With Syria 'evolving' after the 'Arab Spring,' senior journalist Seema Mustafa takes stock of this ancient country as a member of a visiting Indian delegation. She realises that the ground reality in Syria is quite different from what has been portrayed; the fact that Syrians are wary of the 'US game plan' and that it's a country with a beautiful blend of modernity and deep-rooted traditions. Excerpts from her tour diary:
Nothing offered by Rahul Gandhi and his family has worked and the Congress will have to take stock of the ability of its first family to not just deliver the votes, but to pull it out of the doldrums where it has been left after this assembly election, says Seema Mustafa.
'General Singh does not have the reputation of a greedy, grasping, man. Far from it, and his word along with the records should have carried weight with the government. Unfortunately, the pettiness of the ruling class has pushed the senior officer to a corner where not wanting to, he has had to approach the civilian courts as a last resort.'
'The political world in Delhi is getting increasingly polarised... those who work, live and breathe with the ruling elite and the handful of 'others' who are really the outsiders, the critics, the rebels and run the risk of being dubbed 'anti-national' by the groupie nationalists at any moment in time. This is largely because they have refused to milk the system.'
It seems as if the movement against corruption is in disarray. The volleys fired against some of its key members by the Congress and its supporters appear to be taking its toll, says Seema Mustafa.
'It was impossible for bin Laden to live in the luxurious building with a huge compound in Abbotabad without the knowledge of the Inter Services Intelligence or the Pakistan military.'
The indifference, apathy and inaction in Kashmir by the governments both at the Centre and the state has added to a rush by the young people to become the masters of their own destiny, says Seema Mustafa.
'It is still hoping that the intensity will pass, and the National Conference or the Congress or the governor depending whose rule it finally is, will be able to handle the situation.'
The Congress might take pride from its apparent revival but unfortunately in the process it has further marginalised the poor and the oppressed of India, writes Seema Mustafa
A new state cannot be created in the ad hoc manner like the demand for Telangana was conceded, writes Seema Mustafa.
This columnist cannot pretend to be an economic expert but can certainly point out that the statistics being reeled out on a daily basis now, have added to the economic burden of the people, says Seema Mustafa.
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We have in UP today the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party representing the two extremes in a bid to capture power in this huge state that returns 80 members to Parliament, says Seema Mustafa.
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Both India and China have demonstrated levels of maturity in diffusing tensions and ensuring that the border remains by and large incident free, says Seema Mustafa
It is absolutely essential to prevent an atmosphere of trial and execution from being created on the larger issue of sexual assault, so that there can be a dispassionate understanding of every case, instead of irresponsible outpourings on television channels run by unaccountable anchors, says Seema Mustafa.
While Narendra Modi is the talisman of his party, it is still not certain if he can claim this space among the people of India, says Seema Mustafa.
The conservative bureaucracy that influences the political masters is clearly not concerned with the vision documents prepared by defence chiefs to bring India's military into a state of preparedness, says Seema Mustafa
Other than providing Narendra Modi a sweetner ahead of the BJP's national executive meet in Goa, there are no major trends to glean from the recent by-election results, says Seema Mustafa.
From being on the verge of war and violence, West Asia has actually got a sudden reprieve. Seema Mustafa explains
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The UP government, if it manages to remain in power now, must take immediate steps to ensure that no violence takes place as the country gears up for the elections. Action has to be taken to prevent this, not just through the law and order machinery, but through a secular campaign in which all non-communal political parties participate, says Seema Mustafa.
A very delayed and subdued reaction, at a time when the non-aligned world had expected a big country like India to come out in support of rights and justice. It was yet another example of the mealy mouthed approach that has come to define Indian foreign policy, says Seema Mustafa.
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