Politics of food security: a study of malnutrition and infant mortality in attappadi Kerala

The infant deaths in Attappadi block in the Palakkad district of Kerala has brought out certain cautionary tales, especially in the area of human security and public spending. Kerala, for a longtime, has inconsequentially followed the Kerala model of development, particularly in the area of health care and education; two areas where Kerala is losing out in now. Between 2010 and 2017 there have been a large number of infant deaths and chronic mother and child illness in various parts of Kerala. This has prompted a wake-up call. This clearly demonstrates how politics has wreaked havoc with human security and health care in Attappadi. Food security as it has become a concern in Kerala, disincentives benefits to marginalized communities, as they have become so expensive. The multinational corporations and the national private monopoly companies are exploiting the poorer sections of the population. An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, 1981‖, played an important role in altering the ‗access to food‘ dimension from a macro economic level to a micro economic problem. ―The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children under the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.‖ The human security of the tribals is the need of the hour. For this, the government has to make policies for the provision of basic human security as per the 1994 United Nation‘s guidelines. The 1974 World Food Summit defined food security as the ―ability at all times to supply the world with basic products to sustain food consumption growth while controlling fluctuations and prices.‖