THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 26, 2016- Topic 1
Peacemaking may well have been the
intent behind Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav’s summons to his
warring son and brother at a party meet in Lucknow on Monday. But the gathering
soon lapsed into a tawdry spectacle of blame-calling and weepy confessional,
with all three airing their grievances petulantly in full view of the assembled
party faithful. Since September 13, when Mr. Yadav replaced son Akhilesh Yadav,
the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, with his brother Shivpal Yadav as the SP’s
State unit chief, the party has been hurtling inexorably towards a split, in a
blaze of sackings and accusations. The occasional restoration of one or the
other of the dramatis personae to a lost post has failed to check the
feud. Monday’s developments have all but foreclosed the possibility of any
resolution that could put the SP back together again in time for the Assembly
elections in a dangerously polarised landscape. Ever since he became Chief
Minister in 2012, Akhilesh Yadav has functioned in the shadow of his father and
“uncles” — relatives and party stalwarts. This has cut both ways for the young
Chief Minister. He has had to field questions about his authority with charges
that U.P. in effect had “four and a half CMs” — but it also allowed him to separate
himself from the SP’s worst instincts. Their overbearing presence allowed his
government an alibi for failing to maintain law and order. Their continuance
served as a reminder of the generational shift he effected, from their
traditional resistance to English education and computers, and their “boys will
be boys” excuse-making for the politics of patronage and rent-seeking.
Till the meltdown over the last couple
of months, it seemed that all that the SP was headed towards was a final
transition from the old guard towards a more aspirational politics. A
convincing transition is now all but impossible, and the timing of Akhilesh
Yadav’s next steps could determine his future in public life. It is ironic that
Mulayam Singh Yadav, a most pragmatic politician who left no bridge unbuilt
across the ideological spectrum, is presiding over nothing more than a power
grab among his family and friends. Mr. Yadav’s legacy includes the deepening of
the Mandal politics of social justice, being a guarantor of the safety of
minorities and getting a grip on the agrarian economy in the State. It is
unfortunate to see him publicly value a fellow-traveller primarily for keeping
him out of prison, and not make any effort to transform a feud into a
constructive contest of ideas. At a time when he has decided to openly take
stock of his inner circle’s loyalty, he has let himself down the most.
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, obsessive about
Lapsed: pass gradually into (an inferior state or condition).
Example: The country has lapsed into chaos
Synonyms: revert, relapse, drift, slide, slip, sink, deteriorate, decline
Tawdry: showy but cheap and of poor quality.
Example: Tawdry jewelry
Synonyms: gaudy, flashy, showy, garish, loud, tasteless, vulgar, trashy
Petulantly: (of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered.
Example: He was moody and petulant
Synonyms: peevish, bad-tempered, querulous, pettish, fretful, cross
Inexorable: impossible to stop or prevent.
Example: The seemingly inexorable march of new technology
Synonyms: relentless, unstoppable, inescapable, inevitable, unavoidable
Blaze: a very large or fiercely burning fire.
Example: Twenty fireman fought the blaze
Synonyms: fire, flames, conflagration, inferno, holocaust, wildfire, bush
fire
Foreclosed: take possession of a mortgaged property as a result of the mortgagor's
failure to keep up their mortgage payments.
Example: The bank was threatening to foreclose on his mortgage
Stalwarts: a loyal, reliable, and hardworking supporter or participant in an
organization or team.
Example: The stalwarts of the Ladies' Auxiliary
Overbearing: unpleasantly or arrogantly domineering.
Example: His overbearing, sometimes ruthless desire to succeed
Synonyms: domineering, dominating, autocratic, tyrannical, despoti
Ironic: using or characterized by irony.
Example: His mouth curved into an ironic smile
Synonyms: sarcastic, sardonic, cynical, mocking, satirical, caustic, wry
Pragmatic: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on
practical rather than theoretical considerations.
Example: A pragmatic approach to politics
Synonyms: practical, matter-of-fact, sensible, down-to-earth, commonsensical