THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-March 4, 2017- Topic 1
Crossing a bridge
Even in the fraught and volatile framework of India-Pakistan
ties, the Permanent Indus Commission mandated to implement the 1960 Indus
Waters Treaty (IWT) has met like clockwork, 112 times in 56 years, annually in
each country. The commission has experts who look into issues and disputes on
the ground over the utilisation of the waters of six rivers of the Indus
system. Under the treaty, India has full use of the three “eastern” rivers
(Beas, Ravi, Sutlej), while Pakistan has control over the three “western”
rivers (Indus, Chenab, Jhelum), although India is given rights to use these
partially as well for certain purposes.
As a result, there should be little to
comment in the normal course when India accepts Pakistan’s invitation to the next round of talks, as it has for the Permanent Indus Commission in Lahore
later this month. The move is welcome, as it denotes India’s commitment to the
treaty that has stood the test of time and war, and also displays New Delhi’s
sincerity on the issue of water-sharing, given that the IWT is seen to be a
model in dispute management. In September last year, doubts had been raised
over India’s commitment after the terrorist
attack on an army camp in Uri, killing 19 soldiers.
In the days that followed, senior officials announced the suspension of talks
until there was an “atmosphere free of terror” after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi held a review meeting on the treaty to consider retaliatory
measures against Pakistan for the attack, saying, “blood and water cannot go
together”. Mr. Modi repeated some of those angry sentiments at public rallies
where he said India would not allow even a “drop of water” to go waste into
Pakistan. The atmosphere was also charged after the government announced
“surgical strikes” had been carried out along the Line of Control and
subsequently pulled out from the SAARC summit in Pakistan, leading to fears of
a freeze in bilateral ties.
In the event, the government has chosen wisely, with some
encouragement from the World Bank and persistence by Pakistan, to step back
from much of that rhetoric, and allow IWT commissioners from both countries to
meet. The decision follows several other moves between India and Pakistan in
the past few weeks indicating a softening of positions on some other issues as
well: from a marked reduction in LoC firing, the regular annual exchange of
nuclear lists, the release of prisoners by both countries, and India being part
of the consensus to elect the Pakistani
nominee as the SAARC Secretary-General this week. It
would be premature to expect that any of these events, some of which are
routine, consolidate a thaw in relations between the two countries. However,
they reaffirm the high stakes that are woven into India-Pakistan relations, and
the need to keep certain issues such as water-sharing above the politics of the
moment.
Vocabulary
Fraught: causing or affected by great anxiety or stress.
Example: There was a
fraught silence
Synonyms: anxious, worried, stressed, upset, distraught, overwrought
Sincerity: the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or
hypocrisy.
Example: The sincerity of
his beliefs is unquestionable
Synonyms: honesty, genuineness, truthfulness, integrity, probity
Freeze: a period of frost or very cold weather.
Example: The big freeze
surprised the weathermen
Persistence: firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action
in spite of difficulty or opposition.
Example: Companies must
have patience and persistence, but the rewards are there
Premature: occurring or done before the usual or proper time;
too early.
Example: The sun can cause
premature aging
Synonyms: untimely, (too)
early, unseasonable, before time; rash, ill-considered