Wishful Thinking

Those days, those were the best days of my life. Standing outside the class room, with a heavy backpack on, I was late yet again. As much as I hated the castigation at that time, I sometimes wonder why I miss those days more than anything in my life. I still remember my first day at school, I was crying, crying the whole time, my teacher had to take special care of me. I never wanted to sit in the class room, but at that time I didn’t know that eighteen years down the line, I would be craving and yearning to go back in time and do it all over again. It was fun, it was excitement, it was enthusiasm, it was thrill, it was ecstasy, yet it was all in innocence.

As I passed some school today, I heard the school bell ringing, which took me to a state of jubilation and euphoria; remembering those amazing moments, yet I was down in the dumps- dejected at the thought that I will never be able to wait for this bell to ring for my break time. I could imagine myself in the middle of all hustle and bustle of break time, with all of us running around, playing games, not wary of the heat of early June. Today, I can’t even bear the thought of leaving my comfy and cozy room to get the guest at the door in June. I wish I could be same person again, I wish I could find all my friends again, I wish I could go back in time, I wish. Yet sometimes I pray to God, I pray for a miracle that will bring my school life back to me, I pray for talks of time machine to be true so that I could go back to those school years of mine, but as much as I hate to admit it, I know it is practically impractical.

Those early to bed, early to rise days, I was in the bed at nine listening to stories- stories of Robin hood, stories of Aladdin, stories of Sinbad- My sister would keep on narrating stories to me until I slept. At that time, I thought, someday I will be one of those heroes; I dreamed of my success stories. Every child does- I did not know that at that time- but very few achieve success. But today- success for me- is that someday I’ll be able to provide my children with the same kind of childhood that I had- the same memories will be theirs as well- they will have dreams too- and I’ll be able to relive my childhood again through them.

Wishful thinking- I know.

Death Bed

He refused to give up. He was fighting- fighting hard to stay alive, fighting hard to bury his worst nightmare- Death, fighting hard to survive one more night before he could lay deep inside the matter that had created him.

“One more night” He muttered to himself.

As he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling above and a fan that stood still for it was a cold December night, memories came roaring down the slender burrows of his mind. He could see his mother, his father and his siblings. He imagined his arrival in this world, it seemed like the world hadn’t changed. This was the same hospital he was born in, and it seemed as if he was going to die in it too. Cycle had been accomplished. The sound of ambulance siren reminded him of his first visit to the hospital- a visit which wasn’t destined to end in such a horrendous manner- the death of his mother.

“Same old sirens. Someone is going to hell tonight” He whispered as a quick hint of a faint smile ran across his lips.

He could remember the bizarre incidents on his 6th birthday as precisely as anyone of that age could, for it had changed the course of his life in such a way that it scarcely gave him an opening to be himself later in his life. He had begged God for his mother’s health; she had lung cancer- result of excessive smoking- he had thought at that time. It was his birthday when she had bronchitis attack; the sirens seemed more like the jingle of angels, streaming down from heavens to take his mother away- He had assumed. But God did not listen to his prayers- prayers that he had offered the whole night- he had asked for his birthday gift from God.

“What a wonderful birthday gift it was! Thank you God---d---d” The word God just could not come out of his mouth, it was broken down into pieces, as was his belief in God Itself.

Out of the window of his private room, the sun was setting across the aristocratic and posh neighborhood of the town. World surely hadn’t changed. His father had bought him a bungalow in this part of the town thirty years earlier. Two years later, on an evening like today, he had received a call from the same hospital. His father was dying, dying of loneliness, dying of solitude, dying of isolation. His father had bought him a bungalow but couldn’t draw the love that his son had shown for his mother, for it was his father’s own fault; he had left them both when his son was born. That son would never come. At 4’o clock in the morning he had received another call. His father had died. He couldn’t even be there at the demise of his earthly creator.

“Sorry Dad.” He said while tears flowed out of his eyes.

He was helpless- so helpless that he couldn’t even remove tears from his face. Tears made a stream from his eyes to the fabric on the bed. His own life circle- he thought. Starting from the birth in the eye... and ending at absorption in the fabric and between that- he thought- there will be thousands of memories for a single tear for it had a life of its own too- a life like his own- a life like everyone else in this world.

His trauma shattered by a crying sound from the room on left side.

“Indeed, nothing has changed.” he mumbled to himself, remembering the night when his son was born- when he had witnessed the miracle of his life; the miracle of birth.

Another new born in this world- he thought- another of those children who won’t love their parents- another of those teenagers who are willing to ignore their parent’s illness for a silly dating experience- he continued to curse them as the child’s crying voice disappeared behind the pane of reminiscences and memoirs that he was now recollecting. He had stood up all night, holding his son in his arms so that he wouldn’t cry.

“Son, please come quickly. I need to hold you in my arms for one last time.” He said.

Now he needed his son to hold him in his arms, but his voice kept coming back, echoing back from the walls of the room. It seemed as if his own father was calling him, and he wouldn’t listen. He had been too busy enjoying the sunset with his wife that he had forgotten- forgotten about his father. Now it was his time to repay.

“Life is completing its cycle” he said to himself, “it is taking revenge from me. But I wouldn’t give up, I will fight another night of despair and desolation, I will survive to see my son, I will stay alive until I see my grand son, I will.”

He fell asleep. A deep sleep; result of the medicine he had been injected with.


Author’s note:

It was his daily routine. For four years now, he has been remembering and recollecting all memories and reminiscences every night before he falls to sleep. Hoping that he would see his son before his eternal sleep, hoping that he will never wake up again to suffer these miseries, hoping…
But the cycle continues.

Heaven Whispers

Fear. An eerie night brings fear into my mind, my imagination and my thought. Having spent my whole life searching for the truth- the truth which will set me free- the truth that will guide me- the truth that will bless me, I have even lost count- lost count of the lies, deceptions and shams that I, so blatantly, have committed to find the ultimate reality.

Figures, memories and emotions, are all running through the narrow tunnels of the grotesque, yet tiny, human mind that I possess. But aren’t they the creation of my own mind- the mind which has made me do things- the mind that has decided my fate- the mind that has shaped the reality- the mind that has formed the concept of ME. Do I even exist? Does the reality hold? What is reality? Who defines it? What is real and what is abstract? How do we even know that the person that we are today even exists or not in the universe? Or even does the universe exist or is it the mere thought of our minds? If this universe exists than God must have made it. But then God- What is God? Is it a simple explanation of things that are beyond our imagination or a real entity? Did God create reality or did we form the reality of God?

Silence. Deep silence. Far away from the shores of imagined realism, yes imagined realism, come whispers- whispers that pose these questions- whispers that compel me to find the answers- whispers that leave me clues to discover the veiled secrets, to find the ultimate truth. Yet as I move to unravel this vagueness, I find it impossible to do it without lies, without imagination and without deception. Ironical as it may seem, I am probing for truth by lying; I am searching for reality with abstract imagination. Still I move on- I move on in the hope of silencing these whispers- I move on in the hope of unearthing the mysteries- I move on in the hope of discovering I. I move on.

“Stop.”, Whispers again.

Over my shoulder I can hear whispers, calling my name, trying to stop me. Fear again. Questions running through my mind, yet fearful and terrified enough to not look backwards was I. My feet freeze again, my body stands still, my mind- my mind is battered by a barrage of fear, apprehension, curiosity and queries. Wind starts to blow; I can see it is changing direction now.

“Denial is not the best resort. Reality exists. God exists. I exist.”

“Move forward. I want answers.”

“I must stop, or it may be too late”

My mind is forcing me to budge forward, my feet not willing to do so. Fear running through my veins again- fear of the answers that might lie ahead- fear of the Reality- fear of losing heaven. Yet I want to move onwards to search for the ultimate truth. But fear is a potent, compelling and persuasive power. I have given up. I am not I, I am what heaven whispers. I am reality.

Silence

Silence. Complete silence encompassing every corner of the sea- a sea of hope and promise, a sea heralding the felicity. A part of the vast ocean filled with the water flowing down from the streams of tears, having their source in the glaciers of a battered mind. I am so worthless for I have tried to escape this silence- I have tried. I have tried to challenge the gigantic waves of this gargantuan ocean- I have. The island of success would never come closer; never close enough for me to fight away my fears.

Yet I started my journey- a journey, which I knew, won’t take me anywhere. But I had to put my courage to test. I just had to. The path was not easy, but I was not going to surrender. Hope was the foundation upon which I was building my empire of dreams. Dreams that might not appear to be of much importance to a normal person, but they were everything to me.

Hoping that one-day they’re going to reach the shores of realism. Expecting that all the dreams, all the fantasies will turn into reality. I jumped into this unfathomable ocean. Fighting against all odds, combating my own fears, defending the castle of my dreams. I was not going to hold back. The first sign of life I saw was a bird- a bird that was flying up so high. A bird filled with love, flying far away from me. I was avid; I needed something to fill my appetite for atonement.

Thunder. Thunder that broke the silence. Lightning crashed into that little bird. It fell right next to me. It was alive- alive and even more energetic and vibrant than me. It gave me strength- strength to fight the waves, strength to wipe away my tears. It made me realize- a realization of the verve I had, a realization that I could make it through all the ups and downs of my life.

Water came down from the clouds of contentment, water that washed heartrending thoughts away from my mind. I felt I was someone else, I felt complete, I felt contented.

Clock kept on ticking. Time was moving forward, or was it? Wasn’t the time moving backwards and we budging forward? Time… Time was going to change the course of my existence. For the first time I felt that I could make it. Was I wrong? Was I dreaming? I didn’t know. I just kept on augmenting my vigor from that bird- the bird that had taught me how to realize my dreams, how to defend them, how to find the islands of success. With winds pushing me away from the shores, with thunders deafening me, with lightning making me blind, I continued because I knew I had that bird.

That bird became my friend, my cohort, and my companion. It was my strength. It was my verve. It was my reason of existence. If it were not for that bird, I would have lost hope. I kept on trying, kept on moving. I could see the shores of realism right ahead. Was it an illusion? I hoped it wasn’t. Hope was the only thing that bound that bird and me together. We were so close to reality yet so far. Time was running out. Thunders were louder. Lightning was crashing. Windstorms were gaining strength.

I was not ready to give up but the bird just could not weather the storm- a storm that had united us- a storm that had awakened me- a storm that had given me hope that I could make it. It had left. It had left me amidst the cruel world of my own imagination. It had made me realize that I could not make it. It had betrayed me. It had given up on our dreams. It had made reality seem far away. It had lost me in the ocean of imagination. It had…

Lightning crashed and I was alone again. I was awake. I had given up on my dreams, aspirations, and fantasies. I had lost. I had realized that dreams never existed, that love never existed and that time never existed. It had made me realize that I did not exist- I was not the same person anymore. I was not I. I was mere chimera of what used to be reality. I was dead.

Silence. Silence again…

Democracy in Pakistan: Myth or Reality

The political environment of countries having colonial background is turbulent, evolutionary, and chaotic to say the least. From coasts of South Africa to Himalayas in South Asia, country after country has been marred by the political and social unrest. While many attribute it to the factors and policies of the governments that came into power after the country’s creation, I continue to believe that some of this instability may be linked with the colonial psychology prevalent in the ruling elite of these highly exploited nations. Highly marginalizing institutions in these countries continue to make sure that income and power disparities are here to stay.

Pakistan has been a victim of foreign sanctions and enormous criticism from the so-called advocates of democracy since the time of its inception. A fact that goes unnoticed undetected and remains to be underlined is that considering the volatile geo-political and socio-economic environment of Pakistan, it has been necessary for the military to intervene at certain stages of history in our country. The ground realities continue to remain the same and the feudalist system continues to dominate and exploit the already poor faction of the society. Therefore we need to further look into the minor details that amalgamate into decisive factors that shape our country’s democratic future.

First of all the fundamental reason that most of the critics tend to overlook is the fact that institutions and socio-economic structures that govern Pakistan have not been changed entirely since partition in 1947. British created these systems to exploit the local population and left with these structures and institutions lingering on. Faces have changed but system has not. From East India Company to the current ruling elite of Pakistan, the two hundred year old history has much in common.

The ruling elite of Pakistan which consists of feudal lords, bureaucrats and military has its own vested interests. As far as democracy in Pakistan is concerned it has never been there. A brief look at the history of Pakistan’s parliament would reveal that not a single member of parliament has been from a middle-class family. The so-called democracy runs in a few highly esteemed families who own the lands or factories. The middle class and lower class have been exploited again and again by the elite so much so that there is a huge chasm between them and the bourgeoisie class now. It’s in the interest of ruling elite not to let the masses get educated. It is, therefore, made sure behind the closed doors of Parliament that no such policy is developed which enables the masses to be educated enough to differentiate between the right and wrong. The consequence is that peasants of such landlords are forced to vote for their respective landowners. Once in power they exploit and subjugate the people who have voted for them. Self interests are given the highest priority even above the country. The cycle continues.

Some people believe that Islam can be blamed for the absence of true democracy in Pakistan. The difference lies in the definition of democracy. Islam promotes democracy in a way that all the important decisions are taken by the people who know what is in the best interests of the masses, people who can think rationally and people who can think above themselves. This is something that hasn’t been happening in Pakistan, and that has lead Pakistan to current state of affairs. If democracy is all about giving the voting rights to uneducated, subjugated, marginalized and exploited people who can not differentiate between right and wrong, than I am afraid we can not expect any change in the socio-economic structure of Pakistan. Faces will keep on changing from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to Benazir Bhutto and from Nawaz Sharif to Shahbaz Sharif but families will remain the same. The cycle will continue until there is a revolution or a military dictator who is willing to go against his own institution for betterment of the country. Till than we can sit in our luxurious homes and criticize Pakistan for not being a "Democratic State".

The October 1999 Coup: Reprisal or Conspiracy

People could be seen dancing in the streets on the night of 12th October 1999, when airports had been taken over, telephones stopped working in Islamabad and Sharif’s home town Lahore; the Army had taken over the government. The whole world was expecting this not to mention Sharif himself, who had just sacked Musharraf with the apprehension in his mind that if he did not do so, Musharraf will take over the reigns. Musharraf eventually did manage to take over the government, but there will be questions in people’s mind what really happened on 12th October 1999.

The history between Musharraf and Sharif begins to unfold in the aftermath of dismissal of General Jehangir Karamat, who was chief of army staff at that time. Musharraf was superseded above many senior generals, so that Sharif could manipulate him more easily, and made the army chief. Army was unhappy at the removal of General Karamat and at the attempts of Sharif to gain full control of the country through Shariah Law. This was considered as an attempt to nullify military establishment and bureaucracy. The turning point occurred in May 1999 when Pakistan army and Kashmiri militants sought control of the Kargil area in Kashmir supposedly on Musharraf’s orders. Pakistan gained tactical advantage and Indian Army was suffering heavy casualties there. What was more alarming for Indian PM, Atal Bihari Vajpai, was the fact that it all came after his visit to Lahore, when both countries were trying to solve their half a century old issues.

By late May and early June 1999, a serious military conflict was underway along a hundred and fifty kilometers border in the Kargil area. Pakistan denied its involvement; a claim which was not taken seriously anywhere around the world. The whole situation was further clouded for the outside observers because it was unclear that who was calling the shots in Islamabad. Sharif seemed to be genuinely interested in the peace process that had started in February 1999, while General Musharraf remained in a different mold. He was said to be a hardliner who had wanted to settle the score with India once and for all.
Given the nuclear capabilities of both South Asian neighbors, United States was forced to intervene. At first United States undersecretary Thomas Pickering informed both sides about its concerns in late may. Then US secretary of state, Madeline Albright, called Sharif, while General Tony Zinni called Musharraf, asking them both to withdraw Pakistani backed forces from Kargil. That message did not work. So, United States went public condemning the Pakistani initiative in the disputed territory and asked Pakistan to pull its troops back. The American stand made Sharif realize the fact that Pakistan was left isolated at the international forum and even evergreen partner China asked both sides to exercise restraint. By the end of June, Sharif had started to seek for American help to solve the problem. (Riedel, 2002)

On the 2nd of July, Sharif called President Bill Clinton asking him if he could visit Washington. President Clinton told him in clear terms he will only help in facing Pakistan’s face in international community if Pakistan was ready to withdraw its troops from Kargil. At that time Sharif seemed desperate to stay in power and it was obvious that his military was not backing him and was even trying to get him out of power. On 4th of July, Sharif finally arrived in Washington. He brought his whole family with him fearing that he might not be able to go back to Pakistan if he withdrew the forces. He told Washington that his military was asking him to take a tougher stand on Kashmir issue while he personally felt obliged to Lahore peace process. Washington was already annoyed at Sharif for carrying out the Nuclear Tests in May 1998 despite the offers of economic and military aid. US-Pakistan relationship was not helped by Pakistan’s involvement in Kargil either. Clinton told Sharif that once Kargil was over, India would have more credibility with US than Pakistan. Sharif was disappointed at American response and asked Clinton to help him stay in power and save Pakistan’s face. On 4th of July a joint statement was issued where Sharif announced troops’ withdrawal from Kargil to the displeasure of military back home.

The situation further deteriorated in Pakistan’s political arena. US knew that strings were being pulled by Army headquarters in Rawalpindi rather than Islamabad. Army was not at all happy at Sharif’s decision to withdraw the forces rendering the military a loser in the whole power game. Series of events, from General Karamat’s sacking to Sharif’s Shariah Law to Kargil withdrawal, had lead the army to believe that Sharif was trying to offset Army’s influence in country’s affairs. Army had started to plan a coup. At the army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, it had been decided that if Sharif took another step against the Army’s will, he will be overthrown.

Sharif was aware of the whole scenario and knew where to look for help. In September 1999, he sent his brother Shahbaz to Washington to inform them that all was not well in Islamabad. According to Bruce Riedel, special adviser to the President of United States, Shahbaz was interested in making Washington realize that his brother needed Washington’s help to stay in power. (Riedel, 2002) He told Clinton that a military coup was inevitable, but Washington denied any such intelligence information. Clinton told him that Washington won’t interfere in the internal affairs of any other country, a claim that could be found false in many other examples.

The final nail in Sharif’s coffin arrived on the evening of 12th October, 1999, when Musharraf was aboard a plane on his way back from Sri Lanka, he provoked the army to rebel by sacking him. Sharif made the grave mistake of not taking the army in confidence before committing such attempt. Musharraf’s plane was bound for Karachi when Sharif sacked him. Karachi airports’ runway lights had been turned off and the runway was blocked by fire vehicles. Musharraf was called to the cockpit of the plane and was told about the whole situation. He was told that his plane won’t be allowed to land anywhere in Pakistan jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of people in that plane. The pilot told him that the plane did not have much fuel to continue to Dubai and Musharraf won’t agree to land in India. (Jones, 2002)
He asked the pilot to inform the authorities about the situation and how it could end hundreds of innocent lives. Sharif was made aware of this fact, and he asked General Ziauddin, the newly appointed army chief, to take over the Nawabshah airport, in northern Sindh, and ordered the plane to be refueled and forced to leave. By this time Army had become aware of the ground realities and took charge of the things. They took over Sharif’s residence and put him under house arrest. The newly appointed army chief was with Sharif and he was taken into custody as well. The next step that army took was to take over Karachi Airport and inform the pilot to come back to Karachi. Musharraf was made aware of the ground situation, but he was not ready to believe it. He considered it as a plan to capture him. He ordered the plane to stay in air despite the fact that fuel was going down. It was not until he had talked to a close friend who was a general in Army that he decided to land in Karachi. (Jones, 2002)

The aftermath of the whole 12th October scenario came in the shape of the military coup. The list of reasons may go on and on but the fact remains that the incidents that lead to 12th October, include the running over of Supreme Court by Sharif’s supporters, removal of General Jehangir Karamat, the nuclear tests of May 1998, Shariah law and Kargil war. Sharif stood alone amidst the Military, United States and Pakistani public. United States did not help him because they were annoyed at him for nuclear tests and Kargil war. Military never came to terms with him and Pakistanis in general didn’t like him for his government’s socio-economic policies. The lessons to be learnt here are that no matter how much you advocate democracy, the reality is much different. In a country like Pakistan, where history is marred with dictatorships after every decade democracy can’t work. People might say that United States doesn’t play an active role in Pakistan’s foreign policy anymore, but even the most recent and significant event in our history shows that no matter how much we deny it, we are still a victim of colonialism or neo-colonialism or whatever name you might like to give. Maybe someday we’ll be able to stand up on our feet and take our decisions on our own. Till then our prime ministers and presidents will keep on flying to Washington and obey the orders of their capitalist masters.





Reference:

Jones, Owen Bannett. Pakistan: the eye of the storm, New Haven: Yale University press, 2002

Riedel, Bruce. American Diplomacy and 1999 Kargil Summit.2002. Center for the Advanced Study of India, Pennsylvania University, .

Globalization of Capitalism

In today’s world, we have global terrorism, global alliances, global technologies and global multinational giants whose commercial interests lie in producing more of the same for as many people as possible. But this globalization has its good as well as dire impacts on the world’s political system. The world we see today is anarchic in nature to say the least. We have conflicts and disharmony all around the globe. The disparities between developed and developing countries are ever-increasing. The question that arises then is; are we moving in a positive direction?

The first world countries that are developed, have a democratic political system, and are technologically advanced and wealthy are now called Global North. Global south consists of countries once described as the second world and the third world. The second world countries believed in the common economic reforms and were influenced by the communism. The third world countries are underdeveloped and mostly have a colonial background. They don’t have proper democratic governments, lack technological progress and are dependant on the wealthy global north.

The end of the Cold War brought a new era of economic globalization, the era in which free trade and force of freedom was to be promoted. It was hoped that capitalism will help the third world countries to improve their economic conditions. The proponents
of capitalism argued that capitalism was based upon the human beings’ natural instinct of choice and freedom. According to them, the system that they were bringing into the world would not only benefit the rich countries but will also be a vital factor in improving the deteriorating economies of third world countries, because, according to capitalists, the system was based on justice. [Rand, Ayn] In many ways capitalism was beneficial in eliminating slavery, feudalism and racism among many other things.

However, the free trade system was imposed on the developing countries before they were ready to accept it. Organizations such as the W.T.O were formed under the rules formulated by rich countries. These developed countries wanted the South to fall in line. World Bank and IMF, which were also controlled by the First World, gave loans to the developing countries. These loans helped the First World to impose neo-imperialism on the Global South. Over the years, the level of debt service of many developing countries, particularly from Africa and Latin America, has become incompatible with sustainable development, which shows the shackles that neo-imperialism has imposed on these countries.

With the advent of globalization, it was hoped that it would bring peace, prosperity and improvement of the whole world due to the free movement of capital, goods and services. However, it has not been able to realize these high hopes and the growth has been uneven. Disparity in income and wealth between nations continues to be a major concern. Commenting on the globalization and its impacts on marginalization of Global South, the secretary general of United Nations Mr. Kofi Annan said:

"Despite its advantage of increasing wide choices and new opportunities for both individuals and nations worldwide due to rapid spread of technology and more advanced modern skills, globalization has its dark side which led to the marginalization of poor countries in particular." [Annan Blames South Marginalization on Globalization, 2000]

It is a fact that globalization has so far not worked for the developing countries. It has rather made them susceptible to peripheral shocks and accentuated their economic problems. In fact, liberalization of economies and open markets has in many ways negatively affected the fragile economies of the world's poorest nations. The obvious outcome is persistent poverty and ever-widening income, social and technological gaps between the "haves" and the "have-nots".
The core reason for the underdevelopment of Global South is explained by dependency theorists. According to them, the cause of low levels of development among the Global South countries is their dependency on more developed countries. Theotonio Dos Santos defines dependency as:


"an historical condition which shapes a certain structure of the world economy such that it favors some countries to the detriment of others and limits the development possibilities of the subordinate economics" [Dos Santos, 1971]

The dependency of the Global South on the Global North can be attributed to the fact that these countries don’t have specialization of goods that developed countries possess due to their technologically sophisticated industries. It leads to the need for trade between developed and developing countries. The trade between the technologically superior countries and less developed countries gives the developing countries the hope that they can eventually catch up with the first world. The cause of such high hopes lies with the inflow of foreign direct investment coming from the developed world. The real picture is anything but like this in most cases. Multinational Companies (MNCs) set up their plants in developing countries in order to allure the host country’s people to believe that their country is getting much needed economic growth.

The irony of this whole scenario is that the developed countries, having the upper hand, can impose their policies in return for these goods as well as the foreign direct investment that they provide. The investment coming from these developed countries is not primarily trying to sustain the growth of the economy of the host state; instead it is there because of low labor wages, cheap raw materials and convenient tax laws. The host country, being on the receiving end, can’t resist the policies implemented by the large multinational companies fearing that it would lead to drawing of investment. Thus, the profits of such organizations increase which they take back to their home country instead of investing it in the host country’s economy. Right from the beginning, third world countries were coercively incorporated into the European economic structure only as producers of raw materials or to serve as repositories of low-priced labor, and were deprived of the opportunity to market their resources in any way that competed with the core states. Muhammad Bennouna, the chairman of G-77 expressed his concerns over the issue saying:

"We do believe that most developing countries continue to face problems of access to markets, capital and technology and many grappled with the structural transformation necessary for their integration into the world economy". [G-77 Chairman Warns of Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor Nations, 2003]

This marginalization of economies of Global South by the Global North can be traced to globalization of capitalism. Capitalism's ideal is a borderless global economy in which money and goods can be moved freely in search of short-term maximum profits without regard to its consequence for people, communities and nature. The critics of capitalism continuously argue that the mass of people in Africa and Asia are literally starving to death on a daily basis, as a result of the globalization of capitalism and its exploitation of the working classes of these regions. When we speak of capitalism and its rise to prominence at the time of globalizations we are talking about big western corporations and their control of the world's markets and production as discussed above. Unprecedented wealth exists in this world alongside abject poverty, with massive disparities in levels of economic and social development. Statistics in this regard are staggering.

• Global North has 23% of the world’s population, and 85% of the world’s income, while Global South has 77% of the world’s population, and 15% of the world’s income.
• The world's poorest 50 countries are home to 20 per cent of the world's population, yet they account for less than 2 per cent of the world's income.
• The 20 per cent of the world's population at the top of the income ladder receives 83 per cent of global income.
• The 20 per cent of the world's population at the bottom of the income ladder receives only 1.5 per cent of global income.
• In 1994, transnational corporations racked up sales of over $4.8 trillion, a volume larger than all of world trade put together.
• The United States remains the world's "powerhouse of wealth", according to Forbes Magazine, which reported that, in 1994, 129 of the world's 388 billionaires lived there, the richest individual having a net worth of $13.4 billion. (UN, 1996)

Factors other than globalization, which contributed to the slow economic growth or in some cases no growth at all in the developing countries, are numerous. Although not a single one of them stands out to be as imperative and gloomy as globalization. The colonial past of many developing states left them with a conflict regarding their identity.

Many colonizers intentionally created differences among their colonies, which lead to a continuous arms race. This arms race crippled the economies of developing countries like India and Pakistan. The present state of poor economic conditions in the Global South, the low quality of life and the lack of development in developing countries lead to greater frustration among their people. Due to this frustration, some countries suffered military rule, while others suffered from ethnic and sectarian conflicts. Lack of employment, sectarian and ethnic conflicts, high rates of illiteracy and disregard for law and order were some of the factors that hindered the economic progress.

Although there are exceptional cases in which countries like Asian Tigers have used the globalization of capitalism to their advantage to catch up with the developed world. But generally capitalism has lead to the exploitation of the poorest countries of the world. The statistics mentioned above portray the real picture that capitalists try to hide. Though in some cases capitalism has succeeded to fulfill the expectations of some developing countries, but more often than not it has allowed for the marginalization of Global South by Global North, making the developed countries more rich and developing countries poorer. Criticism of globalization of capitalism doesn’t necessarily imply that communism is its only alternative. Communism has its dark sides as well, which, in my view, are even darker than capitalism. We have tried Communism and globalization of capitalism, and both of them have failed miserably in lessening the income, social and technological disparities between countries. May be its about time we try to find a new economic model for the betterment of the whole world that will decrease if not eliminate this division between Global South and Global North.

Bibliography:

Rand, Ayn. Capitalism. 2003. Accessed 2 Nov. 2004

Theotonio Dos Santos, "The Structure of Dependence," in K.T. Fann and Donald C. Hodges, eds., Readings in U.S. Imperialism. Boston: Porter Sargent, 1971, p.226.

"Annan Blames South Marginalization on Globalization" People, 13 April 2000. Accessed 06 November 2004

"G-77 Chairman Warns of Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor Nations" Journal of Group 77 16/2 (2003). Accessed 02 Nov. 2004

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Science vs Religion: A Typical Never-Ending Saga

Dawkins: Hi, How are you doing?

Yahya: I am good. What about you?

Dawkins: I am good too. I am pleased to meet you at this seminar. I have read quite a lot of your writings, although they have not convinced me at all. That’s why I wanted to have a dialogue with you on the topic of evolution.

Yahya: Yeah, I have heard about you as well. I am very glad that I met you here. I read that evolutionists believe that life was created by chance.

Dawkins: Yes. We do.

Yahya: Laboratory experiments and probabilistic calculations have definitely made it clear that the proteins from which life arises could not have been formed by chance.

Dawkins: I can see what you are getting at. Please go ahead.

Yahya: There are twenty different amino acids. If we consider that an average-sized protein molecule is composed of 288 amino acids, there are 10 300 different combinations of acids. Of all of these possible sequences, only "one" forms the desired protein molecule. The other amino-acid chains are either completely useless or else potentially harmful to living things. In other words, the probability of the coincidental formation of only one protein molecule cited above is "1 in 10 300 ". The probability of this "1" occurring out of an "astronomical" number consisting of 1 followed by 300 zeros is for all practical purposes zero; it is impossible.

Dawkins: This approach to a definition of complexity is promising my friend, but something more is still needed. There are billions of ways of throwing together the bits of Mont Blanc, it might be said, and only one of them is Mont Blanc. So what is it that makes the humans complicated, if Mont Blanc is simple?

Yahya: I don’t understand what you are saying. Could you explain it more?

Dawkins: If you consider all possible ways in which rocks have been put together at Mont Blanc, it can be seen that only one will make Mont Blanc. Any chunk of large rocks could have been labeled a mountain or Mont Blanc. The problem lies with our hindsight. We know that it is Mont Blanc because of our hindsight. We cannot believe that an airliner can be made out of scattered parts by itself, because odds are against it in large numbers. Our hindsight tells us that some company must have made this plane because it cannot make itself.

Yahya: Even if we put aside the chances of the creation of life, another hindrance in proving evolution theory is that you have not been able to find any fossils, which belong to the species, which was neither a human being nor an ape. Although there have been claims like that of Piltdown Man. But they have been proved wrong again and again.

Dawkins: I knew that you would ask this question. Theo logicians often quote the example of eye and evolutionists argue about its evolution. The fact of the matter is that eyes don’t fossilize. As far as other missing links are concerned, I don’t think much work has been done since Darwin presented his theory of evolution. It will take time, but I am sure at some time we will be able to find the fossils of the missing species between humans and apes.

Yahya: Do you think that everything in life has no creator? Do you say that it has no purpose? If you wake up in the morning and you see the sun from your window, would you say that it is by chance that every day you see sun coming from east? Don’t you think that everything that surrounds us requires the ultimate skill and intelligence on the part of its creator? Lets consider the example of the stapler pin. If you think that its shape and creation was by chance, and its purpose came into existence when people thought about its use, I am afraid that you are terribly wrong. Any logical person will tell you that stapler pin was made for the very purpose of keeping papers together. If it is true for such simple thing as a stapler pin, than how come much more complex creations like human beings are created from chance and have no specific purpose?

Dawkins: I don’t completely disagree with you in this regard. I do believe that life was created by chance. But the natural selection is its planning controller. Natural selection does not plan in advance and it has no purpose in view except for the survival of the fittest. It is the master planner for the human beings and other species present on this earth. It gives us the illusion of there being a master creator and designer behind everything. Lets take the example of bats. They have been able to use radar technology for millions of years. They use this technique to hunt for preys in the night. They hunt in the night because of natural selection. They can’t hunt in the day because in the daylight there are too many animals that are hunting for preys. So they have to opt for hunting in the night. We have used the same technology in radar and sonar. Our experience of technology does impress upon us the need for the purposeful designer behind the sophisticated machinery. In the case of living machinery, it is the natural selection that has made bats to use their voice and ears for traveling in the night. So, the designer is unconscious natural selection.

Yahya: My friend, I guess we both belong from different schools of thought. No matter how much I explain my viewpoint it is not going to make any difference. So, I guess we should end this discussion here.

Dawkins: We agree on one thing eventually. Lets end it here. It was nice spending time with you.

Yahya: May God bless you.

Dawkins: Yeah! I wonder if God is blessed himself or not!!!