Faith,Caste, Progeny
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25XT06A.qxd 12/24/2011 7:26 PM Page 1 Page-11 c m y b The Tribune 2011 THE YEAR OF UPRISINGS STATES SUNDAY 25 DECEMBER 2011 FAITH, CASTE, PROGENY Return of a In Punjab Parkash Singh Badal harnessed faith to prolong his reign, in Haryana caste cast war horse a shadow, and in Himachal a son rose The General returns to By Raveen Thukral Uttarakhand after Pokhriyal ITH the real action — the 2G and the is forced to put in his papers CWG scams, the agitations of Anna Haz- are and Baba Ramdev, the arrest of min- isters and corporate honchos, the rise of Didi and Amma and the fall of the Left and the DMK and the frequent stalling of the W Parliament — happening elsewhere, this region, comprising Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, literally struggled to be in the headlines of national dailies in 2011. Even in a pulsating state like Punjab, things remained rather quiet, both on the political and the social fronts. In May 2011, the state witnessed the emergence of the homegrown Peoples’ Party of Punjab (PPP), led by Manpreet Singh Badal, the estranged nephew of Chief Minister and veteran Akali leader, Parkash Singh Badal. Manpreet’s forays into the political arena, as the leader of the third front has added a new twist to the state’s politics, as for the first time an alternative appears to be in sight. Though it remains to be seen as to how he fits into the political scene post-2012 elections, observers see Manpreet as a “marathon runner”, who BACK IN THE actually has his eyes set on 2017 elections. SADDLE: Talking about runners, Punjabis all BC Khanduri across the globe were disappointed when holds the in October 2011 the Guinness World reins again Record denied the UK-based centurion marathon sprinter, Fauja Singh, entry into By S. M. A. Kazmi & their hall of fame because he didn’t have a birth certificate. Rajeev Khanna Another high in sports during the year, amid the July doping scandal at the NIS, HE year has left mixed memories in the young Patiala, was the off-field friendly engage- hill state. It witnessed its worst communal riots ment of Prime Ministers Manmohan in Rudrapur, and Swami Ramdev and his Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani on the TPatanjali Yogpeeth suffered a setback after the sidelines of the India-Pakistan semifinals iconic yoga guru tried to escape in the garb of in the World Cup at Mohali’s PCA Sta- a woman from the Ramlila Ground in Delhi, dium on March 30. Though nothing major where his supporters were dispersed by the was achieved with the cricket bonhomie, police. Heavy rainfall and landslides caused it did see Gopal Dass, an Indian farmer considerable hardship for the second succes- from the border, returning home from sive year but relief, repairs, restoration and Pakistan after 27 years of incarceration. construction left much to be desired. Alow in the state’s politics was the arrest The foundation was laid for the Rishikesh-Kar- of BJP legislator and Chief Parliamentary naprayag railway line, the first railway line in Secretary (CPS), Raj Khurana, who was Garhwal while the Jim Corbett National Park cel- arrested by the CBI in May on allegations ebrated its platinum jubilee during the year and of accepting bribe for the settlement of a the state’s first Indian Institute of Management case. The names of two BJP ministers, (IIM) began functioning at Kashipur in Udham- Manoranjan Kalia and Swarna Ram, had singh Nagar district. The state’s first ‘Ayush also figured in the case, dubbed as politi- Gram’was launched near Nainital but the annu- cal vendetta by the party, and they were al Autumn Festival, continuing since pre-Inde- also questioned. The two were later pendence days, was stopped for the first time due dropped from the Cabinet. to the paucity of funds. The Uttarakhand Raj It was just a coincidence that four Bhavan took a green initiative by opting for solar months later in Haryana, a minister, Om lighting and rain harvesting. Prakash Jain, and a CPS, Zile Ram Shar- Politics dominated the discourse as a belea- ma, had to quit after their names figured guered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forced in the murder of a former sarpanch, to replace Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Karam Singh. The deceased had earlier Nishank with the old war horse, Maj-Gen Bhu- accused the minister and the CPS of dup- van Chandra Khanduri in September, barely six ing him of Rs 13 lakh on the pretext of months before the Assembly elections. Khan- getting a job for a relative. duri rushed through the Lokayukta Bill, Right Despite the landmark judgment of the Kar- to Services Bill and Government Employees’ nal District Court that sentenced five persons Transfer Bill and launched the ‘Atal Khadyan- to death in the infamous Babli-Manoj mur- na Yojana’ to steal the thunder from the Cen- der case, honour killings continued to keep tre’s Food Security Bill. Haryana in the news. The Punjab and Even as political one-upmanship continued Haryana High Court kept receiving appli- and politics dominated life, rampant corruption cations from young couples in love, and emerged as the most popular issue, prompting they were provided security in the ‘safe the popular Garhwali folk singer, Narendra houses’ set up by the administration. Singh Negi, to come out with a fresh album, On the political front, Haryana lost last titled Aab Kaitga Khaolo ( How much are you of the living Lals, Bhajan Lal, on June 3, going to eat anyway?) and lamented at the sta- necessitating a byelection in Hisar. The ple of “Commission ki meat-bhaat, Rishvat ko October bypoll turned out to be a huge railon”(rich food sourced from commission embarrassment for the ruling Congress and corruption). as its candidate, Jai Prakash, lost his deposit. Bhajan Lal’s son, Kuldip Bishnoi, TOP HONOUR: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal being bestowed 'Fakhr-e-Quam Panth Rattan' at the Akal Takht in Amritsar who is striving to become the face of non- Jats in the state, won the seat. The Novem- demanding reservation. They disrupted crore from Karmapa’s monastery in Jan- with his January Tiranga Yatra. Virbhadra ber bypoll of Ratia Assembly constituen- rail traffic on the Hisar-Delhi route for uary made headlines. The Dalai Lama’s Singh’s son, Vikramaditya Singh, was cy, however, redeemed the lost pride for two weeks. One person was killed in the decision to quit active politics in March, launched into politics in October. the Congress, as it wrested the seat from police firing during the agitation. and his endorsement of the amendments The year ended on a good note for the the INLD after a gap of 29 years. On the sports front, Haryanvi lad, Viren- relinquishing his powers as the political Congress as it managed to wrest the tra- In October, a Delhi court sentenced three der Sehwag, broke Sachin Tendulkar’s head of the Tibetan Government-in-exile ditional BJP seat, Nalagarh, while losing persons to life imprisonment in the Mirch- world record by scoring 219 in the One- in favour of a democratically elected lead- the Renuka seat in the October bypoll. pur killings in which a Dalit and his hand- Day International against the West Indies ership in May, was also significant. As curtains draw on 2011, all eyes are icapped daughter were burnt alive in April on December 8. On the political front, factionalism con- on Punjab that goes to polls in Febru- 2010. Of the 97 people, who were arrest- Thanks to events in Dharmsala, the hill tinued to plague both the BJP and the ary. Assembly elections are also due in ed in the case, the court let off 85. state of Himachal Pradesh made it to Congress. Both the parties also saw ‘son Himachal Pradesh later next year, so Ironically, Jats, who have ruled national headlines a few times. The seizure rise’— the emergence of P. K. Dhumal’s Punjab poll outcome will be significant Haryana, took to streets in March of foreign currency of more than Rs 6 son, Anurag Thakur, on the national scene for the region. MAKING WAY: Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank The sons rise >> Breakaway Badal >> NEWSPICK The political debuts of Prem Kumar Dhumal’s son With the formation of the Peo- Anurag Thakur, who undertook the much-hyped ple's Party of Punjab in May by ‘Tiranga Yatra’, and Virbhadra Singh’s son, Vikrama- former Finance Minister Man- ditya Singh, who was elected the state Youth Con- preet Badal, also a nephew of gress president, ensured ‘son rise’ in the hill state. CM Parkash Singh Badal, politics in Punjab took a new turn. It The Bishnoi factor remains to be seen how he will << emerge in the post-poll senario. It was Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldip Bishnoi who caused Manpreet is considered as a a huge discomfort to the ruling Congress when he marathon runner, who has his won the Hisar bypoll. Bishnoi is striving to become eyes set on 2017 elections. the face of non-Jats in the state. 6 c m y b.