Daily Times

This is not a story. It is a reality-based description of a third-world country, where most of the population lives below the poverty line. Seemingly independent countries have the worst type of economy in their national setup and their currency exchange rates are always going downwards. It is food for thought for the visionary and the wise why such countries were declared independent when the invaders, in one form or another, kept these countries under their regime and called them colonies. If somebody thinks that the independence of these colonies was a blessing from God, they are extremely wrong. These people must thank World War II and its creator, Adolf Hitler. Dominant countries like England, France, Denmark and Portugal were grabbing riches in the name of trade in territories like the subcontinent. They were skimming out their resources based on better technology.

England had proclaimed the Magna Carta in the 13th century when the King of England switched over to democracy, surrendering his authority to the people. However,this was in a very selfish contrast to policies made in the colonies .They never allowed the colonies and their people to adopt democracy at any period in their rule.

In those days, two Muslim empires were dominating. One was the Ottoman Empire and the other was the Mughal/Afghan Empire. The Mughal Empire collapsed after the death of Aurangzeb Alamgir. Later on, East India Company took over the control of the subcontinent. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire lived longer than the Mughal Empire and collapsed in the 19th and 20th centuries and most of the areas of this Muslim empire went under the control of British rule. This was the basis of the creation of colonies. After World War II, the Allied countries faced a great economic setback despite their triumph. They decided to shed their load on these colonies, where they were bound to keep armies, cantonments, and ports for maintaining their authority and control. The English hierarchy ruling these countries became a burden and as a plan or conspiracy, one by one, these colonies were given their so-called independence. Surprisingly, the Muslim colonies were given independence but they were still controlled by the countries who called themselves the superpowers. These superpowers let the colonial system prevail and created various kinds of conflicts so that independent Muslim countries could never unite as a Muslim world. At that time, they were fearful of Muslims gaining power.

The Second World War ended in 1945, after which interesting independence games started.

The countries that were sources of oil were made kingdoms or emirates and the countries that were too huge were declared democracies. Time passed by, but these so-called superpowers remained vigilant about the progress attained by these Muslim countries. Eventually, conflicts were created like Kashmir in the subcontinent and Palestine and Israel in the Middle East. They never let the people of these so-called independent companies prevail though democracy is considered to be a government of the people for the people by the people. They were playing with the fear of the nations invoked through major conflicts in countries like India and Pakistan.

The Second World War ended in 1945, after which interesting independence games started. The objective of this whole game plan was to never let these independent countries live freely. Countries like Pakistan became trapped in the clutches of the financial institutions of the world. Here, the poison of corruption was injected, slowly but constantly. The people were let loose, without any planning. Consequently, the population started growing out of bounds and the resources started being robbed by the so-called rulers. People were never allowed to own the right of franchise.

This population growth has finally led to a trade and business called beggary. Rulers are begging from the rich counties and financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank with the support of their stakeholders. Sadlly, the same fixation with begging has spread all across countries where the ruled beg from each other.

Once, I saw at a traffic signal how two women were fighting with each other over a child’s body lying nearby. One was accusing the other, “You have killed my child,” and she was saying in return, “When I handed over the child to you, you did not point that he is dead or alive.”

Ultimately, it was discovered that the conflict had begun because the mother of the child used to give her young children to other beggar women on daily rent. The child used to be given a dose of morphine so that he could remain incapacitated. What a tragedy!

In the meantime, a gentleman asked the mother about the compensation she wanted for the child’s death. She said, “Saab ji, you decide, you are our Mai Baap.” Before the eyes of this writer, he pulled out two stacks of Rs 1000 bills and gave them to her. He said, “Listen, it is 2 lakh rupees, take it and give birth to another child.” The mother took the money with gratitude and tried to leave the scene. The gentleman stopped her and said, ” Take the body with you and make arrangements for his burial.” He then told the other woman, “The expenses will be born by you.”

He was said to be the lord of the beggars, the contractor. All the traffic signals in the area were under his control and all beggars paid him protection tax.

Beggary is a relentless business, controlled by rich hoodlum gangsters and contractors, who move about in all kinds of luxurious cars. This country would only survive if this curse of beggary hasn’t been taken care of otherwise children given out for rent might one day implore God’s wrath upon this nation.

The writer is a freelance columnist.