Topic Of The Day:-“Oli’s moment”
All eyes are now on Mr. Oli, having emerged as paramount leader with both electoral and populist power. Under the new rules, a no-confidence motion against a new government cannot be brought for two years, and it is likely that he will get to complete a full five-year term. This situation has been unavailable to any of his predecessors in the entire modern era. The new Prime Minister’s biggest success will be to ‘neutralise’ the Maoist party — through power-sharing or unification — and Mr. Dahal may be agreeable as his main worry of late has been to keep the cadre placated. In his previous stint as Prime Minister, Mr. Oli had almost brought the transitional justice process to a successful closure, including accountability for conflict-era excesses. The peace process will not be complete till this is done, and Mr. Oli’s staying the course will ensure long-term peace and represent a victory for liberal democracy. Beyond the Maoists, Mr. Oli will have to build a working relationship not only with the NC but also the plains-based parties with whom he has been combative. Democratic stability would, ipso facto, release long-pending economic energy for which the new Prime Minister will have to fight rather than join the crony capitalists who have entrapped the political economy during the decade of “political transition”. The economy has to start galloping, creating jobs for the young workforce, including the millions in West Asia, Malaysia and India likely to return due to pushes and pulls beyond Nepal’s control. This requires movement on infrastructure projects, agro-forestry, tourism, service industries and irrigated agriculture in the Tarai plains. The new Prime Minister will need to mend fences with New Delhi, energised by the strength of his electoral mandate. Based on the set of agreements signed in Beijing during his earlier stint at Singha Durbar, Mr. Oli is expected to accelerate connectivity to the north, utilising the Chinese railway network that has arrived on the Tibetan plateau. Kathmandu does not yet fully understand Beijing’s super-charged geopolitical agenda, but a confident Mr. Oli can be expected to seek a respectful rather than obsequious relationship. As the commentator Jainendra Jeevan wrote last week, “We don’t want another ‘India’ across the northern border.” Nepal having become a feeble international player due to autocracy, conflict and transition, Mr. Oli has an opportunity to bring international respectability back to a level not seen since the time of B.P. Koirala in the 1950s. Insecurities having been dealt with, the confidence of the new republic will also be seen in shifting the office and residence of the President of Nepal from Shital Niwas to the former Narayanhiti Royal Palace. The ride to democratic stability is bound to be bumpy, not least because the Constitution — written by politicians rather than jurists and constitutionalists — is so ‘magnanimous’ that it will be a challenge to implement. Hundreds of laws need drafting, the grey areas in the inter-relationships between the three levels of government have to be clarified. The concurrent list detailing the rights and responsibilities of not two but three tiers makes Nepal’s experiment unique. Already, one can sense reluctance among the topmost leadership and bureaucracy to devolve power to local government as mandated by the Constitution. The newborn Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court will need to gear up to tackle the deluge. There are enough triggers out there for social discontent to erupt. The profligacy of the last decade of “consensus governance” has emptied the national coffers even as expenditure is set to rise to meet the needs of local and provincial administration. The post-earthquake reconstruction of households, infrastructure and heritage structures has yet to gather steam. There is a sharp difference in the economic status of the seven federal units, with Province No. 1 (in the East) and No. 3 (including Kathmandu Valley) the best placed in the GDP and human development indices. An equalisation protocol is the need of the hour. The power devolved to provincial and local government is liable to expose the population to mistreatment, from economic crimes to human rights abuse. Civil liberty forums must rise to the occasion in all seven provinces, to watchdog all tiers. A society heading out into uncharted waters amid economic, political and geopolitical challenges is asked to implement the democratic, inclusive and social justice-oriented ideals that are to be found in the Constitution of Nepal (2015).
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Paramount
Meaning: More important than anything else; supreme.
Example: “The interests of the child are of paramount importance”
Synonyms: Uppermost, Supreme
2) Predecessors
Meaning: A person who held a job or office before the current holder.
Example:”The new President’s foreign policy is very similar to that of his predecessor”
Synonyms: Precursor, Forerunner
Antonyms: Successor
3) Cadre
Meaning: A small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose or profession.
Example: “A cadre of professional managers”
Synonyms: Team, Corps
4) Stint
Meaning: A person’s fixed or allotted period of work.
Example: “His varied career included a stint as a magician”
Synonyms: Spell, Stretch
5) Combative
Meaning: Ready or eager to fight or argue.
Example:”He made some enemies with his combative style”
Synonyms: Pugnacious, Aggressive
Antonyms: Conciliatory
6) Crony
Meaning: A close friend or companion.
Example:”He went gambling with his cronies”
7) Entrapped
Meaning: Catch in or as in a trap.
Example: “Discarded fishing lines can entrap wildlife”
Synonyms: Trap, Snare
Antonyms: Release
8) Galloping
Meaning: Proceed at great speed.
Example: “Don’t gallop through your speech”
9) Mend
Meaning: Improve (an unpleasant situation).
Example:”Quarrels could be mended by talking”
Synonyms: Remedy, Right
Antonyms: Make worse
10) Obsequious
Meaning: Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
Example: “They were served by obsequious waiters”
Synonyms: Servile, Ingratiating
Antonyms: Domineering
11) Feeble
Meaning: Lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness.
Example:”By now, he was too feeble to leave his room”
Synonyms: Weak, Weakly
Antonyms: Strong
12) Bumpy
Meaning: (Of a journey or other movement) involving sudden jolts and jerks.
Example: “The bumpy flight brought on a bout of airsickness”
Synonyms: Bouncy, Rough
Antonyms: Smooth, Consistent
13) Magnanimous
Meaning: Generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person.
Example:”She should be magnanimous in victory”
Synonyms: Generous, Charitable
Antonyms: Selfish, Mean-spirited
14) Reluctance
Meaning: Unwillingness or disinclination to do something.
Example:”She sensed his reluctance to continue”
Synonyms: Unwillingness, Disinclination
Antonyms: Willingness, Eagerness
15) Bureaucracy
Meaning: Excessively complicated administrative procedure.
Example: “The unnecessary bureaucracy in local government”
Synonyms: Red tape, Etiquette
16) Devolve
Meaning: Transfer or delegate (power) to a lower level, especially from central government to local or regional administration.
Example: “Measures to devolve power to a Scottish assembly”
Synonyms: Delegate, Assign
Antonyms: Centralize, Retain
17) Deluge
Meaning: A great quantity of something arriving at the same time.
Example: “A deluge of complaints”
Synonyms: Barrage, Volley
Antonyms: Trickle
18) Erupt
Meaning: Break out suddenly and dramatically.
Example:”Fierce fighting erupted between the army and guerrillas”
Synonyms: Break out, Flare up
Antonyms: Die down
19) Profligacy
Meaning: Reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources.
Example:”The government returned to fiscal profligacy”
20) Consensus
Meaning: A general agreement.
Example:”There is a growing consensus that the current regime has failed”
Synonyms: Agreement, Harmony
Antonyms: Disagreement
21) Coffers
Meaning: A strongbox or small chest for holding valuables.
Example:”A battered leather coffer sealed with a waxen crest”
Synonyms: Strongbox, Money box
22) Watchdog
Meaning: A person or group that monitors the practices of companies providing a particular service or utility.
Example:”The consumer watchdog for transport in London”
Synonyms: Ombudsman, Monitor
23) Heading out
Meaning: “To head out” means “to leave” and implies that there is a specific purpose or destination.
Example: Make sure you eat breakfast before you head out.
24) Uncharted
Meaning: (Of an area of land or sea) not mapped or surveyed.
Example: “The plane landed on a previously uncharted islet”
Synonyms: Unexplored, untravelled
25) Amid
Meaning: Surrounded by; in the middle of.
Example: “Our dream home, set amid magnificent rolling countryside”
Synonyms: Among, Between
Antonyms: Surrounding
