Colonialism and Pakistan | Daily Writeups | Opinions
The following article, “What is Colonialism, and How Did It Affect Pakistan?“, is written by Baber Ali, a student of Sir Syed Kazim Ali. Moreover, the article is written on the same pattern, taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. Sir Kazim has uploaded his students’ solved past paper questions so other thousands of aspirants can understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Debunking the term Colonialism
3-Historical Background of Colonialism: A critical overview
4-What are the aims behind Colonialism?
- ✓The economic exploitation of the colony’s people
- ✓The exploitation of natural resources
- ✓The creation of new markets for colonizers
5-How did Colonialism affect Pakistan?
- ✓Fueled racism due to colonialism
- Case in Point: “Divide and Rule Policy” and “The Criminal Tribe Act”
- ✓Indentured slavery after colonialism
- Case in Point: According to the Digital Encyclopedia for European History, between 1834 and 1920, several 1,275,000 indentured Indian labourers were sent to British colonies.
- ✓Destroyed local industries and handy crafts of the sub-continental basis due to colonialism
- Case In Point: Trade Restriction upon the sub-continent
- ✓Human Rights Violation owing to colonialism
- Case in Point: Jalian wala Bagh incident
- ✓Exploitation of resources as a result of colonialism
- Case in Point: According to an economic historian, Utsa Patnaik, “Britain had taken $45 trillion from India throughout colonization.”
- ✓Inappropriate division of borders, leading towards disputes
- Case in Point: The Durand Line
- ✓The fall of Dhaka
- Case in Point: Ayesha Jalal, in her book “The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics”, blames Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s dictator-like attitude being the cause of Dhaka’s fall.
- ✓Presence of colonial mindset in bureaucracy
- Case in Point: According to the Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies, the bureaucracy still acts on the 19th-century system of civil services introduced by English colonial masters.
- ✓Prevailed feudal system
- Case in Point: Feudalism in Sindh and Balochistan
6-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Colonialism, the pursuit, establishment and maintenance of control and exploitation of a state’s people and resources by a foreign group of people, is an ancient technique in which a strong state expands its control and power to weak states. On behalf of colonialism, the colonizers used to impose their cultural practices, language, and religion upon the peoples of the subjugated state. The British mainly used the approach, and colonial India remained the most prominent example of it. To comprehend the concept of colonialism, it is a must to understand the aims of it. Amongst the aims, economic exploitation of the colony’s people, natural resource exploitation, and new markets for the colonizer sit atop. Further, it is a dynamic process undergoing several transformations, but the core objectives remain the same. Globalization, economic imperialism, and conditional aid are the new modern forms of colonialism. As far as the exploiting motives of colonialism are concerned, it is understood that the process is a mere curse for underdeveloped and developing countries, and sadly, Pakistan has remained no exception before and after her inception. Compromised sovereignty, outbreak of apartheid, destruction of local industry, mass killings, and border disputes were the tactics of the menace that prevailed in the sub-continent. However, the country is still facing the consequences of the peril, and colonial mentality is impeding the country socially, politically, and economically. The fall of Dhaka, bureaucracy working upon the British mindset, prevailing feudal system, and biased judicial system are the looming hazards practised in the country. This essay sheds light upon the concept of colonialism and how it did affect Pakistan.
To begin with, Colonialism, originating from the Latin word colonus, which means farmer, is a concept that deals with the control, power, and exploitation of an unstable state by the hands of a more vital state. Collins Dictionary states, “Colonialism is a practice by which a powerful country directly controls less powerful countries and uses their resources to increase its own power and wealth.” To understand, the expansion of a nation’s rule beyond its borders is colonialism. The state that expands its powers is termed the `colonizing country` while the victim state is called the `colonized state`. In short, the ultimate objective behind such occupying of land or expanding of control is to fetch social, political, and, above all, economic gains. From another perspective, it involves settling foreigners in the colonized state who facilitate the subjugation of the state, though the settlers still maintain their allegiance to their mother state. Thus, it is a concept of acquiring full or partial control over a state.
Historically, colonialism is an age-old concept, and still, it is being practised in the world. In antiquity, empires practised colonialism, such as Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, and Phoenicia. These civilizations extended their borders into surrounding and non-contiguous areas from about 1550 B.C. onward, establishing colonies. In the modern era, around 1500, the Europeans expanded their control to the rest of the world while discovering a sea route around Africa’s southern coast and America. To make the concept clear, the colonization of North America by England, Central America by Spain, and Siberia by Russia is a glaring example of expanding control over the territories of another state. Moreover, the sub-continent has remained a colony under the rule of the British for 89 years while there are still 17 colonies- Monsterat, Sent Helena, Gibraltar, etc., present in the world. So, the roots of the policy can be traced back from history to the present day.
Regarding the motives of the process, economic exploitation of the subjugated states is the ultimate mission of the colonizers. The colonizer exploits the colonized public by imposing heavy taxes to transfer such capital to its mother state; the former has no allegiance with the victim’s state despite residing there. The exploitation is done in several ways, such as forced labour, forcefully inducting the poor people into labour; unequal trade relationships, heavily favouring the colonizer’s own economy; and land dispossession, confiscating the colony’s land. Hence, such are the tactics through which the indigenous people of the colony are exploited by the colonizers.
Second, the colonizers not only exploit the public but also the precious natural resources of the colony. They make resource-rich countries their colonies and exploit the target’s wealth and resources. Despite being resource-rich, the colonies remain unable to utilize their resources. Colonized India is the most outstanding example; the British looted tons of gold from the colony and transferred the metal to Britain. Thus, the dispossession of the colony’s resources is the foremost aim of the colonizers.
Third, creating new markets was another objective of colonialism. Although the colonizer state has a well-established industry, it needs new markets to sell its goods. So, the colonizers sought to establish new markets for their manufactured goods. For working in the industry, raw material is needed, and colonies are the sites from which such material is extracted by the grabbers. Thus, the colony was exploited in the process of creating new markets.
Globally, except for some countries, every country experienced a wave of colonization. The stronger ones became the colonizers while the poor ones remained a colony. Moving towards Asia, the sub-continent remained a colony of the British, and colonialism had a profound impact on Pakistan. Among the impacts was fueled racism by the British sit. The British implemented their divide-and-rule policy in the sub-continent and ignited a flame of apartheid backed with religious and socio-cultural extremism. The promulgation of the Criminal Tribes Act was a tactic to fuel apartheid in the region. They criminalized entire communities by categorizing them as habitual criminals. Because of this label, restrictions on their movements were also imposed. This was a legal discrimination initiated by the colonizer. While the British did not remain to just legal discrimination, religious extremism was also fueled between the Muslims and the Hindus under the policy of divide and rule. Henceforth, it is true that racism was brought by the British in the subcontinent.
Next to it, the practice of indentured slavery was introduced by the occupier. The poor people of the sub-continent were made forced slaves, and they were transferred to the colonies of Britain. According to the Digital Encyclopedia for European History, between 1834 and 1920, 1,275,000 indentured Indian labourers were sent to British colonies. The labourers were forcefully dispatched to the colonies and made to work there without any wages, and they were given just some food to survive. In brief, the suppressor initiated the inhumane trend in the region.
Moreover, the destruction of the subcontinent’s local industry and handicrafts was an intentional plan of the British. In the past, the region was considered a well-known industry for textiles and handicrafts, but the arrival of the colonizer destroyed the well-established industry system. Most foreign trade was restricted to Britain, meaning the subcontinent could only trade with Britain. While the sub-continent was rich in raw materials, the British used to buy the raw materials, manufacture goods, and sell those in the colony’s markets. The colonizersed the monopoly region, which affected the region’s local industry to a large extent.
Along with the brutal massacres were one of the tragedies of colonialism in the sub-continent. There was a human rights violation in the region, and thus, the public was at the mercy of the colonizer. In this regard, the Jalian Wala Bagh incident is a glaring example, depicting the objective of mass killing under the banner of colonialism. In the incident, several 1500 peaceful Protestants were killed by General Dyer without any reason. As this was a heinous act of human rights violation, it depicts that the way of colonialism is paved with human rights violations.
Next to it, the exploitation of resources, the core and foremost objective of colonialism, was done in the colonial region to a large extent. An economic historian, Utsa Patnaik said, “Britain had taken $45 trillion from the sub-continent throughout colonization.” While the colony was extremely rich in resources, such as gold and silver, the metals were looted from the region. As a result, the area, considered one of the wealthiest regions in the world, fell into the category of developing region after the end of the colonialism era. Thus, it has been proved that colonialism is related to the exploitation of resources.
Additionally, inappropriate division of borders, leading towards disputes, is a threatening remark which is left by colonialism. In the case of Pakistan, the Durand Line is an exemplification of it. After the inception of Pakistan, Afghanistan has been claiming that the border line drawn by the British is null and void, and the Afghans do not consider it an official border. As a matter of fact, several retaliations have happened between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Hence, the disputed borderline is the by-product of colonialism.
After the post-independence era, colonialism became obsolete in Pakistan, but a colonial mentality remained. Sadly, the colonial mentality has been impeding the country socially, politically, and economically till now. Similarly, the lawmakers’ colonial mindset resulted in Dhaka’s fall. In her book “The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics”, Ayesha Jalal blames Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s dictator-like attitude for being the cause of the Dhaka fall. In 1971, West Pakistan, now Bangladesh, parted ways from East Pakistan because of the colonial policies being practised by East Pakistan. In brief, Pakistan lost its integral part due to the colonial mindset of some policymakers.
Similarly, there is a colonial mindset in the bureaucracy of the country, and it has resulted in bad governance. The governance system of the country is being highly affected by the mentality. According to the Legatum Prosperity Index, Pakistan is ranked 118th on the good governance index. Thus, the report shows the country’s pathetic condition of governance due to the bureaucracy impressed by colonialism. Additionally, according to the Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies, the bureaucracy still acts on the 19th-century system of civil services introduced by English colonial masters. The report is enough to elaborate on the country’s bureaucracy’s mindset.
Still, the feudal system is present in the country’s society, even though some regions are controlled by feudal lords. The feudals exercise their own laws and justice system in their specific areas. The British introduced the feudal system as they allotted acres of land to those who showed sincerity. After its inception, India completely destroyed the system, but Pakistan has been unable to wipe out such a curse. The system affects the country’s social, political, and economic progress as the feudal, having control over the public, getting elected in the powerhouses, and playing with the nation’s fate. Therefore, abolishing the system is necessary for the country’s progress.
In summary, colonialism did affect Pakistan the way no other evil did. The presence of extremism and apartheid, based upon discrimination; violation of human rights; mass-killings massacres; exploitation, humanly and economic; and inappropriate border division, leading to disputes, are the consequences of the process faced by the country. Moreover, the colonial mindset led to the separation of West Pakistan from East Pakistan. In brief, colonialism has made the country suffer socially, politically, and economically.
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