Request for Proposal: Translation and Transcription Services (India) - ReliefWeb - Translation

Request for Proposal: Translation and Transcription Services (India)

March 2022

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows, TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make choices and changes in their lives.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl”.

Our reach is 20 million and counting. And we’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and her livelihood.

Because when a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Girl Effect in India

Chhaa Jaa (Go Forth and Shine) – a powerful youth brand co-designed with girls in India

In June 2019, Girl Effect launched Chhaa Jaa (छा जा) – an online youth brand inspiring, entertaining and empowering girls with the right skills and confidence to navigate adolescence, from accessing information about sexual and reproductive health to preparing them to enter the workforce.

Chhaa Jaa’s product portfolio is aimed at girls aged 16-22, across urban and peri-urban centres in the Hindi speaking belt of India comprising 11 states and union territories, and accessible online via mobile –

• Digital media content that girls can access on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram is both entertaining and informative. Characters and storylines have been developed with girls and are designed to reflect their lives and the challenges they might face;

• An online, moderated peer-to-peer community (Bak Bak Gang) that acts as a safe space for girls 16 and above years of age to discuss sexual and reproductive health concerns, interact closely with Chhaa Jaa’s content, explore the themes and topics that are relevant for them, and apply what they’ve learnt to their own lives;

• A chatbot (Bol Behen) that offers a private way for girls to ask questions about the themes and topics raised by Chhaa Jaa content and safely get information.

• A website (www.chhaajaa.com ) that is being built into a youth-friendly service directory for easy access to services and products – both online and offline – to help girls improve their sexual and reproductive health (SRH), mental wellbeing (MW) and economic empowerment (EE) from getting the right information about their bodies, booking doctor consultations, accessing online skilling courses, opening up on their mental wellbeing and career guidance, to name a few.

Creating a new normal where girls are empowered to write their own story

Through Chhaa Jaa, we want to create a generation of girls in India who can take control of their future, to find meaningful work, and manage their sexual and reproductive lives health. This way, not only will they fulfil their potential, but help others do the same and become contributors to the development of the Indian economy.

TEGA

Adolescent girls are one of the hardest groups to reach in society. The challenges they face are often under-reported or described on their behalf. Without including their perspective, solutions designed to support them aren’t as effective as they could be.

Co-created with girls, TEGA (Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors) is Girl Effect's mobile-based research tool that allows girls to collect real-time insights into the lives of their peers. This unique approach unlocks the open and honest conversations that might otherwise be lost or not included in traditional research.

TEGA networks have gathered data from girls and communities on nutrition, economic empowerment, health and wellbeing, vaccines, mobile access, social media and education. This girl-talk method is beneficial when researching sensitive topics like HIV or sexual health.

TEGA exists to ensure girl insights are incorporated in every step of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Girl Effect’s internal programmes. In the context of this TOR, the scope of research is related to Chhaa Jaa’s ongoing programmatic work. In addition, TEGA also conducts research for external mission-aligned partners (example of a project undertaken for Vodafone Foundation here)

TEGA in India

Girl Effect Enterprises India is looking to find an India- based translations partner to conduct English to Hindi and Hindi to English audio-visual and text translations and transcriptions.

Our existing TEGA networks conduct regular research gathering audio-visual data, which will need to be translated. Our network in Jaipur has 11 TEGA researchers, and our network in Bihar has 7 TEGA researchers. These researchers will conduct at least 4 large research projects in a year (60- 150 respondents in each project and approximately 11 audiovisual questions in each survey and some quantitative data. In addition, the networks often conduct a few smaller projects during the year.

The translations partner is required to recruit translators fluent in translations and transcriptions from Hindi to English and English to Hindi. They will be provided with an online platform where they can listen to audio files and transcribe and translate the content into English. They may also be required to translate zoom video interviews, audio recordings and survey questionnaires outside this platform.

Translators must have their computers/laptops with Google Chrome, headphones and a mouse. This will be a temporary position and will only be required during/after research, and therefore an ability to contract freelancers as the need arises is desired.

The translations partner will be responsible for the quality of translations and transcriptions and will need to maintain strict quality standards. Since we are working with adolescent girls and young women, it is a crucial requirement that translations use colloquial language rather than overly formal Hindi or English.

The Scope:

The translator will undertake the following duties and responsibilities and will be expected to;

• Translate and submit the translation in the prescribed format ;

• Proofread and editing

• Share draft translation with GEEI; Incorporate suggested changes to the translation.

• All texts, including texts contained in figures, boxes, captions, sources and covers, requires translation and proofreading.

• Ensure high quality and accuracy of the entire document before submitting it to the user department

• Ensure accuracy of the terms and terminology used in the documents

• Ensure that the translation is written with style, correct grammar and spelling, and Complete the work within the agreed timeline and submit the final translation in soft copy

Deliverables:

• Ensure that the translated text is technically, linguistically and grammatically correct, error-free and it should meet high-quality standards, and would not need further editing after completion of translation.

• Professional translation from/to English and Indian languages

• Provide accurate and timely translation to the satisfaction of GEEI standards.

• The maximum percentage margin of errors per page should not exceed three errors.

• The translated materials should be provided to GEEI after completing the required services in the prescribed format.

• All transcriptions must be verbatim, and transcribers must not summarise or paraphrase the responses given through the audio/video files.

• Maintain open communication lines with Girl Effect Global and Girl Effect India

• The translation shall be done within the stipulated deadlines in the work order.

Expected Commitment:

We would like the consultant to start as soon as possible, but the frequency of need and contract length can be finalised in discussion with the selected consultant/s.

Location: Flexible in India but must be conducive to working with teams based in Mumbai & Delhi.

Intended Timeframe:

• Terms of reference published: Friday 25th March

• Deadline for responses: Friday 8th April

• Supplier selection, contracting and briefing: Mid April

• Project commencement: End April

Who You Are:

Skills and expertise:

• Proven skills in translation and interpretation from and into English/India and vice versa in the fields of the development sector in India.

• Effective communicator and writer with the ability to synthesize and communicate complex information in youth-friendly, fun and engaging ways.

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and experience working in a multicultural team.

• Ability to be flexible within a fast-paced, changing environment.

• Commitment to realising the potential of girls and to the vision and values of Girl Effect.

• We strongly encourage applications from young people and/or youth organisations.

Reporting:

The Translations Partner will work closely with Girl Effect India’s TEGA Lead & Evidence Specialist in Mumbai and Delhi.

Proposal Submission:

Interested consultants are asked to submit a brief proposal ( 2-5 pages), setting out:

• Relevant experience in line with the ‘Who You Are’ section above

• Approach for undertaking this assignment, underpinned by a demonstration of value for money

• Credentials, experience, or bios of key individuals who would be involved in the engagement

• Detailed reference list indicating the scope of similar assignments, and

• A detailed budget proposal. Please provide a pricing structure for your services. Include the amount charged either:

• Per Word

• Per page

• Per audiovisual

Technical and Financial bids should be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals (in INR) will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and only for those deemed qualified and responsive proposals.

Evaluation Criteria:

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:

• Experience in Performance of Comparable Engagements (25 points maximum) Girl Effect will assess the vendors’ relevant capabilities, including their work with past clients, their experience with nonprofits and/or international development organizations, their languages of expertise and their process for evaluating and testing Translators.

• Project Management and Quality Assurance (25 points maximum) Girl Effect will assess how efficiently and effectively the vendor moves from an initial assignment to a completed product. The evaluation will consider the vendor’s ability to process materials from different geographies in India. Girl Effect will evaluate the vendor’s ability to deliver a quality product consistent with the organization’s brand.

• Customer Service and Assistance (20 points maximum) Girl Effect will evaluate vendors’ ability to meet GEEI’s translation needs. This will consider the experience of the vendor’s team lead, feedback mechanisms and global reach of the vendor.

• Pricing (30 points maximum) Value for money/proposed budget breakdown

GE is not liable for any cost incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

Equal Opportunities:

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that truly represents the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy services of organizations and individuals with deep understanding and experience of our programming markets and with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

Safeguarding:

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted consultants will be assessed on our organisational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary found at https://ift.tt/3AW1h0m. We have zero-tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries, and staff.

Tax:

Applicants are advised to ensure that they clearly understand their tax position regarding provisions of their local jurisdiction tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Disclaimer:

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

**

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Derek Coleman: From words to war, then back to words - Huntington Herald Dispatch - Dictionary

Thanks to applications such as spell checker and thesaurus, I don’t have to consult a dictionary very often when I’m writing these days. I still have several of them adorning my bookshelves though — “Black’s Legal Dictionary,” a couple of medical dictionaries, Webster’s and the all-important “Oxford English Dictionary,” sit side by side and I do consult them occasionally; after all, an author who writes crime novels has to try to get his facts right.

My favorite dictionary is the Oxford. It gives me words, their meanings and histories, that I’ve never, ever dreamed of, and that warrants an article by itself, but this piece isn’t about a book, interesting as the history of that publication is. Instead, it’s about a man, an American, although there is a strong connection between the book and the man.

The man’s name was William Chester Minor, and he was the son of Eastman Strong Minor and Lucy Bailey. His parents belonged to the Congregational Church in New England, and they were working as missionaries in Ceylon — now Sri Lanka — when he was born on June 22, 1834. Minor had several siblings and his half-brother, Thomas T. Minor, later became mayor of Seattle, Washington.

When William was 14, he was sent home to the United States to go to school and to live with relatives in New Haven, Connecticut. While there he attended the New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, later renamed the Russel Military Academy, where he studied to enter college and attended daily drills dressed in cadet uniform. From there he applied to Yale and was accepted at their School of Medicine. In order to support himself while he studied, he returned to Russel Military Academy to work as an instructor as well as taking on work helping to compile the projected 1864 Revision of “Webster’s Dictionary.”

William specialized in comparative anatomy while he was at Yale and finally graduated in 1863 with a medical degree. From there, he joined Knight General Hospital in New Haven, but the Civil War was raging and his experience at Russel Military Academy was calling him so, later that year, he volunteered to join the Union Army as a surgeon.

Minor was posted to the 2nd Division Hospital at Alexandria, Virginia, and it is said he saw service at the Battle of the Wilderness, a confrontation that generated numerous horrendous casualties. This may not be true because the battle was fought on May 5 to 7, 1864, and he is not recorded as reporting to the military hospital until May 17 of that year. Of course, he may still have treated wounded from the battle and he did serve through to the end of the war before being posted to Governor’s Island in New York City.

Here he was promoted to captain, but it was while he was in New York that Minor began to behave strangely. He started to have delusions and took to spending all his off-duty time in the city’s red-light district, consorting with prostitutes. His condition deteriorated until, in 1867, to curb his behavior, the army transferred him away from temptation to Fort Barrancas in the Florida Panhandle. The move did no good; he became paranoid, accusing fellow officers of conspiring against him and developing a belief that he was being pursued by an Irish secret society. Eventually, in 1868, he challenged a fellow officer to a duel, was examined by a panel of doctors and was then transferred to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. This was a mental hospital and Minor was admitted voluntarily as a patient.

Hospitalization didn’t work. After 18 months, Minor’s condition hadn’t improved and may even have gotten worse. In 1871, he was discharged from the hospital and from the army, who granted him a pension as it was thought his condition was due to his war experiences. After discharge, at the suggestion of his family, he decided to cross the Atlantic to England.

By 1872, he was living in Tenison Street in the London district of Lambeth. He was living on his US Army pension and had once again taken to consorting with prostitutes but was still convinced that he was the target of the Irish secret society and that they had followed him from America.

Matters came to a head in the early morning of Feb. 17, 1872. William Minor happened to meet George Merrett, a brewery worker who he didn’t know, on the street and shot him three times before attacking him with a Bowie knife.

A nearby policeman arrested Minor, who didn’t resist, and he was charged with murder. Several people gave evidence at the trial as to Minor’s mental state. It appeared that he believed that during the civil war he had been ordered to brand an Irish soldier on the face with the letter “D”, for deserter, and that the Irish had been pursuing him ever since. He was convinced that invisible men entered his room at night, tried to poison him and forced him to commit illicit acts.

The court was convinced, and the verdict was “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Minor was sentenced to be detained in a hospital for the insane “Until her majesty’s pleasure be known.”

The Broadmoor Institute for the Criminally Insane isn’t like a normal prison. Minor’s accommodation was quite comfortable. The US Consul sent him clothing, food and drawing materials, he had a good income from his pension and began collecting antiquarian books.

As part of his book collecting, Minor corresponded with London booksellers and through them heard about an appeal for volunteers to help contribute to the new “Oxford English Dictionary.” He had done something similar in his youth for Webster’s and so he volunteered. For the next 20 years he worked on the dictionary, sending in no less than 12,000 quotes in just two years. In the end James Murray, the compiler of the first Oxford, said of William Minor, “So enormous have been Dr. Minor’s contributions during the past 17 or 18 years, that we could easily illustrate the last four centuries from his quotations alone.”

Murray campaigned for Minor’s release but his condition had become worse and he had mutilated himself. Despite this he was released in 1910 and he was deported back to the USA. Here, he was immediately admitted to an asylum where he lived out the remaining ten years of his life.

As I said at the start of this article, I love my Oxford and, in future, when I consult it I shall think kindly about people like William Chester Minor who, despite his illness, did so much to help compile it.

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Dictionary.com Announces New Words Related to Homelessness, Accessibility, Disability, Culture, the Ongoing Pandemic, Climate and the Environment, and Social Sciences - PR Newswire - Dictionary

-The dictionary's latest additions illustrate that, as the English language expands, documenting new and newly prominent words across the cultural spectrum is essential to helping people better understand a rapidly changing world

-Highlights include: forest bathing, wabi-sabi, chair yoga, hamburger menu, cottagecore, UAP, Generation A, throuple, memeify, ranked-choice voting, parklet, and metaverse

OAKLAND, Calif., March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dictionary.com, the leading online and mobile English-language educational resource, today announced hundreds of newly added terms. Notably, their team of lexicographers updated over 2,400 entries across the dictionary, including 235 new entries, 72 new definitions in existing entries, and 1,024 revised definitions. Key themes addressed in its update reflect important topics in society and culture today, including: homelessness, accessibility, disability, the ongoing pandemic, climate and the environment, and the social sciences. These terms and definitions reflect Dictionary.com's commitment to documenting and describing an ever-evolving English language.

"Because our world is constantly changing, our language is constantly changing," said John Kelly, Senior Director of Editorial. "From Generation A to zeitgeisty, our latest update to the dictionary shows just how wide, varied, and complex these changes can be. Our work at Dictionary.com isn't just to capture these changes in language—it's to help our users make sense of them and why they matter for their lives."

Below are the highlights from the full article and list of terms, which can be accessed here: https://ift.tt/4LAOEwy.

Homelessness
Dictionary.com's newly added terms such as unsheltered, unhoused, and houseless are increasingly used in reference to people who lack stable housing. These additions follow the increase of usage among members of that community and by advocates who view those expressions as better able to convey the range of experiences that the single term homeless does not.

Accessibility
The increase in the availability of assistive technologies has brought with it an influx of terminology. Some of the newly added terms related to accessibility tech include alt text, auto caption, and live caption. While some of these terms or the technologies they refer to have familiarity, specific features of each type can differ and overlap—and capturing these distinctions and similarities is one of the challenges of defining these words.

Disability
Disabled is a comprehensive umbrella term to describe people or communities of people who live with functional limitations in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. Among the many changes made to terms used in the context of disability was the addition of an important usage note for disability itself.

Culture
The expansiveness of both mainstream culture and subcultures has led to diverse entries covering a span of topics. These include words related to leisure and wellness like forest bathing and chair yoga to internet and online life like metaverse and memeify. Other examples like Generation A, UAP, throuple, and verklempt show how words are used in a variety of contexts.

The Ongoing Pandemic
After more than two years, the long-lasting effects of COVID continue to be reflected in language. Some new terms emerged during the pandemic. In other cases, existing terms became more established in mainstream use due to the influence of COVID on so many aspects of our lives. Many of the terms are examples of the evolving language of vaccination and masking, including: vax ,vaxxer, antivax, antivaxxer, anti-mask, and anti-masker.

In some cases, the addition of terms as a result of COVID was somewhat indirect. For example, Dictionary.com added nontaster and hypogeusia, which are both used in the context of COVID's effects on smell and taste. These additions precipitated the addition of their opposites, supertaster and hypergeusia, which are not associated with COVID, but nevertheless made sense to add in tandem.

Climate and Environment
As climate changes, the overlapping contexts of science, personal behavior, politics, policy, activism, and tech innovations are sources of emerging terminology. Chief among the terms that have been added in this area is one that is now commonly used to capture the urgency of the issue of climate emergency. Dictionary.com's additions also reflect a focus on the extreme weather events driven by climate change—and the greater awareness and mainstream use of some of the technical terms used in studying and discussing them. Some of these include megadrought and mesovortex.

Additionally, the push to reduce the use of fossil fuels is often discussed in relation to the transportation industry, where many terms have emerged regarding evolving technologies: EV (electric vehicle), HEV (hybrid electric vehicle), PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), BEV (battery electric vehicle), charging station, e-bike, and micromobility.

Social Sciences 
Everyday discussion of a wide range of issues features vocabulary initially used and developed by professionals and academics in fields like sociology, psychology, and race and gender studies. Many of these terms are not new but have been more recently adopted into (or are trending towards) mainstream use. Here are some of the terms being added to the dictionary for the first time or whose definitions they've updated to reflect modern senses: trigger, problematic, code-switching, translanguaging, and decolonize.

About Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com
Words define every aspect of our lives, from our ideas to our identities. We aspire to empower every person, of every background, to express themselves, make connections, and open the door to opportunity through the power and joy of language. 

We are the premier destination to learn, discover, and have fun with the limitless world of words and meanings. We help you make sense of the ever-evolving English language so you can put your ideas into words—and your words into action.

Contact:
Jacquelyn Grant
The TASC Group
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Dictionary.com

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The 4 Best Alternatives to Google Translate - MUO - MakeUseOf - Translation

There are many reasons that you might want to steer away from Google Translate. Sure, the translation service might be one of the most prevalent in the world, but it isn’t always the most accurate or feature-rich translation service to exist.

Or perhaps you just want to distance yourself from Google’s ecosystem, and who could blame you?

Regardless of why you may want to look for an alternative, there are so many online translation services out there that are simply not very good. Fortunately, here are four of the very best for you to consider.

First on this list comes DeepL, an online translation service that has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years.

DeepL began life as a project created by a German start-up, but has since taken off as potentially the single most accurate and reliable translation service to currently be available.

Although DeepL only supports 26 languages at the time of writing this article, the languages that it does support are done so with an incredible amount of accuracy. The key here is an AI and deep-learning centered approach to language translation as opposed to more traditional methods.

Apart from just more accurate translations than those that Google provides, DeepL also features a number of handy features that are worth noting. Though it may not be a browser tool to translate web pages, instead existing only online, it is still incredibly useful.

For example, DeepL provides multiple translations to any phrase, which might be more or less correct given the context of what you’re translating. You can rate translations on accuracy, as well as listen to them in order to get an idea as to how the translation would sound if a native speaker might say it.

If you do a lot of translating and disagree with one reoccurring phrase, you can manually override in your own personal glossary so that DeepL will always translate the text how you prefer. You can also set the tone of the translation between formal and informal, though this feature is only available for users who purchase a premium subscription.

If you want to translate whole documents, DeepL can help you with that as well, and supports PDF, DOCX, and PPTX file types for automatic translation.

Next up on this list comes Reverso, one of the longest-running competitors to Google Translate. Reverso exists as a complete language translation suite, including dictionary and grammar checking functionality, though the focus here is on its instant translation service.

As you can imagine, Reverso functions much like Google Translate does. You choose your language pairs and then type or copy out some text for the service to translate.

Reverso only supports 18 languages in its app, but diversity of translation isn’t where Reverso shines. Instead, ease of use is where Reverso dominates.

For example, if you’re translating a language such as French with plenty of accents that may be missing from your own keyboard, Reverso provides those for you to access easily at the bottom of the translation window.

If you’re unsure about getting your grammar correct, there’s a grammar checking function to make sure that you haven’t made any simple mistakes.

What’s really cool here is that Reverso includes a rephrase option that gives you a list of alternative phrases that may sound more natural than what you’ve written.

If you’re confused about the translation that Reverso has provided, then you’ll be pleased to know that it also features an automatic context dictionary that will show you instances that the translated or original phrase were used in actual texts so that you can have a better idea of the language behind the phrase.

3. Microsoft Translator

While Google Translate may be popular and useful as an online translator, there are plenty of times when you might find yourself needing translation services in your pocket. Despite many options existing for online translators you can use in the real world, Microsoft Translator excels on iOS and Android.

The app itself is largely broken up into a couple of functions. If you need to translate a phrase, you can type or paste text into the text translator, which will automatically detect your language. There are options to then have the app speak this out loud if you need it as well.

Where Microsoft Translator stands out is in its other features, however. You can use your microphone to translate your speech if you need, and can even set up the phone so that you can have a conversation entirely through the app with others in the real world.

You can do this by hitting the split option here, which will automatically translate phrases back and forth as if you were having a real conversation. Microsoft Translator can also do this automatically with its auto mode.

Furthermore, Microsoft Translator has options for an image translation service where you can take photos from your camera roll or take new ones for the app to automatically translate, and also has support for a conversation feature between people of many languages.

There’s also a phrasebook if you need help while traveling or just want to brush up.

Download: iOS | Android | Amazon (Free)

Finally, Yandex Translate makes it onto this list. If you’re looking for the translation that probably behaves the most like Google Translate does, then Yandex Translate is a great choice to do just that.

Yandex Translate’s interface is incredibly similar to Google Translate’s, so there should likely be little problems learning how to use it. You can select your languages from a drop-down menu, and with synchronized translation options for 100 languages, you’re not missing out on much here compared to Google Translate’s own range of 109.

Similarly, you can use Yandex Translate to translate entire websites if you’re browsing a website in another language, a feature that Google Translate uses to great effect but that other alternatives often overlook.

There is also support for document and image translation, so if you need to convert a PDF or DOCX file, you can easily change the whole document that way instead of having to rely on copy and paste.

Google Translate Isn’t the Only Solution

As you can see, there are plenty of alternatives to Google Translate, no matter the reason for your wanting to switch. If you’re looking for more accurate translations, more eclectic features, or more, then there are plenty of alternatives just waiting for you out there.

How to Use Google Translate in Any App on Android

Related Topics

About The Author

Jack Ryan (74 Articles Published)

Jack is a writer based in Melbourne, Australia with a passion for all things tech and all things written. When not writing, Jack enjoys reading, playing video games, and spending time with friends.

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Why isn't 'lumberjill' in the dictionary? - NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ - Dictionary

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Why isn't 'lumberjill' in the dictionary?  NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ

Why isn't 'lumberjill' in the dictionary yet? - NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ - Dictionary

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Why isn't 'lumberjill' in the dictionary yet?  NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ

Pakistans new political dictionary - Geo News - Dictionary

Prime Minister Imran Khan addresses the 'historic' public gathering at Parade Ground in Islamabad on March 27, 2022. — PID/File

Sportsmen-turned-politician Prime Minister Imran Khan has changed Pakistan’s political dictionary by introducing words that are reserved for sports.

These words include “kaptan” (captain), “umpire”, “third umpire”, “match-fixing”, “wickets”, “ground” and “unfit”, amongst others. This vocabulary is now part of Pakistan’s political terminology and has been taken up by his rivals as well.

No prizes for guessing that the word “umpire” or the term “neutral umpire” refers to the military establishment.

I remember how once Imran Khan’s old colleague, the late Naeem ul Haque, had requested me to not discuss cricket with Khan as he is now in politics. 

“Yaar, he is new in politics so please discuss more politics with him,” Haque had said to me, during Imran Khan’s visit to the Karachi Press Club after the 2002 election.

But Khan has not shied away from bringing sports into politics. In fact, he has boasted about introducing the term “neutral umpire”. Now, even his opponents use this term and claim that the “umpires”, therefore the establishment, is now neutral and not taking sides.

This is a deviation from the actual word. As in cricket, the umpire is expected and trusted by both teams to fairly judge without any prejudice or bias game. Both sides must accept the umpire’s decision, even if at times it goes against them.

Any team or skipper, who does not accept the umpires or referee’s decision faces disciplinary action, including at times a ban.

But politics is a different ball game. In other countries, the referee is the election commission, which is tasked with ensuring a free and fair election. However, here the umpire is the establishment.

Even in sports now the umpire has become controversial. Teams and players have started to protest the umpire’s decisions. One reason is the amount of money that has started pouring into the game, and that too through illegal means.

It was in the post-Kerry Packer era in the mid-1970s that players, from different countries, were lured by the lust for money over national pride, leading to a major revolt in almost every cricket playing nation.

It was at that time that Pakistan’s former captain Imran Khan floated the idea of a “neutral umpire”, meaning that instead of having an umpire from the host country, the umpire should be from any third country to avoid any chances of prejudice or bias.

Now, in addition to a neutral umpire, cricket also has a third umpire called a “match referee”. Moreover, technology is used these days to minimize disputes.

Imran Khan was regarded as a hero after the 1992 World Cup. Soon after, Khan joined politics in 1996. During that time he was also lauded for his role in building a cancer hospital in Lahore.

Fast forward to 2022, Khan is again talking about the role of the umpire. As mentioned above, in other countries, the referee is the election commission of that country.

A classic example of this is India, where the commission is independent and powerful enough to even de-seat a sitting prime minister or stop him or her from an election campaign.

The beauty is that all political parties in India regard the commission’s decision. That is primarily why elections have never been controversial in India, with regards to the election commission.

In Pakistan, in the last 50 years, there have been only one or two elections that have been regarded as free and fair across the board. The 1970 election was held under the Legal Framework Order, as there was no constitution in place at that time. Yet, everyone accepted the result.

One of the reasons why Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became the first Civilian Martial Law Administrator was due to the constitutional vacuum back then. In 1973, the first unanimous constitution was adopted by the assembly.

Unfortunately, the spirit of accepting poll results did not last long and the 1977 election was disputed.

Later, during the martial law of General Zia ul Haq, many controversial clauses were introduced in the otherwise suspended constitution, including 58-2(b), through which the president was given the power to dismiss an elected government or sack the prime minister.

These clauses weaken the political system and after every two to three years elected prime ministers were sent packing.

But improvements were also made to the electoral process from the 18th amendment and the election commission of Pakistan was empowered. The government of the day now cannot change the chief election commission (CEC). Further, the veto power of the CEC has been withdrawn and now all members of the commission have one vote each.

What holds it back is its lack of funds and resources to conduct polls. That is what the government must look into.

Still, the commission has enough powers to ensure a free and fair election. It can even direct the Election Tribunal to decide election petitions within four months.

Therefore, there is no need for a “third” or “neutral” umpire except for the election commission.

While Prime Minister Imran Khan is now questioning if umpires should be “neutral” or not, he should go back to his earlier stance of impartiality, the one that he took during his cricketing days.

Let the election commission play its due role.

Lack of fair play or accusations of impartiality can ruin a good sports game, just as much as it can ruin politics and voters' trust in the democratic system.

The writer is a columnist and analyst of GEO, The News and Jang. He tweets @MazharAbbasGEO

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