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2012:
Year of survival (JUSTABOUT!)
By Raj Chengappa editor-in-chief
IN eschatology, the
theological science concerned with the final events in the history of
mankind, 2012 had long since been marked in Mayan mythological
calendars as the planet’s expiration date. Even the day of the
Apocalypse was given: 21 December, 2012. Many had whipped themselves
into a frenzy in anticipation of the "four last things":
death, judgment, heaven and hell.
Nation
Rise of the Regional
Satraps
The year saw regional
parties as well as leaders assume a larger role and acquire a greater
say at the Centre. Be it in Punjab, Himachal, West Bengal or Andhra
Pradesh, regional bosses may decide the contours of the political
landscape in future
K V Prasad
OVER the past three
decades India has seen a rapid rise of strong regional parties and
satraps who not only control the destiny of the denizens of their
respective areas of influence but also seek to control the direction
of nation policies, processes and politics.
President Pranab Da
K V Prasad
IT is not often that a
serving Union Minister moves from the corridors of power on the North
Block and Parliament House up the Raisina Hill to become the President
of India. Four immediate predecessors of Pranab Mukherjee came from
different backgrounds, with three being elevated from the
gubernatorial posts.
The Grand Old Party:
Shaken and Stirred
It was not party time
for the Congress as it had to defend a UPA besieged by scams. Pushed
against the wall, it finally made an effort to get its act together
and the victory in the Himachal Assembly elections was a morale
booster
Anita Katyal
Shortly after the
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh election results were declared, jubilant
Congress leaders exulted over their victory in the hill state,
declaring triumphantly, "You can never underestimate our party.
It has the ability and the capacity to fight back when it is down and
out."
The Nation’s Dark
Knights of Dishonour
Records of public
impropriety were shattered by the new Rs 1.86 lakh crore Coalgate scam
which eclipsed the 2G scam
Aditi Tandon
THE year 2012 will go
down in history as a scam-ridden year that saw several corruption
scandals rock the country. Past records of public impropriety were
shattered as the national auditor estimated Rs 1.86 lakh crore losses
to the nation due to non-transparent allocation of coal mines by the
government to private beneficiaries who never cared to even mine the
ore.
Here
comes the Aam Aadmi
Arvind Kejriwal has the knack
of simplifying complex issues and has managed to project the problems
that affect the common man. He has succeeded in harnessing the angst
of the youth
Vibha Sharma
THE
new-age politician Arvind Kejriwal is armed with an ability to make
that all-important connect with the aam aadmi (a pre-requisite for any
leader), he may not be your regular conventional orator but his
rhetoric manages to hold attention. In just about a year and a half he
managed to transcend from being an aam aadmi to a khaas
aadmi.
THE
STATES
The
Badals: Good History, Bad Politics
From the euphoria
following a thumping record victory to the flak drawn by the
gradual erosion of law and order with the murder of an ASI in
broad daylight, it was a rollercoaster year for the SAD-BJP
combine in Punjab
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Every
year leaves behind a definite past replete with sweet and sour
memories. This year, political history was made in the state when,
bucking the anti-incumbency factor, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP
combine stormed back to power in March this year registering a
straight second win in the Assembly elections.
The
Old Man of the Hills Makes a Royal Return
Virbhadra Singh campaigned to
bring the Congress to power in Himachal Pradesh, helped, of course, by
the infighting in the BJP
Rakesh Lohumi
IT
was a politically eventful year marked by tumultuous developments in
the two mainstream parties, culminating in the exit of the BJP and
return of the Congress to power in the state with the indomitable
Virbhadra Singh taking over as Chief Minister for a record sixth time.
A
State of Law and Disorder
What with the industrial
violence at Manesar and a rising number of rape cases being reported,
the image of Haryana took a beating
Naveen S Garewal
Haryana
went through a roller coaster ride during 2012. From major
announcements of developmental and educational projects to fall in the
law and order situation and upheaval on the political front, Haryana
had its share of everything. But what has struck in public memory is
the frequent reports of rapes and crime against women like the
abetment of suicide of air hostess Geetika Sharma by the then Haryana
Minister of State for Home, Gopal Krishan Kanda.
The
Winds of Change
The people of J&K can
look forward due to the internal progress that they have made this
year
Arun Joshi
There
is a light at the end of the tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir. That the
state has come out of the shadows of gun and dark days of the past 22
years, is an old story. The stars of this highly sensitive state may
not be as bright as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would like the 12
million people, scattered all across this hyper sensitive state, to
believe.
WORLD
Tackling
Neighbours and their Hoods
India devoted much of its
energy to mending fences with China and Pakistan without much
return
Ashok Tuteja
Even
as India devoted much of its energy to improving ties with China
and Pakistan in 2012, wrinkles appeared in the time-tested
relationship with Russia over a host of issues. India
was virtually caught off guard in the neighbourhood as the
Mohammed Nasheed regime was dislodged in the Maldives and then the
new government terminated the Male airport development project
awarded to Indian infrastructure major GMR amid growing Chinese
influence in the archipelago.
In
Afghanistan, No End in Sight to the Misery
The US-led multinational
forces have realised that the extremists cannot be handled effectively
with military might alone
Syed Nooruzzaman
THE
world has done all it could to eliminate the Taliban but without
success. The US-led multinational forces have used all the tactics
they could think of to make the Taliban irrelevant in the Af-Pak
region, but at the end of it all they have indirectly accepted that
the extremists cannot be handled effectively with military might
alone.
DEFENCE
& DEVELOPMENT
Armed
Forces: Trials, Turmoil & Torpor
Serious deficiencies in
the capabilities of its military-industrial complex and the
Defence Research and Development Organisation remain a major
hurdle in India's efforts to become a power to reckon with
Dinesh Kumar
IT
was a year when lots happened but little changed. Most issues and
incidents that occurred through the year were either on
predictable lines or a repeat of India’s contemporary defence
history. There were less
acquisitions of defence equipment and more delays, most notably
that of the aircraft carrier from Russia.
UPA
Deals its Smart Card, But Will it Work?
The Aadhar scheme could prove
to be a make-or-break gamble for the UPA
Kuljit Bains
FOR
the UPA, running a government that anchors its philosophy on the Aam
Aadmi, launch of the Aadhar-based subsidy disbursal will undoubtedly
stand out as the prime initiative of 2012 in social welfare, even as
most of its other flagship schemes came under intense criticism or
required deep review.
ECoNOMY
& BUSINESS
Breaking
the Coalition Logjam, Finally
The FDI triumph in
Parliament was a reprieve for the UPA II in a year marked by
inertia, political slugfest and disruptions in the House. It was
policy paralysis in the first half to reforms rush in the second
half
Nirmal Sandhu
IT
was a year that saw India's economic growth plunge to a decade low
of 5.3 per cent, pushed by high inflation, tight monetary policy,
two bad budgets, a deficient monsoon, debt troubles in Europe and
an anaemic recovery in the US. Though each of these factors
contributed to the slowdown, government inertia and political
slugfest stand out.
Searching
for the Silver Lining Amid Gloom
Spooked by new scams,
allegations of crony capitalism and slow decision making, India had a
listless year
Sanjeev Sharma
THE
world did not end in 2012 as the Mayans had supposedly predicted but
apocalypse or not, the global economy went through a tortuous period
of pain and adjustment. India
too, had an anaemic year of progress with GDP growth rate plummeting
to around 5.5 per cent levels and estimates are that this financial
year will be the slowest pace of growth in a decade.
SPORTS
The
Grit, the Glory and the Ignominy
For Indian sports, it was the
best of times and the worst of times. If our sportspersons brought us
a record haul of medals, the Olympic Association brought disgrace over
irregularities in its elections
Rohit Mahajan & MS
Unnikrishnan
India’s
unprecedented six-medal haul in the London Olympics, the retirement of
some old guards from cricket and the International Olympic
Committee’s (IOC’s) suspension of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA),
and the issues related to the implementation of the contentious Sports
Code of the Government dominated the Indian sports scene in the year
gone by.
SOCIETY
No
Country for Women
The inconceivable depravity
of each crime committed through the year against women across
rural-urban, rich-poor, educated-illiterate divide shocked the nation
Vandana Shukla
THE
entire discourse on gender issues remained confined to rising numbers
and brutalisation of sexual crimes against women this year. This,
unfortunately, resulted in the intensification of moral surveillance
over their lives. The year began on a sad note for Indian women. In
June, a Thomas Reuters Foundation survey found India to be the most
dangerous place for women to live in.
Art’s
Here, But Where’s the Gallery?
Two major events changed the
way art is viewed by lovers and buyers
Vandana Shukla
THIS
year, two major art fairs changed the way art is viewed by
connoisseurs and commoners. One, by its success, and the other, by its
absence, despite a highly publicised launch. The year began with the
much-hyped success of the Fourth edition of India Art Fair.
Reading
in the e-Book Age
It was a year with many good
books, and with the introduction of Kindle store in India, a number of
Indians started reading e-books
Roopinder Singh
WHAT
do you say about the year in which the blockbuster, the world over,
including in India, was an erotic book which left critics’ search
for literary merit largely unfulfilled? You may hope for a better one
down the list, only to find out that the other bestsellers that
followed were part of the same trilogy.
FASHION
& SCI-TECH
Less
of Spice, More of Substance
Experimentation and novelty
became the ingredients of fashion that was garnished well with
traditional works and regional imprints. It was a peaceful year for
the fashion industry, minus any rows, which was why it could focus on
its core area — fashion
Ashima Batish
WHAT
a controversy-deprived year it had been for the Indian fashion
industry! Minus any wardrobe malfunctions, model-fashion designer
tussles, or a showdown between fashion and Bollywood representatives,
2012 was more or less peaceful; with only fashion doing all the
talking. The Indian fashion industry had a year to itself which was
less on spice, more on substance!
Discovering
the God Particle & Cloud Computing
Great scientific discoveries,
progressively better gadgets, there were some celebrations and a few
grouses
Roopinder Singh
WHAT
a year that was! Scientists found something that had been in existence
for 13 billion years! Still they were not absolutely sure, just a
99.9997 certain that they had created and observed the Higgs Boson at
the CERN supercollider. Yes, it created a great deal of excitement in
the world, not in the least because it had been named the God
particle.
ENTERTAINMENT
When
Small Became Beautiful Again
The divide between
big-budget films and offbeat entertainers grew wider than ever
before as a slew of small budget and unconventional films went
down well with the audience and redefined the parameters of
commercial success
Saibal Chatterjee
IN
Bollywood, what stood out in 2012 was the frenetic scramble among
the A-list stars to break into the Rs 100-crore club. By the end
of the year, the five reigning male stars — Shah Rukh Khan,
Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan — had
at least one release each that crossed the three-figure mark in
terms of boxoffice collection. What a year!
mISCELLANY
Close
Encounters
From the Saifeena wedding
to Sherlyn Chopra making it to the cover of Playboy,
paparazzi had much to write about
Nonika Singh
AH!
the beautiful people. Wherever we go, whatever we do, they
dominate our lives like no one else does. They make news in life
and in death, in sickness and in health, in the best of their
designer attires. No prizes for guessing that the woman who hogged
the media limelight was no less than royalty. Caught off guard
while vacationing at a private château in France, Kate
Middleton’s nude sunbathing cost her dear and earned her some
embarrassing moments.
credits
Edited by: Roopinder Singh, Aruti Nayar, Renu Manish Sinha and Seema Sachdeva
Design & layout: Ashwani Narang, Gaurav Sood, Sanjeev Kumar and Ishmeet Kaur
Photo coordination: Manjit Singh
Photos: The Tribune and agencies |
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