The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– June 29, 2021; Day 89

The importance of reading editorials of reputed newspapers is not hidden from anybody. What causes obstruction are difficult words which act like speed-breakers forcing you to either refer to a dictionary for its meaning or simply guess it. While getting the meaning from the dictionary is the best way to understand it, sometimes a dictionary is not within your reach. Also, a number of aspirants get confused when they see more than one meaning next to a word in a dictionary. It becomes a difficult process for them to pick the relevant meaning.

We at PracticeMock understand this and that’s why we have come up with a series of Editorials’ Difficult Words where we shortlist the important editorials of the day and pick the difficult words/ phrases therein. Next to the word, we put only the contextual sense of the word/ phrase so that you don’t get confused. Now let’s go through today’s editorial.

Difficult Word/ Phrase	Contextual Sense
Vindictive	having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge
Censure	the expression of formal disapproval
Call out	draw critical attention to someone’s unacceptable actions or behaviour
Phonographic	of or relating to the recording of music
High handedness	having or showing no regard for the rights, concerns, or feelings of others
Arbitrary	based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system
Ruffle (someone’s) feathers	to cause someone to be upset
Strain	showing signs of nervous tension
Pitch	the level of a feeling
Cantankerous	bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative

War of words: On Twitter’s blocking of Ravi Shankar Prasad account

The Government should require Twitter to follow rules, but not be vindictive (having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge) for political reasons

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s censure (the expression of formal disapproval) of Twitter, after it temporarily blocked his account upon receiving a notice for copyright violation last week, is valid, but only to an extent. Mr. Prasad was right in calling out (draw critical attention to someone’s unacceptable actions or behaviour) Twitter, as he did over a series of tweets, for not giving him prior notice of the blocking, as required by India’s IT Act rules. The blocking was triggered because Twitter had reportedly received a notice for violations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), filed by the International Federation of the Phonographic (of or relating to the recording of music) Industry, the content in question being A.R. Rahman’s song ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who is also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, replied to Mr. Prasad, saying he had a similar experience. “Locking is a foolish response to a DMCA notice; disabling the video (which they’ve now done) should be enough,” Mr. Tharoor wrote. Having raised the issue, however, Mr. Prasad went on a needless attempt to make the issue look more than what it really is. One of his tweets in this regard was this: “It is apparent that my statements calling out the high handedness (having or showing no regard for the rights, concerns, or feelings of others) and arbitrary (based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system) actions of Twitter, particularly sharing the clips of my interviews to TV channels and its powerful impact, have clearly ruffled its feathers (to cause someone to be upset).”

It is quite likely that this is just a case of a global platform struggling to adhere to the laws of multiple jurisdictions where it has substantial interests. Mr. Tharoor’s point in this regard needs highlighting. He tweeted, “But getting a notice from a UK-based organisation, citing @Twitter’s role as a ‘service provider’ under a US law, points to the challenges of @TwitterIndia’s operations in India.” Nothing more needs to be read into it. Mr. Prasad’s outburst is a pointer to the level of deterioration in the relationship between Twitter and the Indian Government. Their already strained (showing signs of nervous tension) relationship has worsened further after Twitter’s defiance in not accepting all of the Government’s takedown requests from time to time. The problematic new IT rules have also contributed to this unease. But then Twitter also has to share some blame. It has opened itself up to attacks from all sides because of its inability to pull down or label problematic content consistently. It has also come across as being indifferent in adhering to the requirements of the new IT rules, including the timely appointment of a grievance officer. On the other hand, it would be best for the Government to just let the rules do the talking rather than take every opportunity to raise the pitch (the level of a feeling). This only makes it look inefficient and cantankerous (bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative).

Hope you got to know some new words/phrases which will definitely be useful in the English section of upcoming competitive exams. Wishing you all the best for your preparation!

Want to improve your vocabulary further? Download the Lists of Word-Meanings of Previous Months here.