Title Title Daily Vocab Capsule 4th January 2020 - wifistudy

TitleCapsule
Daily Vocab
        Title 2020
 4th January

In 2020, Put People First

Protesters are not ‘urban naxals’. Government needs to listen to them.
 “Go to Pakistan,” a senior UP police officer was recently heard telling anti Citizenship (Amendment) Act
protesters in Meerut. A supposedly neutral law enforcer uttered a shocking, outrageous threat, yet why blame
the police officer alone? All through 2019, critics, dissenters, protesters have been met with such refrains, hurled
from the highest political quarters.
Home minister Amit Shah referred to Delhi protesters as tukde tukde gang who must be taught a lesson by the
people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused urban naxals in a speech in Delhi. Minister Giriraj Singh has often
exhorted dissenters to ‘go to Pakistan’. As a new decade begins, the Modi government needs a new approach
and lexicon towards those who disagree and protest. No, protesters in a democracy are not urban naxals, or tukde
tukde gang nor should they be told to go to Pakistan.
The stereotyping of anti-CAA protesters as ‘Pakistani’ or bearded men in skullcaps, is designed to cast protesters
as enemies of the people. It’s a misreading of the fact that many anti-CAA protests have been dignified citizens’
movements. Yes, bloody clashes between police and protesters in UP have cast a shadow. But from slum
dwellers in Dharavi to teachers and students of Delhi University, writers and historians in Bengaluru, women in
Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh to middle class professionals and film personalities in Mumbai, a wide range of people
have participated, often spontaneously and creatively.
Citizens have gathered, devised posters and street plays in the best traditions of non-violent, democratic, civic
movements, it’s been a mobilisation dominated by youth. The protests have been an example of what Vaclav
Havel called the “parallel polis” – civil society set apart from politicians. Apart from UP and Mangaluru, the
overwhelming majority of rallies have remained peaceful.
That UP and western UP in particular has been the flashpoint for violence should come as no surprise. Over the
last decade, UP has witnessed harsh religious polarisation. Riots tore through Muzaffarnagar in 2013 and many
of those accused of rape and murder have been let off. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, once the poster boy of
militant Hindutva, has so far uttered no word of empathy for the over 20 dead. Instead, he has justified the
merciless police crackdown, vowing that rioters will “cry” under the Yogi government.

Hoarding and use of illegal firearms by Muslims must be investigated. But it is also true that over the last two
years, Muslims have felt systematically targeted, many businesses in meat, brass and leather have been destroyed
and the community has been politically isolated. While a few IPS officers have tried to reach out, the lower and
middle constabulary seem to be evoking images of the 1980s when during a spate of riots, the UP police was
accused of brazen communalism.
India inherited from the British Raj a highly centralised, coercive police state, a dangerously over-extended
structure which Gandhi constantly warned against. Always an opponent of the big centralised state, the Mahatma
said: “Centralisation as a system is inconsistent with a nonviolent structure of society … centralisation cannot be
sustained and defended without adequate force.” The centralised state perpetuates and normalises violence
between citizens because it enforces its will through violence.
The anti-CAA protests have seen the coercive state in full force. In UP, instead of disciplinary action against
excessive policing, the government has responded by repeatedly imposing Section 144, preventing public
gatherings. It has clamped curfew, repeatedly shut down the internet and even used stungrenades against AMU
students.
Delhi police used facial recognition technology to identify “habitual protesters” and “rowdy elements” to keep
out of the PM’s Delhi rally. A German student was sent back to his home after he took part in protests and a
Norwegian tourist was also asked to leave. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences put out a circular stating that
since the institute is government funded, staff and faculty were barred from joining protests while on duty.
Yet democracy by definition is a recognition of the legitimacy of dissent. A massive electoral mandate cannot be
used to de-legitimise dissent because electoral majorities being temporary, today’s powerful establishment could
be tomorrow’s powerless protester; today’s majority opinion could be tomorrow’s minority view. That’s why
democracy cannot be interpreted as majoritarianism, because majorities keep changing at most elections.
Democracy instead is the art of disagreeing well.
Every government from AB Vajpayee to Manmohan Singh has sought to provide protection to ‘persecuted’
religious minorities in the neighbourhood. In 2003, the Vajpayee government brought in major changes to the
Citizenship Act of 1955, introducing the words “illegal migrants” and “national register for citizens”. Importantly,
the parliamentary committee on Vajpayee’s Citizenship Bill was headed by Congressman Pranab Mukherjee and
there was political negotiation and consultation across party lines and across ideological divides. The Citizenship
(Amendment) Bill 2003 was passed without fuss or public tumult. Because he was a believer in dialogue,
Vajpayee was trusted. Manmohan Singh too was a conciliator, moving to build trust through consensus. It is a
skill the Modi-Shah duo seem to singularly lack.
The BJP-led Big State believes in highvoltage bulldozing of legislation without any consultation. Dialogue is
seen as ‘weakness’ and does not fit the image of a ‘muscular’ government. Yet the key to delivering good
governance is to build trust. As a new decade begins, the Modi government needs a new approach for citizens
who dissent and disagree. If 2019 was the year of too much government, 2020 should be the year of the citizen.
                                                                       Courtesy: The Times of India (National)

1. Outrageous (adjective): Meaning: Shocking and morally unacceptable. (घिनौना; अपमानपूर्ण)
Synonyms: Disgraceful, Abominable, Abhorrent, Atrocious
Antonyms: Acceptable, Welcome, Delightful, Gratifying

Example: I must apologise for my outrageous behaviour.

2. Exhort (verb): Meaning: To strongly encourage or try to persuade someone to do something. (प्रेरित किना)
Synonyms: Urge, Spur, Beseech, Goad, Implore
Antonyms: Discourage, Deter, Dehort, Put Off
Example: The agent exhorted the couple to take insurance cover from his company.

3. Crackdown (noun): Meaning: An action by an authority to stop something. (घनयंत्रर्)
Synonyms: Suppression, Clampdown, Squelching, Kerb
Antonyms: Encouragement, Incitement, Backing
Example: The government is calling for a crackdown on drivers who speed through red lights.

4. Vow (Verb): Meaning: Solemnly promise to do a specified thing. (शपथ लेना)
Synonyms: Swear, Pledge, Plight, Avow, Guarantee
Antonyms: Disavow, Disclaim, Repudiate, Rebut
Example: They vowed for lifetime togetherness when they got married.

5. Brazen (adjective): Meaning: (of something bad) done without trying to hide it. (घनलणज्ज; खुले तौि पि)
Synonyms: Bold, Barefaced, Blatant, Audacious, Brash
Antonyms: Discreet, Abashed, Timid, Shamefaced
Example: There were instances of brazen cheating in the exams.

6. Perpetuate (verb): Meaning: To cause something to continue. (घििायु बनाना; यादगाि बनाना)

Synonyms: Maintain, Preserve, Disseminate, Propagate, Immortalise
Antonyms: Put An End To, Cease, Discontinue, Let Go
Example: The aim of the association is to perpetuate the skills of traditional furniture design.

7. Persecute (verb): Meaning: Harass or annoy (someone) persistently. (सताना, कष्ट दे ना)
Synonyms: Pester, Torment, Hassle, Badger, Bait, Bedevil
Antonyms: Comfort, Console, Soothe, Reassure
Example: They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.

8. Fuss (noun): Meaning: A protest or dispute of a specified degree or kind; unnecessary excitement, worry or
activity. (कोलाहल)
Synonyms: Commotion, Ruckus, Tumult, Ado, Kerfuffle
Antonyms: Order, Peace, Tranquillity, Harmony, Accord
Example: Those customers who have kicked up a fuss have received refunds.

9. Conciliator (noun): Meaning: A person who acts as a mediator between two disputing people or groups. (शां घत
किने वाला)
Synonyms: Peacemaker, Mediator, Go-Between, Pacifier, Intercessor
Antonyms: Troublemaker, Rabble-Rouser, Firebrand, Ringleader
Example: She will need all her skills as a conciliator if agreement is to be reached in this dispute.

10. Bulldoze (verb): Meaning: Use force insensitively when dealing with (someone or something). (दबाव डालना;

घववश किना)
Synonyms: Oppress, Coerce, Steamroller, Dragoon, Bludgeon
Antonyms: Persuade, Convince, Talk Into, Win Over
Example: They failed to bulldoze the amendment through Congress.