South Asia: Impact Of The Egypt Protests

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Hundreds of thousands of people flooded to Tahrir, the Liberation Square in Cairo. This is the largest demonstration in a week of unceasing demands for President Hosni Mubarak to leave after nearly 30 years in power, Egypt. Photo By Mohamed Elmaymony. Copyright Demotix.

The news of the recent protests in Egypt is being discussed in the South Asian blogosphere in different perspectives. The bloggers are keen on the developments of the uprising. Sri Lankan blogger Indrajit Samarajiva shares this eagerness:

I’ve been watching the Egyptian Revolution like it’s a cricket match, checking the score throughout the day. Right now it’s the people 1 million, Mubarak one.

Pakistani blog PK Politics draws parallel with the protests against former Pakistani dictators:

Tunisian wave has sparked Egyptians to rise against a dictator that was holding absolute power for decades. The dictator Hosni Mubarak is repeating same sequence of mistakes that Pakistani military dictator performed in his last few years and refusing to accept the voice of nation.

Nepali blogger Paramendra Bhagat asks how many people could Mubarak kill:

The point is it is a finite number. There are only so many people Mubarak could kill. We did this in Nepal in 2006. The king of Nepal issued a shoot at sight order, and the people braved the bullets. About two dozen people were shot down before the regime collapsed.

There are only so many people Mubarak can kill. The brave people of Egypt have to not stop. This can be done. Democracy is not an American export. Liberty is an export of the human heart. It comes from inside. This is nothing to do with America.

You don't need no internet. You don't need no mobile phones. You don't need Twitter. All you need is air. You pack the energy into the air. All you have to do is be able to feel the ring of freedom. This is not about technology. This is about that which rings from every human heart. It comes from within.

Indian blogger SM hopes that Indians will take courage from the Egyptian protests to fight against corruption:

The revolution and protest may not succeed today, but people will realize the power of Twitter and Face book and the power of unity when Innocent citizens join hands and come on Road.

Today our Indian Situation is also not good corruption is increasing day by day, I hope government will stop the corruption before the people come on road to protest against corruption.

Afzal Rahim Khan Yusufzai wonders whether Pakistan is ripe for a revolution similar to what Egypt is experiencing:

Most Pakistanis would love to be that nation, hoping that Tunisia’s revolutionary ripples, already rocking Egypt and nudging Yemen, will reach Pakistan too. Enduring raging inflation, malignant corruption, dilapidated public services, an ultra-incompetent, dishonest government and an extra-insincere opposition, ineffectual judicial remedies, brutal feudal lords and tribal chiefs, lynch mobs, daily drone and terrorist attacks, assemblies of cheats, tax evaders and fake degree holders, surely Pakistan is ripe for revolution? Sadly not!

The blogger states why Pakistan will not join the revolution bandwagon:

The ingredients for revolution are simply not in place. Pakistan has sharp religious divide, low levels of literacy and a general feeling of apathy and defeatism in the population and additional factors which militate against a revolution: deep and multiple ethnic, linguistic, tribal and sectarian fault lines; a paucity of alternative intellectual narratives, radical leaders or strong unions; and an elected government and freedom of speech. Past experience suggests that it is likely that the events in Arab countries will leave Pakistan unchanged. Protests only become spontaneous after a certain critical mass is reached. Before that, they are contrived.

Nitin Pai at The acorn suggests how the Indian government should react to the situation:

New Delhi would do well to avoid taking sides in this conflict—leaving it to the likes of the United States and Europe to pay up for dishes they ordered. At the same time, the Indian government must signal that it will do business with whoever remains or comes to power.

Bangladeshi blogger Sirat at Sachalayatan blog analyzes what the post-revolution phase of Egypt promises:

পশ্চিমা রক্ষণশীল পর্যবেক্ষকরা মিশরীয় সমাজে ইসলামের পেনেট্রিশন নিয়ে বেশ ভীত। আগে হোক, পরে হোক, তাদের মতে ইসলামপন্থী একটি সরকার আসবেই।

কিভাবে?

হয় সেনাবাহিনীর পতনের মধ্য দিয়ে, যেটা যে কোন মুহূর্তেই হতে পারে হঠাৎ এক রক্তস্নাত বিকেলে। তখন আর মুসলিম ব্রাদারহুডকে থামায় কে?

বা সেনাবাহিনীতেই ক্যু এর মধ্য দিয়ে। বা নির্বাচনের মধ্য দিয়ে - মুসলিম ব্রাদারহুড মিশরের সবচেয়ে জনপ্রিয় দল, মুবারকের সরকারি দল ছাড়া। তখন আমেরিকা-ইসরায়েল-মিশর ভারসাম্যের কি হবে?

The Western conservative spectators are afraid of the penetration of Islam in Egyptian societies. Today or tomorrow an Islamic government will come to power.

How?

It may be by defeating the army, which may happen in any blood-filled evening. Then Muslim Brotherhood will be invincible.

Or it may happen through a coup-d'état by the army. Or through election - Muslim brotherhood is the most popular party in Egypt, barring Mubarak's ruling party. Then what will happen to the balance of the USA-Israel-Egypt axis?

Pakistani blogger Sepoy at Chapati Mystery translates a poem of renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz (first published in 1979) as a tribute to the protesters:

Tell, the Rulers
You take account, now
of your deeds
when we rise,
with the will to discard our lives
then you will confront the chain, the prison
here, right here, will be reward, retaliation
here, right here, will be punishment, bendiction
from right here, will rise the din of judgment
Here, right here, will be the Day of Reckoning.

The blogger concludes with:

Violence has erupted in Tahrir as I post this. Violence of Mubarak’s goon squad on the peaceful demonstrators. Yet, Obama and Blair will continue to protect Mubarak. No matter, the will of the people of Egypt will prevail.

The post was first published in Global Voices Online