Poverty (English Passage for CSS/PMS)

by Khurram Pervaiz

Poverty, the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions, is a social malice; an evil that erodes into the very foundations of a country, slowly but incessantly. As described the mother of all evils, poverty breeds corruption, terrorism, social intolerance and a never ending spate of many other social vices that cause the socio-economic fabric of the society to be frayed. It is an untamed beast, a sphinx riddle and a maze that leads to a blind alley. Since the dawn of time, man has been employing different means to make a dent into the scourge of poverty. From Plato to Machiavelli and from Adam Smith to Karl Marx, all the prominent economic maestros have presented various means and methods to settle the issue of poverty for once and for all, but unfortunately all these attempts were in vain. Neither laissez faire nor socialist economy has found the solution of the ever increasing poverty. Poverty is a worldwide phenomenon. It is an octopus that has made inroads in even the most industrialised nations of the world. Pakistan was founded with an altruistic aim of providing social, religious, economic and political justice to the masses. Though religion is considered to be the main driving force behind the formation of Pakistan, the factor of economy can never be ignored (glossed over). Our Quaid once said to the his party leader before the formation of Pakistan,

“I have seen the villages of India. There is extreme poverty over there. If Pakistan is going to be like this then i don’t need Pakistan.”

This quotation of our quaid underscores the importance of economy in his conception of Pakistan. But unfortunately with the untimely death of our beloved quaid, opportunist landlords have saddled into the seat of power and authority. These big foots, started gobbling the assets of our beloved country in connivance of junta rules. On other hand, India after its independence followed the path of mixed economy under the patriarchal rule of Nehru and now it is reaping the benefits of thriving economy. Whereas, in Pakistan, the difference between the haves and the have-nots is increasing day by day. So called leaders have adopted different quixotic policies to curb the menace of poverty. Starting from the infamous “Trickle-Down” theory of Mehboob-ul-Haq to the mass privatization of the Musharaff’s era, all the economic policies have failed to trickle down the flavour of monetary benefits to the lower strata of the economy. Instead all these policies further screwed down the importunate Jobs of the society. Islam forbids one to accumulate more money than one’s need and commands to spend the money on the poor and needy of the society. The mammoth of poverty can be easily tamed if the rich and the affluent of the society strictly adhere to the commandments of Allah Almighty. We should always remember that Allah says that there is a severe chastisement for those who store up gold and silver without spending it in the way of Allah, on the needy ones of the society.