Topic Of The Day:-“Smart-balancing China”
How do you deal with an inscrutable, revisionist and rising superpower next door with whom you have had a historical rivalry and whose brazen inroads into your traditional sphere of influence leave you embittered, but whose trading relationship is important to you? There are no easy answers even though we often come across many ‘simple and straightforward’ solutions: ranging from military options to cutting off trade ties. The recent revival of the ‘Quadrilateral’ (or Quad) and the consequent talk of an ‘Asian NATO’ have brought the India-China rivalry back to the limelight. Let’s be clear: how to ‘balance’ China will occupy a great deal of India’s strategic attention in the years ahead as China charts its course towards superpower status. Any such strategising by India needs to be prudently thought out.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Inscrutable
Meaning: Impossible to understand or interpret.
Example: “Guy looked blankly inscrutable”
Synonyms: Unreadable, Impenetrable
Antonyms: Expressive, Transparent
2) Revisionist
Meaning: A supporter of a policy of revision or modification.
Example: “the revisionists who sought to replace it were long denied”
3) Rivalry
Meaning: Competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.
Example: “there always has been intense rivalry between the clubs”
Synonyms: Competitiveness, Contention
4) Brazen
Meaning: Bold and without shame.
Example: “he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”
Synonyms: Bold, Immodest
Antonyms: Timid, Shy
5) Embittered
Meaning: Make (someone) feel bitter or resentful.
Example: “he died an embittered man”
Synonyms: Sour, Anger
6) The limelight
Meaning: Public attention and interest
Example: She’s been in the limelight recently, following the release of her controversial new film.
Synonyms: Prominence, Exposure
Antonyms: Obscurity
7) Prudently
Meaning: In a way that shows care and thought for the future.
Example: “we must act prudently to safeguard jobs”
