Recommendation 1 from ‘The Hindu’
Article Name:‘Gallow’s Poll’
By: P Sainath
America’s profile is changing fast. In a 2011 count, for the first time ever, babies born in minority groups outnumbered White new-borns.
Summary:
This is absolutely awesome piece, in fact, it’s first paragraph illustrates its gist: ‘The race and minority factor was very important in President Obama’s re-election. Far more than any perceived ‘gender gap’ in his favour. Simply put: every non-white group gave him nearly 70 per cent or more of its vote. Nearly 60 per cent of White voters went with Romney. The Obama tally included 73 per cent of Asian-American voters, 93 per cent of African-Americans and 71 per cent of Hispanics. There were other vital ‘gaps’ and ‘divides’ too. But the social coalition of the non-white minorities was critical. It had a strong class dimension, as well. African-American and Hispanic / Latino communities have high percentages of low-income citizens.’ This article is must read analysis of the US election, and make sure you read it.
Learn Words from the article:
Cliché: A trite or obvious remark
Demographics: A statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations broken down by age or sex or income etc.)
Rhetoric: Using language effectively to please or persuade
Recommendation 2 from ‘The Times of India’
Article Name:‘Mango people pickled’
By: Bachi Karkaria
The ‘aam admi’ must indeed feel like the other ‘aam’. He is India’s favourite political fruit, and by that token, has been skinned, squeezed, shredded, chopped, pulped, dried, pickled and chutnified.
Summary:
This article sees Bachi Karkari at her satirical best. After reading this article, one thing that will surely stick in your brain is the reference to ‘aam aadmi’ as ‘mango people’ in this piece. It is a wonderful acronym, isn’t it? The article is a sharp piece of sarcasm that does not spare anyone across the political spectrum, and is an absolute must read from a language perspective.
Learn Words from the article:
Crippled: Disabled in the feet or legs
Harnessed: Brought under control and put to use
Transpired: Pass through the tissue or substance or its pores or interstices, as of gas
Recommendation 3 from ‘The Times of India
Article Name:‘Real and imaginary problems of electronic cash transfers’
By: SA Aiyar
Welfare giveaways can be called unwarranted or misdirected, but not illegal.
Summary:
The cash transfer scheme of the government has been under a lot of scrutiny in the last few days. In this article, SA Aiyar does a great job of analyzing the issue. He points out the illogical flaws and arguments being given by different parties, and then goes on to explain some genuine flaws in the scheme. A great read from a general knowledge perspective.
Learn Words from the article:
Bedeviled: Treat cruelly
Myriad: Too numerous to be counted.
