Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Needless provocation: On China ‘renaming’ Arunachal places

Needless provocation: On China ‘renaming’ Arunachal places

India, China must adhere to (निम्न का पालन, के मुताबिक चलना) past agreements to keep the peace along the border

The Chinese government’s announcement on December 30 that it had come up with (साथ आएं, जुटाना, प्रस्तुत करना, सुझाव देना) its own names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh could not have come at a more precarious (अनिश्चित, जोखिम भरा, खतरनाक) moment for an already strained (तनावपूर्ण, बेचैनी, मुश्किल, परेशान) relationship. The move is ostensibly (प्रकट रूप से, देखने में) aimed at “standardising (मानकीकरण करना, व्यवस्थित करना, विनियमित करना)” how places in the Indian State are depicted (चित्रित करना, वर्णन करना) in official Chinese maps, which show all of Arunachal as “south Tibet”. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement in response to the move that “assigning (नियुक्त करना, निर्दिष्ट करना, ठहराना) invented (आविष्कृत, काल्पनिक, असत्य) names” will not “alter” any facts on the ground and Arunachal’s status as an integral part of India. As the MEA noted, this is not the first time that Beijing has done so. In 2017, Chinese authorities (प्राधिकारी, अधिकारियों) issued “official” names for six places in Arunachal. The first instance followed a visit by the Dalai Lama to the State, which Beijing had protested. The list on this occasion (अवसर, समय, प्रयोजन) is longer, and not only includes eight towns but also four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass (पहाड में से निकलता रास्ता, पहाड़ों के माध्यम से एक मार्ग). The list covers 11 out of Arunachal’s 25 districts, extending from Tawang in the west to Dibang Valley (a low area between hills or mountains typically with a river running through it) in the north and Anjaw in the east. The spread of the locations suggests the places were chosen to reiterate (बार बार दुहराना, फिर से कहना) Chinese claims to the whole State.

If the latest move (step, action, measure) is largely (काफी हद तक, व्यापक रूप से, विस्तार से) symbolic and will not, as the MEA observed, change facts on the ground (in a situation/place where things are happening really/practically), it needs to be seen against the backdrop (situation, scenario, context) of broader changes in China’s approach to the boundary dispute. The naming announcement was made ahead of a new border law coming into force on January 1, 2022. The law, which was proposed in March 2021 and calls for (require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand) various Chinese government bodies to take steps to “safeguard (protect, shield, shelter, defend)” Chinese territory, was put forward (propose, offer, advance, submit/present) a year into the crisis along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) (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)). New Delhi, which has expressed concern (apprehension, disquiet, agitation) about the law, has seen it as an attempt to formalise (legalize, legitimize, agree to (rules & regulations)) the transgressions (infringement, contravention, breach, violation, overstepping) made by the Chinese military since the summer of 2020 and put a stamp on China’s unilateral (relating to a method of taking decisions (particularly on international relations) by a state (country) individually without considering other states (countries). In general, it is relating to the decision taken individually without consulting with the others concerned) measures to redraw (create, formulate, work out, devise, think up (something again)) the LAC. The Chinese Foreign Ministry defended (justify, vindicate, argue for, speak for, support) the latest move saying the matter was “within China’s sovereignty (jurisdiction, supremacy, power, authority, control, influence)”. Yet, Beijing had a very different view on India’s own internal reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, which elicited not only sharp statements from China but also led to Beijing raising (bring up, introduce, mention, put forward, bring forth) the matter at the United Nations Security Council (it is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, charged with ensuring international peace and security). The announcement this week came as India and China remain engaged at both diplomatic (tactful, sensitive, subtle, delicate; consular, foreign-policy) and military levels to complete the stalled (obstructed, impeded, hindered, hampered, blocked, interrupted) disengagement (withdrawal, departure, retreat (of military troops from an area of conflict)) process along the LAC. Restoring relations, as well as the status quo (the present situation, the current state, the existing state of affairs) along the borders, will require mutual sensitivity (sensibility, finer feelings) and an adherence (compliance, observance, conformity) to past agreements that helped keep the peace, rather than (instead of) needless provocations (उकसाव, झुंझलाहट, आंदोलन) that expand an already long list of differences (disagreement, difference of opinion, misunderstanding, dispute, argument).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.provocation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उकसाव, झुंझलाहट, आंदोलन
English Meaning - annoyance, irritation, agitation, vexation; stirring, goading, prompting.

2.adhere to (verb)

Hindi Meaning - निम्न का पालन, के मुताबिक चलना
English Meaning - abide by, follow, obey, comply with.

3.come up with (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - साथ आएं, जुटाना, प्रस्तुत करना, सुझाव देना
English Meaning - propose, put forward, present, submit, suggest, recommend.

4.precarious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिश्चित, जोखिम भरा, खतरनाक
English Meaning - risky, dangerous, unsafe; hazardous, perilous, unreliable.

5.strained (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - तनावपूर्ण, बेचैनी, मुश्किल, परेशान
English Meaning - tense, unease, difficult, troubled.

6.ostensibly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रकट रूप से, देखने में
English Meaning - in a way that something appears or is officially stated to be true/real, but it might not be; apparently, seemingly, allegedly, professedly, supposedly, purportedly.

7.standardise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मानकीकरण करना, व्यवस्थित करना, विनियमित करना
English Meaning - systematize, regulate.

8.depict (verb)

Hindi Meaning - चित्रित करना, वर्णन करना
English Meaning - portray, represent, describe, detail, narrate, illustrate, delineate, outline.

9.assign (verb)

Hindi Meaning - नियुक्त करना, निर्दिष्ट करना, ठहराना
English Meaning - give, designate.

10.invented (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आविष्कृत, काल्पनिक, असत्य
English Meaning - imagined, notional, unreal, fanciful; made-up, concocted, fabricated, manufactured.

11.authorities (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्राधिकारी, अधिकारियों
English Meaning - officials.

12.occasion (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अवसर, समय, प्रयोजन
English Meaning - time, moment, point.

13.mountain pass (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पहाड में से निकलता रास्ता, पहाड़ों के माध्यम से एक मार्ग
English Meaning - a route through mountains; passage, way, road.

14.reiterate (verb)

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

15.largely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - काफी हद तक, व्यापक रूप से, विस्तार से
English Meaning - to a large/great extent.

16.on the ground (phrase)

English Meaning - in a situation/place where things are happening really/practically.

17.move (noun)

English Meaning - step, action, measure.

18.valley (noun)

English Meaning - a low area between hills or mountains typically with a river running through it.

19.seen against something (phrase)

English Meaning - considered with reference to something.

20.backdrop (noun)

English Meaning - situation, scenario, context.

21.come into force (phrase)

English Meaning - (a new law, rule, change etc.) come into effect, operative, become valid.

22.call for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand.

23.safeguard (verb)

English Meaning - protect, shield, shelter, defend.

24.territory (noun)

English Meaning - area, region.

25.put forward (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - propose, offer, advance, submit/present.

26.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).

27.concern (noun)

English Meaning - apprehension, disquiet, agitation.

28.formalise (verb)

English Meaning - legalize, legitimize, agree to (rules & regulations).

29.transgression (noun)

English Meaning - infringement, contravention, breach, violation, overstepping.

30.put/leave one’s stamp (phrase)

English Meaning - to change or influence (something) in a way that shows one’s abilities; to make/have a lasting effect on something.

31.unilateral (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a method of taking decisions (particularly on international relations) by a state (country) individually without considering other states (countries). In general, it is relating to the decision taken individually without consulting with the others concerned.

32.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

33.redraw (verb)

English Meaning - create, formulate, work out, devise, think up (something again).

34.defend (verb)

English Meaning - justify, vindicate, argue for, speak for, support.

35.sovereignty (noun)

English Meaning - jurisdiction, supremacy, power, authority, control, influence.

36.on one’s own (phrase)

English Meaning - alone, by oneself, all by oneself, independent, single-handed.

37.elicit (verb)

English Meaning - obtain, bring forth, bring out, draw out, generate, spark off, trigger, kindle (a reaction).

38.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on.

39.raise (verb)

English Meaning - bring up, introduce, mention, put forward, bring forth.

40.United Nations Security Council (UNSC) (noun)

English Meaning - it is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, charged with ensuring international peace and security.

41.engage (verb)

English Meaning - involve, participate, take part (in a (diplomatic talk/discussion with someone).

42.diplomatic (adjective)

English Meaning - tactful, sensitive, subtle, delicate; consular, foreign-policy.

43.stalled (adjective)

English Meaning - obstructed, impeded, hindered, hampered, blocked, interrupted.

44.disengagement (noun)

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

45.status quo (noun)

English Meaning - the present situation, the current state, the existing state of affairs.

46.sensitivity (noun)

English Meaning - sensibility, finer feelings.

47.adherence (noun)

English Meaning - compliance, observance, conformity.

48.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

49.difference (noun)

English Meaning - disagreement, difference of opinion, misunderstanding, dispute, argument.