Why Lathika Subhash will soon be famous

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. (Kahlil Gibran in The Prophet)

Achuthanandan made a big mistake by asking the media to ‘investigate’ how Lathika Subhash gained fame. Firstly, he exposed himself as a chauvinist with distinct prejudices against women in general. Secondly, he made the mistake of indulging in character assassination without even an iota of evidence. In order to tarnish the image of a woman political opponent, he ruthlessly resorted to defamation, mud-slinging and blatant sexism. And he chose the diabolical method of planting the seeds of suspicion in the minds of the electorate.

I don’t have a legal mind and I don’t know whether this crude act on the part of the CM violates the Election Code of Conduct or the Indian Penal Code. But I do know that this is despicable and immoral. It is up to the women voters of Malampuzha to avenge this gross insult to all womankind. On behalf of their sisters in the other 139 constituencies, they should teach him a lesson he will never forget. When Achuthanandan could not protect even Sindhu Joy, whom the CPM once described as the Jhansi Rani of Kerala, when he could not dispense justice to the deceased Shari and her surviving girl child, when he could not do justice to the CPM women members who had raised sexual harassment charges against P Sasi, when he cannot even show basic courtesy to the women of this State, how can such a man expect any decent person (whether male or female) to vote for him?

Achuthanandan made an even bigger mistake of equating media attention with greatness. In his pomposity and arrogance he assumes he is greater than Lathika Subhash, simply because gets more media coverage. But visibility alone is not the mark of an individual’s value to the community or the world. For example, a person who acts in a television serial is more visible than a cardiac surgeon. There are millions of men and women in our State who do ‘invisible’ but infinitely valuable work – the farmer who tills the land, the planter who cultivates cash crops, the fisherman who braves the waves and the winds, the masons and carpenters and plumbers who build and maintain our homes, the nurses who care for the sick, the teachers who mould the hearts and minds of our children, the housewives (or home-makers as they are now called) who make the home a heaven, the housemaids who do all the domestic chores – the list is endless. Only a fortunate few are able to do visible work – politicians, actors, singers, dancers and media persons are among them. But the invisible work is perhaps more valuable.

In any case, by denigrating Lathika Subhash, VS has unwittingly launched her on the path to fame. Kaathirunnu kaanuka suhurthukkale!

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