Vocabulary of Editorial Section.

The blog title doesn't suits the below posts however I just want to give and post something different. English is a part of our Life and I thought to shape it well with some little exercise of editorial section of TOI which we (no offense but most of us) don't like to read because of lack of vocabulary. So, here you go, some great discussion in the Editorial of TOI with meanings of hard words.

Times Of India Editorial Vocabulary

Times of India 25/8/2011


Celebrities endorse Anna Hazare movement in large numbers

They are citizens too
   Celebrities too are citizens of the country, with the right to take up political causes just like other citizens. The Anna Hazare movement has set off a stir in the celebrity world of glamour, films and fashion, just like it has among ordinary citizens. Stars and directors to musicians and fashion icons, everyone is swept up in the emotional ferment. Declaring his support, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has described the anti-corruption upsurge as a “bloodless
revolution”. Over 200 members of the
Tamil film industry have observed a fast, demanding a strong Lokpal Bill. Eightyone-year old Lata Mangeshkar has tweeted her support to Hazare. Vidya Balan has walked the ramp donning the Anna topi.
   It is good to see the rich and the famous campaign against corruption – an issue that has fired the imagination of the country. Cynics tend to look down their noses at celebrities supporting social and political causes. But then they also spear celebrities on the opposite charge – of being superficial, apolitical and apathetic towards issues that affect the common man. Clearly, one can’t have the cake and eat it too. As citizens, celebrities from all walks of life have every right to join a movement that touches a chord. The cause may be distant from their universe of glamour and fame. So what if they are not inspired by unsullied altruism? The truth still is they can leverage their fame to raise the visibility
of a cause, carry its message to a larger national and international forum.
   The West has a strong tradition of celebrities making social causes their own. Rock star Bob Geldof founded a musical group to raise money to fight Africa’s poverty and famine. Jackie Chan is known for using his celebrity status as a vehicle for humanitarian and public service work. If anything, Indian celebrities should do more to help social causes.

It’s hardly commitment Ajay Vaishnav
   Too much is being made of celebrities cheering Anna Hazare’s protest fast. Glamour personalities aren’t exactly known to fret over political, economic or social ills. If anything, they mostly remain disengaged and apathetic towards issues affecting common people. When did corruption bother the film or fashion personalities now giving full-throated support to Anna? Equally misguided is the tendency to view celebrity statements on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook as having a mass effect. The number of people even aware of such new-fangled communication channels still forms a miniscule portion of India’s population.
   True, the list of movie actors or fashion models backing Anna’s movement has been increasing. But this most likely has less to do with genuine commitment to the cause than their need of self-promotion. What can be a better PR exercise for a celebrity than to jump on to the bandwagon of a popular movement? Anna’s protest has captured the imagination of middleclass India. It’s in the middle class that we find consumers of the entertainmentindustry’s offerings. They are the ones who throng multiplexes and decide the fate of films and fashion. Celebrities know professed involvement in a high-profile agitation like Anna’s will boost their own public visibility and fan base.
   There’s another likely reason film personalities in particular are backing the biggest show in town. Much of Indian cinema revolves around bashing politicians and nurtures misplaced faith in the virtues of a single hero, seen as able to change the system overnight. Match this against the public’s decrying of netas and the rather naive belief that lone man Anna can make politics and society corruption-free.

Stir	Mix; rouse
Agitate	Disturb; trouble; excite
Swept up	Force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action
Ferment	A state of agitation or turbulent change or development
Upsurge	rise; increase; gain
Donning	Put clothing on one's body; wearing; "The princess donned a long blue dress".
Cynics	Someone who is critical of the motives of others; faultfinder- “Cynics tend to look down their noses at celebrities supporting social and political causes”.
Spear	A long pointed rod used as a tool or weapon
Apolitical	Politically neutral
Apathetic	Indifferent; lethargy; uninterested
From all walks of l walks of life	Phrase – “celebrities from all walk of lives
Unsullied	Pure; clean; faultless; untarnished
Altruism	Unselfishness; self-sacrifice; humanity; philanthropy
Leverage	Influence; power; force
Famine	Food crisis; scarcity
Against the topic
Fret	Worry; fuss; vex; trouble; bother
Ills	Harm; troubles; problems
Disengaged	Detached; cut off.
Full throated support	Phrase
New-fangled or newfangled	Novel; new; original; innovative; (of a new kind or fashion) gratuitously new; “newfangled ideas”.
Miniscule	Very small
Backing	Support; help; assistance
Bandwagon	A popular trend that attracts growing support, "when they saw how things were going everybody jumped on the bandwagon", “What can be a better PR exercise for a celebrity to jump on to the bandwagon of a popular movement”.
Throng	Mass; crowd; mob; a large gathering of people
Professed	Ostensible; supposed; apparent; superficial; [A] real
Bashing	Smash; break; destroy
Virtues	Qualities; merit
Decrying	Express strong disapproval of; criticize
Naive	Inexperienced; immature; adolescent; raw; youthful

Saturday, August 27, 2011

IIMs to award special marks to girls and non-engineering students seeking admission

Diversity can breed creativity (For) – Times View

    There’s nothing wrong with the decision of the six new IIMs, as well as the ones in Lucknow and Kozhikode, to award special marks for admission to women and non-engineering students. The rationale behind it is plausible and individual educational institutions should be allowed to make experiments in affirmative action of this sort, as long as they don’t flow from government diktat. The IIMs in question feel that their admission process is skewed towards male engineering graduates, when greater diversity in the classroom would make for more academic creativity. Promoting women and non-engineering students with bonus points can inject much-needed diversity in classrooms.
    The Common Admission Test (CAT) used to screen IIM aspirants is quite formulaic. True, given the massive number of applicants, it is practical to have a nation-wide common entrance exam as the first filter. However, the character of the CAT exam provides an edge to engineering students, a majority of whom are male. As a result, the thinking pattern of IIM students differs little. Giving girls and those from non-engineering backgrounds bonus points can offset the monotony and lead to vibrant classrooms. This is not unlike the affirmative action policy in US universities, where admission criteria for certain candidates are relaxed taking into account the extra edge that diverse backgrounds can bring in.
    As long as affirmative action is the discretion of the institutes concerned,
not a government mandated rule, meritocracy won’t be diluted. Educational institutes know what is best for them and deserve far greater autonomy over admissions. Besides, there is no rule that says engineers make better management graduates. Cross-discipline studies and interactions need encouraging to foster lateral thinking. Some giants of business, such as Steve Jobs or Richard Branson, owe their success to their ability to think out of the box. That’s something the IIMs should strive for. 

Standards will be sacrificed (Against) - Ajay Vaishnav 

    Six new IIMs as well as the institutes in Lucknow and Kozhikode have decided to grant special marks for admission to girls and non-engineers. This is unfortunate in the extreme. If anything, the move comes suspiciously close to the policy of reservation – call it quota in a disguised form. While some may argue that
there’s a need to address the skewed gender balance at IIMs and to garner a diverse pool of talent, particularly from non-engineering streams, this shouldn’t be done through a policy of giving ‘grace’ marks. That’ll accord unfair advantage to the targeted beneficiaries, many of whom may be non-deserving candidates.
    Such a method is certainly not the way forward. For, if the aim is to engender diversity in the classroom, this policy won’t serve the purpose. All it will do is adversely affect academic standards as many deserving students may be deprived of a fair chance to compete on an equal footing. Our IIMs and IITs have created a reputation for promoting meritocracy. A seat in an IIM is coveted and fiercely contested by lakhs of MBA aspirants. So, the IIMs can’t suddenly blink at the need to attract the best and the brightest. To make academic curricula more diverse and courses less linear, they can instead remould selection criteria which, at present, are tailormade for engineering, economics and commerce graduates.
    That will call for devising a selection procedure that goes beyond just assessing a candidate’s mathematical, logical and verbal abilities. The IIMs can take the cue from American universities which appraise the overall suitability of applicants, irrespective of gender. They look at a student’s statement of purpose as well as analytical skills, not just GMAT scores. This automatically allows them to admit a diverse range of students without favouring any group over others. There’s no reason why our management institutes can’t emulate this practice.

Plausible	Reasonable; believable; credible; possible
Affirmative	Positive; assenting; confirmatory
Skewed	Tilted; slanted; twisted; off-center
Formulaic	Prescribed; mechanical; standard; rigid; fixed
Offset	Counter balance; make up for; balance; equalize; compensate
Meritocracy	A form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects (understanding) “meritocracy can’t be diluted”, “our IITs and IIMs have created a reputation for promoting meritocracy”
Foster	Promote; further; cultivate; advance; encourage; forward; look after
Lateral	Side; imaginative; creative
Strive for	That’s something IIM should strive for
Against
“Phrase”	This is unfortunate in the extreme
Suspiciously	Doubtfully; distrustfully; skeptically
Skewed	Tilted; slanted; twisted; at an angle
Accord	Agreement; harmony; concurrence; settlement
Engender	Produce; cause; create; stimulate; prompt; provoke
Coveted	Popular; in demand; desirable
Fiercely	Violently; brutally; severely; angrily
Tailor-made	Specially made; perfect; made to measure

Saturday, August 27, 2011

OV E R S I G H T

A Season Of Struggle

Across the world, people are out on the streets – but what is driving them?

Sunil Khilnani 

Across the globe, 2011 has been a year to rattle rulers and authorities. A quick survey reveals that revolt is afoot across a broad span of generations and places, and in service of a variety of purposes. We have seen the Arab spring, the street marches and battles in capitals from Athens to Madrid, the riots in London, the protests in Israel, and the demonstrations in Delhi.
    Popular protest on such a scale and to such extent has not been seen for years. In fact, it takes us back to other eras. Some see parallels with the late 1960s, when, from California to Calcutta, students and workers mobilised. Others press further back, finding echoes of the uprisings that rocked Europe’s monarchs in 1848.
    Both of these historical antecedents, inspired by utopian visions, ended in failure. Yet, both generated libraries of interpretation – analysts seeking a thread that would unify the events into a single story. It was Marx and Engels, of course, who became the great theorists of 1848, building their view of world historical change on what happened at the barricades in Paris, in the squares of Sicily and the streets of Prussia. Equally, 1968 spawned radical philosophies galore, which have kept academics in business since.
    Protest is always local, but theories seek a global compass – a pattern of discontent across cases. And naturally, 2011 is fast spawning its own theories. In a recent piece, the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman self-parodically referred to his own ‘theory of everything’ as he tried to account for what was happening and why.
    Friedman sees a ‘globalisation of anger’, itself a reaction both to changes in the nature of the global economy and in communication: changes that left people cut off from the skills, knowledge and resources they needed to succeed in a new global economic order. Those left out were subject to governments that had turned miserly, but they were also, simultaneously, empowered by their access to instant information that could inflame and channel their frustrations.
    There is no doubt that from
SMS to Facebook to Twitter, grassroots protest is more easily mobilised today than it has been in decades. But mobilisation is not the same as motivation. Though the tools may be the same, the uses may be radically divergent. So the animating question should be: Is there in fact a common, unifying thread to these worldwide protests, as many would have us believe?
    Take the London riots. London’s opinionators and theorists were in business last month as the streets of their city burned, filling TV channels with diagnoses of what was happening. For conservatives, the collapse of traditional values was to blame. Once the smoke cleared in Tottenham and Camden, they sniffed the reek of moral social decay. For those on the left, the root cause was widening inequality and social deprivation exacerbated by unregulated capitalism. The classical dichotomies of individual character versus social structure were back in play.
    But to have watched the London riots unfold was to grow less and less certain of a single, driving narrative. Politics? Utopian imaginings? Urgent material need? The ethos of those evenings seemed to be brand avidity. The rioters had their eyes on quality goods – not your ordinary running shoes, but the limited-edition styles. They raced for the premium denim on the first-floor showroom, not the ordinary jeans at ground level. This was aspirational rioting – the politics was all logo. In their apolitical, self-regarding thievery, these rioters made the punk protesters of the later 1970s and early 1980s look like utopian visionaries and philosopher kings.
    We must take care, in retrospect, not to impose upon the London riots a profundity they did not have – or to connect them mindlessly to other protests elsewhere, whether the Arab Spring or the agitations that have brought thousands to the Ramlila Ground in Delhi over the past weeks. The Indian protests may not be as pure as their instigators attest, but they’re peaceful, for a start, and much more purposeful in their aims than the London eruptions. What could be plainer and more explicit than supporting a hunger strike to eradicate corruption? Premium denim doesn’t figure.
    But there is at least one connection between Delhi and London and the other far-flung ruckuses of 2011 – a connection the commentators rarely mention, because it blurs their narratives. Those taking to the streets are not typically ‘the masses’ of certain historical precedents, but members of the middle class. It’s as true of Anna Hazare’s ragtag bands of supporters as of the college kids and techie professionals of the Arab Spring. By the material standards of India or Africa, the so-called deprived of London are also relatively privileged, with refrigerators and microwaves at home and Blackberries in their pockets.
    Before we set to our totalising global theories about the protests, it might be equally instructive to contemplate who hasn’t risen up in protest, and why. Have we forgotten the group of people who might have most reason to be angry – those most vulnerable to the effects of a corrupt society, those most wracked by the absence of government aid? For the truly poor, corruption at the Commonwealth Games is not the most pressing issue. Here at the end of the summer of 2011, are they better off for all the global tumult?
    The writer is director of the India Institute, King’s College, London.

Afoot	Happening; going on; occurring
Antecedents	Past history; background; qualification
Utopian	An imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal; Characterized by or aspiring to impracticable perfection
Spawned	Lay spawn; call forth
Radical	Fundamental; essential; drastic; major
Galore	In abundance; large number; in great quantities
Sniffed	Inhale; breathe; shuffle
Reek	Stink; smell; odor; suggest
Decay	Decompose; rot; fester
Exacerbate	Make worse; aggravate; intensify; worsen
Deprivation	Lack; deficiency; scarcity; denial; withdrawal
Dichotomies	Being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
Avidity	Greed; gluttony; hunger
Retrospect	Contemplation of things past; Look back upon (a period of time, sequence of events); remember
Profundity	Depth; insight; wisdom; understanding; colplexity
Instigators	Someone who deliberately foments trouble "she was the instigator of their quarrel”; A person who initiates a course of action
Attest	Show; prove; confirm
Far-flung	Distant; remote; far off
Ruckuses	The act of making a noisy disturbance; dins; tumults
Ragtag	Disparaging (Express a negative opinion of) term for the common people; riffraff
Deprived	Disadvantage; underprivileged; poor
Contemplate	Consider; think; reflect; study; ponder
Wracked	Smash or break forcefully

Monday, August 29, 2011

Q&A

‘Government must end impunity culture, repeal laws like AFSPA’

The discovery of over 2,000 bodies buried in unmarked graves in Kashmir has caused widespread shock. Links are being drawn between these bodies and civilians who ‘disappeared’ over the years, allegedly targeted by security forces fighting militancy. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asian director at the Human Rights Watch (HRW), spoke with Humra Quraishi on the need for accountability: 

Does the HRW think the dead in these graves could be civilians missing from the Valley? 
    Yes, we do link these graves to those that are missing. The government insisted that all those missing had gone to Pakistan to join militant groups. Some did. But in other cases, witnesses saw a person being taken into custody by the security forces – after which they disappeared. 
    The report by the Jammu & Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is significant because it is the first official investigation. It has found, as human rights workers and Kashmiris alleged, that some graves contain the bodies of the ‘disappeared’. These are not mass graves as in Iraq or former Yugoslavia where scores of bodies were dumped into pits. But the SHRC inquiry found 18 graves that contain more than one body. 
What should happen now? 
We want an independent and credible investigation into this. A commission of inquiry should be formed with the capacity to conduct forensic tests and question members of security forces involved in operations, even those no longer in service. 
    The government should invite Kashmiri families to submit all information about the ‘disappeared’, so that each case can be investigated. 
    How has the state machinery responded to the discovered graves? 
    We have not yet seen a clear response. The inquiry report was leaked. The commission has to submit its findings to the government and make recommendations. We hope the SHRC makes strong recommendations to conduct a proper inquiry in a time-bound and transparent manner. The state government should then investigate each and every allegation of a ‘disappearance’. The central government should cooperate because many possible perpetrators could belong to the army or federal forces like the CRPF and BSF. 
    Could the reality of these graves disappear under politicking? 
    The government has repeatedly claimed there will be zero tolerance for human rights violations. Addressing the issue of enforced disappearances will be a significant confidence-building measure. India also has an obligation to investigate these under international laws and because it has signed the United Nations convention against enforced disappearances. 
    Human rights forums cannot go beyond a point in confronting governments – so, what next? 
    In a democracy, eventually governments have to respond to public sentiment – we saw this play out at the Ramlila Ground. Human rights groups and the media have a significant role in highlighting violations in Kashmir and elsewhere. But the government must end the culture of impunity, repeal laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that provide soldiers with widespread powers but immunity from prosecution for human rights violations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must keep his 2004 promise to repeal AFSPA.
    How does the reality of mass unmarked graves impact people? 
    Disappearances are among the most heinous of human rights violations. Families are left without answers, caught between hope and despair. I’ve met numerous families still waiting for news of their loved ones. I hope finally the government will provide answers and solace to these families – and prosecute the perpetrators.

Alleged	Supposed; suspected; so called; assumed
Politicking	Engage in political activities; engaging; pursuing
Confront	Tackle; face up to; deal with
Impunity	Exemption from punishment or loss; freedom
Repeal	Cancel; revoke; annul
Heinous	Atrocious; monstrous; dreadful; shocking
Perpetrators	Someone who perpetrates wrongdoing; Culprit.

What’s in a name?

Plenty, any good Bengali would tell you

Monobina Gupta 

    If there is one thing that leaves the Bengali ego irreparably bruised, it is the mere insinuation of cultural deficit. Many may not even wince at being slandered as cultural imperialists. But lacking in the department of culture surely is an affront intolerable to a self-respecting Bengali. The race to acquire the right cultural trappings begins right at the top. Present chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Marxist predecessor, though sworn political adversaries, are united in their reverence for Rabindrasangeet, Nazrulgeeti and Sukanta’s poems. Come Durga Puja, and you may be treated to a full-throated renditions of Rabindrasangeet as you wait for the traffic light to turn green at important intersections. Amid this heightened cultural superiority is it so surprising for Bengal’s political classes to pick the mouthful Paschimbanga rather than a succinct Bengal? 
    Bengalis are particularly touchy about names. Parents usually do not christen their daughters ‘Pinky’ or ‘Sweetie’, or sons ‘Sunny’ or ‘Lucky’. Instead you could end up with an eight-letter name like mine, punctuated with confusing sounding vowels, and mutilated mercilessly by Dilliwallahs exercising the right to verbalise a name their own imaginative way! Distortions are just part of the name-game. A Marxist home minister of the country, without meaning offence, had once expressed wonder at the utterly frivolous name of the leader of a delegation calling on him. He kept intoning his name in genuine awe, till the delegation members burst out laughing. 
    The business of anointing not just precious offsprings but buildings of brick and mortar, roads, parks and metro stations with lofty names has a great deal to do with this ‘Aamra Bangali’ self-congratulatory sensibility. Little wonder discussions about the state’s baptism threw up high-sounding names – Bangabhumi, Bangadesh, Gaur Banga. Bengal or Banga, in comparison, sounded trite and irreverent. Rechristening is by now a craft mastered by political parties. Mamata Banerjee has been on a spree of renaming metro stations after luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Prafulla Chandra Roy, Rajendra Prasad, Anukul Thakur, Mangal Pandey, Uttam Kumar and Sukanta. Many more in the dusty hall of fame are in queue. The former Marxist rulers too had a field day. The Left Front government celebrated its landmark 1977 victory by painting the tower of Shaheed Minar a gleaming red. Who knows – the new rulers may splash another coating of green and white on the faded red! During the Left Front’s extraordinarily long tenure, the road many of us grew up calling Lower Circular Road one day became Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road; Theatre Road became Shakespeare Sarani. Harrington Road was christened Ho Chi Minh Sarani; Camac Park Street, one of the most iconic locations in the city, was renamed Mother Teresa Sarani. Rarely, if ever, and even then mostly in jest, does a Calcuttan refer to Park Street by its re-designated name. 
    As a prabashi Bangali in Delhi, i am often asked: “Where are you originally from?” My answer veers between “Bengal” and “West Bengal”. Tragically, Paschimbanga is likely to roll uneasily off the tongues of non-Bengalis, hopeless at striking the right balance between ‘a’ and ‘o’. ‘Bongo’ or ‘Banga’? Why put people through the agony? But then, knowing my clan’s fondness for grand prose and verse, it is not really a bolt from the blue. Funnily, Paschimbanga does not even fit the bill of a proper name change. Paschim, any Bengali will tell you, is nothing but ‘West’ in Bengali. Will Paschimbanga fare better than Bengal? 
    Unlikely, the chief minister wanted to move the state up the alphabetic ladder. According to her, West Bengal’s ministers were greeted with the yawns of a dozing audience at important meetings. Will they now hold their yawns and save their 40 winks till ‘P’ arrives?

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Limb	Member; appendage; branch
Exert	Wield; use; apply; put forth;
Stimuli	Inceptive; spur; motivation
Reckless	Irresponsible; thoughtless; careless; wild; hasty; out of control
Mayhem	Chaos; disorder; confusion
Genre	Type; sort; kind; field
Devise	Plan; work out; invent; develop; create
Against
Strewn	Scattered; sprinkled; spotted; spread
Absurdity	Illogical; irrationality; meaningless; farce
Fantasia laden	Fantasia = A musical composition of a free form usually incorporating several familiar themes; Laden = loaded; burdened
Vengeance	Revenge; reprisal; punishment; retaliation
Notion	Idea; view; concept; opinion