PARAGRAPH, WORDS AND MEANING

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PARAGRAPH, WORDS AND MEANING

PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY –

The real issues :-

If we employ public reasoning as a lens, regional disparity clearly emerges as the most stark issue. A vast region of the State comprising Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Raichur, Koppal, Gadag and Ballari districts suffers from overdetermined deprivation. These districts were peripheral to colonial provinces or centres of princely states; are part of the rain-shadow belt; and register less than half of the average Human Development Index of Bengaluru and coastal Karnataka. With landless labourers forming an average 40% of rural households, many households have to opt for seasonal migration to neighbouring regions to survive. There is a higher concentration of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims in this region. It is also caught in the vicious circle of patron-client relationships, under the tutelage of the ‘big’ man, the ‘dora’ or ‘sahukar’.

At the same time, this is also the cultural heartland of the State: great dynasties such as the Chalukyas, the Bahmanis, the Adil Shahis and the Vijayanagar empire flourished here; the Urdu language was nurtured and Sufism found a pervasive presence. It is in this region that the Kannada language and script came into their own; Basavanna’s Linga worship took root and Vachana literature flourished; and the great Dasa Sahitya and Carnatic music found an early home. The inclusion of much of this region under Article 371(J) has brought only a notional flow of resources to the region. It looks for a major initiative like what Sharad Pawar fashioned for Marathwada in the early 1990s.

A distinct cultural value of pluralism regulated the interaction of sects, cults, traditions and languages in the region forming Karnataka today. In fact, this pluralism was the encompassing bond when Islam and Christianity registered their presence in the region from diverse sites. This pluralism held on its own even when passions generated by Kannada linguistic identity threatened to displace it in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a widespread feeling today that this pluralism is under attack, through a vicious design of exclusion.

Rural-urban divide :-

The rural-urban disconnect is far wider here compared to any other State in southern India with immense resources and opportunities concentrated in Bengaluru. While it denies the poor, the migrant and the refugee a decent living space in the city, it sucks resources from the hinterland to it in umpteen ways. While the capital itself needs to find its breathing space, no serious development can be envisaged without developing nodal centres of development all across the State and particularly in northern Karnataka.

The record of employment generation in Karnataka, although impressive compared to many other States, is far off the promise made by the Congress in 2013. The State holds immense possibilities of generating alternative modes of employment. This requires a different approach than crunching numbers that the bureaucracy is familiar with.

It was the right time for Mr. Siddaramaiah and the Congress to propose a substantive agenda to reinforce democracy and equality in the State. But the Congress, desperate to win the election, has chosen to ignore tomorrow for today. The BJP is driven by a single point agenda of proving its invincibility than reinforcing democracy. The JD(S) clearly lives in the past, and has little to offer by way of laying the long-term foundations of democracy and development in the State.

WORDS AND MEANING –

Stark

Meaning: Unpleasantly or sharply clear.

Example: “His position is in stark contrast to that of Curran”  

Synonyms: Blunt, Bald

Antonyms: Disguised

 

Deprivation

Meaning: The damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society.

Example: “Low wages mean that 3.75 million people suffer serious deprivation”

Synonyms: Poverty, Penury

Antonyms: Wealth

 

Rain-shadow

Meaning: A region having little rainfall because it is sheltered from prevailing rain-bearing winds by a range of hills.

 

Heartland

Meaning: The central or most important part of a country, area, or field of activity.

Example: “Wildlife sites in the heartland of Russia”

 

Cults

Meaning: A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or as imposing excessive control over members.

Example: “A network of Satan-worshipping cults”

Synonyms: Sect, Denomination

 

Linguistic

Meaning: Relating to language or linguistics.

Example: “A child’s linguistic ability”  

Synonyms: Semantic, Lingual

 

Vicious

Meaning: Deliberately cruel or violent.

Example: “A vicious assault”

Synonyms: Brutal, Savage

Antonyms: Gentle, Kindly

 

Hinterland

Meaning: The remote areas of a country away from the coast or the banks of major rivers.

Example: “The hinterland of southern Italy”

Synonyms: The back of beyond, The middle of nowhere

Antonyms: Civilization

 

Umpteen

Meaning: Indefinitely many; a lot of.

Example: “You need umpteen pieces of identification to cash a cheque”

 

Envisaged

Meaning: Contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event.

Example: “The Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers”

Synonyms: Foresee, Predict

 

Bureaucracy

Meaning: A system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Synonyms: Civil service, Administration