Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Murder of law and order: On the Atiq Ahmed case in Uttar Pradesh

Murder of law and order: On the Atiq Ahmed case in Uttar Pradesh

There must be an independent inquiry (जाँच करना) into the Atiq Ahmed case

In life and in death, former lawmaker (व्यवस्थापक) Atiq Ahmed typified (प्रतीक होना, उदाहरण देना) the collapse of the rule of law (it is described as “a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards) in Uttar Pradesh. The visuals of both him and his brother Khalid Azim being shot dead in cold blood (जघन्य हत्या, निर्दयतापूर्वक), on Saturday, while they were handcuffed (हथकड़ी लगाना) and in police custody, show the abject (miserable, hopeless, woeful, awful, appalling, pathetic) lawlessness that prevails (प्रचलित होना, अस्तित्व में होना) in the State. Early in March, Ahmed had approached the Supreme Court of India expressing fear that he might be “killed in a fake encounter (an extrajudicial killing by the police or the armed forces, supposedly in self-defense, when they encounter suspected gangsters or terrorists) on one pretext (बहाना) or the other by the U.P. Police”. The Court refused to entertain (consider, give consideration to, take into consideration; agree to, approve of, support to) his plea (appeal, entreaty, petition, request). His son, Asad Ahmad, was killed in an alleged (कथित) encounter with a U.P. police team on Thursday in Jhansi. Father and son were both accused in the sensational daylight murder of a political rival in February. Ahmed, the former leader of the Samajwadi Party and Apna Dal opened his history sheet at the age of 17 and had more than 100 criminal cases at the time of his murder at the age of 60. Far from (not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from) facing the force of law, he reigned supreme as a don-cum-politician through various regimes (प्रशासन) in U.P. since the 1990s. Even when he went to jail, his empire of crime did not collapse. He was shifted to a prison in Gujarat in 2019, and on his return to U.P., was facing fresh charges of murder which ended with his own killing in the most chilling (frightening, terrifying, disturbing/horrifying) manner.

According to the U.P. police, 183 alleged criminals have been gunned down (shoot down, kill) in encounters in the last six years. More than 10,900 police encounters have taken place since March 2017. Due process is central (केंद्रीय, मुख्य) to any rule of law, and once that is allowed to be short-circuited (shorten, reduce, lessen, cut down (a process/activity)), the result is chaos (अराजकता, अव्यवस्था). The U.P. police and administration (the government, the regime) have stretched the limits of its legitimate (वैध, उचित) power by the dubious (संदिग्ध) and discriminatory (भेदभावपूर्ण) application (use, utilization, employment, implementation) of law and processes. The demolition of properties of people suspected of crime or participating in political protest has become routine. It appears that this practice is popular among the supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and that makes this trend not merely lawlessness (anarchy, absence of government, disorder, mobocracy, mayhem) but also a social pathology (abnormality, unhealthiness, malfunction). Several political parties have sought accountability (responsibility, liability, answerability) in the double murder that took place under the watch (careful observation) of the U.P. police. The State has announced a three-member commission (committee, council, panel) headed by a former High Court judge to inquire into the lapses (failure, mistake, blunder, oversight). Considering the serious charges that the State government and its police face of discrimination (prejudice, bias/bigotry, intolerance/inequity) based on religion and caste, and scant (little or no, hardly any, meagre) regard (consideration, care, concern, attention) for due process, an inquiry of a demonstrably (provably, obviously, clearly) independent (impartial, unbiased, unprejudiced, neutral, non-partisan, fair, even-handed) nature is required.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.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.

2.inquiry (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाँच करना
English Meaning - investigation, particularly an official one.

3.lawmaker (noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्यवस्थापक
English Meaning - a member of a legislature legislator.

4.typify (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतीक होना, उदाहरण देना
English Meaning - exemplify, represent, symbolize, epitomize, be an example of.

5.in cold blood (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - जघन्य हत्या, निर्दयतापूर्वक
English Meaning - ruthlessly; in a cruel way.

6.handcuff (verb)

Hindi Meaning - हथकड़ी लगाना
English Meaning - secure or restrain with handcuffs.

7.prevail (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रचलित होना, अस्तित्व में होना
English Meaning - exist, be in existence, be present, be prevalent.

8.pretext (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बहाना
English Meaning - a false reason that we give for doing something by hiding the real reason; excuse, false excuse, ostensible reason, alleged reason, supposed grounds, pretence, semblance.

9.alleged (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कथित
English Meaning - supposed, claimed, professed, purported, reported, ostensible.

10.regime (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रशासन
English Meaning - government.

11.central (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - केंद्रीय, मुख्य
English Meaning - main, crucial, fundamental, paramount.

12.chaos (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अराजकता, अव्यवस्था
English Meaning - disorder, disarray, turmoil, disorganization, disruption.

13.legitimate (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - वैध, उचित
English Meaning - legal, lawful, valid, reasonable, reliable.

14.dubious (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संदिग्ध
English Meaning - suspicious, questionable, doubtful.

15.discriminatory (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भेदभावपूर्ण
English Meaning - unfair, biased, bigoted, prejudiced, partisan, one-sided.

16.rule of law (phrase)

English Meaning - it is described as “a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards.

17.abject (adjective)

English Meaning - miserable, hopeless, woeful, awful, appalling, pathetic.

18.encounter (noun)

English Meaning - an extrajudicial killing by the police or the armed forces, supposedly in self-defense, when they encounter suspected gangsters or terrorists.

19.entertain (verb)

English Meaning - consider, give consideration to, take into consideration; agree to, approve of, support to.

20.plea (noun)

English Meaning - appeal, entreaty, petition, request.

21.in broad daylight (phrase)

English Meaning - during the day, when anyone can see something (a crime) happening easily/clearly.

22.far from (phrase)

English Meaning - not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from.

23.reign supreme (phrase)

English Meaning - be the best; be the most important.

24.chilling (adjective)

English Meaning - frightening, terrifying, disturbing/horrifying.

25.gun down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - shoot down, kill.

26.due process (noun)

English Meaning - fair treatment (per established principles & procedures).

27.short-circuit (verb)

English Meaning - shorten, reduce, lessen, cut down (a process/activity).

28.administration (noun)

English Meaning - the government, the regime.

29.stretch the limit (phrase)

English Meaning - push the boundary, push the envelope; (push the envelope means extend the limits of what is possible; try new things that have not been accepted or tried before).

30.application (noun)

English Meaning - use, utilization, employment, implementation.

31.lawlessness (noun)

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

32.pathology (noun)

English Meaning - abnormality, unhealthiness, malfunction.

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

English Meaning - ask for, request, appeal for.

34.accountability (noun)

English Meaning - responsibility, liability, answerability.

35.watch (noun)

English Meaning - careful observation.