ABSTRACT
The Indian state of Kerala is often referred to as a ‘model’ for achieving notable human and social development without high economic growth,1 thus making it an ‘enigma’ to economists (Wallich, 1995). Kerala has the best social and human development indicators among all the Indian states. It has the highest literacy rate of over 90 per cent, lowest infant mortality rate of about 12, highest life expectancy at birth, lowest population growth rate (currently at replacement level), and the best gender development indicators among all the Indian states. Kerala’s social and economic transformation is considered a model for the third world to emulate (Amin, 1991). The success on the social front attributed to the effectiveness of public action and popular mobilisation (Drèze and Sen, 1996), was realised because of the ‘sheer density of civic organisations and the vigour of associational life’ in Kerala (Heller, 2000: 67).
