A new year means a new beginning, it means you can start afresh with new zeal and commitment. That’s why we take numerous resolutions at this particular time of the year because we have the whole year ahead of us to plan things and to track progress. Thus, New Year’s Eve becomes a special occasion to forget the bygones and embrace the new opportunities. This is one such universal event that is celebrated by people of all religions since all the other festivals have some religious connections and are limited to a particular community.
Various communities in the world have their own calendars and celebrate their New Year mostly on a date different than 1st January. However, we all officially follow the Gregorian calendar, so 1st January is the beginning of the new year and 31st December is the evening we all eagerly wait for.
There are many things besides the celebrations that we consider when a year comes to an end. As a citizen of a country, we all recall the important events that happened in the passing year. From the change of government to a spectacular win of the national team or a blockbuster film, everything that affects our lives even in a subtle way is counted.
Table of Contents
Let us take a rewind of the year
Let us take a look at the major events that took place in 2019 in India from the very beginning of this year. We started the year with a shocking terrorist attack that took lives of 40 CRPF personnel in the Pulwama District of Jammu and Kashmir on 14th February 2019. This particular event shook the nation and anger of the citizens took social media by storm. The impact of this widespread angst was reciprocated soon when the Indian Air Force executed an airstrike beyond the Line of Control in Balakot town of Pakistan on 26th February 2019.
The following month, India took its space technology might one step ahead with a successful launch of Anti-satellite missile which made it the 4th nation in the world to have achieved this feat. In the month of April, we all felt the political fervor at its apex with the Lok Sabha elections. The next month, Cyclone Fani arrived on the coast of Odisha, but casualties were avoided with early warnings and mass evacuation with the help of armed forces. We also got to know about the result of the election with many getting disappointed and others getting delighted with the landslide victory of Narendra Modi that restored him as the prime minister of the country.
A lot of achievements and benchmarks
The month of July brought some unprecedented developments as Vidisha Baliyan became the first Indian to be crowned as Miss Deaf World 2019. Triple Talap was finally banned after years of discussions and ISRO launched ‘Chandrayaan 2’, the second mission to the moon. And in the month of August, we saw the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A which resulted in J&K losing its special status and becoming a UT along with Ladakh. This historic step taken by the government of India was both welcomed and criticized by different leaders inside and outside the country.
“May this new year bring you much joy and fun. May you find peace, love and success. Sending my heartiest new year wish for you!”
Also, in this month, torrential rains disrupted the life of common men and women in various parts of the country. The month of September began with another incredible event when Erramati Mangamma became the world’s oldest mother at the age of 74 after giving birth to twins. And the very next day, India’s dream of landing on the moon got crushed when the Vikram lander went missing and ISRO failed to establish a connection with it. It was found out later by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with the help of Shanmugan Subramanian, a software engineer from Chennai.
Old conflicts resolved, new ones arose
In October, both the newly-formed Union Territories officially came into existence. Keeping the heated arguments on Kashmir aside, India and Pakistan signed the agreement for starting the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Zero Point International Boundary. In the month of November, India’s Supreme Court finally resolved a conflict that had been going for centuries. The decision over the Ayodhya Temple-Babri Masjid dispute was delivered in the favor of Hindus. Many Muslim parties filed petitions for the review of the decisions later but they all were declined by the Supreme Court.
But the month ended with a heinous crime that caused massive uproar across the nation. A 26-year-old veterinary doctor was raped and murdered in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad. It did not take very long for the police to round up all the four convicts who confessed the rape and murder. While the nation was still embroiling over justice to the girl, the Hyderabad police killed all 4 convicts in an encounter on 6th December 2019. Most of the citizens, leaders, and popular personalities praised the police for delivering quick justice. However, a few raised questions over the method which was ‘extrajudicial’.
Ending the year with rage, but we haven’t lost the hope
Last but not the least, the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed as Citizenship Amendment Act on 11th December 2019 following nationwide protests and many of them turned violent with the acts of arson in various cities of India. The act provides citizenship to minority communities (excluding Muslims) living in neighboring countries in Asia. We also saw the demise of some famous personalities including George Fernandes, Girish Karnad, Ramakant Achrekar, Ram Jethmalani, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit, and many others.
As we are nearing the end of the year, let us all take a resolution to make our lives and country more progressive. Let us pledge not to spread rumors on social media and to keep ourselves healthy and happy. Cheers to the new beginning once again, have a fabulous new year.
