Political Changes of the Third World - Essay Example

POLITICAL CHANGE IN THE THIRD WORLD: Take Home Final Exam 1. What makes India’s political institutions “secular”? Answer: Indian Constitution itself is based on secularism. India is not governed by the religious backed institutions and federations. By the Constitution and in law the Indian citizens are free and equal irrespective of religion, race, language, caste, color and sex. The whole political and administration system in India is based on Constitutional laws and secularism is the most important element of the Constitution. Previous BJP lead coalition government often faces criticisms to support fundamentalist thoughts of Hindu religion. In spite of all such allegations previous BJP lead coalition government had elected A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India irrespective of religion and race. Both print and electronic media is very active and they have full freedom of expression in India. They never miss any chance to criticize the communal thoughts of political institutions. In conclusion, the citizens of India support heavily the ‘secularism’ element of the Constitution which always guides India’s political institutions to be secular. 2. What factors enabled the rise of the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria in the 1980s? Answer: National Liberation Front ruled Algeria for three decades after independence from France in 1962. During this period under President Houari Boumedienne Algeria accomplished some positive economic development due to strategic economic planning by the state controlled centralized public sector and economic institutions. After 1979, the disadvantage of development strategy started appearing, including corruption in administration, continuous inflation, inequality of income, poor performance in agricultural sector, food scarcity and imbalance in economic structure. As a result the nation faced civil unrest by Islamist militants and worst economic crises. In this situation the stubborn government and their failed development strategy give rise to the strong Islamist movement. Chadli Benjedid, the successor of Boumedienne after his death made the political and economic situation even more badly. Political conservatism and unfavorable attitude of workers and managers of public sectors halted the economic reforms. In October 1988, major youth riots led to the worst political crises ever. As a result due to Islamist movement Islamic Salvation Front became stronger and politically active in Algeria. 3. What was the Biafra War and why did it break out? Answer: The Nigerian Federation was divided into three major ethnic groups: the Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa/Fulani. European used these three major ethnic groups to divide Africa among themselves. As a result of tension caused by other groups the Ibos and other minority ethnic groups which were collectively known as the Biafrans demanded independence from Nigerian Federation. To control oil reserves and access to the Atlantic Ocean in the southern Niger Delta the Hausa/Fulani refused to grant independence to the Biafrans which made the situation more worse. Junior Ibo officers had overthrown Tafawa Balewa's government in January 1966, after the military coup. The ministers that survived after the coup appointed Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Ibo, the head of government. As a result the Biafra War broke out with anti-Ibo riots by the Muslims on Ibo people in the north Nigeria, which caused a massacre in September of 1967. 4. What was distinctive about the features and legacies of Japanese colonialism? Answer: Japanese colonialism in North and South Korea is only one of its kinds in the world. In comparison with the colonialism of England and Ireland, the Japanese colonialism is appreciated because of its program of colonial industrialization. In 1945, about 25% of Japanese industrial plants were based in Korea. Japan had established heavy industrial plants, network of railroads, system of hydro-electric dams and ports around the Yalu River. Japanese also formed a strong central government to manage and control the whole infrastructure. Although Japanese were doing this whole development in Korea to benefit themselves, but after world war two colonization left Korea with high literacy, strong base for industrialization and modernization and good economic infrastructure. Therefore, after the liberation of 1945 Korea developed well due to the legacies of Japanese colonialism which includes educated public, good governance, excellent industrial base and urbanization. “India-Iran”: The East Asian model nations Today the wealth and power is shifting to Asia. Asian countries like India, China, Iran, Japan, Korea etc are playing key role in the development of the world economy and in global decision making. To understand the whole scenario of today’s global situation and the role of East Asian countries in the world economy we have to view the economic, political and social history of the East Asian Nations. As an example we will compare Iran and India which will give a good understanding about the political, economic and social changes which led to the shifting of wealth and power in Asia. Iran and Indian history in brief: Around 4000 B.C. village life began in Iran. About 2000 B.C. Aryans came and later on they divided into two groups, the Persians and the Medes. In 550 B.C. Cyrus founded the Persian Empire. Iran was then ruled by Greeks and Parthian. Around 636 – 641 B.C. Arabs invaded Persia and brought Islam. In 10th century several Turkish states were established by Turks. In 13th and 14th century, the Mongols and then Jenghiz and Timur ruled Iran. During 15th century Shah Ismail founded Safavid dynasty to establish Islam state. During 1587-1629 Shah Abbas – I established trade relations with Great Britain. In 1722 Afghans overthrew Safavid dynasty. Nadir Shah overthrew Afghans and established the Afsar dynasty in 1736. Karim Khan followed Afsar dynasty with his Zand dynasty. In 1797 Aga Muhammad Khan established Qajar dynasty. During Qajar dynasty Iran started losing its territory to its neighboring countries. During 1797-1834, under Fath Ali Shah Russians challenged the entire Caucasian area which led to the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and Treaty of Turkmanchay in 1828. As a result ran lose Caucasian lands. In 1857 Iran declared Afghan independence as a result Iran loses its rich city, Herat to Afghans. As compared to the history of Iran India’s Indus valley civilization is the most primitive civilizations of the world. It was a highly complicated and unique culture in Mohenjo-Dero and Harappa during 2500 B.C. – 1700 B.C. After this culture Indo-Aryans peoples migrated to North India. Indo-Aryans developed Brahmanic civilization in the next 2000 years. They developed Hindu Religion. Magadha was the first Aryan Kingdom. In 540-490 B.C., during the reign of Bimbisara, Jainism and Buddhism religions also flourished. Another kingdom of the period was Kosala. Alexander the Great attacked the territory of Gandhara in 327-325 B.C. The founder of Mauryan Empire, Chandragupta of Magadha driven out the Greek invaders. Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka was the greatest ruler of ancient India during 232 B.C. Emperor Ashoka spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka and South East Asia. Mauryan state collapsed in 185 B.C. During same period Chola and Pandya states established good trade relations with Romans. Due to trade with other countries Indian culture spread throughout the South East Asia. At that time Greeks following Alexander established Indo-Greek kingdom in Bactria (in present day Afghanistan). The Scythians, Parthians, Afghans, and Kushans came into NW India after the crumple of Bactrian kingdom in 1st century B.C. In quick succession these all small kingdoms arose and disappeared. During 2nd century A.D. Kanishka kingdom of the Kushans enjoyed great prosperity. 4th – 6th century was the golden age for Indian literature, art and theology. During this period Gupta ruled North India, Chalukyas ruled the Deccan and the Pallava ruled the south. 8th -13th century was the medieval period of several independent kingdoms such as Palas of Bihar and Bengal, Chalukya – II at Deccan, Chola of Tanjore and the Ahoms of Assam. Arab traders brought Islam in Sind in India during 8th century. During 11th and 12th century Ghaznavid ruled, he overthrown Ghor in 1150. In 1192 Prithivi Raj was defeated by the legions of Ghor, after that the first Muslim kingdom in India, the Delhi Sultanate was established. After the battle of Panipat in 1526, Babar, a remote descendant of Timur, founded the Mughal empire. The empire was strengthened by Akbar and during 1659-1707 under Aurangzeb they control almost all the territory of India. In 1498 Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut. In 1510 Goa was conquered by the Portuguese. French, Dutch and British all compete with each other to establish trade relations with India. In 16th century The British East India Company established strong trade connections with India. In 1757 Nawab of Bengal at Plassey was defeated by Robert Clive and this was the beginning of the British Empire in India. British controlled all India by 1818. Due to the production of cloth by machine and because of the Industrial Revolution cotton goods export from India suffered. The British improved transportation network and irrigation system to facilitate trade with India. In conclusion, Iran and India both had a great history of rich tradition and civilization. Iran has more Islam oriented culture whereas India is multi-religious and multicultural country. Influence of other Caucasian countries in the past had made Iran more developed than other Muslim nations where as India emerged according to its British Colonial legacy. Iran-India political and social changes during last past century in context to the economic development: The petroleum was discovered in Iran during the early of 1900s. Iran was in political and financial difficulty during the World War-I. During World War-I Russians and British occupied Iran and it became an original member of the League of Nations after the World War-I. Iran made a trade agreement in 1919 with Britain for its Independence and the Britain’s motive was to occupy the whole territory. The Soviet Union imposed czarist policies toward Iran, canceled all debts and concessions, after Iranian appreciation of the USSR in a treaty of 1921 and withdrew forces from Iranian territory. Reza Khan, an army officer, established a military dictatorship in during 1921. In his military dictatorship he had encouraged the development and economic reforms; he facilitates industries and education as well. The Iranian government started development at large scale in the 1960s and 1970s. Social and economic conditions were improved by land reforms in the country. The government restructured the whole agricultural and education system. The government sells the factories to private investors in order to raise finance for development. The shah established the NIOC's full control over the Iran's oil industry on May, 1973. Iran then financed all the economic development, modernization projects and military expenditure from the revenue generated by the price rise in petroleum. After industrialization and modernization in Iran during the end of last century Iran move towards the development of the processing of nuclear fuel to become self-dependent in nuclear power production. In India, by the early 1900s the British government had setup many universities. As a result social and economic reforms in middle class of the society took place. Before independence British government improved infrastructure and established the rail-road network in the country. They established good education system and constructed dams for electricity and irrigation. In 1947, India got independence and Pakistan was separated from India. After independence great education institutions such as IIT and IIM were established. The purpose of establishing the good quality education system is not only to educate people but to make educated intellectuals. Till the end of 1980s India had became one of the intellectual power house in Asia. Good growth in agriculture, improvement in infrastructure, stability in growth, industrialization and modernization led the country towards more technological advancement in 1990s. During this period under the prime ministership of P. V. Narasimha Rao the government encouraged foreign investment and trade. In late 1990s India had become an Information Technology hub and started outsourcing various services to US and UK. In conclusion, the over all development in Iran is because of petroleum revenue and due to the positive use of political interference of other countries related to oil towards the development of the nation. On the other hand, the India had a great impact of British colonialism. In the beginning, after the independence they concentrated on agricultural based economy and later on slowly moved towards heavy industrialization under the guidance of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Comparison of the governments of Iran and India: Under the constitution of 1979 which is revised in 1989, Iran is a theocratic Islamic republic nation. The post of prime minister was eradicated and president was given more powers. Appointed bodies and offices hold the control of the government. An Islamic religious advisory board appoints the leader of the state for a life. The chief of the state is responsible for the judiciary and military system. The members of the Expediency Discernment Council and the Guardian Council are also appointed by the chief of the state. Any dispute over the legislation between the Guardian Council and parliament is resolve by the responsible body known as latter. The head of the government is the president who is generally elected for a four-year term. All the members of parliament are elected by vote for four-year terms for the legislative assembly which consists of the 290 seats. On the other hand India is governed according to the 1949 constitution which is effective since January 1950. Members of parliament elect President of India for a five-year term. Full executive power is in the hands of president, but only theoretically because the power is actually used by the prime minister. Indian parliamentary system consists of two assemblies the upper house of the parliament is known as Rajya Sabha and lower house is known is known as Lok Sabha. President appoints the Supreme Court in the country. President also appoints the governors of the states for five-year terms. In India, state government is responsible for local governance, law and order, police, public health education and agriculture. But the central government has a power to interfere in any matter. During emergencies president may intervene in state matters and president also has an authority to suspend state’s government. In conclusion, Iran’s system of governance is based on Islam but due to constant foreign interference it works better than other Arab countries and Iran’s governance system is suitable to tackle heavy foreign interference in the politics of Iran regarding oil. The Indian system governance is well balanced as compared not only to Iran but also to other developed countries of the west. India is the largest democratic country and is running successfully. The system in India is work in such a manner that it allows only right person on the position of president and prime minister. For example, we can easily compare the popularity and reputation of the present President and Prime Minister of India in Indian society with the popularity and reputation of the present President of USA in American society. Both the present President and the Prime Minister are very popular intellectuals in India. The concluding comparison between Iran and Indian economic development: In Iran the economy is totally dependent on petroleum and natural gas production. It generates about 80% revenue of exports. Iran gets its major finance for economic development from the revenue generated from oil exports. Iran controls the major production of oil and natural gas in the world. As a result it plays important role in international politics. Due to the constant oil and natural gas production the economy of Iran don’t get easily affected by the economic crisis of the rest of the world. After petroleum, textiles industries are the most important part of economy in Iran. Cement and building material production, food processing, sugar refining and carpet weaving are other important industries of Iran. Italy, Germany and Japan are the major trading partners of Iran. After acquiring nuclear technology, Iran’s role in international politics becomes more important. On the other hand 70% population depends on agriculture in India. Agriculture contributes 25% to the GDP in India. Almost all kinds of cereals, vegetables and fruits are produced in India. After the green revolution during 1970s India becomes self sufficient in agriculture. India is the largest milk producer in the whole world because cattle per capita in India are more than any other country. India has good quantity of natural resources including forests and it is using it effectively. India has huge iron and steel industry which is controlled by Mittal Steels and Tata Family. Mittal Steels is the largest steel producer in the whole world. It is trying to acquire Arcelor, the biggest steel producer of Europe. In 1990s India developed more due to telecommunication revolution. In space technology India is much ahead than other Asian countries. It provides various services to other Asian and developed nations in space research and exploration including satellite technologies. The defense system of India is the most powerful in Asia which makes it more secure state. India continuously developing its manufacturing capabilities in every field including electronics, automobiles, heavy engineering and defense manufacturing. India also has advanced nuclear technology which was developed in 1998 under the guidance of rocket engineer and a nuclear scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who is now a popular President of India. Foreign investment is encouraged in 1990s which results fast growth in every sector in the economy. In the late 1990s, India became an information technology hub of the world. India provides cheap software developers and computer programmers to the whole world. Many foreign companies established call centers in India and it provides excellent employment opportunities in the country. Call center jobs were considered as low profile jobs in the west and when call center companies shifted to India they become high profile jobs here. In this way due to outsourcing of work by UK and US in various fields, the service sector becomes stronger here. Everyone knows that the share market is in boom in India. The sensex had expanded more than 300% during the last ten years. India is the entertainment hub in Asia. The film industry in India produces more movies every year than the Hollywood of USA. The entertainment industry in India is also booming. There are more than 200 private television channels in India and it’s increasing rapidly. The entertainment industry provides employment opportunities to the large population in the country. The most valuable asset of India is its intellectual middle class. The government is also utilizing this middle class effectively towards the development of the nation. The most important aspect of India’s intellectual society is its education system. The education system in India is one of the best in the world. India produces large number of doctors and engineers every year. It also produces large number of business graduates in the country. India had established IIT and IIM to produce intellectual technologists and management gurus in the country. In the field of medical science and biotechnology India is performing better than other Asian countries. Medical tourism in India is also booming because patients from western countries come to India for cheap and best medical treatments. As a result of development in every aspect of the economy the salary hike in corporate sector in India is more than the corporate sector of the other countries. In conclusion, Iran is developing as per its Muslim culture, with foreign interference due to oil which gives a chance to acquire more knowledge and technologies from western and European countries for modernization and economic development. But India is developing on it’s own in every aspect of the economy which makes the economy strong and self dependent. The leadership plays important role in India’s economic development. The President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram are the best intellectual political leaders, India has since Independence. They are doing their best to make India a model Asian nation. Works Cited Jahagirdar, R.A. “Secularism in India – The Inconclusive Debate.” International Humanist and Ethical Union. 11 May 2003. International Humanist and Ethical Union. 18 Apr. 2006 . “Islamic Salvation Front.” Islamic Salvation Front. 15 Apr. 2005. The Everything Development Company. 18 Apr. 2006. . “The Biafran War.” Case Study. Nov. 1997. American University. 18 Apr. 2006 . “Japanese Colonialism in Korea.” Free Essay of Japanese Colonialism in Korea. Webgreed. 18 Apr. 2006 . “India.” India on Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam™ Research, Inc. 18 Apr. 2006. . “Iran.” Iran on Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam™ Research, Inc. 18 Apr. 2006. . Read More