Importing gram daal

Part - III
Random thoughts
Besides gram daal, we also import onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes – shame on us! Muslims as a whole, and we as a nation in particular, tend to be lazy, slovenly and defeatist. On the one hand, we totally ignore Islamic edicts while on the other hand we put all blame for our fate on Allah.
Let me give as example the events of 1850 to 1865 when the Russians were expanding their empire by usurping the Central Asian States one by one. During that time they built a port in the Caspian and laid a railway track from there to Khiva to transport food, weapons and troops to the area. Bukhara was, at that time, the main seat of governance and in control of a vast kingdom. It was also a nest of Russian and British spies. In 1864 the Russians moved to conquer Bokhara. Upon hearing of these plans, Amir Bokhara, Nasrullah Khan, ordered the people to go the mosques and recite Ayat Karima (prayer of the Prophet Younus [ra]). While they were praying, Russian cannons blasted holes in the defence walls of the city and Bokhara was conquered with hardly any resistance.
Society in Bokhara was corrupt at the time. The prime minister, Abdus Samad Khan, reportedly used to send his soldiers to the city to capture young boys for sodomy. They ended up in more or less the same way as the people of Hazrat Lut (ra). The Russians lost only about 400 soldiers in the conquest of Central Asia and massacred hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the same way Changez Khan had murdered conquered Muslims earlier. With a history of having beaten and mercilessly conquered much stronger, non-Muslim armies, they were now reaping what they had sown. While, as a Muslim nation, we were following the edict of God in letter and in spirit, we were brave and fearless. When we fell to wrongdoings, we were humiliated and disgraced.
We are facing a similar situation. We are spending all our national resources on steel and cement structures, totally ignoring backbone infrastructures in general and agriculture in particular. In short, we are heading for disaster. Recently we witnessed farmers on the streets in protest, demanding more assistance and better prices for their crops. The PM announced a package in their favour but it has meanwhile been held in abeyance due to the upcoming local bodies elections.
I guess once the elections are over, the package too will be forgotten. Farmers have genuine grievances. They are receiving less for their crops than what it costs to produce them. The landlords and the middle men make profits while the farmers are deprived of fair earnings. Faced with this dilemma, many of them move to cities to find jobs. More than 50 percent of our population lives below the poverty line.
After Partition, the Indian government abolished the feudal system and annexed all the princely states. A wise, uniform agricultural policy is paying them good dividends while our large, influential landlords are more politician than farmer. Politics, through corruption, pays more dividends.
We are spending a large portion of our valuable foreign exchange on the import of oil, diesel, palm oil, tea, etc. Palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil and tea can easily be produced within the country, leading to huge savings. However, motorways, expressways and flyovers have a more lucrative margin for money making.
Major tasks are not solved by sitting around complaining and bickering. They require proper planning, foresight and implementation. Only then can one expect results. Farmers are aware, as are most of us, that there are three most essential conditions for producing good crops – land, water and climate.
We cannot control the climate, but we do have ways and means to control the other two factors. We are currently only utilising about 25 percent of the vast tracts of land that are available. Canals and tube wells can now provide ample quantities of water. Unfortunately, the increase in the cost of diesel and its unstable price are the proverbial last straw that breaks the camel’s back. To maintain fertile land, appropriate quantities of fertilizers are required, but the cost of fertilizers has increased dramatically and fake brands are found in abundance.
The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorous has to be 2 to 1 but high prices have forced farmers to resort to the use of a ratio of 4 to 1. This has resulted in low yields and bad quality crops. The government must help farmers by supplying good, cheap fertilizers and cheap fuel. Negligence in these areas could cost us dearly in the future. Politician farmers need to be controlled. They possess vast tracts of land but are often least interested in farming, earning their money through the write-off of huge loans, favours, corruption, etc. Land reforms are the need of the hour.
Coconut trees, palm trees and tea should be cultivated on a war footing in order to meet our requirements and save on valuable foreign exchange. Well-educated, experienced, honest professionals must be employed in order to do the job and proper incentives should be given to the farmers to cater to their needs and update their farming methods. It is economical to produce crops for local consumption, even if they cost slightly more than world market prices. The pros and cons to this do not need explaining.
One of our main problems is that our financial and agricultural policies are dictated by the World Bank, the IMF, the Asian Development Bank, the US, etc. Our bureaucrats follow their lead with great zeal and prove themselves to be more loyal than the king in order to ensure lucrative jobs after retirement. When the Americans suggested to Dr I H Usmani that time and money should not be wasted on growing wheat as this would be supplied free under their aid programme, Dr Usmani smiled and quipped: “If burials are made free in the US, would all Americans rush to commit suicide?”
My dear poet and advocate friend, Ahmad Idrees from Gujjar Khan, has aptly described our situation in the following verse:
Is ghar ka nizam he gharun ke hath men/Baaher hey mere naam ki takhte lagi hue (The country is run by foreigners and we are masters in name only.)
To be continued.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com