Critics of T’puram Arya mayor tell him about his age – why it’s a problem

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The remarks only seemed to help strengthen Arya’s earlier argument that the only thing the opposition “could find wrong was her age.”

Amid the relaxed pandemic restrictions of a late December 2020 party, Arya Rajendran entered and left Poojappura homes, thanking his neighbors with folded hands and a smile. She has just been elected district councilor. Earlier that day, it was learned that CPI (M), her party, had chosen her as mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, setting some kind of record. She was only a month younger than 22 and became the youngest to be appointed mayor of an Indian city. Dozens of interviews, news articles and recognition from around the world were given to Arya even before her first day in office. Skeptics were also vocal – the post of mayor was too important for such a young person, they said.

It’s been a year since she became mayor now and a lot of the criticism that Arya faces somehow ends up being her young age. It doesn’t end with “she did the wrong thing”, it has to be related to her “immaturity”. The remarks only seemed to help strengthen his earlier claim that the only thing the opposition “could find wrong was his age.”

The opposition (BJP, Congress) would have done well to focus on the ongoing issues as it did before against older and often male mayors. “Look, Mr. Mayor, this is a civic problem and you are not dealing with it well” would have been much more direct and effective than, say, “Everything is bad because you are too young.” A remark like this backfired when Arya’s patient response went viral. It happened during a works council when a BJP member called her an LKG student and said the mayor’s chair was not one to play with. Arya responded amid the racketeering that she had faced such ageist insults for months, but if she became mayor at that age, she knew exactly how to work as a result and that she had grown up in such a system.

Read: BJP chief calls T’puram mayor Arya Rajendran “LKG student”, his response goes viral

She also didn’t hesitate to take action when a massive financial fraud was discovered in the middle of last year. At one point, when corruption of hundreds of thousands of rupees was discovered in a zone office (Sreekaryam), the mayor asked local audit officers to conduct searches of the 11 zone offices, found more discrepancies in revenue collection and suspended several officials. Not that the Society had no problems under his leadership.

In the middle of last year, a major controversy erupted in the form of a technical flaw. The loophole occurred in the collection of income tax during the transition to an online system. For many taxpayers unreasonably higher fees were charged. Concerned townspeople flocked to the offices of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Officials explained the delay and reassured the compensation. But many people still felt excluded, challenged by technology. Protests erupted across the city. And the mayor joined his officials in responding to angry citizens.

Read: Revenue Collection Line: Why BJP Protests Thiruvananthapuram Corporation

But even during this crisis, critics couldn’t pass up another chance to discuss the mayor’s age. More than one opposing politician has fallen back into personal attack during the protests. MPP Congressman Vincent brought down the “immaturity” remark when he said his sense of democracy, like his age, was insufficient to take on responsibility. The worst came from Congresswoman K Muraleedharan, who likened her speeches to “Bharani paatu” – cursed songs of a goddess. In due form, a police case was registered and Muraleedharan claimed he meant she was “immature”.

We do not understand why some critics fall back on this ageist argument which has proven its worth and which has failed when they have a real problem to solve. The tax issue was real, genuine and affected so many people. It would have taken a well-worded criticism of the lack of communication or mismanagement of the online transition and not a personal attack on the young woman at the head of the city.

It also makes you wonder: Would critics have been more tolerant of a young mayor or an older mayor? Would they say “he is so young and already mayor” and say: “and if he made some mistakes, he is so young and could easily learn”. It may not have come from rival politicians, but it’s not hard to imagine male camaraderie in politics – an area dominated by men for decades.

Arya didn’t fail to point this out in her early interviews as well – it’s her age and gender that many find it hard to come to terms with. Maybe a combination of the two, because there were older women mayors before her. Ironically, Arya responded to each of her criticisms with calm and maturity. Almost never losing her temper, Arya repeats her points until he is heard, firmly. Older politicians collapsed for much less.

And many of them never seem to learn.

Apparently without going over past mistakes, Muraleedharan once again hinted at the mayor’s “immaturity” after his car drove as part of President Ram Nath Kovind’s convoy, which allegedly violated protocol, during the meeting. his visit to Thiruvananthapuram in the last half of December. Is there no one there to teach her these things, this time asked Muraleedharan, besides calling her “stupid.”

It would appear that directly criticizing a political issue, without dragging age, gender, or other personal details into the picture, is a skill that politicians in Kerala take very slow steps to learn.

Cris is a journalist who likes to call herself a writer and confuses her editors with lengthy reports on just about anything. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

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