On the evening of Saturday, November 1, Thiruvananthapuram’s Central stadium was witness to a historic moment as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the presence of film star Mammootty and other dignitaries, declared the southern state free from extreme poverty. “Today, we stand before the world as a land free from extreme poverty,” Pinarayi Vijayan said. “This marks the dawn of a new Kerala State where no human life will collapse under the weight of hunger or deprivation,” he added.

The much discussed and heavily debated declaration was made on the 69th anniversary of Kerala’s formation.

The mission to eradicate extreme poverty in the state began soon after the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) returned to power in 2021. The cabinet resolved to eradicate extreme poverty, whi

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