How Kerala's 100-year-olds logged in to make the state 100% digitally literate

India Today

2 days ago

Kerala is set to script history on August 21, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expected to officially declare it as the first fully digitally literate state in India. The milestone is more than a statistic, it is a story of resilience, curiosity and an entire community learning to tap into the digital world.The inspiration for this achievement lies in Pullampara, a gram panchayat tucked away in rural Thiruvananthapuram district. In 2022, Pullampara became the first panchayat in the country to achieve full digital literacy, a feat that has since ignited a movement across Kerala.advertisementWhen India Today TV met 103-year-old Karunakaran in Pullampara, he was seated with his 73-year-old son Rajan, the two of them watching videos on YouTube. Karunakaran, whose eyesight and memory are fading with age, still lights up when making video calls to his grandchildren.
Rajan, who once depended on a keypad phone, now navigates smartphones with ease. 'When the panchayat came to teach, I only had a keypad phone. My son bought me a smartphone after I learned how to use it. I consider myself lucky to live in this digital world and see the world through this phone. I mainly use YouTube, Facebook and news channels,' he said with pride.Not far away, 58-year-old Shyamala returned home from work, chatting with her children on WhatsApp. The calls, once unimaginable for her, now feel second nature. 'They are covering me on the news for using these apps,' she told her daughter excitedly.
Behind these small but transformative stories stand the women of Kudumbashree, Kerala's celebrated self-help group, who trained lakhs of people across the state. Their modules began with the basics, switching on smartphones, sending a message, installing apps, and stretched to teaching online payments, gas booking and awareness about digital scams. Learners were certified digitally literate only after clearing six of the fifteen modules.'It was difficult initially,' recalls Preetha, a Kudumbashree trainer. 'Most would say their children already had phones, so why should they? We explained that one day they might need it to talk to their children far away. Slowly, people began joining. Some homemakers learned YouTube to watch cooking videos, others learned GPay to manage pension money. The biggest happiness was when senior citizens, even those above 60, started using Google Pay. They were so proud of themselves.'
Pullampara's journey was not without hurdles. Aswathy, the panchayat's Vice President, called it a 'dream project' born out of the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'At first, only a few were interested. We had to visit them personally and convince them. The oldest learner was 98-year-old Karunakaran, and the youngest was seven-year-old Keshu. Two wards had no network, so MP John Brittas helped us get mobile towers. After that, the project took off. We worked tirelessly for a year to finish it,' she said.The ripple effect is now visible across the state. In Ernakulam, 105-year-old MA Abdullah Maulavi Bafaqi went digital under the state's 'Digi Kerala' initiative. Local Self Government Minister MB Rajesh called him 'the hero of this real Kerala story' and presented him with a smartphone to celebrate the achievement.
advertisementThe scale of Kerala's digital literacy drive is staggering. A survey covering more than 83 lakh families identified over 21.8 lakh people as learners. Of them, 99.98 per cent completed their training and passed the assessment, including more than 1.35 lakh people aged between 76 and 90, and even 15,223 above the age of 90. The modules themselves were aligned with international standards, including those laid down by Unesco.From centenarians on video calls to homemakers mastering online payments, Kerala's journey towards digital literacy is a tapestry of personal triumphs stitched together by community effort. - EndsMust Watch
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