THE HINDU EDITORIAL : FEBRUARY 5, 2019
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THE HINDU EDITORIAL : FEBRUARY 5, 2019
Dear Banking Aspirants,
THE HINDU EDITORIAL – February 5, 2018, is one of the must-read section for the competitive exams like NIACL AO Prelims Exam, IBPS SO Mains Exam. These topics are widely expected to be asked in the reading comprehension, Cloze Test or Error Detection in the forthcoming exams. So gear up your Exam preparation and learn new words daily.
A) Visa crackdown: On Indian students’ arrest
Students should be made aware of the risks of falling afoul of U.S. immigration laws
The arrest of 129 Indians on the charge of wilfully violating immigration laws to stay and work in the United States sends a stark message to youth looking for better prospects abroad: their efforts should begin with due diligence and strictly follow the letter of the law. In the sting operation carried out by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which threatens to encompass many more Indians in the ‘University of Farmington’ case, the contentious issue is whether they fell victim to unscrupulous recruiters who offered to secure an I-20 student document that allowed them to undertake paid work using the provision for Curricular Practical Training, or knowingly engaged in fraud. Going by the indictment of eight recruiters of Indian origin, they knew they were violating U.S. immigration law when they enrolled students using fraudulent and unlawful means, and their profits included negotiated referral fees paid into their accounts by undercover agents. The prosecution has alleged that each student who enrolled in the ‘university’ was aware that there would be no classes, credit scores or academic requirements, and the intention was merely to “pay to stay” and gain access to employment. These statements are, of course, subject to scrutiny during the trial of the alleged recruiters. The Ministry of External Affairs has made the correct distinction between students who may have been duped and the recruiters. Students who are eligible to pursue studies at an authorised university in the U.S. should, therefore, get a further opportunity and not be subjected to summary deportation or humiliation. It must also not prejudice the prospects of such students who may apply in future for legal entry.
The University of Farmington case in Michigan is not the first instance of Indian students falling foul of U.S. immigration laws, although it stands apart as a racket exposed by a sting operation. Others such as Tri-Valley University and Herguan University were degree mills run by individuals that used false claims and documents to enable youth to unlawfully stay in the U.S. and, in many cases, pursue employment. These trends reinforce the need for good communication that would help students identify credentialed institutions that meet the requirements of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and highlight the serious nature of visa fraud. If the averments in the Michigan case are correct, the prospect of working in America attracted many of the 600 students who were recruited. This should serve as a reminder to India’s policymakers that access to higher education, job-creation and raising of living standards to meet the aspirations of youth must receive priority. Talk of an impending demographic dividend is meaningless without creating opportunities at home.
B) The peace holds: On Assam blasts case verdict
A harsher penalty in the 2008 Assam serial blasts case could have led to wider trouble
Rocked by protests against the Centre’s proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Assam’s Bodo-populated areas were on edge for another reason last week. Over a decade after nine serial bombs ripped through four towns, the clamour for the death penalty to be awarded to the perpetrators had put the State on alert, after a district and sessions court set up for the CBI case had convicted 14 of them. The October 30, 2008 bombings exacted a severe toll. Eighty-eight deaths, 53 of them in Guwahati, with 540 injured, it was argued, passed the Supreme Court’s ‘rarest of the rare’ test. And yet, mindful of the “entire facts and circumstances of the case”, the judge on January 30 sentenced 10 of the convicted, including Ranjan Daimary, to life and handed out limited terms to the others. Most of the convicts belong to a faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland, of which Daimary is the chairman. The NDFB(R) has had a ceasefire agreement with the Assam and Union governments since May 2005. The NDFB (Progressive), led by Gobinda Basumatary, is also in peace talks. Recent incidents in Bodo areas — including the May and December 2014 attacks against Muslim migrants and Adivasis, in which over 100 civilians were killed — have been attributed to the rebel NDFB faction, led earlier by I.K. Songbijit and now by B. Saoraigwra.
These groups and their predecessors, many of which have given up arms and joined the formal political process, espouse causes ranging from secession to a Bodoland State carved out of Assam. The violent phase peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but ebbed with the creation of the Bodoland Territorial Council in 2003. It absorbed the likes of Hagrama Mohilary, formerly a Bodo Liberation Tigers militant, whose Bodoland People’s Front has been an alliance partner of both the erstwhile Congress-led State government and the current BJP regime of Sarbananda Sonowal. While NDFB(R) supporters chanted slogans demanding Bodoland to protest against the judicial order, a death sentence for Daimary could have sparked wider convulsions, and pushed some of the fringe groups back into militancy, creating a 1990s redux. The BJP has backed the creation of smaller States, but Bodoland is unlikely to be realised any time soon. The Bodo case for statehood is also hamstrung by the fact that non-Bodos account for nearly 70% of the population in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts that will comprise the core of such a State. New Delhi is focussing instead on devolving more powers with its constitution amendment Bill — likely to be introduced in Parliament this week — to bring 10 autonomous district councils under the purview of the Central Finance Commission. Along with ideologically agnostic partnerships with the State government in Dispur, this is the way forward for now.
VOCABULARY
1) stark
Meaning : severe or bare in appearance or outline(adj).
Tamil Meaning : முற்றிலும்
Synonyms : blunt
Antonyms : covered
Example : “the ridge formed a stark silhouette against the sky”
2) prospects
Meaning : the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring(n).
Tamil Meaning : வாய்ப்புக்கள்
Synonyms : expectation
Antonyms : impossibility
Example : “there was no prospect of a reconciliation”
3) diligence
Meaning : careful and persistent work or effort(n).
Tamil Meaning : விடாமுயற்சி
Synonyms : earnestness
Antonyms : inactivity
Example : “few party members challenge his diligence as an MP”
4) contentious
Meaning : causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial(adj).
Synonyms : antagonistic
Antonyms : agreeable
Example : “a contentious issue”
5) unscrupulous
Meaning : having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair(adj).
Tamil Meaning : நேர்மையற்ற
Synonyms : corrupt
Antonyms : decent
Example : “unscrupulous landlords might be tempted to harass existing tenants”
6) indictment
Meaning : a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime(n).
Tamil Meaning : குற்றச்சாட்டு
Synonyms : citation
Antonyms : absolution
Example : “an indictment for conspiracy”
7) negotiated
Meaning : obtain or bring about by discussion.
Tamil Meaning : பேச்சுவார்த்தை
Synonyms : confer
Antonyms : confuse
Example : “he negotiated a new contract with the sellers”
8) prosecution
Meaning : the institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge(n).
Tamil Meaning : வழக்கு
Synonyms : pursuit
Antonyms : defeat
Example : “the organizers are facing prosecution for noise nuisance”
9) intention
Meaning : a thing intended; an aim or plan(n).
Tamil Meaning : எண்ணம்
Synonyms : hope
Antonyms : discouragement
Example : “she was full of good intentions”
10) merely
Meaning : just; only.
Tamil Meaning : வெறுமனே
Synonyms : hardly
Antonyms : indefinitely
Example : “Gary, a silent boy, merely nodded”
11) scrutiny
Meaning : critical observation or examination.
Tamil Meaning : கண்காணிப்பின்
Synonyms : inquiry
Antonyms : neglect
Example : “every aspect of local government was placed under scrutiny“
12) distinction
Meaning : a difference or contrast between similar things or people.
Tamil Meaning : வேறுபாட்டை
Synonyms : difference
Antonyms : accord
Example : “there is a sharp distinction between domestic politics and international politics”
13) duped
Meaning : deceive; trick.
Tamil Meaning : ஏமாற்றினார்
Synonyms : cheat
Antonyms : assist
Example : “the newspaper was duped into publishing an untrue story”
14) pursue
Meaning : follow or chase (someone or something).
Tamil Meaning : தொடர
Synonyms : seek
Antonyms : assist
Example : “the officer pursued the van”
15) deportation
Meaning : the action of deporting a foreigner from a country.
Synonyms : eviction
Antonyms : approval
Example : “asylum seekers facing deportation”
16) exposed
Meaning : not covered or hidden; visible(adj).
Tamil Meaning : வெளிப்படும்
Synonyms : disclosed
Antonyms : hidden
Example : “the venue featured beautiful hardwood floors and exposed brick walls”
17) reinforce
Meaning : strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.
Tamil Meaning : வலுப்படுத்தும்
Synonyms : buttress
Antonyms : diminish
Example : “the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork”
18) instead
Meaning : as an alternative or substitute.
Tamil Meaning : பதிலாக
Synonyms : rather
Antonyms : latter
Example : “do not use lotions, but put on a clean dressing instead”
19) impending
Meaning : be about to happen.
Tamil Meaning : வரவிருக்கும்
Synonyms : imminent
Antonyms : past
Example : “my impending departure”
20) ripped
Meaning : under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs(adj).
Tamil Meaning : பிளவுபட்ட
Synonyms : burst
Antonyms : sew
Example : “at the dress rehearsal, he was so ripped he couldn’t stand upright”
21) perpetrators
Meaning : a person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.
Synonyms : assassin
Example : “the perpetrators of this horrific crime must be brought to justice”
22) convicted
Meaning : having been declared guilty of a criminal offence by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge.
Tamil Meaning : தண்டனை
Synonyms : imprison
Antonyms : release
Example : “a convicted murderer”
23) exacted
Meaning : demand and obtain (something) from someone.
Synonyms : compel
Antonyms : give
Example : “he exacted promises that another Watergate would never be allowed to happen”
24) faction
Meaning : a small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.
Tamil Meaning : பிரிவு
Synonyms : minority
Antonyms : individual
Example : “the left-wing faction of the party”
25) espouse
Meaning : adopt or support (a cause, belief, or way of life).
Synonyms : defend
Antonyms : attack
Example : “she espoused the causes of justice and freedom for all”
26) carved
Meaning : (of a hard material) cut or engraved to produce an object, design, or inscription.
Tamil Meaning : செதுக்கப்பட்ட
Synonyms : engraved
Antonyms : uncarved
Example : “bookcases of carved oak”
27) ebbed
Meaning : (of tidewater) move away from the land; recede.
Tamil Meaning :
Synonyms : deteriorate
Antonyms : expand
Example : “the tide began to ebb”
28) regime
Meaning : a government, especially an authoritarian one.
Tamil Meaning : ஆட்சி
Synonyms : reign
Antonyms : disorder
Example : “ideological opponents of the regime”
29) chanted
Meaning : say or shout repeatedly in a sing-song tone(v).
Tamil Meaning : முழக்கமிட்டனர்
Synonyms : intone
Example : “protesters were chanting slogans”
30) convulsions
Meaning : a sudden, violent, irregular movement of the body, caused by involuntary contraction of muscles and associated especially with brain disorders such as epilepsy(n).
Synonyms : contraction
Antonyms : harmony
Example : “toxic side effects like convulsions”
31) fringe
Meaning : an ornamental border of threads left loose or formed into tassels or twists, used to edge clothing or material(n).
Tamil Meaning :
Synonyms : edge
Antonyms : center
Example : “a long grey skirt with a fringe”
32) purview
Meaning : the scope of the influence or concerns of something.
Tamil Meaning : கண்கானிப்பில்
Synonyms : attention
Antonyms : blindness
Example : “such a case might be within the purview of the legislation”
33) comprise
Meaning : consist of; be made up of.
Tamil Meaning : உள்ளனர்
Synonyms : compose
Antonyms : abandon
Example : “the country comprises twenty states”
34) agnostic
Meaning : relating to agnostics or agnosticism.
Synonyms : infidel
Antonyms : believer
35) hamstrung
Meaning : severely restrict the efficiency or effectiveness of(v).
Synonyms : cripple
Antonyms : allow
Example : “we were hamstrung by a total lack of knowledge”
36) clamour
Meaning : a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting.
Synonyms : commotion
Antonyms : silence
Example : “the questions rose to a clamour”
37) provision
Meaning : the action of providing or supplying something for use(n).
Tamil Meaning : ஏற்பாடு
Synonyms : arrangement
Antonyms : removal
Example : “new contracts for the provision of services”
38) attributed
Meaning : regard something as being caused by.
Synonyms : apply
Antonyms : disconnect
Example : “he attributed the firm’s success to the efforts of the managing director”
39) erstwhile
Meaning : former(adj).
Tamil Meaning : முன்னாள்
Synonyms : once
Example : “the erstwhile president of the company”
40) realised
Meaning : become fully aware of (something) as a fact; understand clearly(v).
Tamil Meaning : உணர்ந்து
Synonyms : completed
Antonyms : confused
Example : “he realized his mistake at once”
