PARAGRAPH, WORDS AND MEANING
PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY –
The Nepal reset: on India-Nepal ties –
Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s visit to India signals an important recalibration of bilateral ties. While the focus of the official pronouncements has been on connectivity, it is the perceptible absence of tensions in public interactions and official meetings, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that gives hope that the rupture in ties over India’s reservations about Nepal’s new constitution is being repaired. The visit follows a great deal of preparation by both Delhi and Kathmandu. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made an unusual departure from protocol to visit Mr. Oli in Kathmandu and congratulate him for his election win even before he had been sworn in. It was a significant shift from 2015-17, when the five-month-long blockade of truck trade at the Nepal-India border and Nepal’s ties with China placed a severe strain on the relationship. For his part, Mr. Oli put aside the anti-India rhetoric of his election campaign, and came to India on his first post-election visit abroad seeking ‘friendship first, and friendship second and third’. Bilateral meetings at Hyderabad House were devoid of any sermonising and defensive postures, steering clear of contentious issues on the constitution and China; Mr. Modi promised support on development projects that meet “Nepal’s priorities”.
The reset is long overdue, and should be accompanied by a transformation in the tenor of the relationship. Kathmandu has been too susceptible to conspiracy theories about Indian meddling, while New Delhi and its diplomats in the Nepal embassy have sometimes lent credence to the theories by adopting a patronising attitude. A first step to the reset would be the completion of the ongoing process of updating the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Nepal would acknowledge that its citizens have benefited from the ease of employment and residence in India that the treaty provides. But India must recognise that as in all other developing economies, Nepal’s aspirational young population is also looking beyond the open Indian border for opportunities, and Mr. Oli’s desire to turn his “land-locked” country into a “land-linked” country with a merchant navy must be considered positively. From here on it will be the deliverables, such as road and railway links, power projects and post-earthquake reconstruction commitments, that will determine the success of the partnership, not just the announcement of new initiatives. India has residual concerns over enhancing the constitution’s provisions for Nepal’s plains-based Madhesi population, but these should be taken up discreetly and diplomatically. Recovery in the relationship is still fragile, and any grandstanding must be avoided.
WORDS AND MEANING –
Recalibration
Meaning: To change the way you do or think about something.
Example: “You need to recalibrate your expectations”
Perceptible
Meaning: (Especially of a slight movement or change of state) able to be seen or noticed.
Example: “A perceptible decline in public confidence”
Synonyms: Noticeable, Perceivable
Antonyms: Imperceptible, Inconspicuous
Rupture
Meaning: Breach or disturb (a harmonious feeling or situation).
Example: “Once trust and confidence has been ruptured it can be difficult to regain”
Synonyms: Sever, Break
Sworn
Meaning: Make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case.
Example: “Maria made me swear I would never tell anyone”
Synonyms: Promise, Vow
Blockade
Meaning: Seal off (a place) to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.
Example: “The authorities blockaded roads in and out of the capital”
Synonyms: Barricade, Close up
Strain
Meaning: Make an unusually great effort.
Example: “His voice was so quiet that I had to strain to hear it”
Synonyms: Struggle, Labour, Toil
Rhetoric
Meaning: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Example: “He is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole”
Synonyms: Oratory, Eloquence
Devoid
Meaning: Entirely lacking or free from.
Example: “Lisa kept her voice devoid of emotion”
Synonyms: Lacking, Without
Sermonising
Meaning: Deliver an opinionated and dogmatic talk to someone.
Example: “They confidently sermonize on the fixed nature of identity”
Steering
Meaning: Guide the movement or course of.
Example: “He had steered her to a chair”
Synonyms: Guide, Conduct
Contentious
Meaning: Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial.
Example: “A contentious issue”
Synonyms: Controversial, Disputable
Overdue
Meaning: Not having arrived, happened, or been done by the expected time.
Example: “The rent was nearly three months overdue”
Synonyms: Long-delayed, Delayed
Antonyms: Early, Punctual
Conspiracy
Meaning: A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
Example: “A conspiracy to destroy the government”
Synonyms: Plot, Scheme
Meddling
Meaning: Interfere in something that is not one’s concern.
Example: “I don’t want him meddling in our affairs”
Synonyms: Interfere, Intrude
Embassy
Meaning: The official residence or offices of an ambassador.
Example: “The Chilean embassy in Moscow”
Synonyms: Consulate, Legation
Credence
Meaning: Belief in or acceptance of something as true.
Example: “Psychoanalysis finds little credence among laymen”
Synonyms: Acceptance, Belief
Patronising
Meaning: Treat with an apparent kindness which betrays a feeling of superiority.
Example: “‘She’s a good-hearted girl,’ he said in a patronizing voice”
Synonyms: Put down, Humiliate
Antonyms: Friendly, Humble
Discreetly
Meaning: In a careful and prudent manner, especially in order to keep something confidential or to avoid embarrassment.
Example: “He discreetly inquired whether the position was still available”
Grandstanding
Meaning: Seek to attract applause or favourable attention from spectators or the media.
Example: “They accused him of political grandstanding
