Modern Revolution for Dummies

Folks,

The winds of change are blowing across the Arab World. As the rest of the world watches on with jittery nerves, unprecedented events are unraveling on a daily basis. Regimes across the Arab world, thought to be ‘stable’ till now, have either fallen or are facing a real threat of collapsing like dominoes. By the time this post reaches it’s Holy Grail [i.e. my blog site…:)] it would have been more than a week since the autocratic Egyptian government fell and more than a month since the Tunisian regime found its rightful place. Bahrain, Yemen & Libya are witnessing sustained protests and it’s any body’s guess on what will happen there.

Now, I don’t really want to go into intricacies of these revolutions and give a blow by blow account of what transpired there. I am sure most of you would have got daily fix from watching the news. I rather want to concentrate of the characteristics of a modern revolution.

What creates/sparks revolutions?

1. Pent up frustration - Long years of autocratic rule just creates one thing: Pent up frustration. A pressure cooker like situation where people are just waiting to explode. Even in so called democratic countries (like erstwhile Egypt), lack of true political reform and imperceptible benefits led to the turmoil we witnessed.

2. Iconic Images – Remember the ‘Tank Man’ of the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, 1989. The image of the man, who refused to give way for a tank to pass, still flashes in our minds and must have been a great rally point for protestors then. It must also be noted that the more recent self immolation of a vegetable seller in Tunisia was what started this unrest in the Arab world.

Indications that a revolution will probably be successful:

1. Relatively peaceful - If there is something the Egyptian revolt has proven, it’s that non violence is still relevant and a potent force to be reckoned with. [yea, Chak De Gandhi]The protests were not without their share of violence but given the magnitude of the protests and the competing interest of various parties involved, violence of much greater scale was expected. But, thankfully, that was not to be. Egyptian protestors were so responsible as to set up ‘check points’ and swipe down the fellow protestors to ensure weapons didn’t find their way into the protest area.

2. Participation of Women - Women power was out on display during the protests. There were mothers, housewives, sisters singing and chanting out on the streets with their children in tow. Women change the dynamics of any protest. Unlike men, who are just looking for an excuse to turn violent women, women have more pressing domestic concerns and for them to disregard that and turn up and mix with the crowd is a phenomenal thing. [It indicates to how much and how far the rot has spread.] All this in a region where women, apparently, are treated more like cattle than human beings!

3. Social Media - It would be safe to say that the revolution in Egypt would have come up to nothing if not for social media like Facebook. In social networking sites, people connect on a personal basis and this ensures that news is actually appreciated rather than just viewed, as we do it on TV. The fact that the internet was shut down just days after the protests broke out in Egypt reiterates the critical role of the internet and more importantly the social media.