THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-January 18, 2017- Topic 1
A wake-up call
A flurry
of videos has emerged in the social media in recent days showing jawans of both the
paramilitary forces and the Army complaining against a host of issues from diet
to colonial-era practices. While these are disciplinary breaches, they are a
good reason to initiate a detailed study into the internal health of our
security establishment. The present lot of videos began early last week when
BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav posted a series of them complaining
about burnt parathas and watery lentil curry served
along the Line of Control.
The videos quickly grabbed national attention.
From the Prime Minister’s Office to the Army chief, the senior leadership has
been quick to respond. Both the PMO and Home Minister Rajnath Singh sought an
immediate report from the paramilitary forces, while Chief of the Army Staff
General Bipin Rawat ordered the provision of
grievance and redress boxes. However, many of the responses,
especially from the middle- and senior-rung leadership of the Army and the
paramilitary forces, spelt almost outright denial. Without doubt the videos are
serious disciplinary breaches, and they must be viewed keeping in mind the
possibilities of such rampant access and use of social media ending up
assisting the enemy. The resort to social media to air grievances could
compromise national security, especially when the forces are in sensitive
locations. But that should not take the attention away from the larger malaise
reflected in them, and it is in tackling them that the senior leadership, both
in the executive and the security establishment, must spend time now. The
videos are a wake-up call.
Vocabulary
Flurry: a small swirling mass of something, especially snow or leaves, moved by
sudden gusts of wind.
Example: A flurry of snow
Synonyms: swirl, whirl, eddy, billow, shower, gust
Diet: the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
Example: A vegetarian diet
Synonyms: selection of food, food, foodstuffs, grub, nosh
Breach: an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of
conduct.
Example: A breach of confidence
Synonyms: contravention, violation, infringement, infraction, transgression
Infantry: soldiers marching or fighting on foot.
Example: Then there were the marine corps and army infantry who waded ashore or were
landed by air on island after island.
Synonyms: infantrymen, foot soldiers, foot guards, the ranks
Brigade: a subdivision of an army, typically consisting of a small number of
infantry battalions and/or other units and often forming part of a division.
Example: He commanded a brigade of 3,000 men
Synonyms: unit, contingent, battalion, regiment, division, squadron
Chore: a routine task, especially a household one.
Example: Girls as young as four and five are expected to help with household chores
and to care for their younger siblings.
Synonyms: task, job, duty, errand, work, domestic work, drudgery
Grabbed: grasp or seize suddenly and roughly.
Example: She grabbed him by the shirt collar
Synonyms: seize, grasp, snatch, take hold of, grip, clasp
Outright: altogether; completely.
Example: Logging has been banned outright
Synonyms: completely, entirely, wholly, fully, totally, categorically
Malaise: a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause
is difficult to identify.
Example: A society afflicted by a deep cultural malaise
Synonyms: unhappiness, uneasiness, unease, discomfort, melancholy