THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JANUARY 22, 2019

THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JANUARY 22, 2019

Dear Banking Aspirants,

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – January 22, 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) Death by design: on jallikattu

Tighter regulations cannot eliminate the element of danger intrinsic to jallikattu

In situations involving humans and animals, Murphy’s law takes a strong hold: if things can go wrong, they most likely will. Jallikattu may have drawn the attention of animal rights activists for the innumerable accounts of cruelty to bulls, but the deaths fall mostly on the human side of the ledger. The animals suffer but generally survive the ordeal, while a few youth lose their lives. A tragedy as in Viralimalai in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, where two men were gored to death by bulls, was waiting to happen. Whatever the precautions taken, and there were many, one cannot prepare for the behaviour of a rampaging bull. Viralimalai jallikattu may not be as famed as the Alanganallur or Palamedu events, but this year it had the full weight of the government behind it. The event was organised by Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, a bull-owner himself, in an attempt to create a ‘record’ for the largest number of bulls in a single arena. The event got a bigger profile with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in attendance. Multi-tier metal galleries were erected on either side of the arena to accommodate the thousands who had turned up to watch the contest. Double barricades were in place at the vaadivasal, the entry point for the bulls, but the tragedy happened at the exit point, the open area for collection of the bulls after the event. The contest was over, and the bull-tamers were no longer chasing the bulls. But how were the bulls to know? An owner trying to rein in his bull was gored to death by another behind him, and a spectator who wandered out of the protective cover at the scene of action bled to death on being pierced in the abdomen.

Could anything have been done differently? In keeping with the guidelines set by the Supreme Court to regulate the sport, the Health Department had also deployed teams of doctors from Pudukottai. Medical experts from Tiruchi and Thanjavur Medical Colleges were deployed to attend to emergency cases. A makeshift operation theatre was also set up at the venue. After Sunday’s tragedy, jallikattu events of the future might have barricades at the collection points too. But danger is in the very nature of the blood sport that is jallikattu. Unpredictability is intrinsic to the sport. Attempts to ban the sport have been opposed on the ground that it is an inseparable part of Tamil Nadu’s culture. The Tamil Nadu government in 2017 took the ordinance route to allow for the holding of jallikattu following a ban by the Supreme Court, and the Centre exempted bulls from the rules framed for ensuring the well-being of performing animals. After every loss of human life the regulations might get tighter, but the danger to the life and limb of participants, spectators, and bull-owners will remain in the conduct of jallikattu.

---

B) Summit 2.0: the second Trump-Kim meeting

A second Trump-Kim meeting could do with a Chinese nudge and a South Korean whisper

Even though there was little progress in achieving the goals set in the historic meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un of North Korea in June 2018, the announcement of a second summit next month is a step in the right direction. The fact that Pyongyang has ceased its nuclear muscle-flexing, and has not tested any nuclear- capable device or launched any missile for more than a year, is reason for continued patience and confidence in the dialogue. The Singapore meeting generated mutual goodwill and hopes of a breakthrough. But in the declaration the leaders had promised a denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula without indicating a timetable or the modalities of reaching that far-sighted end- goal. In the months since the meeting, Pyongyang’s anticipation of an easing of U.S. sanctions have not materialised, while information about the inventory of North Korean nuclear stockpiles that Washington had sought as a first step towards a verifiable dismantling of the North Korean arsenal, has not been forthcoming. Underscoring the stalemate, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence stated days before the announcement of the coming bilateral summit that Pyongyang had made little headway on its commitments. Similarly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s persistent efforts since the Singapore meeting have come to nought. The concept of “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula that formed the crux of the Singapore declaration has become a subject of conflicting interpretations. Pyongyang insists that the expression must have a wider meaning and include the U.S. military umbrella that extends across South Korea and Japan. It contends that North Korea will be the first target in the event of a pre-emptive U.S. strike. For nuclear hawks in Washington, the stalemate is at best a case of Mr. Trump’s diplomatic gambit having gone awry and at worst, an impasse that allows Pyongyang to prevaricate and give nothing away.

Against this backdrop, the prospects for any meaningful progress appear to hinge on mediation by Beijing and Seoul. Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s President, favours rapprochement with the neighbour, and a lasting resolution of the Washington-Pyongyang nuclear imbroglio, advocating dialogue. After his recent meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Mr. Kim reinforced his pledge to rid the region of nuclear arms and expressed a willingness for another summit with Mr. Trump. But he emphasised Pyongyang’s need for security guarantees, replacing the decades-long armistice with a formal peace treaty to mark the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Toning down his rhetoric, President Trump has displayed a readiness to wait and watch. It is not certain if the sober mood will translate into tangible outcomes. But that would be a credible offer that can lure Mr. Kim to reciprocate on the nuclear front.

---

VOCABULARY

1) innumerable

Meaning : too many to be counted (often used hyperbolically).

Tamil Meaning : கணக்கில்லாத

Synonyms : countless

Antonyms : limited

Example : “innumerable flags of all colours”

2) cruelty

Meaning : cruel behaviour or attitudes.

Synonyms : barbarity

Antonyms : kindness

Example : “he has treated her with extreme cruelty”

3) ledger

Meaning : a book or other collection of financial accounts.

Synonyms : register

Example : “the total balance of the purchases ledger”

4) gored

Meaning : shaped with a gore or gores.

Synonyms : impale

Example : “a gored skirt”

5) rampaging

Meaning : (especially of a large group of people) move through a place in a violent and uncontrollable manner.

Synonyms : tear

Antonyms : be calm

Example : “several thousand demonstrators rampaged through the city”

6) famed

Meaning : known about by many people; renowned.

Synonyms : renowned

Antonyms : unknown

Example : “he is famed for his eccentricities”

7) accommodate

Meaning : (of a building or other area) provide lodging or sufficient space for.

Tamil Meaning : இடமளிக்க

Synonyms : entertain

Antonyms : reject

Example : “the cottages accommodate up to six people”

8) erected

Meaning : put together and set upright (a building, wall, or other structure).

Tamil Meaning : அமைத்தது

Synonyms : elevated

Antonyms : lowered

Example : “the guest house was erected in the eighteenth century”

9) barricades

Meaning : an improvised barrier erected across a street or other thoroughfare to prevent or delay the movement of opposing forces.

Tamil Meaning : தடுப்புக்களை

Synonyms : barrier

Antonyms : opening

Example : “the police action led to riots, with hundreds of demonstrators building barricades and burning vehicles”

10) rein

Meaning : check or guide (a horse) by pulling on its reins.

Synonyms : curb

Antonyms : release

Example : “he reined in his horse and waited”

11) pierced

Meaning : (of the ears, nose, or other part of the body) having had a hole made so as to wear jewellery.

Tamil Meaning : துளையிட்ட

Synonyms : break

Antonyms : close

Example : “a punk with a pierced nose”

12) deployed

Meaning : move (troops or equipment) into position for military action.

Tamil Meaning : நிறுத்தி

Synonyms : expand

Antonyms : conclude

Example : “forces were deployed at strategic locations”

13) Unpredictability

Meaning : inability to be predicted; changeability.

Tamil Meaning : கணிக்க முடியாத

Synonyms : anxiety

Antonyms : constancy

Example : “the unpredictability of the British weather”

14) intrinsic

Meaning : belonging naturally; essential.

Tamil Meaning : உள்ளார்ந்த

Synonyms : inherent

Antonyms : acquired

Example : “access to the arts is intrinsic to a high quality of life”

15) ensuring

Meaning : make certain that (something) will occur or be the case.

Tamil Meaning : உறுதி

Synonyms : establish

Antonyms : endanger

Example : “the client must ensure that accurate records are kept”

16) exempted

Meaning : free (a person or organization) from an obligation or liability imposed on others.

Tamil Meaning : விலக்கு

Synonyms : immune

Antonyms : hindered

Example : “they were exempted from paying the tax”

17) ceased

Meaning : come or bring to an end.

Synonyms : desist

Antonyms : begin

Example : “the hostilities ceased and normal life was resumed”

18) indicating

Meaning : suggest as a desirable or necessary course of action.

Tamil Meaning : குறிக்கும்

Synonyms : announce

Antonyms : conceal

Example : “treatment for shock may be indicated”

19) inventory

Meaning : make a complete list of.

Synonyms : reserve

Antonyms : debt

Example : “I inventoried his collection of drawings”

20) sought

Meaning : attempt to find (something).

Tamil Meaning : முயன்று

Synonyms : hunted

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

21) dismantling

Meaning : take (a machine or structure) to pieces.

Tamil Meaning : நீக்குவதற்கான

Synonyms : demolish

Antonyms : construct

Example : “the engines were dismantled and the bits piled into a heap”

22) persistent

Meaning : continuing firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Tamil Meaning : தொடர்ந்து

Synonyms : continual

Antonyms : ceasing

Example : “one of the government’s most persistent critics”

23) conflicting

Meaning : incompatible or at variance; contradictory.

Tamil Meaning : முரண்பட்ட

Synonyms : contrary

Antonyms : consonant

Example : “there are conflicting accounts of what occurred”

24) interpretations

Meaning : the action of explaining the meaning of something.

Synonyms : analysis

Antonyms : complication

Example : “the interpretation of data”

25) pre-emptive

Meaning : serving or intended to pre-empt or forestall something, especially to prevent attack by disabling the enemy.

Tamil Meaning : முன்கூட்டிய

Synonyms : preventative

Antonyms : permissive

Example : “a pre-emptive strike”

26) stalemate

Meaning : a position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in check but cannot move except into check.

Synonyms : delay

Antonyms : advance

Example : “last time I played him it ended up in stalemate”

27) impasse

Meaning : a situation in which no progress is possible, especially because of disagreement; a deadlock.

Synonyms : predicament

Antonyms : solution

Example : “the current political impasse”

28) prevaricate

Meaning : speak or act in an evasive way.

Synonyms : belie

Antonyms : confront

Example : “he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions”

29) hinge

Meaning : attach or join with or as if with a hinge.

Synonyms : butt

Example : “the ironing board was set into the wall and hinged at the bottom”

30) anticipation

Meaning : the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction.

Tamil Meaning : எதிர்பார்ப்பு

Synonyms : prospect

Antonyms : ignorance

Example : “her eyes sparkled with anticipation”

31) stated

Meaning : clearly expressed or identified; specified.

Tamil Meaning : கூறினார்

Synonyms : certain

Antonyms : unfixed

Example : “the stated aim of the programme”

32) certain

Meaning : able to be firmly relied on to happen or be the case.

Synonyms : convinced

Antonyms : doubtful

Example : “it’s certain that more changes are in the offing”

33) reinforced

Meaning : strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.

Tamil Meaning : வலுப்படுத்தியது

Synonyms : assisted

Antonyms : impaired

Example : “the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork”

34) emphasised

Meaning : give special importance or value to (something) in speaking or writing.

Tamil Meaning : வலியுறுத்தினார்

Synonyms : insistence

Antonyms : lethargy

Example : “they emphasize the need for daily, one-to-one contact between parent and child”

35) replacing

Meaning : take the place of.

Synonyms : renewal

Antonyms : depleting

Example : “Ian’s smile was replaced by a frown”

36) armistice

Meaning : an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce.

Synonyms : truce

Antonyms : dispute

Example : “the Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies”

37) displayed

Meaning : (of information) shown on a computer screen or other device.

Synonyms : visible

Example : “a utility designed to allow you to cut up pieces of displayed graphics”

38) tangible

Meaning : perceptible by touch.

Tamil Meaning : உறுதியான

Synonyms : palpable

Antonyms : abstract

Example : “the atmosphere of neglect and abandonment was almost tangible“

39) lure

Meaning : tempt (a person or animal) to do something or to go somewhere, especially by offering some form of reward.

Tamil Meaning : கவரும்

Synonyms : appeal

Antonyms : certainty

Example : “the child was lured into a car but managed to escape”

40) reciprocate

Meaning : respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one.

Tamil Meaning : கைம்மாறு

Synonyms : repay

Antonyms : disagree

Example : “the favour was reciprocated”

---

THE HINDU EDITORIAL : JANUARY 21, 2019

---

---