2011: Looking Back

The entire year witnessed several movements with Anna and his team of anti-corruption campaigners, better known as Team Anna, lashing at the government on several occasions in demand for a comprehensive ombudsman body. The team comprised of former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and social activist Arvind Kejriwal. They continuously exchanged tough words with the government for the entire year. However, when the bill finally took shape, the anti-corruption crusaders trashed it and demanded the inclusion of several other measures including the inclusion of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Lokpal's ambit. The government did not respond to it and tabled the anti-graft ombudsman of its own kind. The opposition parties including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) voiced their discontents over the bill and demanded certain amendments. After long debate and uproar, the Central government passed the bill on Dec 27 in the Lok Sabha (the upper house). It coincided with yet another three day fast of the self-styled Gandhian that failed to pull much crowd in Mumbai and an ailing Anna finally gave up on the second day and even suspended a Fill the Jail campaign it had planned. Meanwhile, the political differences over the bill only intensified and even the ruling UPA's major constituent Trinamool Congress refused to budge from its stand over removal of the Lokayukta appointment conditions made mandatory in the Bill. And in what is seen as the ruling Congress party´s orchestrated and pre-planned strategy of creating chaos in the Upper House and thereby stall passage of the Lokpal Bill with demand for 187 amendments, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die at midnight on Dec 29, leaving the anti-corruption ombudsman law in limbo.

The fate of the Lokpal Bill may hang in balance but the movement that Anna and his members created will go down in Indian political history as the biggest challenge to an elected government by a pressure group of diverse individuals led by a simple village man and supported by countless Indians.

The year 2012, despite the fag end flop show in Mumbai, will belong to Anna Hazare. Anna will always be remembered as representative of the common man who shook the base of a powerful government of political eggheads.

The green earth:

The colour of change in Indian politics was green this year. All elections in the recent years, including the general elections of 2009, paled before the one that happened in eastern state West Bengal. Well green is the colour of Mamata Banerjee's party Trinamool Congress and the feisty leader bulldozed the red bastion of 34 years finally.

The over three-decades-long rule of the Left Front finally came to an end with the momentous victory of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in the assembly elections in 2011. When the state election results were declared on May 13, the Congress-TMC alliance, led by Banerjee, won a thumping 227 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left was reduced to a mere 62 seats. Banerjee finally took oath as the eleventh Chief Minister of West Bengal in May and gained control of Writers´ Buildings, the red-painted edifice of power in the heritage hub of Kolkata from where she was thrown out once by the communists for leading a protest.

West Bengal's intellectuals and civil society played a key role in Mamata's win since 2006 when land was taken forcibly from farmers in Singur for a Tata Motors car project. The yearlong bloodbath of Nandigram soon followed and the Left continued to make mistakes and lose the support of even its traditional voters.

Assembly elections 2011:

While West Bengal scripted history, here is a lowdown of what happened in the other states then went to polls.

Tamil Nadu witnessed the return of Amma again as J Jayalalithaa's party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) bagged 203 seats against 31 by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) formed the government in Kerala as they defeated the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) by a narrow margin of two seats.

In Puducherry, All India NR Congress (AINRC)- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) combine secured a majority in the 30-member Assembly, ousting the ruling Congress.

In Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi led his party into a straight third win with the Congress getting well beyond the majority mark. In the state, the major fight was between the the ruling Congress and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and final figures showed the incumbent bagging 76 seats while the AGP got 10 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 4.

Battleground UP: Rahul battles politics of Maya

The crucial assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh will take place in February 2012 as it will decide the fate of the ruling Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government and the future of Congress in the Hindi heartland state. But much before the dates were announced, political crossfire was order of the day with Congress poster boy Rahul Gandhi throwing his party hat in the ring almost a year ahead. The Gandhi political heir is desperate to get back UP from the opposition and even spent a night in police station for it in May.

The Congress General Secretary started his poll campaigns from 2011 and attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in every public speech he made in the north Indian state. He called the BSP government as one of "Mafias' and even faced criticisms for remarking that the people of Uttar Pradesh have to move to other Indian states to 'beg' for a job. He even went for 'Padyatras' (foot march) in the state with an aim of touching the attentions and hearts of the poor farmers. Rahul seized the opportunity of atrocities on farmers in Greater Noida's Bhatta Parsaul for a highway project and became the face of political opposition in the entire episode.

Mayawati lashed out at Rahul and described him as the 'Yuvraj of Congress party' (Prince of Congress party) whose outfit would be trampled by her party symbol elephant during his public speech. Rahul said the "elephant" is eating the benefits meant for the poor in the state. The war of words raged all through the year in the poll-bound state. Now all eyes are on the elections in February.

Poll bells toll

The Election Commission in December announced that the assembly polls in five Indian states would be held between Jan 28 and March 3. Manpur will go to polls on Jan 28, Punjab and Uttarakhand will go to poll on Jan 30 and Goa will go to polls on Mar 3. While all these states will witness single phase elections, the politically charged Uttar Pradesh will have a seven phase poll starting from Feb 4. The rest of the phases will be held on Feb 8, Feb 11, Feb 15, Feb 19, Feb 23 a Feb 28.

Maya's Eden of self-glory:

Apart from the poll-bound rhetoric, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister made headlines in 2011 for inaugurating a lavish Ambedkar park or the Dalit Prerna Sthal at Noida. The showpiece project dug out nearly Rs 685 crore from the government coffers. It was built over 33 acres of land.

The park hosts 12 life size statues of Baba Ambedkar and late Bahujan Samaj Party leader and Mayawati´s mentor Kanshi Ram besides her own. A total of 24 pink sandstone elephants adorn the park that the chief minister inaugurated proudly in Uttar Pradesh.

Bhanwari Devi: The lady vanishes

The episode of missing nurse Bhanwari Devi brought troubles and embarrassment to the Congress-ruled Rajasthan government which ultimately led to the removal of former Rajasthan Water Resources Minister Mahipal Maderna from his position and his arrest. Minister Maderna was alleged to have an affair with Bhanwari Devi as CDs that were recovered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) showed the minister and Bhanwari Devi in a "compromising position".

Congress Members of Legislature (MLA) Malkhan Singh Bishnoi was also seen in a compromising position with Bhanwari Devi in the CD along with Maderna.

Mahipal Maderna was dropped from the Ashok Gehlot cabinet on October 16. The scandalous chapter in the history of Rajasthan saw several dark moments. The murky episode of lust and crime keeps unfolding.

2G: The ringtone of corruption

2011 ringed with series of corruption scandals and 2G scam can be considered as the massive scandal that was brought over to the passing year from the previous. The 2G scam, allegedly masterminded by former telecom minister A Raja, pertains to a biased distribution of mobile airwaves and operating licenses, in lieu of kickbacks, to telcos that could have cost the treasury up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue, according to the government´s auditors CAG.

Besides Raja, senior executives of India´s prominent telecoms companies Swan, Unitech Wireless and Reliance ADAG, were arrested. Several big time politicians' heads rolled too and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi's arrest and her long stay behind bars in Tihar hogged the headlines. She was arrested in connection to the scam and had to spent six months in Delhi's Tihar jail. She was later released on bail that for once seemed would never be granted to the southern politician. Kanimozhi is accused of being the mastermind as the top official of the DMK run Kalaignar TV in receiving Rs 200 crore from the DB Group of Shahid Balwa in lie of 2G licence distributed by DMK minister A Raja.

The scandal witnessed the involvement and arrest of several top businessmen of the nation.

Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharth Kumar, Cineyug Films´ Karim Morani, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd director Asif Balwa and Rajib Agarwal, ex-telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, are some of the people who were arrested in connection with the scam.

The CBI on Dec 12 had filed a chargesheet against the Essar and Loop Telecom in connection to the 2G spectrum allocation case. The chargesheet indicted two of India´s leading business giants - Khaitans and Ruias - for their role in setting up Loop Telecom that acted as a front company for Essar to get mobile airwave licenses.

The CBI included the names of Essar Promoter Director Anshuman Ruia, Essar Vice Chairman Ravi Ruia, Essar Group Director (Strategy Planning) Vikas Saraf, and Loop Telecom´s Kiran Khaitan and IP Khaitan in its third chargesheet in the 2G spectrum scandal case.

The scam has even sucked into it the name of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy repeatedly told a special CBI court that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram should be considered as an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Swamy said that Chidambaram and former Telecom Minister A Raja had jointly decided the prices of spectrum.

A political clamour for Chidambaram's removal from the ministry is still brewing.

Modi's designer fast:

Emboldened by a court verdict that granted him a reprieve in the 2002 post-godhra riots cases, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi followed the steps of social activist Anna Hazare and sat on a three-day fast for communal harmony (Sadbhavna) in September this year. Breaking his fast taking lemon juice from clerics of three major religious faiths-Hindu, Muslim and Christian- Modi gave a message of communal harmony and tried to put behind the ghosts of the 2002 riots. How far that message could purify his role in not controlling the riots is debatable. With the fast, Modi also eyed New Delhi politics and the seat of prime minister, analysts believe. He is also being seen as a prime ministerial contenders in the 2014 general elections, according to a US Congressional report which says it might be a direct contest between Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Chariot against corruption:

While Modi sat on fast, BJP patriarch L K Advani decided to hit the road. Advani toured most of the Indian states on a modern day chariot as a part of his 'Janchetna Yatra'(mass awareness movement) against corruption. The step was considered to be in political circles as the veteran leader's comeback move as a Prime Ministerial contender in the next general elections. But the yatra of Advani evoked a moderate response.

TERRORISM/ EXTREMISM

Mumbai blast:

Terror revisited Mumbai on July 13 when three coordinated blasts ripped through three congested areas of India´s financial heart. Nearly 26 died in the blasts that occurred in Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House area of south Mumbai and Dadar West in central district.

Terror attack rocks Delhi:

The Pakistan-based militant group Harkat-ul-Jihadi took responsibility for the powerful blast that took the lives of 11 people and injured 65 others in Delhi. The explosions took place outside a New Delhi courthouse.

Kishenji: The endgame

Top Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji was killed on in an encounter between the rebels and the security forces in the forests of West Bengal's West Midnapore in November. The death of Kishenji was considered to be massive success of the security forces in their fight against Naxalism in India.

DIPLOMACY

India, Pakistan meet again:

Cricket diplomacy was the name of the game in 2011 for nuclear armed neighbours India and Pakistan. While the players of India and Pakistan were busy fighting each other in the World Cup semi-final match at Mohali, the political leaders from both the nations were busy resuming talks with each other and cricket played a perfect catalyst to the move. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani to attend the match and the show piece moment was frozen in frames when both the leaders sat beside each other to watch the clash on the cricket field. The Mohali match acted as the platform for both the nations to continue their relationships towards the positive direction after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai strained the diplomatic ties between the two.

Singh and Gilani met again during the 17th annual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Maldives. The leaders discussed on the core issues concerning both India and Pakistan.

Both assured that the next round of talks between the two would fetch more productive results. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at the end of the meeting: ""We have wasted lot of time in the past in acrimonious debate. The time has come to write a new chapter in the history of our relationships. Next round of talks should be far more productive. far more result-oriented in bringing the two countries closer to each other."

Chinese checkers:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabo met on the sidelines of the crucial ASEAN summit in Bali to discuss crucial issues. Singh told Wen that the two must work together and cooperate with each other as the two biggest economies of Asia.

However, Delhi still perceives China as one of the major threats and it was evident from the Indian Defence Ministry's upcoming 15-year integrated perspective plan focuses more on countering aggression from China, than Pakistan, in a testament to the ever shifting dynamics of security in South Asia.

The plan, currently in the final stages of preparation for all three military services, will be in force from 2012 to 2027 and is aimed at equipping the armed forces to move from the current stage of dissuasion to deterrence against China.

By 2020, India wants to have a dedicated mountain strike corps of over 90,000 soldiers specifically meant for Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, the two regions which share a tense and disputed border with China, and equipped for offensive operations.

To move towards that, the Indian defence Ministry wants all planned roads in these high-altitude areas to be completed on time and on priority.

India is also activating and revamping its air bases along the China border both in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. The process involves the maintaining of at least eight advanced landing grounds and arming the Nyoma air base, 25 km from the border, with the Sukhoi 30 fighter jets.

Meanwhile, China did not lose a single opportunity to prick India over the activities of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.

Business and Economy:

Tata search engine calls up a Cyrus

More than a year of speculation over who would run India's biggest business group ended in surprise when Tata Sons Ltd announced that Cyrus P Mistry, 43, will succeed the long-standing chairman, 73-year-old Ratan Tata.

For only the second time in the 143-year-old history of the salt-to-software conglomerate, whose business encompasses 100 companies spread over 80 countries and spanning six continents, that an "outsider" has been charged with its reins.

However, even though Mistry, as a myriad of pundits in opinion pieces point out, may not bear the Tata surname, yet he comes "as close as an outsider could come" to emulate the name that rings synonymous with "wealth, ethics and gentility".

It was Mistry´s grandfather who first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that currently stands at 18.5 percent making his father, a reclusive billionaire with an estimated wealth of $7.6 billion, the largest single shareholder in the firm mostly controlled by trusts.

With an engineering degree from the Imperial College in London and later a management masters from the London Business School, Cyrus Mistry had begun his career working for Shapoorji Pallonji Co in 1991 -- a post that he resigned from on Wednesday.

Mistry said, "I feel deeply honoured by this appointment. I am aware that an enormous responsibility, with a great legacy, has been entrusted to me. I look forward to Mr Tata´s guidance in the year ahead in meeting the expectations of the Group."

Ambanis: A family reunion

The entire Ambani clan, including both Anil and Mukesh Ambani, came together after years at a family reunion in December at Chorwad to celebrate the 80th birth anniversary of their father and acclaimed business tycoon Late Dhirubhai Ambai . The brothers were seen hugging and talking to each other in a very cordial manner while their wives enjoyed dancing to the tune of 'garba', a traditional Gujarati dance.

The two brothers, who prominently feature on lists of India´s richest people, were reportedly not on talking terms following their differences 'in the private domain'.

However, on June 18, 2005, Kokilaben Ambani announced a settlement through a press release and the two headed towards a split of the Reliance empire with Mukesh Ambani getting RIL and IPCL while Anil Ambani getting Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm.

The rupee tumbles:

Indian rupee downslide hit a record low in comparison to dollars in 2011. The Indian rupee posted its third straight week losses to end at 52.9600/9675 to the dollar on December 23.

FDI tyre deflates:

India's government on Nov 24 had announced its move to throw open India's $450 billion retail market to foreign supermarket giants like Wal-Mart, before the decision ran into a cacophony of dissent from both its allies and opposition.

For nearly two weeks the Indian parliament was stalled by the opposition who demanded a "non negotiable recall" of the cabinet move to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 percent in single brand retail.

After initially refusing to back down from the long-awaited step, the coalition government at the Centre, led by the Congress party, first appeared to suspend the decision after facing heat from allies over the move amid fierce hostility from the opposition.

ACCIDENTS

A death chamber

India was numbed by the shocking scenes from a swanky Kolkata hospital as a massive fire accident in the city's AMRI Hospital at Dhakuria snuffed out 93 lives. The accident acted as an eye-opener for all the major hospitals and shopping complexes of India, especially in connection to the fire safety measures, its routine violation and a negligent government bodies turning a blind eye often after their palms are greased. Seven directors of AMRI Hospital were arrested. Later two more arrests were also made in connection to the tragedy.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered an investigation and judicial enquiry into the fire tragedy while a five-member expert panel was formed to check the fire safety.

Top industrialists like Ravi Todi, SK Todi, Radhyashyam Goenka, Manish Goenka, Prashanta Goenka and Dayanand Agarwal, who were the board members for the hospital, were jailed after the incident.

The poisoned chalice

West Bengal received another major blow in the fag ends of the year as 143 people died after drinking spurious liquor South 24 Parganas district's Mograhat area. Hooch deaths are not uncommon in India, but the death toll in West Bengal crossed all previous records.

SPORTS

Cricket: The Champions

The dream of 1.21 billion people finally came true in 2011 as India lifted the World Cup after 28 long years. MS Dhoni and his men defeated the highly competitive Sri Lankan side in the final of the mega cricket event at Wankhede to bring back the 'cup of dreams' in the Indian soil. It was untimely Diwali (Hindu festival of lights) in the entire nation as the 'Men in Blue' re-established their dominance in the world on the historic night of April. That was a true moment of glory in a nation where cricket is no less than a religion.

The World Cup glory notwithstanding, the 100^th century of Sachin Tendulkar eluded him the whole year.

Indian Premiere League:

The cash-rich Indian Premiere League (IPL) title was won by Chennai Super Kings for the second consecutive time. MS Dhoni continued his golden run in the tournament as he became the first captain and Chennai Super Kings became the first team to win the tournament twice.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders reached the playoff round of the tournament under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.

Football:

India had an unsuccessful outing at Qatar as it hosted the AFC Asian Cup. India exited from the group rounds of the tournament and even failed to win a single match. Tough opponents like Australia, South Korea and Bahrain easily thrashed the young side. However, the players had a welcome experience in facing the tough sides of Asia.

Japan won the cup after a 1-0 win against Australia, and earned the right to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from AFC.

India defeated Afghanistan by 4-0 margin to lift the SAFF Cup in 2011. This was the sixth SAFF cup title that India won and maintained their domination in the game.

The end of an era:

Poster boy of Indian football Baichung Bhutia announced his international retirement in 2011. Under his captaincy, India had won several international tournaments including SAFF Cup, Nehru Cup and AFC Challenge Cup.

Badminton: Unlucky Saina

The dazzling duo, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, clinched the bronze medal at the World Championships. It was not a very glorious year for Saina Nehwal though as she went down to world number one Wang Yihan (China) in the finals to end up as runner-up in the BWF season-ending World Superseries Finals in Liuzhou, China in December. She is however the first Indian to make it to the final of the prestigious event.

Formula One: The race begins

India created history in 2011 as the nation hosted their first Formula One grand prix event at the show piece Buddh International Racing Circuit. For nearly a month the Indian media remained hooked to the developments around the show piece track. The country witnessed the high-speed performance of major F1 stars like Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Double World Champion Sebastian Vettel won the Indian Grand Prix in October.

Indian also cheered for their local hero Narain Karthikeyan in the major event at Delhi. He stood 17th in the race.

SHOWBIZ

Bollywood girl power

Bollywood churned out several memorable films in 2011 but it was Vidya Balan and her 'The Dirty Pictures' and Zoya Akhtar's 'Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara' that grabbed maximum attentions. Both films are associated some of the powerful Bollywood women like Zoya, Ekta Kapoor and Vidya Balan.

Vidya can easily be named as the 'queen' of 2011 as she kept the media and her fans busy in following her moves. Vidya reigned the tinsel town with her much publicized movie 'The Dirty Picture'. Based on the life of actor Silk Smitha, the film witnessed the transformation of Vidya to a new scale as she was seen smooching Emraan Hashmi and even making the hot moves to fit herself perfectly in the shoes of the Southern sensation. Basking in the glow of The Dirty Picture, when Vidya Balan was asked how it was like tasting the success and becoming a female "Khan", Vidya was quick to reply jokingly: "I feel the Khans should add 'Balan' to their names, rather than me adding a Khan."

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