Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Grassroots peace: on the local body elections in West Bengal

Grassroots peace: on the local body elections in West Bengal

Free and fair elections to local bodies are not possible without peace

Local body elections in West Bengal scheduled (plan for, arrange , organize; fix a time for) for July 8 have yet again brought political violence in the State to the forefront (सबसे आगे). Seven persons — they include supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and Indian Secular Front — have died since the notification of the polls on June 8. The State Election Commission (SEC) and the West Bengal government have approached the Supreme Court of India challenging (चुनौती देना) the Calcutta High Court order of June 15, directing the deployment (तैनाती, फैलाव) of central forces in all districts. The State government and the SEC do not have enough resources (संसाधन) at their disposal to conduct the mammoth (विशाल) exercise (व्यायाम) across the State on a single day. Therefore, the deployment of central forces should have been welcomed (receive, embrace, usher in), particularly when the High Court has directed that the cost of the deployment will be borne by the Centre and not the State government. Elections will be held to nearly 73,897 seats of the three-tier local body structure. In 2013, the SEC itself had sought Supreme Court direction for the deployment of central forces, in stark (clear, distinct, evident, obvious, striking) contrast (के विपरीत) with its opposition to it now. Violence has been normalised (सामान्य बनाना) in State politics for decades (दशक, दस वर्ष की अवधि।), and parties in the opposition always seek the deployment of central forces in all elections.

In the 2018 local body polls, there was no deployment of central forces, and in more than one third of the seats, the ruling Trinamool Congress candidates won without contest. Opposition parties were not allowed to put up (उम्मीदवार होना, नामांकित करना) any candidate in these seats. While the situation is a bit better this time, the Opposition parties have not been able to file nominations (नामांकन) in about 50 of the 341 blocks of the State amid (के बीच में) reports of the intimidation (डराना-धमकाना) of candidates. Governor C.V. Ananda Bose visited violence-affected areas at Bhangar and Canning, and Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, has opened a control room where citizens can register their grievances (शिकायत) related to the polls. The “peace room”, as the Governor calls it, will forward these complaints to the State government and the SEC. The Governor has turned the spotlight on the deteriorating law and order (कानून एवं व्यवस्था) situation and nudged (encourage, push, prompt, prod, coax) the SEC and the State government to take complaints of violence seriously. He has also carefully avoided a confrontation (clash, fight, conflict, tussle, skirmish) with the elected government. West Bengal was among the first States to have a three-tier panchayat system aimed at democratic decentralisation (the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a central location or authority). It is for all the stakeholders (a person with an interest in something) including political parties to ensure that the exercise of electing panchayat functionaries (official, office-bearer, office-holder, administrator) does not descend into ((of a situation) fall, slide, degenerate, deteriorate, decline) lawlessness (anarchy, absence of government, disorder, mobocracy, mayhem) and chaos.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.forefront (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सबसे आगे
English Meaning - fore, front, front line; a place of importance; a place of prominence.

2.challenge (verb)

Hindi Meaning - चुनौती देना
English Meaning - object to, disagree with, protest against, dispute.

3.deployment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तैनाती, फैलाव
English Meaning - the act of employing forces/troops into effective action.

4.resource (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संसाधन
English Meaning - a source of help/support; supporting/helping/facility; staff, people.

5.mammoth (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विशाल
English Meaning - huge, enormous, massive, colossal.

6.exercise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यायाम
English Meaning - task, assignment, piece of work.

7.in contrast (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - के विपरीत
English Meaning - when compared to another.

8.normalise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सामान्य बनाना
English Meaning - to cause something previously considered abnormal or unacceptable as normal.

9.decade (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दशक, दस वर्ष की अवधि।
English Meaning - a period of ten years.

10.put up (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - उम्मीदवार होना, नामांकित करना
English Meaning - nominate, propose, put forward, recommend.

11.nomination (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नामांकन
English Meaning - an official suggestion of someone as a candidate in an election.

12.amid (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - के बीच में
English Meaning - in the middle of, surrounded by; during.

13.intimidation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - डराना-धमकाना
English Meaning - threatening, frightening, menacing, terrifying, scaring, domineering, browbeating, bullying, pressurizing, coercion, harassment, tormenting.

14.grievance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शिकायत
English Meaning - complaint, protestation, protest, criticism, problem, objection.

15.law and order (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कानून एवं व्यवस्था
English Meaning - a condition in which the existing rules, regulations, norms and related legal codes are recognized and observed for the sustenance of peace, orderliness and security of lives and property in society.

16.grassroots (plural noun)

English Meaning - the most basic level of an organisation.

17.schedule (verb)

English Meaning - plan for, arrange , organize; fix a time for.

18.at/in/to the forefront of (phrase)

English Meaning - be in a leading/front/important position in an important activity; spearhead, van guard, front line, leading position.

19.at hand (phrase)

English Meaning - readily available, at one’s disposal, nearby, close by.

20.at one’s disposal (phrase)

English Meaning - readily available for your use at any time; able to help you at any time; accessible, usable, on hand, handy.

21.welcome (verb)

English Meaning - receive, embrace, usher in.

22.borne past participle of bear (verb)

English Meaning - absorb, support, take on, carry, handle.

23.tier (noun)

English Meaning - level, grade, step.

24.sought past and past participle of seek (verb)

English Meaning - ask for, request, solicit, appeal for.

25.stark (adjective)

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

26.turn the spotlight on (phrase)

English Meaning - to call attention to something.

27.deteriorating (adjective)

English Meaning - declining, weakening, dwindling, flagging, languishing.

28.nudge (verb)

English Meaning - encourage, push, prompt, prod, coax.

29.confrontation (noun)

English Meaning - clash, fight, conflict, tussle, skirmish.

30.Panchayati Raj (noun)

English Meaning - the system of local self-government of villages in rural India as opposed to urban and suburban municipalities.

31.Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) or Three-tier PR structure (noun)

English Meaning - The system has three levels: Gram Panchayat (village level), Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti (block level), and Zila Parishad (district level). It was formalized in 1992 by the 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution.

32.The 73rd and the 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts (CAA) , 1992 (noun)

English Meaning - These acts prescribe the states to establish a three-tier system of Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels and Municipalities in the urban areas respectively. States are expected to devolve adequate powers, responsibilities and finances upon these bodies so as to enable them to prepare plans and implement schemes for economic development and social justice. These Acts provide a basic framework of decentralisation of powers and authorities to the Panchayati Raj/Municipal bodies at different levels.

33.decentralisation (noun)

English Meaning - the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a central location or authority.

34.stakeholder (noun)

English Meaning - a person with an interest in something.

35.functionary (noun)

English Meaning - official, office-bearer, office-holder, administrator.

36.descend into (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - (of a situation) fall, slide, degenerate, deteriorate, decline.

37.lawlessness (noun)

English Meaning - anarchy, absence of government, disorder, mobocracy, mayhem.

38.chaos (noun)

English Meaning - disorder, disarray, turmoil, disorganization, disruption.