English Vocab

The Nepal Reset: on India-Nepal Ties

Delhi and Kathmandu should rebuild ties by focussing on deliverables.

Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s visit to India signals an importantrecalibration (to change the way you do or think about something/to make small changes to an instrument so that it measures accurately/calibrate (something) again or differently) of bilateral ties. While the focus of the official pronouncements has been on connectivity, it is the perceptible (Able to be seen or noticed) absence of tensions in public interactions0020and official meetings, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that gives hope that the rupture in ties over India’s reservations about Nepal’s new constitution is being repaired. The visit follows a great deal of preparation by both Delhi

and Kathmandu. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made an unusual departure from protocol to visit Mr. Oli in Kathmandu and congratulate him for his election win even before he had been sworn in. It was a significant shift from 2015-17, when the five-month-long blockade of truck trade at the Nepal-India border and Nepal’s ties with China placed a severe strain on the relationship. For his part, Mr. Oliput aside (To temporarily stop focusing on or paying attention to something/To reserve or save something for someone or for a later use) the anti-India rhetoric of his election campaign, and came to India on his first post-election visit abroad seeking ‘friendship first, and friendship second and third’. Bilateral meetings at Hyderabad House were devoid of (To lack or be without something that is necessary or usual/entirely lacking or free from) any sermonizing (Deliver an opinionated and dogmatic talk to someone, express moral judgements) and defensive postures,steering clear of (To avoid someone or something that seems unpleasant, dangerous, or likely to cause problems) contentious (Causing or likely to cause an argument) issues on the constitution and China; Mr. Modi promised support on development projects that meet “Nepal’s priorities”.

The reset is long overdue (Not having arrived, happened, or been done by the expected time), and should be accompanied by a transformation in the tenor of the relationship. Kathmandu has been too susceptible to conspiracy theories about Indianmeddling (Interfere with something that is not one’s concern), while New Delhi and its diplomats in the Nepal embassy have sometimes lent credence (The likelihood of something being true, belief in or acceptance of something as true) to the theories by adopting a patronising attitude. A first step to the reset would be the completion of the ongoing process of updating the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Nepal would acknowledge that its citizens have benefited from the ease of employment and residence in India that the treaty provides. But India must recognise that as in all other developing economies, Nepal’s aspirational young population is also looking beyond the open Indian border for opportunities, and Mr. Oli’s desire to turn his “land-locked” country into a “land-linked” country with a merchant navy must be considered positively. From here on it will be the deliverables, such as road and railway links, power projects and post-earthquake reconstruction commitments, that will determine the success of the partnership, not just the announcement of new initiatives. India has residual concerns over enhancing the constitution’s provisions for Nepal’s plains-based Madhesi population, but these should be taken up discreetly and diplomatically. Recovery in the relationship is still fragile, and any grandstanding must be avoided.

Courtesy-The Hindu (International)

1. Perceptible (adjective): (Able to be seen or noticed.) (ध्यान देने योग्य)

Synonyms- Noticeable, Perceivable, Detectable, Discernible

Antonyms- Imperceptible, Inconspicuous

Example-The perceptible tremor in the old man’s hands caught the doctor’s attention.

Related words: Perceptibility, Perceptibleness (noun) Perceptibly (adverb)

2. Sermonise (verb): (Deliver an opinionated and dogmatic talk to someone, express moral judgements.) (राय व्यक्त करना)

Synonyms- Admonish, Edify, Evangelize, Lecture, Pontificate, Preach

Antonyms –   Praise

Example- My grandmother is all right until she starts sermonizing and then she is unbearable.

Verb forms: Sermonise, Sermonised, Sermonised

Related words: Sermonizer (noun)

3. Devoid of (adjective): (To lack or be without something that is necessary or usual/entirely lacking or free from.) (विहीन)

Synonyms- Lacking, Without, Free from/of, Empty of, Vacant of, Void of

Antonyms-Filled, Provided, Supplied Full, Replete, Rife

Example – We need rainfall or the lake will be devoid of water.

4. Recalibration (noun): (To change the way you do or think about something/to make small changes to an instrument so that it measures accurately/calibrate (something) again or differently.) (पुन: परिवर्तन करना)

Synonyms- Readjustment

Antonyms -Maintain, Remain, Stay

Example – The administration appears to have recalibrated its strategy.

Verb forms: Recalibrate, Recalibrated, Recalibrated

5. Credence (noun): (The likelihood of something being true, belief in or acceptance of something as true.) (विश्वसनीयता)

Synonyms- Acceptance, Belief, Faith, Trust

Antonyms- Distrust, Scepticism

Example- The jury found it hard to give credence to the testimony provided by the convicted felon.

6. Overdue (adjective) : (Not having arrived, happened, or been done by the expected time.) (अतिदेय)

Synonyms-: Late, Not on time, Behind schedule, Delayed, Belated, Tardy, Unpunctual

Antonyms -Early, Punctual, On time

Example – The rent of the family was nearly three months overdue.

Related words: Overdueness (noun)

7. Meddling (verb) : (Interfere with something that is not one’s concern.) (हस्तक्षेप, दखल)

Synonyms-  Interfere, Intrude, Intervene, Interlope, Pry, Poke, Nose

Antonyms -Mind One’s Own Business, Leave Alone

Example – My sister is always meddling in other people’s affairs.

Verb forms: Meddle, Meddled, Meddled

Related words: Meddler (noun) Meddlingly (adverb)

8. Contentious (adjective) : (Causing or likely to cause an argument) (विवादास्पद)

Synonyms-   Controversial, Disputable, Debatable

Antonyms -Uncontroversial, Anodyne

Example – The author wrote a contentious novel which caused a great deal of unrest.

Related words: Contentiously (adverb) Contentiousness (noun)

9. Put aside (phrasal verb) : (To temporarily stop focusing on or paying attention to something/To reserve or save something for someone or for a later use.) (उपेक्षा करना, अनदेखा करना)

Synonyms- Disregard, Neglect, Ignore, Forget, Set Aside, Ignore

Antonyms- Heed, Attention

Example - Put the financial aspects aside for a moment and focus on what kind of work would make you the happiest.

10. Steer clear of (phrase): (To avoid someone or something that seems unpleasant, dangerous, or likely to cause problems.) (दूर रहना)

Synonyms- Keep away from, Keep one’s distance from, Keep at arm’s length, Eschew

Antonyms- Seek out, Confront

Example- The 8:00 train is always late, so steer clear of it if you want to be on time.