'Lead Kindly Light': the Ernakulam campaign behind a fully literate Kerala

Background

The Total Literacy Campaign in Ernakulam, known as the 'Lead Kindly Light' project, was a joint initiative of the district administration and KSSP, the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad, an NGO with three decades of standing in voluntary social work. The idea was mooted by K.R. Rajan, then Collector of Ernakulam. The campaign was launched on 26.01.89 by E. K. Nayanar, then Chief Minister of Kerala. It was also a campaign for cent per cent immunization of pregnant women and children, and learners who were unable to read and write due to refractive errors were provided with spectacles free of cost. Its pace was overseen by committees of the people in 860 GP wards, 152 municipal wards and over 50 corporation wards. Ernakulam was declared as fully literate on 4th February, 1990 by then Prime Minister V.P. Singh, and on the same day a Total Literacy Campaign for the remaining thirteen districts of Kerala State was also launched. At an impressive ceremony held at Calicut on 18th April, 1991, the State of Kerala was declared fully literate.