What a tough time this is to make a credible and coherent assessment of what is happening around us – and in the world at large. Even if our focus remains on the floods that have roared across the plains of this country for an entire month, there is so much else that insistently demands attention.
And when you take a larger view of what relates to us in many ways, there is this jinxed South Asia to contend with. We cannot ignore our South Asian bondage. I am, of course, alluding to this week’s explosive events in Nepal. Seasoned observers are fumbling helplessly with their formulations about what is happening and where Nepal is headed. Is it really a Gen Z revolution?
Ah, we cannot escape a reference to the perennially mystifying relationship between India and Pakistan when we talk about South Asia. Then, one should be aware that today, the day on which this column is being published, the two countries are playing Asia Cup cricket in Dubai. Forget the allusion that cricket is a gentleman’s game. If you invoke the old British idiom, India and Pakistan have never played cricket, whether on a playground or a battlefield.
Beyond South Asia, there is the world with which we are connected as a nation and also as individuals. What is happening at the global level? Again, the analysts are baffled by the pace of change and the potential for something dreadful emerging out of the blue.
Naturally, the US comes first in this respect. Thanks to the starring role that President Trump is playing in the theatre of global politics, there is so much to excite our minds and our emotions. We have the juicy details of the Epstein scandal. But the latest upheaval is caused by the assassination of a charismatic youth leader of the extreme right, Charlie Kirk, on a campus in Utah. He was a close ally of President Trump and his assassination has raised the fear of political violence in the US.
Wait. In addition to the issues I have mentioned, here is another act of infamy committed brazenly by Israel. The airstrike on a Doha neighbourhood in Qatar on Tuesday, targeting Hamas leaders, has shaken the Arab world. It is something that could not be anticipated, though what Israel is doing in Gaza is also inexplicable in the context of how a supposedly civilised world can let it happen. But Israel’s attack on Qatar is likely to change the existing equilibrium of politics in the Middle East.
Many more developments portend dire consequences in various parts of the world. All you need to do is look at the map and begin to count the countries where major events have taken place this week. In fact, the political developments taking place in the US alone tend to shake the world order. You may sum it up as the rise of authoritarianism or a decline in civilisation.
Confused about what should be picked from this mix for my column, I am reminded of a BBC television show during the 1960s that was titled: ‘That was the week that was’. It was informally known as TWTWTW. Though it was a satire, the format was to look at the events of the week in a playful vein.
A regular columnist has a similar assignment. This is what I have aspired to do: find something of interest from the week’s headlines or rely on some personal experience. Usually, because of the circumstances that contribute to an abiding sense of loss, the columns have been negative or cynical in mood. The task that I have seems so thankless.
This week, in particular, I am having trouble deciding between alternatives. There has been this onslaught of developments all around. And mostly these are developing stories. In that sense, comments that are made have to be tentative. The devastating floods may soon be winding down, but the aftermath is likely to be momentous.
How will we recover from this blow? The federal government has on Wednesday imposed a climate and agriculture emergency. The post-flood strategy is to be formulated by a committee.
Is the turmoil in Nepal more worthy of a columnist’s attention than the floods? One is intrigued by the violence that surged early this week when a movement led by Gen Z and triggered by a social media ban went out of control after 19 people were killed. Protesters set fire to government buildings, including parliament, the prime minister’s office and the Supreme Court. Luxury hotels were also set ablaze. The young are reportedly upset by the leaders’ lavish lifestyle and the prevalence of corruption.
A sudden collapse of the government in Nepal appeared to be a replay of what happened in Dhaka last year. Almost three years ago, the same had happened in Sri Lanka. Is this the tested pattern in South Asia? In Bangladesh and in Nepal, secular regimes were overthrown and the army has become the arbiter in both countries.
But perhaps a more crucial conflict that may even have global implications is brewing in America after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Thankfully, the 22-year-old suspect was identified and caught late on Thursday night. But fearful references to a possible violent confrontation between the extreme right and the extreme left continued to be made on social media.
On Friday, President Trump said that the ‘radical left’ was responsible for much of the violence in the country. He downplayed the ‘radical right’, saying that the left is the problem “We have radical left lunatics out there and we just have to beat the hell out of them”, he said in a television appearance.
And finally, we are left with the highly toxic wrangle between India and Pakistan. For a few hours this Sunday, a T20 match in Dubai will test the nerves of hundreds of millions of Indians and Pakistanis. Only one side will celebrate the outcome.
The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at: ghazi.karachigmail.com