Source: http://trak.in/news/ten-moments-that-defined-india-flashback-2009/40095/
1 . Satyam Computer Services: The entire edifice of corporate governance in
India was shaken Jan 7 when leading IT entrepreneur B. Ramalinga Raju admitted
to a $1.4 billion fraud over several years in the company he had founded and
nursed into one of the largest software exporters. But the country’s regulatory
system acted swiftly and decisively to stem its ramifications. Result: Satyam
Computer Services has been acquired by the Mahindra group and is well on its
road to recovery and growth.
2. ‘Jai Ho’ at the Oscars: It was India’s day at the Academy Awards on Feb 22
when ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, based on a book by Indian diplomat Vikas Swaroop,
grabbed eight Oscars. These included two Oscars for Best Original Score and
Best Original Song for Indian maestro A.R. Rahman, who also performed at the
event, and for Best Sound Mixing for Rasul Pookutty. Also figuring in the Oscar
list was veteran lyricist Gulzar who shared with Rahman the award for Best
Original Song.
3. People’s car Nano: When Ratan Naval Tata, chairman of the $62 billion Tata
group, handed the keys of a gleaming lunar silver-coloured Nano to its proud
owner on July 17, he kept his promise of delivering a ‘people’s car’ for all of
Rs.100,000 (less than $2,500) at factory gates. In the process, India found a
place on the world automobile map, as the small car had been grabbing
unprecedented global attention, and was even compared with Model T and
Volkswagen Beetle.
4. Manmohan Singh: The soft-spoken Sikh defied pollsters to spearhead a
stunning victory for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and get a second
consecutive term as prime minister, only the second man after Jawaharlal Nehru
to do so. He was sworn in May 22 after a staggered election that dealt
crippling blows to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties while
giving the Congress 185 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha.
5. Maoist siege: From obscurity to notoriety, Lalgarh in West Bengal was flung
to the national centrestage by Maoist guerrillas who laid virtual siege on the
area. It took a massive operation in June to flush out the Maoists. But Lalgarh
was only the tip as Maoists cut a swathe of violence through the country with
landmine blasts, explosions at public buildings and ambushing of police.
6. Moon Mission: India’s mooncraft Chandrayaan-I was aborted Aug 30, but the
‘baby’ had done its job by finding water on the moon, project director of the
country’s maiden lunar mission M. Annadurai said Sep 24. It was a proud moment
for India when two NASA spacecraft confirmed the discovery. Chandrayaan-I
carried five Indian instruments and six from abroad, including M3 and another
from NASA, three from the European Space Agency (ESA), and one from Bulgaria.
7. Sachin Tendulkar: Cricket’s ace bat Sachin Tendulkar hit another high when
he crossed the milestone of 17,000 ODI runs with a masterful 175 against
Australia in Hyderabad Nov 5. Tendulkar crossed the landmark during his 435th
game, continuing his brilliance even 20 years after he stepped on the
international scene way back in 1989.
8. Madhu Koda: From a labourer in an iron ore mine to the highest echelons of
power as chief minister of Jharkhand, Madhu Koda, 38, wrote himself into the
biggest corruption scandal as the centre of a Rs.2,500 crore money laundering
scam. The former chief minister was arrested Nov 30. With him in the mega scam
are several of his ministerial colleagues.
9. ULFA arrests: Bringing a long- term hunt to an end, chairman of outlawed
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Arabinda Rajkhowa was arrested Dec 4
along with his deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah and several others. The
56-year-old had been in Bangladesh for close to two decades, operating out of
bases in that country to carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes in Assam.
10. Telangana: The year ended on a stormy political note when the central
government announced Dec 9 that it would go ahead with the formation of a
separate state of Telangana. The move saved Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)
chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, who was on the 11th day of his hunger strike, and
restored calm in Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana region. But there were violent
protests in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, splitting political parties
along regional lines.
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