The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary – Set 174

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary Words with Meanings for various Exams: SBI PO/Clerk, IBPS PO/Clerk, RRB, RBI, LIC, NABARD, SEBI, SSC, UPSC, IPPB, etc.

We are providing vocabulary words from the Editorial articles in The Hindu newspaper which is important for all the upcoming competitive exams. Add some more words to your English vocabulary words list.

TOPIC – A foul cry

In a disturbing sequence of events, two men were beaten to death over alleged attempts to “commit sacrilege” in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple in Amritsar and on the Sikh flag in a gurudwara at Nijampur village in Kapurthala earlier this week in Punjab. With passions now running high as the State heads to polls early next year, political parties have jumped into the fray seeking tougher laws and alleging conspiracies. Prominent political leaders cried foul over the alleged attempts at committing sacrilege, but few questioned the murders of the alleged perpetrators without even investigating their crimes. The use of vigilantism as retaliation for their alleged acts is clearly illegal but it is also deeply problematic in other ways as it has disallowed any possibility of unraveling why these incidents occurred and if they were attempts to foment communal tensions. In the Nijampur incident, the police have said the unidentified man who was lynched by sewadars at the gurudwara was most likely a thief, which suggests that the police must book those who took the law into their own hands. Upholding law and order is paramount in defusing tensions related to inflamed religious passions and, unfortunately, the proximity of elections seems to deter this possibility. The rabblerousing State Congress chief, Navjot Singh Sidhu, for example, upped the ante by seeking a “public hanging” for those convicted of crimes of committing sacrilege. Earlier in 2018, the State cabinet had sought to pass amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) seeking life imprisonment for those convicted of committing sacrilege against the holy books of major religions, a problematic proposal that sought punishment far disproportionate to the crimes. The proposal itself was redundant as the Supreme Court clarified that Section 295A of the IPC “punishes the aggravated form of insult to religion when it is perpetrated with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging religious feelings”. Besides, if invoked, it could be used to jail miscreants for up to three years. It is a Section misused to prosecute people in the name of protecting the sentiments of sections of society, thereby dampening freedom of expression. Seeking extraordinary punishment for crimes that are vaguely defined such as “sacrilege” would be an even more retrograde step as the application of stringent “blasphemy laws” elsewhere has shown. The State must now allow the police to conduct thoroughgoing inquiries. It must also bring to justice those engaged in vigilantism. Meanwhile, political parties committed to peace in the State must seek to defuse any public anger over the alleged acts of “sacrilege” and not let it descend into communal tensions.

The Hindu Editorial Words with meanings, synonyms, and antonyms 

Sacrilege (noun) – Violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred

Synonyms – Impiety, profanation, defilement, paganism, apostasy

Antonyms – Adoration, extolment, reverence, devoutness, consecration

Sanctum (noun) – A sacred place, especially a shrine within a temple or church

Synonyms – Shrine, altar, presbytery, ciborium, feretory

Antonyms – Inferno, quagmire, swamp, evil place

Fray (noun) – A fight or brawl

Synonyms – Fracas, skirmish, tussle, ruckus, rumpus

Antonyms – Armistice, solace, serenity, solemnity, entente

Conspiracies (noun) – A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful

Synonyms – Intrigue, complot, subterfuge, sedition, treachery

Antonyms – Philanthropy, sustenance, succor, benefaction, munificence

Perpetrators (noun) – A person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act

Synonyms – Evildoer, felon, delinquent, trespasser, baddy

Antonyms –Sheriff, constabulary, gendarme, plaintiff, claimant

Unraveling (verb) – To free from a tangled or twisted state

Synonyms – Extricating, unlacing, disentwining, slackening, slipping

Antonyms – Stagnation, declension, relapse, diminishment, degeneracy

Redundant (adjective) – Not or no longer needed or useful

Synonyms –Superfluous, extraneous, extrinsic, peripheral, futile

Antonyms –Rudimentary, imperative, compelling, exigent, innate

Miscreants (adjective) – Evil or immoral in nature or character

Synonyms –Vicious, depraved, nefarious, reprobate, flagitious

Antonyms –Scrupulous, sublime, meritorious, punctilious, venerable

Stringent (adjective) – Making strict requirements

Synonyms –Rigorous, draconian, acrimonious, austere, intractable

Antonyms –Amenable, pliant, facile, indulgent, halcyon

Blasphemy (noun) – Irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable

Synonyms –Heresy, imprecation, scurrility, mockery, idolatry

Antonyms –Extolment, sanctification, consecration, apotheosis, deification

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