Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Focus on the borders: On the stalemate in India-China relations

Focus on the borders: On the stalemate in India-China relations

India and China must end the lingering unpredictability across the Line of Actual Control (वास्तविक नियंत्रण रेखा)

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s message to his visiting Chinese counterpart (समकक्ष) General Li Shangfu, that Beijing’s violation (उल्लंघन) of border agreements had “eroded ((gradually) undermine, weaken, spoil, deteriorate, destroy) the entire basis of bilateral relations”, has once again served as (के रूप में सेवा) a reminder of how the two neighbours remain far apart in their assessments (evaluation, analysis, examination, appraisal) of what ails (trouble, bother, beset, afflict, worry) their relationship, and how to fix it. Thursday’s talks (वार्ता), on the sidelines (it refers to a meeting/forum occurs at the same time as the scheduled meeting/forum, but is not itself an item on the agenda) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (शंघाई सहयोग संगठन) Defence Ministers Meeting in New Delhi, saw both sides reiterate (बार बार दुहराना) their respective stands (position, viewpoint, stance, perspective, approach) on the border issue but no meeting of minds. The Defence Minister underlined (रेखांकित करना) India’s position that the development of ties (association, relationship, bond, connection) is premised on (पर आधार) peace on the borders. While India has continued to convey a sense of urgency to resolve the Line of Actual Control (LAC) (वास्तविक नियंत्रण रेखा) crisis, the Chinese Defence Minister, on the other hand (as an alternative), called on (अपील करना, अनुरोध) India to “take a long-term view” and “place the border issue in an appropriate position in bilateral (द्विपक्षीय) relations”, a divergence (विचलन, प्रस्थान) from India’s stand that the rest of relations is predicated on (base, be dependent, establish, found, premise) peace along the LAC. Rajnath Singh conveyed to Beijing that if normalcy (सामान्यता, साधारण अवस्था) is to be restored in ties, disengagement (withdrawal, departure, retreat (of military troops from an area of conflict)) in the two remaining friction points (घर्षण बिंदु) will need to be followed by de-escalation (reduction, lessening, decrease (the intensity of something)). This includes the eventual (concluding, resulting, consequent, subsequent) de-induction (an act of moving out of troops deployed from an area of conflict) of the estimated one lakh troops from both sides that have remained deployed (position, place, locate, situate) in forward areas (an area in proximity to combat) for close to three years — a situation not seen along the India-China border in more than three decades (a period of ten years).

The disengagement process has itself been long and tortuous (complicated, complex, confusing, overlong, lengthy). Over the past three years, buffer zones (neutral area) have been established in some of the five friction (disagreement, disunity, conflict, dispute, argument) areas where the two sides disengaged (withdraw, pull out, leave, move out, retreat). In two other areas, Demchok and Depsang, Beijing has dragged its feet, slowing down the initial momentum (the increase in the rate of growth/development of something; strength, impetus) of the Corps (it literally means “army body”; The corps is treated as an operational unit of employment by the Army and can be comprised of 20,000-45,000 soldiers. It is sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more divisions. It is commanded by the Corps Commander, who holds the rank of Lieutenant General. “Corps” was first introduced in France about 1805 by Napoleon as a more flexible tactical grouping of two or more divisions) Commander meetings. The 18th round, held days before the Chinese Defence Minister’s arrival and after an unexplained four month-delay following the previous round, did not yield (give, provide, bring in, generate, produce) a joint statement, suggesting stark (clear, distinct, evident, obvious, striking) divergences remain on how to move forward (proceed, advance, improve). De-escalation, meanwhile, remains a far-off prospect (chance, possibility, expectation, likelihood). This new normal along the LAC, with large deployments (the act of employing forces/troops into effective action) in close proximity (nearness, presence, closeness) as well as an on-going race (contest, competition) to build more forward infrastructure (the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc), appears here to stay, leaving the borders in what the Indian Army Chief has described as a “stable but unpredictable” state. Regardless of (despite, in spite of, notwithstanding) Beijing’s wishes to downplay the seriousness of the border situation and relegate (downgrade, lower, assign a less important position to) it to an “appropriate” position, managing the LAC should certainly remain the priority for both sides to prevent the recurrence (repetition, reoccurrence, reappearance, reemergence,) of the clashes (fight, conflict, skirmish, confrontation) of 2020. India and China cannot restore normalcy in relations under the shadow of (in danger of something) lingering unpredictability on the borders.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.stalemate (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गतिरोध, ठहराव
English Meaning - deadlock, impasse, standstill/stand-off.

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

Hindi Meaning - वास्तविक नियंत्रण रेखा
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).

3.counterpart (noun)

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

4.violation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन
English Meaning - breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance.

5.bilateral (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - द्विपक्षीय
English Meaning - involving two groups or countries.

6.serve as (verb)

Hindi Meaning - के रूप में सेवा
English Meaning - ac as, function as.

7.talks (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वार्ता
English Meaning - dialogue, discussion, discourse, debate, negotiation, deliberation, consultation.

8.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.

9.reiterate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बार बार दुहराना
English Meaning - repeat, say again, restate.

10.underline (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - रेखांकित करना
English Meaning - highlight, underscore, emphasize, stress, draw attention to, point up.

11.premise on (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पर आधार
English Meaning - base something on.

12.call on (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - अपील करना, अनुरोध
English Meaning - ask, request, urge, demand.

13.divergence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचलन, प्रस्थान
English Meaning - deviation, departure, dissimilarity.

14.normalcy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सामान्यता, साधारण अवस्था
English Meaning - a normal condition; normality, regularity.

15.friction point (noun)

Hindi Meaning - घर्षण बिंदु
English Meaning - area in conflict; friction area.

16.lingering (adjective)

English Meaning - long-drawn-out, protracted, prolonged, persisting, continuing.

17.unpredictability (noun)

English Meaning - uncertainty, precariousness, unreliability, instability, volatility.

18.erode (verb)

English Meaning - (gradually) undermine, weaken, spoil, deteriorate, destroy.

19.assessment (noun)

English Meaning - evaluation, analysis, examination, appraisal.

20.ail (verb)

English Meaning - trouble, bother, beset, afflict, worry.

21.on the sidelines (phrase)

English Meaning - it refers to a meeting/forum occurs at the same time as the scheduled meeting/forum, but is not itself an item on the agenda.

22.stand (noun)

English Meaning - position, viewpoint, stance, perspective, approach.

23.a meeting of minds (phrase)

English Meaning - consensus, cooperation, coming together, good will.

24.ties (noun)

English Meaning - association, relationship, bond, connection.

25.on the other hand (phrase)

English Meaning - as an alternative.

26.predicate on/upon (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - base, be dependent, establish, found, premise.

27.disengagement (noun)

English Meaning - withdrawal, departure, retreat (of military troops from an area of conflict).

28.de-escalation (noun)

English Meaning - reduction, lessening, decrease (the intensity of something).

29.eventual (adjective)

English Meaning - concluding, resulting, consequent, subsequent.

30.de-induction (noun)

English Meaning - an act of moving out of troops deployed from an area of conflict.

31.deploy (verb)

English Meaning - position, place, locate, situate.

32.forward area (noun)

English Meaning - an area in proximity to combat.

33.decade (noun)

English Meaning - a period of ten years.

34.tortuous (adjective)

English Meaning - complicated, complex, confusing, overlong, lengthy.

35.buffer zone (noun)

English Meaning - neutral area.

36.disengage (verb)

English Meaning - withdraw, pull out, leave, move out, retreat.

37.friction (noun)

English Meaning - disagreement, disunity, conflict, dispute, argument.

38.friction points/friction areas (noun)

English Meaning - areas in conflict; points of Chinese ingress into hitherto India-controlled territory in Ladakh. These ‘friction points’ are Depsang, Galwan, Hot Springs, Gogra, North bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range and Demchok.

39.drag one’s feet (phrase)

English Meaning - delay, procrastinate, postpone action, put off doing something, use delaying tactics, take one’s time.

40.momentum (noun)

English Meaning - the increase in the rate of growth/development of something; strength, impetus.

41.Corps (noun)

English Meaning - it literally means “army body”; The corps is treated as an operational unit of employment by the Army and can be comprised of 20,000-45,000 soldiers. It is sometimes known as a field corps, which consists of two or more divisions. It is commanded by the Corps Commander, who holds the rank of Lieutenant General. “Corps” was first introduced in France about 1805 by Napoleon as a more flexible tactical grouping of two or more divisions.

42.yield (verb)

English Meaning - give, provide, bring in, generate, produce.

43.stark (adjective)

English Meaning - clear, distinct, evident, obvious, striking.

44.move forward (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - proceed, advance, improve.

45.far-off (adjective)

English Meaning - remote, faraway, outlying.

46.prospect (noun)

English Meaning - chance, possibility, expectation, likelihood.

47.the new normal (phrase)

English Meaning - an earlier unusual situation that becomes a standard now.

48.deployment (noun)

English Meaning - the act of employing forces/troops into effective action.

49.proximity (noun)

English Meaning - nearness, presence, closeness.

50.race (noun)

English Meaning - contest, competition.

51.infrastructure (noun)

English Meaning - the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.

52.be here to stay (phrase)

English Meaning - to be permanent; to be generally accepted; to be present for a long time.

53.regardless of (preposition)

English Meaning - despite, in spite of, notwithstanding.

54.downplay (verb)

English Meaning - downgrade, play down, minimize, de-emphasize, put down.

55.relegate (verb)

English Meaning - downgrade, lower, assign a less important position to.

56.recurrence (noun)

English Meaning - repetition, reoccurrence, reappearance, reemergence,.

57.clash (noun)

English Meaning - fight, conflict, skirmish, confrontation.