The nickname “God’s Own Country” is something that fills every Malayali with a quiet sense of pride. Tens of thousands of people across the world cherish the dream of visiting Kerala at least once to experience its natural beauty. Even as many Malayalis leave their homeland in search of opportunities elsewhere, there are many outsiders who have chosen to transplant their lives into Kerala’s soil. It is not merely the charm of greenery, meadows, and water bodies, but also the warmth and affection of the people here that have led many to make such a decision. At the various festivals and celebrations organised across Kerala by the state government, as well as by carnival and temple festival committees, hundreds of foreign tourists participate enthusiastically. In many parts of Malabar, the presence of foreigners, both as spectators and players, has become quite common in football tournaments. In places where certain local communities sometimes face exclusion for various reasons, foreigners often do not encounter such restrictions.
It is against the backdrop of a complaint recently settled by the State Human Rights Commission that all of this needs to be discussed in such detail. The complaint was filed by an Iranian woman named Sara Moosavi, who stated that she had not been allowed to use the swimming pool at the Kariavattom campus of University of Kerala. Sara had not come to Kerala merely as a tourist; she is an international free-diving athlete and an M.Tech student at the university. Two years ago, when Sara and her friends went to use the pool, the supervisor stopped them. The reason he gave for denying permission is striking: he claimed that only Indian citizens were allowed to use the swimming pool. She also complained that he made gestures insulting to her womanhood and uttered racist remarks. Although she approached the police, she informed the Kerala State Human Rights Commission that no proper investigation had taken place. Based on a report from the State Sports and Youth Affairs Department stating that there are no rules restricting foreigners from using the pool, the Commission, headed by Justice Alexander Thomas, has now directed that permission be granted to the student.
The protection offered by Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality, is not limited to the citizens of this country, especially when it comes to ensuring non-discriminatory treatment. In this case, the complainant is also an international athlete, and denying her the training facilities necessary for her career affects her right to work and to grow professionally as well. Indian students can be found in universities and educational institutions across the world; very often, they are Malayalis. Would our blood not boil if we heard that they were denied access to a campus swimming pool, gymnasium, canteen, or library? There was once a time when large sections of people were barred even from bathing in public ponds, drawing water from wells, or walking along public roads. The generation living today consists of the descendants of those who had to struggle to secure basic freedoms, such as the right to wear proper clothing and to receive an education. We must not forget that the kind of racial hatred that drives marginalised students seeking higher education, and workers migrating from other states in search of jobs, to their deaths, along with the racial abuse now reported against the Iranian athlete, can lead us towards a time devoid of humanity. At a time when the actions of Donald Trump, who shared on social media the view of a political commentator describing Indians seeking citizenship in America as “coming from a hellhole”, amount to an insult to every Indian, it is deeply unfortunate that there are Indians who, in turn, seek to imitate him in their attitude towards people coming from other countries.