Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Staunch the breach: On India, Pakistan and the Indus Waters Treaty

Staunch the breach: On India, Pakistan and the Indus Waters Treaty

India and Pakistan need to drop (छोड़ना) their hard line (कठोर रुख) stances on the Indus Waters Treaty (संधि, समझौता)

In its fourth notice to Pakistan since January 2023, India has escalated (बढ़ाना, तीव्र करना) its demand for the renegotiation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), now calling off (रद्द करना) all meetings of the Permanent Indus Commission (आयोग) (PIC) until Pakistan agrees to sit at the table for talks (वार्ता). India’s demand last year followed a logjam (गतिरोध) in the entire process, once held up internationally as a model template for water-sharing agreements. Even in the new millennium (a period of a thousand years), the tenets (सिद्धांत, मान्यता) of the treaty held firm, and India was able to win two major disputes by adhering to (पालन करना) the processes laid out, including the Baglihar Dam project in 2007, and another dispute over allegations (आरोप) that India was interfering with Pakistan’s Neelum project in 2013. The issue over how to proceed on dispute resolution (solution, settlement) for the Kishenganga and Ratle projects has snowballed (rise, increase, escalate (rapidly)) since 2016, when Pakistan escalated the disputes — having a neutral expert look at them and demanding a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) (The Permanent Court of Arbitration, established by treaty in 1899, is an intergovernmental organization providing a variety of dispute resolution services to the international community). In a moment of weakness, that it may come to regret (be sorry about something, to feel unhappy about something, to feel sad about something), the World Bank (The World Bank is an international development organization owned by 187 countries. Its role is to reduce poverty by lending money to the governments of its poorer members to improve their economies and to improve the standard of living of their people. The World Bank was established in 1944 to help rebuild Europe and Japan after World War II. Its official name was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)) — it is a co-signatory and guarantor (warrantor, surety; a person who provides a guarantee) of the IWT — decided to allow two parallel (simultaneous, concurrent, corresponding, similar) processes of the dispute mechanism (approach, medium, vehicle, instrument, apparatus) to run (operate, perform, function, work) at the same time. To make matters worse (to make a difficult situation even more difficult; aggravate, compound, exacerbate), Pakistan turned its back on the neutral (impartial, unbiased, non-partisan, open-minded, even-handed) expert’s proceedings, while India has boycotted (avoid, shun, reject) the PCA hearings (lawsuit, proceedings, inquiry, legal proceedings, legal action) at The Hague (A city on the North Sea coast of the western Netherlands. The city is also home to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice. The Hague is a metonym of The International Court of Justice (ICJ) / World Court. (Metonym is used as an alternative for something else with which it is closely related/associated)). Pakistan has been cold (indifferent, uncommunicative, unresponsive, unfriendly, unsympathetic, unwelcoming, stony) to India’s notices on renegotiating the treaty and the decision by the Modi government to stop all PIC meetings has put the future of the process in peril (danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty). Unlike in past decades (a period of ten years), when the IWT was considered off-limits (not to be mentioned or discussed) for partisan (biased, prejudiced, one-sided, discriminatory, inequitable) politics, leaders on both sides are now not above using fiery (passionate, fervent, aggressive, intense, strong) rhetoric (bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language). Mr. Modi’s statement after the 2016 Uri attack, that “blood and water” cannot flow together, is perhaps (maybe, possibly) the most egregious (shocking, horrible/terrible, very bad) example.

It is no coincidence that the spiral (the process of deterioration, decline, decrease) mirrors (reflect, repeat, match, reproduce, imitate) the unravelling (fall apart, fail, collapse, go wrong) of the India-Pakistan bilateral (involving two groups or countries) relationship in the same period. There is no political engagement (participation, taking part, involvement) or trade and the 2021 LoC ceasefire (a negotiated agreement that will be accompanied by other associated commitments to de-escalate the fighting; a temporary stoppage of war, truce, armistice) agreement is in danger after growing (increasing) terror attacks and deaths of Indian Army personnel (employees, workforce, staff). It may be possible to re-open (restart, resume, renew) the treaty talks, but concluding any agreement will be that much more difficult. All eyes are now on New Delhi’s response to Pakistan’s invitation for the SCO Heads of Government meeting on October 15-16. Such an opening (moment, occasion, chance, opportunity) could present an opportunity for talks on the way forward (something (a plan/action) that leads to success in the future). No doubt, new-age (modern, current, latest, contemporary) issues such as climate change (a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth) and the need for renewable energy (green energy, clean energy; energy generated from natural resources (such as water, wind & solar energy)) and hydropower (power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water) options on the Indus necessitate (call for, require, demand, entail, make necessary) a re-opening of the 64-year-old Treaty. How that is done, along with resolving current disputes, will decide whether the two countries can save the treaty, once referred to as the “one bright spot” in a “very depressing (discouraging, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, disheartening) world picture” by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.staunch (verb)

Hindi Meaning - रोकना, थामना
English Meaning - stop, halt, block, curb, stem, hold back, reduce, lessen, diminish.

2.breach (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन
English Meaning - contravention, infringement, violation, breaking, lack of compliance with, non-observance, defiance.

3.treaty (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संधि, समझौता
English Meaning - agreement, pact, deal, contract.

4.allegation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप
English Meaning - charge, accusation

5.drop (verb)

Hindi Meaning - छोड़ना
English Meaning - give up, stop, end, cease, discontinue, cancel, terminate, abandon, forgo, have done with, withdraw from.

6.hard line (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कठोर रुख
English Meaning - extreme, strict, uncompromising, inflexible, single-minded, unyielding.

7.escalate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बढ़ाना, तीव्र करना
English Meaning - increase, intensify, accelerate, heighten, make more serious.

8.call off (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - रद्द करना
English Meaning - cancel, abandon, shelve, scrap drop.

9.commission (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आयोग
English Meaning - board, committee, panel, advisory body, council.

10.talks (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वार्ता
English Meaning - discussions, dialogue, negotiation, consultation, deliberation.

11.Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्थायी सिंधु आयोग
English Meaning - it is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals and objectives and outlines of the Indus Waters Treaty.

12.logjam (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गतिरोध
English Meaning - backlog, accumulation, pile-up, excess (of pending work).

13.adhere to (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पालन करना
English Meaning - comply with, abide by, conform to, stand by, stick to, follow, obey, observe.

14.lay out (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - योजना बनाना, तैयार करना
English Meaning - plan, prepare, arrange, outline.

15.tenet (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सिद्धांत, मान्यता
English Meaning - principle, doctrine, precept, belief, conviction, idea, opinion, dogma.

16.hold firm (phrase)

English Meaning - continue to support something despite opposition.

17.Indus Water Treaty (IWT) (noun)

English Meaning - Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan to share waters from the Indus system of rivers.

18.hold up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to use or present something as an example.

19.millennium (noun)

English Meaning - a period of a thousand years.

20.resolution (noun)

English Meaning - solution, settlement.

21.snowball (verb)

English Meaning - rise, increase, escalate (rapidly).

22.Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) (noun)

English Meaning - The Permanent Court of Arbitration, established by treaty in 1899, is an intergovernmental organization providing a variety of dispute resolution services to the international community.

23.arbitration (noun)

English Meaning - mediation, mediatorship, negotiation, conciliation, peacemaking.

24.regret (verb)

English Meaning - be sorry about something, to feel unhappy about something, to feel sad about something.

25.World Bank (noun)

English Meaning - The World Bank is an international development organization owned by 187 countries. Its role is to reduce poverty by lending money to the governments of its poorer members to improve their economies and to improve the standard of living of their people. The World Bank was established in 1944 to help rebuild Europe and Japan after World War II. Its official name was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

26.signatory (noun)

English Meaning - the person who signed an official document/agreement. (in this context, it is a country that signs an agreement).

27.guarantor (noun)

English Meaning - warrantor, surety; a person who provides a guarantee.

28.parallel (adjective)

English Meaning - simultaneous, concurrent, corresponding, similar.

29.mechanism (noun)

English Meaning - approach, medium, vehicle, instrument, apparatus.

30.run (verb)

English Meaning - operate, perform, function, work.

31.to make matters worse (phrase)

English Meaning - to make a difficult situation even more difficult; aggravate, compound, exacerbate.

32.turn one’s back on (phrase)

English Meaning - abandon, give up, renounce, reject, decline, refuse, turn down, ignore, avoid, deny, disown

33.neutral (adjective)

English Meaning - impartial, unbiased, non-partisan, open-minded, even-handed.

34.boycott (verb)

English Meaning - avoid, shun, reject.

35.hearing (noun)

English Meaning - lawsuit, proceedings, inquiry, legal proceedings, legal action.

36.The Hague (proper noun)

English Meaning - A city on the North Sea coast of the western Netherlands. The city is also home to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice. The Hague is a metonym of The International Court of Justice (ICJ) / World Court. (Metonym is used as an alternative for something else with which it is closely related/associated).

37.cold (adjective)

English Meaning - indifferent, uncommunicative, unresponsive, unfriendly, unsympathetic, unwelcoming, stony.

38.peril (noun)

English Meaning - danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty.

39.decade (noun)

English Meaning - a period of ten years.

40.off-limits (phrase)

English Meaning - not to be mentioned or discussed.

41.partisan (adjective)

English Meaning - biased, prejudiced, one-sided, discriminatory, inequitable.

42.fiery (adjective)

English Meaning - passionate, fervent, aggressive, intense, strong.

43.rhetoric (noun)

English Meaning - bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language.

44.perhaps (adverb)

English Meaning - maybe, possibly.

45.egregious (adjective)

English Meaning - shocking, horrible/terrible, very bad.

46.spiral (noun)

English Meaning - the process of deterioration, decline, decrease.

47.mirror (verb)

English Meaning - reflect, repeat, match, reproduce, imitate.

48.unravel (noun)

English Meaning - fall apart, fail, collapse, go wrong.

49.bilateral (adjective)

English Meaning - involving two groups or countries.

50.engagement (noun)

English Meaning - participation, taking part, involvement.

51.Line of Control (LoC) (noun)

English Meaning - it is a 450 mile-long military control line lying between India and Pakistan’s controlled parts of the former (under the British) Jammu and Kashmir. This line is not actually a legally recognized international boundary but prevails as per de facto. After the Simla Agreement signed in July 1972, this line was officially renamed as “Line of Control” from “the Cease-fire Line”.

52.ceasefire (noun)

English Meaning - a negotiated agreement that will be accompanied by other associated commitments to de-escalate the fighting; a temporary stoppage of war, truce, armistice.

53.growing (adjective)

English Meaning - increasing.

54.personnel (noun)

English Meaning - employees, workforce, staff.

55.re-open (verb)

English Meaning - restart, resume, renew.

56.all eyes are on something (phrase)

English Meaning - it means that everyone is paying careful attention to something and wait for what will happen.

57.Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) (noun)

English Meaning - The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China). The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and is seen as a counterweight to NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It was established as a multilateral association to ensure security and maintain stability across the vast Eurasian region, join forces to counteract emerging challenges and threats, and enhance trade, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

58.opening (noun)

English Meaning - moment, occasion, chance, opportunity.

59.the way forward (phrase)

English Meaning - something (a plan/action) that leads to success in the future.

60.new-age (adjective)

English Meaning - modern, current, latest, contemporary.

61.climate change (noun)

English Meaning - a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth.

62.renewable energy (noun)

English Meaning - green energy, clean energy; energy generated from natural resources (such as water, wind & solar energy).

63.hydropower (noun)

English Meaning - power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water.

64.necessitate (verb)

English Meaning - call for, require, demand, entail, make necessary.

65.depressing (adjective)

English Meaning - discouraging, disquieting, distressing, disturbing, disheartening.