Editorial : Change in Mizoram

The MNF faces the task of upgrading infrastructure and diversifying the economy
In the din over the Bharatiya Janata Party’s losses to the Congress in three States in the Hindi heartland, thedismal(निराशाजनक) defeat(हार/पराजय ) of the

ruling Congress party to the Mizo National Front in Mizoram has goneinsufficiently(अपर्याप्त ) noticed. With this, the Congress has lost its last remaining(शेष ) State in the Northeast a region(क्षेत्र/प्रदेश) in which it was traditionally(परंपरागत ) dominant(प्रमुख/प्रभावी). The BJP managed to mark its first and only victory in the State by winning the Chakma refugee-dominated Tuichawng seat in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district. But the BJP will consider(विचार करें) the MNF’s victory as a significant(महत्वपूर्ण/सार्थक) accretion(वृद्धि) to its set of fellow-travellers and alliance partners in the Northeast. The MNF is part of the North-East Democratic Alliance, an anti-Congress front formed by the BJP that includes(शामिल) all the other ruling parties in the region. While the MNF has come to power on its own, without an alliance with the BJP, its membership in the NEDA means it is an ally of the BJP for all practical purposes(प्रयोजनों). Despite(बावजूद/विरोध) an improvement(सुधार की/संशोधन) in social indices(सूचकांक) in the State over its decade-long tenure(दशक के लंबे कार्यकाल), the Congress was always expected to face an uphill task to retain(रखे रहना/रोकना) power because of growing anti-incumbency(विरोधी लहर) sentiment following allegations(आरोपों/अभिकथन) of corruption(भ्रष्टाचार)in recent years. The MNF’s victory was also aided by its strong positions on total prohibition(निषेध/मनाही), a promise that carried a lot of weight with conservative(अपरिवर्तनवादी) and influential(प्रभावशाली ) Christian civil society groups in the State, which had implicitly(निस्संदेह/स्पष्ट रूप) lent support to the party.

The presence(उपस्थिति) of the Zoram People’s Movement, a collective(सामूहिक/कुल) of seven parties formed just a few weeks before the Assembly elections, hit the Congress’s chances even more. The candidates of the ZPM contested(चुनाव लड़ा/विवादास्पद) as independents(निर्दलीय) but garnered close to 23% of the vote, damaging(हानिकारक/विपरीत) the Congress in particular. The Congress’s vote share dipped to 30.2%, a 14 percentage point swing from its 44.6% share in 2013. The Congress’s total tally of five seats is its lowest-ever in the 40-member Mizoram Assembly. The MNF faces the task of diversifying(भिन्न करना) the economy, given the disproportionately large section of the population dependent on agriculture(कृषि ) and horticulture(औद्यानिकी/बागवानी). The New Land Use Policy launched by the Congress did bring a significant pause to jhum cultivation(खेती/कृषिकरण) (the practice of slash and burn), but fell short of encouraging sustainable agricultural practices as the scheme effectively(प्रभावी ढंग) provided patronage(संरक्षण/सहायता) for commercial crop-growing by select beneficiaries(लाभार्थियों). Mizoram has the potential(संभावित/क्षमता) to be a gateway in the Act East and BIMSTEC connectivity schemes to extend trade routes from the Northeast to Myanmar and onwards. But it requires better road connectivity and infrastructure. This should be an important priority for the new MNF government.

Important Vocabulary

1. Defeat(हार/पराजय ) 
Synonyms: beating, blow, breakdown, collapse, debacle
Antonyms: accomplishment, achievement, boon, success, win

2. Dismal(निराशाजनक) 
Synonyms: depressing, dim, discouraging, disheartening, dull
Antonyms: bright, cheerful, clear, encouraging, favorable

3. Dominant(प्रमुख/प्रभावी). 
Synonyms: assertive, commanding, effective, leading, main
Antonyms: auxiliary, extra, impotent, incapable, ineffective

4. Accretion(वृद्धि)
Synonyms: accumulation, accession, augmentation, increase, increment
Antonyms: decline, decrease, drop, fall, loss

5. Despite(बावजूद/विरोध) 
Synonyms: against, although, even though, even with, in contempt of

6. Retain(रखे रहना/रोकना
Synonyms: absorb, cling to, contain, enjoy, have
Antonyms: abandon, desert, disperse, dispossess, exclude

7. Conservative(अपरिवर्तनवादी)
Synonyms: middle-of-the-road, reactionary, timid, traditional, Tory
Antonyms: changeable, inconstant, unfixed, unstable, unsteady

8. Influential(प्रभावशाली ) 
Synonyms: authoritative, dominant, famous, important, leading
Antonyms: inconspicuous, inferior, insignificant, obscure, subordinate

9. Implicitly(निस्संदेह/स्पष्ट रूप)
Synonyms: essentially, completely, inherently, unquestioningly, unreservedly

10. Prohibition(निषेध/मनाही)
Synonyms: constraint, embargo, exclusion, injunction, prevention
Antonyms: allowance, permission, aid, approval, help

11. Damaging(हानिकारक/विपरीत)
Synonyms: detrimental, harmful, injurious, prejudicial, ruinous
Antonyms: advantageous, assisting, beneficial, helpful, favorable

12. Collective(सामूहिक/कुल)
Synonyms: concerted, corporate, cumulative, mutual, shared
Antonyms: separate, unshared, disjoint, divided

13. Patronage(संरक्षण/सहायता)
Synonyms: aegis, financing, auspices, backing, encouragement
Antonyms: attack, blockage, disapproval, discouragement, harm

14. Potential(संभावित/क्षमता) 
Synonyms: hidden, likely, possible, probable, budding
Antonyms: unlikely, helpless, impossible, lacking, unpromising

15. Beneficiaries(लाभार्थियों).
Synonyms: heir, recipient, assignee, devisee, donee
Antonyms: giver, payer