THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 7, 2016- Topic 1
Adversity brought out the best in
Jayalalithaa. As a Chief Minister fighting for the rights of her State, as a politician trying to spring back from electoral
defeats, as a woman standing up to sexist taunts in what is still very much a
man’s world, she was courageous to the point of being adventurist. In her
passing, India has lost a leader who played a vital role in the shaping of
Tamil Nadu during a crucial phase of the country’s economic development and
social progress. It may be true that Jayalalithaa owed her success in politics
in no small measure to her film-world association
with M.G. Ramachandran, the founder of the AIADMK.
Soon after she joined the party, her mentor, in 1983, made her its propaganda
secretary. But all that MGR did was to set her on a political career. He did
not anoint her his successor, and after his death Jayalalithaa needed to win
the battle for his political legacy. This she did by reuniting the two factions
of the party, retrieving its election symbol, reviving the alliance with the
Congress and, finally, becoming Chief Minister in 1991. She continued with
MGR’s policies, targeting the weaker sections, the rural peasants and the
unorganised workers through food subsidies and social welfare schemes,
expanding the AIADMK’s reach. Unlike MGR, who lived under the constant shadow
of the Centre’s power to dismiss a State government under Article 356, she had
the luxury of doing business with a Congress government at the Centre led by
P.V. Narasimha Rao, one dependent on outside support from her party for
survival. This allowed her to take a strong stand on issues such as Cauvery,
forcing the Centre to toe her line, or at least heed her views. However,
towards the end of her first term as Chief Minister, her government became
enmeshed in a series of corruption scandals. Her association with V.N.
Sasikala, who was perceived by some as functioning as an extra-constitutional
authority, alienated sections of her support base. Also, she drove away allies
she had struggled to win back following MGR’s passing.
Written off after receiving a drubbing in the 1996 Assembly election,
losing even her own seat, no one had forecast Jayalalithaa would reinvent her
political career so swiftly and effectively. The DMK government, which slapped
a slew of corruption cases against her, had possibly thought it was writing her
political epitaph, but Jayalalithaa turned the tables by struggling to survive
and remain relevant.
Vocabulary
Adversity: difficulties; misfortune.
Example: Resilience in the face of adversity
Synonyms: misfortune, ill luck, bad luck, trouble, difficulty, hardship, distress
Spring: Move or jump suddenly or rapidly upward or forward.
Example: I sprang out of bed
Synonyms: leap, jump, bound, vault, appear suddenly, appear
unexpectedly
Taunt: A remark made in order to anger, wound, or provoke
someone.
Example: The fact that there was perhaps some justification to the taunts of the
veterans angered him.
Synonyms: jeer, jibe, sneer, insult, barb, catcall, dig, put-down, teasing
Courageous: not deterred by danger or
pain; brave.
Example: Her courageous human rights work
Synonyms: brave, plucky, fearless, valiant, valorous, intrepid, heroic, lionhearted
Adventurist: willing to take risks or to
try out new methods, ideas, or experiences.
Example: Let's be adventurous
Synonyms: daring, daredevil, intrepid, venturesome, bold, fearless, brave
Anoint: smear or rub with oil, typically as part of a religious
ceremony.
Example: High priests were anointed with oil
Synonyms: consecrate, bless, ordain, hallow
Retrieving: get or bring something back; regain possession of.
Example: I was sent to retrieve the balls from his garden
Synonyms: get back, bring back, recover, regain (possession of), recoup, reclaim
Enmesh: cause to become entangled in something.
Example: Whales enmeshed in drift nets
Synonyms: embroil, entangle, ensnare, snare, trap, entrap, ensnarl, involve, catch
up
Perceived: become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize
or understand.
Example: His mouth fell open as he perceived the truth
Synonyms: discern, recognize, become aware of, see, distinguish
Alienated: transfer ownership of (property rights) to another person
or group.
Example: Consequently, unless the plaintiff alienated his ownership, he has been the
owner of the case since it came into being.
Synonyms: estrange, divide, distance, put at a distance, isolate, cut
off, set against
Drub: a beating; a thrashing.
Example: I'll give the scoundrels a drubbing if I can!
Epitaph: a phrase or statement written in memory of a person who
has died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.
Example: This might be recorded on their tombstone as an epitaph or in an obituary,
commemoration portrait, or in some cases a biography.
Synonyms: elegy, commemoration, obituary, inscription, legend