RUTHLESS EXPLOITATION BY THE BRITISH
Political Background
In 1613, when a British company by the name of the East India company was granted permission by the Mughal emperor Jehangir to start their trading activities, nobody imagined that the British would one day rule India. Starting from the West coast they gradually established their centre on the East coast and in Bengal. Bengal was then under Mughal rule. In 1717, Murshid Kuli Khan was appointed as the Subadar (administrator) of Bengal. At this time, Bengal was for all intents and purposes independent, though nominally it was under Mughal rule. In 1756, after the death of Nawab Alivardy, Sirajuddaula, who succeeded him, was the last independent ruler of Bengal. Lord Clive was then the governor of the East India Company in Bengal. Lord Clive hatched a conspiracy with the commander in Chief of Nawab's army, Mirjafar, and defeated Sirajuddaula in the battle of Palashii in 1757. After this victory, the British aggressively expanded their domination of India.
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"In economic life there is extreme inequality and exploitation. Although colonialism no longer exists openly in the political and economic sphere, still it persists indirectly, and this should not be tolerated... In this respect you should remember that in economic life, we will have to guarantee the minimum requirements of life to one and all... There cannot be any sort of adjustment as far as this point is concerned. The minimum purchasing requirement must be guaranteed to all. Today these fundamental essentialities are not being guaranteed. Rather, people are being guided by deceptive economic ideas like outdated Marxism, which has proven ineffective in practical life and has not been successfully implemented in any corner of the world. Why do people still believe in such a theory, which has never been proved successful? The time has come for people to make a proper assessment of whether they are being misguided or not." |
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"Human beings have still not been able to form a human society, and have still not learned to move with the spirit of a pilgrim. Although many small groups, motivated by self-interest, work together in particular situations, not even a small fraction of their work is done with a broader social motive. By strict definition, shall we have to declare that each small family unit is a society in itself? If going ahead in mutual adjustment only out of narrow self-interest or momentary self-seeking is called society, then in such a society, no provision can be made for the disabled, the diseased or the helpless, because in most cases nobody can benefit from them in any way... in that case there always remains the possibility of some people getting isolated from the collective. All human beings must attach themselves to others by the common bond of love and march forward hand in hand; then only will I proclaim it a society." |