THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 26, 2016- Topic 2
The death of 28 members of the
Communist Party of India (Maoist) in an operation by the security forces on the
Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border is a big blow to the outlawed group. The joint
operation was led by anti-Naxalite units of the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
police at Panasput village in Malkangiri district in Odisha. In September 2013,
13 Maoists were killed by the Odisha police in the same district, and the
latest operation indicates the strength of the special forces deployed to
counter insurgency in these States. The security forces had suffered
significant losses when the Maoists killed 38 anti-Naxal Greyhound commandos in
a boat attack in the Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri in June 2008. The
military setbacks apart, the Maoists are today diminished politically as well.
The desertion of one of their top tribal leaders, Sabyasachi Panda, in 2012 and
the surrender of tribal cadres in Narayanpatna in Koraput district have set the
Maoists on the back foot in southern Odisha. It is believed that the attacked
cadres at Malkangiri district this week were at a “plenary” organised to
examine ways of getting out of the current organisational and political morass.
The Maoists have been unable to expand as a political force in the plains
areas; and as a guerrilla force they have been limited to the remote and hilly
tribal belt of central India. It is, however, not clear whether these setbacks
will compel the Maoists to disavow their insurgent goals and instead join the
political mainstream to pursue their avowed ambition of guarding the interests
of the tribal poor.
Not too long ago, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh had identified the Maoist movement as the biggest internal
security threat. Buoyed by the unification of various Naxalite outfits into one
party in 2004, they had consolidated themselves in some districts, taking
advantage of the weak presence of the welfare and administrative agencies. But
by subordinating political activism to militarism they have done little for
tribal empowerment; instead, they settled for a war of attrition against the
state. The state on its part has faltered, over a decade, in its dual strategy
of containing the military threat of the Maoists and expanding its
developmental footprint in these districts. After driving the Maoists away from
undivided Andhra Pradesh into parts of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha,
this strategy has been implemented unevenly and with mixed results. A state of
civil war along with tribal repression, persists in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar
region. In other parts, the implementation of development and welfare
programmes has been slow. Greater political will is needed to address these
shortcomings.
Vocabulary
Outlawed: ban; make illegal.
Example: Maryland outlawed cheap small-caliber pistols
Synonyms: ban, bar, prohibit, forbid, veto, make
illegal, proscribe, interdict
Deployed: move (troops) into position for military action.
Example: Forces were deployed at strategic locations
Synonyms: position, station, post, place, install, locate, situate, site, establish
Diminished: make or become less.
Example: A tax whose purpose is to diminish spending
Synonyms: decrease, lessen, decline, reduce, subside, die
down, abate, dwindle
Desertion: the action of deserting a person, cause, or organization.
Example: Her mother 's desertion of her family
Synonyms: abandonment, leaving, jilting; defection, betrayal, renunciation, repudiation
Morass: a complicated or confused situation.
Example: She would become lost in a morass of lies and explanations
Synonyms: confusion, chaos, muddle, tangle, entanglement, imbroglio, jumble
Compel: force or oblige (someone) to do something.
Example: A sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions
Synonyms: force, pressure, press, push, urge, dragoon, browbeat, bully, intimidate
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
Buoyed: keep (someone or something) afloat.
Example: I let the water buoy up my weight
Attrition: the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness
of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure.
Example: The council is trying to wear down the opposition by attrition
Synonyms: wearing away, weakening, debilitation, enfeebling, sapping
