As today is the last working day of
the year 2011 and I don't have any work to do (:-P), I decided to
utilize it by writing a small summary for the year that was. I intend to
compile a few important stories that touched us all through the year.
Here it goes:
January '11:
#
MNP launched in India.
Mr. Manmohan Singh launched MNP in India on Jan 20th.Now, mobile
subscribers in all service areas across the country have the choice of
selecting their telecom service provider within the Licensed Service
Area without changing their number provided a minimum period of 90 days
has elapsed after subscription to the mobile service of the current
service provider.
#
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi passed away on January 24, 2011.
He was an Indian vocalist in the Hindustani classical tradition. A
member of the Kirana Gharana (school), he is renowned for the khayal
form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional
music (bhajans and abhangs). He was the most recent recipient of the
Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, awarded in 2008.
You might remember him from the popular Doordashan video "
mile sur mera tumhara...".
February '11:
# The Central Bureau of Investigation on Feb 2
arrested the former Union Communications and Information Technology Minister, A. Raja,
and two officers who had worked under him, for their role in the grant
of licences and allocation of 2G spectrum during 2008 in violation of
established guidelines and procedures.
The Comptroller
and Auditor General of India had in its report estimated a presumptive
loss ranging from Rs. 57,000 crore to Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the
exchequer in the allocation of spectrum in 2007-08.
#
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup kick started.
It was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka,
and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup.
Fourteen national cricket teams competed in the tournament, including
ten full members and four associate members. The first match was played
on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The opening ceremony
was held on 17 February 2011 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka.
March '11:
#
Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan on March 11.
It was no normal Saturday morning as Japan reeled after an earthquake
and a tsunami struck it in deadly tandem. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake
set off a devastating tsunami that sent walls of water washing over
coastal cities in the north. Concerns mounted over possible radiation
leaks from two nuclear plants near the earthquake zone.
April '11:
# It was a moment cherished by a billion Indians on Saturday. The moment India captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifted the glittering ICC World Cup, ending a 28-year drought of World one-day championship wins for a cricket mad nation.
India
won the tournament defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final in
Mumbai. India became the first nation to win a World Cup final on home
soil. India's Yuvraj Singh was declared the man of the tournament.
#
Anna Hazare started an indefinite hunger strike on 5 April 2011
to exert pressure on the Indian government to enact a stringent
anti-corruption law as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, for the
institution of an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in
public places. The fast led to nation-wide protests in support of
Hazare. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, a day after the government
accepted Hazare's demands. The government issued a gazette notification
on the formation of a joint committee, consisting of government and
civil society representatives, to draft the legislation.
May '11:
#
Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, President Barack Obama has said. Bin Laden was shot dead at a compound near Islamabad, in a ground operation based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August. Mr Obama said US forces took possession of the body after "a firefight". Bin Laden is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and a number of others. He was top of the US' "most wanted" list.
The son of a wealthy Saudi construction family, Bin Laden grew up in a
privileged world. But soon after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan he
joined the mujahideen there and fought alongside them with his Arab
followers, a group that later formed the nucleus for al-Qaeda.
#
Mamata Banerjee, who ended the uninterrupted 34-year reign of the Left in West Bengal, scripted history when she was sworn in as the first woman Chief Minister of the state at the head of a Trinamool Congress-Congress coalition government.
The 56-year-old leader was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of the state at an impressive ceremony here by Governor M K Narayanan, who also administered the oath of office and secrecy to her.
June '11:
#
M F Husain died, aged 95, on 9 June 2011, following a heart attack. He had been unwell for several months. He died at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery on 10 June 2011.
Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as MF, was an eminent painter of Indian origin, although a Qatari national at the time of his death. He has been widely regarded as the "Picasso of India" and has influenced a whole generation of artists in the country.
July '11:
#
Three bomb blasts rocked India's largest city, Mumbai, in congested areas during the evening rush hour Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 100 others.
The bombings Wednesday brought back haunting memories in a city that has suffered before, including the massive assault by Pakistani gunmen that killed 164 people in November 2008.
Forensic experts and security forces using sniffer dogs pored over the bloody scenes, looking for evidence. Dazed survivors were comforted and police hosed down burning debris in the streets.
August '11:
#
London Riots. Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson.
Following a peaceful march on 6 August 2011 in relation to the police response to the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by Metropolitan Police Service firearms officers on 4 August 2011, a riot began in Tottenham, North London. In the following days, rioting spread to several London boroughs and districts and eventually to some other areas of England, with the most severe disturbances outside London occurring in Bristol and cities in the Midlands and North West of England. Related localised outbreaks also occurred in many smaller towns and cities in England.
#
Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, hailed as 'Elvis Presley of India' and whose famous yell 'Yahoo' signified the arrival of a rebel star against the reigning trio of his time Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar,
passed away here on Aug 14 morning due to chronic renal failure.
Shammi Kapoor is hailed as one of the most entertaining lead actors that Hindi cinema has ever produced. He was one of the leading stars of Hindi cinema during the late 1950s, the 1960s and early '70s. He made his Bollywood debut in 1953 with the film
Jeevan Jyoti, and went on to deliver hits like
Tumsa Nahin Dekha,
Dil Deke Dekho,
Junglee,
Dil Tera Diwana,
Professor,
China Town,
Rajkumar,
Kashmir Ki Kali,
Janwar,
Teesri Manzil,
An Evening in Paris,
Bramhachari,
Andaz and
Vidhaata. He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1968 for his performance in Brahmachari and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Vidhaata in 1982.
September '11:
#
Occupy Wall Street (OWS)
is a protest movement which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park,
located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, initiated by
the Canadian activist group Adbusters. The protests are against social
and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as
corruption, and the undue influence of corporations—particularly from
the financial services sector—on government. The protesters' slogan We
are the 99% refers to the growing income and wealth inequality in the
U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. The
protests in New York City have sparked similar Occupy protests and
movements around the world.
#
A strong earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal
on 18 September evening, touching off landslides, wrecking buildings
and sending people fleeing into the streets of Katmandu, the Nepalese
capital, and other cities.
At least 111 people were
killed in the earthquake. Most of the deaths occurred in Sikkim, with
reports of fatalities in and near Singtam in the East Sikkim district.
Several buildings collapsed in Gangtok. The quake came just a few days
after an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude hit Haryana's Sonipat district,
sending tremors in New Delhi.
October '11:
#
Steven P. Jobs,
the charismatic technology pioneer who co-founded Apple Inc. and
transformed one industry after another, from computers and smartphones
to music and movies, has
died. He was 56.
Apple announced the death of Jobs — whose legacy included the Apple II, Macintosh, iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.
#
Dennis Ritchie, founder of Unix and C,
dies at 70.
He was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital
era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time
colleague Ken Thompson, the Unix operating system. Ritchie was the head
of Lucent Technologies System Software Research Department when he
retired in 2007. He was the 'R' in K&R C and commonly known by his
username dmr.
The C language is widely used today in
application, operating system, and embedded system development, and its
influence is seen in most modern programming languages. Unix has also
been influential, establishing concepts and principles that are now
precepts of computing. Salute to him!!!
November '11:
#
Celebrated Indian singer Bhupen Hazarika dies.
Hazarika was best known for his folk songs and ballads, sung in a
number of Indian languages, but he also sang and wrote music for
hundreds of films.
He was known as the Bard of
Brahmaputra after the river flowing through his native Assam state in
eastern India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Indian
cinema's highest honour, for his contribution to film music. He sang one
of my favourite songs "
dil hoom hoom kare...".
Known
for writing bold lyrics with themes of communal amity, universal
justice and empathy, his songs have become popular among all sections of
ethnic and religious communities in Assam, besides West Bengal and
Bangladesh. He is acknowledged widely in the Hindi film industry for
introducing Hindi film to the sounds and folk music of Assam and
Northeast India.
December '11:
#
India's Sehwag smashes world record 219 in one-day international.
India's Virender Sehwag plundered the highest score in one-day
international cricket as his team routed the West Indies by 153-runs
Thursday to clinch their five-match series.
Sehwag
broke the previous best of 200 not out by his legendary compatriot
Sachin Tendulkar as he took advantage of a perfect batting wicket at the
Holkar Stadium in Indore.
He picked up 25 boundaries and seven sixes, surviving a dropped catch by West Indies captain Darren Sammy while on 170.
He
was finally caught in the deep off Kieron Pollard after putting on 176
for the first wicket with Gautam Gambhir (67) and 140 for the second
with Suresh Raina (55).
#
Bollywood legend Dev Anand dies at 88 in London. His career spanned more than 65 years with acting in 114 Hindi films of which 110 have him play the main lead actor.
The
Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2002 for his contribution to Indian cinema.
His films included
Guide,
Paying Guest and
Jewel Thief. Over the course of his 65-year career, which began in 1946, Anand became one of India's iconic actor-directors.
He was the evergreen superstar of Indian Cinema.
That's all from me. In case, I have missed something, do suggest! ;)
//Shivam
