THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 23, 2016- Topic 1
It is disconcerting that the administrative affairs of Indian cricket
should continue to be embroiled in controversy in the midst of a packed and
interesting home season. Not many can complain about the manner in which
cricketing matters are being managed, but the intransigence shown by the
office-bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in not
constructively accepting the reforms recommended by the Supreme Court-appointed
R.M. Lodha Committee is getting to be tiresome. These recommendations, including
those barring ministers, bureaucrats and anyone above the age of 70 from
holding office in cricket’s administrative body, are now binding on the BCCI
after the Supreme Court accepted the report. The Justice Lodha Committee has
been grappling with a set of reluctant office-bearers who claim they cannot
force the State units affiliated to the BCCI to accept all the norms. Some
associations are said to be unwilling to accept the age ceiling and the
one-State, one-vote norm. In its latest report, the Committee has asked for the
removal of all those who fall foul of its bar on various grounds. In addition,
it has asked for an observer to be appointed to ‘guide’ the Chief Executive
Officer in running the BCCI, particularly with regard to contracts, transparency
norms and the audit of domestic, international and IPL matches.
The
question arises whether the Lodha Committee should have named G.K. Pillai, a
former Union Home Secretary, as the observer. As it is up to the Supreme Court
to decide whether an observer is needed, the recommendation of a specific name
was both unnecessary and puzzling. While the time may have come to enforce the
norms accepted by the Supreme Court, any suggestion that the Committee favours
drastic action rather than appealing to reason should be avoided. It is
apparent that some unsavoury developments have upset the panel. These include
the BCCI taking decisions out of sync with the panel’s recommendations at its
Annual General Meeting in September, interpreting a directive to stop the disbursal
of funds to State associations as the demand for a total freeze on its bank
accounts, and allegedly trying to goad the International Cricket Council into
raising the question whether there was governmental interference in the BCCI’s
functioning, a situation that may come with the threat of derecognition. Yet,
the situation is not beyond rescue. The Board’s president and secretary have
until December 3 to report compliance with the Committee’s norms. While the
BCCI leadership will have to shed its seeming reluctance, the Supreme Court has
to find a way to bring in transparency and reform without resorting to
heavy-handed action against a body that must function with a measure of
autonomy.
Vocabulary
Disconcert: causing one to feel unsettled.
Example: He had a disconcerting habit of offering jobs to people he met at dinner
parties
Synonyms: unsettling, unnerving, discomfiting, disturbing, perturbing
Embroiled: involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation.
Example: She became embroiled in a dispute between two women she hardly knew
Synonyms: involve, entangle, ensnare, enmesh, catch up, mix
up
Midst: the middle point or part.
Example: To be plopped in the river's midst , in a canoe, on a spectacular day, is
tranquilizing.
Synonyms: middle, center, heart, core, midpoint, kernel, nub
Tiresome: causing one to feel bored or annoyed.
Example: Weeding is a tiresome but essential job
Synonyms: boring, dull, tedious, insipid, wearisome, wearing, uninteresting
Grappling: engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; wrestle.
Example: Passersby grappled with the man after the knife attack
Synonyms: wrestle, struggle, tussle, brawl, fight, scuffle
Reluctant: unwilling and hesitant; disinclined.
Example: She seemed reluctant to discuss the matter
Synonyms: unwilling, disinclined, unenthusiastic, resistant, resisting
Foul: make foul or dirty; pollute.
Example: Factories that fouled the atmosphere
Synonyms: dirty, infect, pollute, contaminate, poison, taint, sully, soil, stain
Unsavoury: disagreeable to taste, smell, or look at.
Example: The man adores me for goodness sake… how can I taint the way he feels about
me by making such unsavoury noises and smells in his company?
Synonyms: unpalatable, unappetizing, distasteful, disagreeable, unappealing
Shed: a simple roofed structure, typically made of wood or metal, used as a
storage space, a shelter for animals, or a workshop.
Example: With judgment like that, would you trust any of these gentry to put a roof
on your garden shed ?
Synonyms: hut, lean-to, outhouse, outbuilding, shack, potting
shed