DNA Edit: Kerala shows the way

Many a time Kerala has shown the way to the rest of India when it came to social welfare schemes. The state government’s latest move to provide houses to transgenders and single mothers is a significant step towards an inclusive society. It pays to bear in mind that the beneficiaries of this scheme are the truly marginalised who don’t have access to resources. That the state came to their aid speaks volumes about what a compassionate government can achieve if it reaches out to the vulnerable and the dispossessed.

A draft survey report has included 91,407 people while considering eight crucial factors such as mental and physical disabilities and other serious ailments such as HIV affliction. The Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment Housing Mission Initiative is a much-needed radical measure in a country where deep inequalities continue to push certain segments of people outside the mainstream.

The Kerala government’s out-of-the-box thinking has been evident earlier as well. In 2015, it created a transgender policy to protect the vulnerable community from deprivation and ostracism. Clearly, some of its policies should be taken up by other state governments, which more often than not indulge in mindless populism. It’s sad but true that ruling parties in states are more focussed on accruing wealth and assets for their elected representatives. Our health and education infrastructures are on the verge of collapse. A government for the people, by the people and of the people seems to be a utopian concept.