THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - March 12, 2018 - Topic 1
A
welcome quietus: on Hadiya case verdict
Hadiya has at last won her freedom. The curious aspect of her case is
that it took such a long time for the courts to acknowledge that the
25-year-old woman from Kerala enjoys as much freedom of choice in
her marriage as in her religious belief. The
Kerala High Court had caused quite a muddle when it annulled her marriage
solely on the suspicion that it was a ruse to scuttle habeas corpus proceedings before it.
On her father’s
complaint that she had been indoctrinated and brainwashed into embracing Islam,
and his fear that she was a victim of a movement to convert Hindu women and
send them to overseas battle zones, the high court ordered her confinement in
her parents’ home. The Supreme Court’s categorical ruling that the high court
was wrong in invalidating a marriage under its writ jurisdiction constitutes a
welcome end to the unjustified curtailment of her freedom of movement and her
life choices. The verdict, for which detailed reasons are yet to be pronounced,
restores the liberty of Ms. Hadiya, who chose to convert to Islam more than a
year ago and later married a Muslim man. Last November, the apex court had freed her from her parents’ custody and allowed her to complete her internship as part of
a homoeopathy course she had taken up in Tamil Nadu. However, even this was
somewhat unsatisfactory, as it appeared to be a compromise between being in parental
custody and being allowed to live with her husband.
It is possible that her father, K.M. Asokan, was
gripped by fear as her conversion came amid reports of radical groups recruiting
young people on behalf of the Islamic State. The high court did not question
her conversion, but suspected the veracity of her claim that she was married,
as it happened in a day’s break between hearings. However, these facts were not
enough for the court to annul the marriage and label it a “sham”. The court
made odd observations on how a woman’s marriage requires the involvement of her
parents and that Ms. Hadiya was “at a vulnerable age”. Even in the Supreme
Court, Ms. Hadiya could explain to the judges that she stood by her marriage to
Shafin Jahan only after other parties had advanced arguments on
“indoctrination” and “conspiracy” and the National Investigation Agency had its
say. Finally, the court has now given primacy to her view. The implications of
her ordeal are disquieting: it is not difficult in this country to question the
life choices of an adult woman by casting doubts on her volition and personal
autonomy, and her freedom to choose her way of life can sometimes be judicially
curtailed. While a lawful investigation into organised recruitment by radical
groups must not be impeded, courts should strive even harder to protect
personal freedoms without being swayed by mere suspicion.
Vocabulary
Curious: strange; unusual.
Example: A curious sensation overwhelmed
her
Synonyms: strange, odd, peculiar, funny, unusual, bizarre, weird
Antonyms: uninquisitive, familiar, uninterested, incurious
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
Antonyms: assurance, belief, certainty, confidence, conviction
Indoctrinate: teach a person or group to
accept a set of beliefs uncritically.
Example: Broadcasting was a vehicle for
indoctrinating the masses
Synonyms: brainwash, propagandize, proselytize, reeducate, persuade
Embracing: accept or support a belief,
theory, or change willingly and enthusiastically.
Example: Besides traditional methods,
artists are embracing new technology
Synonyms: welcome, welcome with
open arms, accept, take up, take to one's heart
Curtailment: the action or fact of
reducing or restricting something.
Example: The curtailment of human rights
Synonyms: downsizing, suppression, retrenchment
Internship: the position of a medical
intern in a hospital.
Example: He served his medical internship
at Southern Pacific Hospital
Conversion: the act or an instance of
converting or the process of being converted.
Example: The conversion of food into body
tissues
Synonyms: change, changing, transformation, metamorphosis, transfiguration
Antonyms: deconversion
Veracity: conformity to facts;
accuracy.
Example: Officials expressed doubts
concerning the veracity of the story
Synonyms: truthfulness, truth, accuracy, correctness, faithfulness, fidelity
Antonyms: mendacity
Vulnerable: susceptible to physical or
emotional attack or harm.
Example: We were in a vulnerable position
Synonyms: helpless, defenseless, powerless, impotent, weak, susceptible
Antonyms: entrenched, defensible, unassailable, invulnerable
Conspiracy: a secret plan by a group to
do something unlawful or harmful.
Example: A conspiracy to destroy the
government
Synonyms: plot, scheme, plan, machination, ploy, trick, ruse, subterfuge, racket
Autonomy: the right or condition of
self-government, especially in a particular sphere.
Example: Tatarstan demanded greater
autonomy within the Russian Federation
Synonyms: self-reliance, self-direction, self-sufficiency
Antonyms: dependency, nonautonomy
Sway: move or cause to move slowly
or rhythmically backward and forward or from side to side.
Example: He swayed slightly on his feet
Synonyms: swing, shake, oscillate, undulate, move
to and fro, move back and forth
Antonyms: be in subjection, be subject, comply, obey, submit
