KERALA'S KADAKAMPALLY VILLAGE OFFICER ASKS, "IS MUNNAR IN KERALA?"

Munnar is the most sought after Hill Station in Kerala, India. I am happy  I grew up there.

The question I have highlighted on  the title was posed by a Village Officer, Kadakampally.  I replied it was in the District of Idukki, Kerala. For a moment the Village Officer sat there stunned.

The story began with the Kerala Entrance Examination for admission to Medical Colleges and Engineering Colleges in the State. It was the dream of every parent in Kerala at that point of time that his son or daughter became a Doctor or an Engineer . It still is.  Today, we have a large number of such colleges in the state. I am writing of a period in history dating back to more than two decades when they were scarce.

The process began with the notification in the news papers that the application forms would be sold to the aspirants at an office of the Government in the city. The sale would be on for a few days only. As the demand was high the crowd had to be controlled by the Police. The sale began at 10.30 AM. It was closed at 4.50 PM for the day.  People had no complaints as they knew very well the practice those days.

I reached the place very early the next day. The serpentine queue crawled. I could   buy the application form before the officials closed the counter for lunch break. It meant I had to be on leave from my office for two days.

There were a number of pages. Filling up the form was  laborious. The icing was that I had to proceed to the Village Office and obtain the signature and stamp of the exalted official in the form confirming that the applicant was a native of Kerala – in other words the nativity certificate.

The Village Officer was very busy. I had to wait for one and a half hours to meet him. He took the form. He asked me to produce the SSLC book. I placed the book before him. He said it was the certificate of the applicant. It was not enough.  He called for  my SSLC book. When I asked him why it was required he replied he would confirm nativity only after he had verified the nativity of the father.

I wondered whether there was any other consideration for the strange demand. I told him, I was on leave that day and I had all the time in the world to go home and bring it over.  At home, I asked my wife to fish out all the SSLC books there as I did not wish to be turned back again. There were four. Armed with the Books, I returned. The Official was busy.  I could meet him after one hour.  One thing I admire about Government Offices in general in Kerala is that they teach you the art of patience.

The Official went through the application once again word by word. He came to the nativity certificate part. He verified my son’s SSLC Book  again. He asked for my SSLC Book. It was verified and put aside. He asked for my wife’s SSLC book. It was verified. He said both the father and mother had to be natives of Kerala.

He returned to my SSLC Book again. I had studied at the Government High School, Munnar. He pondered for some time. He asked me, “Is Munnar in Kerala?”  I replied, “It is very much. It is in Idukki.” The Official reluctantly returned the form with his stamp and signature.

I managed to submit the application in time. A photocopy was kept for our record.

It was after a few days JIPMER, Pondicherry invited applications to their MBBS course. The application form was duly procured. There was a hitch. The nativity certificate was to be issued by the Tahsildar.

I went to the Office. The completed application form and the photocopy of the nativity certificate issued by the Village Officer were produced before the Tahsildar. He was courteous. He said the photocopy was not enough. He would issue the nativity certificate only after the Village Officer, had affixed his signature and stamp on the application itself. I said there was no column there for the Village Officer. He advised me to get the signature and stamp of the official on the constricted space below the box for the Tahsildar’s signature.

I approached the Village Officer. He said he would not certify on the application form as there was no column for him there. He advised me to approach the Tahsildar. I explained that the Tahsildar had directed me to approach him and obtain the signature underneath the box.

I showed him the copy of the certificate he had issued three weeks ago. He said, “SSLC Books.” I placed all the five books on the table. He did not even bother to open them. He took the application form and signed on the spot I had indicated.

The Tahsildar did not keep me waiting. He certified at the box.

A question remains. Did my son clear the entrance examinations? He did not. He could have managed an admission for Engineering in Kerala. But the Kerala University did not favour him with moderation – additional marks – they had granted to regular students. He had taken Mathematics as an additional subject.  It was a case of clear discrimination and denial of natural justice. The dream went sour.