Questions

Q1. Convert the following Active sentences to Passive form.

1. The cruel Hamas kidnappers starved, threatened, and abused the Israeli hostages in the most inhuman manner.
2. The parents of the freed hostages have given details of such ill-treatment to the media.
3. The details of the torture have sparked nationwide anger in Israel against the Hamas.
4. Some masked armed men of Hamas intimidated the women hostages very brutally.
5. The freed women hostages have disclosed their trauma under Hanas captivity to their parents.

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Q2. Convert the following Passive sentences to Active form.

1. The hostages were held by the Hamas captors in underground tunnels and houses.
2. The horrific details of their abuse were recounted by the freed women.
3. The women were forced by Hamas to participate in propaganda videos
4. The ordeal of the hostages was highlighted by the world media.
5. The hostages were moved from place to place by Hamas guards to evade the Israelis.

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Q3. Comprehension and vocabulary building exercise ..

Background note to understand the Manipur of today’s Hindu  news ..

Manipur is a small state in India’s east. It touches the border of Myanmar. A number of different tribal groups live in this state. Among them, Meteis and Kukis are the two most dominant groups. Meteis are mostly Hindus while Kukis are Christians. Meteis live in the central valley region of Manipur, whereas Kukis live in the surrounding hilly areas. Meteis dominate the government because their population is much more than that of the Kukis. They send more MLAs to the state assembly. However, the land under the control of Meteis is much less than that of the Kukis. Meteis do farming. They grow crops, but they don’t have enough lands. On the other hand Kukis adopt many ways to ern their living. Their hilly areas are rich in forests where Bamboo tree grows abundantly. Kukis use the bamboos to build their houses, as fuel, and for making attractive handicraft items. These items are sold through out India and even exported. Kukis also do hunting to get animal meat for their food. They use their pet dogs to help them spotting preys in dense forests. They are mostly Christians.

Culturally, Meteis and Kukis are very different from one another. They are at odds with each other on most matters. Their rivalry is very old. They see each other in suspicious eyes, although they belong to a single state. Mdeteis are barred from buying land in hilly areas where Kukis live. Similarly, Kukis can’t come and settle in the central valley areas where Meteis live.

In the last two years, the enmity between the two tribes has gone from bad to worse. Frequent incidents of violence between the two groups have completely disturbed Manipur. The police, CRPF, and even the Army have failed to stop the violence. Scores of people have died and many more have been injured. The unending violence has made headlines in Indian media. It has become a major headache for the Modi government.

In the last three days, some changes in the government have happened. Biren Singh, the chief minister, has resigned. The State has been put under President rule.

Whenever the law and order position in any society, anti-social elements become active. To earn easy money, they kidnap people, and demand heavy amounts as ransom to free the hostage. Such practice is called extortion. In the last few months, different criminal groups have joined hands to threaten people and government servants to pay huge amounts to them as ransom. To force the victim to pay, they send WhatsApp messages, make mobile calls or send letters to their targets, These criminals give some of their collected money to local politicians and ministers to protect them from police action. Thus, with political backing, the practice of extortion continued and ordinary people lived in constant fear.

Now that Manipur is under President’s rule, the MLAs and ministers have lost all their power. They can no longer protect the criminals from police action. Encouraged by such a turn of events, the police have started a massive campaign to arrest the extortionists and their criminal friends.

The BBC news below is about this matter.

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Sourced from The Hindu dated February 15th

Crackdown against extortion rings will be intensified: Manipur Police

Security personnel during a search operation in the fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley districts of Manipur. PTI

Vijaita Singh

 NEW DELHI

As President’s Rule commenced in Manipur on Friday, police officials said that the crackdown against extortion rings will be intensified in the coming days without “political interference”.

A government official said that at least 60 people associated with underground outfits and radical armed groups have been arrested since February 1 and around 250 cadres have been arrested in the past six months for extortion-related activities.

“The drive against extortion is ongoing but now it will be intensified as police will be free from any kind of political meddling,” said the official.

Since ethnic violence erupted on May 3, 2023, cases of extortion and abductions by armed groups has seen a rise.

On January 26, the Manipur Government established a dedicated Integrated Anti-Extortion Cell under to deal with a significant law-and-order threat in the State.

It said various individuals, including government officials, have been threatened with severe consequences via calls, messages, or letters from unlawful organisations if extortion demands are not met.

A police official said they are also arresting persons who provide SIM cards to such gangs for making the calls. The SIMs are activated fraudulently by obtaining the fingerprints of customers without his or her knowledge.

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Q4. Paraphrase the above news item after learning the words marked in deep blue.

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