THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 29, 2016- Topic 1
Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party was voted to power
with a majority of its own in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Opposition parties
have been trying to find an issue that would resonate with the people, identify
a rallying point that would put the Narendra Modi government at the Centre on
the defensive. But when such an issue did crop up after Mr. Modi announced the
demonetisation of high-value notes on November 8, opponents of the BJP found
themselves unprepared and unable to tap into the public resentment at the
seemingly unnecessary pain caused by the shortage of cash. The demonetisation
exercise did far more than divide the Opposition parties: it left them confused
on the approach to be taken against the government. They were unable to fault
the stated aims of the move: to curb black money, flush out counterfeit notes
from the economy, and thereby curb terror funding. And when Mr. Modi sought 50
days to ease the cash flow, his opponents had no choice but to wait it out.
Other than making noises about long queues at banks and ATMs and the flip-flops
in announcing new rules for withdrawals and deposits and amending them in quick
time, they had little to do. They could not attack the move in principle
without being seen as supporting the corrupt and the devious. And they could
not attack the manner of implementation without giving Mr. Modi the time he
wanted to deal with what could not but have been a crisis in cash supply.
It was probably inevitable that the Opposition parties
would speak in different voices on an issue like this, but it was inexplicable
that the main Opposition party, the Congress, did little to forge a united
front in Parliament and outside. When Opposition parties were planning to
petition President Pranab Mukherjee on the demonetisation issue, Congress
vice-president Rahul Gandhi met Mr. Modi with a delegation of party leaders to
request a waiver of farm loans. Leaders of the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan
Samaj Party and the Left parties were unhappy with the Congress approach. Not
surprisingly, at a joint press conference of Opposition parties called by Mr.
Gandhi, only Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee was at hand to attack Mr. Modi. The other participants were mostly
long-time allies of the Congress. The Janata Dal (United), whose leader Nitish
Kumar had nice things to say about demonetisation initially, did not
participate in a maha dharna organised by the RJD against demonetisation. The JD(U)
stand was that it would rather wait for the 50 days before judging the move to
be a failure or a mistake. Far from bringing together Opposition parties, the
demonetisation move appears to have driven apart parties already in alliance.
Vocabulary
Resonate: produce or be filled with a deep, full, reverberating sound.
Example: The sound of the siren resonated across the harbor
Defensive: used or intended to defend or protect.
Example: Troops in defensive positions
Synonyms: defending, protective, wary, watchful
Resentment: bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.
Example: His resentment at being demoted
Synonyms: bitterness, indignation, irritation, pique, dissatisfaction, disgruntlement
Flush: completely level or even with another surface.
Example: The gates are flush with the adjoining fencing
Counterfeit: made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the
intention to deceive or defraud.
Example: Two men were remanded on bail on a charge of passing counterfeit $10 bills
Synonyms: fake, faked, bogus, forged, imitation, spurious, substitute, ersatz, phony
Devious: showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals.
Example: He's as devious as a politician needs to be
Synonyms: underhanded, deceitful, dishonest, dishonorable, unethical, unprincipled
Inevitable: certain to happen; unavoidable.
Example: War was inevitable
Synonyms: unavoidable, inescapable, inexorable, ineluctable, assured, certain
Inexplicable: unable to be explained or accounted for.
Example: For some inexplicable reason her mind went completely blank
Synonyms: unaccountable, unexplainable, incomprehensible, unfathomable
Delegation: a body of delegates or representatives; a deputation.
Example: A delegation of teachers
Synonyms: deputation, legation, mission, diplomatic mission, commission
Alliance: a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries
or organizations.
Example: A defensive alliance between Australia and New Zealand
Synonyms: association, union, league, confederation, federation, confederacy