1989 FREEDOM AT A COST

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1947-2008-India-Roundup

CAVING IN: A relieved Mufti hugs his daughters Rubaiya and Mehbooba

The end of the six-day drama of the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed—daughter of Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed—was a case of good news, and then the bad news. While the 23-years-old doctor was brought back safely, it was only after the exchange of five members of jklf who were released to secessionist slogans (“if you wish to do God’s work, go pick up a Kalashnikov”). As the government blinked first, the separatist movement grew in Kashmir, leading to more kidnapping and killings.

FIRST CUT

• Kottayam in Kerala became the first town in the country to achieve complete literacy. All 70,000 citizens in this small southern town can read and write.

• Rajiv Gandhi became the first Indian Prime minister to visit Pakistan, but lost soon after, the Congress winning only 197 seats in Lok Sabha, 200 down from 1984.

SEEDS OF DISCORD

The first stone for building the Ram Mandir was laid at the disputed Babri Masjid site on November 3. In Ayodhya, over two lakh Hisdus pledged their lives for the cause of Ram Janmabhoomi, while in Delhi an equal number of Muslims swore to protect the structure. The Government watched, sitting on a keg of communal gunpowder.

DID YOU KNOW

The National Front victory saw oversized egos clashing after Devi Lal said he wanted the top spot. If not that, he asked for the second-best post that of deputy prime minister. His wish was fulfilled.

“I WANT OT PLAY THE ROLE OF BALRAM IN MAHABHARAT.”

Vishwanath Pratap Singh after taking over as Prime Minister

V.P. Singh inherited one of the most difficult jobs in the world, running the country with a minority government hanging between the Left and the Right. His reign saw the explosion of the Mandal bomb, the motive behind which was creating a caste matrix that could make his seat unassailable for the next 20 years. He fell from power in 11 months, after bringing to a grinding halt L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra. The subsequent tom-tomming of the secular card couldn’t save Mr. Clean.

MIRA MASALA

Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay won the Prestigious Golden Camera award at Cannes and was nominated for the Oscar in the best Foreign Language category. It was the first film to be nominated since Mother India in 1957. The film, co-written by her friend Sooni Taraporevala, starred 24 handpicked real street children who were trained at a special workshop before appearing in the film.

Comeback Man

M. Karunanidhi returned to power 13 years after an ignominous exit. In one of the most dramatic victories in India’s electoral history, his party dmk won 147 of the 198 seats it contested, making him the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time.

RANASINGHE PREMADASA on the IPKF’s involvement in Sri Lanka

“The Indians came on our invitation and helped us. Now they must go and help us by going.”

ELSEWHERE…

• Hundreds of civilians were shot dead by the Chinese Army in the Tiananmen Square massacre. The army’s attempt to crush a democratic uprising in Peking was telecast to the whole world (below).
• 
  The Berlin Wall fell on November 3 as East Germans swarmed across checkpoints to meet their West German compatriots, after weeks of protests against East German authorities.

• Emperor Hirohito of Japan died at the age of 87 after the longest reign in the history of Japan.

$470 millions is the amount Union Carbide agreed to pay india for damagaeas in the 1984 Bhopala gas tdragedy in an out - of - court settlement in May. While the personal damage was taken care of, the environmental impact was ignored.

Courtesy By India Today