Mallu Land

Coming from a maddeningly crowded state, Kerala in India, I was very relieved to see the vast expanses of non built up land in the USA. Kerala is one of the densest states with the density being 3 times the country's which is best known for her people's libido.

The houses in Kerala are so close to each other. People can hear conversations neibhours make. What TV programs they watch. Too close for comfort. Travel the length of the state and you will be lucky to see a lot of unused land. The traffic freaks you out. They should rename it to 'traffreak'.

Compare this to the state of Utah in the US which is one of the least populated states there.

The impact of this literal space is huge. In Kerala, you literally touch each other when you travel on a crowded bus or a train. It doesnt bother you because you are used to it. But in Utah, stand too close to a person, people think you are gay or a pervert. A one arm distance is the comfortable space. Otherwise, you are invading his space, his privacy and his life. There are other behavioral impacts too which maybe another post altogether.

"Why is your country so populated?" asks a colleague in the US.

"Well, India is one of the oldest civilizations. So, it has had more shots at it. But I think the other reason is poverty. People literally bred kids in the earlier days so that they could use them as farm help. Also, infant deaths were very common. So, the only way to ensure you have a progeny by the time you die was to have more kids. Then you have some religions which allow polygamy. "

If you look at the densest states in India, they include West Bengal and Kerala. Did socialism have an impact on the population? I bet it did.

Land was concentrated with a few people in post independent India. The land workers were oppressed. What did these socialists do? Land reforms. Divide surplus land to the land workers. So, lets assume a land worker got 5 acres of land thanks to the distribution. Now, what does he do with it? He ain't have no money to bring in labour for the farm. Its too small to use modern farm equipment either. So, lets make kids and use them for the farm work!

Thank you so much, EMS and other Indian Marxian's!

"Land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts. It will come to you, this love of the land. There's no gettin' away from it if you're Irish." -- says a quote in 'Gone With The Wind'.

There's no gettin' away from it if you're Mallu either.