The write to read

Some time ago, I happened to drop in to the British Council Library in Thiruvananthapuram. As an MA English student, I had spent many a happy and air-conditioned! hour reading here. This was in 1981 and I was studying at the prestigious 8216;Institute of English8217; then, and was all of 23 years old. The library, which began in 1964, had obviously changed over the 25 plus years that followed my graduation in 1983. On this recent visit, however, there was an additional undercurrent of disquiet. The newspapers of the day had confirmed the news: the library was going to be closed in the spring of 2008. Of the 11 libraries run by the British Council, two had been singled out for closure: the library in Thiruvananthapuram with over 28,000 books, CDs etc, was one of them!

As an international businessman, now based in the US, I knew instinctively that a mistake was being made. That8217;s why I sat down to write this piece so that our British friends might benefit from a review of this decision. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of Kerala, a state that has one in six workers abroad and which generates seven times more income from international remittances than it receives in funding from the Centre. Estimates vary but many say that at least 40 per cent of India8217;s international revenue comes from the remittances of Keralites. Interestingly, at the national level, India accounts for 10 per cent of all international remittances and is the number one recipient of international remittances among all nations. So, put another way, Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the state which is the number one source of India8217;s income from abroad.

The educational character of the city also sets it apart: Thiruvananthapuram district houses 25 colleges, which include institutions for medicine, engineering, law and fine arts. It also houses over 40 departments of Kerala University, from the department of aquatic biology to zoology.

One of these departments was my alma mater. It was also known as the Institute of English. Since the Institute was the best place to study English, it attracted some of the brightest and best students from all over Kerala. We were probably the most enthusiastic users of the British Council Library and future students of the Institute have the most to lose from its closure.

Students who used the facilities of the British Council went on, like me, to successful careers in India and abroad. Every year, several passed competitive examinations like the IAS and IPS and became competent administrators.

The bottom line: if you view Thiruvananthapuram by the size of it population, you may conclude that it is an insignificant city that can be deprived of its British Council Library without hurting the interests of the Queen. However, any thinking person who understands Kerala8217;s role in making India will conclude that closing the British Council Library is a strategic error that can still be fixed.