All Editorials Snapshot & Free Vocabulary PDF – 16 Dec 2025

The Hindu Editorials snapshot

Editorial 1

Massacre in Sydney: On the Bondi Beach Shootings and Hate Crimes

Bondi Beach in Sydney became a tragic site of massacre on December 14, coinciding with the first day of Hanukkah, when two gunmen attacked a Jewish gathering, killing at least 16 people including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, while wounding 40 others. The attackers were a 50-year-old father with licensed firearms and his 24-year-old son under intelligence scrutiny; police killed the father and arrested the son. This marks Australia’s deadliest shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that claimed 35 lives, amid rising antisemitic incidents like a kosher shop attack in Bondi and a Melbourne synagogue firebombing, with cases surging 316% after the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for unity, but critics wrongly link the attack to his policies like recognising Palestinian statehood; instead, Australia must probe thoroughly, strengthen gun controls post-Port Arthur reforms, monitor religious extremism, and combat hate crimes to protect its Jewish community

Editorial 2

Poll Position: On the Kerala Local Body Elections

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) gained a strong lead in Kerala’s recent local body elections, boosting its chances ahead of next year’s Assembly polls, while showing some voter dissatisfaction against the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) after ten years in power. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) achieved a breakthrough by winning the Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation from the Left, signaling growing influence despite lower vote shares. UDF succeeded through anti-Left vote consolidation in central and northern districts like Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, and Malappuram, combining Christian and Muslim support, while LDF efforts to retain Hindu Ezhava votes backfired. BJP showed strength in urban areas and election strategies but struggled in places like Thrissur; LDF held some ground like Pandalam but lost pocket areas. Overall, no major UDF wave emerged, but the results highlight shifting alliances, defensive LDF campaigns, and lessons for all fronts on growth, welfare, and regional dynamics.

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The Indian Express Editorials snapshot

Editorial 3

After Zakir Hussain, a Quieter ‘Taal’

Music typically adapts to the passing of even its greatest figures by filling concert schedules with new talents and blending loss into ongoing traditions. However, the year since tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain’s sudden death at age 73 has revealed an exception, highlighting music’s limits in absorbing profound grief. As the eldest son of Ustad Allah Rakha Qureshi, known for his curly hair and charming smile, Hussain embodied rhythm (taal) for India, serving as a key reference that connected complex classical elements like melodic modes (raga) and rigorous practice (riyaaz) to widespread popularity and respect from traditionalists. His beats evoked vivid tales—Radha rebuking Krishna, Shiva’s damru and conch echoes, galloping horses, his father’s complex patterns (tukdas), and his innovative phrases—delivering fluid joy that elevated technique to deeply human and transcendent heights. Without him, the musical world feels quieter, missing his unique generosity, humour, and mastery in shaping shared time with audiences.

Editorial 4

MGNREGA Needs Reform but Changes Fray the Safety Net

The Narendra Modi government plans to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a new law called Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Grameen (VB-G RAM G) Bill, which promises 125 days of paid unskilled work per year to rural households that opt in voluntarily. This offers more days than the earlier 100 under MGNREGA and adds restrictions on work during peak farming seasons, along with tech tools like biometrics, GPS tracking, mobile monitoring, and AI to prevent fraud. The government boosted MGNREGA funding during the Covid years of 2020-21 and 2021-22, creating record employment of 389 crore and 364 crore person-days respectively, ensuring money reached the right people. However, the new bill shifts costs unfairly by requiring states to pay 40% of funds (except 90% central share for North-East and Himalayan states), which strains their tight budgets and echoes problems in schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana where states missed payments. The bill also changes planning from state-led demand estimates to central “normative” allocations based on its own criteria, potentially weakening the scheme’s demand-driven nature.

Vocabulary from the Editorial: 1

Word	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Massacre	The brutal killing of many people	Slaughter, carnage	Peaceful event
Iconic	Famous and representative	Symbolic, emblematic	Unknown
Antisemitic	Hostile towards Jews	Anti-Jewish	Pro-Semitic
Retaliatory	In response to an attack	Vengeful, counter	Unprovoked
Genocidal	Intending to destroy a group	Mass-killing	Protective
Grave	Serious and worrying	Severe, critical	Minor
Perpetrate	Commit a crime or a wrong act	Carry out, commit	Prevent
Custody	Detention by authorities	Arrest, imprisonment	Release
Firebombed	Attacked with an incendiary device	Arson-attacked	Protected
Expelled	Forced to leave a country	Deported, banished	Welcomed
Enforcing	Making sure rules are followed	Implementing, applying	Ignoring
Isolate	Separate or cut off	Quarantine, segregate	Integrate
Swiftly	Quickly and promptly	Rapidly, promptly	Slowly

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