English Group "Only Achievers"

2021-09-01 07:14:10 The Hindu Editorial with Vocab - 1st September

Pyrrhic victory: On Imran Khan’s pro-Taliban stand

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first world leader who wholeheartedly welcomed the Taliban’s capture of Kabul on August 15 — before its fall, Pakistan had maintained that it had little leverage on the Taliban to force them to accept a ceasefire and that it backed a political solution in Afghanistan. However, on August 16, he said Afghans have “broken the shackles of slavery”, leaving little doubt on where Pakistan stands on the Taliban’s return. This is hardly surprising. Pakistan not only played a central role in the Taliban’s rise to power in the 1990s but was also one of the three countries to have had formal diplomatic ties with them. Pakistan continued to support the Taliban even after they were driven out of power by the U.S. in 2001. Its strategic calculus was that a stable Afghanistan backed by the U.S. and India would harm its core interests. It hosted the Taliban leadership in Quetta, Balochistan, and allowed their militants to regroup and resume insurgency in Afghanistan. In that sense, the Taliban’s capture of Kabul can be seen as the success of a long-term strategy Pakistan’s military establishment had adopted. But it is too early to begin celebrations.

The geopolitical implications of the Taliban’s victory are still unclear. But, irrespective of what kind of a government they will establish, the resurgence of a Sunni radical jihadist group could embolden similar outfits elsewhere. Pakistan has a problem with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the ideological twin of the Taliban, that has carried out deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Also, the August 26 Kabul blasts are a warning of what is awaiting Afghanistan. The country is still chaotic and lawless where groups such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K), the IS affiliate that has claimed responsibility for the blasts, would seek to flourish. Without order, the country could fall into a multi-directional, civil war between the Taliban, the IS-K, and the remnants of the old regime. The question is whether Pakistan, overwhelmed by the Taliban’s success, sees the possible dangers the triumph of hardline Islamism now poses. Religious extremism and militancy can help one country tactically but will be counterproductive in the long term. When the U.S. backed the Mujahideen in the 1980s, it might never have imagined that the Taliban would rise from the Mujahideen and host the al Qaeda that would carry out the deadliest attack on America since the Second World War. Similarly, a chaotic Afghanistan ruled by extremist Islamists is as much a geopolitical victory as a security and strategic challenge to Pakistan. During the insurgency, Pakistan refused to use its leverage over the Taliban for peace. It should do so at least now because a stable Afghanistan which treats its people with dignity and does not provide safe havens to transnational terrorist organisations is in the best interests of all regional powers, including Pakistan.


CREDIT SOURCE - THE HINDU
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1. Leverage (N)- use (something) to maximum advantage.

2. Shackle (N)- one of a pair of metal rings connected with a chain put around a prisoner’s wrists or ankles (हथकड़ी, बेड़ी)

3. Drive Out (Phrasal Verb)- to force someone or something to leave a place.

4. Insurgency (N)- an active revolt or uprising. विद्रोह, बग़ावत

5. Resurgence (N)- bringing again into activity and prominence. पुनरुत्थान

6. Embolden (V)- give (someone) the courage or confidence to do something.

7. Deadly (Adj.)- causing or likely to cause death

8. Remnant (N)- a piece of something that is left after the rest has gone (किसी का बचा हुआ टुकड़ा)

9. Counterproductive (Adj)- having the opposite of the desired effect.

10. Haven (N)- a place where people or animals can be safe and rest

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2021-08-31 06:39:17 Join @Englishkendra for relevant study material of English.

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2021-08-31 06:39:17 The Hindu Editorial with Vocab - 31st AUGUST

America’s Asia policy

President Joe Biden has found himself in the uncomfortable position of facing not only the expected criticism from Republicans for his country’s hasty, botched exit from Afghanistan but also brickbats from within the Democratic Party and among the broader American public. The killing of at least 13 U.S. troops and dozens of Afghan civilians in the bomb blasts last week underscored the apparent lack of planning behind the withdrawal despite prior knowledge of its approaching deadline. The chaotic, violent scenes at Kabul airport, undergirded by the deep irony of the Taliban’s unchallenged takeover of Kabul and other Afghan territories, have also no doubt stung U.S. policymakers, especially over comparisons to Saigon in 1975. How can Mr. Biden now hope to sell the big picture of Washington’s engagement in the South Asia region to his domestic political constituents in a way that limits the reputational damage to the White House? The first step will be, at long last, to shift the American policy paradigm on Afghanistan from a boilerplate approach toward institution-building to recognising the political complexities of governing a society where tribal and ethnic loyalties supersede western norms of rational decision-making by government. In part, this means not demonising or cutting ties with the Taliban before they have had an opportunity to settle into power and announce intentions for governing Afghanistan. There must also be a recognition of the role that third parties are going to play, for better or worse. That must include everything from the Pakistani ISI’s shadowy dealings through proxies such as the Haqqani Network, China’s relentless push for access to economic projects, and India’s civilisational and ‘soft power’ links.

In the big picture, there is an unsettling question for Washington to answer, on whether in persisting with the Trump-era promise to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, Mr. Biden will be able to reassure Asian allies and partners that the U.S. will not also play a diminished strategic role in the broader Asia region. To an extent, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s Singapore and Vietnam trip was aimed at assuaging such concerns and shoring up enthusiasm for the rules-based international order that has taken a beating. Yet, unless Washington follows up such summit meetings with ground-level engagement, for example through the Quad or deeper bilateral initiatives with friendly democracies including India, Asian powers will be hard pressed to assume anything other than Washington’s indifference toward their interests. The danger for the West of considerable blowback that could emerge thus are at least two-fold: first, Afghanistan’s cyclical transitions from western-occupied territory to abandoned nation and ultimately a breeding ground for global terror outfits is well-documented; and second, China will be only too glad to step into the breach should any new spaces be ceded in the pecking order of regional hegemony in Asia.


CREDIT SOURCE - THE HINDU
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1. Botched (Adj)- badly done or badly planned, and therefore unsuccessful.

2. Brickbat (N)- a severe criticism. आलोचना

3. Chaotic (Adj)- in a state of complete confusion and disorder. अराजकतापूर्ण

4. Takeover (N)- the act of seizing and taking control of something. कब्जाकरना

5. Undergird (V)- to support something by forming a strong base for it

6. Boilerplate (N)- a way of thinking that is ordinary and does not show any imagination.

7. Demonize (V)- portray as wicked and threatening

8. Relentless (Adj)- continuing in a severe or extreme way.

8. Assuage (V)- to make an unpleasant or painful feeling less severe. कम करना,  शान्त करना

9. Shore Up (Phrasal Verb)- to support or help (something).

10. Blowback (N)- the unintended adverse results of a political action or situation.

11. Hegemony (N)- the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others. आधिपत्य ओपन / कमेंट

2021-08-26 08:11:28 The Hindu Editorial with Vocab - 26th AUGUST

Income and quotas: On creamy layer

The Supreme Court’s ruling that economic criterion alone cannot be used to classify a member of a Backward Class as belonging to the ‘creamy layer’ adds an interesting nuance to the jurisprudence of affirmative action. There was a time when backwardness was primarily related to the inadequate social and educational advancement of a group. Ever since the Court, in Indra Sawhney (1992), introduced the concept of ‘creamy layer’ — a term describing the well-off among the Backward Classes — and declared that this section should be denied reservation benefits, the original idea of including groups based on social backwardness was matched by a parallel exercise to exclude the more advanced among them. This position has crystallised into law. Many support the formulation that once caste is accepted as a basis for determining backwardness, there is nothing wrong in excluding the affluent among the eligible castes. The Union government has unreservedly accepted the ‘creamy layer’ rule, and formulated criteria for identifying those who fall under the category. The proponents of economic criteria feel that genuine social justice means reservation benefits should be restricted to the poorer among the backward; while sections championing Backward Class assertion disfavour any dilution of the social basis for reservation.

The Court’s latest judgment in a Haryana case corrects a grave error by the State. It has struck down a notification fixing an annual income of ₹6 lakh as the sole criterion to identify whether a family belongs to the creamy layer. It was contrary to Indra Sawhney that had spoken of different criteria, including being the children of high-ranking constitutional functionaries, employees of a certain rank in the Union and State governments, those affluent enough to employ others, or with significant property and agricultural holdings and, of course, an identified annual income. The Court has found that the Haryana criterion based on income alone was contrary to its own law that specifies that the creamy layer would be identified through social, economic and other factors. The Constitution permitted special provisions in favour of ‘socially and educationally backward classes’ through the first Amendment, as well as reservation in government employment for ‘backward classes’. Judicial discourse introduced a 50% ceiling and the creamy layer concept as constitutional limitations on reservation benefits. However, the 103rd Constitution Amendment, by which 10% reservation for the ‘economically weaker sections’ (EWS) has been introduced, has significantly altered the affirmative action programme. With the current income ceiling being ₹8 lakh per annum for availing of both OBC and EWS quotas, there is a strange and questionable balance between the OBC and EWS segments in terms of eligibility, even though the size of the respective quotas vary.


CREDIT SOURCE - THE HINDU
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1. Criterion (N)- a principle or standard by which something may be judged or decided. मापदंड

2. Nuance (N)- a very small difference in meaning, feeling, sound, etc.

3. Jurisprudence (N)- the study of law and the principles on which law is based. न्यायशास्र

4. Proponent (N)- one who argues in favor of something.

5. Assertion (N)- a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief. अभिकथन

6. Grave (Adj.)- bad or serious (प्रतिकूल या गंभीर)

7. Struck Down (Phrasal Verb)- to declare (a law) illegal and unenforceable.

8. Discourse (N)- written or spoken communication or debate.

9. Affirmative (Adj)- supportive, hopeful, or encouraging. सकारात्मक

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2021-08-25 19:42:19 Double Fillers ओपन / कमेंट