Express View on Republic Day
For the world’s largest democracy, the celebrations and commemorations of 75 years of being a republic are a reminder of what lies alongside, and that which endures. While elections are a democracy’s way of renewing itself every five years, Republic Day is a reminder of the constitutional pact that mirrors and forms the constant common ground. It is the space that is not defined by the winners, nor can it be overturned by them. It is the commitment to the values and rules of the game that hold out the possibility of today’s losers becoming tomorrow’s winners. Despite the unabashed conceits of those who win the election and seek to conquer all — look at how the newly elected leader of the world’s most powerful democracy issues order after order in the manner of a Pakistan General’s attempts to erase and remake everything in his image — in spite of the sometimes overwhelming pessimism of those who lose, and notwithstanding the cynicism of voters who think all is lost, January 26 comes every year as a countervailing idea and a restorative message.Republic Day also brings a moment to celebrate the acts of ordinary individuals, not just the winners or losers of power, who constitute the republic and reclaim it in so many ways, not just by voting. In this paper, a series begun on January 26 revisits some of the landmark cases that have helped to reshape the republic, and expand its spaces. These cases are a testimony to the power of the individual, and also to the independent institution, the Court, that can make it writ large, ensure that it is seen and heard. The first report in the series recalls the 1950 Romesh Thapar vs State of Madras ruling that came after an editor of a magazine that had been banned by the government challenged the decision and sought a remedy from the highest court. If the SC ruling, then, drew on the newly adopted Constitution that guaranteed individual freedoms, it continues to guardrail free speech, including press freedom, even now. The underlying reasoning still resonates — that laws curbing freedoms must be narrowly tailored and that such laws will be scrutinised by a vigilant court to protect the individual against Executive arbitrariness and excess. It’s this spirit that’s also violated when 10 Opposition MPs are summarily suspended, as they were on Friday, for allegedly disrupting a Parliamentary panel meeting on changes in the Waqf law.That’s why January 26 is a reminder of the need for a different vocabulary and language. Not one that sees every election as a do-or-die, all-or-nothing fight-to-the-finish, but which frames it as one among many contestations and transitions in a large and diverse country. This is a republic of incomplete victories and defeats, no full stops or clean slates, and it offers many meeting points for parties and forces that are otherwise facing off across a dividing line. On January 26, and on the days after, the nation must collectively acknowledge a binding republicanism, and renew its pledge to retrieve its lost meanings.
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Commemoration (noun) – celebration, tribute, remembrance, observance, honouring
स्मरणोत्सव
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Reminder (noun) – A thing that causes someone to remember something.
की याद दिलाता है
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Lie (verb) – Reside, exist, be situated, be found
स्थित होना
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Endure (verb) – to continue to exist for a long time
टिकना, बना रहना
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Pact (noun) – deal, contract, agreement, compact, treaty
समझौता
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Mirror (verb) – Represent, Illustrate, Symbolize, Signify, Embody
प्रतिबिंबित करना
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Overturn (verb) – Reverse, repeal, revoke, annul, nullify
उलटना/ रद्द करना
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Commitment (noun) – A pledge or undertaking. प्रतिबद्धता
Hold on (phrasal verb) - carry on, bear difficulties, persist
जमे रहना, जारी रखना
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Unabashed (adjective) – unashamed, bold, brazen, confident, unapologetic
निडर
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Conceit (noun) – arrogance, vanity, pride, self-importance, egotism
अहंकार
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Seek (verb) – Ask for, solicit on, call for, demand
तलाश करना
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Conquer (verb) – Overcome, Subdue, Vanquish, Defeat, Master
जीतना
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In spite of (phrase) – Despite, although, even though
के बावजूद
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Overwhelming (adjective) – very large, profuse, enormous, immense, inordinate
भारी
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Pessimism (noun) – Hopelessness, despair, gloominess, cynicism
निराशावाद
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Notwithstanding (Prep./adv.) – Despite, in spite of, even though, although, regardless of
के बावजूद
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Cynicism (noun) – skepticism, distrust, disbelief, suspicion, negativity
संशयवाद
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Countervailing (adjective) – having equal force but an opposite effect
प्रतिकारी
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Restorative (adjective) – Healing, rehabilitative, recuperative, reparative
पुनर्स्थापनात्मक
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Reclaim (verb) – Recover, retrieve, regain, recapture, restore
पुनः प्राप्त करना
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Revisit (verb) – reconsider, review, reexamine, rethink, return to
पुनः विचार करना
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Landmark (noun) – Breakthrough, milestone, innovation, development
ऐतिहासिक उपलब्धि
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Space (noun) – Area, domain, field, sphere, realm, purview
कार्यक्षेत्र
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Testimony (to) (noun) –Something that serves as evidence
प्रमाण
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Writ (noun) – Order, decree, edict, mandate, command
आदेश
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Ruling (noun) – decision, pronouncement, resolution, decree
निर्णय
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Draw on (phrasal verb) – Utilize, use, employ, rely on, tap into
उपयोग करना
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Guardrail (verb) – protect, safeguard, secure, uphold, fortify
सुरक्षित करना
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Underlying (adjective) – Fundamental, basic, intrinsic, inherent, essential
अंतर्निहित
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Resonate (verb) – Echo, reverberate, resound, ring, vibrate
, गूंजना
Reasoning (noun) – thinking, logic, reason, rationality, analysis, तर्क
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Curb (verb) – To restrain or hold back.
रोकना
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Tailor (verb) – Adapt, modify, customize, shape, mold
अनुकूल बनाना
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Scrutinise (verb) – Examine, inspect, review, analyze, audit
जांच करना
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Vigilant (adjective) – Watchful, attentive, alert, careful, observant
सतर्क
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Arbitrariness (noun) – the quality of being based on chance rather than being planned or based on reason:
मनमानी
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Excess (noun) – Extremes, immoderation, overindulgence, intemperance
ज्यादतियों
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Allegedly (adverb) – reportedly, supposedly, reputedly, purportedly कथित तौर पर
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Do-or-die (adjective) – Crucial, desperate, make-or-break, all-or-nothing, high-stakes
करो या मरो
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All-or-nothing (adjective) – uncompromising, extreme, absolute, complete, total
सब कुछ या कुछ नहीं
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Fight-to-the-finish (phrase) – decisive struggle, last stand, final battle, ultimate contest, intense competition
अंतिम संघर्ष
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Contestation (noun) – debate, dispute, argument, contention, conflict
विवाद
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Transition (noun) – change, move, transformation
बदलाव/ परिवर्तन
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Clean slate (phrase) – fresh start, new beginning, reset, tabula rasa, new chapter
नई शुरुआत
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Acknowledge (verb) – recognize, admit, accept, confess, concede
स्वीकार करना
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Republicanism (noun) – support for government by elected representatives of the people
गणतंत्रवाद
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Pledge (noun) – Promise, commitment, vow, oath
प्रतिज्ञा
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Retrieve (verb) – Save, recover, regain, repossess, salvage, reclaim
पुनः प्राप्त करना