It is my experience that interviewers have very little interest in you. Sometimes, at the end of the meeting, they may lean back and ask a few cursory questions about your work. But, on Wednesday evening at Delhi’s Kerala House, KK Selja had barely entered the room when I had half a dozen questions. Where am I from, what did my parents do, do I have children, what is my daughter’s name. His interest in my life was simultaneously uplifting and loving, and it was easy to see how this MLA and Kerala’s former “rockstar” health minister emerged as a quiet and accomplished presence at a time when the world was an awe-inspiring place. One person was following. Invisible killer virus. She boasts of both, a comforting motherhood as well as an educational authority.
In his new book, my life as a comradeCo-written with journalist Manju Sara Rajan, former CEO of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, Shailaja writes about the course of her life that began in a small township in Malabar and eventually led her to a cabinet position in the state government. Went. She was born into a family that had been fiercely political for at least two generations before. In the 1930s, his grandparents were participants in the early stages of communism in Malabar, fighting for the rights of peasants, courting several arrests and the worst of them all, MK Ravunni, who died of injuries sustained while in prison Hui. His sister, Shailaja’s grandmother, also stepped into the movement, helping party workers hide and taking care of the sick and poor.
Class divisions and the political conditions of the time decided the course of the family, and in this sense, Shailaja’s association with the Communist Party was an event that was determined even before she was born. “Had we not been a part of Kannur, we might have been very different people making very different choices,” she writes. But as things stand, she comes from a family of political activists, which she goes to great lengths to explain, is different from politicians. She started as one and ended as the other.
KK Selja visits disaster affected area in the state
, photo credit: special arrangement
calm in distress
Shailaja explained her career as a series of small steps, as a party worker, as a teacher, as a social worker in the evening, until the party allowed her to contest the 1996 assembly elections. He was not given the ticket for which he won. When denied a ticket for a second term, she quietly went back to being a teacher and a political activist until she was given the chance again. For the third time, she also got a cabinet position and became the Minister of Health, Family Welfare and Social Justice in 2016 during Pinarayi Vijayan’s first term as Chief Minister of Kerala.
These were difficult years for the state, as it was ravaged by cyclones and disease. The first major health scare came with the Nipah virus in 2018 and Shailaja dived deep into it, building a multi-skilled team around her, looking after every aspect of fighting the outbreak, from prevention to communication. So, a few years later, when COVID-19 hit (the first cases in the country were in Kerala), the health ministry had a plan ready. During that crisis, Selja emerged as a calm and capable health minister, following the science and doing most things right. British Guardian The newspaper called him a “rockstar”, a compliment that led to comical confusion in the opposition. Yet, in 2021, even though he won a landslide victory, he could not find a place in the cabinet.
KK Selja promotes the use of sanitizers as part of the ‘Break the Chain’ campaign launched by the state government
, photo credit: special arrangement
Shailaja’s political story is one of unquestionably toeing the party line, and as she tells me, committed to political action as opposed to political power. But this is a simplistic and reductionist narrative, I point out, of the kind of journey hers should be driven by ambition. “As human beings, we are always dazzled by power and glory. But I am not possessive about a position like being an MLA or MP. Remind women If you are disappointed for not getting any position in power, then you should leave politics.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and KK Selja
, Photo Credit: Mustafa KK
feminism and responsibility
I bring her on to the other thread that runs through the book, her feminism, which she doesn’t call it by its name. Shailaja’s grandmother and mother were both single mothers. His grandmother was an outspoken, strong woman who fought against classism and casteism. A few years after her marriage, her mother learned that her husband had another partner and a child. She was determined to get a divorce, despite the fact that at that time people did not go to court for family matters.
Shailaja’s marriage also had an unconventional power balance. Her husband K. Bhaskaran encouraged her to throw herself into party work while he manned the fort at home. For someone who has followed normal gender conventions, why doesn’t she call herself a feminist? “I’m a feminist, but I’m not a radical feminist,” she says.
“True feminism is equality, a comradely relationship and the ability to live with dignity. Radical feminism is the freedom to be or do anything. Freedom must be compatible with society.
I ask what radical feminism according to you is, and I worry she’ll freak out and give me a version of feminism that’s not about equality but about making small adjustments to patriarchy. But she goes back to the history of feminism and the class struggle of the 1920s. “If you look at the history of feminism, especially in the early 20th century, when western feminists were burning their bras, on our part we were fighting for the right of lower caste women to cover their bodies. There cannot be one common and only demand for all feminists. True feminism is equality, a comradely relationship and the ability to live with dignity. Radical feminism is the freedom to be or do whatever you want. Freedom should be compatible with the society.
KK Selja
, Photo credit: VV Krishnan
It’s not a convincing argument to me, but it’s completely a reflection of how she’s lived her life. At various points in the book, she writes of her anguish about not spending enough time with her children. She blames herself for not being around when her son had to be taken to the hospital to have a seed inserted deep inside his nose. This maternal guilt is a familiar trope that no one, not even “radical feminists” find it easy to dispel. “It’s been a constant struggle in my life,” she says. “At home, I always felt that I was not doing enough. I’m not alone. So many women are trying to solve this problem.” This is real life and for her there is no conflict between her philosophy and her feelings.
Shailaja attributes her success to her strong sense of responsibility and her skill in building a team of committed people. But, in my mind, it’s this ability to keep it real, a life of genuine interest and empathy in others that sets her apart. It may sound simple, but these are very rare symptoms. After all, our country has 28 states, how many more health ministers can you name?
Published by Juggernaut and priced at ₹799, the book is released today.
The author is the author of ‘Independence Day: A People’s History’.