Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Wrong call: On Assam and arming civilians

​Wrong call: On Assam and arming civilians

Assam government’s decision to arm civilians (आम नागरिक, गैर-सैनिक) goes against (विरुद्ध जाना, उल्लंघन करना) law enforcement

The decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government to issue arms (weapon, gun) licences to “eligible” indigenous (मूल निवासी) communities in remote (दूरस्थ, बहुत दूर) and vulnerable (असुरक्षित, संवेदनशील) areas in the State is fraught (से भरा हुआ) with danger. The State government seems to suggest (सुझाव देना, संकेत करना) that indigenous communities living in the border areas abutting (समीपवर्ती, सटा हुआ) Bangladesh are vulnerable and that armed licences would be a deterrent (a person/thing that discourages an action and makes it difficult to do; a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something; a means of preventing undesirable actions) and improve their personal safety and confidence. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also insisted that these grants (अनुदान, सहायता राशि) would not be for people near inter-State (अंतर्राज्यीय, राज्यों के बीच) borders in Assam. But these caveats (चेतावनी, शर्त) still do not take away from the fact that (यह तथ्य कि) arming specific civilian groups is liable to (susceptible to, vulnerable to, prone to, subject to, vulnerable to, at/in risk of) be rampantly misused for acts such as vigilantism (unofficial way of punishing crime by a self-appointed group of people) and inter-community rivalry (opposition, contention, conflict, discord, friction, enmity), as the lines between law enforcement (क़ानून प्रवर्तन) — which carries legal authority (कानूनी अधिकार) and has a monopoly (एकाधिकार) over armed instruments (apparatus, tool, vehicle, mechanism) — and private citizens are blurred (indistinct, unclear, fuzzy distorted, unfocused, disrupted, clouded). In a State that has been beset (be covered with; be studded with; afflict, torment, trouble, bother, harass) with insurgent (rebel, rioter, subversive, guerrilla) violence and where the threat from groups such as the ULFA (Independent) remains, introducing more arms into civilian hands risks propagating (spread, disseminate, communicate, publicize, promote) further violence and arms proliferation (rapid increase, rise, escalation, sudden growth, multiplication, spread; a large number of something) rather than ensuring enhanced (increased, supplemented, magnified, raised, augmented, strengthened, intensified) security. Instead of arming civilians, ostensibly (in a way that something appears or is officially stated to be true/real, but it might not be; apparently, seemingly, allegedly, professedly, supposedly, purportedly) for self-defence — a move akin (like, alike, similar, related, comparable, equivalent) to abdicating its core responsibility — the State government has the clear alternative of enhancing its own law enforcement and security presence in these “vulnerable areas”.

It is well understood that in modern states, the monopoly over instruments of violence will remain with the government and its law enforcement agencies. In India, arms licences are issued in a restricted manner as a delegated (appointed, assigned, designated) and a limited right to self-preservation (the protection of oneself from harm/danger) to select individuals through a stringent (strict, severe, stern, rigorous, harsh) licensing process under the Arms Act, 1959 (An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to arms and ammunition) and the Arms Rules, 2016. These rules under the law preclude (prevent, prohibit, forbid, block, stop, impede, hinder, inhibit, rule out) the provision (giving, supplying, distribution, providing) of such licences to larger, identified groups — where identification itself could be fraught with the risk of conflicts (dispute, quarrel, tussle, wrangle, disagreement, contention, strife, friction, discord) — as they not only present administrative challenges but also make it difficult for the government to license, monitor and recover firearms as the law requires it to. Arming civilian groups, even with an intention to do so with some stringent implementation, runs the risks of having these weapons entering grey markets (informal sector, informal economy, grey economy is the part of an economy that is neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government) and falling into the wrong hands, besides designating those groups with an authority (control, command, clout, leverage) that could backfire (rebound/boomerang, come back, have an adverse effect) on the state. This was evident when security forces in Chhattisgarh arming civilian groups for protection against the Maoist (a follower of Maoism (Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances). The largest and the most violent Maoist formation in India is the Communist Party of India (Maoist)) threat — in the Salwa Judum campaign (movement, crusade, drive, push) in the late 2000s — led to severe human rights (human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status) violations (breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance) and lawlessness (absence of government, anarchy; chaos/disorder, mayhem, insurgency, lack of control), before the Supreme Court of India intervened to deem (see, regard, consider, view, perceive ; discern, recognize, understand, grasp, comprehend, identify) the policy to be illegal. Considering these problems, Assam must reverse (overrule, cancel, quash, nullify, repeal, revoke, invalidate, override) its decision.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.civilian (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आम नागरिक, गैर-सैनिक
English Meaning - non-military person, ordinary citizen.

2.go against (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - विरुद्ध जाना, उल्लंघन करना
English Meaning - oppose, deny, resist, breach, break, contravene, offend, transgress, violate.

3.law enforcement (noun)

Hindi Meaning - क़ानून प्रवर्तन
English Meaning - it describes the agencies and employees responsible for enforcing laws, maintaining public order, and managing public safety.

4.indigenous (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मूल निवासी
English Meaning - native, original, aboriginal, ancient, primeval.

5.remote (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - दूरस्थ, बहुत दूर
English Meaning - distant, far away, far off, far.

6.vulnerable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - असुरक्षित, संवेदनशील
English Meaning - endangered, unsafe, unprotected, undefended, attackable, defenceless, helpless, powerless.

7.fraught (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - से भरा हुआ
English Meaning - full of, filled with, charged with, loaded with, rife with.

8.suggest (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सुझाव देना, संकेत करना
English Meaning - indicate, denote, point to, signify.

9.abutting (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - समीपवर्ती, सटा हुआ
English Meaning - adjacent, adjoining, bordering, neighbouring.

10.grant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुदान, सहायता राशि
English Meaning - allocation, entitlement, allotment, concession, benefaction

11.inter-State (adjective/noun as modifier)

Hindi Meaning - अंतर्राज्यीय, राज्यों के बीच
English Meaning - between states.

12.caveat (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चेतावनी, शर्त
English Meaning - warning/caution of provision, condition, clause.

13.the fact that (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - यह तथ्य कि
English Meaning - used to refer to a specific situation under consideration/discussion.

14.legal authority (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कानूनी अधिकार
English Meaning - it refers to the formal power or right granted to an individual, entity, or government body to make decisions, act on behalf of others, or enforce laws and regulations.

15.monopoly (noun)

Hindi Meaning - एकाधिकार
English Meaning - exclusive/complete control of something by a person/organization.

16.rivalry (noun)

English Meaning - opposition, contention, conflict, discord, friction, enmity.

17.call (noun)

English Meaning - decision.

18.arm (verb)

English Meaning - provide with weapons.

19.arm (noun)

English Meaning - weapon, gun.

20.deterrent (noun)

English Meaning - a person/thing that discourages an action and makes it difficult to do; a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something; a means of preventing undesirable actions.

21.inter (prefix)

English Meaning - between.

22.take away from (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to reduce the value of something; to lessen, diminish, devalue; eliminate, remove, empty, deprive, strip, divest.

23.liable to (adjective)

English Meaning - susceptible to, vulnerable to, prone to, subject to, vulnerable to, at/in risk of.

24.rampantly (adverb)

English Meaning - uncontrollably, pervasively/ubiquitously, in a widespread manner.

25.vigilantism (noun)

English Meaning - unofficial way of punishing crime by a self-appointed group of people.

26.instrument (noun)

English Meaning - apparatus, tool, vehicle, mechanism.

27.blurred (adjective)

English Meaning - indistinct, unclear, fuzzy distorted, unfocused, disrupted, clouded.

28.beset (verb)

English Meaning - be covered with; be studded with; afflict, torment, trouble, bother, harass.

29.insurgent (noun)

English Meaning - rebel, rioter, subversive, guerrilla.

30.insurgent (noun/adjective)

English Meaning - extremist, radical, rebel, separatist, dissident, protester, nonconformist, sectarian.

31.United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (noun)

English Meaning - an armed separatist insurgent organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam.

32.propagate (verb)

English Meaning - spread, disseminate, communicate, publicize, promote.

33.proliferation (noun)

English Meaning - rapid increase, rise, escalation, sudden growth, multiplication, spread; a large number of something

34.rather than (phrase)

English Meaning - instead of.

35.enhanced (adjective)

English Meaning - increased, supplemented, magnified, raised, augmented, strengthened, intensified.

36.ostensibly (adverb)

English Meaning - in a way that something appears or is officially stated to be true/real, but it might not be; apparently, seemingly, allegedly, professedly, supposedly, purportedly

37.akin (adjective)

English Meaning - like, alike, similar, related, comparable, equivalent.

38.abdicate (verb)

English Meaning - reject, disown, turn down, give up, abandon.

39.law enforcement agencies (noun)

English Meaning - a government agency responsible for enforcing the law. For example - Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and etc.

40.delegated (adjective)

English Meaning - appointed, assigned, designated.

41.self-preservation (noun)

English Meaning - the protection of oneself from harm/danger.

42.stringent (adjective)

English Meaning - strict, severe, stern, rigorous, harsh.

43.Arms Act, 1959 (noun)

English Meaning - An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to arms and ammunition

44.preclude (verb)

English Meaning - prevent, prohibit, forbid, block, stop, impede, hinder, inhibit, rule out.

45.provision (noun)

English Meaning - giving, supplying, distribution, providing.

46.conflict (noun)

English Meaning - dispute, quarrel, tussle, wrangle, disagreement, contention, strife, friction, discord.

47.firearm (noun)

English Meaning - gun.

48.run the risk of (phrase)

English Meaning - to do something that may cause a bad/unpleasant thing to happen; to take a chance on.

49.grey market (noun)

English Meaning - informal sector, informal economy, grey economy is the part of an economy that is neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government.

50.fall into the wrong hands (phrase)

English Meaning - If something falls/ends up into the wrong hands, a dangerous & unfriendly person begins to control it.

51.besides (adverb)

English Meaning - in addition to, moreover, additionally.

52.authority (noun)

English Meaning - control, command, clout, leverage.

53.backfire (verb)

English Meaning - rebound/boomerang, come back, have an adverse effect.

54.Maoist (noun)

English Meaning - a follower of Maoism (Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances). The largest and the most violent Maoist formation in India is the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

55.campaign (noun)

English Meaning - movement, crusade, drive, push.

56.human rights (noun)

English Meaning - human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.

57.led to past participle of lead to (verb)

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

58.violation (noun)

English Meaning - breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance.

59.lawlessness (noun)

English Meaning - absence of government, anarchy; chaos/disorder, mayhem, insurgency, lack of control.

60.deem (verb)

English Meaning - see, regard, consider, view, perceive ; discern, recognize, understand, grasp, comprehend, identify.

61.reverse (verb)

English Meaning - overrule, cancel, quash, nullify, repeal, revoke, invalidate, override.