The year 2023 has faded out and the leap year 2024 has ushered in with anticipated many national and international events, including the most discussed inauguration of Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others will attend the programme, the Ram Mandir Trust has invited over 8,000 people, including Baba Ramdev and industrialist Ratan Tata for the event.
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The 75th Republic Day celebrations are expected to be a spectacular affair with President of France Emmanuel Macron, visiting India as the chief guest. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in March and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Russia later.
Needless to say, the General elections planned between April and May to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha will stir the nation.
By and large, the year 2023 turned out eventful with the Odisha rail mishap, the Uttarkashi tunnel tragedy, the Mangalyaan Mission, and the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 match becoming the topic of nationwide discussion.
In June, 296 people were killed and over 1,200 others were injured when Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Express collided at Bahanaga Bazar Railway station in Odisha. In November, the trapping of 41 workers in the Uttarkashi tunnel caught nationwide attention. In December, 25 people were killed in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and nearly 4 million people were affected due to Cyclone Michaung.
The ethnic violence which erupted, following a clash between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo tribal community, claimed 175 lives and left a trail of disturbance in Manipur.
In the earlier part of the year, due to the Hindenburg report, the Adani Group faced consternation. The shares crashed and the market faced disturbance, although the Adanis dismissed the report as a misinformation campaign.
The successful launch of the Indian rocket carrying the country’s first Mars orbiter (Mangalyaan Mission) from Sriharikota Island in Andhra Pradesh in November, added a feature to India’s cap.
On the political front, the INDIA bloc emerged as a symbol of Opposition unity. But BJP proved its superiority by winning three States in the Assembly elections. The suspension of 146 Opposition MPs in the winter session of the Parliament gave a jolt to the Opposition.
The passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill, granting 33 % reservation to women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was noteworthy. Similarly, the “Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita” replacing old British laws became a new identity.
Over 8,000 people, including Hamas fighters, were killed even as the Israel-Hamas aggression reached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which failed to call for a ceasefire.
The Russia-Ukraine war continued with Russia occupying one-fifth of Ukraine’s area and Ukraine finding it difficult to get enough aid from its allies.
On the domestic front, a huge vacuum was created in the “Sahara India Pariwar”, following the demise of its founder Subrata Roy Sahara. All the same, the birth centenary of actor/ director Dev Anand was celebrated with jubilation across the country.
India suffered a setback when Australia won the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 match defeating India by 6 wickets. However, in the 19th Asian Games, held in September/October, India basked in glory by winning 107 medals including 28 gold. Now let us hope that the country will “leap” in the year 2024.
