The anti-corruption movement gained popularity among the middle class and the youth. A dozen of Anna Hazare’s civil society members and a sea of individuals assembled in New Delhi demanding an effective anti-corruption law.
After Hazare’s fast for Lokpal, Yogguru Baba Ramdev too came up with an indefinite hunger strike to bring back money stashed abroad. The strike ended with a clash between police and his supporters at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Rajbala, a Ramdev disciple, succumbed to injuries inflicted by the police. The year saw prominent political faces like Kanimozhi, the daughter of Tamil Nadu DMK chief Karunanidhi, A. Raja, a former telecom minister, Amar Singh, Janardhana Reddy, Suresh Kalmadi among others being arrested on multi-crore scams. The trials will continue in the coming year.
The public fury against corrupt politicians reached its pinnacle when Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was assaulted by a lorry driver, Harvinder Singh. Once the BJP’s blue-eyed boy, B.S. Yeddyurappa was asked to resign as Karnataka Chief Minister for irregularities. Likewise, the Supreme Court of India quashed the appointment of P.J. Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), as he is in the accused list in the Kerala palmolein scam.
In tune with the times, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a series of fasts, purportedly to strengthen social harmony and brotherhood. Congress leaders too organised counter-fasts blaming Modi for post-Godhra riots.
Following the Fukushima disaster, anti-nuclear activists and people living near the Kudankulam nuclear plant took to fasting at Idinthakarai, Tamil Nadu, protesting the commissioning of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
A tragedy hit India when a 6.8 magnitude quake rattled the North-East with Sikkim as its epicentre on September 18, damaging Sikkim’s infrastructure and the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area besides leaving scores dead. Tragedy also struck at Sabarimala on January 14 when a jeep carrying pilgrims met with an accident and triggered a stampede killing over a hundred. West Bengal witnessed three major series of tragedies this year—a spate of infant deaths allegedly due to inadequate medical attention, a fire accident in AMRI hospital and over a hundred deaths after consuming spurious liquor.
Another notable event, which may have a lasting impact on Indian democracy and economy, is the fierce battle for land. Villagers from remote Gobindpur and Dhinkia in Orissa fought a pitched battle to reclaim forest land acquired by corporate giant POSCO India to set-up a steel plant. The battle took a new turn when children and women joined the agitation. The debate on the safety of Mullaperiyar dam, on the other hand, took some violent turns. It is to be seen whether 2012 will provide a solution to the dispute.
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress created history by capturing West Bengal after over 30 years of Left rule. Other winners were Tarun Gogoi, Jayalalithaa, Oommen Chandy and N. Rangasamy who were sworn-in as the chief ministers of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry respectively. In Tamil Nadu DMK suffered setback at the hands of Jayalalitha’s AIADMK. The regional parties of India are gaining prominence and now seem to have bigger say in policy formulation. The stark example of this was UPA government’s ambitious plan to open the door for foreign players in retailing, which was thwarted by nationwide protests saying FDI in retail would affect indigenous small traders and retailers. Banerjee opposed it tooth and nail.
As Uttar Pradesh is headed for Assembly polls in 2012, Chief Minister Mayawati proposed to divide the most populous state into four—Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh. The Centre, however, returned the resolution seeking clarification. The demand to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh to create a separate Telangana grew stronger. The students of Osmania University, Telangana Joint Action Force and Telangana politicians across parties joined the Jai Telangana chorus. A united-Andhra slogan too emerged to counter the Telangana agitation.
The Left lost much on its credibility and relevance in India this year. Besides the likes of Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechurry, other leftist leaders were heard less. The biggest blow to the Left came from West Bengal and Kerala. The insurgency too faced a set-back as Communist Party of India (Maoist) Politburo member Koteshwara Rao alias Kishenji, who was spearheading Maoist operations in West Bengal, was killed in a suspected encounter.
India remained on terror alert throughout the year. The terrorism target this year was Delhi High Court, where a high intensity briefcase bomb went off in the crowded reception area killing 11 people and injuring over 75. Three coordinated bombings tore through the heart of Mumbai at Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House, on July 13 killing dozens in the worst terror attack in the country since the 2008 Mumbai siege. Mumbai was roiled in murder mystery when Mid-Day´s crime journalist Jyotirmoy Dey was killed in broad daylight allegedly for writing about Mumbai mafia.
A government chopper carrying Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others went missing. After five days of intensive search, its remains and bodies of Arunachal chief minister were recovered near the India-China border. Bhimsen Joshi, the legendary Hindustani vocalist, passed away followed by the demise of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. India’s renowned painter, Maqbool Fida Husain, too passed away.
Husain, who carved a niche for Indian art on international arena, was forced to leave India in 2006 and had accepted Qatari nationality last year. India’s very own Elvis Presley, the legendary Shammi Kapoor died in August. He was Hindi cinema’s romantic and style icon, but also the embodiment of the spirit of the swinging 60s. Likewise, the Ghazal maestro, Jagjit Singh and Bhupen Hazarika, the Assamese folk music legend died. The end year also saw passing away of Dev Anand, the evergreen star who was close to Nepal.
Indian economy suffered a setback with inflation touching 9.36 percent in October. The growth rate slid to 6.9 percent against the projected 8.5. The four month economic blockade in Manipur added more woes to this north-eastern state, which is already bearing the brunt of ethnic conflicts. India’s car manufacturing giant, Maruti Suzuki, experienced labour disputes in its Manesar plant. Among other demands, labourers wanted the management to recognise their union. The issue was resolved through a tripartite agreement between the management, workers and the Haryana Government.
One news that took much of Indian media space was discovery of successor to Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata. Cyrus Mistry took over from the leading industrialist in December. Meanwhile, Bangalore became the third city after Kolkata and Delhi, to have mass rapid transit system. Also, Delhi airport’s T3 terminal of the Indira Gandhi International airport welcomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
And the most striking and heartfelt moment arrived when after 28 years the Indian cricket team led by its captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the World Cup defeating Sri Lanka at The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The year ended with a soup song in Tanglish ‘Kolaveri Di’ which became a rage in just a few days it was released on YouTube. The magic of kolaveri is refusing to die down with the Indian people continuing to bring out many versions of ‘Kolaveri’ on social networking sites. The similar rage in the Indian polity stays too!
akanshya@gmail.com
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