Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Heavy-handed hurry: On The Wire fiasco

Heavy-handed hurry: On The Wire fiasco

Perils (जोखिम, ख़तरा) of editorial laxity (शिथिलता, लापरवाही, गैरजिम्मेदारी) are obvious, but defamation (मानहानि, चरित्र हनन, बदनामी) should be decriminalised (to stop something from being illegal; make legal, legitimate, validate)

What happens when there is a grave (गंभीर, महत्वपूर्ण, आलोचनात्मक) lapse (चूक, भूल, व्यतीत) in editorial judgment (निर्णय, प्रलय, निष्कर्ष) and something false gets published? If the report is against someone who wields (exercise, exert, be possessed of, have, hold, control) influence, and the media institution concerned is a known critic (आलोचक, समीक्षक) of the Government, the consequences (परिणाम, प्रभाव) might turn out (appear, emerge, be present; transpire, happen, occur, come about) to be disproportionately (अनुपातहीन, बेतहाशा) severe. Digital publication The Wire finds itself in precisely this predicament (problematic situation, difficulty, quandary) after a series of its stories has been discredited (बदनाम, कलंक, अपमान) due to what it admits (reveal, disclose, declare, make public, acknowledge) is fabricated (forge, falsify, fake) evidence provided by one of its own consultants. Its reporting relating to the alleged (कथित, दावा किया हुआ) privileges (विशेषाधिकार, लाभ) enjoyed (have the benefit of, have the advantage, be favoured with) by a purported (कथित, प्रकट, दावा किया हुआ) beneficiary of social media giant (a very large company) Meta’s ‘XCheck’ programme — privileges that it claimed included the right to report any post and have it taken down (remove) with no questions asked — has turned out to be a major debacle (fiasco, failure, blunder). Amit Malviya, head of the ruling BJP’s national IT department, named as the one who had got an Instagram post removed, has filed a police complaint, alleging a conspiracy  (षड़यंत्र, मिलीभगत, साज़िश) by The Wire to harm his reputation through forgery (falsification, manipulation, misrepresentation, distortion). The Delhi Police, with whom The Wire too filed a complaint against its consultant Devesh Kumar for allegedly (आरोपित करना, अभियोग लगाना) perpetrating an elaborate (detailed, complicated, intricate, complex) hoax (deception, fraud, cheat, bluff, humbug) by submitting fabricated digital proof, lost no time in searching the residences of its editors and seizing (take possession of, take away, take over, confiscate) laptops and phones. Even by the set standards of the present regime (government) in dealing with vocal (vociferous, outspoken, forthright; relating to someone who expresses his/her views freely) dissenters, the hurry (haste, hustle, urgency; Importance, top priority, necessity, seriousness) shown and the seizures (takeover, appropriation, confiscation) made by the police are shocking. The effort seems to be to make an example of The Wire.

Despite the element of forgery in this case, one cannot dismiss (deny, reject, disregard, spurn, brush off) a possible conspiracy to discredit The Wire. Mr. Malviya has limited his complaint to its founders and the journalists whose bylines (a line at the head of a newspaper or magazine article carrying the writer’s name) appeared in initial reports concerning him. Further, the complaint does not name Mr. Kumar, raising a doubt whether this is intentional (purposeful, conscious, deliberate, intended, thoughtful). The police should not really be investigating the defamation angle (point of view, perspective, viewpoint), as Supreme Court judgments are clear that prosecution (legal action, legal proceeding, legal case) for defamation should only be at the instance of (at the request of, at the suggestion of) the aggrieved (disgruntled, dissatisfied, unhappy, upset, annoyed, disappointed) person, and there can be no police FIR. The case highlights (emphasize, draw attention on, underline, underscore) the continuing hazard of having defamation on the criminal statute (Act, bill, law, decree) to be exploited (take advantage of, make use of, utilize) by influential (powerful, strong, dominant, authoritative) state-backed (supported by the government) actors (participant (in an action)) rather than (instead of) a civil remedy (solution, answer, antidote/panacea) to aggrieved individuals. The Court’s refusal to decriminalise defamation does add state power to the armoury (a range of resources ready for a particular use) of those waiting for occasional (rare, infrequent, irregular) lapses in the media. The absence of malice (ill will, hostility, hatred, hatefulness, bitterness, venom, evil intentions), a key defence in such cases, is quite obvious in The Wire case, as no one would wilfully (deliberately, purposefully) publish a report based on fabricated proof and fake validation ((official) approval, acceptance) by experts under the clear risk of exposure (revelation, display, exhibition, disclosure; condemnation, denunciation). At the same time (simultaneously), media outlets should acknowledge (accept, recognize, realize) the perils of the interplay (interaction, cooperation, compromises) between editorial laxity and confirmation bias (prejudice, partiality, injustice, discrimination) in assessing a potential (prospective, latent, future, developing) story.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.peril (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जोखिम, ख़तरा
English Meaning - danger, jeopardy, hazard, risk, difficulty.

2.laxity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शिथिलता, लापरवाही, गैरजिम्मेदारी
English Meaning - negligence, carelessness, lack of concern, irresponsibility.

3.defamation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानहानि, चरित्र हनन, बदनामी
English Meaning - character assassination, libel, misrepresentation, vilification, backbiting, abuse, scandalmongering, malicious gossip.

4.grave (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - गंभीर, महत्वपूर्ण, आलोचनात्मक
English Meaning - crucial, critical, serious, awful.

5.lapse (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चूक, भूल, व्यतीत
English Meaning - failure, mistake, blunder, oversight.

6.judgment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्णय, प्रलय, निष्कर्ष
English Meaning - opinion, conclusion, decision.

7.critic (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आलोचक, समीक्षक
English Meaning - censurer, attacker, fault-finder.

8.consequence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिणाम, प्रभाव
English Meaning - outcome, ramification, repercussion.

9.disproportionately (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - अनुपातहीन, बेतहाशा
English Meaning - inordinately, immoderately, excessively.

10.discredit (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बदनाम, कलंक, अपमान
English Meaning - stigmatise, dishonour, disgrace; condemn, denounce, criticize;

11.alleged (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कथित, दावा किया हुआ
English Meaning - claimed, professed, reported, ostensible.

12.privilege (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशेषाधिकार, लाभ
English Meaning - advantage, benefit, prerogative.

13.purported (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कथित, प्रकट, दावा किया हुआ
English Meaning - apparent, claimed, supposed, presumed, seeming.

14.allege (verb)

Hindi Meaning - आरोपित करना, अभियोग लगाना
English Meaning - claim, charge, accuse.

15.conspiracy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - षड़यंत्र, मिलीभगत, साज़िश
English Meaning - collusion, collaboration, connivance, machination.

16.heavy-handed (adjective)

English Meaning - oppressive, harsh/ruthless, autocratic.

17.hurry (noun)

English Meaning - haste, hustle, urgency; Importance, top priority, necessity, seriousness.

18.fiasco (noun)

English Meaning - failure, mess, blunder, screw-up, disaster, debacle, shambles.

19.decriminalise (verb)

English Meaning - to stop something from being illegal; make legal, legitimate, validate.

20.wield (verb)

English Meaning - exercise, exert, be possessed of, have, hold, control.

21.turn out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - appear, emerge, be present; transpire, happen, occur, come about.

22.find oneself (phrase)

English Meaning - to realize and accept what you are really like and what you want to do in life; accept one’s situation.

23.predicament (noun)

English Meaning - problematic situation, difficulty, quandary.

24.fabricate (verb)

English Meaning - forge, falsify, fake.

25.admit (verb)

English Meaning - reveal, disclose, declare, make public, acknowledge.

26.enjoy (verb)

English Meaning - have the benefit of, have the advantage, be favoured with.

27.giant (noun)

English Meaning - a very large company.

28.take down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - remove.

29.debacle (noun)

English Meaning - fiasco, failure, blunder.

30.forgery (noun)

English Meaning - falsification, manipulation, misrepresentation, distortion.

31.allegedly (adverb)

English Meaning - reportedly, supposedly, purportedly, ostensibly, apparently.

32.perpetrate (verb)

English Meaning - commit, carry out, perform/execute (a harmful/illegal action).

33.elaborate (adjective)

English Meaning - detailed, complicated, intricate, complex.

34.hoax (noun)

English Meaning - deception, fraud, cheat, bluff, humbug.

35.lose no time (phrase)

English Meaning - do a particular thing asap.

36.seize (verb)

English Meaning - take possession of, take away, take over, confiscate.

37.set (adjective)

English Meaning - defined, determined, prescribed.

38.regime (noun)

English Meaning - government.

39.vocal (adjective)

English Meaning - vociferous, outspoken, forthright; relating to someone who expresses his/her views freely.

40.dissenter (noun)

English Meaning - dissident, objector, protester, nonconformist, rebellion.

41.seizure (noun)

English Meaning - takeover, appropriation, confiscation.

42.dismiss (verb)

English Meaning - deny, reject, disregard, spurn, brush off.

43.byline (noun)

English Meaning - a line at the head of a newspaper or magazine article carrying the writer’s name.

44.intentional (adjective)

English Meaning - purposeful, conscious, deliberate, intended, thoughtful.

45.angle (noun)

English Meaning - point of view, perspective, viewpoint.

46.prosecution (noun)

English Meaning - legal action, legal proceeding, legal case.

47.at the instance of (phrase)

English Meaning - at the request of, at the suggestion of.

48.aggrieved (adjective)

English Meaning - disgruntled, dissatisfied, unhappy, upset, annoyed, disappointed.

49.first information report (FIR) (noun)

English Meaning - a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence.

50.highlight (verb)

English Meaning - emphasize, draw attention on, underline, underscore.

51.statute (noun)

English Meaning - Act, bill, law, decree.

52.exploit (verb)

English Meaning - take advantage of, make use of, utilize.

53.influential (adjective)

English Meaning - powerful, strong, dominant, authoritative.

54.state-backed (adjective)

English Meaning - supported by the government.

55.actor (noun)

English Meaning - participant (in an action).

56.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

57.remedy (noun)

English Meaning - solution, answer, antidote/panacea.

58.armoury (noun)

English Meaning - a range of resources ready for a particular use.

59.occasional (adjective)

English Meaning - rare, infrequent, irregular.

60.malice (noun)

English Meaning - ill will, hostility, hatred, hatefulness, bitterness, venom, evil intentions.

61.wilfully (adverb)

English Meaning - deliberately, purposefully.

62.validation (noun)

English Meaning - (official) approval, acceptance.

63.exposure (noun)

English Meaning - revelation, display, exhibition, disclosure; condemnation, denunciation.

64.at the same time (phrase)

English Meaning - simultaneously.

65.outlet (noun)

English Meaning - an organization (related to journalism).

66.acknowledge (verb)

English Meaning - accept, recognize, realize.

67.interplay (noun)

English Meaning - interaction, cooperation, compromises.

68.bias (noun)

English Meaning - prejudice, partiality, injustice, discrimination.

69.confirmation bias (noun)

English Meaning - the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values.

70.potential (adjective)

English Meaning - prospective, latent, future, developing.