Kerala,
also called fondly for past couple of years "God’s own
country" due to its serene & long ivory coasts off the
Arabian sea; backwaters and lush tropical greenery; happens to be
one of the last few remaining communist strongholds in India. Few
regions in India have been as richly endowed by the mother nature
as Kerala; yet the state faces acute "literate" unemployment
and destitution of an entirely different type. The state is 100%
literate and a large number of literate workforce also serves in
other foreign countries mostly in the Gulf & Middle East.
Sadly
due to leftist influence and poor industrial relations record of
past several decades; negligible fresh investments have been forthcoming
in the state. Moreover large number of existing units have either
closed down or migrated to the neighboring states since the labor
in those states is not militant as well as the labor costs are far
cheaper compared to Kerala. Further compounding this crisis is the
State Government’s acute fiscal deficit, which has led the
state into a very serious developmental crisis. The Government has
not taken a clear position on the direction of industrial development
in the state. While this, to some extent, reflects the meager resources
available for investments in the industrial sector; it also reflects
the helplessness of the government to spread over such meager resources
over the multiple commitments it has inherited from the posture
of a "welfare" state. In fact, the industrialization initiatives
of the state have become subservient to welfare.
There
are over 3.5 million registered unemployed people in Kerala; and
these figures do not cover the marginal and seasonal unemployed
as well as "unemployed dependents" have not bothered to
get themselves registered in the employment exchanges and yet have
nothing to do for a living. Fortunately extended, feminist family
system provides much-needed security for a large number of unemployed
from hunger and deprivation; yet the signs of increasing unemployment
has started creating tensions as well as crime in an area which
has traditionally very peaceful. The rich cash crops of the state
such as spices, cashew, rubber, and coconut no longer yield worthwhile
returns on cultivation what to talk of profits. The remittances
from the Gulf & Middle East have slowed down dramatically during
past few years since the people working in these countries have
been asked to return back to their homes since the foreigners now
have access to cheaper labor from other countries as well as their
own labor has got educated and ready to work on any sort of vocation
and that too at comparable costs incurred in hiring Keralites.
In
this backdrop, several entrepreneurs have taken the lead especially
in the rural areas of the state—catering to a burgeoning market
keen to learn computer skills as well as keen to access Internet.
Web point is a small Internet & multipurpose kiosk approx. 30
kms. From Kerala’s capital city Thiruvananthapuram. It is located
in a predominantly Muslim rural area. Its owner A.M. Riza is one
of the "Gulf" returned who had an increasingly frustrating
experience working & living in the Middle East; before he decided
to come back home where he set up Web point with the help of his
mentor Mr. Nahas, founder of C-IT.org—passionately committed
to rural computerization (www.c-it.org)
with a small capital outlay. Riza never for a moment doubted about
sustainability of his fledgling enterprise purely based on "Internet";
consequently he chose to maintain a very diversified portfolio of
services. He has been offering consultancy services as well as application
software development services to the local businesses in his area;
apart from imparting computer education to mostly young Muslim girls.
Riza also offers computers and peripheral repair services to his
clients many of whom own PCs in their homes.
He
gets on an average 3-4 students every month to learn computers as
well as practice on simple automation software’s. However his
own revenue from "netsurfing" as well as e-mail usage
has increased drastically as people from neighboring villages started
seeing the merit in using mails as well as chatting with their near
and dear living in the Gulf & Middle East.
It
has been difficult for Riza to deal with a large Muslim clientele
and their value system. Orthodox social practices such as "purdah"
practice do not permit a Muslim girl to freely move around in alien
surroundings and with most young & able men gone from the region;
he had to fall back upon these women for his livelihood. Despite
all these obstacles; the business for Riza has been attractive and
he has been able to expand his business as well as generate tremendous
interest in the rural population of the area, interest in computers
and Internet.
He
has been able to accomplish this achievement in less than two years
time. He says "Internet kiosks such as Web point have started
mush-rooming across Kerala and are creating much deserved employment
opportunities for hundreds and thousands of people"
