Topic Of The Day:-“Line Of Caution: On Suspension Of Cross-LoC Trade”
The Suspension Of Cross-LoC Trade Will Cause Hardship — It Must Be Revoked
The Central government’s decision to suspend trade across the Line of Control between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is bad in conception and comes at a particularly fraught time. On April 18, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the suspension from midnight of trade at the two designated points at Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh, citing concerns about “illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency” being transported into India. It is also being argued that the zero-tariff barter arrangement is being violated through under-invoicing and the exchange of third-party items such as U.S.-origin California almonds. The first is presumably a way to transfer funds; and the second would be to exploit the zero-tariff trade, something brought up by traders who operate via the Wagah border. The government’s concerns may be well-founded, but the solution to violations of a trade agreement is to enforce the rules stringently, not stop exchange of goods and put at risk the livelihood of countless people on both sides of the LoC. At a protest in Srinagar against the trade suspension, for instance, a leader of the cross-LoC traders association argued that they had, in fact, themselves been seeking a “foolproof mechanism” to enforce the terms of the agreement.
The benefits to the local economies from the cross-LoC trade are beyond doubt. It is estimated that since the barter trade commenced along two routes across the LoC in October 2008, employment to the order of more than 1.6 lakh days had been created. The volume of trade over the decade has crossed ₹6,000 crore. It must be kept in mind that the trade is mostly of local goods, and those employed, including in transportation, are from border communities. The opening of cross-LoC trade was among the confidence-building mechanisms that followed the 2003 India-Pakistan ceasefire along the line, and that included a bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad (in PoK). The hope of the mid-2000s that people-to-people contact between those living in J&K and PoK would over time become obstruction-free has, for now, faded. But the LoC trade has held, with just the occasional disruption. The current suspension comes in the course of a shrill election campaign that the ruling BJP is relentlessly pulling towards its hard line on subjects such as Article 370 on the special status of J&K. The government has sent unsettling signals by closing the National Highway between Udhampur and Baramulla to civilian traffic for two days a week to secure the movement of troop convoys. To now summarily suspend LoC trade is to invite suspicion that the step has been taken without careful consideration of the consequences and also for political reasons. The suspension must be urgently revoked.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
- suspend
Meaning: temporarily prevent from continuing or being in force or effect.
Synonyms: exclude, debar, shut out
Antonyms: continue, resume
Example: “work on the dam was suspended”
- designated
Meaning: appoint (someone) to a specified office or post.
Synonyms: appoint, nominate, depute, delegate
Antonyms: Removed
Example: “he was designated as prime minister”
- Citing
Meaning: refer to (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work.
Synonyms: quote, reproduce
Antonyms: Conceal, Take
Example: “authors who are highly regarded by their peers tend to be cited”
- Barter
Meaning: exchange (goods or services) for other goods or services without using money.
Synonyms: trade, swap, trade off, exchange
Antonyms: Keep
Example: “he often bartered a meal for drawings”
- Violated
Meaning: break or fail to comply with (a rule or formal agreement).
Synonyms: contravene, breach, commit a breach of, infringe
Antonyms: comply with
Example: “they violated the terms of a ceasefire”
- presumably
Meaning: used to convey that what is asserted is very likely though not known for certain.
Synonyms: I assume, I expect, I believe, I presume
Antonyms: Questionably, Uncertain, Unlikely
Example: “it was not yet ten o’clock, so presumably the boys were still at the pub”
- Exploit
Meaning: make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource).
Synonyms: utilize, make use of, put to use, use
Antonyms: Failure, Idleness, Loss, Inaction
Example: “500 companies sprang up to exploit this new technology”
- stringently
Meaning: in a way that is strict, severe, or limiting:
Synonyms: Closely, Rigorously
Example: Fire regulations are stringently enforced in all our factories.
- enforce
Meaning: compel observance of or compliance with (a law, rule, or obligation).
Synonyms: Accomplish, Administer
Antonyms: Cease, Halt, Not Finish, Refuse, Stop
Example: “the role of the police is to enforce the law”
- Ceasefire
Meaning: a temporary suspension of fighting; a truce.
Synonyms: armistice, truce, peace, suspension of hostilities
Antonyms: Dispute, Fight, War
Example: “the latest ceasefire seems to be holding”
11.Obstruction
Meaning: the action of obstructing or the state of being obstructed.
Synonyms: Blockage
Antonyms: Aid, Assistance
Example: “walkers could proceed with the minimum of obstruction”
- Shrill
Meaning: (of a voice or sound) high-pitched and piercing.
Synonyms: high-pitched, piercing, high, sharp, ear-piercing, ear-splitting
Antonyms: low, soft, dulcet
Example: “a shrill laugh”
- Relentlessly
Meaning: in an unceasingly intense or harsh way.
Synonyms: Constantly, Continously
Example: “Joseph worked relentlessly
- Unsettling
Meaning: causing anxiety or uneasiness; disturbing.
Synonyms: Alarming, Creepy, Depressing
Antonyms: Delightful, Comforting
Example: “the finale may come as an unsettling shock”
- revoked
Meaning: officially cancel (a decree, decision, or promise).
Synonyms: cancel, repeal, rescind, reverse, abrogate, annul
Antonyms: introduce, enact, ratify
Example: “the men appealed and the sentence was revoked”