THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 6, 2017- Topic 1

Back on track

On India and China's united front at BRICS

By putting up a united front at the BRICS summit, and proposing a revival of the Panchsheel principles of peaceful cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have signalled they are trying to put the bitterness of the past few months behind them. The tenor of the meetings between the two leaders was particularly remarkable given that the long Doklam military stand-off was resolved just a week ago. 

In fact, their agreement that Doklam-like situations must not recur is an indication that India and China are looking for new mechanisms to strengthen the border defence agreements that have held in the past. It is also significant that both countries expressed similar views about resisting economic protectionism of the kind that the Trump administration in the U.S. has been espousing; the BRICS countries have together committed to an “open and inclusive” multilateral trading system. Another area of welcome consonance was the North Korean nuclear tests. All five countries, Brazil, Russia and South Africa being the other three, condemned them unequivocally, while advocating dialogue and not the use of force. The messaging that emanated from both the Indian and Chinese delegations at Xiamen smoothed the interactions between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, and allowed for a productive BRICS declaration that belied fears that bilateral tensions would overtake multilateral concerns. The government’s determination to hush any triumphalism over the Doklam outcome certainly helped. China’s nod to the inclusion of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed among the terrorist groups threatening regional stability, and its choosing not to speak of the contentious Belt and Road Initiative at the summit suggested it was heeding India’s concerns.

With the BRICS meet concluded, it is doubly important that Indian and Chinese officials re-engage in a sustained manner to address all areas of discord which led to the charged situation at Doklam. They must, for starters, review where the border defence standard operating procedures failed. Second, the two countries must convene the delayed meeting of the Special Representatives, and add the latest claims and counter-claims over the Sikkim boundary and the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction to the agenda for discussions. It is necessary to see that the much-acclaimed BRICS language on terrorist groups like the LeT and JeM is translated into actionable points as a show of good faith. Beijing will have an early opportunity to do so in October when the issue of designating JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist comes up at the UN Security Council and when the UN’s Financial Action Task Force takes stock of Pakistan’s actions against the LeT. It is imperative that the gains of the BRICS summit in terms of the India-China bilateral atmospherics are optimised.

Vocabulary

Revival: an improvement in the condition or strength of something.

Example: A revival in the fortunes of the party

Synonyms: improvement, recovery, rallying, picking up, amelioration, turn for the better

Bitterness: sharpness of taste; lack of sweetness.

Example: The lime juice imparts a slight bitterness

Synonyms: sharpness, acidity, acridity, tartness, sourness, harshness

Tenor: the general meaning, sense, or content of something.

Example: The general tenor of the debate

Synonyms: sense, meaning, theme, drift, thread, import, purport, intent

Remarkable: worthy of attention; striking.

Example: A remarkable coincidence

Synonyms: extraordinary, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding

Recur: occur again, periodically, or repeatedly.

Example: When the symptoms recurred, the doctor diagnosed something different

Synonyms: happen again, reoccur, occur again, repeat (itself), come back

Indication: a sign or piece of information that indicates something.

Example: The visit was an indication of the improvement in relations between the countries

Synonyms: sign, signal, indicator, symptom, mark, manifestation

Protectionism: the theory or practice of shielding a country's domestic industries from foreign competition by taxing imports.

Example: Moreover, the smaller the country, the greater will be the pressure to opt for free trade rather than protectionism .

Consonance: agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions.

Example: Consonance between conservation measures and existing agricultural practice

Synonyms: agreement, accord, harmony, unison, compatibility, congruity, congruence

Emanate:  issue or spread out from a source.

Example: Warmth emanated from the fireplace

Synonyms: originate, stem, derive, proceed, spring, issue, emerge, flow, come

Belied: fail to give a true notion or impression of something.

Example: His lively alert manner belied his years

Synonyms: contradict, be at odds with, call into question, show/prove to be false

Hush: make someone be quiet or stop talking.

Example: He placed a finger before pursed lips to hush her

Synonyms: silence, quiet, quiet down, shush, soothe, calm, pacify, gag

Triumphalism: excessive exultation over one's success or achievements used especially in a political context.

Example: An air of triumphalism reigns in his administration

Convene: come or bring together for a meeting or activity; assemble.

Example: He convened a group of well-known scientists and philosophers

Synonyms: summon, call, call together, order, convoke; assemble, gather

Actionable: giving sufficient reason to take legal action.

Example: Slanderous remarks are actionable

Imperative: giving an authoritative command; peremptory.

Example: The bell pealed again, a final imperative call

Synonyms: peremptory, commanding, imperious, authoritative, masterful

Optimise: make the best or most effective use of a situation, opportunity, or resource.

Example: To optimize viewing conditions, the microscope should be correctly adjusted