The state's own crime data show a terrible deterioration over time. The rate of all crimes per-lakh population has risen steadily from 230.5 in 1990 to 294.1 in 1997 and 455.8 in 2012. This virtual doubling over 22 years cannot be attributed to galloping honesty in Kerala: it had superior crime reporting compared with other states even in 1990.

Back in 1990, Kerala's crime rate was only the eight-highest among states. In 2012, it was clear No. 1. While crime reportage is grossly incomplete in all states, especially in the Hindi belt, there is no reason at all to think that the differentials between states have widened greatly. Indeed, governance in states such as Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has greatly improved in the last decade, so reportage has probably become much more honest there. Read More

Jyothi Shankaran

    Jyothi’s last role was as Senior Editor with the business news channel Bloomberg TV India. He also worked as News Editor at business-standard.com, the online version of the business newspaper Business Standard. Jyothi is a chemical engineer from the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar.