Gujarat village called Kerala draws curiosity but no debate on models

A village named 'Kerala' in Gujarat's Morbi district is untouched by the high-profile debate between economists Jagdish Bhagwati and Amartya Sen over the Gujarat model versus the Kerala model of development. The villagers, about 10 km from Wankaner town, are amused by the attention their hamlet gets solely for its name.

The origin of the name is unclear. The local temple priest, Mukesh Bhagat, recounts a 150-year-old myth: a banana grove was swept away by a flood, and the village was named after 'Kela' (banana). Farmer Ramesh Dhamji Bhai Ladher, who knows little about the southern state, asserts that Gujarat is more developed, saying, 'They are literate but we are developed.'

The shared name has led to mix-ups. Jayantilal Chaganlal Mistri, 86, recalled that when a visiting officer was told he was from 'Kerala', the officer expected a Malayalee, not a Gujarati. The political debate between the two states continued in April 2022 when Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan faced criticism for sending his chief secretary to evaluate Gujarat's e-governance dashboard.