Evolution of Industries since the creation of Pakistan.
The industrialization revolution is one of the golden pillars for the nation to be successful. Pakistan has a rich land for agriculture purposes but we as a nation cannot rely on agriculture only, not only us but none of the nation could do rely on only one thing. If you looked at the developed countries like USA, UK, GERMANY, and Australia, etc., they are not relying on only any single industry for their progress, no doubt we all have something special in our countries like Pakistan is rich with agriculture and minerals, Arab countries are reach with crude oil, etc. likewise European countries promoted tech and mechanical industries so much that today there are even recognized with their tech industry which indeed proves that industry is one vital pillar of the successful economy of a country. An increase in the number of industries results in an increase in employment, which apparently helps to build a stable economy. Here are some roles being played by industrialization in building the economy throughout its existence.
Ø Reducing Unemployment: Any industry (either high level or small level) helps reducing unemployment by providing jobs from a higher level to lower level (from Managing director post to peon), bounds every single community and help it to raise its graph of life or at least to maintain it.
Ø Building Export and Economy: Industrialization gives you a concept of independence, in a sense that we should produce everything inside our country (from A grade quality to C grade quality), which will let us think that why are we buying it at higher cost if we could produce it here in our country, eventually this concept will help us use half of that money which was being used in past as import expenses and help us not only to fulfill our need but also to export it in the international market to increase our graph of export, and eventually will build our economy, will raise capital, build government revenue.
Ø Betterment in living standards: In Industrialization, one thing which leads you towards the sky is the customer and labor care. If you provide your labor better allowances, support their families then they will support your industry and will give the best they could give, help you in producing best product which will build your customers and market as well. This will build a healthy and better community with good economic growth.
Ø Build Education sectors: Industrialization is a lifeline to a nation because it connects to every single part of life from health to living to education. Industrialization help building and delivering quality education. With the advancement in every single aspect of life, it takes us to study more, educates more, learns more, and eventually develop a more advanced version of things used in not only industries but in our homes as well. Developed countries like Germany, the USA, UK, etc. are following modern ways of education to deliver it to the maximum of its people, particularly the higher education in Germany split into 2 categories; (a) technical education and (b) research which is indeed a great initiative in educational sectors.
Ø Animates progress in different fields: Industries help you to plant more industries. For example, if we are planting industries for fertilizers, it will help us growing agricultural fields that will support flour industries, rice industries, cotton, and sugar industries as well as our life stock industries which will support building the Diary industry and baking industry as well.
Ø Increment in investments: Increase in the stipends in the labor, take them towards savings and leads them to investment which opens doors for new industries, or they can open new shops and develop new markets to raise more capital.
Ø Helps in building defense: Industrial revolution takes us toward ammunition factories that help to create a strong defense structure for them. In the 1960s and ’70s, Pakistan competed for 2 wars, when the nation was having great economic growth but no focus on ammunition because of our jealousy of the neighborhood and being aware of it we did not take any initiative regarding and eventually we had borne the consequences. So, this one of the necessary aspects of building an industrial area at a national level.
Pakistan is one of the underdeveloped countries, which was once enjoying its successful GDP round about 50 years ago. We gave loans to Germany to stabilize its economy, sold our airplanes to Emirate’s airline. But right now, the scenario is totally changing, we have billions of dollars of loan to pay back, our airline has traveled a voyage from one of the best airlines to the worst. So, let us start from the beginning, from the time of independence till right now.
On August 14, 1947, there is a new state on the map of the world which has two parts, East Pakistan, and West Pakistan. East Pakistan had a rich crop of jute while west Pakistan had bumper crop capability of wheat, rice, and cotton as well but there were not as many factories for these agricultures. After independence Pakistan got only 34 factories out of 921 from the subcontinent. East Pakistan had a bumper quantity of jute but not any single factory for it. All the jute factories were planted in Kolkata in India. Not even any single steel industry was given to Pakistan by clever Britain and hence Pakistan got only 4% of the total industries here in subcontinent by Britain and that 4% of the industries were of small level industries, like rice husking mills, sugar mills, and flour mills, etc.
But the Government of Pakistan took a good step and started to develop the industrial plant in Pakistan, for they called for an Industrial Conference, developed those industries which require raw materials like jute, cotton, flour, and rice, etc. The infrastructure for heavy industries was developed, encouraged private enterprises to develop local industries, made an industrial finance corporation in 1948 to give allowance to these enterprises which were quite profitable, and take the GDP to 6.9% in 1950.
The private investors were hesitating to invest in the new industry products due to the lack of knowledge and capital. They even did not have technicians. The Government took a vital step and developed an organization named Pakistan Industries Development Corporation in 1952 to help these private investors. PIDC helped in raising the Paper, cement, fertilizers, textiles industries, and Sui gas pipeline Karachi. In the 1st Five Year Plan (1955–60), the Government of Pakistan allocated 185.1crore rupees for the growth and development of industries which helped in growing planted industries and developing some new industries. This plan was so successful that it took our GDP from 9.7% to 11.9%.
For the next five-year plan (1965–70), an allocation of 513 crores helped Pakistan to raise its GDP to 11.8% of the decade. After 1970, here comes the downfall of Pakistan's industrial sector. We were indulged in two wars; we lost our East Pakistan which Bangladesh now. Our export was badly affected and our annual growth falls to 2.8% of the industrial sector. From 1977–80, the Government struggled to uplift the economy, denationalized the cotton husking and flour milling, encouraged the private sector to invest in industries that helped in building annual sector of growth up to 8.2%, but then in 1990, it reduced to 2.5%. the industrial was 18.2 GDP in 2003. Which increased to 20.8%, here monetary policy, financial discipline, consistency, and large demand of cosmetics, etc.; helped in stabling the economy.
Industrial Backwardness: If we look at industrial revolution in Pakistan from the beginning, we will come know that Government of Pakistan did its extreme best to building industries and supported them to grow but them there come such circumstances which let not it develop and here are few of them.
Ø War and terrorism: In the beginning of its independence, when Pakistan was doing the best to promote industrialization not verbally but practical and its consequences were shown day by day, at that golden period of 1960’s and 70’s, Pakistan had to fought 2 wars against its neighborhood which was being imposed by its neighborhood. Our enemy attacked our ammunition factories and destroyed a lot of our industrial and agricultural sectors which brought a huge loss in the capital. Then in the ’80s, another war imposed on us but this time by Russia when Russia attacked Afghanistan. Since Afghanistan is one of the neighbors of Pakistan, the least Pakistan could do was to protect its country, so, Pakistan had to indulge in it to take them away from its own border. After that in 2000, Pakistan was accused of terrorism, and certain terrorist activists were started in Pakistan. Innocent people were killed in bomb attacks in Pakistan. Our cricket stadium stayed empty for almost 13 years. Industries were attacked and blasted, there was a sense of scariness everywhere, there was an average of 2 to 3 bomb blasts in Pakistan. Pakistan’s exports were badly affected, and our capital was continuously depreciated. We had no solution but to take loans from IMF and the world bank and put so many restrictions on Pakistan, which will never let it come out getting more and more loans for the next five years plan. In 2015, Pakistan Army took the initiative to eradicate the terrorism from Pakistan, which Pakistan eventually achieve but the loan we started taking from IMF and World Bank was never overcome but it is still incremented and hence we could never be able to open the doors back of the period when we were promoting industries practically.
Ø Corruption: Every single party after becoming eligible for making government takes a five-year plan for the industrial revolution which is all about the betterment of the country but unfortunately reality has none of the business with these five years of the plan. Every Government took a five -years plan for the industrial sector, pass it through the senate and national assembly, start dividing funds but where that all funds that funds go, no one knows. Politicians grab those bags of funds and hence the scale of corruption and unemployment starts raising which not only socially affects the country but economically as well, but no industrial reforms have ever taken place since the 1960s.
Ø Lack of Capital: After independence, we already did not have as much money and we were given only 34 factories out of 921 which were mostly of small level industry. No doubt Pakistan did a lot of effort to raise industrial sector but due to lack of capital, this has never been possible and still we do not have as much capital because of billion dollars of loan we have to return that let value dollar increase day by day and degrading the value of rupee at the same time. Right now, the dollar is stable at 153.45 rupees.
Ø Restricted Market: Pakistan is an underdeveloped country. We took so much loan to run our country which applies certain restrictions on us for example, we must reduce our export and eventually increased our import, have concise our industrial area, etc. here in Pakistan small level industries produce the cheap quality of products which sold at a higher price. Since we know that we do not have too much capital and the major part of our public is unemployed and of lower class which reduces our market and at the same time, we do not have so much appreciation in the international market except some of our products like textile, fruits, and fans, etc.
Ø Poor labor: Another reason for backwardness in the industrial sector is because poor quality of labor. Our labor has been patronized by political parties since the ’90s. they lack the spirit of work. They want their rights but have no focus on the quality of work, they are delivering. They do not even have training for modern equipment.
Ø Absence of foundation: In Pakistan, another cause of backwardness in the industrial sector is the absence of a foundation. Our industries are still working on old machines which are now replaced with their new and better version and if we buy them from other countries because here in Pakistan, we do not have such industries to design such machines, so we must buy them from other countries and whenever there is any technical issue in these machines, then we must ask for help from these countries which is quite costly. We do not have a thing like solar energy, thermal plants which are essential for industries. Due to the absence of foundation, our industrial sector is getting small day by day like some of our industrial units are migrating to other countries and some units are getting closed like Pakistan Steel Mills which is not good for our economy.
Ø Racial differences: Our country is fighting the cancer of racial differences. We discriminate against everything based on color, language, and background. every time we pull everyone's legs. we want development in only our area, in only our city. And in this race, we get nothing but stay empty-handed. That is why we are still on the list of underdeveloped countries.
Conclusion: We all know that the industrial revolution is compulsory but do not know put it into our efforts. First of all, we need to be honest with ourselves and with our country. We must leave politics for our personal interest. We must do some reforms in PIDC to make it honest and free of political power, should work on developing and maintaining the balance between increment in exports and decrement in imports as well, should start promoting local small level industries and private investors as well, should giving people QARZ E HASNA, should start using five-year industrial program honestly without corruption. We should work on generating power through the solar system because of so much land in Punjab and Sindh and through thermal energy as well by constructing dams because power is a crucial part for developing industry and last but not the least should work hard in standing our Pakistan Steel Mill which could be the most beneficial in raising our economy and bringing our golden days back.
