2008…a mixed bag
MURALI N. KRISHNASWAMY
|
A year with India in the headlines for good and bad reasons. Good, when Tendulkar and Adiga came out winners, bad when terror struck our shores…
|
It’s another eventful (leap) year. Perhaps, more than ever, sport dominated the headlines. The Olympics and then … individual records. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the leading scorer (test cricket) and also the first ba
tsman to score 12, 413 runs. And has just completed his 41st century. 2008 was designated “the International Year of Planet Earth, the International Year of Languages, the International Year of the Potato, the International Year of Sanitation, the International Year of the Frog and the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue”.
It was a shaky start in January when the price of crude hit $100 for the first time. This and the global economic crisis were to cast their dark shadows on much of the year. However, much happened towards the end of it.
First, there were some of those who left us — mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, Indonesian President Suharto, activist Baba Amte, writers Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton, actors Charlton Heston, Sydney Pollack and Paul Newman, politicians Harkishan Singh Surjeet and V.P. Singh, singer Miriam Makeba and Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw.
But it was the Olympic Games, the global financial crisis and the election of Barack Obama that dominated the headlines.
In the world of transportation, the world’s largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380 (with Singapore Airlines) completed a year of service, while the QE2, retired, to become a floating hotel in Dubai. And, the first model of the Bullet train has headed for the shed.
winner: Aravind Adiga
Losses and prizes
A little known event, the loss of a few members of the endangered Onges in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands highlighted the plight of the vanishing tribes of the world. There was hope yet for the tiger, with the creation of four new tiger reserves in India.
Pope Benedict XVI announced the canonization of Sister Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, the first woman of Indian origin to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
Anil Kumble finished his career as the third-highest Test wicket-taker (619), behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. Sport also witnessed the achievements of Viswanathan Anand and Rafael Nadal. The world of books saw Aravind Adiga, and his debut novel, The White Tiger, win the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
And finally, there is something that was used in compiling this article, and in the limelight. The humble computer mouse turned 40! Its inventor, Doug Engelbart, didn’t become a millionaire though!
Olympic heights
The most watched event of the year, and the most expensive Olympic Games to date — the Beijing Olympics. Its motto was “One World, One Dream” and the magnificent opening and closing ceremonies at that great National Stadium, or the Bird’s Nest were memorable. It saw the emergence of Jamaica’s Usain “Lightning” Bolt with world record runs and Michael Phelps owning the pool with an eight gold medal performance. China captured the most gold medals. It was great news for India too with Abhinav Bindra’s gold (shooting) and bronze medals for Vijender Kumar (boxing) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling).
Countering terror
It was nearly 60 hours of terror. The November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks came to an end when, under “Operation Black Tornado”, the heroes, the National Security Guard commandos regained control. At least 164 people (civilians and security personnel) lost their lives. While one terrorist who was captured formed part of the trail of evidence leading back to Pakistan, the attacks caused a shake-up in the political establishment and saw both controversial media coverage and widespread public anger.
Going downhill?
The global financial crisis of 2008, still sending shockwaves across the world, has been called the worst of its kind since the Great Depression. It became obvious in September 2008 with the problems that affected a number of U.S.-based financial firms. It has also affected European banks and different stock indexes. Though it has seen world leaders discussing efforts to reduce fears, the crisis still continues.
In space
It started off with a bang, when, in April, India set a world record by sending 10 satellites into orbit in a single launch. Later, it was the moon mission. The Chandrayaan programme saw the launch of Chandrayaan-1, or the “Moon craft”. On October 22, the first unmanned moon mission satellite vehicle, blasted off from Sriharikota. On November 14, its Moon Impact Probe successfully descended towards the lunar south pole.
In history
Barack Hussein Obama created history by becoming the first African American to be elected President of the U.S. His election has probably become the most followed, beginning first with his electoral battle and the nail-biting primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton and then moving on to his eclipsing Republican opponent John McCain. Obama has also been praised as a master of oratory with his landmark “Yes We Can” speech at the end of which there was hardly a dry eye.
Nuclear power
The Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement was an event that dominated Indian politics, and almost resulted in the fall of the Government. What is unique is that India, which has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), is still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with the world.
World’s largest passenger plane : A 380
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Young World
