Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Diminishing returns: On India and its Shanghai Cooperation Organisation engagement

Diminishing returns: On India and its Shanghai Cooperation Organisation engagement

India benefitted as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (शंघाई सहयोग संगठन), but the future is not bright

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Council (परिषद, समिति) of Heads of State meeting, hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, marked (निशान करना, इंगित करना) the first time India chaired (lead, direct, preside over, be in charge of, be in control of) the summit (बैठक, सम्मेलन) of regional countries. India became a full SCO member in 2017, along with Pakistan. The government has held that joining the originally Eurasian (relating to Eurasia (the total continental land mass of Europe and Asia combined)) group was important as member-countries make up (constitute, comprise, form, compose, represent) a third of the global GDP (सकल घरेलू उत्पाद), a fifth of global trade, a fifth of global oil reserves (reserves are quantities of oil and gas that are already discovered, recoverable, and commercial) and about 44% of natural gas (प्राकृतिक गैस) reserves. Also important is its focus on regional security and connectivity — areas key to India’s growth and making up its challenges, such as terrorism in Pakistan, and Chinese aggressions (आक्रमण) as well as the Belt and Road Initiative (The Belt and Road Initiative, formerly known as One Belt One Road or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 71 countries and international organizations. It is also referred to as “21st century silk road”. From South-east Asia to Eastern Europe and Africa, Belt and Road includes 71 countries that account for half the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP). Being “inside the tent” is important, especially as Pakistan is a member, even if that means conducting joint exercises (व्यायाम) under the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. The SCO also gives India an interface with Central Asian markets and resources. Finally, joining the SCO was a key part of India’s stated (expressed, announced, specified) ambitions on “multi-alignment (बहु-संरेखण, बहुसंकेत)” and “strategic autonomy (रणनीतिक स्वायत्तता)” while becoming a “balancing power (संतुलन शक्ति)” in the world, and it seems no coincidence that the Modi government joined the revived (पुनर्जीवित, पुनर्स्थापित) Quad with the U.S., Japan and Australia in the same year that it took up the full SCO membership. Over the past year, this has become an economic necessity (आवश्यकता, ज़रूरत) as India has chosen to be neutral (तटस्थ) on the Ukraine war, benefiting from fuel and fertilizer purchases from Russia.

Therefore, it was expected that India’s turn to chair the SCO this year would be a major event, rivalling (प्रतिद्वंद्वी) the expected pomp (ritual, display/spectacle, ceremony) around the G-20 (The G20, formed in 1999, is a group of twenty of the world’s largest economies that meets regularly to coordinate global policy on trade, health, climate, and other issues. It brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA. The G20 Countries together represent around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade, and two thirds of the world’s population) meet in September. In addition, given (considering, taking into account, bearing in mind) Russia’s and China’s blocks (obstruction, impediment, hindrance, stoppage, barrier) on the G-20 joint communiqué (official communication, official announcement message, statement, report, press release, bulletin, missive, advisory) that India is keen (ready, prepared, interested in) to find consensus (an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence) on, the SCO summit would have been a convenient venue for Mr. Modi to negotiate (talk, hold talks, consult together) a resolution with his counterparts (someone or something that has the same job or purpose as another; equivalent, equal, fellow). However, India’s decision to postpone the SCO summit due to the Prime Minister’s U.S. State visit, and then to turn it into a virtual (performing a task with the use of computer, especially over a network) summit may have been a dampener (a thing has a subduing effect; (dampen means lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, lower)) on the SCO outcomes (result, consequence, aftermath, effect). India’s concerns with hosting Xi Jinping given the LAC hostilities (opposition, conflict, resentment, enmity, aversion, antipathy), or Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif’s possible ‘grandstanding (a way of speaking or acting to get attention from the spectators (people) and then influencing them)’, or even the optics (the way in which something (political action/situation) is recognized by the general public) of welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been factors. Whatever the reason, while the members hammered out a New Delhi declaration (The Delhi Declaration, a comprehensive framework, outlines the Member States’ intent to strengthen cooperation across various domains such as politics, security, trade, economy, finance, investment, culture, and humanitarian ties. This effort aims to build a peaceful, safe, prosperous, and environmentally sustainable planet Earth, fostering harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature) and joint statements on radicalisation (the process of causing someone to follow radical (extreme) ways particularly in politics ( & society)) and digital transformation (the use of digital technology to change, improve, enhance, and replace existing business processes), the government was unable to forge consensus on other agreements including one on making English a formal SCO language, while India, despite being Chair, did not endorse (support, recommend, favour, authorize, uphold) a road map (plan/strategy to do something successfully) on economic cooperation, presumably (probably, in all likelihood, undoubtedly, seemingly) due to concerns over China’s imprint (lasting impact, effect, influence, impression). With its SCO chairpersonship (the term of a chairperson) ending, the government may now be feeling the law of diminishing returns over its SCO engagement — one that might make its task of hosting the G-20 even more difficult.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शंघाई सहयोग संगठन
English Meaning - The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China). The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and is seen as a counterweight to NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It was established as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across the vast Eurasian region, join forces to counteract emerging challenges and threats, and enhance trade, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

2.council (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिषद, समिति
English Meaning - board, panel, committee,

3.mark (verb)

Hindi Meaning - निशान करना, इंगित करना
English Meaning - indicate, signify, represent.

4.summit (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बैठक, सम्मेलन
English Meaning - meeting, conference, conclave.

5.Gross domestic product (GDP) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सकल घरेलू उत्पाद
English Meaning - a measure of economic activity in a country. It is the total value of a country’s annual output of goods and service.

6.natural gas (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्राकृतिक गैस
English Meaning - colourless, odorless highly flammable gaseous hydrocarbon consisting primarily of methane and ethane occurring naturally underground. It is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of plants and animals.

7.aggression (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आक्रमण
English Meaning - hostility, belligerence, combativeness, warmongering, hawkishness.

8.exercise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यायाम
English Meaning - activity, operations, manoeuvres.

9.multi-alignment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बहु-संरेखण, बहुसंकेत
English Meaning - a series of parallel relationships that strengthen bilateral partnerships and seek a common approach towards security, economic equity and the elimination of existential dangers like terrorism. It is simply an alignment with multiple foreign powers.

10.strategic autonomy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - रणनीतिक स्वायत्तता
English Meaning - the ability of a state (country) to pursue its national interests and adopt its preferred foreign policy without being constrained in any manner by other states (countries). In its pure form, strategic autonomy presupposes the state (country) in question possessing overwhelmingly superior power. This is what would enable that state (country) to resist the pressures that may be exerted by other states (countries) to compel it to change its policy or moderate its interests.

11.balancing power (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संतुलन शक्ति
English Meaning - (in international relations) the position and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power of the other side.

12.revived (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पुनर्जीवित, पुनर्स्थापित
English Meaning - restored, revitalized, renewed.

13.necessity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आवश्यकता, ज़रूरत
English Meaning - importance, top priority, exigency, seriousness.

14.neutral (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - तटस्थ
English Meaning - fair-minded, even-handed, non-participating, unaligned, impartial, unbiased, non-partisan.

15.rival (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिद्वंद्वी
English Meaning - be comparable to/with, be a match for, bear comparison with, keep up with, keep pace with.

16.diminishing (adjective)

English Meaning - decreasing, reducing, shrinking.

17.return (noun)

English Meaning - yield, profit, gain, dividend.

18.engagement (noun)

English Meaning - association, involvement, participation.

19.head of state (noun)

English Meaning - the leader of a country.

20.chair (verb)

English Meaning - lead, direct, preside over, be in charge of, be in control of.

21.Eurasian (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to Eurasia (the total continental land mass of Europe and Asia combined).

22.make up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - constitute, comprise, form, compose, represent.

23.reserves (noun)

English Meaning - reserves are quantities of oil and gas that are already discovered, recoverable, and commercial.

24.make up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - make amends for, compensate for, atone for, counterweigh, counterbalance, neutralize.

25.Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (noun)

English Meaning - The Belt and Road Initiative, formerly known as One Belt One Road or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 71 countries and international organizations. It is also referred to as “21st century silk road”. From South-east Asia to Eastern Europe and Africa, Belt and Road includes 71 countries that account for half the world’s population and a quarter of global GDP.

26.interface (noun)

English Meaning - contact, connection, association, relation.

27.stated (adjective)

English Meaning - expressed, announced, specified.

28.Quad/Quadrilateral (noun)

English Meaning - The ‘Quadrilateral’ is described as four democracies (the United States, Japan, Australia and India) with a shared objective to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.

29.take up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - start to hold a position/post.

30.pomp (noun)

English Meaning - ritual, display/spectacle, ceremony.

31.G-20 (noun)

English Meaning - The G20, formed in 1999, is a group of twenty of the world’s largest economies that meets regularly to coordinate global policy on trade, health, climate, and other issues. It brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA. The G20 Countries together represent around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade, and two thirds of the world’s population.

32.given (preposition)

English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

33.block (noun)

English Meaning - obstruction, impediment, hindrance, stoppage, barrier.

34.communique (noun)

English Meaning - official communication, official announcement message, statement, report, press release, bulletin, missive, advisory.

35.keen (adjective)

English Meaning - ready, prepared, interested in.

36.consensus (noun)

English Meaning - an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence.

37.negotiate (verb)

English Meaning - talk, hold talks, consult together.

38.counterpart (noun)

English Meaning - someone or something that has the same job or purpose as another; equivalent, equal, fellow.

39.turn into (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - change into something different.

40.virtual (adjective)

English Meaning - performing a task with the use of computer, especially over a network.

41.dampener (noun)

English Meaning - a thing has a subduing effect; (dampen means lessen, decrease, diminish, reduce, lower).

42.outcome (noun)

English Meaning - result, consequence, aftermath, effect.

43.Line of Actual Control (LAC) (noun)

English Meaning - the de-facto (effective) border between India and China. The LAC is a 4,057-km border running through three areas-Western (Ladakh, Ladakh (Kashmir)), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).

44.hostility (noun)

English Meaning - opposition, conflict, resentment, enmity, aversion, antipathy.

45.grandstanding (noun)

English Meaning - a way of speaking or acting to get attention from the spectators (people) and then influencing them.

46.optics (noun)

English Meaning - the way in which something (political action/situation) is recognized by the general public.

47.hammer out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - produce, bring about, forge, develop (a plan/agreement) after a lot of work.

48.New Delhi Declaration (SCO, 2023) (noun)

English Meaning - The Delhi Declaration, a comprehensive framework, outlines the Member States’ intent to strengthen cooperation across various domains such as politics, security, trade, economy, finance, investment, culture, and humanitarian ties. This effort aims to build a peaceful, safe, prosperous, and environmentally sustainable planet Earth, fostering harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

49.radicalisation (noun)

English Meaning - the process of causing someone to follow radical (extreme) ways particularly in politics ( & society).

50.digital transformation (noun)

English Meaning - the use of digital technology to change, improve, enhance, and replace existing business processes.

51.endorse (verb)

English Meaning - support, recommend, favour, authorize, uphold.

52.road map (noun)

English Meaning - plan/strategy to do something successfully.

53.presumably (adverb)

English Meaning - probably, in all likelihood, undoubtedly, seemingly.

54.imprint (noun)

English Meaning - lasting impact, effect, influence, impression.