Oh what a roller coaster ride 2015 has been! Happiness, sadness, laughter and tears- we’ve seen them all. It is now time to bid the eventful year goodbye with a tinge of nostalgia and arms open for a brand new roller coaster ride! For those who wish to remember some of the events that left a mark in our hearts and minds, here is a list of the things that happened in India in a nutshell!
The year started with a landmark visit of US President Barack Obama to India to take part in the Republic Day celebration. For the first time in the history of India’s Republic Day, women empowerment in the armed forces was showcased as an all-women contingent from the three forces — Army, Air Force and Navy — marched down the majestic Rajpath.
AAP creates history with a landslide victory in Delhi Elections.
Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi party made historic with their landslide victory in Delhi. A well spelled out manifesto and innovative methods of campaigning and requesting people to give him a second chance at bringing a corruption free government was what brought about this miracle after his 49-day debacle as the Chief Minister in 2014 when he and his supporters had been written off by their political opponents.
The Aam Aadmi Party won 67 seats in the 70 seat Assembly.
7.9 Magnitude earthquake shakes Nepal
Devastation struck in Nepal when, on April 25 an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 left as many as 9000 dead and 23,000 injured. The impact of the quake left 4,50,000 displaced. Nepal’s economy was shattered. But in this time of darkness, India became a ray of light and hope by leading an international rescue mission to help rebuild Nepal.
Vyapam Scam
The Madhya Pradesh Examination board was faced with one of the biggest, most controversial scams this year when it came to light that theVyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam) Board officials were involved in conducting several admission tests in the State, accepting bribes and allotting higher ranks to undeserving candidates
The scam soon rose as one of national interest with the plot getting thicker. Several people related to the scam lost their lives and allegations were made against top politicians in the State Government. The Supreme Court, in July, handed the case over to the CBI.
It has been more than five months since the CBI was handed over the case, however, the case has still not been solved. No fresh arrests have been made.
Dadri Lynching
The entire nation woke up to the shocking news of Muhammad Akhlaq belonging to Bisara, Dadri being lynched by a mob on 28 September for allegedly storing beef in his house. The sad incident was further fuelled with inflammatory messages made by politicians. It led to the common notion that India is becoming ‘intolerant’.
The sad irony of the whole situation was that it was recently found that the meat in his house was not beef but mutton. An innocent life was lost and family shattered owing to misunderstanding and mob behavior.
Award Wapsi
The Dadri Lynching incident took a new turn when PM Modi refused to speak about the issue. His silence led several writers, film personalities who had received awards from the State to return their awards as a sign of protest against growing intolerance in the country.
Intolerance tow
The year 2015 is incomplete without discussing intolerance row. The debate over intolerance became one of the talking points in 2015 involving a number of political parties and famous personalities. Two super stars, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan even faced sharp criticism following their comments suggesting that ‘intolerance’ has been on rise in India. While King Khan’s ‘Dilwale’ took a beating due to the remark, one may have to wait and watch what fate awaits Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’ which is due to release in 2016.
Mangaluru included in the list of 98 Smart Cities
It was a proud moment for Mangaluru when the city’s name was included in the list of 98 cities released by the Union Government in August 2015.
All the cities put 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.
Chennai records highest rainfall in 100 years
Chennai received the highest rainfall recorded in 100 years in the first week of December as a result of which the state was flooded and was declared a disaster zone after hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands were stranded. The airport was closed and several trains to Chennai were either cancelled or diverted due to waterlogging.
Rescue operations were carried out to help the people stranded there. Although natural calamity, the flood somehow brought the nation together after a series of incidents leading to believe that India is an intolerant nation. 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.
Sonia, Rahul Gandhi granted bail in National Herald case
In the recent hearing of the National Herald case, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were granted bail by a Delhi court. They were 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.
Maggi Ban lifted
Five months after Maggi noodles was taken off shelves, Nestle India resumed sales of the popular instant noodles brand in India.
Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had slapped a nationwide ban on Maggi in June alleging that the snack contained excessive quantities of lead.
The Bombay High Court, however, overturned the ruling and ordered fresh tests.
“We are delighted to announce that your beloved Maggi noodles is back…same taste, same pack and same price. It has been a challenging period for the company, and therefore, there is a feeling of satisfaction at bringing back Maggi noodles to the market…we will take some time to cover all the 4 million stores where Maggi was available earlier,” Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said.
Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore
Ending the year in a friendly note was none other than our very own Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in December paid a surprise visit to Lahore and wished Pak Prime Minister Nawab Sharif on his birthday. While Modi gifted a pink Rajasthani turban to his counterpart, Sharif reciprocated to the friendly gesture by donning the same on his grand-daughter’s wedding. Looks like, the two countries will move forward keeping hostilities aside.
State News
IAS officer DK Ravi’s death sparks protests
The death of 35-year-old 2009-batch IAS officer DK Ravi became national news leading into protests across the state. The officer was found dead in his Bengaluru residence on 16 March after allegedly hanging himself. The case which was initially probed by CID was given to CBI, which reportedly confirmed that it was a suicide.
A lot of the outrage over Ravi’s death centred around the mysterious circumstances of his death. Whether it was a suicide due to political pressure or alleged personal reasons or a planned murder, DK Ravi’s sudden death left many shocked.
Tipu Jayanti turns the state into a warzone
The state government’s decision to celebrate freedom fighter Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary across the state, turned violent and erupted protests from several parts of the state. Many right wing groups and opposition parties opposed the move. In the violent clashes against the celebrations, several districts witnessed a bandh and in the clashes two persons lost their lives.
Congress-JD(S) coalition wins BBMP polls
The crucial BBMP elections which saw BJP winning 100 of 198 seats in the August 22 BBMP polls witnessed the Congress- JD(S) coalition win the mayoral elections.
BJP had won 100 wards out of 198 and Congress 76, JDS 14 and others eight. Besides corporators, the 260-member BBMP Council includes 62 other members from Bengaluru with voting rights. They include Members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, MLAs and MLCs.
Following JDS deciding to join hands with Congress for the mayoral polls BJP filed a petition in Karnataka High Court, challenging Section 10 of Karnataka Municipal Act 1976, which allows both non-corporators and corporators to participate in the Mayoral poll.
Manjunatha Reddy of Congress was elected as the new mayor while Hemalatha Gopalaiah of the JD(S) was elected the deputy mayor.
The election loss was a huge setback for the BJP as it could not come into power for the second time.
Dharwad or Raichur? IIT location sparks outrage
Centre’s decision to select Dharwad as the location for setting up IIT, led to protests in Raichur.
Two weeks after Dharwad got the Centre’s nod as the location for Karnataka’s first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), CM Siddaramaiah wrote a letter to the Union ministry for human resource development (HRD) to reconsider its decision and locate the premier technology institute in Raichur, as it is the state’s most backward district and moreover and Dharwad has already been sanctioned an IIIT (Indian Institute for Information Technology).
Several pro-kannada organisations had called for a bandh and demanded IIT.
Right wing activist Prashanth Poojary murder case
The murder of Prashanth Poojary on October 9, a flower vendor, Bajrang dal member and a Hindutva activist, by six bike-borne miscreants, in Moodbidri led to communal tension in the region with the police deploying additional forces.
Poojary was against animal trafficking and has been involved in several raids on slaughter houses in the past. Poojary’s opposition to the beef industry was said to be one of the reasons behind the murder. The police arrested several people who were alleged to be members of the Popular Front of India, a radical Islamic Organisation.
Rationalist MM Kalburgi’s murder
MM Kalburgi (78), renowned Kannada writer, research scholar and rationalist was shot dead in Dharwad on August 30. The brutal killing entered the history books as he is the first litterateur from Karnataka to be shot dead allegedly for his views on idol worship and Hindu rituals.
Though no group or persons have claimed responsibility for killing the rationalist, initial reports suggested that right-wing activists might be involved. At present the case is probed by CID and said to have collected crucial evidence which has links to other rationalists Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar murder case.
The murder of Kalburgi lead to returning of Sahitya academy awards from writers across the nation.
SI Jagadish stabbed by Bike Thieves while on duty
Another shocking incident of the 34-year-old police sub-inspector who was stabbed to death by two notorious thieves made it to the top crime stories of 2015. The officer working in rural Bengaluru was stabbed to death by two vehicle thieves he was chasing in the Nelamangala town on the outskirts of Bengaluru city.
Main accused Madhu and Harish Babu were arrested at Nagpur railway station in Maharashtra after a week.
The Chief minister announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 30 lakh to the family of the officer as well as Rs 20 lakh from a special group insurance scheme.
Well, like they say- All’s well that ends well! Team News Karnataka wishes all its readers a wonderful 2016 and thanks all of you for spending yet another wonderful year with us! Happy New Year Folks!
