Neo Cantonment Colonialism In Pakistan – Kaiser Bengali : भूखी फौज अब अवाम की बोटियाँ खाने को आतुर !
राजीव उपाध्याय
Recently in a seminar in Pakistan, Kaiser Bengali a very prominent Pakistani economist and the originator of Benazir Income Support plan , coined this very apt description that old British colonialism has been replaced by the new ‘Cantonment Colonialism’ . The omni present Army has now demanded one lakh acre of fertile land in Punjab for corporate farming . The major managing partner in corporate farming will be some foreign company with army only collecting its share of commission. The army is already in businesses from cement to beauty saloons . It has already milked huge CPEC dry through Gen Asim Bajwa . Why it needs to usurp the agricultural land now ?
With the reduced availability of money for weapon purchase and its commissions and dry CPEC and with no new highly profitable Afghan type war in horizon , the army needs money for sustaining its corruption based lavish life style . Talibans are reducing ISI’s income from its favourite drug business. So it is ready to make foray into hitherto an untouched area of agriculture .
But farming is not easy and it does not want to do hard work of farming nor has the money or investment management ability . So what better than grab land in the old British colonial style ? Surely it will be cloaked in the patriotic jingoism like CPEC and presented as salvation for Pakistan with high agricultural production and productivity. Only a few years back a popular TV anchor had declared on TV that after CPEC Pakistanis will clean their nose with dollars ! CPEC loans have become a noose around the neck. Some new anchors will coin equally good phrases for this corporate farming project and mesmerise the gullible public .
The nation undoubtedly desperately needs the extra income from agriculture and better agro technology as it has no industrial base . So some foreigner bringing his capital and expertise has nothing wrong on surface . But Kaiser Bengali , familiar with the history of exploitation of Bengal by Britishers , rightly has no illusions about this back door introduction of Zamindari system in which foreigners will be the new East India Company , army as new Zamindars and common farmer of today will become the landless labourer .
Land should be the last thing a nation should sell. Airports, banks , sea ports etc are already sold . Pakistan should not sell its land or otherwise it will invite the new ‘ Cantonment Colonialism ‘ with disastrous consequences. It should instead reduce its army the way USA . India and China are doing .
Will Pakistanis listen to one of their top economists and stop it in time before it becomes another Frankenstein ?
The State of Pakistan’s Economy: What Next? – YouTube
