2001 LINE OF FIRE

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striking at the jugular of Indian democracy, five terrorists attacked Parliament House on December 13. Security Forces were able to kill all of them, but not before losing five of their own. The ruling nda blamed Pakistan-based terrorist groups for the attack. A stand-off between the two countries followed the attack, which saw one of the largest deployments of troops since the 1971 war.

BIG DEAL

A sting operation caught several politicians including BJP’s Bangaru Laxman accepting bribes for alleged defence deals.

QUAKING DEATH

The Bhuj earthquake that struck on the morning of January 26, Republic Day, measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. One month after the tremblor, official figures placed the death toll at 19,727 and the number of injured at 166,000. Official estimates put the number of earthquake affected, directly or indirectly, at 15.9 million people out of a total population of 37.8 million.

FIRST CUT

• An eight-lane expressway between Delhi and Noida opened in January; the Noida Toll Bridge was the first infrastructure facility to be funded partly with money raised from the capital market.
• Apple introduced iPod, a break-through MP3 music player that holds 1,000 cd-quality songs in an ultra-portable, 6.5 ounce design that fits in your pocket.

That when Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi was shot dead by three armed men outside her home, she was about to lead a rebellion against Mulayam Singh Yadav in the Samajwade Party.

“LO, AB HO GAYI SIKHNI”

Imagine that a line such as this—equal parts pin-up patriotism and kitschy Bollywood romance—could become a political hot potato. In an age of intolerance, it did. Gadar, a typical Partition romance, set the box office on fire as it grossed over Rs 50 crore in two weeks, becoming one of the biggest hits in Bollywood ever. But the film more than lived up to its name outside the cinema, as it sparked off protests from the Muslim and Sikh communities to some scenes.

LOW OF THE LADY J. Jayalalithaa

She may have been down but she was never out of the running for Tamil Nadu’s top position. Despite being convicted in the TANSI land deal, J. Jayalalithaa was appointed chief minister after her victory in the assembly elections on May 14. In the process, she became only the second convicted political leader, after Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh, to become a chief minister.

Two Much Trouble

V.V.S. Laxman’s 376-runs partnership with Rahul Dravid set the stage for Indian’s thrilling 171-run victory over Australia at the Eden Gardens. Laxman scored 281, an Indian record at the time.

ELSEWHERE…

All it took was a determined group of 19 to do what the the Third Reich, Imperial Japan and the nuclear power of Soviet Union couldn’t—strike the military and financial heart of America. On September 11, two planes struck the towers of the World Trade Center, killing 3,000 and reducing to rubble the most poignant symbol of America. Another plane hit the Pentagon military headquarters, while a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Rs 700 crore was the amount of money lost during all of the the January 2 Northern Grid power black-out. The grid failure left seven states and a union territory in darkness. Even vip areas like the Rashtrapati Bhawan were not spared.

Courtesy By India Today