Daily English Vocab
PDF 18th Jan 2017
The Pragmatist’s Pivot to India
While Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s death comes as a blow to Iran’s reformists, the template
ofTehran-New Delhi ties established during his presidency is likely to endure geopolitical shifts
The death of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on January 8 was a landmark for the Islamic Republic of
Iran. Rafsanjani was a pivotal figure in the country’s path since the 1979 revolution: a founding
father, a military leader in the war with Iraq, and twice President. More parochially (Narrowly
restricted in scope or outlook), his presidency also saw a historic shift in ties with India, laying
the groundwork for the cooperation that has unfolded, haltingly, over the past 20 years.
From radical to moderate
Rafsanjani’s two nicknames, “Akbar Shah” and “the shark”, convey his blend of power, cunning
(चतुरता/चालाकपन), and adaptability. His funeral last week drew more than two million people,
comparable only to that of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. But in his most recent political
incarnation (अवतरण/अवतार), Rafsanjani was also a source of support for Iran’s beleaguered
(अवरोधित/तंग/परेशान) reformists. The man who had helped elevate Ali Khamenei after Khomeini’s
death, presided over an assassination (हत्या) spree (गधतधवधि) of dissidents (मतभेदी) at home and in
Europe, refused to lift the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, and was famously, fabulously, corrupt — this
same man became, in the final decade of his life, a totem (a natural object that is believed by a
particular society to have spiritual significance and that is adopted by it as an emblem) of
pragmatism (यथाथथवाद/व्यवहारवाद), moderation, and reform.
It was Rafsanjani who warned that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in 2009 would bring “Islamic
fascism”, blamed the Bashar al-Assad regime for the use of chemical weapons in 2013, and
supported Hassan Rouhani’s successful bid for the presidency that same year. He was pushed to
the margins of politics, had two of his children jailed, and was blocked from returning to the
presidency himself. And so the mourners thronging the streets of the capital last Tuesday — never
a comfortable sight for the regime — included the rare sight of supporters of the Green Movement,
crushed by force in 2009, and vocal critics of Russia, alongside which Iran is fighting in Syria.
Transforming ties with India
Rafsanjani’s flexibility also played a role in the evolution of Iran’s ties with India. In the early
1990s, the situation was delicate (कमजोर/नाजुक). In September 1993, P.V. Narasimha Rao became
the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Iran since the revolution. This, President Rafsanjani noted,
was
“a
turning
point”.
In
March
1994,
Iran
bailed
out
(to rescue someone or something from trouble or difficulty.) India in the UN Commission on
Human Rights, blocking a consensus on Kashmir. Five months later, in August, this bonhomie
(धमलनसाररता) was interrupted.
Mr. Rouhani, then secretary of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council and deputy
speaker of parliament, paid a visit to India. Iran’s now-President spoke his mind: on the
“persecution (कष्ट/उत्पीड़न)” of minorities, on the Babri Masjid, and on the importance of IndiaPakistan talks, including “true” representatives of Kashmiris, such as the Hurriyat Conference, to
resolve the conflict in the Valley. This “unfortunate departure from diplomatic norms”, as one
Indian newspaper put it at the time, cast a pall (spoiling the current situations) over relations.
Worse still, in October, Rafsanjani cancelled his own visit, concerned at being associated too
closely with India while the then Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was preparing
once more to censure India on Kashmir. The snub (अपमान) was taken badly in India.
But within a year, things had changed. Perhaps the Taliban’s spectacular advance in Afghanistan
by then with the support of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence had concentrated minds in both
countries. And so, in April 1995, Rafsanjani finally arrived in New Delhi, to be greeted by Prime
Minister Rao himself. It turned out to be a landmark visit. Speaking to over 10,000 Shias at
Lucknow’s Bara Imambara — and promising Rs. 10 million for its upkeep — Rafsanjani gave an
unexpected endorsement of Indian secularism, dodged (बचना/टालना) a Pakistani journalist’s
question on the Babri Masjid (“I believe there is no need for further propaganda in this regard”),
and even praised India’s “serious will” on Kashmir while dismissing Pakistan’s call for American
mediation (मध्यस्थता).
In substantive terms, Rafsanjani signed a three-way India-Iran-Turkmenistan transit agreement,
allowing India to avoid Russian or Ukrainian ports. He also urged a Tehran-Delhi-Beijing axis —
his proposal, sandwiched between India’s 1993 and 1996 border agreements with China, was
perhaps less quixotic (अवास्तधवक/अव्यावहाररक) than it looks today. Indian officials, in turn, batted
away American criticism of Iran, going so far as to mock then U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin for complaining that his trip to Delhi had coincided with Rafsanjani’s. India’s warm
welcome to both was itself a foreshadowing of what, a decade later, would come to be called multialignment.
Rafsanjani did not single-handedly change the relationship. Structural factors, such as India’s
economic liberalisation and the situation in Afghanistan, were more important. But as a relative
pragmatist, he was able to overcome those in Tehran who had argued for a tilt to Pakistan and a
continued focus on Kashmir and communal issues. Although Ayatollah Khamenei would make a
pointed intervention on Kashmir in 2010, calling it a “nation” and comparing it to Gaza, I can find
no account of Rafsanjani’s successors, Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Rouhani, of doing anything
similar. In fact, Rafsanjani’s trip marked several themes that would shape India-Iranian relations
for the next two decades. One was economic diplomacy focussed on connectivity, energy, and
trade. Another was mutual concern over the future of Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s role there. A
third was India’s effort — not always successful — to prevent relations with Washington and
Tehran from interfering with one another. How have these developed?
Economic diplomacy
Economic diplomacy has only grown in importance, as a rising India has looked to Central Asia
and Iran has emerged from the sanctions straightjacket. This explains last May’s historic
agreement over the Chabahar port, even if Iran is considerably more relaxed than India about
Gwadar, China’s regional infrastructure plans, and the Chinese navy’s presence in the Indian
Ocean. Last year, India’s oil imports from Iran trebled from the previous year, pushing it into
fourth place in the ranking of Indian suppliers, and there is pressure on the Reserve Bank of India
to allow Iranian banks to open branches in India, which would boost the relatively modest amount
of bilateral trade.
Afghanistan is a more complicated story, with Tehran now openly flirting with parts of the Taliban
even as Delhi and Kabul draw closer together. Recall that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s
death in a U.S. drone strike in May 2016 came as he was returning to Balochistan from Iran,
possibly after a long stay. Although Taliban delegations (प्रधतधनधि मंडल) have been coming to Iran
for years, they attended December’s International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran with no
semblance of secrecy.
As for the Tehran-Washington balancing act, this has eased in recent years as the Obama
administration in the U.S. has taken a softer approach. With Boeing and Airbus queuing up to sell
to Iran, it’s easier for India to do so. But Donald Trump will assume the presidency in three days,
surrounded by congenital (जन्मजात/पैदाइशी) Iran hawks (a person who advocates an aggressive or
warlike policy, especially in foreign affairs.) such as National Security Advisor Michael Flynn,
Defence Secretary James Mattis, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Within the past few days,
President-elect Trump has repeated, to a British newspaper, his view that Barack Obama’s nuclear
deal with Iran is “one of the worst deals ever made”. He will not rip it up on Inauguration Day.
Neither Europe nor Mr. Trump’s apparent (स्पष्ट/प्रत्यक्ष) hero, Russian President Vladimir Putin,
would agree to a reimposition of sanctions. But with Mr. Rouhani seeking re-election this year,
and hardliners breathing down his neck, it’s not difficult to imagine a spiral of U.S. and Iranian
steps that leads to its unravelling. Will the self-styled arch-dealmaker demand that American
support to India on Pakistan require a quid pro quo (प्रधतकर/बदले में कुछ देना) from India on Iran?
Courtesy: The Hindu (Interrelations).
1. Cunning (noun): Having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion.
(चतुरता/चालाकपन)
 Synonyms: Crafty, Wily, Artful, Guileful, clever, Ingenious, Leery, Devious.
 Antonyms: Dull, Stupid, Unintelligent, Knave.
Example: My sister and brother have a competition every year to see who can think up the most
cunning April Fool’s trick.
Related words:
Cunningly (adverb) - चालाकी से
Cunningness (noun) - चालाकी
2. Incarnation (noun): A person or body who embodies in the flesh a deity, spirit, or quality.
(अवतरण/अवतार)
 Synonyms: Embodiment, Personification, Exemplification, Type, Epitome.
Example: The film is the latest incarnation of a fairy tale that dates back to the Middle Ages.
Verb forms: Incarnate, Incarnated, Incarnated.
Related words:
Incarnate (verb) - साकार रूप में रखना
3. Beleaguer (verb): To cause constant or repeated trouble for. (अवरोि करना/तगं करना/परेशान करना)
 Synonyms: Bother, Trouble, Disturb, Harass, Badger, Persecute.
 Antonyms: Aid, Please, Help, Assist.
Example: A lack of funds is going to beleaguer the school district and cause several school
closures.
Verb forms: Beleaguer, Beleaguered, Beleaguered.
4. Assassination (noun): Murder, as by secret assault or treachery / kill someone discreetly. (हत्या)
 Synonyms: Murder, Killing, Slaughter, Extermination.
 Antonyms: Birth.
Example: On October 7, 1991, the presidential palace in Croatia's capital city of Zagreb was hit
by rockets, in an assassination attempt on the President.
Verb forms: Assassinate, Assassinated, Assassinated.
Related words:
Assassinate (verb) – हत्या करना
5. Dissident (noun): A person who opposes the current political structure, group or laws; one who
disagrees. (मतभेदी)
 Synonyms: Dissenter, Objector, Protester, Disputant, Nonconformist.
 Antonyms: Agreeing, Confirming.
Example: Charlie’s family members were devout Catholics, while he was considered dissident
for not identifying with the religion.
6. Pragmatism (noun): An approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of
their practical application. (यथाथथवाद/व्यवहारवाद)
 Synonyms: Appositeness, Aptness, Practicality.
 Antonyms: Inappropriateness.
Example: The king was a pragmatic ruler who always sought the sensible advice of his advisers.
Related words:
Pragmatist (noun) – व्यवहारवादी
7. Delicate (adjective): Easily broken or damaged. (कमजोर/नाजुक)
 Synonyms: Fragile, Breakable, Easily Broken/Damaged, Frail, Frangible.
 Antonyms: Firm, Healthy, Strong, Tough.
Example: The Delicate relations between countries got worse as the one of those violated
ceasefire.
Related words:
Delicately (adverb) – in a delicate manner
8. Bonhomie (noun): Cheerful friendliness / a pleasant, good-natured manner. (धमलनसाररता)
 Synonyms: Amenity, Affableness, Amiableness, Cordiality, Friendliness, Pleasantness.
 Antonyms: Aloofness, Coldness.
Example: The bonhomie ended when a hostile argument broke out between neighbors.
9. Persecution (noun): Hostility and ill-treatment (कष्ट/उत्पीड़न)
 Synonyms: Oppression, Victimization, Maltreatment, Discrimination.
 Antonyms: Happiness, Joy, Succor.
Example: The national hate crime laws were initially enacted to prevent the persecution of
minorities.
Verb forms: Persecute, Persecuted, Persecuted.
Related words:
Persecute (verb) - कष्ट पहचुं ाना
10. Snub (noun): An act of rebuffing or ignoring someone or something. (अपमान)
 Synonyms: Rebuff, Insult, Repulse, Slight, Disregard, Humiliation.
 Antonyms: Praise, Laud, Flatter, Respect.
Example: He ignored the snub of his in-laws as he loved his wife very much and he didn’t want
to create any bitterness.
Verb forms: Snub, Snubbed, Snubbed.
Related words:
Snub (verb) – अपमान करना
11. Dodge (verb): Avoid (someone or something) by a sudden quick movement. (बचना/टालना)
 Synonyms: Dart, Swerve, Veer, Evade, Avoid.
 Antonyms: Face, Counter.
Example: Don’t dodge the trivialities of business; one day these will make a large gain.
Verb forms: Dodge, Dodged, Dodged.
12. Quixotic (adjective): Unrealistic and impractical. (अवास्तधवक/अव्यावहाररक)
 Synonyms: Utopian, Impractical, Unrealistic, Unworldly.
 Antonyms: Practical, Pragmatic, Realistic, Thoughtful.
Example: Henry knew running for class president was a quixotic idea, but he was not going to let
his enemy run unopposed.
Related words:
Quixotically (adverb) – कल्पनाशीलतापवू वक
13. Delegation (noun): A body of delegates or representatives. (प्रधतधनधि मडं ल)
 Synonyms: Deputation, Delegacy, Legation, Commission.
Example: The manager will delegate many of his duties to the new assistant manager.
Verb forms: Delegate, Delegated, Delegated.
Related words:
Delegate (verb) - अधिकार देना
14. Congenital (adjective): Having a particular trait from birth or by firmly established habit. /
existing since birth. (जन्मजात/पैदाइशी)

Synonyms: Inveterate, Compulsive, Persistent, Chronic, Regular, Pathological,
Established, Long-Established, Long-Standing.
 Antonyms: Neophyte, Fledgling.
Example: Her deafness was considered congenital because she was born without hearing.
15. Quid pro quo (noun): A favor or advantage granted in return for something. (प्रधतकर/बदले में कुछ
देना)
 Synonyms: Equal Exchange, Equal Substitution, Equivalent, Return, Reciprocity.
 Antonyms: Giver, Benefactor.
Example: In politics nobody does something for nothing: there's always a quid pro quo involved.
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