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December     Last updated: December 23 : 7:00 p.m.

World Window
“The dictators” exploited

Atul Rawat

One upon a time, “the dictatorship of Proletariat” in China used to instill such feelings in the bosoms of Indian Communists as ‘China's chairman is our chairman.’ But interestingly, as the reality is revealing itself it is China which is exploiting its proletariat the most. This exploitation is one of the most major factors which have led to the flooding of various international markets with extremely cheap Chinese products. The Chinese make their products at very low costs. Xerxes Desai, the Titan Vice-chairman and Managing Director told in an interview that the low costs of the Chinese watches are due to “heavy exploitation of labour” and government protction. He also spoke of an indulgent financial sector which provides loans at low interest rates. This has led to a huge over capacity in China, which in turn has resulted in a price war. So despite their own business suffering they are perceived as a world wide threat. Even the Indian Confederation of Industry has demanded protection against this new Chinese invasion. The Chinese government is giving away large amounts in subsidies too and their tax regimes are also much more liberal than our own tax structures. Whereas the overall taxation on an average on the total production in China is 5.7 per cent, the Indian figure stands at 8.6 per cent.

In still simpler terms, it will mean that a Chinese Industrialist gives Rs 5.70 as tax to the government on every one hundred rupees production, whereas an Indian industrialist has to dole out Rs 8.60 as tax for the same hundred rupees production. Other factors like comparative lack of corruption, strong political will to help its own businessman and very strong punishments are also responsible for the Chinese being able to produce large scale cheap goods. The character of the Chinese State has become oligarchic and the new oligarchs of China are the leaders of the Chinese Communist party who are still technically part of the great dictatorship of the proletariat. The concentration of political and economic powers in the hand of these few Oligarchs has led to great regional disparities where the coastal China is comparable to any developed country, while people are still forced to live in caves in Yanan, where once upon a time Mao established his first Soviet in early 1930s and where Edgar Snow, a Yankee journalist interviewed him in his cave in a dim candle light.

The exile deal

Despite the Pakistani military adminsitration's claim to the contrary there seems to be a strong pressure applied by Saudi Arabians which finally resulted in the exile deal in which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan was released from jail and allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia being a sort of religious centre for Muslims world-wide, has tried to evolve itself as host nation for former Islamic rulers and dictators etc., who need protection due to their past deeds. Saudi Arabia had applied some pressure on Zia-ul-Haq also to send Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Saudi Arabia rather than execute him. The military dictator refused and executed Bhutto but that made the military administration quite unpopular in Pakistan. The present military administration probably perceives that the negative response of Zia administration had plunged the country in an unending political turmoil which a more pragmatic “chief executive officer” Gen. P. Musharraf wishes to avoid.

That is why, the exile deal could be finally brought about. Moreover, the Paksitani administration seems to have satisfied itself that Nawaz Sharif will not be able to carry on any political campaign from Saudi Arabia as the Saudis do not allow such “guests” to be active in politics. The finest example is that of the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin who is enjoying the lavish hospitality of the Saudi Arabians despite his spotlessly black past with his nineteen wives but without any political activily. When Amin began to use his telephone a little too much to give interview on BBC the Saudi officials promptly cut his international phone facility. The pragmatic Parvez was persuaded to pardon Sharif on the logic that it would be a pro-active Islamic act to set him free as well as a politically wise decision. The Saudi government has already given an assurance that the Sharifs would not take part in politics.

The military regime has also claimed that Sharifs had also given an undertaking in writing that they will not take part in politics. An economically and politically beleagured junta could hardly afford two Ns, (Nuclear proliferation restrictions and Nawaz) at the same time. So it was a political ncessity for the men in Khaki to relieve themselves of the lesser N and that is why despite there being no provision in the constitution of Pakistan to force any citizen to live in exile, Nawaz Sharif has been sent abroad. A major legal opinion in Pakistan is that exile is illegal and unconstitutional and the President has no power to convert imprisonment to exile but then this exile is more in the form of a deal than an order by a CEO.