THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 16, 2016- Topic 1
The message from Shahabuddin
If there is one person who embodies the CONTRADICTIONs in the alliance between the Janata Dal (United) and the
Rashtriya Janata Dal, it is the criminal-turned-politician Mohammad
Shahabuddin. A former Member of Parliament of the RJD who is now out on bail after
spending 11 years in jail, he symbolised everything that was wrong with the Lalu Prasad raj in Bihar. INDEED, when Nitish Kumar first took over as
Chief Minister in 2005, he seemed INTENT on making an example of the gangster
who DEFIED
law-enforcing authorities and ensured his writ ran in his constituency Siwan.
With Shahabuddin roaming free in Bihar on being granted bail by the Patna High
Court, Mr. Kumar will necessarily have to ignore his VEILED
threats and snide remarks. When Mr. Kumar got
the government to PURSUE the cases against the gangster, he was fighting the RJD;
now, however, he is in alliance with that party. Although the government is
likely to oppose the bail order in the Supreme Court, there is little doubt
that the political situation in Bihar has changed since the time Shahabuddin
went to jail. Improving the law and order situation — freeing Bihar from
‘jungle raj’ — was one of Mr. Kumar’s campaign PLANKS in 2005, when in the company of the
Bharatiya Janata Party, he ousted the RJD from power. Now, as the head of a
JD(U)-RJD government, he must speak a different language. So far, in Bihar,
with his clean, no-nonsense image he has bested Mr. Prasad in two elections and
a Narendra Modi-led BJP in a third. To not take on Shahabuddin for fear of OFFENDING
his alliance partner is therefore not an option for Mr. Kumar.
If the Nitish Kumar government were to
continue to put pressure on Shahabuddin by PURSUING the cases against him to their logical
end, it would be to shake the JD(U)-RJD alliance from its comfort zone.
Shahabuddin seems ACUTELY conscious that he needs to drive a WEDGE between the
RJD and the JD(U) for the sake of his own political survival. His remark that
Mr. Kumar was a Chief Minister of circumstances and that the RJD would come to
power on its own in the next election is a reflection of this. Shahabuddin
found ENDORSEMENT for this view from another prominent RJD leader,
Raghuvansh Prasad, and it was left to Lalu Prasad to strike a semblance of a
balance. Clearly, the short-term interests of the RJD are tied up with the
interests of Mr. Kumar, but equally, the long-term interests of the party
depend on Mr. Prasad striking an independent line. No one could have driven
home this truth the way Shahabuddin did.
:::::::::::::::::Meanings with
example and Synonyms::::::::::::::::
Contradiction: a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that are
opposed to one another.
Example: The proposed new system suffers from a set of internal contradictions.
Indeed: used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already
suggested.
Example: It was not expected to last long, and indeed it took less than three weeks
Synonyms: as expected, to be sure, in fact, in point of fact, as
a matter of fact, in truth
Intent: resolved or determined to do (something).
Example: The administration was intent on achieving greater efficiency
Synonyms: bent on, set on, insistent on, hell-bent on, committed
to
Defied: openly resist or refuse to obey.
Example: A woman who defies convention
Synonyms: disobey, go against, flout, fly in the face of, disregard, ignore
Veiled: cover with or as though with a veil.
Example: She veiled her face
Synonyms: envelop, surround, swathe, enfold, cover, conceal
Pursue: follow (someone or something) in order to catch or attack them.
Example: The officer pursued the van
Synonyms: follow, run after, chase, hunt, stalk, track, trail, shadow
Planks: a long, thin, flat piece of timber, used especially in
building and flooring.
Example: The central plank of the bill is the curb on industrial
polluters
Synonyms: board, floorboard, timber, stave
Offending: cause to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful.
Example: Viewers said they had been offended by bad language
Synonyms: hurt someone's feelings, give offense to, affront, displease, upset
Pursuing: follow (someone or something) in order to catch or attack them.
Example: The officer pursued the van
Synonyms: follow, run after, chase, hunt, stalk, track, trail, shadow
Acutely: (with reference to something unpleasant or unwelcome) intensely.
Example: The whole situation was acutely embarrassing
Synonyms: extremely, exceedingly, very, markedly, severely, intensely
Wedge: force into a narrow space.
Example: I wedged the bags into the back seat
Synonyms: squeeze, cram, jam, ram, force, push
Endorsement: an act of giving one's public approval or support to someone or something.
Example: When Litan asks consumers that question, she finds that banks get the
highest endorsement , with support from 47% of the public.
Synonyms:Support, backing, approval, agreement, recommendation