PARAGRAPH,WORDS AND MEANINGS

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The Changing Nature Of Violence :-

Current challenges to order are multifaceted. Thoothukudi is yet another incident in the expanding saga of industry versus the environment. This segment embraces pollution issues, from Sterlite’s copper smelters in Thoothukudi to the tanneries spewing effluents in Kanpur, to the iron mines in Goa today. The mother of all environmental tragedies remains the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. Added to this list are the escalating violence resulting from caste conflicts — including the most recent Dalit uprising; farmers’ woes across the country; the rape of young women and children; issues revolving around tradition versus modernity; the outsider versus insider syndrome, especially in the Northeast — and we have an unfolding vista of incessant conflict and violence. The issues involved in each of them are highly complex and need careful attention. Reverting to the violence in Thoothukudi, resulting in at least three police firings and the death of over a dozen individuals, there remain many unanswered questions. The number of deaths in the police firing were unusually high for a situation of this kind, but no one has definitively disputed that the firing did not take place according to prescribed law and order procedures. References to intelligence failure and police excesses are inevitable in a situation of this kind, but do not answer the question of how peace could be maintained for 99 days, and it was the march to the Thoothukudi Collectorate on the 100th day that seemed to have triggered widespread violence. In instances of this kind, it is vital to try to determine the actual trigger that led to the violence. For instance, in the December 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, it was the ‘unsynchronised eruption of simmering anger’ which seemed to have been the tipping point. A mere reference to failure of intelligence, the usual litany of charges against the administration, or to excessive use of force by the police is inadequate to explain the turn of events in Thoothukudi. The official version of the events on May 22, including that all procedures had been followed and that the orders to open fire were issued by empowered magistrates, have been openly challenged by the protesters. No answers are forthcoming as to what actually happened or transpired. The widest gap separating the official version from that of the public is about the presence/absence of ‘agent provocateurs’ among the protesters. The official version highlights the role of such elements; the administration has identified quite a few such elements, some of whom reportedly belong to known militant outfits. However, reports of the presence of outsiders have been totally rejected by the protesters. It is no secret that many of today’s large-scale protests across the country are prompted by militant elements from outside, who are pre-programmed to create chaos. The Sterlite story is hardly unique. There are many parallels available, some that have an even longer gestation period. The qualitative difference from the past is that protests today are beginning to embrace entire communities. Agitations also tend more and more to be ‘leaderless’. This is both a strength and weakness. Governments and even tribunals are today viewed by protesters with deep suspicion, limiting opportunities for adjudication. Contrary judgments at different times by the High Courts and the Supreme Court have hardly helped. There could be many possible explanations for the unbridled violence on May 22. One could be that as long as the agitation was confined to a limited area, it was easy to contain it. It was when the agitation on the 100th day moved beyond this arc that the character of the protests seemed to change. The likely additions to the initial ranks of protesters, of militants espousing different causes, appear to have led to a transmutation of the character of the movement and altered its trajectory. This is a phenomenon seen in other protest movements elsewhere as well.

 

WORDS AND MEANINGS –

1.Multifaceted

Meaning: Having many different aspects or features.

Example: “his extraordinary and multifaceted career”

  1. Embraces

Meaning: Accept (a belief, theory, or change) willingly.

Example: “besides traditional methods, artists are embracing new technology”

Synonyms: Accept, Adopt

Antonyms: Reject

  1. Spewing

Meaning: Expel large quantities of (something) rapidly and forcibly.

Example: “buses were spewing out black clouds of exhaust”

Synonyms: Emit, Eject

  1. Effluents

Meaning: Liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea.

Example: “industrial effluent”

Synonyms: Sewage, Outflow

5.Vista

Meaning: A possible future action or event that you can imagine.

Example: As leader, he opened up exciting vistas of global cooperation.

  1. Incessant

Meaning: (of something regarded as unpleasant) continuing without pause or interruption.

Example: “the incessant beat of the music”

Synonyms: Ceaseless, Constant

Antonyms: Intermittent, Occasional

  1. Reverting

Meaning: Return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.).

Example: “he reverted to his native language”

Synonyms: Return, Regress

8.Disputed

Meaning: Argue about (something).

Example: “the point has been much disputed”

Synonyms: Debate, Discuss

9.Inevitable

Meaning: Certain to happen; unavoidable.

Example: “war was inevitable”

Synonyms: Unavoidable, Inescapable

Antonyms: Avoidable, Uncertain

10.Eruption

Meaning: A sudden outbreak of something, typically something unwelcome or noisy.

Example: “a sudden eruption of street violence”

Synonyms: Outbreak, Upsurge

11.Simmering

Meaning: Show or feel barely suppressed anger or other strong emotion.

Example: “she was simmering with resentment”

Synonyms: Seethe, Rave

12.Tipping point

Meaning: The time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped.

Example: The earth has already passed the tipping point in terms of global warming.

  1. Transpired

Meaning: Occur; happen.

Example: “I’m going to find out exactly what transpired”

Synonyms: Happen, Occur

14.Agent pprovocateurs

Meaning: A person who intentionally encourages people to do something illegal so that they can be caught.

  1. Chaos

Meaning: Complete disorder and confusion.

Example: “snow caused chaos in the region”

Synonyms: Disorder, Disarray

Antonyms: Order

  1. Gestation

Meaning: The development of something over a period of time.

Example: “a thorough and painstaking work which was a long time in gestation”

Synonyms: Development, Formation

  1. Adjudication

Meaning: The action or process of adjudicating.

Example: “the matter may have to go to court for adjudication”

Synonyms: Arbitration, Verdict

  1. Unbridled

Meaning: Uncontrolled; unconstrained.

Example: “a moment of unbridled ambition”

Synonyms: Unconstrained, Uncontrolled

Antonyms: Restrained

  1. Espousing

Meaning: To become involved with or support an activity or opinion.

Example: Vegetarianism is one cause she does not espouse.

Synonyms: Adopt, Embrace

Antonyms: Reject, Oppose

20.Transmutation

Meaning: The action of changing or the state of being changed into another form.

Example: “the transmutation of the political economy of the post-war years was complete”