India, A brief history: 1947 onwards
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: June 18, 2022: The Times of India
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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
1946: The interim government
Amitava Sanyal, August 8, 2023: The Times of India
From: Amitava Sanyal, August 8, 2023: The Times of India
It was certain that the Congress and the Muslim League, which had swept the provincial elections in January 1946, would form an interim government and negotiate the transfer.
What wasn’t clear in July 1946 was how the interim government would be formed. The British government’s three-member Cabinet Mission had come in March to negotiate it and been sent back empty-handed. The League was playing hard to get. And it wasn’t clear what powers the government would have.
The Congress, which had formed governments in eight of the 11 provinces, took the lead at viceroy Archibald Wavell’s request. After a series of consultations, Nehru sent a list of portfolios to Wavell on September 1.
Chakravarty Rajagopalachari refused the finance portfolio because of its “heavy responsibility”, writes Rakesh Ankit in his book India in the Interregnum . Then Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad brought in the London School of Economics – and Oxford-trained professor John Mathai.
Mathai, along with steel baron Baldev Singh and insurance magnate Cooverji Bhabha were the non-Congress members of the first cabinet.
Gandhi calls it “a crown of thorns”
On September 2 at 11am, seven of the 12 members of India’s first Cabinet were sworn in. The rest took charge a week later. On the day of swearing in, Mahatma Gandhi reminded the nation that full freedom was still some way off. He said the cabinet members wouldn’t be wearing crowns of gold; instead, they were going to be “crowns made of thorns which would try them sorely”.
The day after the swearing-in was a Monday, which Gandhi had observed with total silence every week for years. So when Sardar Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Jagjivan Ram and Sarat Bose went to meet him after attending a puja at the Birla House in Delhi, he wrote them a short note asking them to work for Hindu-Muslim unity and removal of untouchability.
The country was split in welcoming the decision – Hindus celebrated everywhere but Muslims mourned the League’s absence.
A TOI report said, "Connaught Place was a blaze of tricolours, though here and there a few black flags were to be seen." Maharashtra politician NV Gadgil proclaimed, "Raisina has fallen." Congratulations poured in from all over the world. Meanwhile, Bombay continued to burn from the communal fire that had been lit by the Muslim League in Kolkata on August 16, which they called ‘Direct Action Day’.
Nehru as ‘vice-president’, crises on many fronts
The first question was what to call the new government. The Congress wanted to call it the ‘provisional national government’ but had no objection to ‘interim government’. But it surely didn’t want the tag of the governor-general’s executive council, which is what Wavell had in mind.
There was confusion on Nehru’s designation too. Some reports called him the premier. A radio broadcast and some TOI reports referred to him as chief minister. Finally, Nehru told Wavell that he expected to be nominated vice-president and intended to act as Leader of the House in the Constituent Assembly.
The government leapt into the thick of things on September 5. The first few items at hand were freeing the Indian National Army soldiers captured by the British, dealing with the food crisis, and dousing the communal flames.
The council slowly became a cabinet. Department secretaries no longer had direct access to the viceroy, they had to go through the ministers. The ministers met at Nehru's office every afternoon to discuss policy.
Ankit writes that at the meetings Nehru was "eloquent" on calling back Indian troops, but "glum" on the food shortage. Rajagopalachari and Asaf Ali were “loquacious” on technical details.
Inflation, shortages and labour troubles
The foundation of most of India’s government departments were set in the months that followed.
Jagjivan Ram worked on resettlement of soldiers and labour unrests. Mathai, whom Wavell considered “the most capable and intelligent of ministers”, grappled with inflation and prepared an Anti-Corruption Bill.
Nehru and Azad launched a scheme to send more than 200 Indian students to the US and UK on government scholarships so that they could come back and work for the new nation.
Rajendra Prasad ensured that India staved off a famine. Bhabha laid the foundation of long-term industrialisation, trade reciprocity and a commercial intelligence service.
As the ministers tried to focus on their jobs, Bengal, Bihar and Bombay continued to burn.
Muslim League joins, Liaqat Ali gets finance
When the League finally decided to join in October, wrangling ensued on rejigging the portfolios. Jinnah suggested that the home ministry be given to the League, but Nehru put his foot down and ensured that Patel stayed on.
Oxford-trained lawyer Liaquat Ali Khan came in as finance minister, at number two above Patel. Ibrahim Chundrigar took charge of commerce, Abdur Rab Nishtar as the number six in charge of posts and air, above Asaf Ali and Rajagopalachari (who was shifted to education and arts, making space for Mathai in industries and supplies). Ghazanfar Ali Khan was given health.
Meanwhile, Prasad’s schemes of conserving resources, intensifying procurement and rationing food pushed back famine for six months – importantly without imports. The American Famine Commission, visiting India at the time, praised his exemplary work. Nehru and Liaquat put their heads together on releasing the INA soldiers, withdrawing British troops, and setting up Damodar Valley and other power projects.
A budget that blew the goodwill
The interim government began to unravel on February 1, 1947, when the League rejected the Constituent Assembly, which had been set up in December 1946. Then came British Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s announcement on February 20 of Britain’s withdrawal by June 1948 and the appointment of Louis Mountbatten as the new viceroy.
The last nail was a fight over the budget. Deliberations began warmly enough. Liaqat and Wavell consulted Mathai and Nehru before letting the rest of the cabinet in. Mathai recalled, “Wavell came straight from a game of golf, wearing the jacket.”
To meet the growing deficit, Liaqat proposed a business profit tax, an increase in corporation tax, a dividend tax and a capital gains tax. He also suggested a tribunal to deal with tax evasion. But a week after the budget was presented, Nehru, Patel and Bhabha sent a dissent note saying they hadn't agreed to all the proposals at the meeting earlier. Allegations flew both ways, with Nehru being accused of siding with “Hindu industrialists” who would have to cough up the most in taxes.
The air hung heavy when Mountbatten took charge in late March. He held a series of meetings on consecutive days, but his focus was riveted on the coming partition and cabinet affairs moved slower.
When the partition plan was announced on June 2-3, Mountbatten formally proposed a “standstill” – to hold off on decisions until the partition was finalised.
Historians have used colourful phrases to play down the interim government’s work – from a government of “pride and prejudice” to “an impossible collective”. What’s certain is that it set the die in which the nation would be cast.
1947: Partition; the first cabinets
From: August 22, 2021: The Times of India
See graphics:
State of two then newly independent nations, India and Pakistan, as on August 15, 1947
India’s first cabinet
1947-67: a history of the early years
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, Aug 15 2017: The Times of India
1 Words to live by
Among the 20th century's stirring speeches is Nehru's `Tryst with Destiny' address to the Constituent Assembly at midnight, August 14, 1947, marking the transition to freedom. Laying out the vision for free India in 820 words, India's first PM talked of peace and service, foregrounding the themes of welfare and security in public discourse.
2 The Constitution's architect
A radical thinker rarely in agreement with Gandhians and Congress, B R Ambedkar was still appointed law minister in Nehru's first cabinet and tasked with raising a framework for modern India. He chose to underpin it with the principles of equality and justice, placing emphasis on individual rights rather than traditions, communities, and ideology. The idea of a strong Centre within a federal system of governance were also underscored through his arguments.A rare photo of Dr Ambedkar after his conversion to Buddhism
3 Bhasha battles
The language question loomed large much before states were reorganised on linguistic lines.
From the 1930s, Periyar opposed Rajaji's efforts to popularise Hindi in Tamil Nadu (Madras Presidency), and later DMK turned the stir into a movement that swept them to power.
4 India's heroes
Raj-Dilip-Dev: The troika that lorded over Bombay cinema and the nation's heart in the 1950s-60s. Dilip Kumar typified bottled, moody passion; Dev Anand was the urbane, debonair male; Raj Kapoor, the heart-of-gold, Chaplinesque hero in Nehruvian movies with songs (Awara hoon, Mera joota hai Japani) that became timeless anthems.
DID YOU KNOW?
Raj & Dilip acted together in Andaz. Dilip & Dev were lead performers in Insaniyat. Raj & Dev never shared the same screen space.
5 Song of the road
Pather Panchali, Satyajit Ray's lyrical debut feature (1955), put India on the map of world cinema and became the benchmark for every aspiring Indian auteur.
6 Road maps
India had 12 five-year plans for the economy since 1951.Although scrapped in favour of Niti Aayog's three-year action plans, the USSR-inspired plans are the reason one can drive from Kashmir to Kanyakumari without starving on the way.
7 Rise of the Reds
In 1957, the first-ever elected communist government was formed in Kerala with EMS becoming the chief minister. Invoking Article 356, PM Nehru dismissed the EMS govt in 1959, after it initiated radical land reforms and an overhaul of the education system.
8 Temples of modern India
Massive hydel projects (Bhakra Nangal, Hirakud) built in the 1950s-60s became emblems of Nehruvian development.
They set the stage for the Green Revolution but lost their sheen by the 1990s, and activists campaigned actively against them.Picture of Hirakud Dam on a Rs 100 note
9 At war
The Indian Army, its reputation burnished by WWII, was handed a morale-wrecking defeat in the Himalayas by China's PLA which came with overwhelming numbers and superior firepower.The Army's prestige was crushed, as was Nehru's spirit.
10 Peasants, workers unite
The summer of '67 uprising by peasants and tea garden workers in the picture-postcard north Bengal village of Naxalbari created the template for armed, radical Left movements that continue to thrive in swathes of India Ignored.Busts of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Charu Mazumdar in Naxalbari
1947-64: the building of institutions
I
See graphic:Hectic campaigning in Delhi before the first general election and The 1950s Balance Sheet
A decade of nation-building under Jawaharlal Nehru provided an industrial base, a pool of scientific talent, and a legal frame for wide swathe of reforms
The first two decades after Independence belonged to Jawaharlal Nehru. He epito mised India's gigantic effort to become modern, self-re liant and remain together. There were many detractors of these efforts for they were sure that a country so divided by language and religion, racked by ancient prejudices and as poor as some of the poorest in the world, had no chance to survive.
Yet, miraculously, India survived and slowly fears of its disintegration reced slowly fears of its disintegration receded. It is not as if there were no anxious moments. Maharashtra wanted a state of its own and, before it, so did the Telu gu speaking people of the erstwhile state of Madras.The government dithered on this in the fear that this was the beginning of the dreaded Balkanisation threat that they were warned against.
However, as the States Reorganisa tion Commission finally resolved these demands it became clear that neither the newly-formed Andhra Pradesh, nor Maharashtra had any intention of separating from India. The ethos of the National Movement was stronger than what some of their leaders gave it credit for. What is more, it established the legitimacy of a state being governed in its own language -a provision that Sri Lanka, for example, failed to provide and suffered as a consequence.
What helped resolve many of these early difficulties was the fact that India had crafted a Constitution which became ef fective in 1950 and is regarded, even today , as one of the leading liberal documents of the democratic world. It established basic rights and liberties and also de-legitimised some of the ancient practices among Hindus which were unfair to women and debased many on the basis of caste.
This was a social revolution at one stroke. Doubtless, there were many leading figures who were by Nehru's side in this endeavour, Dr Ambedkar, principally , but it was Nehru's political acumen and legislative skills that eventually saw these provisions as law. He simultaneously moved against landlordism and this invited a strong backlash from entrenched quarters, but Nehru won the day .
There were other irons in the fire as well. Nehru initiated an entirely innovative economic policy that was clearly not communist or blatantly capitalist. He believed that a mixed economy was the best way for India to overcome the initial difficulties of becoming a modern industrial state.
He pushed for a strong public sector which would provide steel, energy and heavy equipment and establish the basis for sustained economic entrepreneurship in the years to come. Though the public sector is in much disrepute today, it can hardly be doubted that the infrastructural impetus that Nehru started allowed for a modern economy to develop.
All economies need knowledge, high ly skilled and technical at that, to keep them humming. There is little doubt that if India can boast of being a hub in today's information technology sector, or of producing world-class engineers and of a high-powered scientific body, it is Nehru who deserves the credit. He had the wisdom and foresight to set up the Indian Institute of Science, the IITs, the AIIMS and the IIMs, to name a few.
Alongside, in the field of culture, the Lalit Kala Akademi and Sangeet Kala Akademi and the Film and Television Institute of India were also established at his insistence. It was an all-out, four square thrust to bring India into the modern world of knowledge, sciences and the arts. Such was the vision of the man.
In foreign policy, Nehru's contribution was not nearly as singular and suf fered several setbacks, some of them during his lifetime. Both the USSR and the US were suspicious of the Non-Aligned Movement. The former thought we were being manipulated by the communists and Stalin believed that this was just a thinly disguised US plot. The India-China War of 1962 robbed all of the starch in the Non-Aligned Movement and the India-China 1952 Panchsheel Policy .
When Nehru died, he was a vastly disappointed man not just because his personal charisma had suffered a massive erosion with the 1962 China War, but also because his hopes that the public sector would man the commanding heights of the economy was not getting anywhere fast.
But, by then India was a stable, democratic republic and the fear that it would collapse was belied. Nehru showed his critics that those who ran the government were not people of straw, as often accused. Truly, this was nation building as good as one can get, for which reason that period can justifiably be called the Nehruvian years.
II
See graphic:The 1960s Balance Sheet
The building of a great edifice needs a head who enjoys intellectual, administrative and financial freedom. And he, or she, must also be young enough to have the time to succeed In social sciences, there is a rich literature on institutions, institu tional behaviour and the way insti tutions shape society, especially for relatively formal institutions like the legislature, executive and judiciary, civil society, media, business, science, technology, education and health. In debates about the legacy of British colonial rule in India, institutions figure. The pride of India's democracy isn't about elections alone, it is also about these institutions.
For the Union government, we have been told there are at least 679 autonomous bodies. These, too, belong to the category “institution“. There are others at the state level, and we mustn't forget institutions associ ated with local bodies. When we talk about “institutionbuilding“, more often than not we have in mind the Union government, less so the state and local governments.Nor do we have in mind institutions that evolve independent of govern ment, though given government's visible and invisible presence, both malign and benign, no institution in the ecosystem can afford to completely ignore government.
Ask yourself this: Why is it important for any event organised by such an institution to have government representation at inaugural or valedictory functions? Conceptually , there can be three kinds of institutions -those part of government or extended government, those ostensibly autonomous (but largely , if not entirely, funded by government), and those independent. Let's take ostensibly autonomous ones first. Even if you cannot name all 679, and this is irrespective of specific legislation under which they were set up, name a few prominent institutions, ones that, in your view, have left an imprint.
I am reasonably certain the antecedents of those prominent post-Independence institutions go back to the 1950s and 1960s, not beyond, not yet. What explains this vintage, and what has gone wrong since then? Some principles should be truisms, but aren't always appreciated. First, every individual doesn't have it in him or her to build an institution. In the narrow economics domain, there have been few like V K R V Rao.
A good academic resume doesn't necessarily make for a good institution-builder. That requires a different skill set. Second, those who select people to head institutions must possess the foresight to recognise those skill sets and recognise them sufficiently early. Back then, in that different day and age when gerontocracy and seniority didn't determine rules, peo ple were chosen as heads of institutions in their 40s, even early 40s. Notwithstanding increases in life expectancy , a person chosen as head at 58 has little time to build. Nor does that person have a stake in the future of the institution. Third, and this follows from the second, the person chosen must be given freedom, intellectual, administrative and financial, and a sufficiently long tenure.
The collapse of the third principle is almost certainly the main reason why the vintages of successful institutions are the 1950s and 1960s. Within government and extended government, the '70s was the decade when institutions, the bureaucracy and the judiciary had to be “committed“.
The steel frame rusted and the judiciary was also corroded. When there was supersession (think of the judiciary), it was based on commitment, not merit. Add to that the carrot of postretirement sinecures. For the steel frame, which is part of government, dissent has a limited role and is perforce constrained. However, for the broader ecosystem of autonomous institutions, dissent is desirable. Dissent and debate are part of democracy's discourse and require conscious nurturing for institutions to thrive and prosper. This brings me to the last principle, the lack of which, I think has been the bane.Fourth, the political leadership (there is no need to use the word government any more) has to possess confidence, an appetite for risk-taking, and have democracy in its DNA.
If you choose someone young, there is a risk you take. If you allow intellectual ferment and debate, there is a risk you take. True, the First Amendment to the Constitution curbed absolute freedom of speech and expression as early as 1951.
Nevertheless, curbing is not identical to control. Otherwise, like the Model T, there can be numerous institutions, but their colour will be identical.
1969-1975
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
See graphic:
The 1970s Balance Sheet
11 Rajdhani on track
India's first superfast, fully air-conditioned train, Rajdhani Express, charged out of New Delhi in 1969, and musafirs developed a taste for complimentary meals. Train travel was no longer only about getting somewhere; it was also about the journey.
12 Cricket wins abroad
Two series Test wins abroad in 1971 by captain Ajit Wadekar's merry men, against the formidable Sobers-led West Indies (1-0) and the respectable Illingworth-managed England (1-0), raised the profile of cricket in India like never before.
13 Tiger, tiger burning bright
Project Tiger India's flagship conservation project began in 1973 when tigers were in decline, their number guesstimated at 1,800.
Despite setbacks that saw their number drop to 1,411 in 2006, the project has achieved a modest turnaround.
14 Military might
The only decisive war India ever fought, 1971 saw India flex both military and diplomatic muscle successfully and establish itself as a regional power. Bangladesh was born as was the icon named Indira.
15 Going nuclear
India joined the nuclear club with an underground explosion in Pokhran, Rajasthan, on May 18, 1974. Codenamed Smiling Buddha, the tests caused global consternation, but it upgraded India's status as a military power. Pokhran II happened in May 1998.
'16 Land of milk (not honey)
India's journey to become the world's leading milk producer parallels the life of Verghese Kurien, a mechanical engineer-turned-dairy-expert. He created a grid of milk cooperatives that remains the prototype for agri initiatives.
17 Green is the colour of revolution
From the 1960s, the government promoted use of high-yield seeds, chemical fertilisers and irrigation to improve foodgrain production and achieve self-sufficiency in food.
18 Darkest days of democracy
To browbeat the Opposition, Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency on June 25, 1975. Opposition leaders were jailed, civil liberties curbed, the press gagged and many forcibly sterilised in the next 21 months. In the election that followed the Congress was routed and the Janata Party swept to power.
19 Chipko movement
The act of 27 Garhwali women hugging trees to stop them from being felled in 1974 became a stencil for non-violent resistance for people's control over natural resources.
Led by Sunderlal Bahuguna, the Chipko movement inspired several environmental movements, including the Narmada anti-dam agitation.
The 1980s
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
See graphics:
Change in preference of vehicle from scooters to motorcycles, 1998-99
The 1980s Balance Sheet
20 The power of 100cc
The dream of owning a vehicle became a reality for many in 1980 when manufacture of 100cc motorcycles was allowed. Riding on Japanese technology, affordable bikes flooded the market and changed commuting experience.
21 Friends, family, VCR
Binge-watching predates the internet. It dawned in the 1980s with VCRs (video cassette recorder) and tapes. Movie buffs, bored of DD's Sunday evening films, had the option of renting a VCR and three tapes from the neighbourhood `parlour' for an all-nighter. It was always a social event with friends and immediate neighbours invited.
22 When Punjab bled
Through the 1980s and early 1990s Punjab was a dangerous place where terror was cloaked in religion. The militants wanted Khalistan, a separate country for Sikhs. Their chief, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was killed in Operation Blue Star (1984). Estimated casualties of civilians, terrorists and security forces between 1981 and 1992 were more than 21,000
23 Southern star power
NTR chose mythological roles while MGR donned a Robin Hood avatar.
NTR was a novice; MGR was an Annadurai admirer. Both became CMs. Neither cared for inner-party democracy; both swore by populist schemes.
Their cultivation of attire and manner and their autocratic style continue to inspire others.
24 Cricket, live on TV
India's most memorable sporting triumphs were heard on radio, seldom seen. But the unlikely 1983 triumph of Kapil's Devils over domineering Windies was watched live on TV and, later, on VCRs, across the country taking cricket to small-town and mofussil India like never before.
25 Bhopal gas tragedy
On the night of December 3-4, 1984, the world's worst industrial disaster killed 20,000 and injured 5.5 lakh people over the years. It forever changed the way industrial safety, compensation and litigation worked the world over.
26 OK, Tada, bye-bye
Tada was India's first anti-terrorism law (1985).
Some 76,000 people were arrested under Tada, 35% of the cases were brought to trial, and only 2% were convicted. Allowed to lapse in 1995 due to rampant misuse, it became the template for subsequent draconian laws like Pota (2002-04) and the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
27 Scam & scandal
Bofors, the Swedish gun, has served India well against enemies, but its first casualty was the credibility of the Rajiv Gandhi government. Allegations of kickbacks Rs 64 crore -stuck, and corruption became an election plank in the 1989 elections that Rajiv's Congress party lost. While India entered a long coalition era, `scam' and `scandal' became part of our street lexicon.
28 Assassination and after
The storming of Sikhism's holiest shrine, Harmandir Sahib, during Operation Blue Star galled the Sikhs, and just five months later, on October 31, 1984, PM Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh shot her from point-blank range at her New Delhi residence. After that, Sikhs were targeted by mobs across northern states and thousands were killed.
29 People's car arrives
Conceived by Sanjay Gandhi to rival the Ambassador and Fiat, Maruti added wheels to the middle-class dream in the 1980s. Powered by an 800cc engine, it became the people's car that everyone aspired for. The Indo-Japanese company still commands over 50% of marketshare in automobiles.
1970
WAS WHEN A COMPANY NAMED SURYA RAM MARUTI TECHNICAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED (MTSPL) WAS STARTED TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL KNOW HOW FOR THE DESIGN, MANUFACTURE AND ASSEMBLY OF “A WHOLLY INDIGENOUS MOTOR CAR“
The 1980s- early 1990s
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
30 BINARY BOOST
Barring specialists in scientific institutions, computers meant little to anyone in the early '80s. But Rajiv Gan dhi, pilot by training, stressed on tech-telecom missions to give engineering R&D and education a boost in the midst of a US embargo. India's IT majors and the start up ecosystem were catalysed in this soup.
31 Babri Masjid is pulled down
The Ramjanmabhoomi movement led by the Hindutva brigade climaxed with the demolition of a medieval mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
Riots followed, the worst being in India's commercial heart Mumbai. For some, the event challenged the idea of Nehru's India.
32 LOAN AGAINST GOLD
Through the second half of the 1980's, India battled a foreign currency shortage. By the end of the decade, it was on the verge of defaulting on payments for imports: it had just enough foreign exchange to cover three weeks of imports. The situation forced RBI to raise a loan of $405 million by pledging its gold reserves and physically transferring it to London. The news focused attention on the crisis in the Indian economy.
33 REAL ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
In the backdrop of an economic crisis, India was reinvented with finance minister Manmohan Singh's milestone budget (PM PV Narasimha Rao, 1991) and P Chidambaram's dream budget (PM HD Deve Gowda, 1997) to open up new areas for private sector participation and reduce bureaucratic controls on them. It led to India's most economically vibrant period with an eightfold increase over 25 years in the economy's size and catalysed social change.
34 Big Bull Mehta
Harshad Mehta was the original `Big Bull', whose flashy lifestyle in pre-billionaire India attracted many to the stock market in search of easy money. Mehta's scam in the 1990s exposed loopholes in the system and expedited the move to transform Sebi into a statutory body. Was finally caught for evasion of income tax
35 MUMBAI ROCKED
A chain of explosions rocked Mumbai in the aftermath of the Babri demolition, set off by a gang executing orders from India's Most Wanted, Dawood Ibrahim.
The death toll was 257 and 713 were injured. The attack, the deadliest on an Indian city, left a deep impact on Mumbai's psyche and led to an unending criminal trial.
36 Enter the suicide bomber
Rajiv Gandhi as PM tried to stem ethnic conflicts, but mediation in Sri Lanka and sending troops to enforce peace turned the LTTE against him. A brutal, secessionist outfit which until then had used Tamil Nadu as a safe haven, it put a suicide bomber at a rally he addressed. Congress did rebound, but a vacuum remained.
37 CABLE, CNN AND SOAP OPERAS
Cable TV broke Doordarshan's monopoly of eyeballs in the early '90s when private channels brought Bold and Beautiful, WWF, CNN (first Gulf war) and other emblems of Americana to our homes. The idea of entertainment transformed, spawning lifestyle and lingo shifts. Now, with data becoming cheap, TV viewing seems set for another tectonic shift.
38 INDIA GETS MANDALISED
In pre-liberalisation India, government jobs were the middle-class's mainstay. And Prime Minister VP Singh's decision to implement the decade-old Mandal Commission Report which extended caste-based reservations to OBCs riled millions.
Following the self-immolation of DU student Rajeev Goswami, violent protests engulfed north India. But VP's move turned out to be a permanent political gamechanger.
The 1980s planted the seeds of the 1990s
Social Upheavals Like Mandal Built Into An Unstoppable Storm For Change
When stories need to be told about the past, it is de rigueur to seek seminal events and turning points on which to hang the nar rative. Thus, it is commonplace to believe that Indian economic history was rewritten when Manmohan Singh liberalised the economy in 1991; that the BJP's political edifice was built on the ruins of the Babri Masjid in 1992; that Pokharan II saw India emerge as a nu clear power; that the dotcom boom of the late 1990s saw India's rise as an IT superpower; that the anti-corruption movement began with Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal.
In short, the Nineties and the Noughties were the happening decades, with the Eighties being the dark era, bringing only bad memories of the licence-permit raj, failed reforms, riots, mob violence, ethnic cleansing, assassinations, corruption and caste conflict. tion and caste conflict.
Hindsight allows us to question history from a vantage point. The glorious Nineties would not have been glorious without the Excruciating Eighties, which should be seen as a defining decade in India's history.
A cascade of political and economic events and halting reforms defined the Eighties. The prelude to the decade saw Indian voters writing off the Janata Party experiment as a bad dream, but the idea of a non-Congress government stayed with us and resulted in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government of 1998-2004. And Modi in 2014.
The first seeds of economic liberalisation were sown in the 1980s, when Indira Gandhi romped back to power. Her government started the process of unwinding the licence-raj by adopting the policy of “broadbanding“, which meant companies producing more than what they were licensed to were not penalised. After her assassination, her son Rajiv Gandhi pursued this policy further, and 25 industries were delicenced in March 1985. India saw the creation of its first home-made modern car (the Maruti), built on the ruins of Sanjay Gandhi's failed dream of doing the same. Flashy mobikes replaced the stodgy scooters. Rajiv Gandhi brought the Asiad to India, and with it came TV , creating the basis for the wider dissemination of news and entertainment in a democracy; this expansion of the discourse from the classes to the masses is what helped foment a million mutinies in India, preparing the ground for the emergence of a new aspirational class that demanded more and expected more.In 1988-89, India saw its only-ever double-digit growth rate, but it was built on the sand of dubious fiscal policy, setting the stage for external bankruptcy and a forced change of economic course in 1991 under Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
We underrate the Eighties because it brings us horrific memories of a violent Khalistan movement and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the Nellie massacre and the Assam agitation against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, and the ethnic cleansing of Pandits from the Kashmir Valley . But Indira's assassination in October 1984, and Rajiv's sination in October 1984, and Rajiv's in 1991, marked the beginning of the end of two major terrorist movements in Punjab and Sri Lanka, though this was punctuated by two policy mistakes Indira's assault on the Golden Temple to flush out terrorists, and Rajiv's attempt to send the Indian Army to rein in the LTTE. Rajiv's election in 1984 saw the end of the Punjab and Assam agitations, and no one can take this achievement away from him.
But he failed to change the system. Nothing illustrated this better than Bofors, where bribes were paid to middlemen in the purchase of this Swedish howitzer, with Rajiv himself suspected to be involved. While India was not new to corruption and scandals, Bofors shook India like never before. Not only did it upend the Rajiv Gandhi government, but the anti-corruption sentiment that brought VP Singh to power in 1989 created the template for future political movements that used an anti-corruption plank to come to power. Echoes of that storm are still reverberating in India, with Modi riding to power using the UPA-era corruption scandals as pegs to mount his campaign on. If the first anti-corruption movement the one led by Jayaprakash Narayan in the early 1970s ended in Indira Gandhi imposing the Emergency, the latest one, started by Anna Hazare, has given anti-corruption more legs to stand on; Narendra Modi has demonstrated that there may even be electoral gains to be made after putting people through hardships with the demonetisation of high-value notes.
The social upheavals of the Eighties also contributed to the remaking of India. If the first few decades of independence, which were marked by the building of the “temples of modern India“ large state sector steel plants, the IITs, the IIMs created India's upper caste-led middle class, the Mandal movement demanding caste-based reservations for non-SCST groups broadbased the middle class; from a handful, the middle class soon grew to several hundred million in just over two decades.
It is sometimes said that Mandal led to the Mandir agitation, which finally led to the rise of Hindutva politics and the razing of the Babri Masjid in 1992. But the more insightful way of looking at Mandalisation is that it created a broader Hindu platform for the growth of the BJP . The BJP post-Mandal became broadbased in its social composition, and today its leading light is a man from the “other backward castes“.It is no longer a Brahmin-Bania party , as the very adoption of the goods and services tax (GST) shows. A trader-led party would have opposed GST tooth and nail. With this, the BJP is now a broad centrist party , with Hindutva leanings, but one which the responsibility of power will soften.
Put simply, the Eighties were when the demand for change began to build into an unstoppable storm. We can regret the violence and communalism that accompanied this transition, but we can't wish away the fact that what grew into a giant tree was the sapling planted, unwittingly or wittingly, in the Eighties; what remains an ugly sore on the conscience of the nation, began as a small itch in that decade.
The 1990s
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
39 THE POLL GURU
The 10th chief election commission er, TN Seshan (1990-96), changed Indian elections forever. Despite political resistance he implemented laws for codes of conduct, election expenses, use of propaganda mate rial, etc. Under him, the Election Commission finally acquired its independence.
40 RISE OF THE DALITS
Dalits, or Harijans as they were generally referred to, were considered to be part of the Congress `vote bank' till Kanshi Ram and his associate Mayawati welded them into a self-aware political grouping, transfiguring north Indian politics.
41 DIAL A REVOLUTION
Under Rajiv Gandhi, telephone and STD booths mushroomed. Telecom revolution 2.0 got underway in 1995 when West Bengal's Leftist chief minister Jyoti Basu made the first call on a mobile phone, the ultimate status symbol then. A minute's call (Rs 24) cost as much as a litre of petrol. Today calls are almost free and rickshaw pullers could own a cellphone, even a smartphone. Telecom subscribers number over a billion. Only one thing is lost: privacy.
1 CALL'S COST IN 1995 24 ( 16 for calling, 8 for receiving) TODAY CALLS ARE ALMOST FREE
42 FIRST FAMILY OF BUSINESS
Despite charges of crony capital ism, Dhirubhai Ambani built one of the world's most powerful businesses from a 350-sq-ft room in Masjid Bunder. In less than two decades he built India's largest private company. Son Mukesh is now the richest man in India, with a net worth of over Rs 3 lakh crore on April 2017.
43 ALT-CINEMA
The parallel cinema movement began in the late 1960s but flourished in the 1970s and 1980s, nurtured by the likes of Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, and actors Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi.
Together they provided an alternative to mainstream Bollywood. Southern cinema saw a resurgence through the works of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, G Aravindan and Girish Kasaravalli.
44 ROY THE TRENDSETTER
Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize in 1997. A literary and commercial success, it opened up avenues for Indian authors writing in English and started the era of big book advances in the country. It also gave India its best known political activist and voice of conscience.
45 KARGIL WAR
Though a low-intensity conflict, Kargil 1999 was a stab in India's back at a time when it was trying to make a new beginning with Pakistan after the Lahore declaration between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif . Himalayan heights lost had to be recaptured at a great cost of men and material.
46 ROLE MODEL FOR PERFECTION
Sachin Tendulkar blended insatiable run-making with impeccable off-field conduct to become India's most marketable and first multi-million-dollar cricketer.
1994-2000
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
47 Malls and Multiplexes
The new temples of new India, over 500 malls and 2,200 multiplex screens have combined to revolutionise the way urban and small-town India shops and entertains itself.
48 CROWNING GLORIES
The year was 1994 and a popular model with gorgeous grey-green eyes was billed as the favourite to win Miss India. Not only did the little-known 18-year-old Sushmita Sen steal the national pageant, she went on to win Miss Universe.Aishwarya Rai had to console herself with the Miss World title.Others who brought home titles were Diana Hayden, Lara Dutta, and Priyanka Chopra, among others. These pageant victories inspired millions of girls, both in cosmopolitan as well as smalltown India, to work out for that model bod. And it spawned the multi-million-rupee beauty industry across the country. Getting the story right 52 Critics panned Chetan Bhagat for his tacky turn of phrase, but he wrote and spoke the lingo of the young, urban, aspirational Indian. His paperbacks, priced at Rs 99 a piece, became bestsellers, and birthed the sub-genre of Indian easy-read fiction in English.Bhagat is now university course material, proving today's India is full of possibilities.
49 Clean air on order
Goaded by the Supreme Court's 1998 ruling, Delhi's public transport network of buses switched from diesel to cleaner, cheaper CNG, helping curtail pollution and prevent hundreds of premature deaths due to respiratory ailments. The landmark order paved the way for other cities to follow a similar path. But its impact was soon negated by an exponential rise in the population of cars and two-wheelers running on diesel. Eighteen years later, the SC revisited the issue in 2016 as smog enveloped the city. Public transport expansion seems the only way out.
50 No-ball and out
If cricket is religion in India, then match-fixing is the ultimate sin. In 2000, Delhi Police took the lid off what was cricket's worst kept secret. Among those who had to face the music were top cricketers such as captain Mohd Azharuddin, Ajay Sharma and Ajay Jadeja.
None of them were charged but they never played for India again.
51 Malta boat tragedy
The drowning of over 300 South Asians, 170 of them Indians, on Dec 25-26, 1996, was the worst loss of life in the Mediterranean since World War II. It awakened the world to the problem of illegal migration.Thousands more have died since. The journeys of death continue.
52 It worked for UPA
Poverty alleviation schemes come and go but UPA's 2006 MGNREGA scheme had that magical phrase “guaranteed 100 days income“ which captured the hinterland's imagination and helped Manmohan Singh's government win another term.
53 The Three Khans
Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir -three of a kind -have grown bigger and better with every passing decade. Together they have ensured that Bollywood stays healthy and flourishes globally despite piracy and the Hollywood invasion. Of late, though, the charisma seems to be waning.Salman's Tubelight and Shah Rukh's When Harry Met Sejal have hardly set the box-office on fire. Only Aamir's Dangal ruled both India and China.
54 Big B's lifeline
Kaun Banega Crorepati (2000), India's most expensive quiz show, turned the fortunes of Star TV and recast a sliding Amitabh Bachchan as superstar of the small screen. The show triggered a bunch of failed imitators and altered the idea of prime time entertainment.
The post- 1992 era of rapid growth
See graphic:
The 1990s Balance Sheet
In the time of Sensex and Sushmita Sen, the economic reforms finally freed India from the Hindu rate of growth
Where business is without fear and the Sensex is held high Where the market is free Where the economy has not been broken up into fragments By narrow socialist ends Where industry comes out of the clutches of licence permit raj Where endless forms don't stretch their arms towards bribery Where the clear stream of enterprise has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead frustration Where innovation is led forward Into ever-rising growth and development Into that heaven of choices, my FM, let my country awake We had walked into Tagore's `heaven of freedom' eyes glistening, optimism held high and a fair and handsome Prime Minister who dressed Indian, spoke Oxonian and thought Fabian.But 40 years later, the poster child of the post-WWII world looked decidedly hollow eyed. The licence permit quota system had strangled private endeavour of every kind. The unaccountable nationalised sector turned out a product that was usually gross. Having waited five years to get a phone connection, we were shortchanged by an MTNL which stood for `Mera Telephone Nahin Lagta'. Shortages gave Henry Ford's famous offer a distinctively Indian accent: `You can have any product of your choice provided you pay for it in black.' Thus, we entered the 1990s with national bankruptcy putting a gun to our head, and the IMF yapping at our heels, threatening to stop all further bailouts. Surprisingly, the guys who so flamboyantly changed the game were two of the most soporific-seeming men ever in Indian polity. The languorous Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and his taciturn Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The economic reforms of 1991-92 were a shotgun wedding, but from their consummation sprang the hitherto unknown consumer society . Bharat the commodity turned into India the brand, or at least one with the outer trappings thereof.
As the last decade of the 20th century swaggered ahead, we plunged bravely into the new world of transformation. Having lived with a scenario where the only choice was take it or leave it, we began baskin' in one where everything came in 21 flavours. The public sector tumbled from its `commanding heights' and the newly liberated private players rushed in where they had seldom been allowed to tread.This was most noticeable in the financial markets. Davids challenged the Goliath of the nationalised banks whose inefficiencies had been papered over by state protectionism. The best and the brightest became `high-wage' islands, with Pradeep Shah's name invoked in awe for having broken the one-croreper-annum barrier.
More to the point, while money had always talked, for the first time it became an unabashed talking point. The once discreet worship of Lakshmi turned into a clanging, clamorous aarti to the creation of wealth. Or to choose a more secular metaphor, making money came out of the closet and turned into a flaunt-it-all parade.
The spending of money underwent an even more dramatic change, physical and psychological. Socialism's pursedlipped disapproval gave way to a khullam khulla loosening of purse strings.Horror, we even learnt to splurge before we earned. The streetcar named desire glided smoothly on the hitherto unheard of tracks of plastic and EMI.
Economic reforms freed India from that endless cycle of dearth and redearth which had come to be known as the `Hindu rate of growth'. Nirvana was pegged to the GDP of globalisation, development and privatisation. This triumvirate ordered the overarching metamorphosis. If it often overreached, that too was okay, in fact a fundamental part of the no-hold-barred mandate. With the middle class becoming the first of the great spenders, India's image turned from begging bowl to market opportunity . Global fund managers arrived jangling bags of FII and FDI.
It would naturally follow that society too would drop its old burqa and paint its lips in strumpet red. True, the makeover was powered by the liberalised economy, but society added noticeable dare-to-bare of its own. The dreaded `P' form had discouraged anyone from going abroad since we were only allowed to take out a ridiculous $11 and involved grovelling for letters from NRI relatives undertaking to `sponsor' your holiday . As travel rules eased up along, they brought back fresh approaches to everything.
Especially food. Vast armies travelled on their stomach, and even if the `maharaj' became an important camp follower, the paneer-chomper learnt to savour parmesan and the rotiwallas developed a taste for Swiss rosti. Gujaratis were the most visible (and audible) Indian travellers despite the restraints of `Pure Veg' and purer `Jain'. Credit the metamorphosis of Ahmedabad as much to this as to its CM, Mr M. An all-American `soda fountain' called Chills, Frills Thrills spouted on its Gandhian streets, and `pasta bens' blithely brought up a generation which had never eaten the once-staple of dal-bhaat-shaak.
Reflecting, and leading, the change was what came to be labelled mediamorphosis.Doordarshan was thrown on the dust-heap of state monopolies, and viewers hitched their wagon to Star. Transponders became society's transformers. Global television inevitably began to impose its `footprint' on print. It was the dawning of the age of news as entertainment began; `content' would enter the lexicon more loudly with the arrival of the Internet. Dictatorial editors in ivory towers became as obsolete as the elephant hunt, and the `reader' began to be appeased as the `customer'. In this genuflection, the conventional `who, where, when, why and how' was extended to the way news was produced, disseminated and consumed.
The T-rex of technology made this possible like everything about the way we lived, worked and played. As in the Marxian view of capitalism, it too carried within itself the seeds of destruction. But none of this spoilt the party, nay not even the doomsday threat of Y2K, as we danced into the next millennium with fin de siecle abandon.
2000-2017
INDIA: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY PEOPLE, EVENTS, POLICIES, August 15, 2017: The Times of India
See graphic:
The 2000s Balance Sheet
55 Twitterati and trolls
When Narendra Modi tweeted about his first meetings as PM, everyone sat up to open accounts. Twitter has said India is its fastest growing market for daily active users, growing 5x the global average this year. But armies of vicious trolls, abusive tweets and fake news show India has a long way to go to understand debate and cyber etiquette.
56 DAYS OF TERROR
Militants sent by boat from Karachi landed in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, got past layers of security and unleashed a bloodbath on the streets, in a hospital and railway station, cafes and hotels.
It went on for three days.
The toll touched 166 before all but one were killed. It was a wake up call for the police, military and intelligence agencies.
57 Demanding answers
Few laws have empowered ordinary people as The Right to Information Act, which yanked open the Steel Frame of India in 2005. Around 1.75 crore RTIs -4,800 a day -have been filed in the past decade. Many queries are stonewalled but in several cases, notably Mumbai's Adarsh Society scam, RTI shook the establishment. The question of transparency has reached the doors of the judiciary and political parties as well. So far the information commission's attempts to define them as “public authorities“ in a bid to make them disclose assets or their working style has been met with resistance. But many Supreme Court judges have sought to promote a climate of accountability by revealing how much they are worth.
58 Creating unicorns
Founded in 2007 by IIT graduates Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal to sell books online, Flipkart not only changed the way India shopped but also showed the world that India was ready for tech entrepreneurs to build billion-dollar companies. With SoftBank investing $2.5 billion, FlipKart can now reach for the stars.
59 Out of Cash
On November 8, 2016, PM Narendra Modi launched India's third demonetisation drive, after 1946 and 1978, to flush out black money. It wiped out 86% of the currency in circulation overnight and caused serpentine queues outside ATMs and banks. After-effects included suffering agro markets, job losses, drop in real estate demand and -surprise, surprise -a sweeping victory for the BJP in the 2017 UP polls.
60 ANNA, ARVIND & AAP
Love it or loathe it but Arvind Kerjriwal's AAP is definitely the most exciting and original thing to happen in Indian politics.
In Feb 2015, they swept the Delhi state polls, leaving the BJP flabbergasted and its opponents in ecstasy. Many now wonder what happened to the party which emerged out of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement that electrified India in 2011.
61 The Duracell director
In a career spanning five decades, versatile director Yash Chopra delivered blockbusters such as Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie and Dil To Paagal Hai, effortlessly bending his craft to the mood of the time. His Yash Raj films, which has produced hits like DDLJ, the Dhoom series and Sultan, is one of the biggest banners in Bollywood.
62 Women power in sports
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, both medals for India were won by women: PV Sindhu (silver) in badminton and Sakshi Malik (bronze) in wrestling. They typify the leap women have made in sports -Karnam Malleswari (weightlifting), Sania Mirza (tennis), Saina Nehwal (badminton) and Mary Kom (boxing) -this millennium.
63 BABA AND BUSINESSMAN
Baba Ramdev's rise as India's chief yoga evangelist started 15 years ago with a TV show that was equal parts fitness and spirituality. Nobody foresaw that the saffron-clad Baba would transform into India's biggest FMCG phenomenon, challenging MNCs, and emerge a political player, mocking the epitaph some wrote after his escape from Ramlila Maidan in a woman's garb.
64 YES, PRIME MINISTER
Narendra Modi's charisma pulled India out of the mire of coalition politics after 25 years -his is the first non-Congress government to enjoy a majority in Lok Sabha -and his vote catching appeal only seems to grow despite controversial economic measures such as demonetisation.
2000-2017: technological changes
When technology gave faceless Indians a voice, everything began to change, faster.
But the very people to whom technology brought home the power of democracy now sanction the dismantling of its institutions
A BJP government was in power in 2000 and it is in power to day. Pakistan, terrorism and Kashmir were at the top of the national agenda then (the Kandahar hijacking had just taken place), and they continue to dominate the headlines today . And yet, the world we live in has undergone a fundamental change. If liberalisation in the '80s and '90s marked the arrival of a new era, with big changes in our mindsets and the way we lead our lives, post 2000, thanks to a combination of technology , media and the deeper penetration of the market mechanism, we have seen another big change. This is a New India, in all its connotations, make no mistake.
The events that mark the 17 years in question are many question are many and diverse -the Gujarat riots, 2611, the rise of Narendra Modi and the decimation of the Congress, swanky new airports and expressways, malls and mobile phones, the short-lived resurgence in a participatory form of democracy with the Anna Hazare movement and the RTI, the IPL and 100 (and now 1,000) crore blockbusters, selfies and Whatsapp, trolls and gau-rakshaks, demonetisation and GST -these are merely a few milestones on this journey.
What has brought about these changes is a combination of technology and media with the increasing penetration of not just the market, but the market as a mindset. At one level, this helps free up energies of a large group of people while dismantling the power of traditional elites. The mobile phone revolution has made everybody somebody; today aspirations have become an engine for change.The consuming class, in particular, has in this period started moving out of a constraint-driven worldview into a possibility powered one. The India of the 2000s is an India that has begun to acquire the sheen of prosperity , although so far this is only skin deep.
But market-mindedness has other effects, too. Individual desire becomes the basis of our actions; things are judged not by whether they are right or wrong, but by whether they are popular or not. The rise in a celebrity culture that is pervasive, and of a format like the IPL which uses a staid sport like cricket and repackages it dazzlingly , are part of this new interplay between media and the market.
One significant shift is in the not-sosubtle movement from journalism, the profession, to media, the business. The whole-hearted integration of journalism with business has made it a product that must deliver business outcomes. Media content is determined much more by what the audience wants, and this has led to a sea change in the nature and tonality of coverage. The second big change has been the advent of social media, which has converted every individual into a broadcaster. This has given voice to a vast number of people who were hitherto mere readers or viewers. The concerns of the mainstream have, therefore, taken centre-stage, and this has meant a dramatic change in what gets discussed as well as the language and manner in which these discussions take place.
Politics, too, has been transformed beyond recognition. If the '80s and '90s were about making democracy more representative, the 2000s have been about a more personal engagement with democracy; the gradual recasting of democracy as a consumer product. Politics today reflects the concerns of an increasingly vocal middle class. In the earlier part of this period, this took the form of a search for an alternative to conventional politics. The rise of the AAP and the radical use of the RTI were parts of this attempt, but these have been overshadowed and almost laid to rest by the rise of the BJP . The need for participation in the democratic process has been taken care of by the emergence of social media armies, where everyone gets to criticise and abuse the person and party of their choice. The new nature of politics in India was underlined by the manner in which the 2014 campaign was mounted. It followed a fundamentally different blueprint, focusing on creating a media-driven image for Modi using a combination of hard promise and shrewd metaphor.
New India is much more in touch with its desires and aspirations, without worrying too much about the ideals of an earlier time which are now being actively discredited. Democracy is legitimising the dismantling of democratic institutions.A new assertiveness is taking its place that finds expression in an overt display of nationalism. The fragmented and diffuse nature of diversity in India is being mobilised into a more unitary form; as a result, binaries of an ethno-religious kind are hardening.
Liberalisation, when it came, was feared for the destabilising changes it would bring in its wake. As it turned out, a lot of the fears did not quite translate into reality . It is only post 2000 that the full effects of a market orientation, when combined with new forms of media, are being felt. The result is an India that is in touch with -and striving to indulge in -all its desires, both uplifting and base.
Basic developmental indicators
See graphics:
Race for smaller families and energy access, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the world
Prosperity race, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the world
Race for safer child birth, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the world, 1950-2015
Race of life, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the world, 1950-2015
Literacy rate, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the world, 1950-latest as in August 2017
Race for energy access, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the world.jpg|Race for energy access, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the world
Scoreboard, prosperity, safe child birth, life expectancy, literacy, fertility rate, energy access
Words that shaped India
Slogans
7 SLOGANS OF CHANGING INDIA, The Times of India, Aug 15 2017
1950s Hum do, hamare do
Motto summed up India's family planning programme, founded in 1952
1960s Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan
Coined by Lal Bahadur Shastri, its essence was best captured in Manoj Kumar's celluloid pageant on the soldier and the farmer, Upkar
1970s Garibi Hatao
An Indira Gandhi catchphrase, simple and direct. The Opposition reacted with “Indira Hatao, Desh Bachao“
1980s Mera Bharat Mahaan
It summed up the changing mood of an emerging India, but gained currency in jokes mocking the nation as well
1990s Saugandh Ram Ki Khatein Hain, Mandir Wahin Banayenge
Hindutva shout plastered on walls in north India during Ram Janmabhoomi movement
2000s Maa, Maati, Manush
Mamata Banerjee's cry felled the 34-year-old Left regime in Bengal
2010s Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar and Acchhe Din
BJP's 2014 poll anthems electrified its voter base
Speeches
See graphic:
Speeches that shaped India
1947- 2018: an overview
From: August 15, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
India@71- Milestones through TOI's pages
Ten epochal The Times of India frontpages
August 15, 1947: India attains independence
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
India throws off British rule, attains independence and takes control of its own destiny.
August 12, 1948: First Olympic Gold for independent India
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
Independent India wins its first Olympic Gold medal, with the hockey team thrashing Great Britain, its former colonial master, 4-0 in the finals at the London Olympics. Indian hockey teams had won Gold medals in the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics earlier while competing as a British colony. This was India's first post-Independence medal and one that's truly special.
1965 war with Pakistan
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
The war, which began with Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar to infiltrate forces into Kashmir, saw strong Indian retaliation on the western border and some of the largest tank battles since World War II. Indian forces captured 1,920 square kilometers of Pakistani territory and thwarted all Pakistani strategic objectives. The war also wiped off the humiliation of the 1962 conflict with China.
1971: The war that split Pakistan
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
When Lt General JS Aurora accepted the unconditional surrender of Lt Gen. AAK Niazi in Dhaka after a 13-day war, it split Pakistan into half, recreated East Pakistan into a new country in the form of Bangladesh and gave India its finest military triumph.
June 25, 1975: India under emergency
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
The declaration of Emergency was the darkest hour for India's democracy. It was lifted only in 1977, to be followed by a general election that saw the stunning defeat of Indira Gandhi, only for her to return back to power in 1980.
June 25, 1983: India win Cricket World Cup
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
Kapil Dev's unfancied team came from nowhere to beat the mighty West Indies and lifted the Cricket World Cup in a magnificent triumph.
July 24, 1991: The budget that changed India
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
Manmohan's Singh's 1991 Budget kick-started the process of economic liberalization through reforms and opened up the country to the global economy.
1990: Mandal rocks the nation
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
Prime Minister VP Singh's push to implement the Mandal Commission's recommendations, which asked for greater reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in government jobs and public universities, reshaped Indian politics, and unleashed protests by students across India.
December 6, 1992: Babri Masjid demolition
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
The Ram Janmabhoomi movement, over the disputed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, significantly re-altered Indian politics forever. The legal dispute over the site remains sub-judice in the Supreme Court but the passions unleashed by the issue, on all sides, continue to reverberate politically.
11-13, May 1998: India joins elite nuclear club
August 14, 2018: The Times of India
From: August 14, 2018: The Times of India
India first exploded a peaceful nuclear device in 1974 but its five nuclear tests in May 1998, declaring it to be a nuclear power, were a turning point in India's engagement with the world.
1947 vis-à-vis 2018: comparisons; how India has changed
August 15, 2018: The Times of India
population,
highest grossing movie,
cost of a movie ticket
From: August 15, 2018: The Times of India
mode of transport,
shared transport,
cost of shared transport
From: August 15, 2018: The Times of India
what a litre of milk cost,
gold price,
exchange rate
From: August 15, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
How India changed- 1947 vis-à-vis 2018-
population,
highest grossing movie,
cost of a movie ticket
How India changed, 1947-2018-
mode of transport,
shared transport,
cost of shared transport
How India changed, 1947-2018-
what a litre of milk cost,
gold price,
exchange rate
August 15, 2018 marked the 72nd Independence Day of India. In 1947, when India broke away from the shackles of British rule, things were quite different. In the course of seven decades, India has undergone a sea change. Here's a look at how the times and lives of Indians have changed since independence.
Changes between 2014 and 2019
March 11, 2019: The Times of India
From: March 11, 2019: The Times of India
See graphic:
Changes in the living standards of Indians between 2014 and 2019
Most fundamental factors of performance (e.g. life expectancy, literacy, per capita income) have improved almost without interruption since Independence, though pace of improvement has fluctuated widely through the terms of different governments. For instance, real per capita income growth in the past five years was higher than it was during UPA-II because rate of inflation has been consistently low since 2014. But job creation, especially in rural areas, is estimated to have fallen since 2016, partly reflected in the current consumer confidence. Here’s how India changed on a dozen randomly chosen economic factors since mid-2014
20 biggest tech milestones of independent India
August 15, 2018: Gadget Now: The Times of India
India just celebrated its 72nd Independence Day. Over the last 70 years, the country has made its mark globally in a number of spheres. One of the most important among these is the technology industry. India's IT industry is a force to reckon with globally. Here we look at some of the biggest technology milestones of independent India ...
1. 1951: First Indian Institute of Technology set up at Kharagpur, West Bengal
2. 1954: Atomic Energy Establishment set up in Trombay for nuclear energy research. Renamed Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1967
3. 1958: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed4 / 211958: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) formed
4. 1959: Limited duration television programming begins
5. 1959: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research builds TIFR Automatic Computer, the first digital computer in India.6 / 211959: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research builds TIFR Automatic Computer, the first digital computer in India.
6. 1968: Tata Consultancy Services set up, offers punched card services7 / 211968: Tata Consultancy Services set up, offers punched card services
7. 1969:Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) established
8. 1970: Department of Electronics established to promote growth of electronics and computing
9. 1974: First successful nuclear bomb tested at Pokhran, Rajasthan
10. 1978: IBM exits India, opening up the sector to private sector companies like Wipro and HCL with the announcement of a minicomputer policy
11. 1981: Infosys is set up with a clear focus on providing outsourced IT services
12. 1983: Space Shuttle Challenger deploys INSAT-1B, kicking off Indian National Satellite System
13. 1986:Computerisation of Indian Railways seat reservation system by Indian programmers
14. 1991: Liberalisation results in abolition of import duty on computers used for software export; earnings made taxfree for 10 years. MNCs allowed to operate in India with 100% equity
15. 2008: ISRO launches Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar probe
16. 2013: Launch of India’s first interplanetary mission — Mangalyaan, or Mars Orbiter Mission
17. 2016: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) established by separating the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
18. 1984: Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to travel in space on April 2. He became the first Indian to reach space when he flew on board Soviet rocket Soyuz T-11 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.
19. 1991: The year India's very own first super computer called PARAM 8000 was born
20. 1995: The year when mobile phone services got inaugurated. The first mobile phone call was made by West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu to telecom minister Sukh Ram
2018: highlights
From: December 30, 2018: The Times of India
From: December 30, 2018: The Times of India
See graphics:
India- The highlights of 2018- I
India- The highlights of 2018- II
The highs and lows
From: December 30, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
The highs & lows of 2018
2019
J&K is split into 2 UTs
From: Twitter
From: Bharti Jain, Nov 2, 2019: The Times of India
See graphics:
The map of India as on the 31st Oct, 2019, when J&K was split into two UTs
The map of north India after creation of 2 new Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
BJP-ruled states in Nov 2019
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were under President’s Rule in Nov 2019
From: Nov 28, 2019: The Times of India
See graphic:
BJP-ruled states in March 2018 and Nov 2019
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were under President’s Rule in Nov 2019
2020
All the news that made headlines in 2020 in India
December 26, 2020: The Times of India
All the news that made headlines in 2020 in India
NEW DELHI: Though the coronavirus pandemic may have brought the entire country to a grinding halt for major parts of the year, several non-Covid news made it to the front page this year. The country saw elections in two states, a massive agitation against the newly introduced farm laws and a record slump in the country's GDP owing to the Covid-19-induced lockdown. This year, the country also bore witness to grisly communal riots in the national capital in which over 40 people were killed.
Here is a look at some of the top headline-making news from this year
1 Coronavirus-induced lockdown brings country to a grinding halt
On March 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised address urged citizens to observe a 14-hour curfew to stop the spread of coronavirus. The PM also asked all citizens to stand in their doorways, balconies or windows, and clap their hands or ring bells in appreciation for healthcare professionals delivering essential services. Two days later, a 21-day nation-wide lockdown was imposed as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. The lockdown was extended three times till May 31. In June, PM Modi announced that the lockdown phase is over and the process of 'unlock' has begun.
2 Stand-off continues with China on eastern frontier; 20 Indian soldiers martyred
This was the first time casualties were reported on LAC since the 1962 war. The Tension between Indian and Chinese troops stationed on the LAC in Ladakh has been on the rise since early summer. Things came to blows on June 15, when PLA troops, armed with barbed clubs and iron rods attacked Indian soldiers on a patrol. In a fist-fight that lasted nearly six hours, the 16th Bihar Regiment defended bravely against the aggressive Chinese forces, despite losing 20 soldiers, including the commanding officer. The Chinese side has not officially acknowledged the casualties on its side, but several sources have put the number at 35 or more. Multiple rounds of talks have taken place since, both at local military and diplomatic levels, but the standoff is yet to be broken. Both sides have amassed troops and heavy equipment on their respective sides.
3 First quarter GDP contracts by 23.9%
For the first time in forty years, the GDP slipped into negative. India's GDP growth for the first quarter (ended June 30) of financial year 2020-21 suffered the largest quarterly slump of 23.9%. The sharp contraction in GDP numbers is mainly due to closure of business activity during the quarter owing to nationwide lockdowns to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The GDP figure stood at 3.1 percent in the January-March period (Q4) of the financial year 2019-20. The economy grew by 5.2 per cent in the same period last fiscal.
4 PM Narendra Modi lays the foundation stone of Ram temple
Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Bhumi Pujan of the Ram temple to be constructed at Ayodhya, on August 5. At the ceremony, he laid the 40-kg silver brick to mark the start of the construction. The 161-feet high temple, once completed, would be one of the largest Hindu shrines. The PM also unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of the foundation stone and released a commemorative postage stamp on 'Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir'.
5 New farm laws and the protests
The three laws to reform the agriculture sector met with resistance from within the NDA and outside. Long-time ally SAD walked out of the alliance over the issue. It has also become a rallying point for opposition parties. Among the concerns voiced by the farmers and the opposition parties were 'corporatisation' of the farm sector and doing away with MSP.
Things took up a different dimension when the farmers themselves hit the road in late November to protest the new laws. Thousands of farmers are still camping in bitter cold on roads and highways leading upto the capital to demand a repeal of the new laws.
6 Communal riots in Delhi claims 42 lives
More than 40 people died in one of the worst communal riots seen in the capital since the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. On the night of February 23, clashes between pro- and the anti-CAA groups in Delhi's Jafrabad turned communal and spread across the northeast Delhi over the next four days. In the ensuing violence, 42 people, including a policeman and an IB personnel, lost their lives, while hundreds were injured and shops and houses burnt or destroyed. Delhi Police faced criticism for its ineffective handling of the riots. Hundreds of people have been arrested or detained so far in connection with the violence.
7 New Education Policy unveiled
In July, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the National Education Policy 2020, paving the way for reforms in both school and higher education sectors. The new policy replaced the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
8 Delhi and Bihar state elections
The NDA came up trumps in the Bihar assembly polls, narrowly edging past the Mahagathbandhan alliance led by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav. In a battle that went down to the wires, NDA secured 125 seats against the opposition alliance's 110. The RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, followed closely by BJP with 74. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal repeated its stellar performance of 2015, and won 62 of the 70-seat Delhi assembly. BJP, which had won three seats in 2015, secured victory on eight seats.
9 Court acquits all 32 accused in 1992 Babri mosque demolition case
On September 30, 28-years after the Babri Masjid was razed, a court acquitted all 32 accused – including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti – of being involved in the demolition of the mosque. In a judgment that ran to 2,300 pages with enclosures, the special CBI court said there was no conclusive evidence against the 32 accused of being involved in any conspiracy to bring down the disputed structure in Ayodhya.
10 Anti-CAA/NRC protests continue
This was the biggest agitation against the ruling NDA government since it came to power in 2014.
The anti-CAA/NRC protests which started in the national capital in 2019, continued into 2020. Protesters staged a 24X7 sit-in at several places in the capital, including Shaheen Bagh. The protests, calling for a repeal of the Citizenship Act and the National Register of Citizens also took place in several other cities. The protests came to an end in March following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
11 Namaste Trump event greets US president in India
The event marked an important milestone in India-US relations. On February 24, 25, US President Donald Trump arrived in India to attend the 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The US President, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump also visited the Taj Mahal in Agra before heading to the national capital. Later, he attended a dinner banquet hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind. During the visit, President Trump discussed several key issues with PM Modi such as 5G connectivity and trade deals, and also signed a $3 billion defence deal.
12 India registers 1 crore coronavirus cases
India became the second-worst affected country after the US in terms of number of confirmed cases. In a span of 323 days, since the first virus was detected in India on January 30, the total number of infections in India crossed the 1 crore mark in December. The virus reached every corner of the country within months and by mid-September, the country was registering over 90,000 cases every day. So far, over 145,000 people have lost their life to the infections. Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were some of the hardest hit states. Efforts to bring out a vaccine have been going on at breakneck speed. As per latest reports, India is soon to authorise the use of the vaccine outside the trial process.
Three major developments
Indrani Bagchi, December 26, 2020: The Times of India
This year began with soul searching on a “world disorder”. As it comes to a close, the pandemic is still with us, mutant strains and vaccines jostling for space. The Chinese are still on our borders, giving “expansionism” new life and “wolf warriors” new voice. In between Covid surges, geopolitics, wars and economies have moved on to embrace new normals. All of them have implications for Indian foreign and security policies in the coming year, and all of them call for India stepping up to take much bolder steps in 2021. Three issues come to mind.
China is digging in. In eastern Ladakh and even Arunachal Pradesh, China is putting infrastructure and logistics in place for nothing short of a siege. A stand-off/ confrontation has been thrust on India. India has made certain that China will not prevail – India is preparing for a Sumdorong Chu-type situation at best, at worst open conflict.
Is China on a massive overreach? On the face of it, no. Its economy has rebounded after it successfully exported Covid to the rest of the world and managed it ruthlessly at home. Joe Biden may be a less troublesome US president than Donald Trump (who frankly should be credited for calling out China and its scamming off of the global system). China already sees an opportunity to play John Kerry, Biden’s climate czar, to advance its interests in the same way Taliban did with Zalmay Khalilzad.
The world is undeniably circling the wagons. We didn’t pay adequate attention to Trump’s award of merit medals to the Quad prime ministers – it cemented the core of the Indo-Pacific as much as the Malabar exercises (with Australia) did. As the Quad gets more comfortable with each other and builds military muscle, China’s swanning around in the South China Sea will become more difficult. For instance, its militarised islands could become valid targets.
India’s new maritime theatre command will be able to leverage India’s natural geostrategic advantages vis-à-vis China in the Indo-Pacific. US sanctions on Chinese tech companies – from Huawei to SMIC this week – will have an adverse impact on China’s tech advances, as well as its overseas markets.
China underestimated how badly the Hong Kong crisis played in the rest of the world, even if Asia (including India) cravenly shut up. Taiwan is everyone’s favourite Chinese again. US Congress just pushed through a Taiwan support legislation with bipartisan approval. With countries like India and Indonesia, not to speak of Japan and Singapore, all doing their own Taiwan outreach, Beijing is facing a different kind of pressure. Xi Jinping can mount a military offensive against Taiwan, but again, no victory awaits.
Tibet is back on the US table as well, with a new resolution that puts reincarnation within the Dalai Lama’s remit and not the CCP. That should open the door to others to de-legitimise China’s assertion that only the Party can decide on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Joe Biden may be a more “moderate” voice on China but America’s tough stance is unlikely to change. The incoming NSA, Jake Sullivan, has already warned the EU against going ahead with its investment treaty with China. France has backed out, as has Poland. Go figure.
But, as Rana Mitter writes this week, “The biggest obstacle China will face is China’s own authoritarian turn. Beijing’s commitment to that aspect of China’s core identity will make it far harder for the other three nucleotides – consumerism, global ambitions, and technology – of its DNA to recombine successfully.” Xi is an autocrat with an enormous appetite for risk. This will make the coming years more fraught for China as well as others.
The second thing that changed this year is the nature of war. The six-week battle for the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was won by Azerbaijan’s technological superiority and not by heavy Russian tanks, is an inflexion point that will be dissected by military analysts. Electronic warfare or network warfare has jumped out of scholarly articles into the real world.
For India struggling to modernise its armed forces, leap-frogging technologies is an imperative, particularly as the new theatres of conflict may well be the barren snowscapes of Ladakh, high seas, space or ethernet. India will not dominate these frontier areas without being an active participant in the technological revolutions underway in several other countries.
That brings us to the third issue that changed this year which has implications for India’s future. “Trust” is the new buzzword for economic and tech engagement. The pandemic has spurred diversification from traditional free trade and globalisation to trusted, fair and reciprocal trade, shorter value chains, greater self-reliance.
While that may have implications for China, it has equal and opposite implications for India.
India is learning to weaponise its own market. India’s national security directive for telecom naming “trusted” entities caps a year of determined decoupling efforts beginning with the RCEP walkout, which would deny China access to the biggest growing market and investment destination in the world.
India showed willingness to pay the cost – New Delhi refused to let GM sell its Talegaon plant to China’s Great Wall Motors – instead took a hit. But there is a flip side – India has to adopt predictable rules and regulatory frameworks to be more attractive to the countries it wants – EU, Gulf, UK and US. India’s tax regime is the stuff of nightmares, contract enforcement is iffy, reforms are started but not completed. The government’s economic managers do not inspire confidence. At the risk of repetition, the economy is strategic.
Until then, keep calm and drink Australian wine.
Protests over farmer-oriented legislation
From: September 23, 2020: The Times of India
See graphic:
The highlights of the farmer-oriented legislation of 2020.
Akali Dal walks out of NDA
After quitting govt, BJP’s ‘oldest ally’ Akali Dal walks out of NDA
Chandigarh:
Shiromani Akali Dal announced its decision to break its 24-year-old alliance with BJP less than 10 days after it pulled out of PM Narendra Modi’s government with the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal over the passage of three agrimarketing bills in Parliament.
The alliance between SAD and BJP, formed just after the parliamentary elections of 1996, had increasingly seemed untenable as the party was facing immense pressure from its main vote base, the farmers, to completely cut ties with BJP. The party was on the backfoot in Punjab, where spontaneous protests against the agri-marketing bills led by farmers had the party worried about its future, especially as both the governing Congress party and the opposition Aam Aadmi Party were highlighting the Badal family’s so-called reluctance to quit the alliance with BJP.
BJP ignored its oldest ally, laments Badal
SAD’s decision to pull out of the NDA was decided unanimously at an emergency meeting of its core committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. After the three-hour meeting, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party was BJP’s oldest ally but the Modi government did not listen to it on honouring the sentiments of farmers. He described the three agrimarketing bills as “lethal and disastrous for the already beleaguered farmers”.
The party said it had quit the alliance in protest against the three agri-marketing bills and the Centre’s “stubborn” refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers’ crops at the MSP and for the Centre’s continued “insensitivity” towards the Punjabi language and issues of the Sikh community.
2021
An overview
December 26, 2021: The Times of India
THE Newsmakers Of 2021
Grief, loss, fear, courage, relief that it’s over… there are a lot of emotions associated with this year. But before we look ahead, let’s look back at the people who dominated the headlines. From kisans to comics, from javelin-throwers to jab-makers, meet the movers and shakers...
FARMERS
The country has seen many protests over the years but the one that will be remembered for a long time to come is the farm protest. The year-long mass mobilisations by farmers in which they weathered heat, cold waves and Covid finally forced the government to roll back its three farm bills, which would have dismantled local markets and eased contract farming. Much as the government and economists tried to convince them that these much-needed reforms would give them greater freedom to sell their crops to private buyers, farmers refused to see it as anything but a body-blow to their livelihoods.
For a year, farmers largely from Punjab, Haryana and western UP had camped out at three sites on the outskirts of Delhi, their internal differences largely subsumed as they presented a united front. They fed themselves and others through mass langars. Stand-up satire, songs of resistance, and rousing slogans filled the air.
Many well-wishers thronged these sites and the diaspora also provided support and resources.
Several people died during this difficult period, and these losses only made the protestors more determined. They fought, they persisted, and finally, they won.
Now, with some farm leaders seemingly keen to jump into electoral politics, it remains to be seen whether that unity will stand the test of time.
XI JINPING
Against India, Xi maintained his alpha aggression. Under his direction, Chinese troops are building living quarters and deploying advanced weaponry in eastern Ladakh, while simultaneously keeping India under pressure all along the LAC. With the US, China is on a collision course — in the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang and in trade and technology. That rivalry, and India’s headaches, look set to spill over into 2022.
MAMATA BANERJEE
Way back in 1984, Mamata Banerjee, still in her late 20s, grabbed national attention as a giant killer defeating Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur in the Lok Sabha elections. In the decades since then, she has cemented her reputation as a never-say-die street fighter battling on when nobody thought the Left could be displaced from power in West Bengal. That refusal to give up without a fight was in magnificent display during the assembly polls early this year when most pundits saw the tide turning inexorably against her. She lost many of her trusted lieutenants to the BJP and the saffron party’s high voltage, highvisibility campaign was beginning to look like an unstoppable juggernaut. The street fighting political smarts came to the fore as she announced that she would contest from Nandigram, in the heart of the stronghold of the Adhikaris and against one of them. She was surely aware of the risk of losing the battle, but gambled on winning the war. Such was the impact of the TMC’s crushing victory in Bengal that she has since emerged as a possible fulcrum for an opposition alliance nationally and the defectors from her party are falling over each other in the race for ghar wapsi.
YOGI ADITYANATH
A surprise choice who beat more established names to become chief minister of India’s most populous state, and one that held the key to BJP’s fortunes, Yogi has weathered political storms and lasted the course.
Though his “encounter” policy had civil rights activists up in arms, he stuck to his guns and his tough-on-crime image seemed to work in a state where mafias and politics went hand in hand. The “oxygen” deaths at BRD hospital, the Sengar case, the Hathras rape-murder, anti-CAA stirs and, more recently, the Covid challenge, the farm agitation and Lakhimpur Kheri violence, tested Yogi but he has remained afloat.
Having mentored a “Hindu Sena” in his borough of Gorakhpur and much of east UP, Yogi has been demonstrative about his Hindutva politics, emphasising the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya and rejuvenation of Kashi as major achievements, and crafting a political strategy based on polarisation. He now faces a stern test as he seeks a second term in office but BJP’s decision to project him as a success story, and PM Narendra Modi’s handsome accolades, indicate that he is a “lambi race ka ghoda (a horse with the stamina to run a long race)”.
PARALYMPIANS
The pandemic was challenging for all sportspersons but for India’s para athletes, it was even more of a real roller-coaster, from the event they had been training so hard for being postponed to being stuck at home with hardly any equipment. Add to that, some of them like veteran javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia got Covid. Yet they brought an unprecedented 19 medals home this year, and proved that their disabilities don’t define them.
ADAR POONAWALLA
Adar Poonawalla, who heads the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing company Serum Institute of India (SII), had the daunting goal of helping end the pandemic. Though a ban on exports meant his company could not meet its pledge to the COVAX global vaccine sharing effort, it has already produced over a billion doses of the Covishield vaccine. SII has also started manufacturing a second vaccine, Covovax, in association with US-based Novavax. But as Omicron has shown, the war against Covid-19 is not over yet.
KANGANA RANAUT
Actor Kangana Ranaut continued her role as Agent Provocateur in 2021 with statements like India got freedom in 2014, calling protesting farmers “terrorists” and international pop star Rihanna “a fool”. Her rapid-fire insults made more news than the Padma she was given.
MUNAWAR FARUQUI
Reams have been written about India’s thriving comedy scene. Well now, there’s a thriving outrage industry which gunned for stand-up Munawar Faruqui this year, landing him in jail for jokes which he says he didn’t even make. He did get bail but work dried up with his shows being cancelled. Announcing his intention to quit stand-up, a despondent Faruqui tweeted: “Nafraat jeet gayi, artist haar gaya (hate has won, the artist has lost)”. But it might not be curtains just yet. The 29-year-old has recently performed in Kolkata and Mumbai and has a show next year in Hyderabad.
VIRAT KOHLI
For a decade, Virat Kohli made news on the pitch; his batting a blend of art and aristocracy. In 2021, his Page 1 moments primarily transpired off the pitch. The 33-year-old Test skipper’s verbal counterpunches over ODI captaincy left BCCI president Sourav Ganguly hiding in the ‘no comments’ corner. No cricketer had displayed such blunt audacity before. Kohli was equally upfront in standing up for his vilified colleague Mohd Shami after India was outplayed by Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. However, during his captaincy, the Men in Blue did not win a single major ICC tournament in white-ball cricket. As a Test batter too, 2021 was among his worst years. The fluency was missing, so were the game changer knocks. Till now, his annual average is 28; way below his career average of 50. 2021 leaves us with the tantalising question: Is the best of Virat Kohli behind us?
NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU
The charismatic but unpredictable politician has a way of being in the news. This year he was instrumental in the ouster of Amarinder Singh from the CM’s post. But though the Punjab Congress chief did succeed in ousting the veteran, he has had to wait in the wings as the unheralded Charanjit Channi became CM with Congress playing the Dalit card. As elections in Punjab approach, Sidhu stands at a crucial crossroads, hoping that he will take over in the event of a Congress win.
GEN BIPIN RAWAT
The void Gen Bipin Rawat has left behind is a reminder of his towering presence as India’s first chief of defence staff. As CDS, he also headed the newly created department of military affairs, offering single-point advice to the defence minister and overseeing the arduous task of integrating turf- conscious defence forces. His untimely death along with wife Madhulika and several defence personnel in a chopper crash is a serious setback to the process of defence planning, modernisation and creation of integrated commands. A distinguished soldier, he could also understand the needs of civilian authority and carve out compromises that required serious give and take. As officers who worked with him testify, he was capable of decisive action. As army chief he lost no time in confronting Chinese troops at Doklam once the gravity of the PLA advance became apparent, giving Indian diplomacy a crucial advantage.
He did court controversy every now and again, with his comments on China, role of politicians in the anti-CAA agitation, on IAF’s war fighting role and a meeting with R S S chief Mohan Bhagwat. Critics saw him as being “political” in his actions but the fulsome tributes that followed his death showed there was no dearth of people who admired him.
Firsts
From: Dec 26, 2021: The Times of India
See graphic:
21 FIRSTS OF 2021
See also
India, A brief history: 1947 onwards
