Independence Day Special.

In this issue

26-08-202250 STORIES

India at 75: Epochal moments post 2010

The demonetisation saga, a Kashmir divided, and the farmers’ agitation.

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India at 75: Epochal moments from the 2000s

Riots, a range of protests, and the start of a rural job scheme.

India at 75: Epochal moments from the 1990s

The Mandal report, the kamandal counter, and economic reforms.

India at 75: Epochal moments from the 1980s

Sporting glory and the start of mandir-masjid politics.

1951-52: First ever general election

Conducted over a period of four months, a total of 17.3 crore voters were registered.

1967: First performance of Vijay Tendulkar’s Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe

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Science & Technology

India at 75 | Timeline: Science

Tracking India’s remarkable progress through milestones in its scientific journey.

R. Ramachandran

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letters

India at 75 | Timeline: Art

It overcame a colonial hangover to create a unique and vibrant place for itself.

Anupama Katakam

India at 75 | Timeline: Cinema

Indian cinema never wavered from its role as cultural unifier.

Ramesh Chakrapani

INDIA-LGBT/

India at 75 | Timeline: Gender

Gender continues to be a deeply contested and unjust space.

India at 75 | Timeline: Environment

There have been innumerable hurdles, but the battle remains spirited.

India at 75 | Timeline: Labour

Working-class movements played a key role in giving an impetus to the national movement.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

2012: Mary Kom wins Olympic medal

She had already become a sporting legend in India before winning an Olympic medal.

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2012: Nirbhaya case

The memory continues to sear the conscience of Indians.

2016: Demonetisation

The government was not prepared to handle the mayhem that followed the announcement.

2020: Farmers take the country by storm

It showed how a peaceful and democratic protest could challenge the might of the state.

1991: Coming of satellite television

The fight for TRPs resulted in channels adding more and more programmes.

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2021: Death of Stan Swamy

His death marked the lowest point in the judicial process of the Bhima Koregaon case.

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2019: Special status of Jammu and Kashmir revoked

The erstwhile State was also bifurcated into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh.

1985: Assam Accord signed

At the core of the Accord was the “Foreigners Issue”.

1980: Prakash Padukone wins All England Championship

The year 1980 turned out to be the turning point for both Padukone and Indian sports.

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1983: First Maruti 800 car rolls out

It was a giant leap for the collective aspirations of the Indian middle class.

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2021: COVID-19 second wave

Cremation grounds and burials were so overburdened that they had to turn away bodies.

2018: Section 377 struck down

The Supreme Court bench placed emphasis on the dignity and choice of individuals.

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2006: Forest Rights Act

The main objective is to recognise the rights of the forest dwelling tribal communities.

2006: Rural job scheme MGNREGA introduced

It is credited with enabling a second term for Manmohan Singh’s government in 2009.

2003: Anju Bobby George wins India’s first medal in World Athletics

She was one of the most consistent performers in Indian athletics history.

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2002: Godhra riots

It is considered India’s worst riot since Partition.

2000: Vishy and the chess revolution

Anand is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest chess players ever.

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2000: Irom Sharmila begins fast for repeal of AFSPA

From a normal, life-loving, gentle young woman, she became the “Iron Lady of Manipur”.

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1984: First TV soap ‘Hum Log’ aired

The serial dealt deftly with issues that were prevalent at the time.

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1984: Hanging of Maqbool Bhat

Bhat’s body was not returned to his family, which sparked widespread fury in Kashmir.

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1984: P.T. Usha misses Olympic medal by a whisker

Usha galvanised an entire generation to take to track and field.

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1983: India wins cricket World Cup

That day on, cricket rose from being just a popular sport to a national obsession.

1982: Festival of India

The festivals were the first attempts to present India through Indian eyes.

1989: Binaca Geetmala

The story of its success is that of the triumphant march of Hindi film music.

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1987: Airing of ‘Ramayan’

It laid the foundation for Hindu nationalism and reshaped the public sphere irrevocably.

1986: Babri Masjid unlocked

It generated a political energy that culminated in the mosque’s ultimate destruction.

1985: Narmada Bachao Andolan

The Narmada Valley project was conceived in 1946, but work on it started only in 1978.

1999: The Y2K moment

As the 1990s ended, there was panic across the world.

1994: S.R. Bommai judgment

The case ended peremptory dismissals of State governments by an antagonistic Centre.

1992: The Harshad Mehta scam

The securities scam introduced a bouquet of historic changes.

1991: Economic reforms

In hindsight, India’s liberalisation has been a mix of hits and misses.

1990: Lal Krishna Advani embarks on rath yatra

The yatra was the biggest mass mobilisation of Hindutva forces.

1990: Anti-Mandal agitation and identity politics

The Mandal moment fragmented north Indian voters decisively on caste lines.

2007: Nandigram protest

The Left in Bengal never quite managed to fully recover from the turn of incidents.

1984: Kanshi Ram launches Bahujan Samaj Party

The Dalit cause became a political movement in north India with the BSP.

1985: Shah Bano case

The judgment was a landmark in India’s constitutional history.

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Scripting a cultural continuum

What does the Sahitya Akademi mean to ordinary Indians, readers, and writers today?

Anita E. Cherian

Archive

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