Kerala polls: Linguistic minorities ignored in Kasargod

Kerala Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on April 6 and as is the custom before every election, numerous promises have been declared by the political parties. Seldom do we see poll promises being fulfilled, and the linguistic minorities in Kerala's Kasargod have learnt this the hard way over the years.

The northernmost district of Kerala, Kasargod, has close ties with Karnataka, with most people of the region coming to Mangaluru for medical and educational purposes. The state itself has a poor healthcare infrastructure and is considered one of the most backward districts in Kerala.

Because of rising coronavirus cases, the Karnataka government has decided to impose travel restrictions at the Talapady border. The move has severely hampered travels of people between Kasargod and Mangaluru.

To understand the poor health infrastructure of Kasargod, we need to go back to the 1980s and recall a devastating incident that left a lasting impact in that region.

In the 1980s, a highly toxic endosulfan pesticide was sprayed over cashew plantations in the region. It caused widespread deformities in newborns, and affects the people of the region even today.

To make matter worse, Kasargod, which is home to a high number of endosulfan victims, does not have a single neurologist. The district has just two government hospitals. Needless to say, those two hospitals are proving to be insufficient for a region that has a population of around 14 lakh.

The linguistic minorities of the Kannada and Tulu-speaking communities have often complained of neglect by the state governments.