ARE WE REALLY POOR OR INDUCED POOR?

Who made us poor?

Raj K Pandey, MBS, MA Abstract

The root-cause of poverty is an outcome of system fault in a nation that is the cumulative by-product of negligence of state authorities. In the context of Nepal, today’s our overall problems are the consequences of yesterday’s solutions. When the weakest groups of the people asked us to listen, we started giving them advice. When they initiated for a positive change, we stopped and warned them that they should not act on that way. We trampled on their feelings, when they wished to work within the system. We enforced our vested interests to solve their problems and we failed them particularly after the unification of Nepal.

All we were asked were: we should, at least, respect them; value them; accept them as human beings and let them also survive with us. But, we ignored their feelings; killed their emotions; suppressed their voices and excluded their survival rights, too. Nothing, however, remains the same forever in this world and it eventually brings ups and downs. Consequently, the suppressed group of the people talked loudly; the slept downtrodden class of people wake-up; the seated helpless poor people stand-up and weakest rural people become the strongest, when they knew that they can do anything for themselves; they are not helpless; may be discouraged and faltered. The Maoist insurgency fueled the movements in Nepal, which is an outcome of poverty, system fault and social exclusion among the rural communities.

Finally, they lifted the aged old chains and choose their lives in different way-do or die! They converted themselves into the Maoist. These groups of strongly determined worriers can hardly do good for others, who even do not care for themselves.

Now, imagine, how unsecured we are to live in such a conflicting circumstances. So, either we must find a proper way or make it one to overcome them by bringing all excluded into the mainstream politics of the country. Let’s, therefore, wage another effective war together, which may be last one but the best one. And, all the minorities and marginalized group of people should be included into nation building process by providing them greater opportunities for active participation for the rural development of Nepal.

To change others, we first of all, should alter ourselves and use our creative approaches to the problems and opportunities. For this, we should learn from our previous mistakes and thoroughly understand ourselves. If our goal is superior, we must be target oriented and never compromise with missions and visions for the backward community development of the country.

To solve the Maoist problem in Nepal, the government including we should always consider the excluded people. Listen their voices before judging; guide those, who are misdirected; maintain a liberal attitude and give them values as human and citizen of Nepal. Just accept and respect them; facilitate to their positive actions. We should not fear with the failures, fear only with the possible absence of our inner willpower to work with them even in the future. We should do our constant karma; the consequences are beyond our direct control. We must teach them; love them; laugh with them and live with them. We all should think from them; learn from them and get approval from them.

We must exchange with each-others, what we have and appreciate theirs, which they made. Slowly, they will also acknowledge us as their friends. Then, we all will be the actual conqueror. Then the government should mobilize them for a desired change at local level. The poverty, in this way, may be reduced and the anti-human forces - terrorisms can be alleviated.

General Setting

Everyone can be labeled as poor in one or another way. The list includes not only: weak, hunger, sick, homeless, landless, crippled, beggar, mad, slave, street vendor but also the solder in war, saint, loser of the world including a millionaire after crash of the stock exchange, popular artist who finds no buyer for his/her works, an expert who finds no place for engagement, a politician who finds no position in the mainstream politics and an intellectual who finds no job for engagement-all are poor in relative terms.

The social setting of the poor may be different in various socio-cultural values, who may be recognized in several names and brand. For example, in Persian language, there are 30 words for naming poor. Similarly, in African language, at least 3-5 words have been identified for poverty. Moreover, in the context of Nepal, society perceives poverty as a matter of karma and poor are an outcome of luck that is termed as fatalism1.

However, in many cultures of the world, poor are not always the opposite of rich. During 9 th century in Europe, respect and admires were given to those who choose the life as volunteer poor since they could practice the freedom and were not enforced to join in the army to exercise the authority power2.

Moreover, other several conditions such as falling from own’s station in life, loss of status, lack of protection, exclusion from own’s community, public humiliation, etc. are the state of poverty. It is a matter of state of mind that how a person responses to the reverse circumstances that may be reactive or proactive according to nature of a person.

Similarly, a highly educated but dependent with the parents’ property may also be considered as poor since the meaning of knowledge is to make life easier but if s/he can not manager his/her life through own efforts, is he capable in real sense? We all, by definition, are poor in actual meaning but it is matter of internal (personal) and external (social) perceptions and interpretations.

Poverty has been perceived from various prospective. All perceptions and interpretations are equally significant. Moreover, the poverty is the matter of abstract for some school of thoughts and it is matter of discourse and debate for others3.

Identification of the Poverty

Which poor are we talking about? The World Bank’s poor? The UNDP’s Poor? The ILO’s Poor? The UNESCO’s poor? The WHO’s poor? The FAO’s poor?

Material Perceived View of the Poverty

The materials, on which, the poverty is based on physical things can be categorized as the materialistic viewpoint of the poverty. The lack of things is poverty, which has focused only on the physical materials of the world. This lack of things may be one’s inability to meet the ends; lack of good fortune, self-confidence, not being respected or physically loved by others - opposite sex. This view is related with bhautikbad and it is derived from the philosophy of consumption and consumerism.

1 Bista, Dor Bahadur (1994). Fatalism and Development. Orient Longman Limited. India.2 Sachs, Wolfang. (2000). The Development Dictionary. Zed Books Limited. London.UK.3 Shrestha, Nanda. . In the Name of Development. (Also see: Pandy, D. Raj. Failed Development.)

The materialistic factor includes discrimination, inequality, political or other form of domination, none-availability of minimum basic necessities (food, house, cloths, sex, education, health, sanitation, social respect, future security, etc.), which are required for economical, social or biological survival as defined in the particular culture. The materialistic poverty may also include exclusion from the education and opportunities4.

Emotionally Perceived View of the Poverty

This category of poverty is one’s perception of his/her own condition since we are what we repeatedly think of ourselves. Perception is quite a personal and/or socio-cultural affair. A person may perceive that s/he is poor due to metaphysical causes such as God’s will, one’s karma and so on which may be perceived beyond direct control of a person.

However, some enlightened people perceive poverty in a positive term such as Iranian Sufis and Hindu Jogis. Moreover, the Buddha or Gandhi who abandoned the physical property, and chose the different life for the sake of freedom from the possessions which proved blessing for them. For this school of thought, the poverty is an opportunity for reaching higher form of riches. Hence, the Islam says, “Poverty is my pride and glory”. And, the Geeta emphasizes on salvation, which is totally detachment from the material life. For layman like us it is a principal of Upoyogitabad that emphasizes to be contented with whatever the things one possesses and to be adjusted with the reversed situation.

Socially Perceived View of the Poverty

This school of thought belongs to others view of the poverty and how other perceives to the poor. Poverty is perceived as the weak, sin, and virtue in general. In the context of Nepal, an economically sound, financially secured and professionally achieved person is comparatively considered as the most successful person than a highly intellectual but materialistically looser5.

There are two types of reactions regarding the poverty. The first type of interpretation is related with the direct and/or indirect interventions. This is required to combat poverty which is based on social, cultural or ethical reasons such as charity, assistance etc. The second type of interpretation is none-intervention, which is justified by either belief that nothing should be done for poor since they deserve their condition. They trust that all interventions may eventually produce negative results so no change at all.

Psychologically Perceived View of the Poverty

Socio-cultural space and time affects various perception of the poverty. This is affected by the space-time to which they belong. This explains why, in different communities and at the different times, the same materials are perceived differently both by the poor and the society in large. For example: 5 Years ago when asked: “Where were the poorest houses?” The replied was, “We have no poor houses in our village”. However, recently the same question was asked and the reply was, “Please do something for us, we are so poor.” Such type of difference may be due to exposure or awareness or comparison with the other external societies.

4 Pandy, Raj K. (2002). Who Are Poor? Why They Are Poor? Who Makes Them Poor? (Unpublished)5 Word Bank. (2002, 03, 04). World Development Report. Also see: UNDP Human Development Report.

Economically Perceived View of the Poverty The first report of the World Bank (then in IBRD) in 1948 has closely correlated the problem of global poverty with the gross national product. The same report explains that countries with an average per capita income of less than US $ 100 are, by definition, poor and the underdeveloped.

The report expresses that the responsibility of the richer nations, the riches of them being the USA, to help the poor countries in raising their living standard. Thus, due to first Word Bank Report, for the first time in the history of the entire nations, came to be considered several countries as the poor (even by themselves). Consequently, national income was introduced as a new global measure for expressing the various stages of the economic development to measure the poverty.

The World Bank definition leaded to the great transformation, which disturbed the traditional relationship between society and the economy. Hence, the traditional concept of perceiving poor was totally changed and all humanitarian values were converted into the pure monetary term. Currently, s/he is said to be poor who earns less than 1 US dollar; or consumes less calorie, has no access to the radio, TV, education, etc, or has lower HRD index. It is a long list defined by all for the sake own interest and usage.

Moreover, President Herry S. Truman on the inaugural speech on the 20th of January 1949 said: “We must embark [go on board] on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and individuals progress available for an improvement and growth of the underdeveloped areas”6.

On that day, in the history of the world, in a pure economic sense, 2 billion people of the world become underdeveloped which means poor. Flowing a consensus reached among the world elites on the diagnosis of the disease (underdevelopment and lack of income) as well as its cure (economic and technological development) the armies of experts such as politicians, planners, bureaucrats, socio-economists and even the anthropologists started acting as a flower of the World Bank definition i.e. 1 US dollar concept.

The WB Approach was expressed in President Truman’s Point Four Declaration: Peace Corps, Fight for Poverty etc. several programs were launched and implemented globally. President Truman further explained: “The economic life [of the poor] is primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is handicap and a threat both to them and to prosperous areas”7.

Analysis of Poverty

Poor are not poor but were made poor; they have got voices but made suppressed; they have got energy but that is being exploited so that all victimized people are poor and all the poor are victims of the system fault. Poverty does not come by birth, it is an acquired situation. The circumstances in the nation are the major factors where people can flourish or deteriorate. Poor are products of difficult circumstances; the circumstances are the products of fault systems; the fault systems are the products of wrong men in decision making; the wrong men in leadership are the products of poor people’s votes; the poor people made the wrong decision in selecting ‘the best among the worst leaders’ and gave them consent for ruling over own selves which is the products of low level of awareness about the civic rights.

Low level of awareness is the product of lack of good education because education makes people easy to lead but difficult to enslave. Mack Karley’s clerk producing education, under previous colonized developing countries, does not emphasize in identifying the inner potentiality rather it produces the exact photocopies after going through tough memorization based courses.

6 Sachs, Wolfang. (2000). The Development Dictionary. Zed Books Limited. London.UK.7 Also see: USAID Publication. Four Decades of Development (1990)

The lack of proper education, in countries like ours eventually is the result of fault in the existing systems.

Nature has given people energy and vitality and only they can succeed who use their power productively but the failures can never recognize their own hidden capacities due to ignorance. In my opinion, poor, therefore, are state and system made poor who have no direct access to the national resources and the opportunities. The standard indicators in measuring the poverty, however, should be not merely based on money earning capacity but also various other factors such as indigenous knowledge, heritages, socio-economy, traditional cultures, customs, languages, potential resources etc. these are the precious assets, which determine whether the communities are realistically richer or poorer.

Those countries are poorest, who have not included all casts, creeds, religions, sex and political thoughts within their systems. They have not only excluded the poor from the main developmental stream but also loosing chances of own progresses. Discriminations, human rights violations, disturbances, tensions and misunderstanding are usually in those societies where all people are not actively participating for a commonly shared goal. The marginalized group of people, who have maximum potential resources, could be used as the best nation builders, unfortunately, no one is thinking on this issue seriously.

A country cannot have fruits without its roots i.e. grassroots level communities which are the strong foundation for development. Poor countries’ systems are incomplete because they have not included all components into them. The systems are made so narrow so that certain classes of people only have direct control over them. Without creative approaches to these problems and the opportunities, we can hardly alleviate the poverty in totality.

For this, the most important requirement is system reform that consists good governance that means orderly; result oriented mechanism, that means capable in the work and the scientifically improvement in distribution that means justifiable returns in the action.

A system is a combined functioning of all units and sub-units. All these components are interdependent and effective interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence. If all people are included into the mainstream, a country will get synergy for its progress. Synergy means that the whole is grater than the sum of its parts. If we put two pieces of wood together, they will hold much more than the total of weight held by each separately. 1+1 equals not only 2 but also 11. The essence of synergy is to value difference-to respect them, to build on strength and to compensate for weaknesses.

Those individuals or societies or countries are happier who have liberal attitudes and the systems. Diverse societies are more successful where mixed cultures, values, sentiments, emotions, opinions, ideas and knowledge are heartily adopted. Cultural diversity refers to non-biological differences between group of people, communities and populations. The liberal diverse societies can easily welcome all the minority ethnic groups, casts, creeds, political thoughts and religions. There will be healthy competitions, creative tensions, willingness to do better than other, open minded for improvements and more importantly, all will learn and share with each-other.

Diverse societies are more organized and developed where there are no minorities, inequalities, social injustices and exploitations. If there is justice, there will be equality in the societies. Equality means that everyone and everything can find a place in the society where their specific capacities are usefully engaged. It does not mean that everyone is supposedly regarded as exactly the same. Systems should be always liberal, people will be serious; if systems are sociable and kind, their people will be loyal; systems should promote good and instruct unskilled, people will be enthusiastic. Such positive feelings in people promote the harmony; for where there is harmony, there is love; if there is love, there is peace; if there is peace, there is happiness and high possibility for development.

Consequences of Exclusion

Ignorance, poverty and vanity make many soldiers since there are no rules for necessities. Hence, when two people have similar qualities and problems but not develop or solve to some degree, if they work as equals, it is possible to raise the level of less-developed partners. The liking minds become organized and choose a final alternate to change their lives as last attempt-do or die! Same mob, which has many heads but no brains, acts as an anti-system force with a trust that one for all and all for one. The mob thinks that it is an only organization where they can get justice, value, respect and freedom. The mob starts in understanding the meaning of their organized energies since their duty determines the destiny!

The terrorists, therefore, are the group of organized frustrated individuals, who could not use their energies in a constructive manner so that they choose the destructive! The existing faulty system in a nation creates the crimes but the terrorists commit them. When people cannot easily tackle the more complicated challenges bigger than their capacities, they choose any means to face them.

In the context of Nepal, the weakest group of people, who used to think their life as a matter of chance or luck, unconsciously started in choosing their life in a different way, with the expectation that they will fight another war which will be the last one but the best one - do or die! Evil does not naturally dwell in any part of the world; it is a by-product of perception, reaction, interpretation and how people respond to it. Backward societies are the most fertile lands for the terrorists where consist highly destructive minds because they hardly get any places to use their creativities. The more they develop the negativity, the more destructive they are for the societies.

Developed countries and the system machinery will be faultless if they avoid possible harms by a creative manner and they will also be blameless if they realize the danger and forth coming struggle against the global terrorism. To overcome the world terrorism, we have to declare a war against the world poverty, negativity, frustration, destructive perceptions and thoughts among the people. For this, we have to give them value, respect and utilization of their untapped energies. We must also win over our own attitudes and make ourselves more liberal so that we can respect others. Those who know others are wise; those who know only themselves are enlightened. If we know others and ourselves, we will never be engaged in any conflict but if we do not know ourselves and others, we will be in danger as same thing is happening in Nepal in these days.

The weapon has never won any wars in totality rather it increases the number of enemies in a long run. If we abolish a terrorist by using the armed force, it will multiply the number of foes in a geometrical ratio such as 2,4,8,16,32. If, let us suppose, the government killed me in a charge, slowly all my family members, relatives, colleagues and well wishers will negatively accept the bitter fact and ultimately develop the strong negative feelings towards the ruling system and some of my relatives will also act as an anti-system force. The exactly had happened in our country at the very initial stage of the Maoist insurgency prior a decade.

Moreover, what will remain the differences between government and the terrorist, if government also choose the same destructive way in the name of peace keeping in nation? Government will be a legal super terrorist, who has rights to use the people’s resources, too!

Love begets love and the haters multiply the haters so that we should use our brainpower and liberal attitudes to overcome the Maoist problem in the country. The terrorist as branded by the state has not chosen the final - do or die alternate without any determined motives because only strong reasons make the strong actions. If the government machinery of Nepal still ignore them, than no disaster is worse than to underestimating the opponents.

The Nepalese leaders have repeatedly committed mistakes for not seriously addressing the Maoist problem which may eventually proved counterproductive to all the existing power centers of the country.

The present constitution of Nepal is mainly efficient and effective for its makers so that they always insist in continuing them, which are indirectly beneficial to retain the state power on their hands. It is, one the other hand, important to understand the implications of how the beneficiaries of the existing systems react to the change. When people’s sense of security is based entirely on statuesque and particular state of affair, then they can hardly avoid the upset when changes take place.

This is exactly like a gambling where nobody wins until somebody looses. The elite class of Nepal does not like to loose the game at any costs so that they also have a kind of fear within; it is not for an authority but they affaire to loose it. They, as a result, never allow an opportunity to downtrodden, women and socially excluded communities to bring them into the mainstream of the system. Things, however, cannot remain the same forever and must eventually alter so that at anytime the excluded class may convert themselves into the terrorist against system, if not address their problems timely during transition phase

Someone may have a good without having any means to achieve it; another may have power to achieve the great things without the direction to guide it. The one who has goal but lacks the means may become an idle dreamer; the one who has the power but lacks direction may become a bull. Only when a person has both capacity to accomplish the work and a worthy aim to guide it can then be perfect in his action. It is not enough to have great qualities and energies; we must also have management of them. If we mobilize unused energies of the excluded marginalized communities in constructive activities, it will be highly beneficial for the nation building process of rural Nepal.

Conclusion

Overall progress in a group or an organization or a society cannot take place through the single efforts and actions of an elite class alone, even if the elite really has super capacity. It is essential to include less powerful and other talented people/societies, too by the means of equity so that all can develop through energy of pooled abilities. This can only work if solidarity is expressed in understanding and action. All should focus in understanding what is to be done over the time and how it can be accomplished through cooperative efforts of all; inequalities can be conquered and extreme polarization can be avoided. Solidarity and mutual cooperation are needed in promoting equality and social justice, which strengthen global partnership.

Compassion and cooperation lead to future success because the cooperation is nothing we do to a person but it is something we become with a person. It is by the sympathetic interaction and sharing of people with different qualities and the characteristics so that collective development can take place with the great effects. I strongly recommend that all elite class who hold the state power from the centuries should accept others with tolerance. The elites should go in search of poor, learn from them, plan with them, serve them, begin with what they have and build with what they know. Finally, none can stop the positive transformation in Nepal for nation building process and effective development can taken place soon.

The writer is involving with the rural developmental sector. He can be reach through: rajkpandey2000@yahoo.com