Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Neo-colonial shadows: on Trump, Greenland and his Davos talk

​Neo-colonial shadows: on Trump, Greenland and his Davos talk

Donald Trump is driving U.S. allies towards China with his antics

U.S. President Donald Trump’s neo-colonial (नव-औपनिवेशिक) posturing at the World Economic Forum in Davos could mark the opening salvo of what may be termed great-power climate wars — an irony, given that it is being waged by a climate-change denier (इंकार करने वाला, नकारने वाला). As global warming is rapidly melting Arctic polar ice, it has sharpened interest in the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which promises to cut shipping time between East Asia, western Europe and North America. The route also carries geopolitical (भू-राजनीतिक) implications (निहितार्थ): it enables tighter trade and market integration between China and the Western Hemisphere — an outcome Mr. Trump has often sought to obstruct. At Davos, his renewed suggestion that the U.S. could “purchase” Greenland has rattled allies and revived (पुनर्जीवित करना) colonial anxieties. The remark came even as Sara Olsvig, chair of the Inuit (A member of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska) Circumpolar Council, has said that “there’s no such thing as a better coloniser”, reflecting on over three centuries of Danish rule.

Greenland’s strategic value is undeniable (निर्विवाद). China has conducted trial commercial voyages through the NSR, promoting it as a shorter, and potentially lower-emission, shipping route, even though its existence is a product of climate breakdown. Chinese firms have also shown sustained interest in Greenland’s significant mineral wealth, particularly rare earths. For Mr. Trump, who has weaponised trade and was forced to moderate tariffs against China due to Beijing’s dominance over rare earth supply chains, such activity is easily framed as strategic encroachment (अतिक्रमण) into America’s sphere of influence. Yet, extraction (निष्कर्षण, निकासी) in Greenland would be neither easy nor uncontested. Much of the mineral wealth is buried deep under permanent ice, and local resistance is likely. Greenlanders have fought long struggles for political and economic sovereignty, achieving enhanced self-rule only in 2009. Recent opinion polls suggest that an overwhelming majority of Greenland’s population opposes any form of American rule. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump claimed on the sidelines of Davos that Washington had reached a “framework” with the European Union, addressing U.S. security and resource interests. Media reports of proposals allowing indefinite American basing rights and access to subsoil resources reinforce the perception that this push is driven less by security than by extraction and control. Davos, long projected as a forum for global cooperation, appeared this year as a staging ground for resurgent (पुनरुत्थानशील) resource nationalism. In doing so, it may have sown the seeds of a new world order, undermining the very rules-based system that post-war America once built. Ironically, by alienating (अलग करना) allies, Mr. Trump may be nudging (To prod gently; to coax or encourage someone to do something) them towards Beijing — a China that has now arrived as a full-spectrum great power.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Neo-colonial (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – नव-औपनिवेशिक
English Meaning – Relating to the use of economic, political, or cultural pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies.

2.Denier (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – इंकार करने वाला, नकारने वाला
English Meaning – A person who refuses to admit the truth or existence of something (often used regarding climate change or historical facts).

3.Geopolitical (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – भू-राजनीतिक
English Meaning – Relating to politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.

4.Implication (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – निहितार्थ
English Meaning – The conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated; a likely consequence.

5.Revive (Verb)

Hindi Meaning – पुनर्जीवित करना
English Meaning – To restore to life or consciousness; to give new strength or energy to something.

6.Undeniable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – निर्विवाद
English Meaning – Unable to be denied or disputed; clearly true.

7.Encroachment (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – अतिक्रमण
English Meaning – Intrusion on a person's territory, rights, or a natural habitat.

8.Extraction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning – निष्कर्षण, निकासी
English Meaning – The action of taking out something, especially using effort or force (like minerals or information).

9.Resurgent (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning – पुनरुत्थानशील
English Meaning – Increasing or reviving after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence.

10.Alienate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning – अलग करना
English Meaning – To cause someone to feel isolated or estranged; to make someone unfriendly.

11.Inuit (Noun)

English Meaning – A member of an indigenous people of northern Canada and parts of Greenland and Alaska.

12.Nudge (Verb)

English Meaning – To prod gently; to coax or encourage someone to do something.