THE HINDU EDITORIAL : AUGUST 7, 2018
THE HINDU EDITORIAL : AUGUST 7, 2018
THE HINDU EDITORIAL – August 6, 2018 is one of the must read section for the competitive exams like IBPS RRB PO, IBPS RRB Office Assistant 2018, RBI Grade “B” 2018 & NIACL Assistant 2018. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension , Cloze Test or Error Detection topics in the forthcoming exams. So gear up your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.
a) Dangerous rhetoric
In the week since the final draft of the National Register of Citizens in Assam was completed, the political rhetoric has got irresponsibly away from the issue at hand. Those associated with the preparation of the NRC, including its Supreme Court-appointed coordinator, Prateek Hajela, are at pains to point out that the draft is by no means the end of the road. The more than 40 lakh people whose names are missing from the draft have a graded appeals process ahead, first at NRC seva kendras. Failing rehabilitation on the list at this stage, they can appeal to district magistrates, the Foreigners’ Tribunals, the Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court. It is a long and daunting process, and a mature polity would ensure that no man, woman or child is stranded without legal and other assistance to deal with the paperwork. Instead, a full-blown political spectacle has unfolded, with parties trivialising the complexity of the process. The president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Amit Shah, has filled the air with challenges to Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, to spell out their stand on “Bangladeshi immigrants” and clarify if they want them “to stay here or evict them”. Sundry BJP leaders have talked in favour of an NRC in every State, giving a threatening denominational twist to the issue. And West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seemingly as willing to court her own political constituency over the NRC draft list, has warned of a “bloodbath” and a “civil war”. There is a manifest lack of concern about those bracing themselves to go through the appeals process when one listens to a Telangana BJP MLA’s violent words, a Congressperson’s boasts about thousands of Bangladeshis deported on his party’s watch, or the TMC chief’s angry remarks. Each of those lakhs of persons who doesn’t find herself on the list is a human being, given to heaviness of heart at being left off a citizens’ list, wary of the process that lies ahead, and assailed by what-if scenarios. Among those on the list are people cutting across linguistic, ethnic and religious groups. Together, they do not fit the profile being conveyed by the dog-whistle politics of the BJP to sharpen its identity politics nationwide. In fact, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, of the BJP too, has implied as much, while counselling calm. Equally, the shrill politics at the national level is holding India back from facing the necessary questions: can it genuinely heed its civilisational legacy without issuing an assurance that nobody who has lived for a long time in this land will be rendered stateless? And that the country is confident of finding a way to close this process without disadvantaging those who will be off the eventual list and those on it?
b) Lula’s chances
Even by the standards of Latin America’s emotive politics, the nomination of Brazil’s convicted former President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to contest for a third term in the October election is sensational. The charismatic leader from the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) has been serving a 12-year jail sentence since April in a bribery and money-laundering case. Mr. Lula may still have his candidacy overruled by the electoral body. But there are many factors why that uncertainty has not deterred his party from daring to nominate him for the country’s top job. In July, a federal judge with suspected PT sympathies ordered Mr. Lula’s release. Although the step was swiftly overturned, PT cadres were quick to seize upon the momentum generated by the initially morale-raising move. Despite the original July 2017 conviction, they have been fiercely protesting his innocence in a bid to project his candidacy for the coming election. A shot in the arm for the pro-Lula camp was an intervention from influential international quarters questioning the judicial process that led to the conviction. A number of U.S. Congressmen, besides former Presidents of Bolivia and France and a former Spanish Prime Minister, have called for an end to Mr. Lula’s detention. In addition, his poll ratings, at nearly 30%, are extraordinary for someone serving a prison term. Supporters are tapping into the perception of Mr. Lula’s innocence, and portray his persecution as a ploy to prevent him from seeking a third term. Against this backdrop, PT delegates have, over the weekend, determined that, inside or out of prison, Mr. Lula is their best bet to capture the presidency. The party president even insists there is no Plan B, despite the considerable uncertainty over Mr. Lula being allowed to contest. Political opponents have sought to highlight the PT’s lack of a second-line leadership as the reason for it desperately clinging to a compromised Mr. Lula. On the PT’s own narrative, the 2016 impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff was orchestrated by Opposition politicians who were facing criminal investigations. Her successor as President and the current incumbent, the centre-right Michel Temer, has been implicated on several charges of corruption and obstruction of justice. Few politicians have managed to escape the so-called Lava Jato, or Car Wash, investigations into misappropriation of public resources. Against this backdrop, the PT is clearly counting on Mr. Lula’s proven popularity, especially during his tenure from 2003 to 2011 when he became a global icon for his brand of welfare economics. The centre-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party and the centrist Sustainability Network Party have nominated as their presidential candidates Geraldo Alckmin and Marina Silva, respectively. But Brazilians must wait a while longer for confirmation whether Mr. Lula will make it to the final race.
WORDS/VOCABULARY
1) Rhetoric
Meaning: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Example: “he is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole”
Synonyms: Diction, Delivery
2) Point out
Meaning: To tell someone about some information, often because you believe they do not know it or have forgotten it.
Example: He was planning to book a rock-climbing holiday, till I pointed out that Denis is afraid of heights.
3) Rehabilitation
Meaning: The action of restoring something that has been damaged to its former condition.
Example: “the rehabilitation of the mangrove forests”
4) Daunting
Meaning: Seeming difficult to deal with in prospect; intimidating.
Example: “a daunting task”
Synonyms: Formidable, Disconcerting
5) Stranded
Meaning: Leave (someone) without the means to move from somewhere.
Example: “two of the firm’s lorries are stranded in France”
6) Full-blown
Meaning: Fully developed.
Example: “the onset of full-blown AIDS in persons infected with HIV”
Synonyms: Advanced, Full-scale
Antonyms: Partial
7) Spectacle
Meaning: A visually striking performance or display.
Example: “the acrobatic feats make a good spectacle”
Synonyms: Display, Show
8) Trivialising
Meaning: Make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it really is.
Example: “the problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers”
Synonyms: Minimize, Dismiss
9) Spell out
Meaning: To explain something in a very clear way with details.
Example: The government has so far refused to spell out its plans/policies.
Synonyms: Defining, Explain
10) Threatening
Meaning: Having a hostile or deliberately frightening quality or manner.
Example: “her mother had received a threatening letter”
Synonyms: Menacing, Alarming
11) Manifest
Meaning: Clear or obvious to the eye or mind.
Example: “her manifest charm and proven ability”
Synonyms: Obvious, Clear
Antonyms: Hidden, Secret
12) Bracing
Meaning: Prepare (someone) for something difficult or unpleasant.
Example: “both stations are bracing themselves for job losses”
Synonyms: Prepare, Bolster
13) Heaviness
Meaning: A mentally oppressive feeling, especially of sadness or grief.
Example: “he felt the heaviness of loss as he watched her go”
14) Assailed
Meaning: (of an unpleasant feeling or physical sensation) come upon (someone) suddenly and strongly.
Example: “she was assailed by doubts and regrets”Synonyms:
Antonyms: Disturb, Worry
15) Linguistic
Meaning: Relating to language or linguistics.
Example: “a child’s linguistic ability”
Synonyms: Semantic, Lingual
16) Ethnic
Meaning: Relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition.
Example: “ethnic and cultural rights and traditions”
Synonyms: Racial, Genetic
17) Dog-whistle
Meaning: A remark, speech, advertisement, etc. by a politician that is intended to be understood by a particular group, especially one with feelings of racism or hatred, without actually expressing these feelings.
Example: Attacks on “political correctness” can be a dog whistle to rally white voters.
18) Shrill
Meaning: Used to describe a way of arguing or criticizing that seems too forceful.
Example: He launched a shrill attack on the prime minister.
19) Heed
Meaning: Pay attention to; take notice of.
Example: “he should have heeded the warnings”
Synonyms: Notice, Note
Antonyms: Disregard
20) Rendered
Meaning: Give up; surrender.
Example: “he will render up his immortal soul”
Synonyms: Return, Repay
21) Convicted
Meaning: Declare (someone) to be guilty of a criminal offence by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.
Example: “her former boyfriend was convicted of assaulting her”
Synonyms: Sentence
Antonyms: Acquit, Clear
22) Sensational
Meaning: Causing great public interest and excitement.
Example: “a sensational murder trial”
Synonyms: Amazing, Starling
Antonyms: Run-of-the-mill
23) Charismatic
Meaning: Used to describe a person who has charisma.
Example: Few were able to resist this charismatic and persuasive leader.
Synonyms: Attractive
24) Candidacy
Meaning: The fact or condition of standing for a position or status, especially in an election.
Example: “he’s going to announce his candidacy for the US Senate”
25) Deterred
Meaning: Discourage (someone) from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences.
Example: “only a health problem would deter him from seeking re-election”
Synonyms: Discourage, Dissuade
Antonyms: Encourage
26) Overturned
Meaning: Abolish, invalidate, or reverse (a previous system, decision, situation, etc.).
Example: “the results overturned previous findings”
Synonyms: Cancel, Reverse
Antonyms: Allow, Accept
27) Fiercely
Meaning: In a powerful and destructive manner.
Example: “the wind was blowing fiercely”
28) A shot in the arm
Meaning: An encouraging stimulus.
Example: “the movie was a real shot in the arm for our crew”
Synonyms: Boost, Stimulus
Antonyms: Blow
29) Intervention
Meaning: The action or process of intervening.
Example: “a high degree of state intervention in the economy”
30) Detention
Meaning: The action of detaining someone or the state of being detained in official custody.
Example: “the fifteen people arrested were still in police detention”
Synonyms: Confinement, Incarceration
31) Tapping into
Meaning: To manage to use something in a way that brings good result.
Example: If only we could tap into all that energy and creativity.
32) Perception
Meaning: The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Example: “the normal limits to human perception”
Synonyms: Appreciation, Recognition
33) Backdrop
Meaning: The setting or background for a scene, event, or situation.
Example: “the conference took place against a backdrop of increasing diplomatic activity”
34) Delegates
Meaning: A person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.
Example: “congress delegates rejected the proposals”
35) Clinging to
Meaning: To refuse to stop believing or hoping for something.
Example: She clings to the hope that her husband will come back to her.
36) Impeachment
Meaning: A charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office.
Example: “the president is facing impeachment over the scandal”
37) Orchestrated
Meaning: Plan or coordinate the elements of (a situation) to produce a desired effect, especially surreptitiously.
Example: “the situation has been orchestrated by a tiny minority”
Synonyms: Organize, Arrange
38) Incumbent
Meaning: Necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility.
Example: “the government realized that it was incumbent on them to act”
Synonyms: Binding, Obligatory
Antonyms: Optional
39) Implicated
Meaning: Show (someone) to be involved in a crime.
Example: “he implicated his government in the murders of three judges”
Synonyms: Incriminate, Compromise
Antonyms: Absolve
40) So-called
Meaning: Used to show that something or someone is commonly designated by the name or term specified.
Example: “Western Countries belonging to the so-called Paris club”
Synonyms: Supposed, Alleged
THE HINDU EDITORIAL : AUGUST 6, 2018
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