CPI(M) in Ker comes in for praise in Washington Post

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala has come in for praise in an article in 'The Washington Post', one of the prominent American newspapers, for the "achievements" of the state under its rule.
"A small state in India offers a place for a communist to dream," said the front page article titled "A communist success" in the newspaper's October 29 edition.
It spoke of the communist party's journey in the southern state and devoted an entire central page to contributions of the Left party in Kerala.
"In a small Indian state, the party of Marx may have done too well for its own good," it said.

"Instead of ossifying into an autocratic force, Kerala's communists embraced electoral politics and since 1957 have been routinely voted into power," the article said.
It also points out that unlike in other parts of the world, the communist movement in the state never sought to "stamp out religion".

It traces various stages of the growth and development of the Left movement in the state and also carries pictures and excerpts of an interview of state Finance Minister and economist T M Thomas Issac.
"A century after Bolsheviks swarmed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, Russia (now St Petersburg), the Indian state of Kerala, home to 35 million people, remains one of the few places on earth where communists can still dream," the Washington Post noted.

It also said unlike communists in China, Latin America or Eastern Europe, party leaders in the southern state never seized factories or banned private property.
"Instead, they competed in elections with the centre-left Indian National Congress party, winning some years and losing others," it added.
The newspaper also praised Kerala's workforce calling it "healthy and educated".