PARAGRAPH WORDS AND MEANING

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PARAGRAPH WORDS AND MEANING

PARAGRAPH OF THE DAY –

 

Counterfactuals –

The claim that if Sardar Patel had been the head of the government, Kashmir would have remained united belongs to what is called counterfactual history. In a somewhat random comment, the famous French mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) wondered whether the history of the world would have been different if Cleopatra’s nose had been shorter. Interestingly, the observation inspired René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, authors of the delightful comic book series Astérix. Throughout the story of a group of gutsy Gauls fighting the Romans, Getafix the venerable druidextols Cleopatra and her perfect nose and yearns to rub noses with her. We envy Cleopatra her nose, but we simply do not know whether a shorter version would have given us a different history. We can only speculate. But speculation is hardly history, an endeavour that is deeply contested. The Partition, which led to one of the biggest mass migrations in world history, and to the death of an estimated one million people or more on both sides of the border, is one of the most debated issues among historians. The puzzle can hardly be under-estimated. Till the middle of the 1940s, Partition was just one of the political alternatives before the country. Historians tell us that Jinnah preferred a federation because the Muslim population was spread across India, and Nehru wanted a centralised and unified state. How did these differences spill over into the calamity of the Great Partition? The complex answers historians give to the question, ‘why Partition’, are based on meticulous research of documentary, literary and biographical sources. Most scholars agree that the causes can be traced to the turn of the 19th century. The colonial project, intent on intellectually colonising Indians, proceeded to shape a loose, plural and de-centred tradition known as Hinduism, cast it in the mould of Semitic religions, and create a ‘unified’ faith. A homogeneous version of Hinduism, and later Islam, politicised religious identities and harnessed them to competitive nation-making projects. Colonial policies gave an added fillip to this politicisation through group representation. By the early 20th century, the politicisation of religious identities led to communal violence. Another group of historians focusses on the role of elites in the making of independent nation states. Elites proceeded to tap religious identities, forge a constituency, and mobilise struggles for independence and for a separate state. In recent times, attention has shifted from the causes of the Partition to its consequences: murder, rapes, mutilation, displacement, and generalised suffering. People were mercilessly removed from their homes and hearths in a land that had suddenly become another country. And yet another strain of writing on Partition focalises the making of new nation states through the creation of boundaries, passports, recovery of abducted women, and consolidation of territory. We can hardly discern one reason for the Partition. To ascribe the tragic event to the machinations of the Congress party distorts the multiple, complex and often contradictory developments that led to the separation of Pakistan from India. More significantly, the Prime Minister ignores the role of his own constitutive community, and its ideology of Hindutva, in the making of the Partition.

WORDS AND MEANING :-

 

1.Gutsy

Meaning: Having or showing courage, determination, and spirit.

Example: “her gutsy 80-year-old grandmother”

Synonyms: Courageous, Brave

Antonyms: Gutless

 

2.Druid

Meaning: A priest, magician, or soothsayer in the ancient Celtic religion.

Example: Religious people.

 

3.Extols

Meaning: Praise enthusiastically.

Example: “he extolled the virtues of the Russian peoples”

Synonyms: Eulogize, Acclaim

Antonyms: Criticize

 

4.Speculate

Meaning: Form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence.

Example: “my colleagues speculate about my private life”

Synonyms: Conjecture, Theorize

 

5.Contested

Meaning: Engage in competition to attain (a position of power).

Example: “she declared her intention to contest the presidency”

Synonyms: Engage, Enter

 

6.Spill over

Meaning: If an activity or situation spills over, it begins to affect another situation or group of people, especially in an unpleasant or unwanted way.

Example: I try not to let my work spill over into my life outside the office.

Synonyms: Affecting, Influencing

 

7.Calamity

Meaning: A serious accident or bad event causing damage or suffering.

Example: A series of calamities ruined them – floods, a failed harvest, and the death of a son.

Synonyms: Accident, Disaster

 

8.Meticulous

Meaning: Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

Example: “the designs are hand-glazed with meticulous care”

Synonyms: Careful, Diligent

Antonyms: Careless, Sloppy

 

9.Colonial

Meaning: Relating to or characteristic of a colony or colonies.

Example: “British colonial rule”

 

10.Harnessed

Meaning: Control and make use of (natural resources), especially to produce energy.

Example: “attempts to harness solar energy”

Synonyms: Control, Exploit

Antonyms: Underuse

 

11.Fillip

Meaning: Something which acts as a stimulus or boost to an activity.

Example: “the halving of car tax would provide a fillip to sales”

Synonyms: Stimulus, Stimulation

Antonyms: Curb

 

12.Tap

Meaning: To hit something gently, and often repeatedly, especially making short, sharp noises.

Example: The branches tapped against the window.

Synonyms: Hit, Touch

 

13.Forge

Meaning: Create (something) strong, enduring, or successful.

Example: “the two women forged a close bond”

Synonyms: Build, Create

 

14.Hearths

Meaning: A home, especially when seen as a place of comfort and love.

Example: They were reluctant to leave hearth and home.

 

15.Focalises

Meaning: Focus (something), in particular.

 

16.Discern

Meaning: Distinguish (someone or something) with difficulty by sight or with the other senses.

Example: “she could faintly discern the shape of a skull”

Synonyms: Perceive, Detect

Antonyms: Overlook, Miss

 

17.Ascribe

Meaning: Regard something as being due to (a cause).

Example: “he ascribed Jane’s short temper to her upset stomach”

Synonyms: Attribute, Assign

 

18.Distorts

Meaning: Give a misleading or false account or impression of.

Example: “many factors can distort the results”

Synonyms: Pervert, Misreport

Antonyms: Accurate