Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Too good to be true: On accommodating the Rohingya

Too good to be true: On accommodating the Rohingya

India should stick to (adhere to, abide by, hold to, comply with, act in accordance with, conform to) the plan to better (बेहतर, सुधारना, बढ़ाना) the lives of the Rohingya (an ethnic Muslim minority group, in western Myanmar (Burma)) until their return home

The announcement on social media by Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri, of the Modi government’s decision to house (accommodate, take in, provide shelter for) about 1,100 Rohingya migrants (प्रवासी) now living in makeshift (अस्थायी, स्थानापन्न, आपातकालीन) slums, in flats with amenities (सुख सुविधा, संसाधन, उपयोगिता) instead, proved “too good to be true (if something seems too good to be true, it is hard to believe and so doubt that there may be something wrong)”. Within hours, Mr. Puri was countered (विरोध करना, वाद-विवाद करना) by the Home Minister’s Office, which denied any such intention (इरादा, उद्देश्य, योजना), instead terming them “illegal foreigners”. It said the plan was to keep them sequestered (एकान्त, पृथक, दूरस्थ) in their present homes, which would be designated (नामित करना, पहचानना, वर्गीकृत करना) as detention (confinement, captivity, custody) centres while the Government continued efforts to deport (expel, banish, exile, expatriate, extradite, repatriate) them to Myanmar. The announcement itself was puzzling (perplexing, baffling, bewildering, mystifying). Mr. Puri is a senior Minister and an experienced diplomat (राजनयिक, राजदूत), and his statement was unequivocal (स्पष्ट, असंदिग्ध, निर्विवाद). Not only did he say that the plan was to move the migrants from squalor (slumminess, poverty, dirtiness, meanness, dinginess, shabbiness) to apartments built for the Economically Weaker Sections (आर्थिक रूप से कमजोर वर्ग) on the outskirts (outlying part of a city; suburbs) of Delhi, but that they would also be provided facilities and protection by the Delhi police — proof of how India had always welcomed refugees (शरणार्थी, विस्थापित व्यक्ति). The details Mr. Puri shared, as well as documents from 2021, showed that the Government had indeed (वास्तव में, निर्विवाद रूप से) been considering moving the Rohingya, who live on land donated by an Islamic charity, after their previous homes were burnt down. There has been some suggestion that the ruling party faced backlash (प्रतिक्रिया) from its supporters, including a stern (strict, severe, stringent, rigorous) press statement from the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and it would be unfortunate if that was the principle behind what appears to be a reversal of policy.

In broader terms, the Rohingya housing issue seems to be an example of the clash (confrontation, skirmish, encounter, engagement, incident, conflict) between the Modi government’s foreign policy commitments and its domestic politics. Although, as Mr. Puri tweeted, India has “respected and followed” the 1951 UN convention (agreement, accord, protocol, compact, pact) of refugees — it is not a signatory (the person who signed an official document/agreement) — Mr. Modi’s colleagues such as Home Minister Amit Shah have frequently disregarded (ignore, take no notice of, take no account of, pay no attention to, pay no heed to, overlook, dismiss, brush off, shrug off) the conventions: referring to migrants as “termites (an insect that eats & destroys wood)”, stating in Parliament that India would “never accept” the Rohingya, and even violating (contravene, breach, infringe, break, disobey, defy, flout) the UN principle of non-refoulment (the fundamental practice/principle of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”) by deporting a Rohingya woman to Myanmar this year. The treatment of the Rohingya, who fled to India in 2012 and 2017 after state-sponsored (supported by the government) ethnic cleansing (the mass expulsion or killing of ethnic group members in a place by another one, particularly a majoritarian group in that place), has also been far from (not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from) the Government’s much-touted (praised, supported, commended highly) slogan of “ vasudhaiva kutumbakam (it is a Sanskrit phrase that means “the world is one family)”. The Rohingya have been driven out (expel, force to leave) of homes in Rajasthan and Haryana, stigmatised (discredit, dishonour, disgrace; condemn, denounce, criticize) by local authorities (officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the government, the administration, the establishment, the bureaucracy, the system) and intelligence ((military/political) information, facts, details, particulars) agencies who accuse them of criminal and even terrorist intent. New Delhi has also failed thus far to play its role as a “Regional leader” in convincing Myanmar to provide its citizen’s homes and assurances of safety, or in brokering (negotiate (a deal/agreement)) dialogue (discussion, exchange, debate, discourse, exchange of views, talks) between Dhaka and Naypyidaw (the capital city of Myanmar (Burma)) to ensure their return; about a million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, and an estimated 40,000 in India (Pakistan and Saudi Arabia house about 7,00,000 between them). In the absence of (lacking, wanting, notwithstanding, without) long-term measures (action, step, procedure) to resolve the issue, the Government could at least, as Mr. Puri suggested, provide the hapless (unfortunate, unlucky, ill-fated, jinxed, cursed) community with better living conditions, until their future is secured.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.accommodate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - समायोजित करना, घर रखना, रखना
English Meaning - house, put up, take in, provide shelter for; help, assist, aid, lend a hand to, favour.

2.better (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बेहतर, सुधारना, बढ़ाना
English Meaning - improve, ameliorate, raise, advance, further, lift, upgrade, enhance.

3.migrant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रवासी
English Meaning - a person who moves from one region to another- either within a country or across national borders in order to find work or better living conditions.

4.makeshift (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थायी, स्थानापन्न, आपातकालीन
English Meaning - temporary, provisional, standby, substitute, emergency, improvised, ad hoc.

5.amenity (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सुख सुविधा, संसाधन, उपयोगिता
English Meaning - facility, service, arrangement, resource, utility.

6.counter (verb)

Hindi Meaning - विरोध करना, वाद-विवाद करना
English Meaning - confront, oppose, resist, dispute, argue against.

7.intention (noun)

Hindi Meaning - इरादा, उद्देश्य, योजना
English Meaning - aim, purpose, plan, scheme.

8.sequestered (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - एकान्त, पृथक, दूरस्थ
English Meaning - isolated, remote; hidden away, concealed.

9.designate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - नामित करना, पहचानना, वर्गीकृत करना
English Meaning - identify, recognize, classify.

10.diplomat (noun)

Hindi Meaning - राजनयिक, राजदूत
English Meaning - ambassador, envoy, emissary, consul, official.

11.unequivocal (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्पष्ट, असंदिग्ध, निर्विवाद
English Meaning - unambiguous, unmistakable, indisputable, incontrovertible, indubitable, undeniable; clear, crystal clear, well defined, explicit, categorical, outright, certain, decisive, absolute.

12.Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आर्थिक रूप से कमजोर वर्ग
English Meaning - Economically Weaker Section (EWS) or Economically Backward Classes (EBC) in India is a subcategory of people belonging to the General Category having an annual family income less than ₹8 lakh and who do not belong to any category such as SC/ST/OBC across India, nor to MBC in Tamil Nadu.

13.refugee (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शरणार्थी, विस्थापित व्यक्ति
English Meaning - displaced person, asylum seeker, exile, deportee, stateless person, émigré.

14.indeed (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - वास्तव में, निर्विवाद रूप से
English Meaning - in fact, actually, undeniably.

15.backlash (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिक्रिया
English Meaning - a strong negative reaction; adverse response, counteraction.

16.too good to be true (phrase)

English Meaning - if something seems too good to be true, it is hard to believe and so doubt that there may be something wrong.

17.Rohingya (noun)

English Meaning - an ethnic Muslim minority group, in western Myanmar (Burma).

18.stick to (verb)

English Meaning - adhere to, abide by, hold to, comply with, act in accordance with, conform to.

19.house (verb)

English Meaning - accommodate, take in, provide shelter for.

20.detention (noun)

English Meaning - confinement, captivity, custody.

21.deport (verb)

English Meaning - expel, banish, exile, expatriate, extradite, repatriate.

22.puzzling (adjective)

English Meaning - perplexing, baffling, bewildering, mystifying.

23.squalor (noun)

English Meaning - slumminess, poverty, dirtiness, meanness, dinginess, shabbiness.

24.outskirts (noun)

English Meaning - outlying part of a city; suburbs.

25.stern (adjective)

English Meaning - strict, severe, stringent, rigorous.

26.in — terms (phrase)

English Meaning - with regard to, regarding, concerning, as to, in respect of, with reference to, in the matter of, in connection with.

27.clash (noun)

English Meaning - confrontation, skirmish, encounter, engagement, incident, conflict.

28.convention (noun)

English Meaning - agreement, accord, protocol, compact, pact.

29.signatory (noun)

English Meaning - the person who signed an official document/agreement.

30.disregard (verb)

English Meaning - ignore, take no notice of, take no account of, pay no attention to, pay no heed to, overlook, dismiss, brush off, shrug off.

31.termite (noun)

English Meaning - an insect that eats & destroys wood.

32.violate (verb)

English Meaning - contravene, breach, infringe, break, disobey, defy, flout.

33.non-refoulement (noun)

English Meaning - the fundamental practice/principle of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”.

34.flee (verb)

English Meaning - run away, run off, escape, abscond, take flight, leave abruptly/hastily.

35.state-sponsored (adjective)

English Meaning - supported by the government.

36.ethnic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to a population subgroup (cultural, national, traditional/folk) with a common national or cultural tradition.

37.ethnic cleansing (noun)

English Meaning - the mass expulsion or killing of ethnic group members in a place by another one, particularly a majoritarian group in that place.

38.far from (phrase)

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

39.much-touted (adjective)

English Meaning - praised, supported, commended highly.

40.Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (phrase)

English Meaning - it is a Sanskrit phrase that means “the world is one family”.

41.driven out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - expel, force to leave.

42.stigmatise (verb)

English Meaning - discredit, dishonour, disgrace; condemn, denounce, criticize;

43.authorities (noun)

English Meaning - officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the government, the administration, the establishment, the bureaucracy, the system.

44.intelligence (noun)

English Meaning - (military/political) information, facts, details, particulars.

45.intelligence agency (noun)

English Meaning - a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, and foreign policy objectives.

46.The Intelligence Bureau (IB) (noun)

English Meaning - India’s domestic intelligence, internal security and counter-intelligence agency.

47.The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW/RAW) (noun)

English Meaning - the foreign intelligence agency of India.

48.play a part/role (phrase)

English Meaning - contribute to, be instrumental in, be a factor in.

49.broker (verb)

English Meaning - negotiate (a deal/agreement).

50.dialogue (noun)

English Meaning - discussion, exchange, debate, discourse, exchange of views, talks.

51.Naypyidaw (proper noun)

English Meaning - the capital city of Myanmar (Burma).