"Arab spring is a historical event that marks the beginning of a new era .This entire event would definitely change the way the world looks at this region"
A historical movement is at its culmination.Possibly Syria,yemen are next to fall to the middle class might.This is a progressive change but there are many doubts about the future of these countries.The inherent threat lies in the active participation of islamic fundamentalist elements in this process.Could they successfully build modern democracies like Turkey,Malaysia or they end up making more Pakistans and Afgnistans.This is the big question in the offing.
In the hindsight ,it is conspicuous that the predominant force in these movements were educated youth and middle class.This shows the potential of the people especially middle class.Their power to topple the most cruelest regimes is worth noting.Even in India ,we recently witnessed the same kind of response against corruption in a varying degree.Educated middle class is warning the government and politicians that ‘see , we are watching every act , wont tolerate even the minute misdoing of yours ,will strike hard if things are not handled properly’.This is a progressive development .
Coming back to MENA(Middle East and North Africa) region , Tunisia marked the begening of the revolution. Self immolation of a vegitable seller due to the distress caused by the economic conditions and police brutality is the trigger.Within a month, protests spread like a wildfire across the country and made Ben Ali to flee .After several months, Tunisians could successfully elect a new government of Ennahda party which has islamic origins.Despite being islamic,the current state of affairs hints the formation of new constitution which envisages a liberal democracy.This is a good ending.
Taking inspiration from the Tunisian event ,Egyptians intensified their protests.The importance of social media in this process is worth mentioning.Facebook,twitter played a crucial role.Initially Mubarak seems to be suppressive but eventually could not withstand the might of middle class.He was forced to resign and put under trail.The Military which helped the protesters could win a soft corner in the public .It paved the way for it to subsequently took over the government.But here Salafist muslim elements which were deep rooted in Egyptian society are hindering the progress.’Muslim brother hood ‘, a fundamentalist organisation which played a crucial role in the revolution seems to occupy the center stage in the government.This narrowed the hope for a liberal democracy .
Our past and present experiances tells us that fundamental islamism is a stumbling block in the roadway to progress.It should be tackled not with force but with the spread of modern education.The remedy is to spread modern education rapidly in these areas where religious extreemism is prevelant.Development is another key that holds a great promise.
Libiya is the recent to fall in line. Witnessed a boody civil war due to severe resistence by its cruel dictator Gadafi.This event clearly shows us that anybody howsoever powerful cannot rule against the wishes of the people.If he has done so, would meet a brutal end like this.The other authoritarian regimes across the World should learn a lesson from here.
The future prospects of Libiya seems bleak.Here the population is divided on ethinic grounds.The rule of Gadafi has perpetuated this phenomena for long.This effects the political stability which is very essential to build a modern democracy.Also there is a leadership vacuum which is accentuating the problem.We need to see how far the west which helped in topling the regime can help in successfully building a new democratic regime .
The role played by the west is very crucial in Gadafi’s fall.Perhaps, out of their vested interests ,they played an active role to topple the regime.Despite future uncertainties, by and large, justice has been delivered to the people who had suffered during last 42 years.But the brutal end of Gadafi is unfortunate .He might deserve a respectable death. UNO(United Nations Organisation) once again proved that it is a useful tool in the hands of the west to force their will on the rest of the world.This strengthens the need for UNSC(UN Security Council) reforms.
In Syria the protests are intensifying but very brutally being suppressed by dafient Assad.Everyday news papers are pouring in reports on killing of civilians.Unlike Libiya,Syria is much more complex a issue to be dealt by the west .Because Assad got a strong support from middleclass traders and the military.And neighbouring Iran and Israel would also jump into the business if west intervenes.This would make entire region unstable.This region is supplying for most of the energy needs of the world .Any hasty action in the part of west puts world economic development at stake.Yemen is another case where things are very different.News reports are suggesting that Saleh is ready for peace talks.Incidents of violence are also being reported. Only time will tell how the story ends here.
To conclude,Arab spring is a historical event that marks a new era in the history of the world.This entire event would definitely change the way the world looks at it.This also opens up a wide range of oppurtunities to developing nations like India .We need to build up strong relationships with the new regimes in both political and economic spheres.The immediate step should be to offer help to these nacent economies in terms of training ,institution building,capacity building ,infrastructure and so on.This will pave the way to pursue our interests in this region in near future.
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