Fidel Castro - From birth to death

Fidel Castro
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Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator was born in 1926. His forces began a campaign of guerrilla warfare to successfully overthrow the Cuban dictator, and Castro became the country's new leader on 2nd December 1976. His communist domestic policies and military and economic relations with Soviet Union led to strained relations with the United States that culminated in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro made improvements in health care and education sector but he eroded the civil liberties of the people severely. The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union which gave a negative impact on Cuba's economy led Castro to relax some restrictions over the time. Because of failing health, Castro officially handed over the power to his brother Raúl Castro in 2008.

Early Political Rising and Arrests 

Around 1947 Castro had become passionate about social justice. He travelled to the Dominican Republic to join an expedition attempting the overthrow of the country's dictator, Rafael Trujillo. 

The coup eventually failed to achieve it's goal but the incident did little to suppress Castro's passion for reform, therefore he travelled to Gogota, Colombia, the following year to participate in the anti-government rioting there. 

Castro also joined the Partido Ortodoxo, a political party founded to reform government in Cuba. He pledged to expose the government's corruption and warn the people about General Fulgencio Batista, a former president, who was planning to return to power. 

Meanwhile, Castro and Mirta Diaz-Balart got married. She was from a wealthy political family in Cuba. She gave birth to their child, named, Fidel, in 1949. Marriage with Balart, gave Castro wealthier lifestyle and political connections. 

Mirta Diaz-Balart and Fidel Castro
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In March 1952 a coup led by General Fulgencio Batista successfully overthrew the government as a result, the upcoming election was cancelled, which left Castro without a legitimate political platform and little income. 

Batista solidified his power with military and set himself as a dictator. This has his government recognised bu the United States. Therefore in response, Castro and fellow members of the Partido Ortodoxo organised a group called " The Movement " and planned an insurrection. On July 26, 1953, Castro and his supporters ( app. 150 ) attacked the Moncada military barracks outside of Santiago de Cuba in attempt to overthrew Batista. However this move failed and Castro was captured, tried, convicted and he among his brother Raúl Castro and many others were sentenced to prison.

Yemen crises

The crises in Yemen is the latest in the middle east where a cocktail of impoverish population, sectarian divide and regional power has resulted in a massive humanitarian crises. However in Yemen it is the first instance where the GCC (Gulf cooperation council) countries are taking a leading role in countering the reels. It can change the dynamics of the region completely with GCC emerging as the major source in the region.

Yemen's position in the world map
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The Root Cause 

Mr. Ali Abdullah Saleh
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The broader roots in the crises belong to 1990s unification of the US led and Saudi backed Yemeni Arab Republic and USSR backed Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south. The military officers, like Ali Abdullah Saleh who ruled the North Yemen since 1978 assumed the leadership of the new country but the unification disturbed the sectarian barren of the country as a leadership of North Yemen continued to hold grip on the nation due to large number of Sunni population in the united Yemen. As the result, the central government never went beyond the capital Sana'a and the government secured it's power through patronage and by playing various factions of one another. 

Numerous factions like al-Hirak, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and various other insulted groups have captured some path of the territory in south. However the Houthi movement whose base is among Zyadi Shias of the northern Yemen became the main voice of the southern Yemeni people since 2004.

In 2011 the tides of the Arab Spring sparked demands for the change in administration. The US and GCC had a political deal in Yemen by facilitating Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi as the new interim president. 

As a part of the peace pact 2013 the UN sponsored the National dialogue conference (NDC) where 565 delegated were invited to form the new constitution, which was agreeable to all the factions present in Yemen. But the NDC ended after delegates could not resolve disputes over the distribution of power. 

Houthi rebels accused the current administration for deliberately delaying the power distribution talks to retain it's hold in the government. 

Mr. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
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China - Pakistan Economic Corridor

So, What is exactly the CPEC project ?

China - Pakistan economic corridor refers to an under-construction and partly completed economic corridor aimed to facilitate trade along an overland route that connects Kashgar and Gwadar through construction of network of highways, railways, and pipelines worth nearly $51 billion. Several other road, rail and power projects are associated with the corridor, and the project seeks to expand and upgrade infrastructure across the length and breadth of Pakistan, and to widen and deepen economic ties with its “all-weather friend”, China. Chinese firms will invest just under $ 46 billion in the project over six years — including $ 33.8 bn in energy projects and $ 11.8 bn in infrastructure.

CPEC Rout
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China's interest

So, it's a fact that the benefits for this "CPEC" are going to be more towards China rather than Pakistan as, now China, which is one of the biggest exporters in the world, would have to cover a much lesser distance to export goods. Rather than coming from all across the South China Sea then to Indian Ocean and then to Arabian Sea, that too by ships, the exports would just be a matter of hardly few hours due to the strong railway network being built their. With China's economy growing at a rate of more than 8%, strongly giving competition to the current major powers of this world, China wants to make a statement. With increasing influence in the Asian continent, China is raising. The CPEC is part of  China’s larger regional transnational ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) initiative, whose two arms are the land-based New Silk Road and the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, using which Beijing aims to create a Silk Road Economic Belt sprawled over a large patch of Asia and eastern Europe, and crisscrossed by a web of transport, energy supply and telecommunications lines.

One belt One road
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Demonetisation in India

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So, this had to happen, some day or the other, someone who has the courage, had to do it, and so did the Prime minister Narendra Modi. The brave moves comes after decades, caused by huge amount of black money comprising of both, real currency notes and fake currency notes being circulated in the country in an unimaginably huge amount. It was 8th November 2016 when Mr. Modi suddenly appeared on T.V screens and shattered the dreams of black money holders in his few minutes speech in the evening, by declaring that from midnight, notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 will be invalid. It is not doubtful, that the Indian media had prepared for US Presidential election results, but this came out of syllabus, as in the words of social networking sites's viral memes.

Causes of demonetisation International scenario

The Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) had put India at rank 76 out of 168 countries in its latest Corruption Perception Index. The country’s 2015 corruption perception score remained the same as last year’s – 38/100 – showing lack of improvement. India shares its rank along with six other countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Thailand, Tunisia and Zambia. This was one of the reason which led the government to take this step.

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Terror funding

It is a well proven fact that all the terror groups affecting the country, both from outside and from inside, are powered by black money, which are the fake currency notes printed illegally, somewhere in this world, and also a major part of the unaccounted money gave them a push. All the terror activities which happen from across the border, are sponsored by illegally printed fake Indian currency notes. As per a 2015 study, at any given point of time, fake notes with a face value of Rs. 400 crore were in circulation in the Indian economy. After the consistent terrorist activities by Pakistan, Modi government had pressure from all across the country to find an eternal solution for this. This also caused the government to take this decision.

Need to make India a cashless economy

As per the statements issued by RBI " India remains a cash based economy hence the circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes continues to be a menace. In order to contain the rising incidence of fake notes and black money, the scheme to withdraw has been introduced. " This statement clears the doubt up to a large extent. Indians by and large have an habit of using cash instead of internet banking even when they are making big purchases, this practise gives a push to the black economy by evading taxes which are important for a countries development. The need was felt to change the lifestyle of people, shifting it towards digital world and making things much easier.

Cashless society
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Syrian civil war

The unprecedented devastation both in terms of men and material has brought the Syrian crises into international politics of the world. Involvement of too many actors has made the crises so complex that peace seems to be a far-cry.

Arab uprising that ensued in 2010, allowed democracy a chance at the cost of deeply erected authoritarian regimes in many of the Arab countries. This effect has also touched the Syria in 2011 after Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. However the uprising acquired multifaceted dimensions in Syria, rather than bringing hope of a positive change within the political regime. Further, the involvement of ISIS made the situation more complex and difficult for the people living in Syria. The crisis led to the world's largest migration of the people to the neighbouring countries as well as to other parts of the world in search of life and survival.

An image of protest during Arab Spring
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Syrian uprising - Causes and Motives   

After the death of Hafez al-Assad, his son Bashar al-Assad became the Syrian president in 2000, unopposed with 97% of the votes. His appointment raised the hope amongst the Syrian activists of socio-political and economic reforms which gave way to Damascus Spring. In 2001,  leading activists who called for democratic reforms were arrested and imprisoned, bringing an end to Damascus Spring. Moreover severe drought in Syria in 2007 to 2010 led to an increase in poverty, unemployment and social unrest. All this led to an uprising which was supported by many Islamist movements who were also strongly against Mr. Assad's rule.

Different stakeholders are condemning as well as contributing to the war within the war. The state actors are not only facing the war from non-state actors, like international terrorist organisations, Kurdish Forces, but also from their own defected and politically ambitious elements.

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Syrian War - The Actors

Syrian uprising in it's initial phase was an uprising against the authoritarian and corrupt government. The conflict in Syria assumed the nature of a sectarian conflict, with the interference of foreign and regional powers. Shia community dominated Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group lent their support to the minority Alawite sect of Assad's government. Sunni, which is a majority group opposing the Assad's government is supported by Sunni dominated countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

Free Syrian Army, popularly known as rebel forces are the group of deserts who are fighting against Assad's regime. These groups are receiving financial and military support from foreign regimes particularly the United States of America and it's allies on the other hand Russia and it's allies are supporting the existing political regime in Syria.

ISIS terrorist beheading a man
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Hammurabi's code of law

Hammurabi's Code of Law is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1754 BC. It is one of the oldest and one of the most important deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth king of the Babylonian dynasty, Hammurabi, enacted this code. Partial copies of this code exist on a seven and a half foot stone stele and various clay tablets.

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It was a Customary law of code, which means that it was based on rituals, customs, and practices of the society. The code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man. Customary laws was the basis of legal structure. Rulers would usually apply the laws of their predecessors. Rulers would issue edicts which contained these modifications. Hammurabi carried out a thorough compilation of laws, many of which were intended to guide judges in situations which were not provided for in existing law. In order to familiarise the people with these laws Hammurabi had them inscribed and placed in several parts of the empire, many were placed in temples also. The Susa inscription is the most well known of all the copies of Hammurabi's code.

Susa inscription
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The Mesopotamian Society at a glance.

The code confirms the existence of a highly stratified society. The code recognises three main classes: Wardu, Mushkenu and awelu.

Wardu was the term used for slaves. By Hammurabi's time there was a considerable slave population in Mesopotamia. The ability to produce a surplus on a regular basis had been the first precondition for the emergence of slavery. Slavery becomes possible when society reaches a stage where it can produce surplus. Warfare, however is the second precondition for slavery. Enslavement implied complete dehumanisation of a person. Slaves were treated as things and not as human beings. The first slaves were women. When a group was conquered, the normal practise was to kill the men and enslave the women. It would have required too much armed force to watch over men slaves who possessed military training. It was much later that men were enslaved. The Wardu had distinctive marks on their bodies. This made it difficult for them to run away. They were shaven and branded. In Hammurabi's code of law, helping a slave lead to death.

Urbanisation in Mesopotamia

Urbanisation is the process by which small villages grow into larger ones, then to towns, then to cities and eventually large urban city centres. Urbanisation began in ancient Mesopotamia in the Uruk Period (4300-3100 BCE) for reasons scholars have not yet agreed on, though there are many assumptions. Of course, at a very basic level, urbanisation does imply the concentration of a large population, but an urban centre is not just an over-grown village. Urbanisation in it's true form means the concentration in a particular settlement, of a fairly large population, pursuing diverse economic activities and having a high degree of interdependence. one of the main features of urbanisation is extensive specialisation and division of labour provided with lack of self sufficiency. Cities have a complex and social economic system. There are structures of authority for managing disputes. Moreover, cities have specific buildings for a specific function for maintaining order.

According to Gordon Childe, there were several reasons for urbanisation at this time.

1. Centralised accumulation of capital resulting from the imposition of tribute or taxation.
2. The invention of writing
3. Advancement towards sciences
4. Emergence of class stratified society
5. Long distance trade
6. The freeing of a part of the population from subsistence tasks for full time craft specialisation.

were some of the reasons which resulted in urbanisation. Thus, "Urban Revolution" was the name given to it by Gordon Childe.

Production of metal possess the presence of some specialists. Society should be able to support these specialists by food and shelter so that they can do their work rather than depending on subsistence only. The use of metal can only become widespread when a group of specialists permanently withdraw from agriculture or food production. No doubt that all this happened in Mesopotamia.  

Another problem with southern Mesopotamia is that they do not possess any deposits of copper. The metal had to be imported from Iran and Anatolia. This trade had to be carried out by exchanging the surplus produce of Sumeria for raw materials that the region lacked. So it was very important to have a regular mechanism to regulate the production and redistribution of the surplus. This indeed increased the demand for the surplus which was obviously not met by the farmers initially. This increased the need for a compulsion to be imposed on the farmers to produce surplus on a permanent basis.

Therefore, Systematic extraction of the surplus created conditions for its redistribution in an inequitable manner. Some groups in the society were able to take control over a disproportionately large share of the surplus ( Chieftains, priests, warriors ). On the other hand there were groups which were denied their legitimate share of the surplus ( Peasants, artisans, slaves ). This marked the division of the society into classes: a class of people who actually produced and a class of people which took over the bulk of surplus and possessed political and economic power.

State formation

In ancient Mesopotamia, the state was primarily an instrument to perpetuate the domination of class which appropriated a disproportionately large share of the surplus. The state performed other functions as well, such as keeping conflicts in check, providing protection, promoting trade and organising irrigation. The pattern of state formation in Sumeria which we found, where the temples occupied a prominent place, should not be regarded as a universal pattern of state formation.

State formation was not an isolated event but was closely related to metallurgy, surplus production, specialisation and class differentiation all of these which when added together with writing gives birth to urbanisation. Urbanisation; surplus production; complex social systems; division of labour; existence of a state; organised religion; use of metal; development of writing are some of the traits of civilisation.

Six Neolithic cultures of Mesopotamia

Introduction

The transition from Mesolithic to bronze age civilisation first took place in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia broadly corresponds to present day Iraq. Sumerian civilisation which is one of the earliest known bronze age civilisation is a product of Mesopotamia. For this reason Mesopotamia has a special significance in a discussion on the transition from neolithic to bronze age.

Geography of Mesopotamia:

Two major rivers flow through the country. These are the Euphrates and the Tigris. These rivers flow from north to south and discharge their waters into Persian gulf. Thus it can be divided into two distinct regions: north and south.

Northern Mesopotamia stretches from the Zagros mountains to the middle Tigris. On the west this region is bound by Syrian desert.

Southern Mesopotamia lies roughly between the middle Tigris and the Persian Gulf. In the east in is bordered  by Iran. In the west there is a long stretch of desert which merges with Arabian desert. The region virtually experiences no slope as the land is just 20 meters above the sea level. Southern Mesopotamia is an arid zone with scanty rainfall. However, the two rivers provide possibilities for cultivation and therefore for habitation in this region.

Early in the history the southernmost part of Mesopotamia was known as Sumeria.The area lying between Sumeria and northern Mesopotamia was called Akkad. In fact Sumeria and Akkad together constituted Southern Mesopotamia. From c. 2000 onwards they both together are referred to as Babylonia.

Ancient Mesopotamia
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The Six Neolithic Cultures Of Mesopotamia.

Northern Mesopotamian cultures.

1) Hassuna (6000-5500 BC )

2) Samarra ( 5500-5000 BC )

3) Halaf ( 5500-4500 BC )

All these three cultures were products of the northern Mesopotamian environment. Cultivation was mainly based on winter rainfall. Another feature of these cultures was the manufacture of beautiful handmade pottery.

Hassuna Culture

Hassuna culture got it's name from where it was first identified, the site of Tell Hassuna. The houses in this culture were multi-roomed. All houses had structures for storing grains. Sickles and stone blades were heavily used. Heavy javelins have also been discovered from this culture. Pottery in this culture was painted and was decorated with geometrical shapes. As many as four hundred people lived in one village of this culture.