THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 6, 2016- Topic 2
The
politics of exaggeration
At first
look, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s theatrics on the night of December 1 smacked of the politics of
paranoia. Spying Army deployment at a toll plaza near the State Secretariat in
Kolkata late that night, she drove herself into a sleepless social media frenzy
to “guard our democracy”. Where the Army’s Eastern Command clarified that it
was conducting a “routine exercise” to test preparedness, Ms. Banerjee
insinuated otherwise by resolving to maintain her vigil at the Secretariat till
the Army personnel were withdrawn from their task. Not given to being detained
by facts, even after the Army cleared the air by clarifying it had duly
informed State authorities about the exercise, Ms. Banerjee’s Trinamool
Congress galvanised the Opposition in Parliament the next day. It kept up the
high pitch from a previous uproar over delay in landing a civil aircraft that
had her on board. Ms. Banerjee is too sharp, and well-versed with the
procedures of administration, to not see through her own conspiracy theories.
This is not paranoia speaking, it is a play-as-things-go plan to amplify her
voice in national politics. The Modi government’s demonetisation drive has
given her an opportunity to nominate herself as a rallying force. Projecting
random occurrences — a queue for landing clearance at an overburdened airport
one day, an Army drill the next — as instances of vendetta against her by the
biggest powers that be helps her distinguish herself from the rest of the
opposition as the leader in direct combat with the Central government.
This has, of
course, been the way with Ms. Banerjee’s politics. In the years of Left Front
rule, this is how she separated herself from older, established Congress
colleagues. She, for instance, kept alive the memory of wounds sustained in a
police crackdown. Once she struck out and formed her own party, she switched
allegiance freely in national coalitions in the search for her big chance
against the Left. It came in 2011, when Left rule ended in West Bengal; her
pre-eminence in State politics was sealed in Assembly elections this year when
she stared down the combined challenge of the Congress and the Left parties.
Now, with the Congress still struggling to get a grip on the political
narrative, and no other party able to provide the glue for opposition unity,
she has seized the opportunity. Her tactics of exaggeration, of personalising
the argument, are clearly aimed at securing herself as the face of the anti-BJP
opposition, even as she goes about seeking old friends and foes alike to rally
behind her. Today it is demonetisation. Tomorrow it may be something else. But
the tenor of her politics is likely to hold.
Vocabulary
Paranoia: a mental condition characterized by delusions of
persecution, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance
Example: He spent some time in America and there he began to show signs of paranoia
and other aspects of mental disturbance.
Synonyms: persecution complex, delusions, obsession, psychosis
Smacked: strike someone or something,
typically with the palm of the hand and as a punishment.
Example: Jessica smacked his face quite hard
Synonyms: slap, hit, strike, spank, cuff, clout, thump, punch, swat, box
someone's ears
Drove: a herd or flock of animals being driven in a body.
Example: A drove of cattle
Synonyms: herd, flock, pack
Insinuated: suggest or hint something bad
or reprehensible in an indirect and
unpleasant way.
Example: He was insinuating that she had slept her way to the top
Synonyms: imply, suggest, hint, intimate, indicate, let
it be known
Uproar: a loud and impassioned noise
or disturbance.
Example: The room was in an uproar
Synonyms: turmoil, disorder, confusion, chaos, commotion, disturbance
Conspiracy: a secret plan by a group to do
something unlawful or harmful.
Example: A conspiracy to destroy the government
Synonyms: plot, scheme, plan, machination, ploy, trick, ruse, subterfuge, racket
Vendetta: a blood feud in which the
family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's
family.
Example: Every family cultivates its vendetta ; every clan, its feud.
Allegiance: loyalty or commitment of a subordinate
to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.
Example: Those wishing to receive citizenship must swear allegiance to the republic
Synonyms: loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, obedience, homage, devotion, fealty
Grip: a firm hold; a tight grasp or clasp.
Example: His arm was held in a vicelike grip
Synonyms: grasp, hold
