THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JANUARY 12, 2019

Dear Banking Aspirants,

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – January 12, 2018, is one of the must-read section for the competitive exams like  IBPS Clerk 2018 Mains Exam, Canara Bank PO – PGDBF 2018 and IBPS SO 2018. 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) Disquieting decision: on CBI tussle

The unseemly tussle in the CBI’s top echelons reaches an unsatisfactory end

The removal of Alok Verma as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation is a disconcerting denouement to an unseemly episode. The controversy that began with a public tussle between Mr. Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana has ended with the former’s removal, although it is couched as a transfer. It was obvious from the beginning that the government did not want him to continue, although it sought to give the impression that it was being even-handed in asking both Mr. Verma and Mr. Asthana to proceed on leave. Mr. Verma’s transfer has exposed an uncomfortable truth — that the legal protection for the CBI Director from external interference is not as strong as some had believed. The Supreme Court’s judgment makes it clear that as long as such transfers follow a set procedure, the incumbent may be replaced. Though the court declared that no authority, other than the high-powered selection committee, could transfer him, its reinstatement of Mr. Verma was not unconditional. It asked the committee — comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the leader of the largest Opposition party — to decide on whether he should be divested of his powers. The government quickly convened a meeting, which was attended by Justice A.K. Sikri, as the nominee of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Despite a dissenting note by Mallikarjun Kharge, the majority, that is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Justice Sikri, ordered Mr. Verma’s transfer.

Questions have been raised about the committee refusing Mr. Verma a personal hearing. The panel apparently chose not to hear him on the ground that the Central Vigilance Commissioner, who held an inquiry on the Supreme Court’s earlier orders, had heard him in the presence of the retired judge, Justice A.K. Patnaik, a supervisor appointed by the court, and that the prima facie findings against Mr. Verma were enough to conclude that he should not remain in that office. As he was neither suspended nor transferred, but only given a post of equal rank, there was no need for a hearing. Even if this position is not strictly untenable from a legal standpoint, it has serious implications for the CBI’s independence. Future regimes may use this precedent to get such an adverse report against an inconvenient director and unseat him. Mr. Kharge’s demand for getting Mr. Verma’s response should have been considered. Mr. Verma has claimed that the CVC report was based only on the complainant’s charges against him, and did not represent the CVC’s ‘findings’. An important learning from the entire episode is that the bipartisan appointment process for the post with the presence of a high judicial functionary as envisaged by the 2003 amendments may not be enough to thwart political stratagems. Far from resolving the institutional crisis in the agency, the outcome may have deeply politicised it.

---

B) Wall of shame: on Mexico border wall

The shutdown over the Mexico wall demand will long define Donald Trump’s presidency

It began as a populist campaign promise that brought President Donald Trump’s supporters cheering to their feet and paved the way for his election. Now, the border wall with Mexico has become a morass of partisan bickering that has stalemated the U.S. federal government into a three-week-long shutdown, leaving nearly 800,000 public sector workers furloughed without pay. At the heart of this political crisis is the increasingly bitter polarisation of public opinion over immigration. On the one hand, Mr. Trump has steadily contributed to the strident and crude anti-migrant rhetoric, characterising prospective migrants from Latin America as drug-dealers, rapists and violent criminals and shutting down the U.S. border to travellers from certain Muslim-majority countries. On the other, his insistence that he will not sign any appropriations bill to break the funding logjam in Congress and end what could soon become the longest shutdown in U.S. history, unless that bill includes $5.7 billion in financing for a border wall, has gone down badly with Democrats, who control the House. Matters took a darker turn as Mr. Trump doubled down on his refusal to negotiate over funding for the wall and said he may declare a state of national emergency over this uncomfortable status quo.

There are disquieting questions about the veracity of some of Mr. Trump’s claims: migrant border crossings have been in decline for the best part of two decades; it is through legal ports of entry and not unauthorised crossing points that hard drugs such as heroin enter the U.S.; and even the State Department has admitted that no terror operatives have entered the U.S. through Mexico. Then there is the more blatantly flawed reasoning touted by the President that “Mexico will pay” for the wall. Now it appears that even Mr. Trump is backing down on his claim, arguing that Mexico would only “indirectly” fund it through trade deals. It is well-known that only corporations pay tariffs under these deals, not governments, and hence no such payment will come from Mexico. Even as the acerbic back-and-forth between Mr. Trump and Congressional Democrats continues, the deeper malaise is a profound disagreement among Americans on what their nation’s very soul stands for. Is the U.S. truly a melting pot, a country built on the prowess of entrepreneurship and technology, in large part driven by immigrants seeking the “American dream”? Or is it a declining world power that has squandered too much to other nations and peoples and is readying itself for an uncompromising battle to claw back what it reckons it has lost? If it is the latter, then we could expect Mr. Trump’s vision to succeed, but if not, a course correction is in order.

---

VOCABULARY

1) disconcerting

Meaning : causing one to feel unsettled.

Synonyms : agitate

Antonyms : assist

Example : “he had a disconcerting habit of offering jobs to people he met at dinner parties”

2) denouement

Meaning : the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Tamil Meaning : பேரழிவு

Synonyms : culmination

Antonyms : beginning

Example : “the film’s denouement was unsatisfying and ambiguous”

3) controversy

Meaning : prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion(n).

Tamil Meaning : சர்ச்சை

Synonyms : difference

Antonyms : agreement

Example : “the design of the building has caused controversy”

4) tussle

Meaning : engage in a vigorous struggle or scuffle.

Tamil Meaning : மோதல்

Synonyms : scuffle

Antonyms : harmony

Example : “the demonstrators tussled with police”

5) couched

Meaning : express (something) in language of a specified style(v).

Tamil Meaning :

Synonyms : utter

Antonyms : explicit

Example : “the assurances were couched in general terms”

6) sought

Meaning : attempt to find (something).

Tamil Meaning : முயன்று

Synonyms : desired

Antonyms : unwanted

Example : “they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”

7) proceed

Meaning : begin a course of action(v).

Tamil Meaning : தொடர

Synonyms : continue

Antonyms : decrease

Example : “the consortium could proceed with the plan”

8) exposed

Meaning : not covered or hidden; visible(adj).

Tamil Meaning : வெளிப்படும்

Synonyms : defined

Antonyms : hidden

Example : “the venue featured beautiful hardwood floors and exposed brick walls”

9) incumbent

Meaning : necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility(adj).

Tamil Meaning : பதவியில்

Synonyms : binding

Antonyms : unnecessary

Example : “the government realized that it was incumbent on them to act”

10) reinstatement

Meaning : the action of giving someone back a position they have lost(n).

Synonyms : recovery

Antonyms : departure

Example : “the student body gave its support to the two expelled students and demanded their reinstatement”

11) divested

Meaning : deprive someone of (power, rights, or possessions).(v)

Tamil Meaning : அகற்றிக்கொண்டது

Synonyms : deprive

Antonyms : offer

Example : “men are unlikely to be divested of power without a struggle”

12) convened

Meaning : come or bring together for a meeting or activity; assemble(v).

Tamil Meaning : கூட்டப்பட்ட

Synonyms : gather

Antonyms : disperse

Example : “he had convened a secret meeting of military personnel”

13) Despite

Meaning : contemptuous treatment or behaviour; outrage(n).

Tamil Meaning : இருந்தபோதிலும்

Synonyms : against

Antonyms : exalt

Example : “the despite done by him to the holy relics”

14) refusing

Meaning : indicate or show that one is not willing to do something(v).

Tamil Meaning : மறுத்து

Synonyms : decline

Antonyms : accept

Example : “I refused to answer”

15) conclude

Meaning : bring or come to an end(v).

Tamil Meaning : முடிவுக்கு

Synonyms : achieve

Antonyms : begin

Example : “they conclude their study with these words”

16) untenable

Meaning : (especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection(adj).

Synonyms : unsound

Antonyms : untenable

Example : “this argument is clearly untenable”

17) implications

Meaning : the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.

Tamil Meaning : தாக்கங்கள்

Synonyms : conclusion

Antonyms : proof

Example : “the implication is that no one person at the bank is responsible”

18) precedent

Meaning : an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances(n).

Tamil Meaning : முன்னோடி

Synonyms : criterion

Antonyms : after

Example : “there are substantial precedents for using interactive media in training”

19) claimed

Meaning : state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof(v).

Tamil Meaning : கூறினார்

Synonyms : assert

Antonyms : abandon

Example : “the Prime Minister claimed that he was concerned about Third World debt”

20) envisaged

Meaning : contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event(v).

Synonyms : behold

Antonyms : real

Example : “the Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers”

21) thwart

Meaning : from one side to another side of; across(n).

Tamil Meaning : தடைசெய்வதற்கான

Synonyms : counter

Antonyms : abet

Example : “a pink-tinged cloud spread thwart the shore”

22) stratagems

Meaning : a plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent or achieve an end(n).

Synonyms : ruse

Antonyms : frankness

Example : “a series of devious stratagems”

23) bickering

Meaning : argue about petty and trivial matters.

Synonyms : disagree

Antonyms : agree

Example : “couples who bicker over who gets what from the divorce”

24) stalemated

Meaning : having reached a situation in which further action or progress by opposing or competing parties seems impossible(adj).

Synonyms : impasse

Antonyms : advance

Example : “the currently stalemated peace talks”

25) furloughed

Meaning : grant leave of absence to.

Synonyms : freed

Antonyms : accept

Example : “furloughed workers”

26) contributed

Meaning : give (something, especially money) in order to help achieve or provide something(v).

Tamil Meaning : பங்களிப்பு

Synonyms : commit

Antonyms : hold

Example : “taxpayers had contributed £141.8 million towards the cost of local services”

27) strident

Meaning : (of a sound) loud and harsh; grating.

Tamil Meaning : கடுமையானதாகவே

Synonyms : blatant

Antonyms : silent

Example : “his voice had become increasingly strident”

28) prospective

Meaning : expected or expecting to be the specified thing in the future(adj).

Synonyms : eventual

Antonyms : agreed

Example : “she showed a prospective buyer around the house”

29) insistence

Meaning : the fact or quality of insisting that something is the case or should be done.(n)

Tamil Meaning : வலியுறுத்தல்

Synonyms : emphasis

Example : “Alison’s insistence on doing the washing-up straight after the meal”

30) veracity

Meaning : conformity to facts; accuracy.

Synonyms : accuracy

Antonyms : deceit

Example : “officials expressed doubts concerning the veracity of the story”

31) refusal

Meaning : an act of refusing to do something(n).

Tamil Meaning : மறுப்பது

Synonyms : defiance

Antonyms : acceptance

Example : “he became tired of his friend’s refusal to see him”

32) negotiate

Meaning : obtain or bring about by discussion.

Synonyms : arrange

Antonyms : confuse

Example : “he negotiated a new contract with the sellers”

33) declare

Meaning : say something in a solemn and emphatic manner.(v)

Tamil Meaning : அறிவிக்க

Synonyms : affirm

Antonyms : conceal

Example : “the prime minister declared that the programme of austerity had paid off”

34) disquieting

Meaning : inducing feelings of anxiety or worry.

Tamil Meaning :

Synonyms : distressing

Antonyms : calming

Example : “he found Jean’s gaze disquieting”

35) migrant

Meaning : tending to migrate or having migrated.

Synonyms : evacuee

Antonyms : native

Example : “migrant birds”

36) blatantly

Meaning : in an open and unashamed manner(adv).

Tamil Meaning : அப்பட்டமாக

Synonyms : guilty

Antonyms : privately

Example : “yet another space show that blatantly disregarded scientific fact”

37) prowess

Meaning : skill or expertise in a particular activity or field.

Synonyms : dexterity

Antonyms : failure

Example : “his prowess as a fisherman”

38) touted

Meaning : attempt to sell (something), typically by a direct or persistent approach.

Tamil Meaning : மனம் கவர்ந்தது

Synonyms : praise

Antonyms : blame

Example : “Sanjay was touting his wares”

39) claw

Meaning : scratch or tear something with the claws or the fingernails(v).

Synonyms : tentacle

Example : “the kitten was clawing at Lowell’s trouser leg”

40) reckons

Meaning : establish by calculation.

Synonyms : calculate

Antonyms : abandon

Example : “his debts were reckoned at £300,000″

---

---