THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 11, 2016- Topic 2
India and the U.K. have many reasons to
have close relations. They are two pillars of the Commonwealth, sharing
democratic values and a world view on many political issues including
terrorism. The Indian community that has settled in Britain has helped deepen
ties. Today India is the third largest investor in the U.K., and the U.K. is
the largest G20 investor in India. It stands to reason that for her first
foreign visit outside Europe after taking over as Prime Minister, Theresa May chose India. As long as British courts don’t stand in her way, she
will work to engineer the U.K.’s exit from the European Union in early 2017,
and her visit to India was seen as a way of exploring a trade path outside of
the EU, with preliminary talk expected on reviving negotiations for a free
trade agreement that were first started in 2007. For the past few months,
British ministers, including key advisers to Ms. May, have emphasised that the
Brexit movement would benefit India-U.K. ties. Given this backdrop, it remains
a mystery why, in the event, Ms. May’s visit turned out to be devoid of any
substantial measures that would put India-U.K ties on a new trajectory.
The two MoUs signed in the
presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. May, on improving the ease of
doing business and on intellectual property rights, did little to add any shine
to the lacklustre visit. Worse, Ms. May seemed more comfortable with her
previous role as U.K. Home Secretary when she had announced strictures on
immigration and student visas that have led to a 50 per cent drop in Indian
students enrolling in British universities. Just three days before her visit to
India, London announced new restrictions on overseas students, including
two-tier visa rules based on the “quality of courses”, and a crackdown on work
visas to control migration. Quite oblivious of the impact of these measures on
her hosts, Ms. May chose to announce during her first day in Delhi that not
only could she not consider India’s demands for relaxation, but that the U.K.
could not do so unless India did more to assist in the return of “Indians with
no right to remain in the U.K.” The irony is that London has refused to budge
on facilitating the “return” of the likes of Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi. It
was odd that the Modi government chose to rejoice that Ms. May offered visas on
a short notice scheme only for the extremely wealthy Indian as part of a “Grand
Club”, which even British newspapers have criticised as a racist, colonialist
and elitist measure.
Vocabulary
Deepen: make or become deep or deeper.
Example: The crisis deepened
Synonyms: grow, increase, intensify, strengthen, heighten, amplify
Exploring: travel in or through (an unfamiliar country or area) in order to learn
about or familiarize oneself with it.
Example: The best way to explore Iceland's northwest
Synonyms: travel over/in/through, tour, range
over, survey, take a look at
Reviving: restore to life or consciousness.
Example: Both men collapsed, but were revived
Synonyms: resuscitate, bring around, bring back to
consciousness; regain consciousness
Devoid: entirely lacking or free from.
Example: Lisa kept her voice devoid of emotion
Synonyms: free of, empty of, vacant of, bereft of, deprived
of, destitute of
Trajectory: the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the
action of given forces.
Example: The missile's trajectory was preset
Synonyms: course, path, route, track, line, orbit
Lacklustre: lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired or uninspiring.
Example: No excuses were made for the team's lackluster performance
Synonyms: uninspired, uninspiring, unimaginative, dull, humdrum, uninvolving
Oblivious: not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one.
Example: She became absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time
Synonyms: unaware of, unconscious of, heedless of, unmindful of
Irony: the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies
the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Example: “Don't go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony
Synonyms: sarcasm, causticity, cynicism, mockery, satire, sardonicism
Rejoice: feel or show great joy or delight.
Example: He rejoiced when he saw his friend alive
Elitist: favoring, advocating, or restricted to an elite.
Example: The old, elitist image of the string quartet
Synonyms: aristocratic, snobbish, snobby, superior, supercilious