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Whataboutery
[Noun]
Meaning – The technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult
question by making a counter-accusation or raising a different issue.
Usage – Indian politicians often resort to whataboutery instead of answering the
pertinent questions.
There’s a new word that’s entered the political lexicon in recent weeks and it’s a tongue-twister called ‘Whataboutery.’ It is rooted in the intolerance debate and award wapsi where BJP spokesmen and supporters in print or on TV talking head shows bring up the issue of “what about…” and refer to some earlier incident like the Emergency and the Sikh riots in Delhi to
counter the charges against them.
Basically, it’s the tired argument which starts with “where were you when…”. The phrase is actually a linguistic innovation brought about by television and social media where opposing
sides and viewpoints tend to meet most often. For those who still haven’t got it, whataboutery describes a transparent argumentative technique, designed to derail debate of one issue by raising another. It usually involves political differences and is marked by powerful emotional, even tribal, reactions as opposed to creative arguments over policy and issues.
Youth quake
[Noun]
Meaning – A significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.
Usage – Recent youth quake in Bangladesh had led the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
to abolish quota system in government jobs, Was named the Oxford Dictionary’ 2017 word of the year.
Feminism
[Noun]
Meaning – the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
Usage – Only in the past few years has feminism shone in the United States’ presidency when a woman ran for office. Was named the Merriam-Webster’s 2017 word of the year.
Complicit
Adjective
Meaning – Choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others.
Usage – Two police officers have been apprehended as they were found to be complicit in the cover-up of the high profile murder case. Was named the Dictionary.com’s 2017 word of the year
Roorback
[Noun]
Meaning – a defamatory falsehood published for political effect.
Usage – Political parties often dismiss media reports as roorbacks.
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