Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Homeward bound: On the release of the eight former Indian naval personnel from Qatar

Homeward bound: On the release of the eight former Indian naval personnel from Qatar

Quiet diplomacy (शांत कूटनीति) without brinkmanship (अस्थिरता) helped India’s case in Qatar

The release of all eight former Indian naval personnel (कार्यकर्ता) from Qatar, just about three months after they were ordered a shocking death sentence (conviction, judgement, verdict, prison term), is a matter of great relief. Ever since the eight men — seven senior retired naval officers, and a sailor (नौसैनिक) — who worked for the Qatar-based Dahra technologies, were arrested in 2022, the details of their case have been sparse (insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry). While their families denied reports that the men had been accused (आरोप) of espionage (जासूसी), possibly (संभवत:) for a third country, namely (अर्थात्) Israel, the charges (accusation, allegation, indictment) must have been serious enough to have invoked (आह्वान) the death penalty (मृत्यु दंड). An appeals (निवेदन) court did, in December, commute (reduce, lessen, scale down (a judicial sentence, especially a sentence of death)) the death penalty to imprisonment (custody, incarceration, arrest, restraint, confinement, internment, detention, captivity) terms, but upheld (कायम रखना) the conviction . It is to the government’s credit that it was able to bring about (cause, give rise to, lead to, result in, achieve, effect) the release of all the eight, seven of whom have now returned. The success seems attributable to (considered as an outcome/result caused by) the strategies (रणनीति) New Delhi employed (use, utilize, apply, make use of, avail oneself of, bring into play, have recourse to): to pursue (engage in, conduct, take part in (an activity)) the case in court, showing respect to the Qatari legal system, while providing the accused (the suspected person) with full legal support and counsel (advice, direction, instruction, guidelines. (Counsel also means lawyer, legal practitioner, legal adviser, legal executive, legal counsellor, advocate, barrister, attorney, solicitor)); avoid all escalatory (increasing, intensifying, worsening (rapidly)) rhetoric (bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language) and public sparring (बहस, विवाद करना); and, to take the case to the highest levels, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussing it with the Qatari Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during a meet in Dubai in December. That Mr. Modi announced an unscheduled (spontaneous, unpremeditated, unplanned, improvised, impromptu, accidental, coincidental, random) leg of travel to Doha on Wednesday, after his ongoing trip to the United Arab Emirates, signifies (denote, indicate, signal, point to) his personal involvement and his desire to thank the Qatari Amir.

The Qatar case is a timely (समय पर) reminder of the importance of quiet diplomacy at a time of brinkmanship and geopolitical (relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations) conflict, particularly when it comes to relationships where so much else is at stake (at issue, at risk; or in question). For India, Qatar is an important West Asian power, with increased heft (influence, ability; weight/strength) during the Israel-Gaza conflict (dispute, friction, strife, disagreement, difference of opinion) as an important interlocutor (a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation) between the West and Hamas (Hamas is an Islamist militant group based in Gaza). For Qatar, ties with India are historic and dependable (reliable, trustworthy, constant, steady), consistent even when Qatar was boycotted (avoid, shun, reject, refuse) by its Gulf neighbours (a country that is next to another country; (bordering) country) some years ago. Qatar supplies India with a third of its natural gas (colourless, odorless highly flammable gaseous hydrocarbon consisting primarily of methane and ethane occurring naturally underground. It is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of plants and animals) import needs (requirement), and the signing of a $78 billion LNG deal last week may have been an early sign that the deal for the prisoners’ release had been sealed by then (by that time). More than 8,00,000 Indians provide important services to Qatar and bring in (earn a specific amount of money) critical remittance (payment, transfer of funds, (money) settlement) earnings for India. New Delhi’s decision not to seek (try, aim, attempt) international intervention (the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference, mediation, arbitration, conciliation), as it did in the case of former naval commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been convicted (find guilty, declare guilty, sentence) of espionage and terror charges in Pakistan, nor to counter (act in opposition to) Qatar’s charges with the kind of harsh diplomatic (tactful, sensitive, subtle, delicate; consular, foreign-policy) countermeasures (corrective action; solution, answer, antidote, cure) seen in the aftermath of the Nijjar assassination (murder, killing) case in Canada, eventually (finally, in the end, ultimately) provided an outcome (consequence, implications, ramification, repercussion) satisfactory for all.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.personnel (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यकर्ता
English Meaning - forces, crew, employees, workforce, staff.

2.quiet diplomacy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शांत कूटनीति
English Meaning - sometimes called soft power; a form of diplomacy in which one state (i.e. country) makes efforts to impact the behavior and decisions of other states through covert (secret) negotiations and conduct of actions. This means quiet diplomacy relies upon back doors or backchanneling rather than open or public talks. It may also involve strategic partnership and deal-making with more benefits than penalties. Quiet Diplomacy brings soft power by indirectly influencing the state’s leaders by holding meetings with civil society representatives.

3.brinkmanship (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अस्थिरता
English Meaning - the practice of trying to achieve an advantageous results by engaging in a dangerous issue or event to the edge of safety, especially in politics, by pushing dangerous events.

4.sailor (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नौसैनिक
English Meaning - a person who works on a boat or ship; mariner, boatman, yachtsman.

5.accuse (verb)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप
English Meaning - charge, allege, incriminate.

6.espionage (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जासूसी
English Meaning - the act of spying; obtaining secret or confidential (political or military) information of a country and/or disclosing it without the permission of that country; undercover work, infiltration, counter-intelligence.

7.possibly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - संभवत:
English Meaning - maybe, perhaps, it may/could be.

8.namely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - अर्थात्
English Meaning - that is to say; explicitly; to be specific, specifically.

9.invoke (verb)

Hindi Meaning - आह्वान
English Meaning - cite, mention, refer to, point to, adduce, turn to, resort to.

10.death penalty (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मृत्यु दंड
English Meaning - capital punishment, execution, killing (by hanging) as a punishment.

11.appeal (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निवेदन
English Meaning - plea, request, petition, entreaty, application.

12.uphold (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कायम रखना
English Meaning - confirm, stand by, justify, endorse/approve, vindicate/validate.

13.strategy (noun)

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

14.sparring (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बहस, विवाद करना
English Meaning - disputing, fighting, quarreling; argument/dispute, fight, quarrel.

15.timely (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - समय पर
English Meaning - prompt, well timed, at the right time, opportune, appropriate.

16.homeward bound (phrase)

English Meaning - traveling towards home; going towards home.

17.sentence (noun)

English Meaning - conviction, judgement, verdict, prison term.

18.sparse (adjective)

English Meaning - insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry.

19.charge (noun)

English Meaning - accusation, allegation, indictment.

20.commute (verb)

English Meaning - reduce, lessen, scale down (a judicial sentence, especially a sentence of death).

21.imprisonment (noun)

English Meaning - custody, incarceration, arrest, restraint, confinement, internment, detention, captivity.

22.conviction (noun)

English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

23.to one’s credit (phrase)

English Meaning - used to mention that someone deserves praise/admiration.

24.bring about (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - cause, give rise to, lead to, result in, achieve, effect.

25.attributable to (adjective)

English Meaning - considered as an outcome/result caused by.

26.employ (verb)

English Meaning - use, utilize, apply, make use of, avail oneself of, bring into play, have recourse to.

27.pursue (verb)

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

28.the accused (noun)

English Meaning - the suspected person.

29.legal aid/support (noun)

English Meaning - the provision of free legal services in civil and criminal matters for those poor and marginalized people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer for the conduct of a case or a legal proceeding in any Court, Tribunal or Authority.

30.counsel (noun)

English Meaning - advice, direction, instruction, guidelines. (Counsel also means lawyer, legal practitioner, legal adviser, legal executive, legal counsellor, advocate, barrister, attorney, solicitor).

31.escalatory (adjective)

English Meaning - increasing, intensifying, worsening (rapidly).

32.rhetoric (noun)

English Meaning - bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language.

33.unscheduled (adjective)

English Meaning - spontaneous, unpremeditated, unplanned, improvised, impromptu, accidental, coincidental, random.

34.leg (noun)

English Meaning - part, stage, phase, step.

35.signify (verb)

English Meaning - denote, indicate, signal, point to.

36.geopolitical (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to (the study of) the geographical factors (a country’s position on the earth, size, climate, and natural resources &, etc.) in world politics and inter-state relations.

37.conflict (noun)

English Meaning - dispute, friction, strife, disagreement, difference of opinion.

38.at stake (phrase)

English Meaning - at issue, at risk; or in question.

39.heft (noun)

English Meaning - influence, ability; weight/strength.

40.conflict (noun)

English Meaning - war, warfare, armed conflict, military action, armed clash.

41.interlocutor (noun)

English Meaning - a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.

42.Hamas (noun)

English Meaning - Hamas is an Islamist militant group based in Gaza.

43.ties (noun)

English Meaning - association, relationship, bond, connection.

44.dependable (adjective)

English Meaning - reliable, trustworthy, constant, steady.

45.boycott (verb)

English Meaning - avoid, shun, reject, refuse.

46.neighbour (noun)

English Meaning - a country that is next to another country; (bordering) country.

47.natural gas (noun)

English Meaning - colourless, odorless highly flammable gaseous hydrocarbon consisting primarily of methane and ethane occurring naturally underground. It is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of plants and animals.

48.need (noun)

English Meaning - requirement.

49.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) (noun)

English Meaning - Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state, at about -260° Fahrenheit (-162.2° C), for shipping and storage.

50.seal the deal (phrase)

English Meaning - successfully negotiate/complete an agreement (officially).

51.by then (phrase)

English Meaning - by that time.

52.bring in (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - earn a specific amount of money.

53.remittance (noun)

English Meaning - payment, transfer of funds, (money) settlement.

54.seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

55.intervention (noun)

English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference, mediation, arbitration, conciliation.