Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Words and deeds: On PM Modi's speech at UNGA

Words and deeds: On PM Modi's speech at UNGA

PM Modi did well to commit India to its democratic traditions at UN General Assembly (संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा)

For the third consecutive (लगातार, निरंतर) year in a row (एक पंक्ति में, लगातार, क्रमानुसार), and his fourth such speech since he was elected in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the UN General Assembly, outlining (रूप-रेखा लगाना, संक्षेप करें) his outlook (दृष्टिकोण, संभावना) on India’s place in the world. Referring to India’s large population, he said that the world grows when India grows, and transforms when India reforms, pointing to (संकेत करना, साबित करना) examples of the country’s progress and impact: in the area of vaccines (टीका) and pharmaceuticals (aspects like preparation, dispensing, and effective utilization of medicinal drugs), particularly to counter (combat, fight, tackle, confront, put up a fight against, oppose, resist) COVID, green (concerned with the protection of the environment; environmentally friendly, environmentally sound, energy-efficient) technology and the promise of 450 GW of renewable energy (नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा, स्वच्छ ऊर्जा, हरित ऊर्जा) by 2030, and poverty alleviation (उपशमन, राहत). He also enumerated (गणना करना, सूची) how many Indians had been provided water connections, banking access, insurance coverage, health services and homes, although his claim that these “all-inclusive (परिव्यापक, सार्वभौमिक)” development goals had been achieved only in the “last seven years”, struck a politically partisan (पक्षपातपूर्ण, एकतरफा, भेदभावपूर्ण) note that was out of place (inappropriate, unsuitable, improper, untoward, unbecoming, unfit, misplaced, wrong; incongruous). Moving to regional matters, Mr. Modi pointed to the contrast between India’s actions and those of Pakistan and China in veiled (implied, indirect; covert, hidden, concealed, disguised, camouflaged, underlying, unrevealed) references. In an apparent (स्पष्ट, साफ, ध्यान देने योग्य) message to Pakistan, he linked events in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have taken control (नियंत्रण करना, जांच करना), to the problem of “regressive (प्रतिगामी, अप्रतिगामी/नकारात्मक) thinking” that leads to the use of terrorism as “a political tool”. He also called for safeguarding the maritime (of or related to the sea) sphere (an area of activity; a field of activity; domain, realm) from the “race of expansion and exclusion” and referred to the need for investigating the “origins of the coronavirus (a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death)”, subjects China is sensitive (easily offended, easily upset, easily hurt, hypersensitive, volatile, defensive) about. Addressing (talk to, speak to, give a discourse to) the UN directly for its own shortcomings (fault, flaw, imperfection/defect), the PM said that time waits for no one, urging the UN to speed up the reforms process that has been flagging for more than a decade (a period of ten years), which would include an expanded Security Council. This, he explained, is the only way to restore the credibility of global governance (administration) institutions.

Mr. Modi’s strongest words came at the beginning of his speech, where he launched a defence of the state of Indian democracy, which has come in for (receive, experience, undergo, be subjected to, meet with) some criticism over the past few years. He said India had been named the “mother of democracy” for its adherence to democratic values, symbolised (represent, signify, communicate, indicate) by its diversity, pluralism ((of people) the practice exists in harmony irrespective of various differences), inclusivity, and equality (fairness, justness impartiality, even-handedness, egalitarianism, equal rights, equal opportunities, non-discrimination), that allowed someone like him, who had once worked at his father’s tea stall, to become the country’s leader. The PM’s words appeared to be a response to comments made during his Washington visit, where U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris stressed the need to strengthen democratic processes internally. Even as he addressed the UN, protesters outside criticised his government for actions against activists (a person who supports a political or societal change/cause), NGOs, the laws on agriculture and citizenship (The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who had to flee their homeland facing persecution. The six minority groups that have been specifically identified are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis), and incidents of lynching (an act of punishing/killing someone by hanging for claimed offence by the group of people without legal trail) and mob violence. While the PM’s commitment to India’s “great tradition of democracy” was heartening (comfort, reassure, encourage, energize), it will be measured (evaluate, rate, assess, appraise, judge) not by words at the world body, but by answers and actions on the ground in India.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा
English Meaning - it is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, serving as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. Its powers, composition, functions, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter.

2.consecutive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - लगातार, निरंतर
English Meaning - successive, continuous.

3.in a row (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - एक पंक्ति में, लगातार, क्रमानुसार
English Meaning - one after the other, in succession, consecutively.

4.outline (verb)

Hindi Meaning - रूप-रेखा लगाना, संक्षेप करें
English Meaning - indicate, give a rough idea of, summarize.

5.outlook (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दृष्टिकोण, संभावना
English Meaning - point of view, viewpoint, opinion, perspective, standpoint; prospects, expectations, hopes.

6.point to (verb)

Hindi Meaning - संकेत करना, साबित करना
English Meaning - indicate, suggest, denote

7.vaccine (noun)

Hindi Meaning - टीका
English Meaning - a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.

8.renewable energy (noun)

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

9.alleviation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - उपशमन, राहत
English Meaning - mitigation, moderation, reduction, decrease, eradication.

10.enumerate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - गणना करना, सूची
English Meaning - list, itemize, mention, count (things one by one).

11.all-inclusive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - परिव्यापक, सार्वभौमिक
English Meaning - comprehensive, universal, all-embracing.

12.partisan (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पक्षपातपूर्ण, एकतरफा, भेदभावपूर्ण
English Meaning - biased, one-sided, discriminatory, inequitable, unjust, unfair.

13.apparent (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्पष्ट, साफ, ध्यान देने योग्य
English Meaning - evident/clear, visible, noticeable, recognizable.

14.take control (of) (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - नियंत्रण करना, जांच करना
English Meaning - to gain/assume the authority to manage or influence someone/something.

15.regressive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रतिगामी, अप्रतिगामी/नकारात्मक
English Meaning - retrograde, retrogressive, unprogressive/negative.

16.address (verb)

English Meaning - talk to, speak to, give a discourse to.

17.deed (noun)

English Meaning - action, activity.

18.pharmaceutical (noun)

English Meaning - aspects like preparation, dispensing, and effective utilization of medicinal drugs.

19.counter (verb)

English Meaning - combat, fight, tackle, confront, put up a fight against, oppose, resist.

20.green (adjective)

English Meaning - concerned with the protection of the environment; environmentally friendly, environmentally sound, energy-efficient.

21.strike a note (phrase)

English Meaning - express/communicate, call/bring to mind, cite.

22.out of place (phrase)

English Meaning - .

23.veiled (adjective)

English Meaning - implied, indirect; covert, hidden, concealed, disguised, camouflaged, underlying, unrevealed.

24.ead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on.

25.call for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - require, necessitate, demand.

26.maritime (adjective)

English Meaning - of or related to the sea.

27.sphere (noun)

English Meaning - an area of activity; a field of activity; domain, realm.

28.coronavirus (CoV) (noun)

English Meaning - a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.

29.subject (noun)

English Meaning - subject matter, topic, issue, concern.

30.sensitive (adjective)

English Meaning - easily offended, easily upset, easily hurt, hypersensitive, volatile, defensive.

31.shortcoming (noun)

English Meaning - fault, flaw, imperfection/defect.

32.time and tide wait for no man (phrase)

English Meaning - utilize an advantageous situation, as you may not get it again; hurry up, come on, get a move on.

33.speed up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - expedite, accelerate, step up.

34.flag (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, identify, point out.

35.decade (noun)

English Meaning - a period of ten years.

36.credibility (noun)

English Meaning - trustworthiness, reliability, dependability.

37.governance (noun)

English Meaning - administration.

38.defense (noun)

English Meaning - protection, shielding, safeguarding.

39.state (noun)

English Meaning - condition, situation, circumstances, state of affairs, position.

40.come in for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - receive, experience, undergo, be subjected to, meet with.

41.adherence (noun)

English Meaning - compliance, observance, conformity.

42.symbolize (verb)

English Meaning - represent, signify, communicate, indicate.

43.diversity (noun)

English Meaning - existence/presence of different people (from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives ranging from race to age to gender to hometown to educational experience) within group; variety, variance, difference.

44.pluralism (noun)

English Meaning - (of people) the practice exists in harmony irrespective of various differences.

45.inclusivity (noun)

English Meaning - the quality of being inclusive without excluding people on grounds of gender, race, class, disability & etc.

46.equality (noun)

English Meaning - fairness, justness impartiality, even-handedness, egalitarianism, equal rights, equal opportunities, non-discrimination.

47.stress (verb)

English Meaning - emphasize, draw attention to, underline, underscore, highlight, accentuate.

48.even as (phrase)

English Meaning - while, at the same time that, at the very moment that.

49.activist (noun)

English Meaning - a person who supports a political or societal change/cause.

50.non-government organisations (NGOs) (noun)

English Meaning - it is also referred to as nonprofit organisations, voluntary organisations ; a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organisation) to accomplish a purpose. A voluntary organisation is an organisation in which whether its workers are paid/unpaid, is initiated & governed by its own members without external control.

51.Farm Acts, 2000 (noun)

English Meaning - Farm Acts, 2000 refer to three agricultural bills passed by Indian Parliament in September 2020. The three acts are “The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (FPTC Act) allows farmers to sell their harvest outside the notified Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis without paying any State taxes or fees”, “the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 facilitates contract farming and direct marketing”, and “the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 deregulates the production, storage, movement and sale of several major foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, edible oils and onion, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances”.

52.Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) (noun)

English Meaning - The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who had to flee their homeland facing persecution. The six minority groups that have been specifically identified are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis.

53.lynching (noun)

English Meaning - an act of punishing/killing someone by hanging for claimed offence by the group of people without legal trail.

54.lynch (verb)

English Meaning - punish/kill by hanging someone for claimed offence without legal trail by the group of people.

55.mob (noun)

English Meaning - a large, disorganized, and often violent crowd of people.

56.hearten (verb)

English Meaning - comfort, reassure, encourage, energize.

57.heartening (adjective)

English Meaning - encouraging, promising, hopeful, reassuring.

58.measure (verb)

English Meaning - evaluate, rate, assess, appraise, judge.