The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– Aug 24, 2021; Day 124

We hope that these editorial articles are helping you in your exam preparation. This series of Editorials’ Difficult Words will help you to understand the editorials of The Hindu in a better way. Today we have come up with the explanation of difficult words/phrases of the below editorial. Have a look and update your word power & general awareness by going through this editorial.

Difficult Word/ Phrase	Contextual Sense
Contingency	a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty
Militia	a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency
Personnel	people employed in an organization or engaged in an organized undertaking such as military service
Naught	nothing
Pull up stakes	move or go to live elsewhere
Emulate	match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation
Regime	a government, especially an authoritarian one
Brutal	extremely cruel or harsh
Fructify	make (something) fruitful or productive
Sect	a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong

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Staying invested: on India’s relations with Afghanistan

India must retain its traditional and historic interest in Afghanistan and its people

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to ask the MEA to brief all parliamentary parties on the Government’s actions in Afghanistan comes as questions grow about the Government’s planning for contingencies (a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty) there, with the Taliban’s takeover. Since August 15, when the Taliban militia (a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency) entered Kabul, the Government, including the MEA and the Defence Ministry, has been understandably occupied with the challenging evacuation of Indian nationals. In addition, the Government’s decision to evacuate the entire embassy staff and security personnel (people employed in an organization or engaged in an organized undertaking such as military service) first has made it more difficult to facilitate those Indians, as well as long-term visa holding Afghan Sikhs and Hindus needing to return. With most of the Indians based in Afghanistan returning home, or expected to soon, the Government must face the larger strategic questions over whether the Indian Embassy was evacuated too early. India had undertaken evacuations during the 1990s too, but then the presence of Indian nationals was not as large and Indian stakes in Afghanistan were not so deeply rooted. In the past 20 years, India has built considerable interests, including major infrastructure projects and ongoing development projects, helped script the Afghan Constitution and conduct of elections, as well as enabled the training and education of the next generation of officials, soldiers and professionals. It seems unfortunate, therefore, that this bank of goodwill came to naught (nothing) as the Government decided it was safer to pull up stakes (move or go to live elsewhere), emulating (match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation) neither the U.S. and European countries who relocated their diplomatic outposts to the Kabul airport, nor Russia, China and Iran, which decided not to vacate their embassies there.

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Going forward, the Government must explain how it expects to approach the new regime (a government, especially an authoritarian one) in Afghanistan once it is formed. It is still unclear whether this will be merely a repeat of the brutal (extremely cruel or harsh) regime seen from 1996-2001, or whether negotiations are under way for a more inclusive coalition, including several former leaders of Afghanistan, will fructify (make (something) fruitful or productive) into a transitional government. The rise of Taliban power and that of the group’s Pakistani backers is a particular security concern as groups such as the LeT and the JeM could use Afghanistan as a staging base for terror attacks in India. Finally, the Government must explain how it will approach the Afghan people, especially those whose lives could be in danger, including Embassy staff and associates, those working on Indian projects, minorities, including those Islamic sects (a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong) such as the Hazaras who have been targeted, as well as women. A more open, liberalised visa policy, and more swift processing of the newly launched special “e-Emergency X-Misc” visas would reassure both Afghans and the international community that India’s exit from Afghanistan is not permanent, and it will retain its traditional and historic interests in the country and its people, despite adverse events there.

Hope you got to know some new words/phrases which will definitely be useful in the English section of upcoming competitive exams. Wishing you all the best for your preparation!

Want to improve your vocabulary further? Download the Lists of Word-Meanings of Previous Months here.

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