THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 28, 2016- Topic 1
By holding a meeting on the
Indus Waters Treaty and scheduling another later this week on MFN (Most
Favoured Nation) status to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled
his intent to examine all the non-military options before the government for a
strong response to the Uri attack. “Blood and Water cannot flow together,” he
is reported to have said. However, after the meeting, officials made it clear
that the IWT will hold, at least for the moment. Instead, the Centre drew up a
list of measures to optimise use of the Indus waters, that India has so far
failed to do. The fact is that abrogating the IWT is a non-starter as an
option, and the holding of the meeting at this juncture ill-considered. For
one, it confused the message in Mr. Modi’s Kozhikode speech, appealing to
Pakistani citizens’ better instincts to “wage a war on poverty”. More
important, the 1960 treaty for the Indus and five tributaries flowing from
India to Pakistan was brokered by the World Bank (then, the IBRD), and has held
through wars and conflicts along the Line of Control. Revoking it would
threaten regional stability and India’s credibility globally. It remains
unclear what India intends to do with the “western” rivers in question beyond
the short-term plan to irrigate Jammu and Kashmir’s fields better. Dams
required to hold the course of the tributaries of the Indus to alter water
levels to Pakistan dramatically would take more than a decade to build. Given
the environmental and geopolitical consequences of such actions, they are unlikely
to elicit any international funding.
It is clear that the Centre
didn’t think through its next steps when it declared with a grand flourish,
amplified by frenzied television headlines, that the Prime Minister would
“review” the Treaty. But it did limit the potential damage by bringing down the
heated rhetoric with a rational analysis on the Treaty. It would be wise if
India proceeds with a sense of pragmatic caution in making further statements
on Pakistan — for instance, revoking the MFN status will hardly punish
Pakistan’s economy given the low levels of bilateral trade. Terrorist attacks
such as the one at Uri require a combination of measured but firm responses,
rather than weighing every option in full public view. India cannot also ignore
the fact that the Uri attack has exposed the need to shore up its defences. As
India has realised time and again, its response to provocation must carry the
message that the country is dependable and not given to irrational,
irresponsible actions that its neighbour is often prone to.
Vocabulary
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
Drew: extract (an object or liquid) from a container or receptacle.
Example: He drew his gun and peered into the gloomy apartment
Synonyms: pull out, take out, produce, fish out, extract, withdraw, unsheathe
Optimise: make the best or most effective use of (a situation, opportunity, or
resource).
Example: To optimize viewing conditions, the microscope should be correctly adjusted
Abrogating: repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement).
Example: A proposal to abrogate temporarily the right to strike
Synonyms: repeal, revoke, rescind, repudiate, overturn, annul, disallow, cancel
Instincts: an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to
certain stimuli.
Example: Birds have an instinct to build nests
Revoking: put an end to the validity or operation of (a decree, decision, or
promise).
Example: The men appealed and the sentence was revoked
Synonyms: cancel, repeal, rescind, reverse, annul, nullify, void, invalidate
Elicit: evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to
one's own actions or questions.
Example: They invariably elicit exclamations of approval from guests
Synonyms: obtain, draw out, extract, bring out, evoke, call
forth
Flourish: of a person wave (something) around to attract the attention
of others.
Example: “Happy New Year!” He yelled, flourishing a bottle of whiskey
Synonyms: brandish, wave, shake, wield, swing, twirl, swish
Frenzied: wildly excited or uncontrolled.
Example: A frenzied attack
Synonyms: frantic, wild, frenetic, hectic, fraught, feverish, fevered
Rhetoric: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use
of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Example: Born into a rich provincial family, he studied philosophy as well as
rhetoric and law.
Synonyms: oratory, eloquence, command of language, way with
words
