Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Winter is behind: on the winter session of Parliament, political equations

Winter is behind: on the winter session of Parliament, political equations

A less acrimonious (कटुतापूर्ण, उग्र) session is an opportunity to build upon

The winter session of Parliament, which had 15 sittings (बैठक, सत्र), witnessed significant and controversial legislative (विधायी, कानून बनाने से संबंधित) business, along with political grandstanding (a way of speaking or acting to get attention from the spectators (people) and then influencing them) by the government to mark (चिह्नित करना, स्मरण करना) the 150th anniversary of the national song, Vande Mataram. Ten Bills (विधेयक, कानून का प्रारूप) were introduced and eight were passed by both Houses. Notable Bills that won parliamentary approval include one repealing (निरस्त करना, रद्द करना) or amending dozens of outdated (पुराना, अप्रचलित) laws; another allowing 100% FDI in the insurance sector; one facilitating (सुगम बनाना, सक्षम बनाना) private sector investment in nuclear power by reducing the liability (दायित्व, जिम्मेदारी, देनदारी) of suppliers, and, importantly, major changes to the rural employment guarantee scheme, a flagship (प्रमुख, सबसे महत्वपूर्ण) welfare (कल्याण) programme started by the UPA government in 2005. The titles of several Bills, which were in Hindi, caused consternation (a sudden and unexpected feeling of worry/anxiety that causes confusion; dismay, disquiet, surprise, shock) among Members of Parliament from non-Hindi regions. They pointed to (संकेत करना) constitutional provisions (प्रावधान) that require legislation (विधान, कानून, विधि) to be drafted in English, with translations made available as required. The insurance Bill is titled Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha, while the rural employment guarantee Bill is called Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G, which became an Act on December 21 with the assent (approval, agreement, acceptance, consent, concurrence) of the President. In the discussion on Vande Mataram, Members spent over 11 hours in the Lok Sabha, with 65 participants, and nearly 13 hours in the Rajya Sabha, with 81 participants. Parliament could instead have passed a unanimous (in complete agreement/accord, with one voice, concordant/united) resolution (motion, proposal, ruling) commemorating the song rather than (instead of) using it as yet another occasion to question the patriotic (relating to the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to a country; nationalistic, nationalist, country-loving) credentials of political opponents.

A heated (intense, fiery, vehement, fierce, furious, angry, agitated, excited, frenzied) debate on electoral reforms went on for nearly 13 hours with 62 speakers in the Lok Sabha and for nearly 11 hours with 57 speakers in the Rajya Sabha. This too was a missed opportunity for an open-minded (just, fair, equitable, fair-minded, honest, upright; liberal, broad-minded, permissive, tolerant, easy-going) discussion beyond party lines (an area of activity) to address (tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out) the crisis of credibility (trustworthiness, reliability, integrity, reputation; believability, faithfulness) in Indian elections. The closed-minded (narrow-minded, intolerant, bigoted, prejudiced, dogmatic, inflexible, stubborn, hidebound) approaches of the BJP and the Congress towards questions of election integrity (righteousness, uprightness, morality, probity, honesty, fairness) are not helping India’s parliamentary democracy (a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for the country). The Opposition sought a discussion on air pollution in Delhi, a massive public health crisis (also called public health emergency; a complex or difficult situation that affects health systems in one or more geographic areas), but the government did not allow it. Bills were rushed through, and the role of parliamentary committees in shaping legislation remains limited, though Question Hour (Question Hour is the liveliest hour in Parliament and it is taken up from 1100hrs to 1200 hrs in every sitting. It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit (bring out) information and trigger suitable action by ministries) and Zero Hour (the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch. This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions. During this time, members raise issues pertinent to their constituents and of wider public interest) were more productive (positive, useful, constructive, beneficial, practical, helpful, effective, valuable). This winter session was far less acrimonious than in the recent past, a fact acknowledged (accept, recognize, realize) by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. As a result, Congress representatives (a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, legislator) accepted the customary (traditional, standard, conventional, usual) invitation for tea by the Lok Sabha Speaker (the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The current Speaker of the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house of Parliament) is Shri Om Birla, serving since June 2019) and the Rajya Sabha Chairman (Chairman; the person in charge. The vice president of India (currently, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan) is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions) at the end of the session. These meetings also led to pleasant (friendly, agreeable, amiable, affable, polite, engaging) exchanges (conversation, dialogue, discussion, talk, meeting) between the government and the Opposition. This practice is worth continuing and building upon.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.acrimonious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कटुतापूर्ण, उग्र
English Meaning - angry, bitter, harsh, sharp, cutting, spiteful, vicious, nasty, poisonous, venomous, hate-filled, ill-natured (in language or tone while arguing).

2.legislation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विधान, कानून, विधि
English Meaning - law, regulation, act, statute, bill.

3.sitting (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बैठक, सत्र
English Meaning - session.

4.legislative (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विधायी, कानून बनाने से संबंधित
English Meaning - parliamentary, policy-making, law making; relating to legislation.

5.mark (verb)

Hindi Meaning - चिह्नित करना, स्मरण करना
English Meaning - observe, recognize, honour, celebrate, salute, commemorate, remember.

6.Bill (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विधेयक, कानून का प्रारूप
English Meaning - A Bill is a draft statute that becomes law after it is passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President. All legislative proposals are brought before Parliament in the forms of Bills (or) draft statute/law, proposed legislation, proposal (presented to parliament/congress/council for discussion).

7.repeal (verb)

Hindi Meaning - निरस्त करना, रद्द करना
English Meaning - invalidate, reverse, cancel, nullify, revoke.

8.outdated (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पुराना, अप्रचलित
English Meaning - archaic, antique, ancient, out of date, outmoded, old-fashioned.

9.foreign direct investment (FDI) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रत्यक्ष विदेशी निवेश
English Meaning - Investment from one country into another (normally by companies rather than governments) that involves establishing operations or acquiring tangible assets, including stakes in other businesses.

10.facilitate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सुगम बनाना, सक्षम बनाना
English Meaning - make easy, make possible, enable, assist, help/aid.

11.liability (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दायित्व, जिम्मेदारी, देनदारी
English Meaning - responsibility, accountability, answerability, burden, drawback, inconvenience, impediment.

12.flagship (noun as modifier)

Hindi Meaning - प्रमुख, सबसे महत्वपूर्ण
English Meaning - the biggest, the best, the most important (event/programme).

13.welfare (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कल्याण
English Meaning - a government program that provides (financial) assistance to individuals and families in need; social security, government/state benefit, public assistance.

14.point to (verb)

Hindi Meaning - संकेत करना
English Meaning - indicate, signify, suggest, denote.

15.provision (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रावधान
English Meaning - clause, (legal) term, stipulation, requirement, condition.

16.build upon (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - develop, expand on, enhance, elaborate, improve

17.equation (noun)

English Meaning - the situation (or) the problem, the quandary, the predicament.

18.grandstanding (noun)

English Meaning - a way of speaking or acting to get attention from the spectators (people) and then influencing them.

19.consternation (noun)

English Meaning - a sudden and unexpected feeling of worry/anxiety that causes confusion; dismay, disquiet, surprise, shock.

20.The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025 (noun)

English Meaning - it was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2025. It seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.

21.The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G) Bill, 2025 (noun)

English Meaning - it was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2025. It seeks to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA). This the rural employment guarantee Bill became an Act on December 21 with the assent of the President.

22.assent (noun)

English Meaning - approval, agreement, acceptance, consent, concurrence.

23.unanimous (adjective)

English Meaning - in complete agreement/accord, with one voice, concordant/united.

24.resolution (noun)

English Meaning - motion, proposal, ruling.

25.resolution (noun)

English Meaning - a resolution is one of the most important procedural devices to raise discussion in the House/Assembly on a matter of general interest; decision (or) declaration (by all members of the Assembly, it usually requires a simple majority (50 percent of all votes plus one) to pass.

26.commemorate (verb)

English Meaning - observe, recognize, honour, celebrate, salute, mark, remember.

27.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

28.patriotic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to a country; nationalistic, nationalist, country-loving.

29.credentials (noun)

English Meaning - identities, qualities; achievement, experience, knowledge.

30.heated (adjective)

English Meaning - intense, fiery, vehement, fierce, furious, angry, agitated, excited, frenzied.

31.open-minded (adjective)

English Meaning - just, fair, equitable, fair-minded, honest, upright; liberal, broad-minded, permissive, tolerant, easy-going.

32.line (noun)

English Meaning - an area of activity.

33.address (verb)

English Meaning - tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.

34.credibility (noun)

English Meaning - trustworthiness, reliability, integrity, reputation; believability, faithfulness.

35.closed-minded (adjective)

English Meaning - narrow-minded, intolerant, bigoted, prejudiced, dogmatic, inflexible, stubborn, hidebound.

36.integrity (noun)

English Meaning - righteousness, uprightness, morality, probity, honesty, fairness.

37.parliamentary democracy (noun)

English Meaning - a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for the country.

38.democracy (noun)

English Meaning - a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through fairly & freely elected representatives.

39.sought past tense of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

40.public health crisis (noun)

English Meaning - also called public health emergency; a complex or difficult situation that affects health systems in one or more geographic areas.

41.rush through (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to do something very quickly, often leaving out/bypassing important steps or details, to finish it faster than normal.

42.House committees/Parliamentary committees (noun)

English Meaning - The parliamentary (standing & select) committees; They do close examination and investigation of government policies, actions and spending.

43.Parliamentary Standing Committee/Parliamentary panel (noun)

English Meaning - it is a committee (consisting of Members of Parliament) constituted usually on an annual basis to enable detailed consideration/discussion on all bills (all proposed laws).

44.Parliamentary select committee (noun)

English Meaning - ‘parliamentary select committee’ can be formed for a specific purpose, for instance, to deliberate

45.Question Hour (noun)

English Meaning - Question Hour is the liveliest hour in Parliament and it is taken up from 1100hrs to 1200 hrs in every sitting. It is during this one hour that Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries. The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit (bring out) information and trigger suitable action by ministries.

46.zero hour (noun)

English Meaning - the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch. This led to the hour being popularly referred to as Zero Hour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions. During this time, members raise issues pertinent to their constituents and of wider public interest.

47.productive (adjective)

English Meaning - positive, useful, constructive, beneficial, practical, helpful, effective, valuable.

48.acknowledge (verb)

English Meaning - accept, recognize, realize.

49.representative (noun)

English Meaning - a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, legislator.

50.customary (adjective)

English Meaning - traditional, standard, conventional, usual.

51.Lok Sabha Speaker (noun)

English Meaning - the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The current Speaker of the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house of Parliament) is Shri Om Birla, serving since June 2019.

52.Chair (noun)

English Meaning - Chairman; the person in charge. The vice president of India (currently, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan) is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

53.led to past & past participle of lead to (verb)

English Meaning - cause, result in, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

54.pleasant (adjective)

English Meaning - friendly, agreeable, amiable, affable, polite, engaging.

55.exchange (noun)

English Meaning - conversation, dialogue, discussion, talk, meeting.