Most talked about Events in 2009

While the ZooZoos left us in awe, India’s discovery of water on moon made us proud and of course Congress’s sweeping win changed the political fabric of the country. These and many other such events defined 2009. Here are the top 10 events which made 2009 stand apart.

1. Cong sweeps Elections ’09
   

   

   The General Elections in the world’s largest democracy were held in six phases during April-May 2009. Despite political pundits having predicted a hung assembly, the UPA under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh, returned to power with a larger vote share. Erstwhile ally, the Left parties received a major setback, while the BJP-led NDA performed below expectations. This makes Dr Manmohan Singh the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, to hold the office for the second consecutive term. Rahul Gandhi’s aggressive campaigning to mobilize the youth contributed to this win in a big way. This unprecedented victory was considered the youth’s mandate for the UPA.
2. Zoozoos
   

   

   The white egg-headed alien-like animated characters called ‘Zoozoo’ that captured the imagination of millions during the IPL Season 2, were indeed human. They were created by the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather to promote Vodafone’s value-added services. The commercials were shot by ad filmmaker Prakash Varma, over a period of 10 days with a total budget of 30 million rupees. The popular ‘Zoozoos’ struck a chord with audience across all ages and also in the social media, with Facebook garnering over 3 lakh fans. Women were cast in the shoot, as the bodysuits required thinner limbs. The sets were huge and an illusion was created that the characters were much smaller than human. These lovable characters are here to stay.
3. Court verdict on gay rights
   

   

   The year has seen a landmark judgment by the Delhi High Court that decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults. The verdict ruled that the existing 150-year-old statute from the British Colonial era prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a violation of fundamental rights under the constitution. The judgment was welcomed by the gay community and they held unprecedented rallies. The government, however, was noncommittal on the issue, with the Home, Health and Law ministries unable to reach a consensus. Religious leaders of different faiths challenged the verdict and Baba Ramdev denounced homosexuality as a disease.
4. Mumbai sea-bridge
   

   

   With the sweeping verdict of a single political combine, came expectations of greater infrastructure development, especially among the urban population. Despite the delay of the Mumbai sea-bridge project, the symbolic inauguration of Rs 1600-crore plan, the first of its kind in India, demonstrated the government’s commitment for better infrastructure. The opening of this engineering marvel was done with much fanfare, with an elaborate show of fireworks. The sea-bridge reduces commuting time from an hour to just 7 minutes between Bandra and Worli in Mumbai, and can handle peak traffic of 70,000 vehicles. India’s longest flyover of 11.66 km, the PVNR Elevated Express highway in Hyderabad was also inaugurated this year.
5. Swine Flu
   

   

   H1N1, the latest manifestation of Swine Flu, began in Mexico and spread across nations affecting several thousand, including many in India. In June this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this highly-contagious flu as a pandemic. Many schools and colleges were shut in India to contain the spread of this virus. Death toll in India climbed up to 575, with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan being the worst hit. Health authorities in the country initially found it difficult to cope with the rising number of cases, however, soon private hospitals were allowed conduct the tests. Many private companies have also launched vaccines to combat the deadly flu.
6. Tata Nano
   

   

   Despite all the controversies surrounding the Nano, we finally saw the world’s cheapest car hit the roads in July this year. The manufacturing unit was first in Singur and then subsequently shifted to Sanand in Gujarat due to land acquisition disputes. Mumbaikar Raghunath Vichare became the proud owner of the first Nano, after it was presented to him by Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata. The Nano comes in three variants and carries a price range of Rs 1.23 lakh to Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The car was first showcased at Delhi Auto Expo in 2008 and was commercially launched in March 2009, where it saw a record booking of over 2 lakh cars. Delivery of these vehicles will be done in a phased manner.
7. Dossiers and Pak flip-flops
   

   

   The year began on the backdrop of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, with the Indian government led by the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, upping the ante of bringing the Pakistani perpetrators to book. India prepared dossiers, based on interrogations and testimonials of the lone captured terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab. Pakistan then confessed to the incident having been conspired on their territory. Over the last year, the LeT chief Hafeez Sayed, alleged to be the main conspirator, has been intermittently under house-arrest and was later released. The year also saw flip-flops in statements by Pakistani authorities. Now under the current Home Minister P Chidambaram, India hopes to get the Pakistani establishment to act on its commitment.
8. 10th boards cancelled
   

   

   Many students heaved a sigh of relief when the new HRD minister, Kapil Sibal, talked about scrapping the 10th boards. Sibal took the onus to usher in many education reforms. One of his most notable decisions in his short tenure so far, has been to scrap the 10th board exams. The minister took the decision citing that higher education had been too exam-oriented and a source of ‘trauma’ for both students and parents. He also planned to introduce a grade system where students would be evaluated on their overall performance. Experts believe his ideas and quick decision-making auger well for future of Indian education.
9. Chandrayaan finds water on moon
   

   

   India’s progress in space research received a major boost this year, when it’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-I discovered traces of water on moon. It was initially touted to have been a failed mission when the Indian agency lost contact with the spacecraft and had to abort the mission ahead of schedule. However, the breakthrough was made when the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) installed by NASA on board the probe, detected signs of water on the moon’s surface. This revelation has become India’s greatest space discovery so far, opening up the possibility of setting up of future lunar colonies.
10. Attacks on Indian students
    

    

    The spate of attacks on Indian students in Australia sparked allegations of racism and created public outcry in the media. Australia was considered a safe alternative for South Asian students who wanted to pursue higher education. Recurring assaults on Indian students and the failure of the Australian law enforcement authorities exposed a disturbing side of student life. Some elders from the Indian community agreed that these attacks had started way back in 2004 but had gone unreported because immigrants were afraid that it will jeopardise their residency and visa status in the country. South Asian students have demanded that strict action be taken against the offenders.

Do read the best gadgets of 2009 via yahoo india!