On Egypt

Is a revolution in Egypt underway?

The US government and media's reactions to and analysis of the uprising in Egypt against Mubarak, and now continuing against the military cohorts, has been both predictable and predictably disappointing. But in the wider world, there are some interesting perspectives.

Huma Yusuf, writing in the Dawn newspaper, implores Egyptians to not follow Pakistan's path. The military in Egypt has controlled power in one form or another since 1952, and she warns of the dangers of allowing the military to now assume a 'savior complex'.

"Allowing the military to take partial credit for Mubarak’s deposition would be a disservice to young Egyptians who risked everything for their freedom.As memories from Tahrir Square fade, Egyptians should remember that the fate of their country lies in their hands, not those of the military."

To make sure this is a revolution and not merely a devolution, Hossam el-Hamalawy, opining in the Guardian, presents possibly biased but nevertheless revealing aspects of the struggle. The uprising in the streets were coordinated on Twitter and Facebook, but once the momentum was on, the workers' strikes broke Mubarak's resolve to stay on. And, in a hopeful vision, Hossam sees these strikes continuing until a truly representative democracy sets in.

"Since Hosni Mubarak fled from Cairo, and even before then, some middle-class activists have been urging Egyptians, in the name of patriotism, to suspend their protests and return to work, singing some of the most ridiculous lullabies: "Let's build a new Egypt", "Let's work harder than ever before". They clearly do not know that Egyptians are already among the hardest working people in the world. Those activists want us to trust Mubarak's generals with the transition to democracy – the same junta that provided the backbone of his dictatorship over the past 30 years."

A dangerous intellectual infancy

Arundhati Roy writes another essay, in a way only she can, this time about the Mumbai attacks. From the politicians to the police, from the US to Pakistan, from terrorists to communists to communalists, and from celebrities to the media, they all come under fire for the state of affairs that allows incidents like Mumbai's terror attacks to happen.

In Mumbai was not our 9/11, Arundhati has some classic one-liners.

A superpower never has allies. It only has agents.

We're now in the era of Grabbing by Force, and democracy has a terrible habit of getting in the way.

In the business of terrorism, victims and perpetrators sometimes exchange roles.

If Kashmir won't willingly integrate into India, it's beginning to look as though India will integrate/disintegrate into Kashmir.

Anti-terrorism laws are not meant for terrorists; they're for people that governments don't like.

There are many threads to follow in the essay. One concerns why the Mumbai attacks should so outrage the Indian media and elite, and why it is even being called India's 9/11. That is a stretch in so many ways, and Arundhati surely does a great job of bringing that out. Reasons why these attacks are "special" probably include the targeting of elites by the terrorists, and the opportunity for breathless media coverage.

An even more dangerous development seems to be, what she calls rightly, a regression into intellectual infancy. Media and elites flirting with the idea of a police state, and whipping up anger against all politicians seems like an attack on Indian democracy itself. Truly, media coverage and analysis in India has touched heights that Fox News can only dream of.

Terror in Mumbai: Enough Already

Some more links on the terror in Mumbai, there are quite a few more thoughtful and sober analysis coming out now.

An editorial in Guardian talking about what the idea of India means, and why that dream is still attainable. Inspiring, and despite all the social inequalities that still persist, I think we should take heart from what has been achieved so far in the face of almost-insurmountable odds.
The unforgotten dream

Adding perspective to the media's hysterical coverage, Badri Raina plays on NDTV's rather ridiculous and vacuous caption 'Enough is Enough'. Enough of NDTV and its breathless sensationalism perhaps.
Enough is Enough

Mumbai, Muslims, beards and Jews. Jawed Naqvi looks at some misconceptions and dangerous stereotyping by a terrorized people.
Mumbai rekindles debate about Muslims, their beard and so on

Patrick Cockburn, a journalist whose reporting and analysis I mostly look forward to, lays the blame at various commissions of Pakistan and omissions by the US.
From Baghdad to Mumbai, by way of Pakistan

Good ol' Tom! Never thought I'd say this, but I actually find good merit in what Thomas Friedman says in his op-ed piece. He calls on all Pakistanis to rally and protest against the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage, similar to how they stood up and even lost lives over the Danish cartoons. Its an altogether different matter that he didnt write such a sensible and potentially more useful article asking Americans to stand up for, say, the Iraqis dead in some mindless collateral damage in the Iraq war. Oh well, with dear Tom, we are grateful for the small mercies of life...
Calling All Pakistanis

Another Pakistani opinion-piece. Another one looking self-critically at the politics and policies of Pakistan. In many ways, the mass media in Pakistan is more independent and sober about their own country than the generally India-is-shining media in India. Pakistanis seem quite pessimistic about their government and even country, possibly because of the rather sorry state of affairs there. Irfan Hussain is fun to read though, and I have generally enjoyed many travel and political articles written with insight and compassion by him.
Facing the truth

Terror in Mumbai

Perspectives

Praveen Swami has a well-researched article from a terrorism-security framework:

India's strategic deafness & the massacre in Mumbai

Progressive publications have been silent on this issue thus far. Have they no perspective on this? They seem unable to provide even basic answers to pressing issues that trouble average folks, like security. Terrorism, though not a major killer in numbers, has a much greater effect psychologically because, like Bush says, of the 'hopelessness' offered by it. A rather indifferent article by Tariq Ali conflating ideological pet themes with real ground issues that connect tenuously:

India's leaders need to look closer to home

Kashmir

William Dalrymple has a sober informative article relating how normal and middle-class Kashmiris and other South Asian Muslims become emotively resentful of India's treatment of Kashmiri Muslims.

Mumbai atrocities highlight need for solution in Kashmir

Pakistan

And Pakistan, poor Pakistan. At the end of all this jingoistic barrage, helpless to protect its image, and helpless itself against the same forces at work, Pakistan is really paying a big price for its misadventures of the past. Pakistan has already faced more suicide bombings than any other nation including Iraq this year, and is caught between a barely restrained marauding force (US) and further alienating and radicalizing their own citizenry. Even as the Mumbai street battles were winding down, Pakistan faced yet another suicide bombing killing 6 security personnel.

Indian jingoism, barely separated from Hindu righteousness, is threatening to unnecessarily and unhelpfully escalate an already terrible situation. Political leaders are proving no more than opportunistic by feeding red meat to the raving dogs of war...

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

...neighbouring nations would have to face a cost if they allowed their territory to be used to launch attacks on India...

Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Minister of India

...prima facie evidence indicates elements with links to Pakistan are involved...

Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat

This is for the first time Pakistan has allowed use of sea routes to further terrorism against India

Never mind the absence of evidence thus far. What a shame.