Newspaper Editorials With vocab 27/4/2016

#everydayquiz #theHindu #IndianExpress #BusinessStandard #TheDNA 

The Hindu: The curious case of Mr. Isa’s visa

The decision to revoke the visa issued to Chinese dissident Uyghur leader Dolkun Isa has averted a bigger diplomatic face-off with Beijing. It has also put an uncomfortable spotlight on the Central government’s handling of such a sensitive issue.

There is, first, the question of how Mr. Isa’s application slipped through the cracks of India’s much vaunted ‘e-visa’ system. If, indeed, as the government now claims, the visa approval was inadvertent, then it must be investigated how the system did not flag an application from a person with a Red Notice from Interpol. Second, the episode exposes a failure of coordination between the External Affairs and Home Ministries and the intelligence agencies, which failed to detect and vet applications of all those seeking to attend a high-profile conference in Dharamsala, with participants representing Taiwan and the Tibet and Uyghur regions. While India prides itself on support to groups fighting for freedom of expression around the world, it also has a stringent system of scrutiny for those entering the country. On the other hand, if, as sources in the government were quoted widely as saying, the visa decision was deliberate and meant to be a response to China blocking a proposed United Nations ban on Masood Azhar, then that too must be explained. Was the decision meant to indicate a shift in India’s China policy, as well as in its security policy on Interpol notices? If so, were all concerned government agencies informed of the shift in policy? Equally, if the decision to grant the visa to Mr. Isa and his colleagues of the World Uyghur Congress was a carefully deliberated decision, what prompted the move to revoke it? It has been suggested that the revocation came in response to China’s outraged response. Given the alarm domestically and from Beijing over, for diverse reasons, the issue of the visa and its revocation, the government must face these and other uncomfortable questions.

There is a larger principle, however, that the government appears to be in danger of ignoring. In its efforts at the United Nations to ratify a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, India has often made the case that it refuses, on principle, to encourage separatism or interfere in other countries’ internal matters. This is part of the country’s larger case that all charges of terrorism must be treated equally, that there can be no distinction between “good” and “bad” terrorists. Delhi may well protest China’s cover to terrorists based in Pakistan, such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. But it must think carefully before adopting the path that China or Pakistan have. Its moral positions on terrorism, and its refusal to bend its principles regardless of provocations from repeated terror attacks, have benefited its global outreach on crucial issues, including security. To lose this would be a huge setback. An “eye for an eye”, “tit for tat” policy in this regard is unlikely to bring India the justice it demands, however justified that demand is.

revoke

› to say ​officially that an ​agreement, ​permission, a ​law, etc. is no ​longer in ​effect:

The ​authorities have revoked ​their ​original ​decision to ​allow ​development of this ​rural ​area.

dissident

› a ​person who ​publicly ​disagrees with and ​criticizes ​their ​government:

​political dissidents

avert (PREVENT)

› to ​prevent something ​bad from ​happening:

to avert a ​crisis/​conflict/​strike/​famine

vaunted

› ​praised often in a way that is ​considered to be more than ​acceptable or ​reasonable:

His (much) vaunted new ​plan has been ​shown to have ​serious weaknesses.

inadvertent

› not ​intentional:

All ​authors need to be ​wary of inadvertent ​copying of other people's ​ideas.

vet

› to ​examine something or someone ​carefully to make ​certain that they are ​acceptable or ​suitable:

During the ​war, the ​government vetted all ​news ​reports before they were ​published

The Hindu: The Malegaon reminder

On September 8, 2006, three bombs shattered the calm in Malegaon town on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat, a day when believers are out and about late in the evening. A mosque was attacked, and the intent was immediately clear: to create inter-community tension. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested a group of Muslim men from Malegaon and Mumbai. This week, all nine accused have been acquitted by a special MCOCA court, which said there was not sufficient ground to proceed against them. It is, at one level, evidence of the balance of justice weighing in on the side of the innocent, though how to recompense a person for five years of wrongful confinement in jail is a question the judicial system must grapple with. In fact, one of the nine passed away last year. At another level, events over the intervening decade string together a narrative that this country has still not come to grips with. The questions it frames are best set against the chronology of events after that Shab-e-Baraat evening. As terror attacks hit the Samjhauta Express near Panipat (February 2007), the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007), the Ajmer Dargah (October 2007), and then Malegaon once again in September 2008, it eventually became clear that the investigating agencies were on the wrong track in pursuing the accused for these incidents. This was a time when the police had also managed to crack down on the Indian Mujahideen for a series of strikes in cities across the country, but it became evident after Swami Aseemanand’s confession that fringe Hindu groups were at work doing their bit — whether in part-retaliation or only for the larger plan to polarise communities is beside the point. The eventual crackdown on both the Indian Mujahideen and these fringe Hindu groups has helped keep the peace in urban India. But the lack of haste in freeing men who were unfairly charged, and the simultaneous politicisation of cases of “Hindu” and IM terror, pose troubling questions. The most important of them is: how to restore faith in the neutrality of Indian investigation.

The events of the past decade have brought the intelligence agencies into controversies over political interference. India is an exception among mature democracies in that its intelligence agencies function without any external oversight, especially that of the elected legislature. The Malegaon acquittal, and the question of how to make amends for putting innocent men in prison for so long, should compel Parliament to demand oversight. An apolitical oversight would ensure that intelligence agencies do not get carried away by a myopic narrative of terrorism — unwittingly or by direct influence. Groups carrying out terrorist attacks are becoming ever more sophisticated in their operations and more subtle in furthering a divisive agenda. A similar sophistication to deal with the changing nature of the terrorist threat is needed. By the example of best practices elsewhere, parliamentary oversight needs to be part of the updated playbook.

shattered adjective (BROKEN)

› ​broken into very ​small ​pieces:

Shattered ​glass ​lay all over the ​road

out and about

› ​active; doing the things you usually do:

The ​doctor says she's making a good ​recovery, and she should be out and about in a few ​days' ​time.

acquit

› to ​decide ​officially in a ​law ​court that someone is not ​guilty of a ​particular ​crime:

She was acquitted of all the ​charges against her.

grapple

› to ​fight, ​especially in ​order to ​win something:

The ​children grappled for the ​ball.

apolitical

› not ​interested in or ​connected with ​politics, or not ​connected to any ​political ​party:

The ​organization ​insists that it is apolitical and does not ​identify with any one ​particular ​party

subtle

> not ​loud, ​bright, ​noticeable, or ​obvious in any way:

The ​room was ​painted a subtle ​shade of ​pink.

The play's ​message is ​perhaps too subtle to be ​understood by ​young ​children.

› ​small but ​important:

There is a subtle ​difference between these two ​plans.

> ​achieved in a ​quiet way that does not ​attract ​attention to itself and is ​therefore good or ​clever:

a subtle ​plan/​suggestion

Business Standard: Balancing power

In the Westminster system of government, the Speaker of the legislature has considerable power and independence. This is a cherished product of a long process to secure the legislature's independence and fairness. However, as recent events in this country show, this important independence depends crucially on the occupants of the office staying carefully within their traditionally highly circumscribed role. The considerable discretion they enjoy comes with the assumption that it will be used sparingly or wisely.

However, there are at least two recent instances in which Speakers of the legislature have used this discretion to take debatable decisions. The first instance is from the state of Uttarakhand, which was thrown into crisis when the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly refused to allow a division - the counting of legislators' votes - on the state budget. The Congress-led government of the state had reportedly lost the confidence of several members of the legislative party; it was possible that the Appropriations Bill would have been defeated had votes been counted, and the government would thus have had to resign since it was a money Bill. By refusing to grant a division, the Uttarakhand Speaker in effect declared the budget passed and insulated the government from a key test of democratic legitimacy. The second instance is at the Centre, where the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has permitted a proposed law, the Aadhaar Bill, to be introduced in the House as a money Bill. Whether regulatory legislation such as Aadhaar meets the definition of a money Bill - traditionally reserved for proposals that alter taxation, borrowing, or affect theConsolidated Fund of India - is doubtful. But, just as it is a Speaker's traditional right and duty to determine when a division is needed, her decision on whether a bill is a money Bill has also traditionally been considered to be the last word. It is worth noting that the two major national parties are on opposite sides of the fence in terms of the debate at the state and the Centre - in Uttarakhand, the Congress is defending the rights of the Speaker, while in Delhi it is questioning them - indicating that this is possibly a problem of institutional weakness that transcends political parties.

Unfortunately, India now faces a situation where the decisions of the traditionally independent Speaker of the House are being discussed by another branch of government, namely the judiciary. The Supreme Court has stayed an Uttarakhand High Court judgment that rescinded President's Rule imposed on the state after the Speaker's controversial ruling. Meanwhile, it has asked the Union attorney general for his views on a petition filed by a Congress leader questioning the introduction of the Aadhaar Bill as a money Bill. So the judiciary and the executive will now discuss a decision that has traditionally been the sole prerogative of the Speaker of the legislature. The elements of a full-blown constitutional crisis are visible. What is needed is to get ahead of the problem. Perhaps the tradition of the Speaker being notionally completely independent of the other branches needs to be revisited. Rather than letting things deteriorate and forcing the judiciary to get involved, the legislature itself should consider what checks and balances can be imposed on the Speaker's discretion in order to ensure such situations are not repeated.

discretion (CAREFUL BEHAVIOUR)

>the ​ability to ​behave without ​causing ​embarrassment or ​attracting too much ​attention, ​especially by ​keeping ​information ​secret:

"Can you ​trust him with this?" "Yes, he's the ​soul of discretion (= he will not ​tell other ​people)."

sparing

› using very little of something:

Be sparing with the ​butter as there isn't much ​left.

insulate (COVER)

› to ​cover and ​surround something with a ​material or ​substance in ​order to ​stop ​heat, ​sound, or ​electricity from ​escaping or ​entering:

You can insulate a ​house against ​heat ​loss by having the ​windows double-glazed.

prerogative

› something that ​certain ​people are ​able or ​allowed to do or have, but is not ​possible or ​allowed for everyone:

Alex makes all the ​big ​decisions - that's his prerogative as ​company ​director.

Indian Express: Law and disorder

Two days after Rezaul Karim Siddique, a professor, was hacked to death in Bangladesh and within weeks of social activist Nazimuddin Samad being murdered, machete-wielding attackers have claimed two more lives: Xulhaz Mannan, a leading gay rights activist and editor of the country’s first LGBT magazine, Roopbaan, and his colleague Tanay Mojumdar. They join a lengthening list of so-called secular and atheist bloggers and activists killed brutally. The Bangladesh government insists that the Islamic State (IS) doesn’t exist in the country, even though the IS has claimed responsibility for some of the killings.

There was considerable public support for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government when it embarked on the war crimes trials to bring to justice collaborators responsible for genocide in the 1971 liberation war. That popular support was extended to the crackdown on the Islamist allies of the opposition, especially when the latter took violently to the streets. However, the same administration that has increasingly used the crackdown to shrink the democratic space, has adopted a softer, helpless tone now towards extremists after failing to fulfil the state’s most fundamental duty towards citizens — of providing security. Hasina’s home minister, and even the PM herself, have made remarks tantamount to blaming the bloggers for their own deaths, presumably fearing the extremist constituency in the electorate.

These murders take place against a backdrop of increasing Islamist attacks on minorities, whether Shia or Ahmadi Muslims, Hindus or Christians. It’s imperative for the government to confront the full extent of the militancy and not view the unfolding carnage through the prism of politics and the political identity of the perpetrators. It should begin by providing security to the remaining bloggers on the Islamists’ widely circulated “list of 84”, four prominent bloggers of which were killed last year alone.

embark on/upon sth

› to ​start something new or ​important:

We're ​embarking upon a new ​project ​later this ​year.

genocide

› the ​murder of a ​whole ​group of ​people, ​especially a ​whole ​nation, ​race, or ​religious ​group:

​victims of genocide

tantamount to sth

› being ​almost the same or having the same ​effect as something, usually something ​bad:

Her ​refusal to ​answer was tantamount to an ​admission of ​guilt.

backdrop

› the ​general ​situation in which ​particular ​events ​happen:

Their ​love ​affair ​began against a backdrop of ​war.

imperative (URGENT)

>extremely ​important or ​urgent:

[+ that] The ​president said it was imperative that the ​release of all ​hostages be ​secured.

confront

> to ​face, ​meet, or ​deal with a ​difficult ​situation or ​person:

As she ​left the ​court, she was confronted by ​angry ​crowds who ​tried to ​block her way.

carnage

› the ​violent ​killing of ​large ​numbers of ​people, ​especially in ​war:

The Battle of the Somme was a ​scene of ​dreadful carnage.

perpetrator

› someone who has ​committed a ​crime or a ​violent or ​harmful ​act:

The perpetrators of the ​massacre must be ​brought to ​justice as ​war ​criminals.

The DNA: Pakistan has a China connection to nuclear trouble

Pakistan held its annual military day parade and displayed its new medium-range nuclear missiles last month, and it barely made a splash in Washington. But at least one analyst was paying close attention. Richard Fisher, an expert on Chinese military technology at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, began studying the public satellite photographs of the Shaheen III missiles and came to an alarming conclusion: The transport-erector-launcher, or TEL, for the Pakistani mobile rocket matched a Chinese design that Beijing had exported in 2011 to North Korea.

Specifically, Fisher found that the Chinese, North Korean and Pakistani TELs shared the same foothold shape, the same chassis slope and the same exhaust processing system over the engine compartment.

Now, two leading Republicans in Congress are asking the Pentagon, the State Department and the director of national intelligence to look into Fisher’s findings. I obtained a copy of the letter from Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on terrorism and strategic forces, and Ted Poe of Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on nonproliferation and trade.

Poe and Rogers are alarmed. While China and Pakistan have cooperated on military technology for decades, and China’s government announced in 2013 it would be assisting with the construction of nuclear power plants in Karachi, the extent of China’s cooperation with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme has always been murky. Since the 1980s, the US government has had its suspicions that China assisted Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme. But US presidents have also certified publicly since the 1980s that China was not a nuclear proliferator.

If Fisher’s research is confirmed, then it would be evidence that China has been assisting Pakistan’s nuclear programme and continues to do so to this day. “We are deeply concerned that the TEL displayed in Pakistan was acquired from China,” Poe and Rogers wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. “The transfer of an item as advanced and significant . . . would require the approval from the highest levels of China’s government if not also the People’s Liberation Army. Such cooperation between the governments of Pakistan and China would represent a threat to the national security of the United States and its allies.”

In a letter to Poe and Rogers summarising his findings, Fisher wrote that if his research is confirmed, it would be grounds to seek new sanctions against China at the UN, and would trigger the enforcement of existing US sanctions. He also said that it’s a threat in and of itself if China is exporting such equipment or even the design of such technology, because it could end up in North Korea, which in turn could re-export it to Iran. This is the kind of diplomatic problem President Obama would want to avoid. After all, despite his protests and promises to refocus America’s defensive posture to the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese have moved ahead with plans to militarise islands it built in the South China Sea. But the rest of the world may not be able to wait this long. The new Pakistani missiles have a range of 1,700 miles, which would cover all of India. If China helped Pakistan with the technology for these weapons, it raises the question what other nuclear programmes China is willing to assist.

splash (SHOW)

› to ​print or show something in a very ​noticeable way:

Several ​newspapers splashed ​colour ​pictures of the ​star ​across ​their ​front ​pages.

nonproliferation

› the ​effort to ​stop the ​increase in ​nuclear ​weapons

murky (DARK/DIRTY)

› ​dark and ​dirty or ​difficult to ​see through:

The ​river was ​brown and murky after the ​storm.

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