Topic Of The Day:-“An agenda at work”
The assassination, the demolition and the portrait’s unveiling, together, go to spell a long word with a short agenda: polarisation. The ghastly terrorist attacks in Mumbai of 1993, in Parliament House of 2001 and again in Mumbai in 2008 may or may not have been retaliatory for Ayodhya. I believe the attacks would have happened, Ayodhya or no Ayodhya. For such is the blind bloodlust of terror, such the radicalisation of unemployed, callow youth in Pakistan. And such the mutually nourishing agenda of polarisation. That agenda, as I said, remains at work. The Ayodhya dateline etched hate, stretched fate — the fate of secularism — to its limits. It continues to do so. The demolition in Ayodhya was the first step. Like a bhumi-puja. The second step is the building of the temple. The third, its consecration. And there will be as many more steps as the rites of polarisation require. The building of a Ram temple at the site of the Masjid is not going to be easy. But keeping the idea of that building alive is all too easy. For polarisers, better than a temple built is a temple that is waiting to be built. It keeps spirits up, tensions high. It keeps terrorists on the other side activated. And it keeps cadres on this side motivated. December 6, 1992 is not a fading date in history; it is marked ochre red in the future calendars of the Hindu Rashtra. For those who hailed it, the 25th “anniversary” of the demolition promises future sport. For those who were aghast by it, it promises future struggle. The struggle to keep polarisation at bay will be unrelenting for the memories of Partition and the mayhem of terror will keep churning up hate, fear. Bigots face each other, unblinkingly. Their bigotry feeds each other, untiringly. The higher the Hindu bigotry in India, the happier the Islamic zealotry in Pakistan. Polarisation is their common nourishment. But hate and fear are not a normal condition; fanaticism not a natural emotion. Plain common sense and Gandhi’s miraculously still-alive spirit have staved off communal frenzy. Never more effectively than when bloodthirsty terrorists sought to mutilate life in Mumbai in 1993 and then to maim the House of India’s Parliament in 2001. All of India could have erupted then into communal frenzy, but it did not. Likewise, when Gujarat 2002 could have spread, but did not. The India of Asoka, Akbar, Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar is strong but pinioned under the blades of the Two Nations theory. It is for the inheritors of their India to match the date-lines of hate and the fate-lines of death with the life-line that Gandhi made from the essences, the intangible susman of his belief that India is One Nation and Ishvar Allah two names, among other ones, for the One.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Trekked
Meaning: To walk a long distance, usually over land such as hills, mountains, or forests; travel constantly from place to place.
Example: We spent the day trekking through forests and over mountains.
Synonyms: Travel, Migration
2) Scorching
Meaning: (of criticism) harsh; severe.
Example: “he faced scorching criticism”
Synonyms: Fierce, Savage
Antonyms: Mild
3) Unwavering
Meaning: Not wavering; steady or resolute.
Example: “she fixed him with an unwavering stare”
Synonyms: Steady, Fixed
Antonyms: Unsteady
4) Pluralism
Meaning: The existence of different types of people, who have different beliefs and opinions, within the same society.
Example: After years of state control, the country is now moving towards political/religious/cultural pluralism.
5) Cataclysm
Meaning: A sudden violent political or social upheaval.
Example: “the cataclysm of the First World War”
Synonyms: Disaster, Calamity
Antonyms: Salvation, Godsend
6) Traumatic
Meaning: Deeply disturbing or distressing.
Example: “she was going through a traumatic divorce”
Synonyms: Disturbing, Shocking
Antonyms: Soothing, Successful
7) Assassination
Meaning: The action of assassinating someone.
Example: “the assassination of President Kennedy”
Synonyms: Slaughter, Extermination
8) Portrait
Meaning: A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders.
Example: “a portrait of George III”
Synonyms: Picture, Sketch
9) Rubble
Meaning: Waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete, etc., especially as the debris from the demolition of buildings.
Example: “two buildings collapsed, trapping scores of people in the rubble”
Synonyms: Debris, Remains
10) Valorised
Meaning: Give or ascribe value or validity to.
Example: “the culture valorizes the individual”
11) Vandalism
Meaning: Action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
Example: “an act of mindless vandalism”
12) Triptych
Meaning: A set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together. (Here, murder, vandalism and celebration)
Example: “a triptych on the theme of the holocaust”
13) Allegiance
Meaning: Loyalty or commitment to a superior or to a group or cause.
Example: “those wishing to receive citizenship must swear allegiance to the republic”
Synonyms: Loyalty, Faithfulness
Antonyms: Disloyalty, Treachey
14) Traumatised
Meaning: Subject to lasting shock as a result of a disturbing experience or physical injury.
Example: “the children were traumatized by separation from their families”
15) Spitefully
Meaning: Wanting to annoy, upset, or hurt another person, especially in a small way, because you feel angry towards them.
Example: That was a spiteful thing to say!
16) Pious
Meaning: Devoutly religious.
Example: “a deeply pious woman”
Synonyms: Religious, Devout
Antonyms: Impious, Irreligious
17) Unwitting
Meaning: Not done on purpose; unintentional.
Example: “we are anxious to rectify the unwitting mistakes made in the past”
Synonyms: Unintentional, Involuntary
Antonyms: Deliberate, Conscious
18) Delirious
Meaning: In a state of wild excitement or ecstasy.
Example: “there was a great roar from the delirious crowd”
Synonyms: Ecstatic, Overjoyed
Antonyms: Disappointment, Depressed
19) Shattered
Meaning: Damage or destroy (something abstract).
Example: “the crisis will shatter their confidence”
Synonyms: Destroy, Wreck
20) Tattered
Meaning: Old and torn; in poor condition.
Example: “an old woman in tattered clothes”
