Brief Historical Background

• Syria was formally coterminous with the area of the Levant. In the Ottoman Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
• After the first World War the Modern state of Syria was under a French Mandate and gained independence in 1946
• Syria was marked by political instability till 1970. Syria actively worked against the establishment of Israel
• In 1948, Syria was involved in the Arab-Israeli War, aligning with Arab states attempting to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel
• In November 1956 due Suez Crisis Syria signed a pact with the Soviet Union and came close to the Soviets. Later the Soviets established a Naval Base in ‘Tartus’ Syria in 1971 which is still operative
• From 1958-1961 Syria was part of the ‘United Arab Republic” with Egypt. A military coup in 1961 ended this union.
• Ba’ath Party came to power in 1963.
• Syria participated in the war against Israel in 1967 and Israel captured Golan Heights during this war.
• Hafiz Al Assad came to power in Syria in 1970 in a coup known as the Corrective Movement.  Assad family has been ruling in Syria since then.
• In 1976 Syrian forces entered the neighboring state of Lebanon and they remained there for a period of 30 years till 2006.
• In the 1991 war against Saddam Hussein Syria participated against the Iraqi regime.
• After the demise of Hafez Assad in 2000 the present President of Syria Bashar Al Assad came into power.
• Israel destroyed a Nuclear reactor being built in Syria with help of N. Korea in 2007 in ‘Operation Orchard'.

India-Syria Relations

Thousands of years ago convoys carrying tangible and intangible goods traversed on land from ancient Syria to India and vice versa - one of the oldest civilizational and cultural exchanges in history between the two regions.

• Both countries are secular.
• Both countries are members of NAM.
• Both countries remained friends of the USSR. 

Syria strongly supports India in various international organizations and looks forward to a more active Indian role at the international level, to defend the principles of justice and law, and prevent the hegemony that some states are exercising in different regions around the world.

India and Syria share similar perceptions on many international and regional issues and membership of NAM, and India's traditional support for just Arab causes: Palestinian cause and for the return of the occupied Golan Heights to Syria. Historically both nations were close to the Soviet Union. Syria has been supportive of India’s stand on Kashmir and aspirations for a permanent seat at U.N. Security Council. India is participating in the Oil sector and Phosphate fertilizer sector in Syria.

Major commodities of Export to Syria

• Textiles and yarn, petroleum products, transport equipment, machinery & instruments, drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals.

Major commodities of Import from Syria

• Petroleum, crude & products and minerals, leather, pearls, precious, and semi-precious stones.
• Even Syria has adopted an 'Eastward Orientation Policy' in which India has been given priority in various matters of trade, investment, and economy.
• India has also hold camps in Syria for installing limb prostheses to help victims of war to return to their normal lives.

Syrian Crisis

Roots of Crisis

• Since 1970s, single party ‘Ba’ath’ under Assad’s (Alawaite 12% of Syrian population) has been ruling Syria with sweeping powers by imposing Emergency Law. Most of security forces are controlled by this ethnic minority which causes strong resentment in majority Sunnis.
• Public gatherings and political movements have been strongly suppressed. Political participation has generally been minimal. Fundamentalist Sunni organization, Muslim Brotherhood has led the popular struggle against the regime. In 1982 a protest by this party was violently crushed killing thousands of people. This discouraged any challenge to Presidential Rule.
• In 2001 another intense opposition known as Damascus Spring took place. This movement also raised questions of legitimacy of ruling party by launching various forms of civil disobedience.

Present Crisis

• The present Syrian conflict began in March 2011 with increasing wave of protests originating in city of Daara. Initially the protesters were demanding socio-economic reforms. Deployment of army to quell further escalated the situation.
• United Nations in its report in 2012 has described the sectarian nature of this conflict as Alawite and other Shia groups have divided the country against the mainly Sunni opposition. All parties in Syria are guilty of violating the most fundamental human rights of civilians and disregarding the basic tenets of international law. Aid provided by various international fora continues to be blocked by government and rebel forces in many areas

International Response

International response was fuelled by interest groups who had multiplicity of interests as well as agendas. Initially there was clear demarcation of international response in initial period of resistance:

• Supporters of the ‘status-quo’ Russia-China-Venezuela & Iran, as well as the BRICS nations
• Supporters of ‘change’ i.e., the West nations and mainly Sunni neighbours of Syria
• The western nations and neighbours initially supplied the arms and support to the rebels. This support has since been waning mainly due to changing balance of power in the region. Increasing interference of extremists groups like Al Qaeda has desisted many western nations to openly come out in support of rebels.
• Turkey and Qatar have been behind the opposition groups inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood while Saudi Arabia has supported the Salafist rebels.
• On the other hand traditional Shia supporters Iran and Hezbollah supported Assad regime to maintain Shia sphere of influence against rising tide of Sunni hardliners.

Indian Response 

• In context of Syrian crisis, India has reiterated its stand of principled position that resolution of the internal problems should come from inside rather than by external intervention. India, as part of the BRICS alliance, has adopted a position that calls for an adherence to the UN charter, political solution to the Syrian crisis & has opposed foreign intervention & resorting to fomenting terrorism as a strategic option, as well as the imposition of the war on Syria by the nations that are funding, arming & fuelling an insurgency.
• India is supporting the rebuilding of Syria today. India has installed two camps for limb prostheses in Syria. It is an initiative to help victims of wars to return to their normal lives.

Impact on India

• Though Syria is not a major oil producer, its strategic location overlooking Suez-Mediterranean supply routes could have destabilizing consequences for other oil-exporting countries of the region and eventually lead to a steep rise in international crude oil prices.
• India has vital interests in the region that not only encompass the safety and security of an approximately five million strong diaspora but also the fact that, this region alone meets two thirds of its crude oil demands. Middle East has become a destination for Indian investment and joint ventures. Some of the regional powers like the UAE, Saudi  Arabia have now become top trading partner of India.
• India’s balanced stand during NAM Summit at Tehran was highly appreciated across board. At the U.N., especially during its stint as a non-permanent member, it had initially opposed tough sanctions against Syria. But later, it joined the chorus in condemning Syria for its human rights violations.

Geneva "Action Group"

• The major international effort to resolve Syrian crises was Geneva I in June 2012. It was initiated by UN peace keeping envoy Kofi Annan. The main outcomes of meet were:

1. Establishment of a transitional governing body with participation from both sides.
2. Elections and initiation of political dialogue

• Subsequently Lakhdar Brahimi, was appointed as the new UN peace envoy to Syria in August 2012
• Their initiative gained greater impetus after Ghouta chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus killed hundreds of people, on 21 August 2013
• Geneva II conference was held in 22nd January, 2014 in Montreux with participation of UN, EU, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Nations.
• Western nations insisted on removal of Syrian President which proved to be a major impediment to the talks. The second round of negotiations took place on 10–15 February 2014, but yielded no tangible results.

Conclusion

• This conflict has resulted in tremendous human and economic carnage. The sectarian underpinnings of the conflict could result in violent retributions and block any meaningful political settlement.
• At the moment the main focus should be to put on hold the momentum of the violent cycle of violence with diplomatic efforts based on realistic expectations. Rebel fighting units should work towards a ‘negotiating framework’ without attaching preconditions like Assad’s exit. 

Regime Crisis and the Rise of  ISIS in West Asia

Five years after the Arab Spring, West Asia is witnessing two major military conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Several states are deeply polarized and on the verge of breakdown, and there is a proliferation of jihadis across the region, engaged in extraordinary brutality against enemy states and “heretic” communities. Two transnational jihadi groups, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], are also engaged in a region-wide competition for geographical space and doctrinal influence. The violence, the fear of jihadi contagion, and the possible breakdown of state order across West Asia have pulled in international powers into the region’s conflicts. The US and Russia are engaged in military assaults on “terrorist” targets, but, they also see the region as one more front in their larger global competitions in a world order that is being re-shaped by the emergence of new players seeking a role and influence denied them for many decades in a West-dominated system.

Salafism is now central to the sectarian conflicts in different theatres of West Asia, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. It is also the foundational ideology of two other Sunni movements in competition—the mainstream activist Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates, and its rivals for appeal and power, the jihadis represented today by Al Qaeda and the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and their affiliates across the world.

The sectarian cleavage between the Wahhabi state and the Shia republic has led to a series of proxy confrontations that have devastated Syria and Yemen and now threaten to engulf all of West Asia in a paroxysm of violence and destruction.

ISIS has continued the sectarian belief-system of its predecessor and mentor, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and his immediate successor, Abu Omar al Baghdadi. On March 13, 2007, after announcing the setting up of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), al Baghdadi also issued an audio statement setting out the “fundamentals” of the nascent “state.”

The ISIS doctrine espouses all the firmly held Salafi tenets such as: associating only with “true” Muslims and that all Shia are apostates. ISIS, like Al Qaeda, believes in defensive jihad since it sees that Muslim lands are under attack from “apostate” rulers and their “crusader” allies; in fact, Muslim rulers are “traitors, unbelievers, sinners, liars, deceivers, and criminals”, and it is more urgent to fight them than the “occupying crusaders.”

In a little over a year, ISIS has acquired the character of a proto-state, with territory the size of the United Kingdom, a population of six-ten million, a standing army of several thousand, federal, provincial and municipal administrations with policy-makers, judges, and civil servants and security officials. It also has a treasury with revenues of about half a billion dollars collected since 2011, and, for all its public barbarity, it has the ability to attract a few hundred fresh recruits every month.

Is there a Gandhian way to tackle ISIS?

If we limit ourselves to looking at Gandhi's methods as non-violent civil disobedience, it is clear you cannot apply those methods with ISIS.  But then this is a narrow view of Gandhi's principles of Satyagraha and Ahimsa. Gandhiji's primary goal was to achieve a change of heart in the aggressor by demonstrating that they were morally unjust.

Secondly, Gandhiji understood the power of economic warfare. He asked Indians to boycott British goods and to refuse paying unjust taxes - both these hurt the British.

Finally, he led a spiritual and cultural mass movement, inspiring millions of Indians to participate in the freedom struggle against the British. His idea of Swaraj not only meant freedom from the British, but freedom from internal problems like poverty, untouchability, and inter-religious tensions.

Put all this in perspective and you will realize that a Gandhian way to tackle ISIS will have the following highlights;

• An ideological battle against extremism in Islam:  This is going to be a really tough road to walk. It really means getting all clerics all over to denounce all those parts of Islamic theology which ISIS so freely quotes to commit its atrocities. There can't be half-measures here. You can't criticize ISIS for their incorrect interpretation of the doctrines when many times the doctrine provides them solid backing.
• A mass movement rejecting the idea of the satanic state.
• On the economic front, convince the outside world to cut off all ties with ISIS ideology or apparatus such as black marketing of oil which forms a major source of its revenues along with extortions and human organ sales.

Overall, the Gandhian way forward would begin with the goal of rejecting the morally unjust ideologies which are being offered up as religious doctrines.

Why are youngsters across the world joining ISIS?

Teens’ joining violent, risky, and extreme groups is nothing new. Throughout history, there have been many examples of fringe groups that attracted confused adolescents. From the Children’s Crusade of ISIS, to the Hitler Youth movement, to modern-day cults and gangs, there is something about the teen psyche that is allured by these types of degenerate groups.

The adolescent years are a time of drastic change. In addition to the turmoil caused by alterations in an adolescent’s body, cognitive and social changes create a dangerous cocktail that, under the wrong circumstances, can lead to unfortunate outcomes.

The adolescent mind develops great capabilities in its capacity to think more abstractly and hypothetically about the world. With these mental advances comes a passionate idealism about the world that if left hungry can lead teens to pursue unhealthy activities to satisfy this idealistic craving. This idealism is emotion-based. Coupled with an underdeveloped decision-making process, another dimension of the adolescent developing brain, this idealism can run unchecked.

On a social level, teens desire to develop a sense of identity. They seek meaningful answers to the question of “who am I?” Teens are on a quest to find their true sense of self making them feel important and relevant. They are on a search for their relationship, religious, political, occupational, gender, and cultural identities.

The handlers of ISIS are fairly active on various social media channels and they lure youngsters – even the most promising and educated ones – with the promise of being able to attend heaven by serving the divine cause. From the looks of it these radical elements are supposedly rather well-versed in the art of convincing young and gullible minds to join their cause.

Most of them are not the stern-religious ones who are associated with such entities. They are carried away with a graphic representation of atrocities perpetrated against Muslims in various countries and join such groups as a way to get even with the world. What further helps is that there are always people ready to provide them with instructions on how to go about things.

Unfortunately, in some cases, this combination of heightened idealism, an underdeveloped decision-making process, and a desire to be unique can coalesce in tragic ways. When teens are not given meaningful options for their future life, they may look for them in the wrong place: Syria or Iraq.