For anyone interested, Kerala is a small state in the southern tip of India. It has a huge historical importance to Western Civilization. You could almost say (I may be exaggerating a little bit) that the America's were discovered by the Europeans in its effort to find a cheaper route to the produce and wealth of the Indies. Kerala is home to the Malabar Hills or what is commonly called the Spice Coast of India.

Kerala is where most of the spices such as Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves etc have been grown for centuries. The ports of Kerala, Calicut (Kozhikode) has been the main gateway of trade all the way back to the Phoenicians.

BTW, as HN visitors, you may be interested in the fact that Kerala is now also home to a vibrant Startup culture. Just in the last few months, Menlo Park and Kochi (the city mentioned in the article) has announced that they are going to be sister cities.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/kochi-to-sign-sist...

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-02-10/news...

Now back to the article being discussed. Some of the factors that made this case possible are the fact that the key players who were being exploited are from Kerala. This may seem strange but let me explain.

Kerala, along with West Bengal, can be considered as two of the most intellectually forward states of India. By that I mean, very high literacy (almost 100%) and as a result of that a very keen awareness of when they are exploited and have a fierce willingness to fight all forms of injustice. Communism is a very bad word in America, but it has helped these two states rise up from the feudal system that was prevalent in these states and is still prevalent in most of the poorest states in India. The downsides of a Communist approach (militant labor) is very evident in these States also, as being the worst states to create a labor based business in. The day after you start a business there, you can be guaranteed that labor will start an agitation and bring the business to its knees.

The article also mentions the attempted suicide, which is also one of of the disturbing aspects of life in Kerala. The state is very affluent compared to other states, but there is huge social pressure (perceived or otherwise) that forces people to take extreme measures to avoid failure. Whole family suicides are not unheard of if something bad happens.

Thanks to the effort of the tragic few who were willing to stand up to the exploiters and risk everything to bring this to court. Their efforts will have an impact far beyond their own.

This is one of the reasons that I try and contribute to organizations like the ACLU whenever I can. Henceforth I shall do the same for the SPLC.

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (Who will guard the guards themselves).