Cobra in the Garden

Like so many proud fathers, India's Communists were busy clucking and exclaiming over their new prize exhibit--the Communist government of the state of Kerala (pop. 13.6 million) in southwest India. While Prime Minister Nehru's central government watched nervously, Chief Minister Sankaran Namboodiripad put on quite a show in his first two weeks in office. Ventilation systems were ordered for the state jails. The pay of village headmen was ostentatiously raised from $6.75 a month to a maximum of almost $11 a month. In a "gesture of mercy," the Communists promised to release 500 "political" prisoners, many of whom proved to be Red strong-arm men; they were promptly dispatched on a tour of the countryside to decorate platforms alongside Red speakers.

But in broader issues, so many Red leaders volunteered statements of policy that no man could say what manner of state the Communists would run. Chief Minister Namboodiripad proclaimed his intention of nationalizing all foreign-owned plantations ("a deliberate attempt to frighten off foreign investors and foreign aid," wailed New Delhi) and of establishing industrial "managing councils" composed of workers, union leaders and a few lonely bosses. But Kerala's new Minister of Industries blandly began trying to lure private enterprise into the state on the promise of cheap credit facilities and no strikes. Another Red leader warned that if the central government tried to interfere in Kerala--as it surely will if the Communists try to nationalize foreign enterprise--"the seeds of conflict will be sown, and it may ultimately lead to armed conflict."

Best guess was that despite such tough talk, Kerala's Reds would soothe fears at first by trying to run a model state. Already the Red ministers had voluntarily cut their own pay from $155 to $72 a month. Soon they were expected to launch a well-publicized attack on the corruption which, under Congress Party rule, spread through the Kerala state government like chickweed. Optimists argued that this kind of competition would be a healthy influence on the Congress Party. "This idea." commented the Hindustan Times, "is no less foolish than keeping a cobra in the backyard to keep the lazier members of the family on their toes."

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