From terrorist attacks to surgical strikes, from equality for men at the border to equality for women at home, from the raising of anti-national slogans to the fight for water – the year past was definitely one that will go down as an important facet of Indian history. While there were events that adversely affected the masses, there were also some that made citizens proud. As 2016 gives way to 2017, here’s a recap of the major news stories that made it the year it was.
1. Pathankot Attacks: On the second of January a group of heavily armed militants struck the Pathankot Air Force Station in Punjab. The terrorist attack resulted in the death of more than seven Indians. Five terrorists were gunned down. It was suspected that Islamic militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, was responsible for the attack. India-Pakistan diplomatic talks were subsequently suspended and reports suggested this was the very intention of the attack. Even as nations across the world condemned it, the government’s reaction to the incident made the public question the way India handles terror.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University Row (JNU Row): A delicate issue that was mishandled and blown out of proportion. JNU students organized a protest against the capital punishment meted out to convict Afzal Guru. The protest by college students became a nationwide controversy involving the ABVP, JNU Students Union president, Kanhaiya Kumar, and the ruling party, BJP. The crux of the controversy was whether anti-national slogans were raised during the protest. Kumar was soon arrested and charged with sedition, which caused uproar in intellectual circles that deemed it a suppression of political dissent. The issue was taken up in court and Kumar, along with the other students, was later released.
3. Rohith Vemula Suicide Case: Rohith Vemula committed suicide because he felt he was being discriminated against for being a Dalit. A chain of events was set off at the university beginning with stoppage of Vemula’s fellowship. He was then branded ‘anti-national’, barred from the hostel, and finally suspended – a sequence of avoidable actions that led him to commit suicide. The matter was raised with then HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who responded with a fiery speech in Parliament. According to Irani, the “case was the death of a child and not the death of a Dalit”. The Telangana police went into technical details to check if Vemula was a Dalit or a Vaddera (OBC). Unfortunately, the whole affair was turned political and made into a Dalit vs non-Dalit war.
4. Cabinet Reshuffle: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the second year celebrations of his government, reshuffled his Cabinet Ministry. The major reallocation was Smriti Irani being demoted from Human Resource Development to Textile ministry. Prakash Javedkar gained the HRD portfolio and Arun Jaitely was relieved of the Information and Broadcasting ministry. Former journalist MJ Akbar got the status of Minister of State in the Foreign Ministry. Nineteen new faces were inducted in the Union Council of ministers, with three from UP, which could be viewed as a strategy for the upcoming UP elections.
5. Olympics 2016: This year India sent its largest ever contingent to compete at the Rio Olympics. Just like most grand events involving India, this too was riddled with controversies. On the bright side, Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu ended our medal drought by winning a bronze and silver in the wrestling and badminton events. Dipa Karmakar missed a medal by the proverbial whisker when she finished fourth in her category in gymnastics. However scandals too were the order of the day: The Indian contingent’s chief medical officer was a radiologist and not a sports medicine doctor. It is to be noted that the radiologist’s father was the Vice President of the Indian Olympic Association. The country faced another setback when wrestler Narsingh Yadav and shot-putter Inderjeet Singh were ruled out because of doping. There was also the controversy around long distance runner OP Jaisha not being provided water during her track event. Blame games followed and it was all more of the same for Indian sport.
6. Uri Attack and Burhan Wani’s Killing: This attack shook India to its core. Burhan Wani, commander of the terrorist group, Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in an encounter with the Indian security forces. His death led to riots in the Valley. Kashmir was placed under curfew for almost 50 consecutive days. Wani’s death was one of the reasons behind the September Uri attacks. Four terrorists attacked an Indian Army brigade in Uri, near the LOC, that resulted in the deaths of 19 Indian soldiers. The Indian army stated that evidence suggested the attackers belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad. Pakistan rejected any involvement in the terror attacks. The attack was condemned the world over and India warned of retribution. The government of India said it would isolate Pakistan diplomatically and economically as it withdrew from the SAARC summit in Islamabad. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan followed suit as the summit was cancelled.
7. Surgical Strikes by the Indian Army: Eleven days after the Uri attacks, the Indian Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said the Indian army had conducted a ‘surgical strike’ against terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This uncharacteristic retaliation by India threw the entire country into a spasm of nationalistic euphoria, even though conclusive date on the number of casualties on the side of the opposition still remains uncertain. Such was the impact of the strikes that even the Opposition publicly appreciated the move, although they altered their stance in the weeks following the surgical strike. As patriotic fervor reached a fever pitch, many Indians reacted strongly towards Pakistanis in India with the MNS even threatening Pakistani actors in Bollywood to ‘Get out in 48 hours’.
8. Cauvery Water Dispute: The Cauvery river has been a source of dispute between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for a long time. For years there have been negotiations regarding the sharing of water. This year the issue cropped up again. Tamil Nadu cited water shortage and approached the Supreme Court to order Karnataka to release water. The SC directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water for 10 days. Karnataka refused to oblige citing a distress situation. And thus began a quarrel between the states and SC. Bandhs were called for and curfews imposed in both states as neither agreed to give in. Eventually, the SC demanded that a Cauvery Water Management Board be formed to handle the issue.
9. Women’s Rights (Sabarimala, Haji Ali, Shani Shingnapur temple, Triple Talaq): 2016 was a good year for women in India. Women across the country fought for their rights and were vindicated. -A 400-year-old tradition was broken when women were allowed to enter the inner sanctum of the Shani Shingnapur temple, following the temple trust’s decision. -Following a petition filed with the SC, the Haji Ali Dargah Management said it would allow women to enter the Inner Sanctum of Haji Ali. -In a landmark move, the Kerala government changed its stance on the issue of women’s entry to Sabarimala and agreed that women should be allowed into the famous shrine. -Within the Muslim community, the code of triple talaq was challenged. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board formed a women’s wing to look into issues such as talaq, however it also passed a resolution in favour of triple talaq.
10. One Rank One Pension (OROP): Servicemen have been fighting for the implementation of OROP for 40 years. In 2015, the Modi government announced its implementation. However ex-servicemen felt the scheme did not address their concerns. A one-man judicial commission was set up to look into the matter. There were several disagreements in the scheme’s implementation. These culminated in November’s tragic suicide of an ex-serviceman, Ram Kishan Grewal who laid down his life as a mark of protest against the government.
11. Demonetisation: On November 8, Narendra Modi launched his second surgical strike of the year – this time on hoarders of black money. The out-of-the-blue move to invalidate Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes came as a shock to citizens and was part of the Prime Minister’s grand plan to weed out unaccounted wealth from India. Normal life across the country was thrown into disarray with banks and the financial sector most affected, but by and large this radical attempt to eliminate a long-standing evil of Indian economy was welcomed by the public – despite the frank inconvenience caused to many.
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