Editorials: 24-July-2025

 

The Hindu Editorials

Sectarian wounds: On the violence in Syria

Syria under Islamists is at risk of falling into chaotic violence

July 24, 2025

Last week’s violence in southern Syria, which saw the killing of hundreds from the Druze community, was a grave reminder of the country’s deep-rooted (1) sectarian tensions, now ruled by a former Sunni jihadist. When the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate, captured power in Syria in November 2024, its leader Ahmed al Sharaa (who until recently was known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani) pledged to protect the rights of all communities. But the realities on the ground tell a different story. Syria is approximately 80% Sunni, with minorities including Alawites, Shias, Christians and Druze making up the rest. The (2) ascent of the HTS triggered widespread anxiety among these groups. These fears were only reinforced when violence erupted against the Alawites, the sect of former President Bashar al-Assad, in March in the western coastal region. Hundreds were killed in (3) days long attacks orchestrated by pro-government militias, most of them jihadists. It took only four months before the next (4) atrocity unfolded — this time in Sweida, a Druze heartland in the south. Clashes initially broke out between Druze and local Bedouin members, which prompted Mr. Sharaa to send in security forces. What followed was a (5) massacre.

The sectarian violence (6) escalated into a regional crisis after Israel began bombing Syrian government forces and military infrastructure in Sweida and Damascus. While Israel does have a Druze minority of its own, its claims of humanitarian intervention (7) ring hollow in the context of its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. Israel has long conducted strikes in Syria — earlier, its targets were Hezbollah and Mr. Assad’s troops. Now that the HTS is in power, Tel Aviv does not want a (8) consolidated Syrian military presence near its border. These internal and external pressures have left Mr. Sharaa vulnerable. Syria, which witnessed coups and counter-coups in the 1950s and 1960s, achieved some stability under the secular Baathist rule in the 1970s. When the Baathist regime became a (9) dynastic dictatorship, cracks began to emerge in the political and social consensus that Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, had built, to culminate in a devastating civil war. The best chance for Mr. Sharaa to (10) redeem himself and Syria was to rebuild a pluralistic state, with Kurds, Alawites, Christians and Druze enjoying equal rights. Instead, his push to establish a centralised Islamist regime in Damascus has deepened the sectarian wounds. And the HTS’s armed jihadists, who go on killing sprees against minority dissenters, are pushing the country towards disintegration. Unless Mr. Sharaa takes urgent steps to rein in his fighters and rebuild a national consensus, Syria risks descending deeper into chaos

​Danger of thought: On the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill

The public security Bill endangers India as an open society

July 24, 2025

The Maharashtra Special Public Security (MSPS) Bill, 2024 follows the disturbing pattern of executive overreach (1) in the name of security. Existing laws are often misused (2) against political opponents and critics of the ruling party, including commentators. Charges are often vague (3) and sweeping, and the process itself becomes the punishment in many of these cases. Given this pattern, the move by Maharashtra’s Mahayuti government led by the BJP to create an entire law to criminalise a certain kind of thought portends (4) danger to freedom and democracy. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the new law would only target those who try to undermine (5) the constitutional order, but the possibility — indeed the probability — of its misuse is apparent. The State says that it is seeking to prevent Maoists from brainwashing (6) youth, professionals, and civil servants through front organisations. As in the proposed law, which is now awaiting the assent (7) of the Governor before coming into force, the State government can declare any suspect “organisation” as an “unlawful organisation”. Offences under the proposed law include membership of such organisations, fundraising on their behalf, managing or assisting them, and committing unlawful activities.

The Bill’s focus is on people and organisations that act as a front for Maoists, and what is unlawful is so broadly defined that anyone can be its target. Among other things, according to the Bill, ‘unlawful’ is “any action taken by an individual or organization whether by committing an act or by words either spoken or written or by sign or by visible representation or otherwise, which constitute a danger or menace (8) to public order, peace and tranquility”. Offences are cognisable (9) and the accused can be arrested without a warrant. Punishment includes jail terms of two years to seven years, along with fines ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh. The State argues that Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have enacted Public Security Acts and banned 48 Naxal frontal organisations. The Opposition parties offered feeble (10) resistance to the Bill and raised some broad concerns regarding its misuse but it was passed in the Assembly through a voice vote. As an afterthought, the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) protested on the floor when it was taken up in the Legislative Council. The Bill had gone through a long deliberative process, but as it turns out, all parties appeared to be in agreement, barring the lone CPI (M) MLA who protested against it on the floor of the Assembly. The idea that thought and speech, howsoever unpalatable they might be to the ruling establishment, should be policed poses a grave danger for India as an open society.

Enrol in our free Hindu Vocabulary course and get daily, weekly, and monthly PDFs to boost your language skills! – Click here

Latest Posts:

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *