. “The recurrent hormone administration is often accompanied by depression, mood swings, and suicidal tendencies. Imagine experiencing severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but on a daily basis,” she says. Dr Jayashree is of the opinion that while depression and suicidal tendencies are rampant among trans persons, hormone therapy alone is not to be blamed. “The lion’s share of mental health issues faced by the trans community is due to the social isolation and ostracisation they face,” she says. But of course, hormonal changes and the multiple surgical procedures trans women undergo are also factors, she adds. Several trans women TNM spoke to say they often do not receive any familial or societal support, let alone appropriate physical and psychological treatment facilities. They also experience more body shaming than cisgender women, both in public life and on social media. Reeling from depression and the trauma of ostracism, Vijaya (name changed) had once attempted to end her own life. “I was taken to a counsellor, but they did not have anything to say to me. They just stared at me, with a puzzled look on their face.” After that, she stopped going to counselling. “Not to mention the cost of therapy. There is no way people like us can afford it on our own,” she says. Vasuki has another experience to share, shining light on the ignorance of Kerala’s health personnel when it comes to trans women. “I once went to a primary health centre because of a stomach ache. The staff there asked me if I was on my periods. I had to sit down and explain to them that trans women don’t get periods,” she says. Though we claim that Kerala and its institutions are trans friendly, the outlook of most Keralites on the ground is very different, Vijaya says. “We have a long way to go, and a lot of awareness to create, before there is a change in the judgemental lenses through which most people here look at us.” Read: How transphobia and ignorance of doctors drove a Kerala trans man to suicide Helpless childhoods Most trans persons’ problems start right from their childhood, says Viji. “Once the realisation about our gender sets in, we begin to experience severe dysphoria. This is especially hard because as we grow up, society ingrains the idea of gender binaries into our heads. At that age, most children are unlikely to be even privy to the existence of transgender persons. So eventually, when a child starts to feel ‘different’, they have no clue how to handle it. It is a mental struggle too harsh for a child to deal with,” she says. The Kerala government has introduced a scholarship scheme for transgender students, as per which eligible students from Classes 7 to 10 receive an amount of Rs 1,000 per month for 10 months. But Viji thinks the scheme is impractical and uninformed. “How is it possible for children to just come out and reveal their gender identity? When children play games or wear clothes conventionally aligned with a gender they weren’t assigned at birth, families typically overlook it assuming ‘it will pass’. When this tendency persists through puberty, the family begins to admonish them for continuing these ‘childish games’. They are never even going to consider that this might be the child’s way of expressing their gender, because they simply don’t have the awareness for that,” she explains. Instead of implementing generalised schemes, the government should aim to provide support to transgender children as and when they realise their gender identity, she adds. Dr Jayashree suggests that the government focus on providing intensive gender sensitisation training to its own education and health departments. “Only with proper training can those dealing with children handle such issues sensitively, without traumatising the child or putting a halt to their education. Also, along with the child, parents should also be provided with proper counselling by teachers and counsellors,” she says. School can oftentimes be a traumatic period for trans children, who face abuse and ridicule from other students for ‘being different’. Many trans children eventually drop out due to the ostracisation they face. The government is conducting gender sensitisation workshops and seminars in schools more often now, many of which she has taken part in, Viji says. “It is necessary to make children aware of the fact that gender, as well as sexuality, is not a rigid structure, and that it is not something to be ashamed of. This will help change the future generation’s attitude towards gender minorities.” Layered stigma It is pertinent to understand that a trans person’s life does not revolve around their gender, says Tara. “We struggle to find a place to stay, pay the monthly rent, and often even to buy food. In fact, if we need to put food on the table today, we have to step out onto the streets. It is a hand-to-mouth existence.” Engaging in sex work for a prolonged period of time also triggers an array of health problems, from anal fissures to sexually transmitted infections (STI) including AIDS. Besides, trans sex workers are paid less for their services and are vulnerable to more violence — whether it be from family, friends, customers, partners, or society and the system as a whole, says Tara. “We lose most of our health earning money for the surgery, after which we return to work and lose our remaining health as well. We cannot afford to take much rest after the procedure because it would incur substantial expenses. There is no way we can survive without our daily earnings,” says Viji. Some trans women are able to avail other odd gigs, such as making deliveries for Swiggy or Flipkart, etc. But many end up taking these jobs without adequate rest after the surgery. “Reconstructive procedures can be traumatic for the body. Riding a two-wheeler for very long periods soon after undergoing such physical trauma can create problems of its own, including intense discomfort and back pain. This forces them to depend on painkillers, which in turn becomes an addiction they have to struggle with,” says Raji. “Kerala society’s negative attitude towards trans persons extends to all aspects of their life — from healthcare and housing to education and employment,” says Ajitha (name changed), a trans woman residing in the coastal region of Malappuram. She shows us around her ‘house’ — two small rooms and a passageway converted into a kitchen, located on the first floor of a two-storeyed building dedicated for shops. At around 2 in the afternoon, the room is blazing hot. Ajitha and her family of trans women, which includes her adopted daughter Siji (name changed), had earlier rented another house in a more prominent location in the village, but were forced to move out due to constant harassment. “At times, people would randomly show up at our doorstep and demand sex. Someone once threw a firecracker into our compound. We could not take it anymore,” she says. The day trans women start expressing their gender identity, they are stripped of their dignity, says Binni (name changed). “Our families, neighbours, and then random strangers shame us. If we beg, we get chased away from shops, people utter obscene words at us, and we walk till our legs can’t take it anymore. Our hands start stinging after a point. We go through all of this for food, and for that one surgery we hope to undergo,” she says. “People think we are taking the easy way out by resorting to begging. Wherever we go, we end up facing condescending comments asking us if we are not ashamed; if we can’t work and live. They don’t realise, or care, that no one employs us for money,” Binni adds. Trans welfare in Kerala Until a decade ago, trans persons in Kerala used to routinely migrate to cities such as Mumbai or Delhi, where they would spend the rest of their life doing sex work or begging, Viji says. “Now, after some trans friendly policies were introduced in Kerala, more and more trans persons are beginning to stay back. Of course, but not without our own struggles,” she adds. On November 12, 2015, Kerala had created history as the first Indian state to unveil a policy for transgender persons — the ‘State Policy for Transgenders [sic] in Kerala 2015’. The development had come in the wake of a 2014 Supreme Court judgement that granted legal recognition to all transgender and other gender non-conforming persons. The apex court had held that “all persons have the constitutional right to self-identify their gender”, further directing the government to provide reservation to trans persons in education and employment. The state has since gone on to implement several welfare programmes for trans persons, such as Sakalyam for vocational training and Karuthal for emergency assistance, among other schemes to aid their education, marriage, and skill development. However, due to lapses and limitations in the implementation of most such policies, the lived realities of trans women remain far from the utopian dream of a ‘trans friendly’ Kerala. In 2023, nearly nine years after the SC judgement, Siji with her postgraduate degree and teacher training still works as a sex worker. “There is no place that would offer her a job with decent pay,” says her foster mother Ajitha. Read: Six years, no progress: A look into Kerala’s much touted transgender person pension A counsellor working with the government’s Suraksha project, implemented under the Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) to monitor and create awareness about sexual health, tells TNM that counselling is provided to all sex workers, including trans persons, who come under its scope. “Suraksha’s primary concerns when it comes to transgender women are three-pronged: condom awareness and distribution; counselling; blood tests for HIV and STIs,” she says. However, an insider — a trans woman who was a peer educator at Suraksha for six years — says there are several limitations when it comes to Suraksha’s interventions. “The first issue is that most of the people working with Suraksha are cis women, not community members. They come to us with preconceived notions about who we are, all based on what they have read and heard about us so far, which does not help trans women feel safe with them in any way,” she says. “Secondly, condoms are to be provided to the sex worker based on the number of clients they attend to. This data is completely made up based on assumptions, because nobody will declare the exact number of people they have sex with. Thirdly, the counselling they claim to provide is a non-entity. I worked there for nearly seven years. I never got counselled, nor have I seen anyone else get counselled,” she adds. Moreover, Suraksha’s outreach workers go to the field during the day, with their shift mostly ending by 5 pm, says the former peer educator. She points out that the sex workers, however, start working after 6 pm or so. “It is based on the surveys undertaken by Suraksha and other NGOs that the government plans interventions for us. But all of that data is fundamentally flawed, which in turn leads to improper planning and delivery of policies,” she explains. Three demands 1. Healthcare Most trans women TNM spoke to highlight the absence of a government system that recognises and acknowledges their health issues, in addition to the continuing stigma among the common public, as their primary woes. They also demand a comprehensive healthcare system that will not only focus on their sexual healthcare, but also their mental and general physical health. Viji says that if the government can provide at least laser treatment and hormone therapy to trans persons for free, that would also significantly ease their burden. “While surgery is a choice an individual makes based on several factors, most transgender persons have to routinely undergo hormone therapy and laser treatment for hair removal. We spend anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 7,500 per month on average for laser treatment, and at least another Rs 4,000 for hormone therapy,” she says. According to former Transgender Cell project officer Shyama, the Kerala government is currently mulling providing monthly hormone medicines at a subsidised cost to trans persons and removing the age bar imposed for availing post-operative surgery care.  “As of now, the cost of hormonal therapy for the month in which the surgery is held, is being covered by the government. But monthly hormone medicines can cost anywhere from Rs 1,500 to Rs 9,000. The government has received a petition seeking distribution of subsidised medicines through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited, the cost of which should be undertaken by the Department of Social Justice. Discussions regarding this are underway,” she says. 2. Employment The government can also provide jobs to trans persons in the various institutions that come under the state’s purview, like it did when the Kochi Metro was launched, says Sreemayi. “More often than not, these families’ fear is that their children will turn to sex work — which is considered a dishonourable act. But if the government can provide us an assurance of a job by actually implementing reservations, our lives will improve manifold,” Viji adds. 3. Housing Access to housing is another important need trans women want to be met, says Vasuki. “As most of our families disown us as soon as we assert our identity, we often end up on the streets with no money or even identity proofs to help us find our footing. Even if we find a place to rent after much struggle, we are forced to pay more money than cis persons. But if we get a decent government job and we start to earn money of our own, this will deter many families from ousting their children,” she says. Shyama says that during a survey conducted in 2014-15, around 3,600 transgender persons were identified in Kerala. “A recent revised survey (the report of which is not out yet) says there are only 1,900 trans persons in the state. The government had planned setting up shelter homes for trans persons, but the survey data indicated that the potential number of beneficiaries would be too low for it to be economically viable for the government. The plan was hence shut down.” The need of the hour is accurate data to plan and deliver interventions, she says. Note: The image used for representation is from a protest organised by the Democratic Transgender Federation Kerala (DTFK) in Kochi on July 21, 2021, following the death of trans woman Anannyah Kumari Alex allegedly due to negligence of Renai Medicity hospital authorities. This article is supported by the Health Systems Transformation Platform (HSTP), as part of its Health Journalism Fellowship 2022. In the first part of TNM’s ‘Access Denied’ series, we reported on 'How Kerala govt fails sex workers by seeing them only as vectors of HIV'. The story can be read here.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) Devikulam MLA A Raja, on Wednesday, March 29, filed an appeal petition in the Supreme Court challenging his disqualification by the Kerala High Court. Last week, the High Court ordered his disqualification in response to an election petition by Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate D Kumar stating that Raja does not belong to the Scheduled Caste community for which the Devikulam seat is reserved. Kumar began his legal battle when Raja filed his nomination to the 2021 Assembly polls. And he pursued his fight soon after he lost to Raja by 7,848 votes. The UDF candidate had alleged that Raja was from a converted Christian community and had submitted fake certificates to make himself eligible to contest the seat. Consequent to the verdict, Raja cannot take part in the ongoing Assembly session. The strength of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is now down to 98 seats in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. Even though the High Court disqualified Raja, it allowed him to file the appeal petition in the apex court within 10 days.

Bharatiya Janata Party state president K Surendran has found himself in a spot after his derogatory comments against CPI(M) women leaders in Kerala. Surendran came out with an explanation on Wednesday, March 30 stating that his comment was a general one against the women leaders of the Communist Marxist Party of India (Marxist) and not against a particular individual. CPI(M) leads the ruling Left Democratic Front in the state.  Meanwhile, CS Sujatha, state secretary of the Janadhipathya Mahila Association, has lodged a complaint against Surendran at the Cantonment police station Thiruvananthapuram. Based on the complaint, Cantonment police have booked Surendran under sections 354 A (1) for making sexually coloured remarks against women and 509 for using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman of the Indian Penal Code. Sukanya Baiju, state committee member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth wing of the CPI(M), filed a complaint against Surendran at Thrissur East police station.  Surendran, while attending a gathering in Thrissur on Tuesday, had said that the women leaders of CPI(M) became overweight by looting money. He said they became Poothanas (Poothana is a scary mythological character). "Women leaders of the Communist Party have become fat by looting money" and “after becoming fat like Poothana, they are insulting the women of Kerala,” he said. He further said, “The rice is given by Modi (Prime Minister Modi), so is the sugar, papaddam and gram. Only the bag was provided by Pinarayi Vijayan (the Kerala Chief Minister) and then it is claimed that the kit (grocery kit the Left government used to distribute through ration shops) was given by Pinarayi. Such is the politics in Kerala."  Opposition Leader VD Satheesan of the Congress on Tuesday asked why no CPI(M) leaders have reacted against Surendran's comments. Satheesan added that the comments were derogatory and that he insulted women like no other political leader has ever done. He demanded Surendran to withdraw the statement and to apologise.  Surendran, however, in a press meet in Kozhikode on Wednesday said that his comments were a general statement against the women leaders of the CPI(M) who vowed to work for women empowerment but engaged in corruption. "That was not targeting a particular individual. For VD Satheesan, it (criticising him apparently) was just a way to get closer with the CPI(M)," Surendran alleged. Meanwhile, the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action against Surendran. NFIW is the women’s wing of the CPI(M). Aruna Roy, president and Annie Raja, general secretary of the NFIW have sought action against Surendran ‘for making insulting comments against CPI(M) women.’  NFIW “views these comments which are sexually coloured, aimed at body shaming and insulting the modesty of women, as an attack not only on those who belong to any particular political party, but the entire country. We deplore Mr Surendran's anti-women comments. We have no doubt that Mr Surendran's words will tarnish the image and prestige of our country which is going to host the G20 Summit in a few months from now,” the letter further stated.  

The film distribution company co-owned by Malayalam actor-scriptwriter-producer Renji Panicker has been banned by the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK). The exhibitors organisation said on Wednesday, March 29, that it will not cooperate with Renji Panicker Entertainments, the actor’s company, for upcoming projects. FEUOK imposed the ban after the company allegedly defaulted on payments worth around Rs 70 lakh to theatre owners. Renji Panicker refused to comment on the issue when contacted by TNM. Renji Panicker Entertainments has distributed films like Adam Joann, Oraayiram Kinakkal, Raees, and Kaabil. The company is also expected to distribute the upcoming Lelam 2, according to sources. Renji Panicker is known for films like Bharathchandran IPS and Roudram that he wrote and directed. After his films were accused of creating and celebrating misogynistic characters, Renji Panicker had expressed regret in 2018. He has also penned the script for numerous other films, besides playing the role of distributor, actor, and producer. He is also a former journalist. Last April, FEUOK had declared that they would not cooperate with actor Dulquer Salmaan or his production house Wayfarer Films because his film Salute went on to release on OTT platform Sony LIV on March 17, while a theatrical release was being expected. The ban was later revoked after FEUOK received an explanation from the film’s producers. FEUOK was formed in 2017 under actor-producer Dileep, after 64 theatre owners broke away from a deadlock created by the tussle between Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF) and Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) over revenue-sharing.  

Nearly 26 years after the critically acclaimed Kaliyattam, an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy Othello, director Jayaraaj and actor Suresh Gopi are reuniting for a Yoodlee Films production titled Oru Perumgaliyattam. Suresh Gopi has shared the first look of his character, Peruvannan, via his social media handles. The film will also feature stars including Shine Tom Chacko, Anaswara Ranjan, and BS Avinash of KGF: Chapter 2 fame. The 1997 classic Kaliyattam was a major cinematic milestone for both Jayaraaj and Suresh Gopi, who had both won a National Award each for the film.      View this post on Instagram            A post shared by Suressh Gopi (@sureshgopi) Sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses from the set of Oru Perumgaliyattam, Jayaraaj said that like Kaliyattam, the new film will also be set against the backdrop of Malabar’s ritualistic art form of Theyyam. But the new project bears no correlation to the 1997 film, he clarified, adding that the upcoming film is assured to be a different experience for the viewers.       View this post on Instagram            A post shared by Jayaraj (@jayarajfilms) “Both of us were looking for a good script to collaborate again and we are really happy we finally have one. We are glad that Yoodlee films saw merit in this project and are on board. The shoot has started and everyone is thrilled about how the story is shaping up. We are all doing our best to create what we hope will be a landmark film,” Jayaraaj said in a press release. Suresh Gopi said that while both Jayaraaj and he have amassed a lot of experience with time, memories of Kaliyattam have remained with them, and even in the hearts of the audience. “We had the desire to create another milestone and we finally have a perfect script. I am looking forward to working with a very talented cast and crew,” he said.

An Additional Sessions Court in Kerala, on Thursday, March 30, found a man guilty of murdering a 20-year-old woman, after stabbing her multiple times, in August 2021. Arun, a native of Thiruvananthapuram’s Peyadu, was 29 years old at the time of the incident. He had barged into Sooryagayathri’s house on the afternoon of August 30, 2021 and stabbed her multiple times in front of her parents. Sooryagayathri, who was rushed to the Government Medical College in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, succumbed to her injuries the next day.  The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court will announce the quantum of punishment on Friday. According to Manorama News, the prosecution said that Sooryagayathri’s postmortem report showed that she had sustained 33 injury marks on her body. Her parents were also attacked by Arun, when they tried to stop him.  A few years before the murder, Arun had approached Sooryagayathri’s family with a proposal to marry her, while she was still a school student. The family, however, rejected his proposal. Valsala, the woman’s mother had told the media that they rejected the proposal as there were allegedly some cases against Arun. The man, according to the family, continued to harass her. Four years before her death, Sooryagayathri’s family had filed a complaint with the Aryanad police in Thiruvananthapuram, alleging harassment by Arun. However, the police did not register a case based on the complaint. Instead, they “counselled” him and let him go. In his statement to the police, Arun said that he felt insulted and so he killed the woman to seek revenge.

In a brief relief to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala Lokayukta, on Friday, March 31, referred the case pertaining to misuse of Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) by the previous government, also led by him, to a full bench in the wake of a split verdict by a two-judge bench. The decision comes when it was anticipated that the verdict would be delivered today. Senior advocate at the apex court MR Abhilash said that there seems to be merit in the case and now it's the full bench that will decide. The case, awaiting verdict for the past one year, gained traction only after the petitioner approached the High Court last week seeking its intervention. The High Court asked the petitioner to approach the Lokayukta with his petition and it was after this ruling came, that the Lokayukta decided to take up the case on Friday. Public activist RS Sasikumar had filed the case in 2018, which pertains to misusing the funds in the CMDRF. Sasikumar had alleged that the money was given to those who were not eligible for the relief. These included the family of a deceased Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) legislator, the family of a top leader from a Left ally who passed away, and also to a Kerala Police officer who died when his vehicle met with an accident while accompanying then top leader of the CPI(M), Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Earlier, the then State Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel had to quit following the Lokayukta verdict indicting him for misuse of official powers. But the verdict came only after the voting to the April 2021 Assembly elections. The plea to the anti-corruption ombudsman was filed in September 2018 and the hearing ended on March 18, 2022. Since then the verdict has been kept pending. This verdict is expected at a time when Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan continues to sit on the Bill that tweaked the powers of the Kerala Lokayukta.

Renowned Malayalam writer and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award winner Sarah Thomas passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, March 31. The 88-year-old, whose wide repertoire of literary works includes at least 17 novels and more than a hundred short stories, had been suffering from age-related ailments for a while. She was at her daughter’s residence in Nandavanam when she breathed her last. Condoling the writer’s demise, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Sarah Thomas raised Malayalam literature to new levels of expressionism. Through her, Malayalam experienced nuanced reflections of the inner lives of people across caste and class hierarchies. Her works had projected and upheld the feminine identity even before the feminist ideology began to gain traction in Malayalam literature.” Sarah is best known for her novel Narmadipudava, for which she was presented with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1979. Narmadipudava is the tale of a Tamil Brahmin widow, tied to the shackles of caste and gender traditions in Kerala. Her 1982 novel Daivamakkal, its protagonist a Dalit medical student, is considered a seminal work in Kerala’s Dalit literature. It has been translated to English as Children of God by Sosanna Kuruvilla. In 2010, Sarah won a second Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for her contribution to Malayalam literature.  Born in 1934, Sarah was one of the pioneering women writers of Malayalam literature. Her first novel, Jeevitham Enna Nadi, was published in 1968 at the age of 34. But it was her 1971 novel Murippadukal that got her noticed in the literary world. The novel follows the life of a young man and his struggle with his identity, as he gets uprooted from the Catholic orphanage he grew up in to his ancestral Hindu household.  Murippadukal was adapted into a film by filmmaker PA Backer as Manimuzhakkam in 1976, which went on to win critical acclaim and several awards including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film. Three more of her novels — Asthamayam, Pavizhamuthu, and Archana — have also been made into films. As per reports, the funeral services will be held at her residence on April 1, and burial at the Pattoor Marthoma church cemetery.

In the introduction of Dhyan Sreenivasan’s character in Higuita, he plays football with a bunch of kids, failing to stop an easy goal. He is shown as this naïve young man, afraid of everything. You imagine that the film will be about his transition, turning into a Higuita-like player, given the title. But through the entire film -- another clichéd narrative around Kannur politics -- Dhyan plays an unreadable character, mostly a silent observer of what goes on around him. It is Suraj Venjaramood, playing a tall leader (literally, with a huge cutout introducing him) of the Left, who Higuita revolves around. The film has nothing new to say that its predecessors didn’t, and the making doesn’t help it stand out in any way. Higuita had run into controversy when the film’s title was announced and writer NS Madhavan took objection, since it carried the same name as his famous story, based on the legendary football player. A court ruled in favour of Hemanth G Nair, the writer, and director of Higuita, since there was no connection between the story and the film.  Hemanth’s script has little to do with football. It plunges into what it has to say in the first few minutes when a killing takes place and we hear the mention of both the Communists and the Sangh. At this point, it is fairly clear that this is yet another film that will follow the popular culture stereotype of Kannur politics. The film is not short of sexism either, carrying lines that mock fear when shown by a male.  Watch: Trailer of the film The makers appear clear in their politics – portraying Communist workers and leaders as corrupt, hypocritical, and casteist. A few “good Communists” are also thrown in for good measure. In what seems like a balancing act, the writer is also critical in his portrayal of the Sangh. Based as it is on Kerala politics, the Congress party, one of the key stakeholders in the state’s politics, is conspicuously missing in all the action. Interestingly though, the film’s thanks cards begin with one for the Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor. Regardless of the stand the film wants to take, the making leaves a lot to be desired. Scenes cut into each other poorly, and characters seem written half-heartedly. Dhyan’s Ayyappa Das is impassive throughout the film though the character -- a coward in the beginning who apparently changes through the course of the film – has a lot to convey. His name is used to take another dig at the Left, when a leader says, “We don’t need Ayyappan (referring to the Sabarimala controversy), Das will do.” Another prominent actor, Binu Pappu, gets not a single line to say. Even so, he is perhaps the best performer of the lot. A good show also comes from Suraj Venjaramood, who effortlessly turns into Panniyannur  Mukundan, appearing menacing to some and gentle to others. They have made it obvious which real-life leader Mukundan is based on – portrayed as a man who was nearly killed in front of his wife years ago, and later comes back actively to Kannur politics. All the gimmicks to build up this larger-than-life figure are played out in order – at first a huge cut-out on the road, and then a piece of especially loud music marking his entry. The music, as songs and in the background, is often ill-fitting and always bothersome. Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.

On March 22, Baiju Raju, a 40-year-old Malayali man working in New Zealand, uploaded two videos multiple times on his YouTube channel. One of them is 19 minutes long, a discomfiting confrontation of his wife. In the video, Baiju is asking his wife to sit on a small stool, the camera trained on her as he questions her about an alleged affair. The second video, 10 minutes long, features a heartbroken Baiju declaring his anger towards his wife and her family for her infidelity. He is planning to take his own life, he says. A day after the videos were uploaded, Baiju was found dead in a lodge at his hometown of Kayamkulam in Kerala’s Alappuzha. In the hours that followed, Baiju’s videos quickly went viral. Immediate opinions were formed and narratives were woven, mostly of two kinds. A majority questioned and abused the Baiju’s wife, claiming she pushed her husband to suicide. Others accused Baiju of being a toxic husband who left his wife with no option but to seek comfort elsewhere. Social media discourse has reduced a deeply personal tragedy — and a serious social issue of how dominant systems and structures can take people’s lives — into a no-nuance narrative of 'men’s rights vs feminism’. Can a partner’s actions distress a person enough to make them question their existence? Yes. Does it mean a woman in a heteronormative marriage should not make choices — whether ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ — for herself? No. In a patriarchy that has hard boundaries for what a husband and wife should be, and judges people for ‘failure’ to live up to these norms, can we reduce suicide to the consequences of another person’s actions? Definitely not. In this case, Baiju’s videos have drawn anger from those who feel wronged by women choosing to be independent agents of their own life. In the days that followed the news of Baiju’s death, members of a local men’s rights activist group had taken it upon themselves to ensure that the funeral on March 26 went off smoothly. “Due to the misuse of women’s rights laws, many men have died by suicide. When we came to know about Baiju, we volunteered to ensure justice for him. We have also filed complaints with the police,” a representative of the group, Firoz, told the media. The foundation also alleged on their Facebook page that neither the government nor the media was covering the case because the person who died was a man, not a woman. It’s important however to note two things: suicide is not an individual problem, but oftentimes the result of trying to live in systems that oppress all of us — patriarchy, caste, capitalism, heteronormativity, fascism. Secondly, our moral distinctions of what is right and wrong (cheating, in this case) cannot mean that we blame a person who made choices for herself and accuse her of killing her husband. According to Baiju’s father Kochukunju Raju, the friction between Baiju and his wife began around one-and-a-half years into their marriage. He has admitted to the media that she had filed a domestic violence complaint against Baiju in New Zealand, but claimed it was a false charge. Baiju had raised a similar allegation in one of the videos he posted, in which he accused his wife of making false claims to separate him from their daughter. The New Zealand police had separated the couple after the complaint, Baiju’s father told media persons. “After that, she left with their daughter and came to Kerala without even informing Baiju. He was very depressed because of this,” he said. He added that the wife had filed a divorce notice against Baiju, which had also vexed the latter. Baiju, too, said in his video that his only hope in life was his daughter, who he alleged was snatched away from him. Meanwhile, Baiju’s wife, who hails from Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta, has reportedly returned to New Zealand. The police team investigating the incident is learnt to have recorded statements of both of their family members. So far, no one has been booked. This is all we know of the domestic violence allegations and the living arrangements of the family. With this, any attempt to weigh the trauma of domestic violence against the trauma of a father who had to be separated from his child will be irresponsible. Human beings are not cardboard cutouts, and an abusive husband can be a loving father. However, individual instances of deep personal tragedy should not be the focus of this discourse. He said, she did not Every assumption so far made about the relationship between Baiju and his wife is ultimately based on two videos — both made in seemingly emotionally charged circumstances, by a man who can no longer speak for himself. It is to be noted that neither Baiju’s wife nor her family members have spoken publicly about their version of the events yet. All we know is that she had, at one point, filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband while in New Zealand, the details of which we are still not privy to. We have no evidence to believe that the case was falsely foisted, as alleged by Baiju and his father. So does it all simply come down to the question of whom to believe, or side with? More importantly, who even are we to make this judgement call? Firstly, it is not as if there is a one-size-fits-all definition for infidelity. As the Indian law doesn’t recognise adultery as a crime anymore, the understanding of what constitutes ‘cheating’ now almost exclusively depends on individual moral codes, which can change vastly from person to person, relationship to relationship. This personal sense of morality, in turn, is in a constant tussle with the Indian society at large — one that places the sanctity of marriage above all, relegating the man in the family to the role of a ‘provider and protector.’ Not fulfilling this role, and a hundred other things including the infidelity of a wife, leads to people questioning a man's masculinity, causing distress. As feminism and the fight for women's rights gain traction, a number of women are trying to break out of the roles set for them by patriarchy and choose their own paths. Several men however are not equipped to handle this renegotiation of gender roles in relationships and in society. Patriarchy puts the cisgender heterosexual man at the top of the gender hierarchy. Feminism says all genders are equal. But many cis-het men view equality and equity as them 'losing' power to women — and movements like men's rights activism drum up these fears further. In a country where up to 55% of married people have reportedly been unfaithful to their partners at least once (as per a survey conducted by ‘extramarital’ dating app Gleeden), the divorce rate is less than 1%, the lowest in the world. It is no secret that a significant number of couples in India are forced to stay in unhappy marriages for reasons ranging from religious ideals and societal reputation to ‘for the sake of the children.’ We still hold on to the outdated ideal of a long-lasting family unit over happiness. Baiju’s father said that he had told his son many times to leave his wife. “I asked him to take custody of the child and let his wife live her life, so he could also have a good family life. But he was not convinced,” he told the media. A man reduced to his heartbreak The mainstream narrative surrounding Baiju’s death, formed exclusively based on the fact that he was found dead hours after he uploaded videos accusing his wife of infidelity, is easy and reductive — a heartbroken husband dies by suicide after finding out about his wife’s affair. This has also led to criticism of Baiju’s decision, with many questioning if an act of infidelity indeed warranted such a reaction. Why did he not think of his daughter, some ask. But it has to be noted that even though Baiju had uploaded these two videos together, neither of them was made immediately prior to his death. In fact, both the videos were filmed in New Zealand, with the ‘confrontation’ supposedly having taken place in May last year. It is not known exactly when the second video was shot. The fact is, we don’t know what happened in the time between when the first video was shot and when Baiju was found dead. What had happened in New Zealand after his wife filed a domestic violence complaint against him? Were there any conversations between the couple after that? Did he have a healthy social support system to help him through the break-up? Did his support system provide him with resources to help with his mental health? That is the conversation we should be having — about taking our mental health seriously, about providing accessible support for everyone, about not shaming people for reaching out for help. We should be talking about how to support our friends and family better — whether they're suffering domestic violence or heartbreak. We should be talking about the complexities of human suffering. Reducing everything to a binary is not only unhelpful, it's actively harmful. Views expressed are the authors' own. If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Tamil Nadu: State health department suicide helpline number - 104 Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN) Telangana: Telangana government suicide prevention toll free no - 104 Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001 SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM) Karnataka: Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222 Kerala: Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530 Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161 Both are 24-hour helpline numbers. Andhra Pradesh: Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930 Roshni Helpline 1: 9166202000 Helpline 2: 9127848584 

Idukki, the serene, hilly district of Kerala that is a sought after tourist destination, has been witness to widespread protests over the past few days. The protesters’ demand that Arikomban, a wild tusker that  is wreaking havoc in human settlements, be captured. The protests aggravated after the Kerala High Court on Wednesday, March 29, objected to the state government's plan to capture and rehabilitate the elephant. Instead, the court said that the tusker may be tranquilised if it enters human settlements as a temporary measure, and ordered the fastening of a radio collar to track its movements. It also directed that a five-member committee of experts be constituted to advise the court on solutions other than capturing the elephant.  The residents of ten panchayats in Idukki observed hartal on Thursday, under the aegis of a joint action council, in protest against the court order. Wild tuskers and Idukki Arikomban became the focus of residents and forest officials in February this year, because of the many damages it has caused to local residents. The elephant was given the moniker Arikomban (rice tusker) as it is known to follow the smell of rice and eat it.  But Idukki is no stranger to wild elephants that stray into human settlements and wreak havoc. In January, a herd of elephants had entered several estates in Devikulam taluk. This is not the first time that the people are up in arms over wild elephants entering their backyards either. However, the relocation of wild elephants in the region is said to be an impractical, demanding task.  Even though the state Forest Department had obtained the order to tranquilise and capture the elephant on Sunday, March 26, the High Court, in an interim order issued on Thursday, stayed the mission to capture the elephant till March 29. The stay was ordered while hearing a petition filed by People for Animals, a forum of animal welfare activists, that challenged the plan to capture the tusker. “Getting permission to capture a wild elephant is a long process. But by the time the process was completed, the court had ordered a stay,” a Forest Department official told TNM.  The Forest Department is now trying to prevent the elephant from entering human settlements.  Four kumki elephants (trained, captive elephants) who are used in operations to capture rogue elephants had also been deployed in the operation. Residents’ lives at risk The people of Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats have been at the forefront of the protests demanding the capture of the tusker. “The elephant has raided ration shops to eat rice more than ten times. There were times when people had narrow escapes from death. The elephant smells rice and comes to take it. But it also targets human beings, which is why we are demanding its capture. By the time it goes back to the forest, the damage would have already been done,” Uma Maheswari, vice-president of Santhanpara Grama Panchayat, told TNM. She said that implementing the High Court’s order will result in the people losing their earnings, their houses, and all of their belongings, adding that most residents of the area are daily wage labourers. However, the member of the Panniyar ward, Murukan, held a different opinion. Even though he agreed that the elephant needs to be captured, he blamed the encroachments into forest land for the tusker’s rampages. “It is because people have encroached the natural grazing areas of the elephants that they are now coming to human habitats. People even would threaten the animals using firecrackers. I don’t have a difference of opinion on capturing Arikomban now as it destroys farm produce. But there are around 30 other elephants too. Unless human encroachment into animals' natural spaces is addressed, I don't think a lasting solution can be reached,” he said. A forest officer also expressed the same view, saying that the elephant cannot be said to have been straying into human settlements, as the area is the natural habitat of elephants too.    Animal welfare activist speaks Angels Nair, an animal welfare activist who has moved the court with a similar petition to prevent capture of animals, said that the problem is not that of animals straying into human areas. “The elephant is active in Anathara, which is a lake in the middle of the human settlements. It is from the lake that the elephant drinks water,” he argued. “If we were to talk about the legal side, a state government has no right to give orders to capture an elephant under the Wildlife Protection Act. Also, people should not use firecrackers near elephants, it should be burst at a 50 metre distance and not in the face of an elephant. Here in this case too, the blame can not be on the elephants,” Angels further said.  

As someone who had laughed at everything else in life, why couldn’t he do that with cancer as well, Innocent wondered when he saw the shattered faces of his family as they absorbed the news of his diagnosis. It was the early 2010s and Innocent, a precious actor for Malayalam cinema audiences, had just been diagnosed with lymphoma. But he took charge, prescribed himself the medicine of laughter while letting the doctors do their job. And it worked. He survived cancer more than once. In the end, it was COVID-19 that weakened his underlying conditions and took his life on Sunday, March 26. The most difficult moments are not the ones you live through with a terminal disease, but the moments you wait to know what your disease is, Innocent wrote in Cancer Wardile Chiri, a book about facing cancer with laughter. It would of course take someone like Innocent, a man who had made people laugh all his life, to do that. Hundreds of Malayalam films bear proof of that. So do the speeches and interviews he gave over the years. When he died, the actor, politician, and author of several books left many hearts heavy with grief. If he could have had the final word though, he’d have probably made them laugh one more time. That was his approach when he was diagnosed with cancer. The laughs had not come easily. He had seemed broken at first, having always thought cancer and he were poles apart, one being a disease of suffering and the other a person who made people laugh. Earlier when his old friend Noordheen had asked him to be a patron of the Alpha Pain Clinic for cancer patients, that was his first thought, he wrote in Cancer Wardile Chiri. But he soon became a regular at the clinic. Dr VP Gangadharan, renowned oncologist who treated the actor, vouches for this in the foreword of the book. Dr Gangadharan titled his foreword: ‘Innocent is now a medicine for cancer’. The doctor meant the light-hearted approach the actor took to cancer. It must have been a decision he took the night he saw his family shattered by the news of his diagnosis. “As someone who finds humour in everything, why couldn’t I do that with the disease? Let the doctors go ahead with their treatment. I will do mine, with the medicine of laughter. I will not sell that to cancer, for sure,” he wrote. The book was written 10 years ago, after the first diagnosis and after he got well in a year. But the early days were not easy. He stayed away from work, became thin, and lost a lot of hair. He was not worried about losing acting opportunities, but feared whether his grandchildren Innu (Innocent Junior) and Anna would recognise him. Innocent with his family Bad news never stopped coming, it’d seem. Dr Lissy, who was taking care of Innocent at Lakeshore Hospital, too was diagnosed with cancer. But even in the darkest and painful hours, Innocent would somehow find humour again. To Dr Gangadharan who broke the news, he said, “But Gangadharan, I have cancer. The doctor who treated me got cancer. Now if you too get cancer, who will treat me?” And that of course made Gangadharan laugh. “Innocent didn’t show the signs of depression in every stage of treatment the way other cancer patients do,” Gangadharan wrote in the foreword. It was this easygoing attitude and his choice of going straight for scientific treatment in place of alternative medicines that worked for him, the doctor wrote. Innocent with Dr VP Gangadharan (rightmost) Innocent too makes it a point in his book to stress that. He had visits from alternative medical practitioners, from religious preachers, and others, to whom he politely said no. In his book he, of course, gives it an Innocent touch. He writes about a few Christian evangelists who once came home and told him that Jesus appeared in their dreams the night before and asked them to pray for Innocent. The actor, in words that you almost hear him say, asks them “At almost (imagine ekdadesham in Innocent’s voice) what time would he have come to your place?” When they answer, he says, “But Jesus was with me that time, how could he have come to you?” It is both heartening and comforting when he manages to make you laugh even during the toughest days of his life. When Congress politicians visited his house, Ramesh Chennithala, then the state’s Home Minister, wished him a speedy recovery. Innocent then replied, “Let it take some more time. I want to see that boy also, please bring him.” Chennithala asked which boy and Innocent said, “Rahul Gandhi. After that, we will see about Sonia Gandhi.” Chennithala left the house in splits. Another time, as Innocent and his wife Alice left a funeral house, they heard the pastor say that the people God calls back early are the people God loves the most. On their return trip, Alice was shocked to see Innocent making faces at a chapel they passed. He reminded her of the pastor’s words. “My dear Alice, I already have cancer. Imagine what will happen if God loves me more! This is to make him angry with me.” In between the anecdotes, he also brings attention to the worrisome fact of how cancer treatment can be unaffordable to the commoner. Even as an actor who was doing well, it was difficult for him to sometimes meet the expenses. He acted in ads during his illness to deal with it. Imagine, he asks, what a daily wage labourer would do. This is also a pet subject that he took up when he later became a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. Watch: Innocent's speech in Parliament A year after his diagnosis, Innocent had regained his health so much that he was free of the dreaded disease and ready to celebrate. But by then, Alice was diagnosed with cancer. And as he narrates about that day, when he had just gotten well and she was diagnosed, it breaks your heart. Between all his digs at her, Innocent’s love for his wife comes through in the way he keeps dropping her name into his tales, and sometimes, a little more obviously. Alice and Innocent Alice, Innocent wrote, had not been the same since the diagnosis; she’d either be praying or crying alone. “I can’t bear to see any of this, so I would always try to make her laugh with my jokes. Even when I was really unwell and exhausted, I tried to find jokes for Alice. Because I don’t like it when Alice cries.” Gangadharan too mentions how Innocent took the news of his own disease a lot better than how he reacted to Alice’s. He broke down. Even then, even when he was really upset, he tried to make her laugh. This documentation of love goes back to the first book of memoirs he wrote: Njan Innocent (1992). After the chapters on his childhood days (his dad named him Innocent because he had the looks of a thief), Innocent goes on to narrate the struggles of his early adulthood. A school dropout, he had taken up running two matchbox factories in Davanagere in Karnataka, but both had run into loss. Hiding this fact, he says, he got married to Alice. Though he makes it all sound funny, the underlying pain can’t be missed. Younger photo of Innocent (sitting in the middle) In those early days when they had little money, they planned to celebrate their first Christmas together at Alice’s home. There was a custom in which the newly married husband brought alcohol and cake to the wife’s home. Innocent ran from pillar to post to borrow enough money to buy both, before taking it to Alice’s home on a friend’s scooter. But when he reached Alice’s place, the bottle had broken and the alcohol had spilled over the cake. Alice, the ever understanding wife, told him not to worry. At that point, you simply want to reach out and pat the man and woman in the picture. Making it to films had been an even bigger hurdle. He spent 2.5 years in Madras, walking to places to try his luck, because he could not afford the bus journey that cost 15 paisa. After a few minor roles, he turned to production with his friend David Kachappally. They made some nice movies that would be remembered for decades – Vida Parayum Munpe, Ormakkai, Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback – but which did not bring them any money. He had sold the last of Alice’s gold when another film, Oru Katha Oru Nuna Katha, was made. In his self-deprecating humour, he told actor Nedumudi Venu, his friend and the film’s hero, that the curry he was having that day must have tasted of gold because it came from the last two of Alice’s bangles. Venu shot back saying Innocent always made a joke of his pain and found relief in that.  Perhaps the relief was not just from easing his own pain, but of the people around him. His books tell you that.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin will be inaugurating the centenary celebrations of Vaikom Satyagraha, on Saturday, April 1 in Kerala’s Kottayam. CM Pinarayi said that the celebrations will be held for around 603 days. “The centenary celebrations of #VaikomSatyagraha will be kicked off tomorrow jointly with Comrade @mkstalin. The festivities will last 603 days, marked by programmes reminiscent of the historic struggle, a landmark in Kerala's renaissance movement. #Vaikom100,” he said in a tweet. The centenary celebrations of #VaikomSatyagraha will be kicked off tomorrow jointly with Comrade @mkstalin. The festivities will last 603 days, marked by programmes reminiscent of the historic struggle, a landmark in Kerala's renaissance movement.#Vaikom100— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) March 31, 2023 In 1924, a non-violent protest commenced in Vaikom seeking temple entry for the Dalits and other so-called lower castes at the Vaikom Mahadeva temple in Kerala's Kottayam. The Vaikom protest was the beginning of similar temple entry movements throughout the country. This protest was spearheaded by Periyar, and the protest lasted for 603 days. It also earned him the moniker ‘Vaikom Veerar’. CM Stalin, on Thursday, announced that year-long celebrations will be organised to commemorate the centenary of the Vaikom satyagraha. Making the announcement in the Assembly, he also said that a 'Vaikom Award' would be presented to eminent personalities or organisations who work for the betterment of downtrodden people beyond the borders of the state. The Chief Minister also said that the awards would be given away on September 17, which is the birth anniversary of the Dravidian ideologue EV Ramaswamy Periyar, commonly known as 'Thanthai Periyar', and is marked as Social Justice Day in Tamil Nadu. Underlining the significance of Vaikom satyagraha that took place in 1924-25 in India's history of reforms, he cited the impact of Periyar's participation in the movement as a then leader of the Congress. "Periyar is a leader not only for Tamils and Tamil Nadu. His thoughts and actions proved that he was a leader beyond languages and international boundaries. Self-respect, rationalism, equity, and social justice are universal philosophies. His thoughts form the base for yesterday's rebellions, today's efforts, and tomorrow's developments," Stalin said. Stalin also told the assembly that the Tamil Nadu government would spend an amount of Rs 8.14 crore to renovate the Periyar memorial at Vaikom. He also said that the government would make efforts to set up a memorial at Aruvikutti where Periyar was first jailed. The book "Vaikom Protest", written by scholar and researcher Pazha Adhiyaman in Tamil would be translated to Malayalam and also published in English, Telugu, and Kannada, he told the Assembly. He also said that a book on Vaikom movement would be published by the Text Book and Educational Service Corporation of the state government and added that competitions would be held in schools, colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu on elocution and essays on the Vaikom Satyagraha. Stalin said that the state government was taking steps to issue a commemorative stamp to mark the centenary of Vaikom Satyagraha.

Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy has issued an order directing all IAS and IPS officers in the state not to accept awards from private organisations or individuals without getting prior permission from the state government. The order says that from now on, all such officials will have to apply through the General Administration Department for the sanction. "If any official fails to follow the procedures, strict action will be taken against them," the order said. The directive comes after a section of the Kerala Police officials registered a strong protest over an IAS official getting an award from a private organisation for effective management of the devotees at a prominent temple in the state. It is common in the state, especially among clubs and organisations, especially in the private sector, to give away awards to those who occupy high posts, especially in the government, not to mention political personalities.

Three people from Kerala were killed and over 41 injured on Sunday in a road accident in Tamil Nadu's Velankanni, police said. The three were part of a group of 51 people from Ollur in Kerala's Thrissur district, who had left their native place on Saturday evening for visiting the Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu. A woman and an eight-year-old child are among the dead. According to information available, the bus overturned while negotiating a sharp curve at a place near to Velankanni. Three pilgrims have been reported dead and 41 injured in the accident. The accident, according to information available, took place during early hours of Sunday. Thrissur district collector told IANS that they are in touch with the administration in Velankanni and are awaiting further details.