Exploitation Various Sources

EXPLOITATION -----------Extracts from the works of P R Sarkar: The ills perpetrated in society are in a great measure created by the exploiters themselves. To swell their bank balances the exploiters create an artificial scarcity of food, clothes and other necessary consumer goods, and loot profits in the black market. Those who have no buying capacity for high-priced food and clothes take to stealing and other shady methods in order to meet their bare necessities. These ill-fed, ill-clad flocks of poor wretches work for these greedy black marketeers and smugglers. When apprehended, it is they who are penalized - the rich escape on the strength of their influence. Throwing their conscience to the four winds, these poor wretches take to sin and crime still more desperately. The society accuses these sinners and criminals, while the rich exploiters enact the roles of popular leaders, wear garlands, let loose fireworks of speeches and exhort the masses with a clarion call to make more sacrifices. (Human Society II, 109) I have spoken about haves and have-nots. To satisfy their hunger, the haves misutilize their physical and intellectual wealth and force the have-nots to become slaves and sinners to try to appease their own hunger. In the background there is a big exploiter; in the front, as his agents, are half-naked children. This is the cause of the downfall of society. (Great Universe, 180) What we see in the market place and railway stations is the exhibition of half-clad street beggars and lepers - all stretching out their begging bowls, the only means of earning their livelihood. They are fortunate if anybody contemptuously flings a copper coin at them. The old blind beggars wait all day long at the bridge and lift their bowls as soon as someone walks past them. Their shrill cries fall on deaf ears only. On the other hand, the affluence of foods kept ready in luxurious houses to entertain the big guns of society ridicules the present human civilization. ("Social value and Cardinal Principle") Very often we say that a particular individual or a particular community of people is badly exploited. Then, what we mean by "exploited" is this, that they are exploited in the economic stratum. But if we penetrate deeply into the matter, we shall discover that the exploitation has not been only in the economic stratum, but also in the other strata of human existence, in different forms, on various

pretexts. When there is exploitation on the physical level, it is not necessarily economic in nature in all cases; it is mostly social. For instance, the vested interests inject, at a certain stage, inferiority or superiority complexes in the public mind and at a much later stage, use those psychic complexes for social or economic exploitation. This exploitation on the psychic level is mostly perpetrated, in the first phase, through dogma. When the exploitation in the physical sphere is directly economic in character, even the common people can understand that; they need not labour hard to comprehend it. But in the event of exploitation in other spheres, the exploited people are not even aware of the fact that they are being exploited. That is why it becomes easy for the cunning exploiters to keep them in prolonged domination by creating inferiority complexes in their minds. And the tragedy is, that the exploited mass don't try to understand; they even refuse to understand even though some may try to make them understand, that they are the victims of exploitation. So, this is more dangerous. When the exploitation is directly economic, the people can easily understand it; but when the exploitation is perpetrated in this socio-economic sphere or the psycho-economic sphere, the situation becomes complicated. The people feel a little aggrieved because they feel that they are being psychically suppressed, but they are not aware of the fact that the ultimate result is their economic exploitation. Today all over the world there is greater economic awareness than before. That is why the cunning exploiters have resorted to the path of either socio-economic or psycho-economic exploitation. They have spread their trap over a vaster area, hoping to reap a rich harvest. ("Psycho-Economic Exploitation," Calcutta 1981) If a flying bird is caged for long, it loses its ability to fly. If the door of its cage is unfastened accidentally, it thinks, "What benefit will I derive flying in the distant blue sky? Let me pick up seeds, sitting on the perch of my little cage." Now, if people have been educated in a distorted manner and their minds crippled, they are unable to stand independently. If their minds have been moulded by propaganda for a long period, they cannot utilize the opportunity for freedom even if it is presented to them. Common people have been taught for ages that they belong to a low caste or class. Even if you offer these down-trodden people a chair to sit by you, they would murmur, "No sir, I am alright - let me sit on the ground." That is to say, their minds cannot function properly, just as a bird's wings become totally inactive in a cage. People have been accustomed to such repressions for thousands of years - the exploiters have injected fear-complex in their minds to control them. ("Quadri-Statumic Progress In Human Life," Calcutta, 1981) -

The one who exploits the masses is also a person; this must never be lost sight of even for a moment. The human family is a conglomerate of different elements of the human race. Reforming and guarding against human frailties with a liberal and tolerant outlook, we have to proceed together towards the path of benevolence. (Human Society I, 81) So your duty is threefold. Your first duty is to observe morality and do intuitional practices. Without this you cannot have mental determination. Your next duty is to unite the moralists of the world, otherwise righteousness (dharma) will not endure. This will be your real duty. You will become great by this, for ideation of the Great makes one great. At the third stage, you will have to mercilessly fight against sin wherever it has habitated this world. You will have to propagate this mission from door to door. Any political party or so-called religious institution cannot bring salvation. Praising God with drums and cymbals will not bring salvation to the world, for it will not be able bring the sinner into submission. Today the necessity to curb the onslaughts of the immoralist is a necessity and cannot be done with drums and cymbals . (Supreme Expression II, 148) You must have a flaming moral purpose so that greed, oppression and exploitation shrivel before the fire in you. (Supreme Expression II, 33)