Compiled by Antony Cony D'Souza, Karkala / Qatar
Dec 31: As the year 2015 draws to a close, a brief review to look back for a moment would be interesting. Year 2015 was an eventful and important one for India. We faced many challenges – natural disasters, diplomatic troubles, legislative inaction, political stagnation, terrorist violence etc. Following were some of the major events made headlines in India this year.
The Obamas visit to India
This year’s 66th Republic Day ceremonial parade assumed special significance as US President Barack Obama along with his wife Michelle Obama attended the program. Obama is the first US President to be the chief guest at a Republic Day function and to visit India twice during office.
However, two things rocked this ideal image of bonhomie between the two leaders. First was Modi’s 'bandhgala' suit he wore at the meeting, said to be worth Rs 10 lac with his own name sewn repeatedly on it, earning him jibes from both the opposition and the public. Second was the parting speech by Obama, where he said, “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith...Every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose or to practice no faith at all and to do so free from persecution.” It diluted the credence enjoyed by Modi as a leader who won the sweeping mandate of a diverse democracy.
The Rise of Hardik Patel
Dubbed as the 'New Modi' by some and as Gujarat's Kejriwal by others, 22 year old Hardik Patel was a rare phenomenon that took over the state of Gujarat like a storm. The 22-year-old commerce graduate from Mehsana, in a short span of 55 days galvanised his entire Patel community to rally behind him to seek status of Other Backward Class (OBC) and reservation in education as well as government jobs. As the convenor of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), Hardik Patel is now the face of reservation demand by socially, politically and economically dominant community from Gujarat – the Patels.
Hardik was able to bring thousands from his community across the state in over 100 rallies in two months. His sway was such that an estimated million Patels gathered in Ahmedabad on August 25, to listen to him. Violence paralysed Gujarat following his brief detention post this rally. Curfews were imposed and the army had to be called in, to restore calm in the state.
Any society should evolve, and when it evolves, it evolves for the good, that is, as we know BJP snatched away the dynasty rule when it won the last election with an absolute majority from Congress. Another example being AAP’s victory in Delhi elections. This is called beauty of democracy, it sends unwanted rule packing lest 'Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it'.
Delhi Elections: AAP scores a landslide victory
On February 10, the Aam Aadmi Party’s historic win in Delhi was nothing short of a miracle but albeit a hard earned one. After his 49 day debacle as the Chief Minister of Delhi in early 2014, Arvind Kejriwal and his supporters had been written off by their political opponents. Extensive and innovative methods of campaigning, a well spelled out manifesto and the earnestness in requesting people to give him a second chance at bringing in a corruption free government is what won Arvind Kejriwal and his team an astounding mandate. 67 seats in the 70 seat Assembly, not just negated the opposition but also, came as a shocker for BJP which had swept the Capital’s seven Lok Sabha seats just nine months ago and was the single largest party in Assembly elections held in December 2013. The worst was for Congress, after ruling Delhi for 15 years it had failed to even open its account on the seat tally.
Parliament Sessions
Parliament met for its usual three Sessions this year.
Budget Session: The Budget Session was held between February 23 and May 13. On February 28 the Finance Minister presented the Union Budget for 2015 – 2016. 23 bills were passed during the session, and 65 were pending.
Monsoon Session: The Monsoon Session took place between July 21 and August 13. The Session was washed out due to the Opposition disrupting proceedings demanding the resignation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The disruptions were particularly crippling in the Upper House. During the course of the Session, 25 lawmakers were suspended for five days by the Speaker for creating a ruckus in Parliament. 11 bills were listed for consideration and passing but only one was passed by the 15th LokSabha.
Winter Session: The Winter Session began on Constitution Day and ended on December 23. Parliament’s winter session was a big disappointment and largely a repeat of Monsoon Session in the context of critical reforms such as Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which the country desperately needs to progress on to higher orbits of economic growth.
The Congress-led opposition scripted its part quite well and played with precision. The BJP clearly lacked the political will and strategy to get around the opposition ploy and failed to make progress on the reforms front. Bad politics won over good economics.
If Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam spoiled the Monsoon Session, the Winter Session was washed out with allegations and counter-allegations on issues ranging from ‘intolerance debate’ to ‘National Herald' allegations to 'Delhi Cricket Association' corruption case. There are arguments and counter-arguments by both political parties on the merits and demerits of each of these issues. But the fact is, at the end of the day, Parliament’s primary business—policymaking suffered greatly. The question really is where do all this leave 1.25 billion Indians waiting to see the progress of their country and see the fruits of economic growth finally reaching their door steps? There aren’t any tangible results for them.
Heat Wave
The most fatal heat wave since 1979 struck many parts of India this summer. Sparse pre-monsoon and monsoon showers led to the death of over 2500 Indians, mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Every year India suffers from heat waves from April to July; this year, however, the temperatures were abnormally high.
Nepal Earthquakes
On April 25, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Nepal, killing 9,000, injuring 23,000 and displacing 450,000. Several aftershocks caused more damage. A total of 130 deaths were reported in India, particularly Bihar. The earthquake killed 9000 in Nepal, displaced over 450,000 and crippled its economy. India led international rescue and aid efforts to help Nepal rebuild itself.
The Lalit Modi-Sushma Swaraj Controversy
The controversy involving the tainted IPL creator Lalit Modi and the Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has grabbed national headlines. The inclusion of Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje into the mess added fuel to the fire. It began when leaked emails revealed that travel documents were facilitated for Lalit Modi so that he could travel to Portugal even though his passport was confiscated at the time.
Opposition parties demanded Sushma Swaraj’s resignation while the Government was on the defensive trying to protect her. The incident caused a deadlock during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Gurdaspur Attacks
In the first major terror strike in Punjab in eight years, heavily-armed militants in army uniform sprayed bullets on a moving bus and stormed a police station, killing six persons, including an SP, and injuring eight others in Gurdaspur bordering Pakistan. They managed to kill 7 Indians, and engaged security personnel in a heated 12-hour gun-battle.
Vyapam Scam
A major scam hit the Madhya Pradesh Examination Board this year. Officials at the Board (Vyapam), responsible for conducting several admission tests in the State, accepted bribes and allotted higher ranks to undeserving candidates. Several deaths related to the scam, threats to the whistleblowers and allegations against top politicians in the State Government turned the scam into an issue of national interest. In July, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the CBI.
But given the tardy pace of the CBI’s investigation, it’s quite plausible that the case will not be solved within the next three years. More than five months have passed since the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to take over from the Special Task Force in Madhya Pradesh. But there has been no tangible progress so far, with no fresh arrests being made.
By the time Madhya Pradesh holds its next assembly elections at the end of 2018, the Vyapam scam may not be a problem for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and state chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. They could well say that the Central Bureau of Investigation is still probing the alleged irregularities with regard to jobs and recruitment at the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, and that the Opposition should await the outcome.
Beef Ban and Dadri Lynching
2015 experienced a string of beef bans, beef consumption-related violence and the spread of ‘beef politics’. On 28 September a mob lynched Muhammad Akhlaq in Bisara, Dadri for allegedly storing beef in his house (which turned out to be mutton). Inflammatory speeches by certain politicians increased scrutiny of the issue. Coupled with a spate of attacks on writers and freethinkers, it led to some factions of society to opine that India was becoming ‘intolerant’, while others opposed this line of thinking saying the Dadri mob was a fringe element.
PM Modi’s silence on the issue added fuel to the claims, to the extent that many writers, film personalities who had received awards from the State, started returning them as a sign of protest against growing intolerance in the country; Giving rise to the ‘Award Wapasi’ controversy which further fanned the intolerance debate and made it a dominant national issue. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s recent statement, that he did feel, there was a rise in intolerance in the country, sent the media, the social media and the politicos in a tizzy.
Announcement of 98 Smart Cities Across India
The union government released the list of 98 cities in the month of August that will be developed under the Smart Cities mission. These cities together have a population of 13 crore, accounting for 35 per cent of India’s urban population.
Explaining the meaning of Smart Cities in an Indian context, Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Development, said that it would ensure robust IT connectivity and digitization as also core infrastructure such as water supply, electricity supply, sanitation, public transport, solid waste management and affordable housing. “We are not just aiming at making our urban landscape fanciful and flashy but the prime objective is to enhance quality of urban life,” he said.
Let’s thank our PM Modi over adding our Mangaluru into the list of smart cities.
Bihar Elections
Bihar elections were critical to all the players involved. After the massive loss in Delhi, winning Bihar was critical for BJP. As for Nitish, Lalu and Congress, it was to find their place back in the country’s political scene. TheirMahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance, pitted against BJP and its allies, the National Democratic Alliance. PM Modi, BJP’s star campaigner, campaigned across the length and breadth of the state, addressing 31 rallies in total. Reservation, intolerance, communal politics, development were all issues on which the parties fought each other. With Nitish Kumar as its CM candidate the Grand Alliance won 178 seats in a 243 member Assembly. The biggest surprise was the emergence of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav as the kingmaker with highest number of seats within the Grand Alliance. While BJP supporters blamed caste politics as a reason for BJP’s loss, the public saw it as a verdict against the rising intolerance in the country
Victory of Nitish Kumar in the assembly election would not change the grammar of Indian politics. Those who worked with NarendraModi and Nitish Kumar testify that both share many common traits. Both are meticulous, honest, hardworking and come from a humble background. In their respective settings, both are often accused of being “arrogant and authoritative”. Their politics may diverge but it leaves the scope of the twain meeting in future.
Chennai Floods
Chennai and surrounding areas received the highest rainfall recorded in 100 years in the first week of December, as a result the city got flooded. It was declared a disaster zone after hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands were left stranded. The seriousness of the situation in Chennai can be gauged from the fact that personnel from all three defence services were pressed into relief and rescue work. The airport was closed and several trains to Chennai were either cancelled or diverted due to waterlogging. The PMO declared a relief package of 1000 crores for the state. Social media netizens and the citizens of Chennai played a huge part in ensuring several people were rescued in time as rescue teams were guided through tweets and facebook help requests.
The natural calamity showed to the world that India is the land of ‘Unity in Diversity’. Indian society is characterized by immense diversity, there are also bonds of unity and mechanisms of integration which have contributed to the unique character of Indian society.
National Herald case hearing
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were granted bail by a Delhi court in the National Herald case in which they have been accused of illegally acquiring property worth crores of rupees belonging to a now defunct newspaper.
Metropolitan magistrate Lovleen granted bail to the Gandhis and three other accused, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey, on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each.
As a part of Plan B, the lawyers were “ready with petitions for immediately filing appeals before the Sessions court” in case the Metropolitan Magistrate turned down their bail pleas.
PM visits 28 countries this year
Domestic tours of PM Narendra Modi were17 as against 28 foreign countries. PM Modi’s foreign tours were the highest in number as compared to any other political leaders in the world. US President Obama’s foreign country tours were 11. All these visits are considered to be record-breaking visits although it is yet to be seen whether those visits were groundbreaking including his last visit to Pakistan.
Relationship between India and Pakistan since independence was neither too cool nor too warm given from the understanding from both countries’ border point of view. However, his stopover in Kabul just before the surprise visit to Lahore signaled New Delhi’s continued commitment to peace, security and prosperity of Afghanistan. India’s traditional base support looks to be re-positioned by PM’s visit to Moscow in December as New Delhi’s foremost defense partner with an agreement to manufacture Rassian Kamov 226 helicopters in India being inked.
There were many other highs in between and, of course, quite a few lows too. If the announcement by PM Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo about conclusion of protracted negotiation over a bilateral civil nuclear agreement in New Delhi on December 12 was a most significant diplomatic success, the way Nepal cold-shouldered India and adopted a Constitution without incorporating its suggestions was indeed major setback for New Delhi.
South Indian film Bahubali crosses the Rs 500 crore mark
Bahubali, the epic drama made on a whopping budget of Rs 250 crores, starring Prabhas, RanaDaggubati, Tamannaah & Anushka Shetty, directed by SS Rajmouli became the first South Indian film to cross the Rs 500 crore mark. Released in 4,000 screens worldwide in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, the film reached the 500 mark in just 3 weeks of its release. The film shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, featuring never seen before special effects, huge sets and beautiful cinematography, Bahubali’ssuccess was in giving the audience an unparalleled cinematic experience. From bringing about 1,000 horses from Rajasthan for shooting, to building swords, armour, jewellery from scratch, the film has a lot of elements to boast about. The second part of the Rs 250 crore franchise is slated for release next year. The film has already been completed and is also directed by SS Rajamouli.
Vijender Singh registers third straight win in pro boxing
Vijender Singh was on a roll as he registered his third consecutive knock out win in the professional boxing career. Vijender was on the frontfoot from the word go, whereas the experienced pro boxer Samet Hyuseinov was circumspect. Barely 30 seconds in the second round, the Bhiwani boxer ended the bout with a Technical Knock Out win over the Bulgarian.
“I was confident of beating him. My win is a Christmas gift for all my Indian friends and fans and I am feeling happy that I am ending the year on a winning note,” he said after his win.
Wishing all Daiji readers, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the New Year 2016 bring us peace and good tidings.
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