ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the paradoxical nature of Kerala's polity by looking at how mass politics has shaped and responded to gender politics in the state. It also studies the manner in which political parties tap into discourses on gender and morality for claiming public consensus and for maintaining the regimes of power. The communalization of politics in Kerala has seen an increasing masculinization of its public sphere. This chapter focuses on how majoritarian and minoritarian identity politics hitch on to the fault lines of gender and come together to enshrine repressive and socially reactionary political forces in the state.
