The ‘Real Kerala Story’ Hides Many Half-Truths

Traditionally, poverty was measured through monetary indicators like household income or consumption expenditure, but this method overlooks the many deprivations people face.

Now, globally and in India, poverty is assessed using the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

The global MPI includes 10 indicators across health, education, and standard of living, while India’s version includes 12. Individuals deprived in one-third or more of these weighted indicators are identified as “MPI poor.”

The World Bank defines extreme poverty at US $2.15 a day. Its data shows India’s poverty rate fell from 18.73 percent in 2015 to 11.9 percent in 2021. NITI Aayog forecast that, at the current pace, India could reach single-digit poverty levels by 2024–25.

Based on the National Family Health Survey data, India’s multidimensional poverty rate also fell from 29.17 percent in 2013–14 to 11.28 percent in 2022–23, with 24.82 crore people escaping poverty. NITI Aayog’s 2023 report shows that 13.5 crore people rose out of poverty between 2015–16 and 2019–21. Poverty in rural India dropped from 32.59 percent to 19.28 percent, and in urban areas from 8.65 percent to 5.27 percent.

Back in Kerala, as mentioned earlier, only 0.55 percent of the state’s population is classified as multidimensionally poor—a figure that, as the Chief Minister claims, effectively means there is no poverty. But the reality tells a different story—poverty still exists.

Since the announcement, tribals and Asha workers have contested the government’s declaration of the state being free of extreme poverty, and pointed to their own lived realities.

Wilson R, a fisherman from the Thiruvananthapuram coast, told The Quint that climate change and human interference have devastated their livelihood.

He added that while the government may claim to have eradicated extreme poverty “on paper,” the reality along Kerala’s coast tells another story—one where hundreds of fishing families still live in the grip of real, unrelenting poverty.

Functionaries of the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha have claimed that by declaring Kerala extreme poverty-free, the State government was trying to mislead people.

A 2022 Greenpeace report states that Kerala has around eight lakh fishermen, and nearly 68 percent of them live below the poverty line. A state report prepared for the 14th Five-Year Plan reveals that Kerala has about 10.5 million informal workers. Of these, around 2.2 million have poor or negligible social security, 4.8 million lack both social security and decent income, and another 3.5 million face various insecurities.

The report notes that workers in Kerala’s informal economy face multiple challenges, including job insecurity, income insecurity, and poor, unstable working conditions.

Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA workers), though not officially recognised as workers by either the central or state governments, exemplify the “informal workers” category. In Kerala, these workers have been on strike for 260 days, demanding formal recognition, a minimum daily wage increase from Rs 233 to Rs 700, and end-of-service benefits.

The Kerala government has largely ignored their protests. On Wednesday, amid a flurry of populist welfare announcements ahead of elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared a Rs 1,000 monthly honorarium increase for ASHA workers—effectively just Rs 33 more per day.

The workers remain resolute. On Thursday, they vowed to continue the strike until all demands are met.

MA Bindu, state general secretary of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association, challenged the government’s claim of an extreme poverty-free Kerala.

ASHA workers have also written an open letter to film stars, urging them not to attend the state’s extreme poverty-free declaration event. Talking to The Quint, Manikandan C, a young activist and MBA holder from a tribal community in Kerala said that neither ration supplies nor basic facilities are reaching their homes.

“Even in the village of the Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes OR Kelu tribal settlements lack proper housing and essential amenities. This is not an isolated case—80 percent of tribal families face dire conditions. Declaring Kerala an extreme poverty-free state is a farce,” he said.

Meanwhile, sociologist Mini Mohan told The Quint that though Kerala is technically advancing toward a hunger-free state, it cannot yet be declared poverty-free.

Mini pointed to a recent National Crime Records Bureau report revealing nearly 2,000 suicides in Kerala linked to unemployment. “We may be nearing a hunger-free state, but poverty persists. The government is making false claims ahead of the elections,” she added.

Tribal activist Manikandan echoed her concerns, warning that daily wage earners and marginalised communities suffer most from such declarations.

“Many of us lack the documents needed to access benefits, yet the government claims we’ve all received them. Without paperwork, we can’t claim aid—and officials will say we simply didn’t apply. Even if they declare Kerala hunger-free, I disagree. In homes with six to eight members in our settlements, we qualify for only limited rice and wheat. Many of us go to bed hungry.”

In short, Kerala may technically be close to declaring itself hunger-free, but it is certainly not free of extreme poverty.

(Rejimon Kuttappan is an independent journalist from Kerala. He is a workers’ rights researcher, forced labour investigator, and author of ‘Undocumented’.)