Credit: theasiandefence
There is a ‘outrageous scandal’ that half of the world’s poor live in South Asia. It’s not exciting to live in such a region where poverty has devoured the land despite having wealth of natural resources. Inequitable development, high concentration of wealth and power to minority elites, unequal distribution of resources and opportunities, brain draining, rationalizing corruption at all layers of society, unhealthy competition and lust for power have infected the very essence of humane progress in the region resulting millions of poor fighting over limited resources on the street. On the other side, in the garden of Eden, few elites by exploiting political capital rejoicing life and having amusement abusing their slaves.
According to World Bank,
The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa. 71% infant mortality rate per 1000 live births in Pakistan and 40% people living below poverty line in Bangladesh.
Government and non government actors talked loud on eradicating poverty, though economic indicator has gone little high in the last couple of years, achievement is not worth for appreciation. Though sometimes, it had been observed that imperial and colonial masters had appreciated economic success in the region but that does not really mean significant improvement of mass life and livelihoods. Impressive financial growth in the recent years does not really shed light on lack of quality lives for ordinary citizens.
Most importantly, unequal access to public services, natural resources, and opportunities have created unjust land of income disparities and safe heaven for corrupt people. The new dimension of ‘political economy’ based on criminal acts and corruption has generated a group of beneficiaries who are within the circle of power as well as benefits. And the rest millions outside the garden of Eden living miserably despair for food, shelter and employment just to make sure their existence. A little possibility might be through nepotism and favoritism, but to become blessed by nepotism, one needs to get through ‘culture of sycophancy’. Therefore, there is a need to awaken mass people on values for building a social system that should be based on grace, respect, hard work, ethics, dignity and conscience and eventually shining light upon the dark region. And rewarding citizens who deserve it than feeding worthless, dumb and corrupt at decisive roles.
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
India was the world’s largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 per cent of global arms imports. The four next largest recipients of arms in 2007–2011 were South Korea (6 per cent of arms transfers), Pakistan (5 per cent), China (5 per cent) and Singapore (4 per cent).
Out of top five arms importers, two countries are from South Asia including first place. South Asian may not feel that much proud visualizing the grim pictures of child mortality, despair of unemployment among low-income group, suicidal farmers, once happy village families crumbling around in the urban slums, women and children with begging bowl in the traffic signals, food adulteration and mass poisoning through food substance, sign of sick and crippled generation ahead and millions other at the ‘nothing to lose’ mode in the face of drought, cyclone and disasters.
It could haunt any person with little conscience that such a big chunk of money is supposed to spend for changing fate of these helpless citizens than accumulating weapons of mass destruction. Starting from cold era’s superpower theme to warming era’s WMD, it is so ominous that someone does not want us to live in peace, harmony and bliss creating a symphony. On the contrary, someone empowers and encourages vengeance to carry on arms race, conflict and wars, famine and hunger, child labor, unethical business through poisoning foods and agricultural products, anguish, anger, suicidal blasts and mass abuse by ruthless corrupt. We need to revolutionize ‘weapons of mass values’ and prove that human civilization can be ruled from ‘humane’; at least prove it before the world comes to an end.
DevRights 