Topic Of The Day:-“Act Of Intimidation: On Shujaat Bukhari Murder“
The death of Shujaat Bukhari in a terrorist attack at close range in Srinagar has taken away a journalist who held bold and independent opinions on the conflict in Kashmir and how it should be resolved. In the choice of target and the timing of the murder, the attack sends out a chilling message: that on the eve of Id-ul-Fitr and in the closing days of the government’s Ramzan ceasefire against militants, there are forces determined to gut the emerging consensus for extending the cease-ops and preparing the ground for dialogue. Bukhari, given the credibility he had painstakingly built with reportage that conveyed the complex reality of life in the Valley, was a prominent advocate of the ceasefire and the need to extend it. Whichever terrorist group chose to kill him would have been aware of the consequences of his death. This has been a dark week in Jammu and Kashmir. Two security personnel with Bukhari were killed in the attack in Srinagar’s Press Colony. On Thursday too, the body of Aurangzeb, a jawan with the 44 Rashtriya Rifles who had been kidnapped while on his way home for the Id holiday, was found in Pulwama district riddled with bullets. In Bandipora, two militants and an Army jawan were killed. Days earlier, terrorists killed two policemen in Pulwama. It is easy to spot the insistence to pull Kashmir back into the cycle of violence that was sought to be broken by the ceasefire. It is a challenge that the governments at the Centre and the State, as well as the security forces, would have been prepared for, and they must not allow these provocations to dim the case for a more humane outreach. J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti must not be rendered a lonely voice for truce and dialogue. Bukhari’s killing highlights the dangers that reporters and editors face in the country — his death draws a direct line to the attacks on countless journalists, including the murders last year of Gauri Lankesh in Karnataka and Santanu Bhowmik in Tripura. Bukhari himself has been abducted before, in 2006. He survived that ordeal, but had to work thereafter with security cover, something no reporter would envy. That his guards died with him on Thursday underlines the vulnerability of both those who are guarded and those who guard. It also underscores the irreplaceable role of the journalist in Kashmir, where daily lives are negotiated amid conflicting narratives, ideologies and affinities. To reconcile these, the reporter needs to have in his tool kit an open heart, the persistence to tease out stories and connect all dots, no matter how they may disturb nationalist or separatist sentiments. Without information, reconciliation is impossible. Over the decades, Bukhari enlightened readers even as he mentored journalists as the editor and founder of Rising Kashmir, and earlier as The Hindu’s correspondent.
MEANING AND WORDS
1) Conflict
Meaning: A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.
Example: “The eternal conflict between the sexes”
Synonyms: Dispute, Quarrel.
2) Resolved
Meaning: Firmly determined to do something.
Example: “Constance was resolved not to cry”
Synonyms: Determined to, Bent on.
3) Consensus
Meaning: A general agreement.
Example: “There is a growing consensus that the current regime has failed”
Synonyms: Agreement, Harmony.
4) Credibility
Meaning: The quality of being trusted and believed in.
Example: “The government’s loss of credibility”
Synonyms: Trustworthiness, Reliability.
5) Painstakingly
Meaning: With great care and thoroughness.
Example: “The property has been painstakingly restored by its current owners”
6) Reportage
Meaning: The reporting of news by the press and the broadcasting media.
Example: “Extensive reportage of elections”
7) Conveyed
Meaning: Transport or carry to a place.
Example: “Pipes were laid to convey water to the house”
Synonyms: Transport, Carry.
8) Prominent
Meaning: Important; famous.
Example: “She was a prominent member of the city council”
Synonyms: Important, Well known.
9) Riddle
Meaning: Solve or explain (a riddle) to (someone).
Example: “Riddle me this then”
10) Insistence
Meaning: The fact or quality of insisting that something is the case or should be done.
Example: “Alison’s insistence on doing the washing-up straight after the meal”
Synonyms: Demand, Bidding.
11) Sought
Meaning: Attempt to find (something).
Example: “They came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds”
Synonyms: Search for, Try to find.
12) Provocation
Meaning: Action or speech that makes someone angry, especially deliberately.
Example: “You should remain calm and not respond to provocation”
Synonyms: Goading, Prodding.
13) Dim
Meaning: (Of a situation) not giving cause for hope or optimism.
Example: “Their prospects for the future looked fairly dim”
Synonyms: Gloomy, Sombre.
14) Render
Meaning: Provide or give (a service, help, etc.).
Example: “Money serves as a reward for services rendered”
Synonyms: Give, Provide.
15) Lonely
Meaning: Sad because one has no friends or company.
Example: “Lonely old people whose families do not care for them”
Synonyms: Isolated, Alone.
16) Truce
Meaning: An agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain time.
Example: “The guerrillas called a three-day truce”
Synonyms: Ceasefire, Armistice.
17) Abducted
Meaning: Take (someone) away illegally by force or deception; kidnap.
Example: “The millionaire who disappeared may have been abducted”
18) Survived
Meaning: Continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.
Example: “Against all odds the child survived”
Synonyms: Remain alive, Live.
19) Ordeal
Meaning: A very unpleasant and prolonged experience.
Example: “The ordeal of having to give evidence”
Synonyms: Painful/unpleasant experience, Trial.
20) Vulnerability
Meaning: The quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Example: “Conservation authorities have realized the vulnerability of the local population”
21) Underscores
Meaning: To emphasize the importance something:
Example: “The need for fire detectors in cargo bays was underscored by some accidents in the 1980s”
22) Affinities
Meaning: A natural liking for and understanding of someone or something.
Example: “He had a special affinity with horses”
Synonyms: Empathy, Rapport.
23) Reconcile
Meaning: Restore friendly relations between.
Example: “The king and the archbishop were publicly reconciled”
24) Persistence
Meaning: The fact of continuing in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
Example: “Cardiff’s persistence was rewarded with a try”
Synonyms: Perseverance, Tenacity.
25) Tease out
Meaning: To obtain by or as if by disentangling or freeing with a pointed instrument.
26) Enlightened
Meaning: Having or showing a rational, modern, and well-informed outlook.
Example: “The more enlightened employers offer better terms”
Synonyms: Informed, Aware.
