THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 1, 2016- Topic 2
The peace agreement reached
between the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani and warlord Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar speaks volumes about the current situation in the country. Hekmatyar
is not the type of leader a legitimate government may like to make peace with.
The “butcher of Kabul” faces charges of killing thousands of Afghans during the
U.S.-backed anti-Soviet jihad in the 1980s and the civil war in the early
1990s. He fell out with his American patrons during the civil war involving
different mujahideen groups, and turned against the U.S.-led coalition troops
after their 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. But even after being declared a
“global terrorist” by the U.S. in 2003, and his militia, the Hezb-i-Islami,
being placed on the UN list of foreign terrorist organisations, Hekmatyar, now
believed to be living in Pakistan, continued to fight the Afghan government and
the coalition troops. Over the years his influence has dwindled, but he still
commands a sizeable group of rebel soldiers who can continue to irritate Kabul.
But why should the Afghan government negotiate a peace deal with a weakened
warlord who faces charges of war crimes? Under the agreement, Hekmatyar will be
made part of all government decisions and actions. Besides, the Hezb-i-Islami
fighters will be integrated into the Afghan armed forces and Mr. Ghani will
request the UN to remove the terrorist tag.
One plausible explanation is
that the Afghan government is desperate to find a breakthrough in the
15-year-old civil war. Mr. Ghani’s previous attempts to reach out to the
Taliban have come to nothing. Despite the recent setbacks to their leadership,
the Taliban now control more territories than ever since they were ousted from
power in 2001. They have demonstrated the capability to strike any location
they choose to. By reaching a peace deal with Hekmatyar, Mr. Ghani is sending
the message to the Taliban that peace between warlords and the government is
not impossible, provided the former are ready to shun violence and work within
the Afghan Constitution. The President may also be hoping that if Hekmatyar
rallies the various political and militant factions of the Hezb-i-Islami behind
the government, it would strengthen the regime’s position in the long term. But
it is a gambit. The accord is unlikely to have any immediate impact on security
as the Taliban are still at war. The deal could be counterproductive
politically as well because of Hekmatyar’s record — having him associated with
the government could dent its legitimacy. But for Mr. Ghani, presiding over a
regime grappling with infighting, incompetence, lack of resources and massive
security challenges, there are not too many easy choices that are without risk.
Vocabulary
Legitimate: conforming to the law or to rules.
Example: His claims to legitimate authority
Synonyms: legal, lawful, licit, legalized, authorized, permitted, permissible, allowable
Butcher: slaughter or cut up an animal for food.
Example: The meat will be butchered for the local market
Synonyms: slaughter, cut up, carve up
Patron: a person who gives financial or other support to a person, organization,
cause, or activity.
Example: Charles became a patron of Rubens and van Dyck
Synonyms: sponsor, backer, financier, benefactor, benefactress, contributor
Invasion: an instance of invading a country or region with an armed force.
Example: The Allied invasion of Normandy
Synonyms: occupation, capture, seizure, annexation, annexing, takeover
Dwindled: diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength.
Example: Traffic has dwindled to a trickle
Synonyms: diminish, decrease, reduce, lessen, shrink, fall
off, tail off
Plausible: of an argument or statement seeming reasonable or probable.
Example: A plausible explanation
Synonyms: credible, reasonable, believable, likely, feasible, tenable, possible
Desperate: feeling, showing, or involving a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad
as to be impossible to deal with.
Example: A desperate sadness enveloped Ruth
Synonyms: despairing, hopeless, anguished, distressed, wretched, desolate
Shun: persistently avoid, ignore, or reject (someone or something) through
antipathy or caution.
Example: He shunned fashionable society
Synonyms: avoid, evade, eschew, steer clear of, shy away
from, fight shy of
Gambit: an opening in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for
the sake of some compensating advantage.
Example: By the time I was an ‘A’ player, gambits including the Smith-Morra were
fully appreciated.
Dent: a slight hollow in a hard, even surface made by a blow or by the exertion
of pressure.
Example: The guard was hit so hard that the blow left a dent on his safety helmet.
Synonyms: indentation, dimple, dip, depression, hollow, crater, pit, trough
