Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Crisis in Sri Lanka

Crisis in Sri Lanka

India should help Sri Lanka during the crisis and also resolve some of the bilateral (द्विपक्षीय, दुतरफा) issues

Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis (आर्थिक संकट) with long queues in front of petrol stations, steep (sudden, sharp, rapid) rise in prices of essential commodities (आवश्यक वस्तुएं) and frequent blackouts. Although the COVID-19 pandemic (वैश्विक महामारी) precipitated (bring about, cause, lead to, give rise to) a crisis of trade imbalance (असंतुलन, विषमता), the fundamentals (मौलिक, बुनियादी सिद्धांत) of the Sri Lankan economy have always had serious issues. Debt (कर्ज, ऋण, उधार), both domestic and foreign, has been a major problem. Even in February 2020, hardly (मुश्किल से, लगभग नहीं) a few months after Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed (मान लेना, समझना) office as President, his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, during his visit to New Delhi, wanted India to reschedule (पुनर्निर्धारण करना, पुनर्गठन, परिवर्तन) the loan. Over the last three months, India has provided assistance of $2.4 billion including a $500 million loan deferment (स्थगन, मोहलत, विलंब) and $1 billion credit line (ऋण श्रंखला, अधिकतम ऋण सीमा, सूत्रोल्लेख) to enable (सक्षम बनाना, सुसज्जित करना, तैयार करना) the supply of essential commodities. Apart from approaching Beijing, Colombo has also sought help from the International Monetary Fund (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष), shedding (discard, get rid of, dispose of, do away with, drop, abandon, throw out) its earlier reservation (आरक्षण, संदेह, संकोच) of taking help from the agency. As soon as (once, when) the shortage of certain essential commodities ends, which the government expects before the start of the Sinhala-Tamil New Year (which falls (decrease, decline, diminish, lessen, dwindle; plummet, plunge, slump) in the middle of April), steps should be taken for economic recovery (revival, rallying, picking up, rebound). Compulsions of electoral politics should not come in the way of (prevent, oppose, defy) tough measures (action, step, procedure) such as restructuring the administration (controlling, conducting, regulating, handling, supervising, overseeing, oversight, regulation, supervision) of concessions (allowance; right, privilege, favour) and subsidies. Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa should also use the scheduled (expected, required, awaited, anticipated) meeting with the Tamil political leadership to create a road map (plan/strategy to do something successfully) on the issue of political devolution (decentralization, delegation, distribution) and economic development of the war-affected (war torn) northern and eastern provinces (territory, region, state (of a country)), among (one of, amongst) the areas badly hit (be affected by) by the current crisis.

Perhaps (maybe, possibly), Tamil Nadu has already started feeling the impact (effect, influence, impression) of the crisis with the reported (alleged, supposed, claimed, professed, purported, ostensible) arrival of 16 persons from Sri Lanka, including six women and seven children, through illegal means (method, way, procedure, technique). Tamil Nadu was home to nearly three lakh refugees (displaced person, asylum seeker, exile, deportee, stateless person, émigré) after the anti-Tamil pogrom ((planned) mass slaughter, mass killing, mass murder (of a particular ethnic group)) of 1983. Regardless of (irrespective of, without regard to, without reference to, notwithstanding, no mater, disregarding) the motive (reason, motivation, rationale, grounds, cause, basis) of those who have reached Tamil Nadu clandestinely (secretively, secretly, stealthily, furtively, covertly, surreptitiously), the authorities (officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the government, the administration, the establishment, the bureaucracy, the system), both in India and Sri Lanka, should ensure that the present crisis is not used to step up (increase, intensify; quicken, speed up, accelerate) smuggling (the illegal transportation of objects, substances, etc. across an international border in violation of applicable laws or other regulations) activities and trafficking (the activity of buying and selling goods/animal/people illegally; (illegal/illicit) trading, dealing) or whip up (excite, evoke/provoke, stimulate, encourage (strong emotions in someone intentionally); it also means to prepare something (specifically food) very quickly) emotions in both countries. On the contrary (conversely, in contrast, just the opposite), the crisis should be used as an opportunity for New Delhi and Colombo to thrash out (resolve, settle, sort out; negotiate, agree on, bring about, come to a decision on, work out) a solution to the Palk Bay (a waterway/inlet of the Bay of Bengal sea between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna District of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. (Bay is a body of water surrounded by land on three sides)) fisheries (areas of the sea where fish are caught in large quantities for commercial purposes) dispute, a longstanding irritant (annoyance, irritation, bother) in bilateral ties (association, relationship, bond, connection).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.bilateral (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - द्विपक्षीय, दुतरफा
English Meaning - involving two groups or countries.

2.economic crisis (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आर्थिक संकट
English Meaning - a period in an economic cycle in which an economy faces difficulties for a long time.

3.essential commodities (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आवश्यक वस्तुएं
English Meaning - essential commodities, including various medicines/drugs, fertilisers, cereals, pulses, sugar, edible oils, petroleum and petroleum products, and certain crops.

4.pandemic (noun)

Hindi Meaning - वैश्विक महामारी
English Meaning - the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.

5.imbalance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - असंतुलन, विषमता
English Meaning - disparity, variation, disproportion, misproportion, unevenness, lopsidedness.

6.fundamental (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मौलिक, बुनियादी सिद्धांत
English Meaning - basics, essentials, basic principles.

7.debt (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कर्ज, ऋण, उधार
English Meaning - financial obligation, outstanding payment, amount due, money owing, dues, arrears, debits, charges.

8.hardly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - मुश्किल से, लगभग नहीं
English Meaning - barely, almost not.

9.assume (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मान लेना, समझना
English Meaning - take control of, take charge of, take over.

10.reschedule (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पुनर्निर्धारण करना, पुनर्गठन, परिवर्तन
English Meaning - restructure, change, make alterations to.

11.deferment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्थगन, मोहलत, विलंब
English Meaning - postponement, delay, rescheduling.

12.credit line (noun)

Hindi Meaning - ऋण श्रंखला, अधिकतम ऋण सीमा, सूत्रोल्लेख
English Meaning - another term for line of credit; a source of funds that can readily be tapped/borrowed at the borrower’s discretion (choice).

13.enable (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सक्षम बनाना, सुसज्जित करना, तैयार करना
English Meaning - equip, prepare, facilitate, make possible, allow.

14.International Monetary Fund (IMF) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष
English Meaning - an international organization of 189 countries, headquartered in Washington, D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

15.reservation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरक्षण, संदेह, संकोच
English Meaning - doubt, qualm; scepticism, unease, hesitation, hesitancy, reluctance.

16.precipitate (verb)

English Meaning - bring about, cause, lead to, give rise to.

17.blackout (noun)

English Meaning - power cut, power failure, electricity failure.

18.steep (adjective)

English Meaning - sudden, sharp, rapid.

19.sought past tense of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt; ask for, appeal to, demand.

20.shed (verb)

English Meaning - discard, get rid of, dispose of, do away with, drop, abandon, throw out

21.as soon as (phrase)

English Meaning - once, when.

22.fall (verb)

English Meaning - decrease, decline, diminish, lessen, dwindle; plummet, plunge, slump.

23.recovery (noun)

English Meaning - revival, rallying, picking up, rebound.

24.compulsions (noun)

English Meaning - obligation, constraint, pressure, pressurization; urge, impulse, need, necessity.

25.come in the way of (phrase)

English Meaning - prevent, oppose, defy.

26.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

27.administration (noun)

English Meaning - controlling, conducting, regulating, handling, supervising, overseeing, oversight, regulation, supervision.

28.concession (noun)

English Meaning - allowance; right, privilege, favour.

29.subsidy/subvention (noun)

English Meaning - also called subvention; a financial contribution granted to help an industry or business, mostly given by a government, in order to keep the price of service/goods at a low level.

30.scheduled (adjective)

English Meaning - expected, required, awaited, anticipated.

31.road map (noun)

English Meaning - plan/strategy to do something successfully.

32.devolution (noun)

English Meaning - decentralization, delegation, distribution.

33.province (noun)

English Meaning - territory, region, state (of a country)

34.war-affected (adjective)

English Meaning - war torn.

35.among (preposition)

English Meaning - one of, amongst.

36.hit (verb)

English Meaning - be affected by.

37.perhaps (adverb)

English Meaning - maybe, possibly.

38.impact (noun)

English Meaning - effect, influence, impression.

39.reported (adjective)

English Meaning - alleged, supposed, claimed, professed, purported, ostensible.

40.means (noun)

English Meaning - method, way, procedure, technique.

41.refugee (noun)

English Meaning - displaced person, asylum seeker, exile, deportee, stateless person, émigré.

42.pogrom (noun)

English Meaning - (planned) mass slaughter, mass killing, mass murder (of a particular ethnic group).

43.regardless of (phrase)

English Meaning - irrespective of, without regard to, without reference to, notwithstanding, no mater, disregarding.

44.motive (noun)

English Meaning - reason, motivation, rationale, grounds, cause, basis.

45.clandestinely (adverb)

English Meaning - secretively, secretly, stealthily, furtively, covertly, surreptitiously.

46.authorities (noun)

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

47.step up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - increase, intensify; quicken, speed up, accelerate.

48.smuggling (noun as modifier)

English Meaning - the illegal transportation of objects, substances, etc. across an international border in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.

49.trafficking (noun)

English Meaning - the activity of buying and selling goods/animal/people illegally; (illegal/illicit) trading, dealing.

50.whip up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - excite, evoke/provoke, stimulate, encourage (strong emotions in someone intentionally); it also means to prepare something (specifically food) very quickly.

51.on the contrary (phrase)

English Meaning - conversely, in contrast, just the opposite.

52.thrash out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - resolve, settle, sort out; negotiate, agree on, bring about, come to a decision on, work out.

53.Palk bay (noun)

English Meaning - a waterway/inlet of the Bay of Bengal sea between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna District of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. (Bay is a body of water surrounded by land on three sides).

54.fishery (noun)

English Meaning - areas of the sea where fish are caught in large quantities for commercial purposes.

55.long-standing (adjective)

English Meaning - persistent, continuing (for a long time); permanent, long-lasting, enduring, long-term.

56.irritant (noun)

English Meaning - annoyance, irritation, bother.

57.ties (noun)

English Meaning - association, relationship, bond, connection.