Careful About False Starts
To be optimistic about the future of democracy in Pakistan and, alongside this, an improvement in India-Pakistan relations is, no doubt, welcome. However, it needs to be laced with more than a tinge of realism, since India-Pakistan relations have witnessed several false starts over the years. A moot question at the outset is this: How far can it be said that real democracy exists in Pakistan today, even though an election process was gone through? More important, can a political neophyte turn around the situation in a country whose attempts at democracy have never been fulfilled all these years?
While hopes have been expressed that Pakistan may effect changes in the way it views relations with India, it is difficult to accept that merely because that country has a new leader who is not a politician in the usual mould, things are about to change. Democratic leaders in Pakistan, especially more recent ones like Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have paid a heavy price whenever they sought to enlarge their democratic constituencies. They have been unable to withstand the machinations of the Pakistani ‘deep state’, which controls almost every single aspect of political activity in Pakistan.
For the Pakistani ‘deep state’, the main enemy is India. No democratically elected leader can afford to ignore this fact. Hence, India needs to assess the situation in Pakistan in somewhat greater depth, and not jump to any conclusion of better prospects in India-Pakistanrelations in the immediate, or even medium, term.
No doubt, history is replete with instances of how transformational leaders, who embody particular ideas and ideologies, are able to turn around the fortunes of their countries. No one can possibly accuse Mr. Khan, however, of being a transformational leader — one who is capable of inspiring people through well-considered and carefully thought out ideas and suggestions. Hardly anyone will credit him with a single visionary idea, or articulating a new vision for Pakistan.
With regard to India-Pakistan relations, Mr. Khan has been content with reiterating hackneyed themes that every new Prime Minister or leader in Pakistan spouts at the beginning of his tenure, viz., a desire to initiate talks with India, resolve differences between the two countries, improve trade relations, resolve the Kashmir conflict, and alleviate poverty in both countries. In addition, we have the usual drumbeat of views by other members of his team, stressing the need for a dialogue between the two countries to sort out mutual issues and problems.
The new Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi (of 26/11 infamy), has ‘tongue-in-cheek’ proposed “a continued uninterrupted dialogue” to resolve “all outstanding issues”, whatever that means. In his previous stint as Foreign Minister in the Pakistan Peoples Party regime, he had hardly endeared himself to audiences in India, and there is no reason to believe he has changed colour under the Imran Khan dispensation. Many of the other key Ministers in Mr. Khan’s Cabinet are holdovers from previous administrations, quite a few being from the Pervez Musharraf period. None of this holds out much, if any, hope for an improvement in India-Pakistan relations.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) impending
Meaning : be about to happen.
Tamil Meaning : வரவிருக்கும்
Synonyms : imminent , looming
Antonyms : gone
Example : “my impending departure”
2) owing
Meaning : (of money) yet to be paid.
Tamil Meaning : கொடுபட வேண்டிய
Synonyms : matured
Antonyms : resolved
Example : “no rent was owing”
3) deficits
Meaning : an excess of expenditure or liabilities over income or assets in a given period.
Tamil Meaning : பற்றாக்குறைகள்
Synonyms : shortfall
Antonyms : adequacy
Example : “an annual operating deficit”
4) pace
Meaning : a single step taken when walking or running.
Tamil Meaning : வேகம்
Synonyms : step , clip
Antonyms : Meander
Example : “Kirov stepped back a pace”
5) spur
Meaning : a thing that prompts or encourages someone; an incentive.
Tamil Meaning : துருத்த
Synonyms : actuation
Antonyms : deterrent
Example : “wars act as a spur to practical invention”
6) marred
Meaning : impair the quality or appearance of; spoil.
Tamil Meaning : அழிவு
Synonyms : impair , ruin
Antonyms : assist
Example : “violence marred a number of New Year celebrations”
7) congenial
Meaning : (of a person) pleasing or liked on account of having qualities or interests that are similar to one’s own.
Tamil Meaning : இன்பகரமான
Synonyms : affable , convivial
Antonyms : disagreeable
Example : “his need for some congenial company”
8) pursuit
Meaning : the action of pursuing someone or something.
Tamil Meaning : நோக்கத்தில்
Synonyms : inquiry
Antonyms : surrender
Example : “the cat crouched in the grass in pursuit of a bird”
9) rekindled
Meaning : revive (something lost or lapsed).
Tamil Meaning : மீண்டும் எழுந்தார்
Synonyms : renew
Antonyms : kill
Example : “he tried to rekindle their friendship”
10) democrats
Meaning : an advocate or supporter of democracy.
Tamil Meaning : ஜனநாயகவாதிகள்
Synonyms : leader
Antonyms : Autocratic
Example : “as a democrat, I accepted the outcome of the referendum”
11) travails
Meaning : engage in painful or laborious effort.
Tamil Meaning : துயரங்கள்
Synonyms : agony , anguish
Antonyms : comfort
Example : “creation may travail in pain but it cannot escape its destiny”
12) laced
Meaning : trimmed or fitted with lace or laces.
Tamil Meaning : நுழைக்கப்பட்டிருந்தன
Synonyms : fortify
Antonyms : disconnect
Example : “heavy laced boots”
13) optimistic
Meaning : hopeful and confident about the future.
Tamil Meaning : நம்பிக்கை
Synonyms : buoyant , cheering
Antonyms : depressed
Example : “the optimistic mood of the Sixties”
14) tinge
Meaning : a trace of a colour.
Tamil Meaning : சாயங்கள்
Synonyms : hue , tint
Antonyms : information
Example : “there was a faint pink tinge to the sky”
15) neophyte
Meaning : a person who is new to a subject or activity.
Tamil Meaning : கருதிக்கொள்ளுகிறேன்
Synonyms : newcomer
Antonyms : expert
Example : “four-day cooking classes are offered to neophytes and experts”
16) machinations
Meaning : a plot or scheme.
Tamil Meaning : சூழ்ச்சிகளில்
Synonyms : conspiracy , intrigue
Antonyms : frankness
Example : “he was cheated by the political machinations of the legislature”
17) afford
Meaning : provide or supply (an opportunity or facility).
Tamil Meaning : வாங்க
Synonyms : manage
Antonyms : refuse
Example : “the rooftop terrace affords beautiful views”
18) replete
Meaning : filled or well-supplied with something.
Tamil Meaning : நிறைந்த
Synonyms : loaded
Antonyms : empty
Example : “sensational popular fiction, replete with adultery and sudden death”
19) embody
Meaning : be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to (an idea, quality, or feeling).
Synonyms : epitomize
Antonyms : cover
Example : “a national team that embodies competitive spirit and skill”
20) hackneyed
Meaning : (of a phrase or idea) having been overused; unoriginal and trite.
Tamil Meaning : வெற்று
Synonyms : banal
Antonyms : fresh
Example : “hackneyed old sayings”
21) reiterating
Meaning : say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.
Tamil Meaning : வலியுறுத்தி
Synonyms : renew , restate
Antonyms : take back
Example : “she reiterated that the government would remain steadfast in its support”
22) spouts
Meaning : send out (liquid) forcibly in a stream.
Synonyms : cascade
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “volcanoes spouted ash and lava”
23) alleviate
Meaning : make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.
Tamil Meaning : போக்க
Synonyms : assuage
Antonyms : intensify
Example : “he couldn’t prevent her pain, only alleviate it”
24) stint
Meaning : supply a very ungenerous or inadequate amount of (something).
Tamil Meaning : சேர்வதை
Synonyms : stretch , tour
Antonyms : failure
Example : “stowage room hasn’t been stinted”
25) slew
Meaning : turn or slide violently or uncontrollably.
Tamil Meaning : பெருந்தொகை
Synonyms : bunch , plenty
Antonyms : lack
Example : “the Renault slewed from side to side in the snow”
26) endeared
Meaning : cause to be loved or liked.
Tamil Meaning : பெரிதும் நேசித்தனர்
Synonyms : captivate , cherish
Antonyms : dislike
Example : “Flora’s spirit and character endeared her to everyone who met her”
27) conjecture
Meaning : an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
Tamil Meaning : அனுமானம்
Synonyms : inference
Antonyms : reality
Example : “conjectures about the newcomer were many and varied”
28) folly
Meaning : ack of good sense; foolishness.
Tamil Meaning : முட்டாள்தனமான
Synonyms : idiocy , lunacy
Antonyms : care , sense
Example : “an act of sheer folly”
29) insidious
Meaning : proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects.
Tamil Meaning : நயவஞ்சக
Synonyms : dangerous
Antonyms : fair
Example : The insidious playboy planned to con the heiress out of her fortune
30) repertoire
Meaning : the whole body of items which are regularly performed.
Tamil Meaning : திறமை
Synonyms : range
Antonyms : debt
Example : “the mainstream concert repertoire”
