While many argue Egypt should emulate Turkey, India's style of democracy is a better blueprint
Many Egyptian elites, especially Islamists, are enthusiastic about the Turkish model despite the huge differences between Egypt and Turkey. The "Indian model", however, is today's most successful example for Egypt to take inspiration from, Mustafa Al Faqi argued yesterday in an opinion article in the UAE-based newspaper Al Khaleej.
Historically speaking, Egypt had not been less developed than India. In fact back in the 1960s following the establishment of the non-aligned movement, the bilateral ties between the two nations under Gamal Abdel Nasser and Jawaharlal Nehru saw a turning point when they jointly built an air plane. Egyptians would create engines while Indians the bodies, the writer noted, adding, "Now look where we are and where they are".
The Turkish model is very different than the Egyptian reality, where religion and politics have always been intertwined. India, on the other hand, shares with Egypt a great deal: issues like poverty, illiteracy, sectarianism and a weighty, exotic cultural heritage, the writer noted.
"The Indian dream", the writer explained, is best for Egypt to take a cue from for the following major factors: India is a nuclear-weapons state; it is fast-developing, industrial, has a space programme and is self sufficient in food grains, even with a population of more than 1.2 billion.
The giant Asian country did not reinvent the wheel. Without shutting eyes to ultra-consumerism and without failing to protect local industries, India has earnestly pursued clear, midway policies. And in parallel, it has preserved the spirit and character of Hindustan in its economic policies, even in its arts and culture.
India is the world's largest democracy. During elections, hundreds of millions head to the polls to cast their votes for whom they deem worthy, despite prevalent poverty and illiteracy. It was the Indian people who did not vote Indira Gandhi into office in her constituency before they voted her to power again when she realised why the electorate rejected her and corrected her mistakes.
Indian democracy has brought to power three presidents from the Muslim minority, and it relied on the Seikh sect to boost a struggling economy.
India is a country of paradoxes. There is excessive wealth and object poverty; coexistence and sectarian strife; and a sense of discomfort among the Hindu majority towards the historic transformation that came with the Muslim Moguls.
Maharajas or Dalit castes fortunately do not exist in Egypt. Still, there is a latent class struggle and an intense generational conflict that would now and then sound alarm bells. But India as a state treats all faiths and sects equally.
"The Indian model" is more relevant to Egypt, the writer suggested.
Is Geneva the end of Arabs' role in Syria?
The agreement of the US and Russia to hold the "Geneva 2" conference next month to solve the Syrian crisis marked the end of local and regional endeavours in favour of the world's major powers, noted Fahmi Huwaidi in the Qatari newspaper Al Sharq.
The deal implicitly favoured a political settlement over a military one that had been on the table for two years. It also meant that the Turkish role had dwindled and the Egyptian initiative had been placed on the back burner, he said.
The agreement came against a backdrop marked by three developments. First, the Syrian regime has been able to retake some areas following military supplies from Russia and Iran. Second, Hizbollah has openly stepped in to defend the Al Assad regime. And third, Israel raided critical military facilities in Damascus, sending a message to all that it would not allow Syria's weapons to be supplied to Hizbollah.
The Geneva meeting is bringing the Syrian crisis to a whole different level where the major nations will call the shots and Arabs will officially lose significant influence.
Until then, Arab nations can still do something about it if they manage to change the balance of power on the ground. Egypt, which so far has been timid towards the Syrian conflict, can change the game if it uses its clout to back the Free Syrian Army against the regime troops.
Army vote could spell disaster for Egypt
Egypt's constitutional court has ruled that members of the armed forces and police have a right to vote in the nation's elections, in line with the new constitution.
"Are we ready at this point for such a step? Will it benefit a democratic pluralistic Egypt right now," Emad Eddine Hussein commented in the Cairo-based paper Al Shorouk.
Yes, the police and army vote is not unprecedented. It exists in several nations. But democracy and stability there have come a long way, and most importantly their armies and police are not involved in politics, he said.
Allowing members of the army and police to vote in the coming elections, or even in 10 years to come, will spell disaster for Egypt. The good intentions behind achieving equality between citizens could pave the road to hell, the writer argued.
Candidates will have to talk the security personnel into voting for them. This will result in soldiers being divided between parties. The police and the army will probably have their respective favoured candidates. Thus political debate will be part of the armed forces.
But unlike politicians who have only dialogue to use against their rivals, soldiers and police have weapons that some might think of using to impose their beliefs, the writer said.
* Digest compiled by The Translation Desk
translation@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Company%20Profile
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
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Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
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