Topic of the day:-“Learning from ASEAN”
It will also be impossible to renew the compact with the neighbours without reviving the SAARC process. In their book The ASEAN Miracle, Kishore Mahbubani and Jeffery Sng describe in detail the need for SAARC to learn from the success of ASEAN. Mr. Mahbubani suggests that leaders of SAARC countries meet more often informally, that they interfere less in the internal workings of each other’s governments, and that there be more interaction at every level of government. They also say that just as Indonesia, the biggest economy in the ASEAN, allowed smaller countries such as Singapore to take the lead, India too must take a back seat in decision-making, enabling others to build a more harmonious SAARC process.
“It is much safer to be feared than to be loved,” wrote Niccolo Machiavelli, “when one of the two must be wanting.” The government’s challenge is to steer India towards a course where it is both feared and loved in appropriate measure, and away from a situation in which it is neither feared nor loved.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Ceremony
Meaning: An act or series of acts performed according to a traditional or prescribed form.
Example: “We found a rabbi to perform the ceremony for us”
Synonyms: Rite, Ritual
2) Adrift
Meaning: Without purpose, direction, or guidance.
Example: “She found herself cast adrift in a land full of strangers”
3) Headwinds
Meaning: A wind blowing from directly in front, opposing forward motion.
4) Ascendant
Meaning: Rising in power or influence.
Example: “The newly ascendant liberal party”
Synonyms: Growing, Increasing
Antonyms: Declining
5) Portent
Meaning: A sign or warning that a momentous or calamitous event is likely to happen.
Example: “Many birds are regarded as being portents of death”
Synonyms: Omen, Sign
6) Unprecedented
Meaning: Never done or known before.
Example: “The government took the unprecedented step of releasing confidential correspondence”
Synonyms: Unparalleled, Unequalled
Antonyms: Normal, Common
7) Forays
Meaning: A sudden attack or incursion into enemy territory, especially to obtain something; a raid.
Example: “The garrison made a foray against Richard’s camp”
Synonyms: Raid, Attack
8) Fortified
Meaning: Provide (a place) with defensive works as protection against attack.
Example: “The whole town was heavily fortified”
Synonyms: Build defences round, secure
9) Stake
Meaning: Mark an area with stakes so as to claim ownership of it.
Example: “The boundary between the two manors was properly staked out”
Synonyms: Mark off, Mark out, Demarcate
10) Negotiate
Meaning: Obtain or bring about by discussion.
Example: “He negotiated a new contract with the sellers”
Synonyms: Arrange, Work out
11) Partisan
Meaning: A strong supporter of a party, cause, or person.
Example: “Partisans of the exiled Stuarts”
Synonyms: Supporter, Follower
12) Tactics
Meaning: An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.
Example: “The minority attempted to control the Council by a delaying tactic”
Synonyms: Strategy, Scheme
13) Boomerang effect
Meaning: The boomerang effect refers to the unintended consequences of an attempt to persuade resulting in the adoption of an opposing position instead.
14) Sway
Meaning: Control or influence (a person or course of action).
Example: “He’s easily swayed by other people”
Synonyms: Influence, Affect
15) Ceasefire
Meaning: A temporary suspension of fighting; a truce.
Example: “The latest ceasefire seems to be holding”
16) Amend
Meaning: Make minor changes to (a text, piece of legislation, etc.) in order to make it fairer or more accurate, or to reflect changing circumstances.
Example: “The rule was amended to apply only to non-members”
Synonyms: Revise, Alter
17) Abruptly
Meaning: Suddenly and unexpectedly.
Example: “The film ends rather abruptly”
18) Dire
Meaning: Extremely serious or urgent.
Example: “Misuse of drugs can have dire consequences”
Synonyms: Terrible, Dreadful
Antonyms: Good, Mild
19) Ire
Meaning: Anger.
Example: “The plans provoked the ire of conservationists”
Synonyms: Anger, Rage
20) Undeniable
Meaning: Unable to be denied or disputed.
Example: “It is an undeniable fact that some dogs are easier to train than others”
Synonyms: Indisputable, Indubitable
Antonyms: Debatable, Questionable
