THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 29, 2017- Topic 1

Freedom first: On SC's order in Hadiya case

By freeing Hadiya, a 25-year-old from Kerala who converted to Islam, from her parents’ custody, the Supreme Court has protected her freedom to choose her religion and her freedom of movement. Such an order was long overdue, considering that she has been living with her parents against her will and wished to be allowed to be with her husband and practise her religion. 

It is a matter of satisfaction that the court has now emphasised her personal liberty rather than curtailing her freedom on a totally unrelated ground, namely that she was likely to be radicalised. Hadiya, whose original name was Akhila, had been practising Islam for nearly two years, and had to face judicial proceedings twice at the instance of her father, who alleged that her conversion was involuntary and part of a ploy by communal groups to radicalise her and send her abroad to join the Islamic State. The court has now allowed Hadiya to go to Salem in Tamil Nadu and complete her internship as part of a homoeopathy course. It is somewhat ironic that it took nearly a year and a long spell of judicially ordered confinement for Hadiya to opt for the same course of action that was offered to her by the Kerala High Court in December 2016. The High Court had been all set to pass orders to enable her to go to Salem for the same purpose, when on December 21, 2016, she disclosed that a couple of days earlier she had married a man called Shafin Jahan. The High Court then annulled her marriage, calling it a sham and a ruse to scuttle the proceedings.

Whatever the truth about her marriage, there were serious reservations about the High Court’s observations to the effect that a woman’s marriage requires the involvement of her parents and that even if she had attained the age of majority she was still at a “vulnerable age”. The ease with which the freedom of an adult woman to make life decisions could be curtailed by judicial orders left many aghast. It is doubtful if similar remarks would have been made if the convert was a man. From this perspective, the Supreme Court’s order is to be welcomed as it gives primacy to a woman’s freedom to choose her manner of living. The Supreme Court has also made it clear that the National Investigation Agency can continue its ongoing probe. This preserves the scope for a lawful investigation into the suspicion that there is an organised campaign to recruit young people for overseas operations. Any probe into this phenomenon need not be at the cost of individual liberty. The possibility of indoctrination cannot be a reason for undermining personal autonomy.

Vocabulary

Overdue: not having arrived, happened, or been done by the expected time.

Example

Example: The rent was nearly three months overdue

Synonyms: late, behind schedule, behind time, delayed, unpunctual

Custody: the protective care or guardianship of someone or something.

Example: The property was placed in the custody of a trustee

Synonyms: care, guardianship, charge, keeping, safekeeping

Emphasise: give special importance or prominence to something in speaking or writing.

Example: He jabbed a finger into the tabletop to emphasize his point

Curtail: reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on.

Example: Civil liberties were further curtailed

Synonyms: reduce, cut, cut down, decrease, lessen, pare down, trim, retrench

Radicalise: cause someone to adopt radical positions on political or social issues.

Example: Some of those involved had been radicalized by the Vietnam War

Instance: an example or single occurrence of something.

Example: A serious instance of corruption

Synonyms: example, exemplar, occasion, occurrence, case, illustration

Involuntary: done against someone's will; compulsory.

Example: A policy of involuntary repatriation

Synonyms: spontaneous, instinctive, unconscious, unintentional

Ironic: using or characterized by irony.

Example: His mouth curved into an ironic smile

Synonyms: sarcastic, sardonic, cynical, mocking, satirical, caustic, wry

Aghast: filled with horror or shock.

Example: When the news came out they were aghast

Synonyms: horrified, appalled, dismayed, thunderstruck, stunned, shocked

Suspicion: a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true.

Example: She had a sneaking suspicion that he was laughing at her

Synonyms: intuition, feeling, impression, inkling, hunch, fancy, notion

Phenomenon: a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.

Example: Glaciers are unique and interesting natural phenomena

Synonyms: occurrence, event, happening, fact, situation, circumstance

Indoctrination: the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

Example: I would never subject children to religious indoctrination

Autonomy: he right or condition of self-government, especially in a particular sphere.

Example: Tatarstan demanded greater autonomy within the Russian Federation