The two countries of India and Pakistan have been waging war against one another for decades.

INTRO

The two countries of India and Pakistan have been waging war against one another for decades. The formation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947 marked a new beginning and a new era, that did nothing but cause destruction and havoc. Thousands of people have lost their lives, including innocent civilians on both sides of the border. Pakistan was formed because Muslim leaders like Mohammed Ali Jinnah and many others who insisted that a new nation should be formed for Muslims, since after India’s independence the demands of the Muslim population would not be met, as they were in the minority. Leaders of India, like Nehru and Gandhi, tried to persuade Jinnah and others and assured them that this would not happen. Jinnah, at the end, got his way and a new nation was carved out of India and was known as Pakistan. The Hindus and the Muslims were always at the opposite end of the spectrum and whenever they met the result was mass riots and death. Karl Marx truly said, “Religion is the opiate of all masses.” Whenever there are two types of people living in such close vicinity to one another, the result is always some kind of conflict. Indians and Pakistanis are of the same culture, their main difference is their religions. Their differences in religions play an enormous role in their hatred towards one another, as their religions are what dictate their entire belief and value system that they live their day to day lives by. This essay will discuss how the element of exploitation can be found in the different resources of people, industry and funds in India and Pakistan.

HISTORY

The animosity of the two countries has been common knowledge for decades. If yet another war were to break out, few locals would be surprised. They have, after all, fought three wars since 1947. Two of those wars were over the state of Kashmir. The bad blood between the two countries officially began in 1947, when both countries broke free of the British-rule. Great Britain had ruled most of India since the 1700s. Pakistan became a separate country when Britain left India, because the Muslim population of India did not feel that their rights would be upheld once the Hindu population would gain control of India. At the time, the country’s population was primarily made up of the two religious groups of Hindus, who made up approximately 66 % of the population, and Muslims, who made up approximately 24% of the population. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim league, and other Muslims feared that an independent government over all India would favor Hindus over Muslims. What he said when asked about the big problem of how to determine which parts of Indian would become Pakistan, is often told to children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The words are continuously passed down through generations when one is talking about the greatness of Jinnah, “ I don’t care how little you give me, as long as you give it to me completely.” He placed an emphasis on the notion that if Pakistan was to become a city, than the leaders be given complete control to run the country without interference from Hindu leaders. He argued that Indian Muslims would have no more freedom under a Hindu-run government than they had under British rule. Along with other leaders, he urged that India be partitioned or divided, into two countries, one Muslim and one Hindu. When the British government finally agreed, the mostly Muslim Pakistan became an independent nation. The following day, the mostly Hindu country of India, as an independent nation, was created. Almost immediately, millions of Muslims and Hindus began to flee to their preferred countries. Huge riots broke out between Muslims and Hindus, resulting in the deaths of many. The countries have been in conflict with one another since.

INDIA

This is a preview of the whole essay

INDIA

Exploitation is apparent throughout India in many aspects of the country. One of the most obvious ways there is exploitation can be seen through the people of India. Although the country’s officials currently attempt to be trying to eliminate the caste system, the system is still followed, and any efforts to change this are in vain. ‘The Indian government has been very successful at manufacturing an image as the world's largest democracy,’ says Smita Narula, author of the Human Rights Watch report, ‘but none of its (anti-discrimination) laws are implemented and the Constitution is not enforced.’ … India appears unlikely to make a major national effort to root out the deeply ingrained caste system until worldwide outrage shames India's elite into taking drastic action. India’s caste system is deeply ingrained in the minds of many individuals in India, and a drastic change in the system is unlikely. The caste system is an example of exploitation in India of the people of India, because of the way that different people are treated. The caste system demonstrates a lack of equality in the country. Dalits, a type of lower caste, may not cross the line dividing their part of the village from that occupied by that of higher castes. They may not use the same wells, visit the same temples and churches, drink from the same cups in tea stalls, or lay claim to land that is legally theirs, but has been seized by someone of a higher caste. Dalit children are frequently made to sit in the back of classrooms, and communities as a whole are made to perform degrading rituals in the name of caste. Dalit women are frequent victims of sexual abuse. Dalits are routinely abused, even killed, at the hands of upper castes that enjoy the state's protection.

The resource of industry is exploited in India through the use of child labor. Child labor in India is a grave and extensive problem. “Children under the age of fourteen are placed in situations where they are forced to work in glass blowing, fireworks, and most commonly, carpet-making factories. While the Government of India reports about 20 million children laborers, other non-governmental organizations have estimated the number to be a great deal closer to 50 million. Most prevalent in the northern part of India, the exploitation of child labor has become an accepted practice, and is viewed by the local population as necessary to overcome the extreme poverty in the region. The Indian Government has taken some steps to alleviate this monumental problem. In 1989, India invoked a law that made the employment of children under the age of 14 illegal, except in family-owned factories.” (Burton, Dan) Unfortunately, this law is rarely followed and does not apply to the employment of family members. Thus, factories often circumvent the law through claims of hiring distant family. Also, in rural areas, there are few enforcement mechanisms, and any punishment for factories violating the mandate is minimal, if not non-existent. Another element of exploitation that can be found in the industrial business is in the clothing industry. Small-time vendors and their tailors are having a harder and harder time making any money at all. The bulk of the profits go to the middlemen who buy from these wholesale markets and sell at high prices at their retail outlets. “Small vendors have always got a raw deal," says M.A. Jabbar, lawyer and editor of an English journal, who owns Jabbar Haat of Metiabruz, the biggest in Calcutta and Howrah. “The ready-made garment industry is responsible for our predicament,” he says. “Who will come to us when they can easily get clothes from these readymade garment stores?” Starvation is a gigantic part of these people’s lives. Many feel that they are being taken advantage of by the bigger industries.

Funds of India provide yet another aspect of the country where exploitation can be discovered. This is mostly prevalent through government officials and beaurocrats. The social elite of India has a great deal of influence over the country, and government officials have often shown excellent skills at manipulating figures and facts for their own personal gain. Studies have shown that “… cash bribes and misuse of public property is a major form of corruption in the country. Corruption has permeated itself the elite ranks of political parties. This also indicates that corruption is being sanctioned and legitimized by the highest levels of government authority. Expensive elections are also perceived as a significant source of corruption. Members of last parliament received an amount of Rs.16, 18,000.00 earmarked as salary for their assistants, which has have not been accounted for. No receipts or supporting documents have been submitted to Parliament show that this amount was actually used as salary. 7 members allegedly purchased plane tickets to travel Delhi in order to observe the parliamentary election of India. However, no receipts have been submitted to the secretariat and no other documents have been produced to show that the amount was used to travel by air. These few instances mentioned here are meant to reflect the dimension of embezzlement in public office.” This quotation shows the extent of the corruption in India’s government office. The country’s corruption level is going down, but a beaurocratic mind frame, with the social elite at the top and the dirt poor, at the bottom, holds back the changes from taking place.

PAKISTAN

Through the people of Pakistan, it is possible to discover an element of exploitation in the country. Pakistan does not have a caste system as its neighbor, India, does but it is run by a tribal system. It is not possible for anyone in a lower social or tribal position to go up. The likelihood of someone going above his or her social class from birth is extremely rare, if it happens at all. Those who belong to a lower class are used by those who are higher up on the ladder. They are often abused, both physically and verbally, and often, if not always, have little to no choice but to endure the insults and injuries. “I remember going to a family friend’s house when I was younger, and they had a little boy, probably around 8 years old, who was a servant. He was sent to go get some biscuits, and he came back about ten minutes later, with a cut that was bleeding on his upper lip. It turned out that one of the older servants had gotten into trouble over something and taken out his anger on him. The older servant was not punished, but the boy was punished because of how long it took him to bring the food. Many servants in Pakistan are born into the system. They are born servants. Some families of servants continue to serve a rich family for decades and decades. It is the done thing in Pakistan. It is the way of the country, corruption, insults and all.” (Arslan Y. Qasmi) Incidents like the one with the little boy show how the elite of Pakistan exploit their position and take advantage of those below them. Often in Pakistan, those who are at the bottom of the Pakistani tribal system, are those who are not Muslim, which is another way that injustice and exploitation occurs in the country.

One of Pakistan’s major industries is the textile industry. The majority of the workers in their factories and in most other factories are children. All the workers, including the children are exposed to inhumane working conditions and are exploited throughout their life. One such example can be seen through this quotation, “Two years ago at the age of seven, Anwar started weaving carpets in a village in Pakistan's province of Sindh. He was given some food, little free time, and no medical assistance. He was told repeatedly that he could not stop working until he earned enough money to pay an alleged family debt. He was never told who in his family had borrowed money nor how much he had borrowed. Any time he made an error with his work, he was fined and the debt was increased. Once when his work was considered to be too slow, he was beaten with a stick. Once after a particularly painful beating, he tried to run away, only to be apprehended by the local police who forcibly returned him to the carpet looms.” (Human Rights Watch Report: Child Labour) Anwar’s vulnerability as a young child and as a worker was being exploited. As a worker, he is seen as someone of a very low status by the average Pakistani and therefore, an easy target to take advantage of. Situations like that of Anwar’s are very common in Pakistan, and the people in the situations are stuck in a never-ending cycle. It is a very hopeless situation for them.

Government funds is also a way that people can find an element of exploitation in Pakistan. “Pakistan’s government has had a history of corruption. The beaurocracy of the country has people manipulating the law to suit their own needs constantly. Wealth and power is how someone gets to the top, and if someone else is standing in the way of that rise to the top, then they are always placed in jail or killed. The country has its own corrupt, tribal system. The survival of the fittest idea really does work here. The rulers of Pakistan embezzle, accept bribes, and use the funds of the country for their own use. They use the funds of the country as their own personal bank account.” (Zillay Ahmed) An example of the corruption in Pakistan can be seen through its ex-Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. “Two years after she [Benazir Bhutto] became the first woman to head an Islamic Country, she was kicked out of office on corruption charges. Then in 1993, she managed to get herself back into power, but President Farooq Leghari, who used to be her ally, sacked Bhutto on Nov. 5, 1996, charging her with sponsoring police hit squads, condoning bribery and nearly bankrupting the government. Also, before that and right after her estranged brother Mir Murtaza, began to publicly charge her with corruption he died. It was on September 20, 1996, and he along with six of his bodyguards were killed in a gun battle with police in Karachi, Pakistan. Police claimed that Murtaza's bodyguards had started the fight. His death led to widespread public criticism of Bhutto, but she claimed to have had no involvement in his death. There is a great deal of speculation that government funds were used to pay off the police to do this for Bhutto.” (Shaheen Sindhu) In Pakistan it is quite a simple feat for any member to pocket a tad bit extra cash for him or her self, but great amounts are noticed often, although there is rarely anything done about it. Government officials have often taken advantage of or exploited their status by using the funds to bribe judges, police, other officials, families, and businesses. “Benazir Bhutto’s husband was given the cabinet post of investment minister and nicknamed “Mr. Ten Percent”, as he was known for taking a little extra here and there to place money into his businesses.” (Amna N. Qasmi) This shows how easy it is for government funds to be exploited for people’s own selfish needs in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan has a great deal of corruption and often many people knowingly laugh about the corruption and the frequent changes in the leadership of the country.

CONCLUSION

The different resources of people, industry and funds in India and Pakistan and the way in which an element of exploitation can be found, is what this essay discussed. India and Pakistan both contain similar elements of exploitation in them. The people in India have a caste system, which gives some people an unfair advantage over others. Pakistan’s case is that they are run by a tribal system, which gives some people an unfair advantage over others. In both countries some people are treated unjustly, because of their station in life, and in this way, their low station is exploited. The industries of India and Pakistan both have issues of child labor in them. In both countries, children and workers in the industry are exploited and often left deformed permanently. Government funds in India and Pakistan are exploited in both countries by Government officials, which can be seen through the existing corruption of the two countries. It is very easy, in both countries, but more so in Pakistan, for a government leader to use the funds for his or her own personal gain. In conclusion, both countries carry with them elements of exploitation in the resources of people, industry and funds, which is fitting, because India and Pakistan are of the same culture and were once of the same country. They think the same way and continue to mirror one another, with India as the elder and more experienced of the two.