ASIAN ISSUES IN PERSPECTIVE

An Over-View Of The Socio-Economic And Political Situation In Asia

MATHEW KURIAN

Dr. Mathew Kurian, Director of the Indian Institute for Regional Development Studies in Kerala, India, addressed the Assembly, on the situation in Asia today and its historical roots. In a wide-ranging paper he deals with colonialism and neocolonialism, the agrarian crisis, the use of foreign aid, the role of Japan as an agent of the U.S.A., food as a political weapon, unemployment, poverty, the crisis in formal education, human rights and militarism, peoples' resistance.

Despite the fact that colonialism came to an end in Asia, in its overt form, its roots have not been completely pulled out even after several decades of "independent" development of many Asian countries. Imperialism and neocolonialism have been operating in various covert forms with the tacit support of many governments in this area. Subtle and disguised forms of operation of imperialism and neocolonialism have posed serious threats to the political independence of many Asian countries.

Neo-colonialism refers to the covert forms of dominance exercised by the ex-colonial and imperialist powers — an indirect version of colonialism wherein "the metropolitan power exercises control within the context of the nominal independence of the people affected rather than by an outright colonial administration imposed on them.¹*

The history of colonialism had wide variations in different countries in Asia. Though the general thrust of colonial powers was in the same direction, its specific features had substantial regional variations.

In India where large sections of the working class and peasants, along with women, youth and students and other sections of the broad masses of the people participated in the anti-British national liberation struggle, the colonial government took great care to grant

______________

*see Appendix V for notes.

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independence to the country only under conditions where a combination of dominant classes, namely capitalists and the landlords led by the monopoly capitalists, got state power. Such transfer of power was meant to ensure that the successor government would continue the economic relationships with Britain and protect British private capital investments in the post independence period. Moreover, militant sections of the working people who made great sacrifices during the freedom struggles were deliberately kept at bay to prevent any radicalisation of policies of independent India.

The Indian government led by the Indian National Congress decided not only to continue as a member of the Commonwealth but also to promote the business investments of multinational corporations not only of British origin but also other imperialist countries. The total foreign private capital in India which was about Rs2560 million in 1948, one year after independence, has now risen to over Rs15,000 million.²

During the second half of the nineteenth century the Malayan States were transformed into a number of British colonies; the British imperialists granted independence to the Malayan government only on the basis of acceptance by the latter of the traditional economic relationship with the United Kingdom. In Malaysia, foreign private companies were controlling 62.1 % of the total share capital in companies in the country even after 20 years of independence, that is, in 1969.³

In the Philippines where the national movement succeeded in destroying Spanish control over Luzon, the United States of America established their absolute hegemonistic control through "occupation" following the Spanish-American War, and during the Presidency of William McKinley, though formal power was transferred to local people, American businessmen had reached a deal with the United States Government to help them re-establish favourable relationships. The Bell Trade Act and the Philippines Rehabilitation Act passed by Congress were the products of the private monopoly lobbies in the U.S.A. By 1970 the Philippines had a total foreign debt of US$1.96 billion to be repaid to about 35 governments and international institutions. If the rescheduling of the debt had not occurred, the Philippines would have paid L-fS$480 million by way of interest and amortization in 1970, accounting for 33% of the estimated earnings from exports of commodities and services.⁴

According to the Philippines Board of Investments (BOI), total foreign equity investments in the Philippines during 1982 amounted

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to 2.2 billion pesos (about US$250 million), an increase of 9.6% over 1.9 million pesos worth recorded in 1981. Of the 1982 total, 1.4 billion pesos were invested in wholly-owned operations, and 738.1 million pesos were invested in joint ventures with Filipino concerns. U.S.-business accounted for nearly 50% of the total.

Table 1. Foreign Investments in the Philippines, 1982

United States 1,000.0 million pesos

Nauru 516.0

Britain 121.2

West Germany 120.4

Japan 117.1

Netherlands 79.6

Source: Asia Monitor, Vol 7, No. 1, 1983, p23.

In Indonesia, in March 1975, there were about 782 approved foreign investment projects, with a total value of over US$6.7 billion. Out of these 589 projects were implemented (75% of those approved), amounting to nearly US$3.5 billion (52% of approved value). The figures take into account the cancellation and withdrawal, involving some 100 projects with the value of about US$700 million.⁵ It may be noted that the figures exclude the oil sector as well as investments without incentives and facilities. ⁶

Some major countries in Asia, particularly India, Indonesia and China had advanced material and spiritual civilizations much before the British entered the arena of industrial revolution way back in the seventeenth century⁷ and Europe and the Americas came to the forefront of modern modes of production. However, the destinies of the people of these countries were trampled under the feet of colonialism and imperialism to such an extent that these ancient civilisations were relegated to a backward situation through imperialist plunder and misrule.

"Consequent plunder, forced labor, taxation and enforced special in an export monoculture reversed the relative position; and Asia was progressively reduced to underdevelopment." ⁸

The total wealth transferred from India by British imperialism has been variously estimated at between 500 million and 1,000 million. The fantastic material contributions (deprivations) made by the ex-colonial underdeveloped part of this world to the coffers of

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the colonial or imperialist countries at different periods of time should be calculated with "Compound interest" to arrive at a fair value in today's terms.⁹

Increasing collaboration of the Indian capitalists with foreign finance capital in the post-independence period is borne out by facts. The number of collaboration agreements with foreign concerns has now reached over 5000 in number.

The indiscriminate manner in which the Government of India has been allowing Indian big business to enter into collaboration with foreign interests has resulted in increasing dependence of the country on foreign companies on the one hand, and underutilisation of the material and human resources of our country on the other. Foreign companies, using the lever of collaboration agreements, have dumped on U.S. machinery and plant, in some cases only better than scrap, at huge prices.

The consequences of technological collaboration with foreign companies were brought out by a committee set up by the Government of India. In the field of industry, blueprints and know-how is bought indiscriminately at terms hugely detrimental to the country (to this can be added the consequences of importing personnel under the label of "experts", as well as the consequences of importing outdated machinery). Agreements involve purchase of machinery at much higher costs than the world market rates Collaboration also means long-term dependence on imported raw material even when suitable national substitutes are available. Moreover, collaboration agreements often kill local initiatives.

The external debt of the country has crossed the figures of Rs25,000 crores and the problem of repayment is going to pose serious problems. A detailed study of the growth of Indian monopoly capital both before and after independence clearly show's that the characterisation of Indian monopoly capital as comprador bureaucratic capital is incorrect. Unlike comprador capitalism in China in the pre-revolutionary period, Indian capitalists had acquired, particularly in the interwar period, an industrial base of their own. This was further strengthened and reinforced after independence as evidenced by the substantial growth of the monopoly companies.

The Indian bourgeoisie had, even before independence, attained it certain degree of growth and had entrenched itself in many important sectors of the economy as cotton textiles, sugar and cement. The enormous windfall profits and easy money extracted

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through speculation and also the surpluses appropriated through wage exploitation enabled the Indian bourgeoisie to considerably enhance its economic position. Thus on the eve of independence the Indian bourgeoisie had already established a dominant position.

For imperialism, foreign aid is a convenient way of keeping underdeveloped countries like India under the thumb of world monopoly capitalism. Along with their 'aid', the imperialist powers export their 'specialists', for whose up-keep and salary a large portion of 'aid' money must go. The government of India, for its part, spend a large portion of 'aid' money on armaments, highly priced luxury foreign goods and the establishment of foreign monopoly and Indian monopoly capital.

The massive loan received by the Government of India from IMF and the conditionality of the loan which jeopardised India's independence and dignity are now, fairly well known. Liberalisation in foreign trade, imports of even nonessential goods from imperialist countries, increasing burdens on the working class in the name of industrial discipline etc. have been the consequence of surrender to IMF policies.

A more fundamental fact about Indian exports is that they are forced exports. Indian exports to a large extent express the growing dependence of our economy on foreign imperialist countries. A small group of countries call increase and decrease lndia's exports as they please. Commodities which could be sold abroad are instead locked up at home, jostled round our markets and end up taking comfort in our poor environment. On the other hand, all the raw material which western powers find it necessary to import, they import: India is forced to sell at their prices and oil their terms.

The general crisis in the Indian economy has been accentuated, to a large extent, by our dependence on foreign aid and private monopoly capital and the dependence on foreign capital markets for the sale of our export goods. In spite of certain diversification in domestic industrial production, India’s exports are still dominated by, traditional industries like tea, jute and textiles which have vulnerable international markets. Primary products such as agricultural commodities and raw materials have been witnessing serious problems in the world market, particularly in the context of wide fluctuations and recessionary conditions in the capitalist countries. The relative expansion of our trade with USSR and East European countries, though beneficial in stabilizing our export and

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Table 2. Foreign Investment flows into the ASEAN Countries by home country

	Indonesia 1968-81 US$ million	Malaysia 1963-79 US$ million	Philippines 1968-80 US$ million	Singapore 1970-81 US$ million	Thailand 1970-80 US$ million
Japan USA Europe UK Germany Netherlands Others Other ASEAN	1593.4 (33.7) 504.8 (10.7) 83.2 (1.8) 105.0 (2.2) 143.1 (3.0) 247.3 (5.2) 2050.5 (43.4)	170.3 (18.5) 74.1 (8.1) 161.4 (7.6) 19.5 (2.0) 13.6 (1.5) 62.3 (6.9) 417.3 (45.4)	218.8 (22.5) 289.4 (29.8) 78.7 (8.1) 38.8 (4.0) 36.9 (3.7) 116.0 (12.0) 193.4 (19.9)	1129.8 (30.1) 1177.6 (31.4) - - - - - - - (7.7) - -	286.7 (29.3) 318.6 (32.6) 57.8 (5.9) 33.2 (3.4) 17.9 (1.8) 74.8 - 188.0 (19.3)

Source: United Nations, Economic Bulletin, Vol. XXXII, No.1, June 1982, p14, Table 1.

(Note: Figures in bracket indicate percentage)

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import business in certain product lines, has not yet made any substantial dent into the high degree of concentration which capitalist countries have in our external trade pattern. The continued dependence of India on Western capitalist countries for trade has been reinforced by predominance of these countries, particularly U.K. and U.S.A., in the field of private foreign investments in India.

Many countries of Asia are increasingly relying on 'aid' from imperialist countries and international agencies like the IMF and the World Bank controlled by them. The Government of Papua New Guinea, for example, is heavily dependent on foreign aid, both for recurring and capital expenditures. Australia provided more than 90% of the total aid funds according to available figures up to 1980.

Heavy burdens are put on the underdeveloped capitalist countries in Asia in terms of servicing of debt, that is, high interest rates and repayment schedules, and exorbitant payments for the so-called "transfer of technology" including payments for patents, i.e. payments for patents, licenses, know-how, trade marks and managerial-technical services. Such payments made by the ESCAP countries in 1968 amounted to US$1.5 billion. The direct cost of transfer of technology from imperialist countries during the 19708 was estimated to increase by 20% per annum.¹⁰

Table 3. Royalty Payments by South Korea for Foreign Technology, 1983.

Country	Payments	Percentage Share	Number of items
USA Japan West Germany Britain France Total	285.26 252.55 - - - 7755.38	37.8 33.4 - - - 100.0	578 1,395 118 90 72 2,478

Source: Asia Monitor, Vol.7, No.4, 1983, p16.

All the costs of colonialism and imperialist 'aid cannot be quantified. Some have to be assessed in terms of deprivation of health, education and in terms of cultural domination. Eduardo de Sousa Ferreira stressed the need for understanding the problems of

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decolonisation and the cost of colonisation in the scientific, educational and Cultural fields.¹¹

A lot of classified information by U.S. Government agencies is collected through social scientists, anthropologists and other scientists.¹² It was not accidental that there was "a great increase of research interest in poverty-stricken and minority group areas of Thailand since the beginning of guerilla activity there.” ¹³ The imperialist designs of Project Camelot is now fairly well known — a project in which social scientists and anthropologists were asked to undertake studies to make...

"...it possible to predict and influence Politically significant aspects of social change in the developing nations of the world... the U.S. Army has an important mission in the positive and constructive aspects of nation-building in less developed countries as well as a responsibility to assist friendly governments dealing with an active insurgency problem.” ¹⁴

U.S. imperialism — both government agencies and multinational corporations — also function indirectly through apparently nongovernmental institutions such its the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute for Mental Health, Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundations, etc. The Academy of Administrative Studies in Sri Lanka which trains administrators in development administration under foreign expertise uses materials based on administrative experience of Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Pakistan.¹⁵ The Government of India gave sanction to the Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with the WHO Organisation to conduct medical research on the "genetic control of mosquitoes". It turned out that the WHO had, in turn, a secret understanding with the U.S. Defense Department. Obviously, the apparently innocent study of mosquitoes in India had significant military implications, particularly in the backdrop of the immense destructive power of the germ warfare capabilities of the Pentagon.

How apparently innocuous small beginnings in financial and technical support by U.S.A. to military governments in Asia can end in disaster can be seen from the experience of the 'Vietnam War. From 1961 when the first U.S. military advisors were sent to Vietnam to 1965, when a full escalation of U.S. military involvement came about many observers did not see how dangerous the implications of the first involvement were. American monopoly companies apparently did not play a front line role. But "there is no

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doubt that they were interested parties. In fact, the U.S. government appealed to foreign investors to assist in Vietnamisation, on grounds that saving the Thieu Government would keep it within the Western economic network.¹⁶

While aid from imperialist countries has helped only in exploiting the people of the underdeveloped capitalist countries and in transferring substantial surpluses out of higher value added through manufacturing activities by working people in these countries, aid from socialist countries has played a vital role in strengthening their economic base and political independence. The cumulative money value of bilateral aid commitments made by USSR to the ESCAP countries during 1954-'70 is estimated at US$6.6 billion and that from the East European countries at US$3.6 billion equivalent. ¹⁷ Aid from the socialist countries is strongly project-oriented and is utilised mainly for strengthening the key productive sectors, particularly in the public industrial sector of the developing economics. As the UN has admitted in one of its reports,

"The bulk of the USSR and East European countries' assistance to developing countries is extended in the form of Government long-term development loans, usually at 2.5% interest with maturity of 10 to 15 years. Grace periods vary according to the nature of the project financed."¹⁸

Role Of Japan In World Imperialist Strategy

In the strategy of American imperialism for establishing hegemony over Asian countries, Japan has been assigned a place of special significance. After agonising reappraisals by the Pentagon and leaders of the U -S. government in the post-Vietnam war, Japan has got involved both in terms of economic and military participation in U.S. global strategy -Japan was asked to cover South Korea's territorial sky with its air Self-Defence Force. The Nixon Doctrine called for greater Japanese and European involvement with men and materials to fight Asian wars.

However, the American-Japanese relationship is one of love and hate. Japan's greater involvement in the U.S. defence strategy in Asia has come at a time when U.S. imperialism is passing through a series of acute crises, despite temporary signs of recovery after the last few years of severe recessions. In the field of science and technology, particularly in the field of computer technology Japan and the United States are fighting a very aggressive battle for supremacy.

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Despite areas of conflict and competition, U.S. imperialism is trying to use Japan, with its "Asian" image, in order to marry the cheap labour of most of the Asian countries with capital and technology which Japan can provide. In other words, the American strategy is to conceal, as far as possible, its direct involvement in Asia (except, of course, South Korea) and to use Japan as a cover for advancement of U.S. interests in Asia.

Development Strategies

The socioeconomic problems faced by most of the Asian countries are directly related to the wrong development strategies or paradigms used by their governments — governments controlled by elite groups who have -virtual monopoly over productive assets in industry and agriculture.

Per capita Gross National Product (GNP) and other indicators are, of course, quite inadequate to provide a correct picture of the socioeconomic conditions of the vast masses of working people in Asia. The following statistical tables may be considered keeping the limitations of statistical presentations in mind.

A study of Indian development planning will reveal the basic weakness of the capitalist path of development followed by many Asian countries. Despite the professed objective of raising the standard of living of the people, development planning in India has been a terrifying failure. Monopolies and oligarchies, both in rural and urban areas, have grown unchecked. Growing inequality and disparity of wealth and income, pauperisation of large masses of the urban and rural poor, increasing dependence on foreign aid and private foreign investments, squandering and wasteful government expenditure, crushing taxes on the ordinary people — these have brought India to the verge of economic and social disaster.

The increasing immiserisation of large sections of the people is coming into direct conflict with the objectives of industrial expansion through an expanding home market. The steady growth of unemployment and underemployment, coupled with rising level of prices of essential commodities and the consequent diminution in purchasing power, has further aggravated the problem. Growing saturation of the home market, the periodic fall in agricultural output, and the fluctuating world market conditions have made the Indian economy crisis-ridden with recessions and chronic imbalances.

The policy of the state power in India is to plunder the poor and

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Table 4. Development Indicators – Selected Asian Countries

	GNP per capita (US$ 1977)	Percentage annual growth rate of real per capita for GNP 1960-77	Government revenue as % of GNP 1978	Broad money as % of GNP 1978	Adult literacy rate in % 1975	Life expectancy at birth 1977
Malaysia South Korea Philippines Thailand Indonesia Sri Lanka Pakistan India Burma Nepal	930 820 450 420 300 200 190 150 140 110	3.9 7.4 2.5 4.5 3.3 2.0 3.0 1.3 0.9 0.2	25.4 19.2 17.3 13.4 20.7 30.2 14.8 10.9 14.8 7.8	62.4 43.1 25.8 37.7 18.8 28.0 41.4 34.4 25.6 23.8	60 91 87 82 62 85 21 36 67 19	67 63 60 61 48 69 51 51 52 45

Source: The World Development Report (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1979), pp126-27;

International Financial Statistics (Washington, DC: IMF); and country sources.

* Currency outside banks, private sector demand deposits, and fixed deposits.

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Table 5. Selected Asian Countries: Average Annual Growth of GDP at Constant Prices by Kind of Economic Activity 1960-1977

		Agriculture		Industry		Services
	1960-1970		1970-1977	1960-1970	1970-1977		1960-1970	1970-1977
South Asia Bangladesh Burma India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka East & Southeast Asia Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Republic of Korea Singapore Thailand Pacific Cook Islands Fiji Kiribats Papua New Guinea	- 1.8 1.9 - 5.0 - - 2.0 - 4.2 4.4 3.8 5.5 - 2.6 - -2.6		4.7 2.0 0.9 1.3 2.1 2.5 - 3.8 - 3.9 4.4 1.6 3.9 -3.9 0.6 -16.8 -3.8	- 3.0 5.1 - 9.4 - - 3.1 - 5.9 16.4 12.7 11.8 - 4.6 - 4.6	18.2 2.1 3.7 5.2 3.2 7.3 - 12.0 - 6.2 17.6 9.3 10.8 -4.7 4.4 12.3 4.7		- 1.4 4.9 - 7.2 - - 2.6 - 4.5 11.3 7.4 9.0 - 11.3 - 0	9.2 3.3 3.8 - 6.5 4.0 - 9.6 - 7.6 9.5 8.7 6.2 4.8 8.8 -1.8 0.7

Source: United Nations, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 1979, Bangkok 1980.

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use it to strengthen the oppressive arms of the state. Thus, over the thirty-six years, while development expenditure increased moderately, non-development expenditure went up substantially. The major part of non-development expenditure went to cover the cost of the bureaucracy, police and the military..

According to the Monopolies Enquiry Commission in 1963-64, some 75 business houses led by the Tatas and Birlas controlled 1,536 companies and 46.9% of the assets of the private corporate sector excluding banking, which the Commission placed at Rs55,520 million. 20 According to a survey conducted I)v Research and Statistical Division of the Company Law Affairs Department published in July 1970, the assets of the entire private corporate sector excluding banking companies increased to Rs75,000 million in 1967-68; and the share of the 75 monopoly houses was 53.8% of this.²¹ The latest information available shows that concentration of economic power has increased. Total assets of the 100 top industrial giants increased I)N, Rs3OOO crores in one year from 9,150.99 crores in 1980-81 to Rs11,345.45 crores in 1981-82.

The growth of empires, the cornering of licences, the adoption of restrictive practices, the formation of combinations, the ruin of medium-sized and small businesses — all these have been documented in official and government sponsored reports.

The state sector, including financial institutions like the Life Insurance Corporation, the Industrial Finance Corporation and the National Industrial Development Corporation, has been used to support and strengthen monopoly. All available indications are that the nationalised banks and general insurance companies are being used in the same wav.

The monopolists can, by producing on a large scale and by undercutting prices (thereby controlling the market), wreck the interests of the non-monopolists. Once the market is captured, the monopolists back up the prices. It is in this manner that the consumer has to pay much more than the cost of production for his day-to-day needs.

Indian monopolists cannot sell all that they produce. Most industries are diseased. Thousands of factories manufacturing industrial machinery, Cement mill machinery, printing machinery, agricultural equipment, steel castings, sewing machines, typewriters etc. are working far below the installed capacity. Unable to expand production, barred from adapting manufacture to local conditions or from encouraging local ancillary industries, they become hopelessly, dependent on foreign collaborators. Unable to meet the crisis, confronted with their own inefficiency, Indian monopolists

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Table 6. Growth in the Assets of Monopoly Houses in India

SI No.	Name of the House	Assets (Rs in crores)			Amount increased between		Percentage increase between
		1972	1981	1982	1971-1981	1981-1982	1972-1981	1981-1982
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)	Tata Birla J.K. Singhania Mafatlal Reliance Textile A.C.C. Thapar I.C.I. Sarabhai Modi	641.93 589.42 121.45 183.74 30.27* 134.36 136.16 135.21 84.44 58.05	1840.16 1691.69 520.14 535.12 270.61 342.77 429.80 337.84 331.25 241.90	2430.83 2004.74 620.31 610.69 512.34 473.07 464.55 378.30 374.21 359.20	1198.23 1102.27 398.69 351.38 240.34 208.41 293.64 202.63 146.81 291.85	590.67 291.05 100.17 75.57 241.73 130.30 24.75 40.47 43.06 117.30	186.66 187.00 328.27 191.23 793.98 155.11 215.65 149.86 173.86 502.75	32.09 23.11 19.25 14.12 84.32 38.01 8.08 11.97 12.99 48.49

* Relates to 1976.

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strain every nerve to find a scapegoat and a target in their workers, and mount fresh attacks (retrenchment, dismissal, wage cuts, police, CRP and army terrorism) on their militancy and throw increasing burdens on their shoulders.

According to a World Bank Report, industrial growth rate in India which was 5.4% in 1960-70 declined to 4.4% in 1970-80.

According to a Reserve Bank of India Report in June 1982, about 28,360 factories were closed down. Out of this 23% were closed down because of demand recession.

The dynamics of public sector in India has worked in the direction of strengthening capitalism under the aegis of monopoly capital. In the name of 'socialist pattern' the system which has, in fact, been created is state capitalism, wherein the 'public sector' or ‘state sector’ operates as necessary, vehicle for profit maximization by the private capitalist and for expanding the share of the capitalist class, particularly monopoly capital in the national income. The private sector in India has exhibited a built-in tendency to pre-empt capacity, to create additional capacity in advance, even in the midst of unused capacity, to hold licences for further capacities, thus putting pressure against the expansion of public sector. This process has been further strengthened by the huge resources disbursed by the public sector financial institutions and by the government directly. These are in addition to the funds which monopoly houses corner from commercial banks through their linkage and the enormous concessions and development rebates and benefits derived from the government's price policy on controlled items and the allocation of import licences. Thus, instead of the public sector being used as an instrument for mitigating the evils of feudal and semi-feudal production relations, monopoly capitalism and imperialism, it has been increasingly used by state capitalism to serve the interests of the capitalist class as a whole.

Agrarian Scene: Conditions Of Peasants And Agricultural Labourers

The non-socialist or capitalist Asian countries have already been drawn into the world capitalist system. They are naturally governed by economic laws of the capitalist mode of production. But in most of these countries capitalism has been superimposed over feudal, semi-feudal, tribal and other pre-capitalist social formations. Hence, the development of capitalism itself is distorted and the ruling elite, particularly the capitalist class, is not interested in abolishing the

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vestiges of pre-capitalist formations; on the contrary the capitalists are collaborating with landlords and other elements of the rural elite so that they can jointly control state power and exploit the urban and rural poor.

Agriculture, which is the mainstay of the vast majority of population in many parts of Asia, remains semi-feudal although capitalist farming is growing at a fast rate and agri-business controlled by multinational corporations (MNCS) is taking over larger and larger chunks of the food industry. The vast majority of I the people in the rural areas do not have even the minimum facilities for an earthly living such as drinking water, health and sanitation, food and shelter.

Most of the Asian countries have agrarian structures which employ anywhere between 70% to 80% of the total workforce. Poor and middle peasants are getting increasingly indebted to the landlords and moneylenders. Once this process reaches a critical point they get alienated from their land and join the ranks of landless agricultural labourers. The percentage of landless agricultural workers in the active population in agriculture comes to about 32 in India, 20 in Indonesia and 29 in Pakistan.

As the capitalist mode of production develops in the non-socialist Asian countries there is a marked tendency for the total number of landless and near-landless agricultural workers to grow. The average number of days of work available to them has been declining; this process further pushes the level of agricultural wages down except in countries or areas within countries where agricultural workers are organised and politicised with the help of leftist or radical political parties. Wherever agricultural workers are organised on a militant basis they have been successful, at least partially, in preventing indiscriminate mechnisation and tractorisation under the "Green Revolution" strategy hatched in the United States. The problem of mass poverty has been further accentuated by the destruction of traditional, cottage level and household industries including handicrafts.

Let us take the case of Thailand. As population increased, the process of fragmentation of agricultural holdings got accentuated and poor peasants became increasingly indebted to the rural rich As rice production became more and more commercialised and as the government started introducing restrictive laws regarding acquisition and registration of land, many ordinary peasants got alienated from their land. In the village of Banoi in the central

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Table 7. Landless Farm Workers in Selected Countries in Asia

Country	Number of landless workers (thousands)	Landless workers as a percentage of active population in agriculture	Active agricultural population as a percentage of total active population
India Indonesia Pakistan*	47,600 5,673 8,013	92 20 29	68 70 70
Total	60,986	30	68

* Includes population now belonging to Bangladesh.

Source: World Bank, Rural Development, Sector Policy Paper, February 1975, Annex 4.

plains, about 60% of rural families are in the category of landless labourers, compared to 36% way back in 1930.²² Traditional squatting has become increasingly difficult in view of the new restrictions and laws. Some studies indicate that the practice of tenancy has increased in Thailand, particularly in the central plains. ²³ About 21% of the agriculturists' loans in the North, 31% in the North-cast and 66% in the central plains are reported to be borrowed from money-lenders at "staggering" rates of interest.24 Some of the earlier studies particularly in the 1950's and 1960's indicated that the problem of tenancy, population pressure on land, indebtedness, impoverishment of the peasants, and landlord-tenant But a number of recent studies have conflict were rare in Thailand.²⁵ But a number of recent studies have shown that these problems are quite severe and that the peasants not as passive as many scholars thought. If you examine the number of complaints, made before the Farmers' Assistance Committee (which was established 1974 to help farmers to regain their lost land) we will get a rough picture of the problem of tenancy in Thailand. It is not suggested here that tenancy is a dominant form of relation in the country. Even though individual peasant ownership may be the dominant form it is necessary to recognise the extent of the tenancy.

If we take India, it will be seen that the agrarian structure stiff remains essentially feudal and semi-feudal. There is considerable land monopoly, intensifying semi-feudal exploitation, though in

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Table 8. Comparison of Number of Requests for Land to Farmers' Assistance Committee and Levels of Tenancy in Thailand

Provinces	Average number of complaints	Percentage of farmers who are tenants (pure and partial)
Suphanburi, Kamphaengphet Phichit Kakhonsawan, Chiangmai, Phetchabun, Angthong, Lopburi, Chainat, Saraburi, Phitsanulok, Ayuthaya Singburi, Idon, Surin Nakhon Pathom, Chachoengsao, Kachanaburi, Prachinburi, Sukhothai, Pattani	10,001 – 15,000 5,001 – 10,000 1,001 – 5,000 501 – 1,000 101 – 500	29.52 38.30 43.34 17.87 35.60

some areas there is growing capitalist relations which again add to the exploitation in the rural sector. In India as a whole, 23.3% of the rural households owned in 1971-72 about 75.8% of the cropped area and 5.6% owned about 39%. The dominance of the village economy by a class of parasitical rent-receivers Is well documented. Zamindarl abolition and the subsequent tenancy legislations and the 'fair rent' and 'land ceiling' acts were not intended to make a dent on the dominance of landlords and rich peasants. Land reforms were successful only in states where Left and radical governments undertook the task seriously.

Table 9. Distribution of Land in India

Operational holdings of	Number in %	Area operated in %
1. Less than 2 hectares 2. 2 – 10 hectares 3. Over 10 hectares	72.6 24.4 3.0	23.5 50.2 26.3

Source: Sixth Five Year Plan.

The so-called 'new agricultural strategy' has, in fact, perpetuated

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exploitation and strengthened landlords and rich peasants. In the name of using modern implements and tractors, the landlord gentry have consciously attempted to replace the traditional and politically conscious agricultural labour by mercenary labour brought from dry areas.

The "Green Revolution" and other technological innovations have not made any noticeable change in the living standards of the rural masses in Asia. The lesson to be drawn from the failure of the "New Agricultural Strategy" designed with the blessings of American experts is that it does not pose the central problem of agriculture — the problem of ownership of land, production relations and radical land reforms. Only through a consistent struggle of peasants and agricultural labour can present fetters on the agricultural sector, namely, feudalism, semi-feudalism, land monopoly, and the stranglehold of capitalism be abolished and the productive forces unleashed.

Planning in India cannot provide the country with enough foodstuffs and raw materials and the necessary surplus for industrialisation, because the rural poor have no chance whatever of buying farm equipment, implements, fertilisers and so on without falling into the clutches of the landlord, moneylender or grain merchant. By withholding stocks and forcing higher prices on the people the rural gentry defraud industry of its market. Thus there is no prospect of developing national industries and strengthening the industrial base because the purchasing power of millions of the rural poor cannot meet even the small quantities of manufactured goods now produced. Further, this rural crisis hits the working class by depressing its living standards. As thousands of impoverished peasants flock to the towns and cities, they merely succeed in overcrowding the wage market and lowering the price of labour.

New forms of land monopoly and semi-feudal exploitation have come into existence behind the cover of the apparent measures for land reform. Concealed tenancy, sharecropping, leasing and other forms of feudal and semi-feudal relations, mounting indebtedness of small peasants and chronic underemployment characterise the backward agrarian structure in India even after three decades of planning. Large landholders and big wholesale traders continue to have their grip on food supplies. Credit and the supply of inputs are controlled by the landlords, rich peasants and moneylenders. The benefits rendered through co-operative credit, government loans and subsidies, developmental outlays through community development

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projects etc. have tended to flow to rich sections in the agricultural sector. The larger landholding interests receive windfall profits arising from inflationary commercial buoyancy; this further accentuates the unevenness in the distribution of income in the rural sector. But this rich landlord gentry do not undertake capital investment either in agriculture or industry. Thus the law of relative and absolute impoverishment operates without the compensating process of extended reproduction.

The poor peasants and agricultural labourers continue to suffer under the grip of feudal and semi-feudal exploitation. The small and medium cultivators suffer from the operation of the capitalist market and the direct and indirect exploitation by the bourgeois-land lord state apparatus. Small producers are forced to sell their produce at the time of harvest at relatively low prices while the big landlords who are in a position to withhold stock, take advantage of scarcity situations. Moreover, the continued fluctuations in the prices of food crops and other primary products add to their misery. With increasing prices which they have to pay for industrial goods produced by monopolist big business, the terms of trade have continuously gone against them. On top of this, the burden of taxation has been falling on the small peasants and poor sections of the rural community, thus further intensifying the crisis in agriculture. In fact, the crisis in agrarian relations resulting from the perpetuation of the class policies of the state is the key to the general crisis in the Indian economy.

In 1969 it was estimated that 66 million acres of land in India could be made available with a ceiling of 20 acres per family. The agricultural ministry calculated it as 40 million only. But out of this only 4.3 million acres have been declared surplus; only 2.95 has been taken possession of, only 2 million acres has been distributed.

Serious students of India's rural scene agree that the socioeconomic structure in the village continues to be the decadent feudal and semi-feudal structure, with capitalism increasingly being superimposed on it. The growth of capitalism in agriculture, tied as it is to world markets, has created new forms of contradictions in the agrarian scene. Recent years have witnessed large scale peasant revolts against stagnant agricultural prices, against rising input prices, against consequent adverse terms of trade for the agricultural producers, and against the official policies which favour the monopoly capitalists, both Indian and foreign.

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Food And Self-Reliance

The food crisis in Asia is closely linked with the struggle for self-reliance. The consequence of food shortages in the Asian region is the increasing dependency of the subsistence population of this region upon the imperialist nations, particularly the U.S.A. for food supplies.²⁷ The dependency rate has steadily increased as the market share of U.S.A. in the world food exports increased from 36.8% to 43..5% in the case of wheat between 1971 and 1972-73, and from 23% to 26% in the case of rice during the same period. The rest of the world is getting more dependent on the U.S.A. for animal feed grain and oilseeds as well. About half of the food exports of U.S.A. are directed towards the target markets in the "Third World". In the perception of world power by U.S. imperialism, "Food is power".²⁸ The political significance of the growing stranglehold of American imperialism over food supplies of the under-developed countries in Asia can be gauged from the frank statement of the U.S. Secretary, Agriculture, Earl Butz:

"...before people can do anything they have got to eat. And if you are looking for a way to get people to lean on you and lo be dependent on you, in terms of their co-operation with you, it seems to be that food dependence would be terrific." ²⁹

The per capita availability of cereals and pulses in India which was 442.22 grams in 1961.70 declined to 437.02 grams in 1980-84. According to the Economic Survey on 1983-84 foodgrains production is expected to reach a high figure of 142 million tonnes. Even accepting this figure we find that the compound annual average growth rate has been only 2. 1 % which is barely equal to the rate of growth of population. In fact if we examine the years 1975 to 1983 we find that foodgrains production generally stagnated and in some years showed an absolute decline.

Poverty And Unemployment

The three major economic problems facing the non-socialist countries in Asia are mass poverty, unemployment and inflationary rise in prices. Despite advancement of science and technology and the development of modern capitalism in countries such as Japan and India, the rate of unemployment and inflation are quite substantial. Abject poverty, famines and starvation deaths are quite prevalent in many countries. Statistical data relating to per capita. incomes are often misleading; but one can firmly assert that the working people in all the socialist countries in Asia including the

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Table 10. Selected Asian Countries: Foodgrains Production and Growth Rates, 1975, 1979

Country	Average annual percentage charge 1970-1978	1975	1979
South Asia Bangladesh Burma India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Southeast Asia Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Thailand East Asia Republic of Korea	4.1 3.6 3.4 0.7 2.6 4.5 4.5 -2.7 4.3 6.0 3.3	13.7 8.6 20.8 2.8 5.6 -28.8 -1.7 -6.4 10.1 15.5 7.6	0.8 -6.2 -10.0 3.7 11.8 6.2 -1.4 57.3 - -6.8 3.1

Source: United Nations, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, 1979, Bangkok, 1980, p20.

Table 11. Selected Asian Countries: Indices of Foodgrains Availability, Selected Periods, 1970’s

	1970-72	1973-75	1976-77
South Asia Bangladesh Burma India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Southeast Asia Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Thailand East Asia Hong Kong Papua New Guinea Republic of Korea	111 124 127 109 145 129 140 136 135 124 119 200 155	133 134 155 126 164 135 165 151 157 159 118 207 162	127 145 158 120 176 150 174 156 177 129 137 238 185

Source: United Nations, and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 1929, Bangkok, 1980, p24.

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Table 12. Foodgrain Output in India

1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84

(million tonnes) 121.03 111.17 126.41 126.41 109.70 129.59 133.30 128.35 142.00

relatively new entrants to the socialist community in Asia, the basic needs of the People have been ensured with remarkable success. China with a Population of over 1000 million has made big strides of progress particularly after the adoption of new economic reforms in 1979. The quality of life, both in terms of material and spiritual civilisation has improved substantially in all the socialist countries.

On the contrary, in the non-socialist/capitalist countries of Asia, large sections of the people are under conditions of abject poverty; they remain at levels of living worse than those of animals. They have developed a kind of psychological defence mechanism, blissfully oblivious of their actual conditions and sliding into feelings of defeatism and fatal' M. The ruling classes use religion, superstition and a fatalistic philosophical outlook to legitimise such a false social consciousness.

The Spectre Of Unemployment

The youth of most of . the Asian countries are facing acute unemployment. Their creative energies and talents remain unutilised. The wastage of h u man resources and the creation of "a reserve army of unemployed" are the direct consequences of the capitalist path of development followed by these countries. Owners of capital and other assets in the capitalist countries of Asia are concerned with amassing super profits through exploitation of wage labour and they show no social obligations in solving the problem of unemployment and underemployment. The governments controlled by capitalist and landlord classes announce, from time to time, various measures for eradicating unemployment. However, even the "crash-programmes" initiated by them for creating gainful employment have themselves crashed.

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Table 13. Nutrition Levels by Income Class

	Percentage of families	Daily calorie intake per capita	Daily protein intake (gm/capita)
			Total protein	Animal protein
Sri Lanka Rural (1961-66) Upper class in Colombo (1957) India Maharashtra State expenditure per capita (rupees) Urban and Rural Areas 0 – 11 11 – 18 18 – 34 34 and over Total average	- - 21.3 18.9 20.7 39.1 -	1,864 3,271 1,340 2,020 2,485 3,340 2,100	44.0 84.0 37.9 56.5 69.0 59.7 59.7	8.3 - 1.4 2.6 6.6 11.0 4.5

Source: World Bank, Rural Development, Sector Policy Papers, February 1975, Annex 5.

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Let us take the case of India. Growing unemployment and underemployment plague the nation. The number of applicants on the live registers of employment exchange rose from 14.3 million ill 1979 to 21.5 million in 1983. Since large sections of the unemployed are not registered in the employment exchanges, these figures do not actually reflect the magnitude of the problem.

The Government of India initiated a National Rural Employment Programme (NREP). Employment claimed to have been provided under NREP works out to be only 6% of total unemployment in March 1978. The target of bringing people below the poverty line, from 50% to 30% has not been achieved. Similarly, despite the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) the increase in the absolute number of poor has been 1.42 million every year in rural areas in the first three years of the Sixth Plan.

Poverty In The Midst Of Affluence

Poverty of the masses, in the form of lack of even the minimum consumption needs, calories of food, minimum clothing etc. cannot be considered in isolation. "Poverty" of the masses is the consequence of "affluence" of the few; the two are interrelated — two sides of the same coin, to use a day-to-day expression.

In India, the so-called "largest democracy in the world", the estimates of people below the poverty line (defined in terms of minimum calorie intake of food) is anywhere between 40% and 60%.

In Indonesia, another country with an ancient civilisation, unemployment is rampant. Based on the fourth and fifth national socioeconomic surveys conducted in 1970 and 1976 (using it standard based on capacity to purchase 240 kilos of rice per person per year), Indonesian social scientists have estimated that the number of people in Indonesia below the poverty line has increased from 31.1 million in 1969-1970 to 39.4 million in 1976 in the rural areas of Java, that is, an increase from 52% to 62% of the village population.

The objectives of the Third Five Year Plan (Repelita-111) were defined as equity, growth and national stability. This "development trilogy" has remained a mere slogan. According to the World Bank, 6.4 million new jobs will have to be created during Repelita-III only to absorb the people who will be entering in the labour market during 1979-84.

Poverty in the rural areas of many parts of Asia arises directly

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Table 14. Estimates of Unemployment and Underemployment in Selected Asian Countries

	Year	Open Unemployment^1			Underemployment^2
		Total	Rural	Urban	Total	Rural	Urban
South Asia India Pakistan Sri Lanka South East Asia Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Republic of Korea Thailand	1971 1970 1973 1971 1974 1972 1972 1973	3.9 2.0 - 8.8 4.6 6.3 4.5 0.4	4.2 1.8 24.5 8.2 4.0 3.3 1.0 0.3	2.7 2.9 32.1 12.6 5.8 9.8 7.5 1.5	8.2 25.9 - - 7.3 - 30.7 18.3	8.9 28.0 - - 8.9 13.0 40.6 18.0	5.4 18.7 - - 3.5 11.7 14.8 20.1

Source: Asian Development Bank, Rural Asia Supplementary Papers, Vol III, 1978, p14.

1. Open unemployment is expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

2. Underemployment is expressed as a percentage of the employed.

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Table 15. Incidence of Poverty in Selected Asian Countries

	Year	Percentage of population below poverty line	Definition of poverty line
Bangladesh India Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Republic of Korea Sri Lanka Thailand	1973-74 1973-74 1970 1970-71 1971 1975 1973 1968-69	74.0 47.6 36.0 43.0 69.9 - 40.0 34.0	Income level to ensure 90 percent of “recommended” calorie intake Rs15 per person per month at 1960/61 prices (weighted average by states) M$25 per capita per month at current prices Income level to ensure 90 per cent of “recommended” calorie Minimum cost of basket of food required to meet recommended nutrient Rs200 per household per month $150/month/person in rural areas and $200/month/person in urban areas at 1975/76 prices

Source: United Nations, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, 1979, Bangkok, 1980, p86.

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Table 16. Absolute Level of Poverty in Selected Countries in Asia

	Population (millions)	Absolute poor (millions)
South Asia Bangladesh Burma India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka East & Southeast Asia Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Republic of Korea Singapore Thailand Pacific Fiji Papua New Guinea	80.4 30.8 620.4 12.9 71.3 13.8 4.5 135.2 12.7 43.3 36.0 2.3 43.0 0.6 2.8	60.3 25.3 223.4 - 24.3 3.0 0.3 68.4 1.3 6.9 3.4 0.1 11.6 0.1 0.4

Source: United Nations, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 1979, Bangkok 1980, p88.

from the unequal distribution of land and other productive assets. Pauperisation of the poor peasantry leads to their alienation from land, with consequent increase in the number of landless people who can only sell their labour power for a pitiably low wage. Large sections of the rural population are forced to migrate to urban centres in search of jobs. This invariably enlarges the size of the slum dwellers and squatter settlers. In practically all the capitalist (countries in Asia a large percentage of urban population has no alternative but to reside in slums and squatter settlements. These settlements, which are characterised by extremely bad physical and environmental conditions, pitiably low levels of income, high rates of unemployment and underemployment are expanding; governmental measures are grossly inadequate to solve the situation even marginally.

Inflationary Rise In Prices

The mass poverty of people in many Asian countries, both in

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Table 17. Extent of Slums and Squatter Settlements in Selected Cities in Asia

Country	City	Year	City population	Slums and squatter settlements population (thousands)	Population in slums and squatter settlement as percentage of city population
India Indonesia Pakistan Philippines	Calcutta * Jakarta Karachi Manila *	1971 1972 1971 1968	8000 4576 3428 3750	5328 1190 800 1238	67 26 23 33

* Urban agglomeration

Source: United Nations, World Housing Survey 1974, Annex II, Table 48.

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rural and urban areas, has been further aggravated by inflationary rise in prices, the traditional concept of "stagflation" after the world capitalist crisis which started in 1973-74. Government spokesmen in many Asian countries have described this as a "global phenomenon" forgetting the fact that the socialist countries have remained outside its orbit. Stagflation, in fact, is the product of capitalism in its final stage of decay and the deepening general crisis of world capitalism. On the contrary, China and other socialist countries have successfully contained the price situation through appropriate administrative arrangements for public distribution of essential commodities particularly foodgrains and other essential items of consumption.

Declining growth rates in industrial and agricultural sectors, high-handed and iniquitous tax structures, deficit financing, wasteful public expenditure, the growth of monopolies, the substantial growth of a parallel black money economy, the operations of boarders and speculators and lack of a proper public distribution system of essential commodities are some of the obvious reasons for the continuing rise in prices. However, it is necessary to look more closely into the dynamics of the socioeconomic and political systems of the capitalist part of Asia in order to dissect properly the systemic" causes of stagnation and the declining purchasing power of the vast masses of the people.

Table 18. Percentage Rates of Change in Consumer Price Indices

Country	Annual compound rate of growth	1967	1973
Hong Kong India Indonesia (Djakarta) Malaysia (West) Pakistan (Karachi) Philippines (Manila) Singapore Sri Lanka (Colombo) Thailand (Bangkok)	- 7.2 1.0 3.4 4.5 1.4 2.0 2.2	5.7 13.9 169.5 4.2 6.9 5.7 3.3 2.2 4.0	11.2 15.9 33.9 - 18.4 3.5 23.7 8.1 12.1

Source: United Nations, Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, November 1973; and the Central Bank of Philippines.

Inflation has remained a major problem of the people of Thailand. Consumer prices increased by over 20% in 1980, an

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Table 19. Changes in Wholesale and Consumer Price Indices, 1975 – 1979

	1975	1979
South Asia
Bangladesh	24.4	12.7
Burma	31.6	5.7
India	5.6	6.3
Nepal	12.9	6.0
Pakistan	20.8	9.4
Sri Lanka	6.8	10.8
South-East Asia
Indonesia	19.0	20.2
Malaysia	4.6	3.6
Philippines	6.8	16.5
Singapore	2.6	4.0
Thailand	4.1	10.3
East Asia & Pacific
Fiji	13.0	7.9
Hong Kong	5.4	10.8
Papua New Guinea	10.4	5.8
Republic of Korea	25.4	18.3

Source: United Nations, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 1979, Bangkok 1980, p62.

increase of over 5% from the 1979 rate of inflation and well above the government’s original projection of 11.4%. A trade deficit of US$3.2 billion was expected for the year, due mainly to overdependence on imported oil.

Shortages of essential commodities such as sugar and cement pushed the price level up. A major drought in 1979-1980 crop season intensified price hikes for meats and vegetables.³⁰

“Thailand’s economy in 1982 reflected the worldwide recession. Real GNP growth was estimated at about 4.5%, as compared to 6.0% for the preceding year. This was well short of the GNP growth target of 6.9% set by the fifth five year plan (1982-86). Persistently high interest rates had a severe dampening effect on investment; despite a reduction, the prime rate remained more than ten percentage points above inflation. Low commodity prices, a result of the world recession, accounted for a 7-10% decline in the terms of trade. Manufacturing growth was sluggish: although real growth in manufacturing had been targeted at 7.6%, economists estimated a 6% growth at best in 1982.” ³¹

In Seoul, Korea, the price of oil was raised 59.4% in January, ³²

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and 11.3% (27.24% for gasoline) again in November.³³ Because of poor weather, agricultural production declined by 9.5%, and food prices, which usually decline in October, rose by 5.7% and 26% respectively.

In India state policy has been deliberately used to support the material base of the ruling classes while the vast masses of the working people and the unemployed sections both in urban and rural areas had a raw deal. Inflationary rise in prices has been phenomenal.

Table 20. Index Number of Wholesale Prices in India

	Cereals	Tea	Coffee	Fuel, Power Light and Lubricants
Last week of March 1977	158.8	352.2	136.4	232.0
Last week of Feb., 1979	157.2	202.9	127.9	240.3
Second week of Jan., 1980	183.8	245.0	132.0	295.5
Last week of Dec., 1983	253.4	462.4	184.3	490.5

Index number of wholesale prices in India with 1970-71 as 100 stood at 318.7 on December 24, 1983 reaching a three-fold increase since the Prime Minister gave the slogan “garibi hatao”. ³⁵

The cost of living index of industrial workers in India rose by 11.4, 12.5 and 7.8% in each of the first three years of the present tenure of the Prime Minister. This index stood at 558 in November 1983. Between 1980 and 1983 Rs55,000 million of resources were raised by the Government of India, increasing the prices of petroleum and petroleum products. Similarly, railway fares and coal prices were substantially raised through the government’s administrative decisions.

Fighting Inflation the Capitalist Way: Suppression of Workers’ Rights

Ruling classes in most Asian countries have been trying to pass on the burden of inflation to the working people. They find that the only items on which economy can be exercised and which can reduce costs are the wage and employment of labour.

This shows very clearly how the export drive, the cry for increasing the productivity of labour, of ‘linking wages to productivity’,

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of modernisation, are all part of the offensive of a crisis-ridden, growingly dependent economy against its working people and other democratic sections. The total impact of this state policy has been the creation and nourishment of such internal evils as unemployment, price increase, recession and deficit financing.

Table 22. Administered Prices

Commodity	Date of increase in price	Extent of increase
Rice	16-1-84	Under Public Distribution System an increase of Rs20 per quintal
Levy Sugar	1-2-84	Raised by Rs25 per quintal to Rs400 per quintal
Coal	8-1-84	Pithead price revised as follows: CIL from Rs 149 to Rs183.00 per metric ton.
		Singreni Collieries from Rs154.75 to Rs192.00 per metric ton

The labour policy of the Government of India is a case in point. It has actually helped the development of capitalism in India. The large number of legislative enactments on industrial relations, minimum wage fixation, etc. have, in fact, enabled the big bourgeoisie to amass the economic surplus generated by the toiling masses. On the one hand, the Government of India has failed to act as a model employer in the public sector undertakings and in other services; on the other, they have used the administrative and police machinery at their disposal to suppress the genuine struggle of the working class and to bestow benefits on the big bourgeoisie. In the name of productivity techniques, automation, mechanisation and rationalisation are being introduced, thus enabling big business to extract super profits. The use of draconian laws both under Emergency provisions and otherwise, black laws such as the National Security Act (NSA) and Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), the enacting of laws banning strikes in so-called essential services, and changes in Industrial Disputes Act, all should be viewed as part of a desperate response by the crisis-ridden state power to meet the rising tide of people's dissent. The perpetuation of the present labour policy of the government of India will only

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Table 21. Retail Prices of Essential Commodities in Bombay (India)

		1/2Rs. Per Kg. Percentage variations
Item	Quality	December 16, 1982	December 18, 1981	December 16, 1982 over a year
Rice	Average	6.00	3.80	57.9
Wheat	Average	4.60	3.90	17.9
Jowar	Average	3.00	2.30	30.4
Gran Dal	Average	5.50	6.00	-8.3
Tur Dal	Average	8.00	6.00	33.3
Milk per litre	Buffalo	6.00	5.40	11.1
Tea	Average	26.00	23.00	13.0
Coffee	Average	20.00	17.50	14.3
Kerosene per litre	–	1.70	1.66	2.4
Sugar	Average	4.50	6.00	-25.0
Groundnut oil	Average	15.60	14.50	7.6
Vanaspati	Average	17.00	15.00	13.3

Note: Compiled by the Research Bureau of Commerce.

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aggravate the crisis in industrial relations and increase social tensions.

The organised working class of Malaysia have been threatened with a number of draconian laws. In April 1980 the Malaysian Parliament passed a law providing the government with powers to suspend trade unions for security reasons and to initiate criminal proceedings for "illegal" strikes.

Singapore provides another element of the spectrum. According to the supporters of the "free market" like Milton Friedman (the American economist who visited Singapore in 1980) the State's policy is one of economic liberalism and the play of the free market. However, in fact, Singapore government owns, controls and regulates the major portion of land, labour and capital resources and determines their allocation. The state provides infrastructure and social services. The state holds about 75% of all the land in the country and has the power to acquire the remaining balance if it wishes. In an attempt to control the labour market the Industrial Relations Act of Singapore clearly defines management prerogatives which are not subject to negotiation by the trade unions. About 90% of the total trade union membership is controlled by the ruling Peoples' Action Party and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) led by a Minister in the Government and virtually run by government bureaucrats.

The story of how the ruling classes try to fight inflation in other capitalist countries of Asia will be only variants of the above theme. The essence remains the same - to pass on the burdens of inflationary rise in prices to the working people and to enable the owners of capital and other assets to amass super profits.

Crisis In Formal Education

Formal education in the non-socialist or capitalist countries in Asia is passing through a very serious crisis. This is reflected not only in the rise of student-teacher ratio and fall in quality of education, but also in terms of the decadent, unscientific and undemocratic content of education. Feudal, chauvinistic and obscurantist ideas often find a central place in the text books prescribed for formal instruction. Values which promote a subservient attitude towards imperialism and which justify economic concentration and the growth of industrial and landed monopolies are either explicit in the text books or appear in a subtle manner as the "hidden curricula". In addition to communal, casteist and other

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reactionary ideas, naked pro-fascist and authoritarian ideas are also sought to be propagated by the syllabi of many formal school and university systems in Asia. These trends are naturally fostered and reinforced by U.S. foundations and their aid programmes.

According to a study made by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) there are large ..dropouts" and "pushouts" at the school level in the Asia and Pacific region. Less than 50% remain in schools at the beginning of ('lass VN; the percentage of students who remain by the end of Class X is less than 20% . ³⁶

The main reason for such heavy dropouts is poverty and other socioeconomic reasons. According to a study conducted in Bangladesh 54.79% of the children in the age-group 6 - 10 could not go to school due to poverty of the concerned households.

Table 23. Reasons for Non-Enrolment Among Children in the 6 to 10 Age-Group

	Percentages
Poverty	54.79
Not interested in education	29.45
Negligence	4.12
Considered under-aged	8.22
Physically handicapped	0.68
Others	2.74
Total	100.00

Source: Taherul Islam, Social Justice and the Economic Systems of Bangladesh, Bureau of Economic Research, University of Dacca, April 1973, Table 5 p54.

The main lesson to be drawn from the Asian experience is that universal primary education cannot be implemented without eradicating rural poverty.

The formal system of education is characterised by acute imbalances between primary, secondary and higher education levels; the budgetary allocations are heavily weighted in favour of higher education; primary education is neglected as a result of which large sections of the people remain illiterate or with very inadequate education. Similarly, there are imbalances between rural and urban areas in terms of educational facilities. This has a direct bearing on, distributive justice. The vast number of primary schools is located in the rural areas, while the universities and other institutions of higher learning are concentrated in the urban areas. Thus, the

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disproportionately greater expenditure on higher education enables the middle and higher-income groups to be the main beneficiaries rather than the vast majority of low-income groups who live mostly in the rural areas.

Table 24. Selected Asian countries: Ratios and Growth of Enrolment at First Level, 1960 – 1975

Country (population by million)	Enrolment 1960	Ratios 1975
South Asia
Bangladesh (73.7)	41.6	54.0
Burma (31.2)	50.6	76.3
India (613.2)	53.2	64.6
Nepal (12.6)	8.6	18.9
Pakistan (70.6)	27.7	38.5
Sri Lanka (14.0)	103.7	82.5
South-East Asia
Indonesia	66.6	75.2
Malaysia (12.1)	95.9	91.0
Philippines (44.4)	92.3	110.2
Singapore (2.2)	111.4	105.5
Thailand (42.1)	90.3	91.0
East Asia
Republic of Koreas (34.7)	94.3	105.3
Pacific
Papua New Geneva (2.7)	67.5	63.4
Japan (111.1)	102.9	99.6
New Zealand (3.0)	110.0	110.2

Source: UNESCO, “Progress” (table 1.)

Note: number enrolled per hundred persons in the normal age group for first level.

Despite the reality that a really liberating educational system can be created only as a concomitant of radical, systemic socio-economic and political change, we should not underestimate the need for waging a continuous and effective struggle for changing the oppressive educational systems obtaining in the Asian countries today. The struggle for changing the system of education is an integral part of the overall struggle for changing society. Hence, the need for articulating our demands for reform in the present systems of education.

The very serious crisis and the virtual collapse of formal education have prompted many educationalists and public men to

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Table 25. Literacy Rates

Country	Census Age	15 and over
Burma	1954	66
India	1971	82
Indonesia	1961	74
Japan	1961	3
Pakistan	1951	88
Philippines	1970	18
Republic of Korea	1960	42
Singapore	1957	71
Thailand	1960	44

Source: UNESCO, Progress of Education in the Asian Region, Statistical Supplement, Tables 14 and 15, p30-34

look for a new approach to education itself — an education which helps liberation. There is increasing awareness of the serious divorce between formal education and the needs of society in the process of liberation. It is recognized by many that real education is concerned with the creation and dissemination of knowledge and the process of social and political struggles for changing the present unjust societies. Hence, the growing interest by teachers, students and educationists in the philosophical and political content of education.

In societies divided by socio-economic classes, the dominant or ruling class invariably try to subdue or overwhelm the exploited classes by spreading false consciousness. The process of articulation and dissemination of such consciousness becomes synonymous with “education.” The system of formal schooling, collegiate and university education, etc. get geared to the overall ideological requirements of the ruling classes for propagation of false consciousness to keep the other section of the people in line with the ethos of the elite.

There is a dialectical connection between knowing and being. In understanding reality, logic alone is useless; knowledge has to be synthesized through action and experience.

Educational and literacy programmes, by themselves, cannot achieve the desired result of raising political consciousness. They can be effective only when they are integrated with revolutionary struggles of the working people.

Ideological and Cultural Offensive of Ruling Classes

State power is exercised through various instruments such as the

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army, the police, the courts and the prisons — all instruments of coercion. However, it should be noted that the ruling classes use the above instruments as the final arbiter; but in normal circumstances they use various ideological weapons including the propagation of slogans of "liberty", "equality" and so on. The ideological and cultural offensive of the ruling classes is sometimes very subtle and it is important for those who are striving for a fundamental change in state structure to work effectively at the cultural and ideological front.

There is a whole range of non-coercive instruments used by the ruling classes to keep the masses under control. Education, ideology, literature and other intellectual activities serve to perpetuate the existing state structure. An intensive attempt is made to inculcate in the youth the ideology and values of the bourgeois-landlord state, anti-communism, an attitude of hostility towards people's movements, a contempt for manual labour, a sense of status and community, a striving for self-enrichment and self-advancement at the cost of the masses, a tendency to ape western cultural and intellectual ideas.

Through the control of the various media of mass communication, creative literature, music, dance drama, painting and so on the ruling classes try to control and shape development of human personality in a way which helps the consolidation and sustenance of the existing state power of exploiting classes. It is, therefore, extremely important that we should study the forms and content of each country's culture in order to understand the character of state power in depth.

Understanding of culture as a superstructure of state power demands deeper examination of the social system as it emerged in each country for example, at a particular stage of the development of Indian society the varna caste system of social division emerged. This form of social Organisation, however, did not prevent the development of feudal relations in land, while retaining a number of pre-feudal social formations. It was on this type of Indian society that capitalism through a number of imperialist onslaughts, was superimposed.

Human Rights And Political Repression

If poverty, unemployment and gross economic exploitation are the material realities of social life in most Asian countries, the most agonising fact of life is that a pernicious and all-pervading darkness

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has been shed on the people by governments which have given a go-by to parliamentary democracy, constitutionalism and rule of law. Suppression of human rights, political repression and authoritarian semi-fascist rule have become the order of the day. Possibly the most distressing fact is that similar tendencies which were only dormant in some countries with an apparent tradition of inherited parliamentary values have recently removed their camouflage and have decided to tread the path of political suppression of all dissent.

In most countries of Asia freedom of the Press, freedom of expression and freedom to organise virtually do not exist. By enacting draconian or black laws such as "Martial Law", "National Emergency", National Security Act, Preventive Detention Act, Essential Services Maintenance Act and so on, the ruling classes try to keep their political opponents at bay. Not only revolutionary and democratic people are subjected to all kinds of repression, but even innocent people have to face arbitrary arrests and imprisonment without trial. Physical torture and use of third degree methods, reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps have become too common and ghastly.

Asia has an impressive array of authoritarian and military regimes. South Korea had a military coup d'état in 1962. President Sukarno of Indonesia was overthrown in 1965 in a military operation which was accompanied by a bloodbath and the massacre of thousands of revolutionaries and democrats. After the demise of democracy in Pakistan and the period of instability intermixed with successive military regimes, and the butchery of the people of Bangladesh fighting for liberation, the present civil government There has again relapsed into a tyrannical one. In the Philippines, after a spell of constitutional re-thinking, President Marcos declared Martial Law on 23 September 1972. A military regime was established in Thailand in 1982. This military regime was toppled I)y the coalition of students-workers-citizens in 1973, but another military coup was staged in 6 October 1976. Taiwan has the misfortune of having a superimposed, harsh, military and police regime for 25 years.

Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, using the monopoly of power of his People's Action Party, imposed exceptional laws, violative of all forms of freedom and democracy. We witnessed in 1973 a sliding back from whatever modicum of democracy that existed in Malaysia and Bangladesh.

The people of Asia rejoiced when the military puppet governments

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in South Vietnam and Kampuchea were ousted from their last hideouts in the two capitals in 1975. But, the fall of Thieu and Lon Nol, and along with them the humiliation of the U.S.A., did not mark the end of the dark forces of domestic repression. In fact, after the fall of the puppet regimes in South Vietnam and Kampuchea, the dominant power cliques in South Korea, Philippines and Malaysia have unleashed harsher repressive measures in a desperate move to stem the tide of history. Now, India with its long "tradition of Parliamentary practice" has been placed in the gallery of such power systems.

Philippines

The authoritarian political rule of President Marcos in the Philippines is virtually the result of a coup, "a seizure of power (by using the armed forces to eliminate the mass media, the Supreme Court, and Congress from the national decision-making) sufficiently drastic to warrant use of the term coup to describe the event".³⁷ This came against the backdrop of increasing penetration of the Philippines economy by American private investments (50 of the 750 American corporations working in the Philippines in 1969 had US$2 billion of investments accounting for 42% of total equity of the 1000 top companies), the Marcos government’s policy of terror against the Muslim population of Mindanao "to make room for the expanding logging industry and other plantation interests", the rising tide of popular discontent against such policies, and the militant anti-imperialist struggles of the people against the U.S. war In Vietnam and against American domination of the Philippines through private investments, official loans and grants.

Senator Aquino was brutally murdered by the army when he arrived at the Manila Airport. The evidence clearly shows that Aquino's murder was part of a cold-blooded plan. A National Covenant for Freedom signed by 72 leading opposition leaders on August 28, 1980 stated:

“Never in our history have the evils of corruption and bribery, of intimidation, torture and coercion, as well as the deceit, ineptitude, arrogance and profligacy of the politically powerful, grown to such horrifying proportions as they have during the eight years of the Marcos "New Society". Never in our history have so many Filipinos been arbitrarily arrested, detained — many of them vanishing without a trace — than during this repressive and repugnant regime.”³⁸

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South Korea

Four years ago in May, General Chun Doo Hwan came to power in South Korea and brutally repressed a civil uprising in the city of Kwangju. The number of people killed by the army is estimated to' be over 1000. Despite official denials, American responsibility in this large-scale massacre cannot be forgotten. General John A. Wickham Jr., the then Commander of American forces in Korea (now the U.S. Army Chief of Staff) was the person who released the Korean regiment under his command for so-called "security work" in Kwangju. He publicly stated that "the Korean people were not ready for democracy".³⁹ Incidentally, this is the American decision which has been made clear both in public and private statements by American leaders. South Korean political history since the end of Korean war has been characterised by puppet governments with American support, using stringent political controls to prevent people's dissent. Of course, on several occasions the Korean people rejected authoritarian regimes in favour of a more democratic government. The first time was in April 1960 when a student revolt succeeded in pulling down the corrupt puppet government of Syngman Rhee. However, this effort was short-lived because General Park Chung Hee came to power through a military coup in May 1961. Nineteen years later, people tried to assert their rights after Park was assassinated by his Chief of Intelligence in October 1979. Though the Korean people, particularly the students, openly discussed the possibility of putting an end to martial law and the drafting of the new constitution, restoring democracy and direct elections, this dream came to an end on May 17, 1980 when General Chun Doo Hwan came to power, extending martial law to the entire country, dissolving the National Assembly and all political parties and closing all universities. Hundreds of students and political leaders were detained and more than 55,000 persons were subjected to brutal "purification" camps.

With massive American aid, South Korea has produced statistics per capita gross national product of US$1800. With crowded cities, skyscrapers housing multinational corporations, and the streets crammed with automobile traffic and the hilly outskirts crowded with poverty-stricken people living in miserable (who keep the capitalistic production machinery going), Korea, the "Land of Morning Calm" has become a place of terrible contrasts — of affluence of the few on the one side and poverty of the masses on the other.

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General Chun, like his predecessors with American backing, has tried his best to convince the people, particularly the students, that "democracy is a luxury Korea cannot afford". On the contrary, students and youth have intensified their struggle against the policies pursued by the Chun government. They have mounted a campaign against forced military conscription (many student leaders have been whisked away by the military for forced conscription). They are also struggling for campus autonomy, democratisation of the political process and an end to the military rule. Five youth associations, including both Protestant and Roman Catholic, have prepared a report on the whole issue of forcible induction into the military. According to this report the death of six students (who were forcibly inducted into the military) was caused by "Greening Activities", that is, getting rid of any tinge of "red" and "forced cooperation in intelligence" to work as counter agents. The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) in their open questions regarding the Problem of Forced Drafting of University Students into the Military stated:

"We are greatly shocked to learn that since 1960 university students have been forcibly drafted into the military and that in this connection, six have died under suspicious circumstances"⁴¹

Kim Chi Ha was sentenced for life in prison for

"the crime of touching the ground with his two feet... the crime of attempting to stand up despite his poverty-stricken status, the crime of wasting time in thinking, the crime of looking up at the sky without a feeling of shame, the crime of inhaling the air and expanding his thorax..."⁴²

Under pressure from world public opinion, he was released last year.

Taiwan

Though the United States ended all official ties with Taiwan, the actual US-Taiwan relations have not materially changed: continued economic relations, political concerns and the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 testify to the "unofficial" relations on a wider scale. Defensive arms military support continues despite protests by the People's Republic of China. The value of total sales of armaments by U.S.A. to Taiwan in 1979 amounted to US$800 million. The arms included F-5E interceptors, precision-guided munitions, and Maverick missiles. Since the terms of normalisation of relations with China did not preclude American rights to continue MFM, OPIC,

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nuclear energy agreements and export-import bank credits arid military sales, American policy has been to expand its relations with Taiwan in these areas. Private foreign investments in Taiwan increased from US$213 million to US$329 million in 1979. In 1980 the United States accounted for over US$10 billion out to the total Taiwan's trade of US$36 billion.

The Kuomintang Government in Taiwan has a long record of suppression of dissent and prevention of agitation by people who desire political change. After the 'Kaoshiung incident' the Taiwan government arrested a large number of political opponents. 8 major leaders were accused of sedition and 33 others were tried for other offences. The Manager of Formosa magazine, who had a prison record, was sentenced to life imprisonment; the publisher, a National legislator, was given a 14-vear prison term. The remaining six defendants, including a feminist leader, two lawyers, a provincial legislator, arid two human rights activists were sentenced to 12-year terms.⁴³

Though the United States announced cancellation of the U.S.-Republic of China defence treaty, the American moratorium on sales of weapons to Taiwan was lifted in the be inning of 1980. In January 1980, the American government announced plans to provide Taiwan US$219.7 million worth of 'defensive weapons' including 280 Mawk air defence missiles, 14 Mark-75 shipboard gunmounts, 284 chapparal shipboard air defence missiles arid one thousand TOW antitank missiles plus launchers. Taiwan's defence expenditure in 1980 accounted for 10% of the island's gross national product. The defence budget in 1980 actually increased by 50% over the previous year.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, General Suharto's New Order has apparently brought some "stability"; but this has been achieved mainly through coercion arid the threat of impending coercion. Though the Indonesian Army is relatively underequipped it is being used for the strategic purpose of controlling a population of over 150 million. The regime relies not only on coercion but also on legitimising its power through ideological, cultural and other means to secure the support of different communities and "buying off dissenters, and manipulating information.”⁴⁴ After the collapse of parliamentary democracy in 1957, radio and television, which are more effective

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means of communication with the people (rather than the press and are state-owned) are used as a means of manipulation of information.

However, the politically conscious public are increasingly relying on information from nonofficial sources (inside information). The number of inside stories traded in the rumour market has increased substantially, as part of people's effort to grapple with the truth.

On March 27, 1980 President Suharto, speaking at a meeting of commanders of armed forces in Pakanbaro, west Sumatra, criticised radical groups 6%,ho, according to him, were not committed to the Pancasila (Five Pillars) and criticized value systems of Marxism, Leninism, Communism, Socialism, Garhaenism (Sukharno’s particular branch of socio-nationalism), Nationalism, and Religion.⁴⁵ The conflict, however latent it may be, between the Indonesian Government and organised Islam is coming to the surface.

Thailand

Though American imperialism received the biggest blow in the Indo-China, particularly Vietnam, it has not lost all its hopes to establish a stranglehold on different outposts in Asia. Already U.S. imperialism has created an artificial government in exile in Kampuchea and is trying to get involved in Asian politics via ASEAN. They are still using Thailand for tightening the U.S. war apparatus in South-East Asia. Thailand which has been the "linch pin of continuing U.S. involvement in Indochina"⁴⁶ continues to be a convenient outpost of U.S. imperialism, with the Thai ruling classes and the military playing their power game.

Pakistan

The history of Pakistan is replete with army rule and martial law. With the assumption of office by Bhutto some circles had expressed the hope that the period of unstable military regimes would end; but the country's polity deteriorated beyond redemption. Eqbal Ahmed's prognosis in 1974 is worth nothing.

"We are witnessing the emergence of two clearly identifiable, seemingly hostile, but symbiotically linked trends — towards fascism and separatism. Of these, fascism is the more serious threat although separation is generally being viewed as the imminent danger."⁴⁷

The directionless drama in Pakistan which began the July 1977 coup has continued ever since General Zia cancelled the 1979

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elections. Unable to find a political solution to the political process in Pakistan, General Zia "continues to ride the increasingly restless political tiger." ⁴⁸ The hollow talk about adoption of a democratic system "compatible with Islam"" and frequent suggestions by Zia that democracy in Pakistan must be built "from the ground up" have not taken the country even an inch further towards democracy.

General Zia and the ruling classes in Pakistan are using religion to legitimise the continuance of the military regime. Islamic themes are used in and out of context as part of political tactics. Islamic Cargo Fleet, Islamic Science Foundation and Islamic Newsprint Industry are all interlinked with the Islamisation process and the creation of a Nizam-i-Islam (Islamic Order). Retired justice Kaikhaus has put forward the argument that the law courts and representative parliamentary government and the concept of franchise are "repugnant to the injunctions of Islam".

Pakistan is getting fully drawn into the American controlled International Monetary System. On No\,,ember 25, 1980 Pakistan received a credit of US$1.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund. This was the largest credit received by any developing country till that date. Pakistan had to pay a very heavy price for this, under the conditionality clauses of the IMF; substantial liberalisation of imports followed and a number of multinational corporations were given wider fields for investments in Pakistan. New export processing zones in Karachi and Lahore, with no restrictions on, repatriation of profits in foreign exchange were promised by Zia. ⁵⁰

Bangladesh

During the British rule in India, the armed forces were supposed to be 'politically neutral'. However, colonial politics was, in reality, against such neutrality. The process of politicization of the armed forces and also the bureaucracy got accentuated in the Indian sub-continent. After the creation of Pakistan during 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, in Bangladesh, politicization of the army took place in a situation of economic scarcity, political and economic corruption and the culture of poverty. As in Pakistan, the worsening of the economic conditions in Bangladesh has given a cover for the army, and bureaucracy to take political power.

A high rate of inflation mounting unemployment, the increasing number of landless people and the general economic crisis have Bangladesh one' of the most backward states in Asia. Robberies, hijackings, murders, abduction, rapes, suicides, armed

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clashes, deaths in jails, public meetings and educational institutions have become the order of the day. Law enforcing authorities including the police are deep down in corruption. In a period of one and a half years there were 51 strikes in 21 jails by the inmates in protest against filthy conditions in jails.⁵¹

Sri Lanka

The present United National Party (UNP) which came to power in July 1977 has followed an openly conservative policy giving full support to free market sector in the economy. Many of the controls and restrictions on private enterprises built during the earlier regimes were discarded to allow "the market forces to play a greater role in the allocation of resources." ⁵²

Apart from devaluation of the public sector the UNP government provided an open door policy for private foreign capital particularly in export-oriented industries. The exchange rates were modified by abolishing the dual exchange rate system and adopting a flexible exchange rate. NI addition the government allowed substantial liberalisation of import trade under which prior import licence is needed only in certain limited sectors related to national security, protection of domestic industry and government subsidy. The Free Trade Zones (FTZ) have assumed a special role in the exploitation of cheap Sri Lankan labour in the interest of domestic and international monopoly capital.

Ethnic Situation: The Sri Lankan Case

Sinhala-Tamil relations have worsened in the background of the economic crisis as well as the wrong policies pursued by the government on the question of ethnic minorities. "The UNP government's attitude towards Tamil issues has been vague, vacillating, and full of contradictions. Of course, like most of the other political parties, it has opposed Eelam, but until July-August 1979 It did not set out its own specific proposals as to how the problem of communal relations could be solved.⁵³

The government declared a state of emergency in the district of Jaffna from midnight of July 12, 1979 in the name of "dealing with terrorism". On July 19, the same year, the government introduced the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Prevention) Bill and passed it on the same day, by suspending normal procedures in Parliament.

Under the Prevention of Terrorism Law a number of undemocratic

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clauses have been introduced in the law. In the past, a state of emergency declared under the Public Security Act had to be reported to Parliament within ten days of its declaration, and lasted for only a month. Each reporting and renewal of the state of emergency, therefore, gave Parliament the opportunity to review whether the emergency and the regulations made thereunder were justified, and also to scrutinize forces exercising emergency powers. No such opportunities for monthly scrutiny on the floor of Parliament exist under the new Prevention of Terrorism Law, which lasts for three years In the first instance. The powers the government has given itself under the new law are also more drastic than anything known even in previous emergencies under the Public Security Act. Indeed, they make a mockery of the human and personal rights and freedoms that the UNP included with so much trumpeting in its new constitution."

Concentration Of Political Power

Even in countries which have outward forms of parliamentary democracy, for example, India and Sri Lanka, suppression of freedom takes place in a number of concealed ways. There is a growing tendency for concentration of political power in the hands of one party, sometimes in one family, and often in one person. This, in turn, is a reflection of the concentration of economic power, both in terms of wealth and incomes, in the hands of the few. In the Indian case, though the constitution refers to a federal system, "a union of states", with powers for the state (provincial) governments clearly specified there has been a continuous erosion of the powers of the state governments and undue concentration of power in the hands of the central government.

In the name of the Presidential form of government, power has been concentrated in the hands of Jeyawardene in Sri Lanka. There is already serious talk of a Presidential form of government in India, though all opposition parties have put up stiff resistance to such a proposal which according to them will lead to further concentration of power in the hands of one person.

In the name of creating "strong and stable" governments, the ruling classes in many countries have armed the police, paramilitary forces and the regular wings of the army, with the most sophisticated weapons. This has further reduced the funds available for develop. nictit expenditure. With larger budgetary allocations for the army and the police, two coercive instruments of state power, the ruling

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classes are trying to suppress all the organized sections of the people, workers, peasants, agricultural labour, women, youth and students and other marginalized sections of the people.

Atrocities Against Women

Atrocities against women have been on the increase. Brutal assaults on women by lumpen elements and police with official patronage, bride-burning, dowry-deaths, etc. should not be seen as isolated events. They represent the accentuation of the oppressive forces in general.

Authoritarian Rule in India

The Emergency clamped down by Indira Gandhi during 1975-77 should be viewed against the backdrop of the growing crisis in the socio-economic and political domains in India. Though she and her party were defeated in 1977, the Janata Party which took over the reigns of power, true to their bourgeois-landlord class character, followed basically the same policies as that of Congress (I). No wonder that Congress (I) came back to power in 1979.

Though outward forms of parliamentary government exist in India, the politics of this country is governed increasingly by authoritarian forces. Democratic norms are thrown to the winds and a dynastic, one-family, rule is, in fact, being hoisted.

The crisis in the country, however, does not facilitate a centralized one-party authoritarian rule. Six states elected non-Congress(I) governments. Resistance to authoritarian rule is growing.

One common denominator of all authoritarian and military regimes in Asia is that the major activity of the police, army and paramilitary forces is to attack and eliminate all militant and radical sections of the people in the name of fighting communism. In 1965 more than 300,000 belonging to or allegedly sympathetic to the Communist Party of Indonesia were massacred.⁵⁵

But today the army and police are used by military and authoritarian governments not only to attack the communist groups but also to eliminate all conscientious dissent even from liberal and bourgeois democratic parties — people who, in the opinion of the ruling classes, form a potential threat to their own power. Fortunately this widening of the target has brought together people of various ideologies and religious faiths and non-political people who believe in the human values of self-respect, freedom and justice to come together in a wider fraternity.

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Religious Fanaticism, Caste and Communal Forces

In India, “untouchability” was declared an offence according to an Act of 1955. But, untouchability, caste oppression and brutalities against Harijans and girijans continue unabated. The ruling party pretends to be the protector of weaker sections of society. But, in fact, the ruling party is dominated by most oppressive sections of the ruling classes of who are also organizing their own private armies of hoodlums.

Table 26. Number of Cases of Crimes Against Scheduled Castes and Tribes in India during 1982

Year	Scheduled Castes	Scheduled Tribes
1980	13,866	2218
1981	14,308	3502
1982	15,054	4102

Table 27. Number of Cases of Crimes Against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Some Selected States in India during 1981 – 1982

States	Scheduled Castes		Scheduled Tribes
	1981	1982	1981	1982
Andhra Pradesh	206	213	29	31
Bihar	1983	2073	174	85
Madhya Pradesh	4033	4749	2524	311
Rajasthan	1562	1731	386	472
Uttar Pralesh	3865	3977	Nil	Nil
INDIA Total	14308	15054	3502	4102

In the Indian case, it is very clear that there is a conscious attempt by religious fanaticism to get control over politics. “Ekatmata Yagna” organized by Hindu communalists was a provocative action meant to inflame Hindu chauvinist passions against non-Hindus. This received patronage and support from the ruling party in India.

Muslim communalists harping on the discontent caused by the discrimination against minority communities are adding fuel to fire. Some Christian missionaries, particularly in tribal areas, are also

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encouraging separatism.

Ekatmata Yagna Yatra sponsored by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in India was not an innocent move; its disruptive communal potential must be taken serious note of. Using Mother symbols, the cow, the Ganga and Bharat, it tried to whip up obscurantism and wipe out secular and democratic values from the Indian political scene. The professed objectives of the Parishad to strengthen Hindu society and culture — are, in fact, camouflaging communal and obscurantist political ambitions. The attempts by the Parishad are a continuation of the attempts by the RSS to fight the secular and mass orientation of the Indian nationalist movement starting from the period of anti-British struggles. By identifying Hindu religion with Bharat, the Yagna not only denies the universal character of the religion but denies patriotic participation in Indian polity by other religious groups.

In Malaysia, Islamic fanaticism remains a most vital communal political issue although issues relating to language, education and special rights of Malays continue to be important problem areas. Violence resulting from Communal tensions has in some places reached the stage of one religious group desecrating the temples of another group. In 1980 there was a raid on a Buddhist temple in Penang.

In Indonesia, the Pancasila ideology, particularly as it is presented within the P4 courses (upgrading courses on the directives for a realisation and implementation on Pancasila), have inherent contradictions which are reflected also in governmental policies. For example, the first principle (sita), that is, a belief in a supreme being (Sila Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa) being a general statement encompassing a wide variety of religions including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism comes into conflict with the concept of the secular state. Orthodox Muslims are clamouring for an explicit commitment to Islam as the state religion. "They have also resisted what they see as an attempt on the part of the government to equate more belief of faith (kepercayaan) with a true religion (agama). This objection is aimed at many of the traditional and pre-Islamic beliefs of Javanese, which are seen as corruptions or denials of the true faith of Islam. This includes both the animistic beliefs of the rural population as well as the more sophisticated version (kebathinan) of the aristocratic priyayi class." ⁵⁶

Despite the vagueness of P4, General Suharto has clearly indicated a close alliance between the New Order regime and the

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army (ABRI) under the banner of Pancasila. Permissible political activity is that which is consistent with the state ideology. Political movements that are contrary to Pancasila are viewed as a fundamentalist threat to the stability and development of the Indonesian state. ⁵⁷ This has dangerous portents for the future. The speech of General Suharto clearly indicates the alliance between the army and the GOI,KAR, the government party.

Consumerism And The Worship Of Mammon

Possibly the best example of “consumerism”, worship of Mammon and the hopeless search for a religion to fill a cultural vacuum is presented by modern Singapore. Singaporean society is comprised of mainly the descendants of mercantile class and those immigrants who are steeped in the Confucian tradition. Confucianism is now being introduced in educational institutions and is attempted to be raised as a state religion. The elaborate system of fines, on the basis of which the civic-mindedness of the Singaporeans is being built, makes Singapore eligible to be called "a fine city" — a city based on fines and penalties for maintaining civic-mindedness. The average Singaporean has been reduced to a mere material being with "single-minded devotion to moneytheism, or the worship of money". As a scholar has pointed out, "His ancestors came to Singapore to make money — not to learn good manners. In his list of priorities, money came first, money came second, and then all the wav down the list. Courtesy was something that could not be quantified, and for some Singaporeans, anything that could not be quantified was not worth the acquisition." 'Of course, consumerism, has become the curse of many Asian countries; and youth are among its worst victims. Tourism, with all its distortions of cultural values and traditions, has played havoc.

People's Movements And The Role Of The Youth

What has been stated in the preceding pages is only a small sample from the long and complex list of "issues" relevant in the A,4ian context. This paper does not claim to have presented an exhaustive analysis of all the issues; at best it has outlined a sample which may be adequate to generate discussion.

The most crucial question, however, remains: What is the role of people’s movements, particularly the role of the youth?

It will be presumptuous on the part of any one to answer this question with reference to a vast and varied region — Asia. It may

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be better to indicate some options by pointing out what is being done concretely in a given socioeconomic, political and cultural context — India. It is up to people from each country to articulate their options on the basis of their knowledge and praxis in their own contexts.

Towards An Alternative Political Process

In India, resistance to the wrong policies of the ruling party is growing. This is reflected in:

i. unity of left and democratic parties,

ii. mass actions of trade unions, peasants, women, youth, students and other sections of the toiling people, and

iii. increasing unity among all the opposition parties to fight the ruling party and its policies in areas of consensus.

For example, the National Campaign Committee of Trade Unions has been carrying on its struggle against lay-offs, closures etc. and for the realisation of demands of workers and employees. The various campaigns all over India culminated in the massive march to Parliament on April 19, 1984.

Three centres around which the ranks of the fighting organisations of the working people and democratic secular parties are coming together are

1. Independent peace movement organised by the opposition parties;

2. Movement for the popularisation of the 11-point charter of demands formulated in the Calcutta Conference of opposition parties;

3. Activities in the national campaign committee of trade unions.

A National Convention of agricultural workers was held in Delhi on April 17, 1984 attended by more than 1,000 representatives from all over India. This was organised by the All India Coordination Committee of Agricultural Workers Unions consisting of All India Agricultural Workers Union (CPI-M), Bharat Khet Mazdoor Union (CPI), Hind Khet Mazdoor Panchayat, Indian National Rural and Allied Workers Federation.

Similarly, peasant movements, women's movements, youth and students' movements, civil rights movements and so on are gaining strength. Of great significance is the growing worker-peasant struggles in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala etc.

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Peace Movement And The People

A national convention against the danger of a nuclear war and the threat to India’s national security was held at New Delhi during March 8-9, 1984. The convention came as a culmination of a series of activities and mass mobilisations by trade unions and other people's organisations during the last two years. The convention, for the first time in India, established a firm link between the peace movement and mass organizations in India. Mammoth rallies were held on December 20, 198'3 at Calcutta and at Cochin on December 28, 1983. The major trade union in the country, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) observed a Peace Week during December 20-28, 1983. Eight political parties joined together in holding the national convention. With the initiative of left and democratic political parties the worldwide movement of peace has been fully integrated with the struggle for betterment of the working and living (conditions of the Indian people.

The convention made a call for observing April 13, 1984 as Peace I)ay all over the country. The Government of India pursues its policy of nonalignment and peace but they have shown vacillations on many occasions and have not taken a consistent stand against imperialism. Moreover the ruling party has never made any effort to mobilise the vast masses of the people against imperialism and against the threat of a Third World War — a nuclear war. But, a number of left and democratic parties have joined together to fight for the redress of the problems of the people.

Increasing unity among opposition parties is evident from the three major conclaves of their leaders, at 'v'ijaawada, Srinagar and Calcutta. The Calcutta Conference of opposition parties (January 13-15, 1983) was attended by representatives of 17 parties plus Chief Ministers of five non-Congress (I) State governments, namely, West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka. Opposition parties included CPI(M), CPl, Forward Block, RSP, PWP, Janata Party, Democratic Socialist Party, Congress(S), Congress(J), Janvadi Party, Rashtreeya Congress, Republican Party of India (Khobragade), Republican Party (Gavai), Telugu Desam, National Conference, Akali Dal and DMK.

The Conference demanded that:

1. The Union Government should guarantee adequate supply of essential commodities to the consumers at reasonable prices by drastically curbing the profits of wholesalers and

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organising a comprehensive network of the public distribution system. This calls for changing the priorities of production in favour of mass consumption goods needed by the poor and middle classes, and for subsidised supply of such commodities as major food grains, pulses, edible oils, salt, sugar, domestic coal, kerosene, common cloth, paper, life-saving drugs, match boxes, etc. Excise levies on all such goods need to be drastically reduced and their movement given top priority;

2. Remunerative prices be ensured for agricultural produce by adequate purchases through state agencies;

3. A total re-structuring of economic policies with a view to increasing the production of mass consumption goods and expanding employment opportunities for all sections, including small artisans and craftsmen;

4. The food-for-work programme be revived and expanded;

5. The existing land reform legislations be speedily implemented after plugging the loopholes, and immediate assent be accorded to land reform bills passed by State Legislatures;

6. Ensure cheap credit and supply of farm inputs to the. peasantry;

7. Enforce minimum wages to farm workers and initiate other measures to improve the living and working conditions of the rural people;

8. The anti-labour policies of the Union Government be reversed and obnoxious measures such as the NSA and the ESNIA be scrapped and the demands formulated by the National Campaign Committee of Trade Unions be accepted and effective steps be taken to prevent industrial closures and lockouts;

9. The national policy of economic self-reliance be restored, and fiscal, monetary and investment policies which encourage the big monopoly houses and multinational corporations at the expense of the interests of the poor and the working classes be abandoned; and

10. Energetic measures be introduced to put an end to the continuing economic injustice and physical attacks on the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, religious minorities, women and other weaker sections of the society.

The Calcutta Conference of opposition parties which accepted

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the 11-point charter of demands decided to develop a countrywide movement in support of the charter.

While building up the broadest possible unity among the people against the identifiable "major enemies of the people", based on a scientific analysis of the society where one lives, it should be remembered that unity of the people on a sustained basis is a function of ideology; without clarifying the ideological issues articulating them in terms of the specific realities in each country, it will be futile to think of radical changes away from the unjust, exploitative socioeconomic, political and cultural systems in which we operate in the capitalist backyards of Asia. And that ideology, in the present historical context is clearly the ideology of Scientific Socialism.