Hindi English Translation || Editorial || False equivalence: On Prophet remarks and Delhi Police FIRs

False equivalence: On Prophet remarks and Delhi Police FIRs

Omnibus prosecution (अभियोग पक्ष, कानूनी कार्यवाही, कानूनी मामला) of offensive (आक्रामक, अपमानजनक, तिरस्कारपूर्ण) remarks will make the original offence (अपराध, कानून का उल्लंघन, दुराचार का कार्य) difficult to prosecute

The investigation by the Delhi Police against 30 people for remarks allegedly (कथित तौर पर, जाहिरा तौर पर) hurting religious sentiments (भावना, राय) is an unnecessary attempt to create an artificial (कृत्रिम, झूठा, नकली, मनगढ़ंत) balance (संतुलन, निष्पक्षता, न्याय) between the specific instance of controversial views being expressed recently on the Prophet (a person who is believed to be sent by God to Earth (to say the things that God wants to tell people)) and the unrelated opinions expressed online by others in recent times. The BJP has acted against its spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Delhi media unit head Naveen Jindal following global outrage (आक्रोश, उल्लंघन, क्रोध) among Muslims over their remarks on Islam. There is little doubt that their remarks came as part of a long-running (long-lasting, unending, continuing) trend among BJP functionaries (पदाधिकारी, प्रतिनिधि) and several Hindu organisations to vilify (बदनाम करना, गाली देना, निन्दा करना) minorities, especially Muslims, and few would question any lawful action against them. The Delhi Police have chosen to register FIRs against Mr. Jindal and Ms. Sharma, but also added 30 other social media users. There may be a justification (औचित्य, कारण, आधार) for the registration of a case against anyone if there appears to be a deliberate (जानबूझकर, सोचा-समझा, गणना की गई) attempt to outrage (offend, infuriate, stir up, displease/anger) religious feelings or inciting (उत्तेजित, भड़काना) ill-will (hostility, hatred, enmity, dislike, aversion, antipathy). However, registering an omnibus (the Latin word literally meaning “for all”; consisting of several parts/items) FIR that covers priest Yati Narsinghanand, journalist Saba Naqvi, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, and Hindu Mahasabha activist (कार्यकर्ता) Pooja Shakun Pandey, and others at one go (in one attempt; all at the same time) defies logic. The police believe that many others cutting across (transcend, go beyond, rise above) religions had created animosity (hostility, antagonism, enmity/aversion) and spread inflammatory (provoking, inflaming, inciting, agitational) misinformation (disinformation, false information, alternative fact, fake news, false rumour). This may be true in some instances, but clubbing (combine, join) of several such instances, instead of (rather than) investigating and prosecuting them separately, gives the impression that these emanate (originate from, derive from, arise from, stem from, come from) from a general culture of hate and intolerance (bigotry, narrow-mindedness, dogmatism, illiberality; insularity, sensitivity, oversensitivity), and an endless cycle (series, sequence, succession) of tit-for-tat (equivalent retaliation; counterattack, revenge, an eye for an eye) religious insults. Actually, some of these could be wilful (deliberate, intentional, purposeful) transgressions (infringement, contravention, breach, violation, overstepping) of the law aimed at creating disharmony (discord, friction, conflict, hostility) and inciting violence for political purposes.

Mr. Owaisi has questioned the registration of a case against him, maintaining that the Delhi Police are displaying ‘both-sidesism (false balance)’ due to their fear of prosecuting the former BJP functionaries in isolation (separately). Pursuing all these remarks in a single probe and trial (court case, lawsuit, hearing, inquiry, litigation, judicial/legal proceedings, legal action) would mean that material must be gathered from various social media platforms against all of them — leading to (result in, cause, bring on) a prolonged (continuing, remaining, long-lasting, unabating) trial. The tactic of putting a ‘part-of-a-larger-plot’ spin (twist, bias) on specific offences is not new. The Bhima Koregaon case (it dates back to January 1, 2018, the day of the bicentenary (200th anniversary) celebrations of the Bhima Koregaon battle. The celebration was marred by violence leading to death of one person and injuries to several others) was transmogrified (change, alter, modify) into a purported (supposed, claimed, professed, reported, ostensible) conspiracy ((unlawful) plan/plot, intrigue, collaboration/deception, collusion) to foment (incite, provoke, agitate, instigate, cause) a Maoist (a follower of Maoism (it originated in China as a form of communist theory derived from the teachings of Chinese political leader Mao Zedong)) insurrection (coup, uprising, rebellion, putsch; civil unrest/disorder); in the aftermath of (in the wake of, as a consequence of, as a result of) the East Delhi riots, communal violence was linked with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (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) protests. If the idea was to open up (disclose, reveal; make available) the larger field of political dissent (disagreement, lack of agreement, difference of opinion, protest, opposition, disapproval) in those cases, the strategy (plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests)) now seems to be to drag (delay, postpone action; go slowly, move slowly) those who made vocal (vociferous, outspoken, forthright; vehement, vigorous, emphatic, insistent, forceful) responses into the criminal ambit (range, scope, extent, reach) so that the original offence appears diluted (diminish, reduce, decrease, lessen, (the value of something)) and becomes difficult to prosecute (take to court, bring an action against, take legal action against, accuse, charge). Investigative agencies should pursue (engage in, conduct, take part in, take up (an activity)) legal action against individuals in a proportionate (proportional, comparable, equivalent, consistent, relative, correlated, correlative) manner and not through omnibus prosecutions just to give an impression of being ‘balanced’.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.equivalence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - समानता, एकरूपता
English Meaning - equality, uniformity, sameness, levelness, evenness.

2.prosecution (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभियोग पक्ष, कानूनी कार्यवाही, कानूनी मामला
English Meaning - legal action, legal proceeding, legal case.

3.offensive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आक्रामक, अपमानजनक, तिरस्कारपूर्ण
English Meaning - affronting, contemptuous, outrageous, outraging.

4.offence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अपराध, कानून का उल्लंघन, दुराचार का कार्य
English Meaning - wrongdoing, violation of the law, act of misconduct, misdeed, shortcoming.

5.allegedly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - कथित तौर पर, जाहिरा तौर पर
English Meaning - reportedly, supposedly, purportedly, ostensibly, apparently.

6.sentiment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भावना, राय
English Meaning - feeling, opinion.

7.artificial (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कृत्रिम, झूठा, नकली, मनगढ़ंत
English Meaning - false, fake, fabricated, unnatural.

8.balance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संतुलन, निष्पक्षता, न्याय
English Meaning - fairness, justice, impartiality, egalitarianism.

9.outrage (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आक्रोश, उल्लंघन, क्रोध
English Meaning - anger, fury, wrath, indignation, rage, disapproval, shock, resentment.

10.functionary (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पदाधिकारी, प्रतिनिधि
English Meaning - official, representative, agent, especially in a government or political party; office-holder, office-bearer.

11.vilify (verb)

Hindi Meaning - बदनाम करना, गाली देना, निन्दा करना
English Meaning - censure, insult, disparage, criticize, speak evil of.

12.justification (verb)

Hindi Meaning - औचित्य, कारण, आधार
English Meaning - reason, grounds, rationalization, motive.

13.deliberate (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जानबूझकर, सोचा-समझा, गणना की गई
English Meaning - intentional, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, knowing, wanton, purposeful, premeditated, pre-planned, prearranged, preconceived, predetermined.

14.incite (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उत्तेजित, भड़काना
English Meaning - stir up, fuel, kindle, ignite, inflame, instigate, provoke, arouse, trigger, foment.

15.activist (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यकर्ता
English Meaning - a person who supports a political change or cause; (or societal change/cause); campaigner, champion, advocate; radical, extremist.

16.prophet (noun)

English Meaning - a person who is believed to be sent by God to Earth (to say the things that God wants to tell people).

17.first information report (FIR) (noun)

English Meaning - a written document prepared by the police when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence.

18.omnibus (noun/adjective)

English Meaning - the Latin word literally meaning “for all”; consisting of several parts/items.

19.prosecute (verb)

English Meaning - take to court, bring an action against, take legal action against, accuse, charge.

20.long-running (adjective)

English Meaning - long-lasting, unending, continuing.

21.outrage (verb)

English Meaning - offend, infuriate, stir up, displease/anger.

22.ill-will (noun)

English Meaning - hostility, hatred, enmity, dislike, aversion, antipathy.

23.at one go (phrase)

English Meaning - in one attempt; all at the same time.

24.cut across (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - transcend, go beyond, rise above.

25.animosity (noun)

English Meaning - hostility, antagonism, enmity/aversion.

26.inflammatory (adjective)

English Meaning - provoking, inflaming, inciting, agitational.

27.misinformation (noun)

English Meaning - disinformation, false information, alternative fact, fake news, false rumour.

28.club (verb)

English Meaning - combine, join.

29.instead of (phrase)

English Meaning - rather than.

30.emanate (verb)

English Meaning - originate from, derive from, arise from, stem from, come from.

31.intolerance (noun)

English Meaning - bigotry, narrow-mindedness, dogmatism, illiberality; insularity, sensitivity, oversensitivity.

32.cycle (noun)

English Meaning - series, sequence, succession.

33.tit-for-tat (phrase)

English Meaning - equivalent retaliation; counterattack, revenge, an eye for an eye.

34.wilful (adjective)

English Meaning - deliberate, intentional, purposeful.

35.transgression (noun)

English Meaning - infringement, contravention, breach, violation, overstepping.

36.disharmony (noun)

English Meaning - discord, friction, conflict, hostility.

37.both-sidesism (noun)

English Meaning - false balance.

38.in isolation (phrase)

English Meaning - separately.

39.pursue (verb)

English Meaning - engage in, conduct, take part in, take up (an activity).

40.trial (noun)

English Meaning - court case, lawsuit, hearing, inquiry, litigation, judicial/legal proceedings, legal action.

41.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on.

42.prolonged (adjective)

English Meaning - continuing, remaining, long-lasting, unabating.

43.spin (noun)

English Meaning - twist, bias.

44.Bhima Koregaon case (noun)

English Meaning - it dates back to January 1, 2018, the day of the bicentenary (200th anniversary) celebrations of the Bhima Koregaon battle. The celebration was marred by violence leading to death of one person and injuries to several others.

45.transmogrify (verb)

English Meaning - change, alter, modify.

46.purported (adjective)

English Meaning - supposed, claimed, professed, reported, ostensible.

47.conspiracy (noun)

English Meaning - (unlawful) plan/plot, intrigue, collaboration/deception, collusion.

48.foment (verb)

English Meaning - incite, provoke, agitate, instigate, cause.

49.Maoist (noun)

English Meaning - a follower of Maoism (it originated in China as a form of communist theory derived from the teachings of Chinese political leader Mao Zedong).

50.insurrection (noun)

English Meaning - coup, uprising, rebellion, putsch; civil unrest/disorder.

51.in the aftermath of (phrase)

English Meaning - in the wake of, as a consequence of, as a result of.

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.open up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - disclose, reveal; make available.

54.dissent (noun)

English Meaning - disagreement, lack of agreement, difference of opinion, protest, opposition, disapproval.

55.strategy (noun)

English Meaning - plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests).

56.drag (verb)

English Meaning - delay, postpone action; go slowly, move slowly.

57.vocal (adjective)

English Meaning - vociferous, outspoken, forthright; vehement, vigorous, emphatic, insistent, forceful.

58.ambit (noun)

English Meaning - range, scope, extent, reach.