sign in sign up
<<
Home , Dhirubhai Ambani, George Fernandes, Indira Gandhi, Jagjivan Ram, Mamata Banerjee, Montek Singh Ahluwalia

DOWN THE MEMORY LANE 1 > Four eventful decades for ▼ FROM Emergency to liberalisation, 1 2 1977 from the biggest industrial disaster RISE OF THE JANATA In the general elections after the to domestic industry’s rise to the 21-month Emergency, global stage, from producing the first Indira ’s Congress suffered a debacle and the , modern car domestically to acquiring under Morarji (centre) and the stylish Jaguar brand, from furore spearheaded by leaders like (right) and over caste-based Babu , stormed to reservation to nuclear power. PHOTO: PIB prowess and man in 3 space, from hosting ▼ two important Jun 25, 1975 international sporting THE INFAMOUS EMERGENCY events to changing the Prime Minister face of sports through innovative unilaterally had a state models — we have seen it all. of emergency declared As completes across India. For much of the following 21 40 years of its thought leadership, months, many of we bring you the most striking Gandhi’s most vocal political opponents pictures that defined India over the were imprisoned and past four decades the Press was muzzled. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

5

4 ▼ 1978 CALL FOR DEFIANCE BY INDUSTRY In a speech at a luncheon meeting at industry chamber Ficci, where Industry Minister was also present, Ghanshyam Das Birla (pictured) told industrialists to break the law and produce more than what their licences allowed. This perhaps was the first time that Indian industry had publicly raised its voice to seek freedom from the controls of a closed economy. PHOTO: FICCI ARCHIVES

▼ Nov 19-Dec 4, 1982, and Oct 3-14, 2010 THE GAMES A view of New ’s Stadium before the 9th Asian Games, held in the city from to December 4, 1982. The stadium was again in the spotlight in 2010, when it hosted the opening ceremony (inset) and some of the events of the

19th Commonwealth Games. ▼ PHOTOS: SANJAY K SHARMA & 6 1982 WORKERS’ LOBBY GETS A VOICE Dr Dattatray ‘Datta’ Samant was a politician and leader who is remembered for 7 leading the year-long strike of about 300,000 textile mill workers in Bombay (now ) that triggered the closure of most textile mills in the city. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

Dec 14, 1983 ▼ INDIA GETS WHEELS (From left) Motor President Osamu Suzuki, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Congress minister N D Tiwari (right) with a model car in Delhi before inaugurating the Maruti factory, on December 14, 1983. That year, the company rolled out its first , a 796-cc hatchback. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

8 ▼ Jun 3, 1984 Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of the Sikh religious group , a noted supporter of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and a strong opponent of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Under ‘Operation Blue Star’, initiated on June 3, 1984, Gandhi ordered the Army to raid ’s complex and remove alleged armed militants from there. Bhindranwale was killed in the operation. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES

11 ▼ 1984 METRO ON TRACK

10 The Calcutta Metro, ▼ 9 India’s first Dec 2-3, 1984 underground metro railway system, began A CITY MAIMED commercial services in Over 500,000 people were affected for life and thousands killed, after 1984. FILE PHOTO Union Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal leaked toxic gases and chemicals on the intervening night of of December 2 and 3, 1984. The faulty tank responsible for the biggest industrial disaster in India is seen in this picture after officials probing the tragedy uncovered it on March 18 the next year. FILE PHOTO

Apr 1984 ▼

BACK FROM SPACE 1989 ▼ , who became the FOR ENVIRONMENT’S SAKE first Indian to travel in space, as part A 1994 file photo of activist Medha Patkar protesting against the of the ’s Intercosmos Dunkel proposals on agriculture, in . Patkar had in programme in April 1984, with 1989 initiated the Narmada Bachao Andolan, a movement Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. against large dams being built across the Narmada river flowing PHOTO: PIB through and Madhya Pradesh. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES DOWN THE MEMORY LANE . <

12 13 14

▼ ▼ 1990 1991 WHEN THE MANDAL FIRE RAGED KICKSTARTING REFORMS Rajiv Goswami, a student, shot into Finance Minister before presenting the annual Union prominence for his self-immolation bid to protest against Budget, on July 24, 1991. Singh’s Budget, which saw a revamp of the fiscal Prime Minister V P Singh’s implementation of the Mandal policy, is hailed for heralding economic reforms in India. BS FILE PHOTO Commission recommendations on caste-based reservation. Goswami spearheaded a movement against job quotas and

his efforts led to larger protests and a series of self- 16 ▼ immolations by college students across India. On February May 21, 1991 24, 2004, Goswami died of injuries sustained in the self- AN THAT ROCKED INDIA immolation bid, at the age of 33. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES (From left) A young , with sister and actor , at the 15 funeral of his father Rajiv, in New Delhi. Rahul’s mother, (right), is also seen. Former PM was killed when a suicide bomber blew herself up at an election rally near . The act of the bomber, Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, associated with separatist group LTTE, was believed to be in retaliation against Gandhi sending Indian peace-keeping force to Sri Lanka in 1987.

PHOTO: ASHOK VAHIE ▼ Jan 1992 CROWNING OF A LEADER (From left) , J R D Tata and Russi Mody, soon after Ratan was made chairman of , in January 1995 INDIA HAS SEEN RAPID 1992. The previous year, J R D had stepped down and named SEED OF A MOBILE REVOLUTION Ratan his successor. The latter, after illustrious 20 years at INDUSTRIALISATION SINCE Sunil Mittal (centre), now chairman & chief executive of Bharti Enterprises, the helm of affairs of the group, passed on the baton to along with others at the launch of Bharti Cellular’s mobile phone services , on December 28, 2012, but continues as OPENING OF ITS ECONOMY under the brand name AirTel, in New Delhi. COURTESY: BHARTI AIRTEL ARCHIVES chairman emeritus of the group. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES IN THE EARLY 1990s 17

18 19 ▼

Jul 6, 2002 ▼ 1997 END OF A CORPORATE GIANT (front left) and THE DREAM BUDGET (front right), carry the Finance Minister P Chidambaram before presenting body of their father, the Union Budget, on February 28. Chidambaram’s founder , in Budget reduced the rate for personal income-tax from 40% Bombay (now Mumbai). to 30%, and lowered corporation tax rates by removing Mourners from India’s political, surcharge and cutting royalty rates. The cap on foreign business and entertainment worlds institutional investments was raised. Also seen are attended the funeral. BS FILE PHOTO members of the Budget team (from left, standing) , , N K Singh and . PHOTO: PIB

▼ 21

May 11, 1998 ▼ Oct 3, 2008 ▼ NUKE PROWESS ENHANCED BIG HURDLES FOR THE 2008 Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at nuclear test SMALL CAR site. India became a nuclear weapon state in May after THE GAME-CHANGING THIRD MAN conducting three successful explosions. PHOTO: PTI Trinamool Congress chief Indian Premier League Commissioner at a protest rally Lalit Modi at a match in the second edition of in front of ’ Nano 20 the T20 cricket tournament. Widely understood project at , near . to be Modi’s brainchild, the shorter format Issues related to land acquisition changed the face of the game and ushered in and the protests that followed an era of ‘quickie’ cricket. Modi, however, forced the Tatas to exit Singur and was on April 26, 2009, removed from his post move their Nano factory to after a scandal that also involved several Gujarat’s Sanand. FILE PHOTO politicians. PHOTO: PTI

22

2008 STEERING A LANDMARK ACQUISITION (From left) Jaguar Managing Director Mike O’Driscoll, Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata, Jaguar Chief Executive David Smith, Land Rover Group Marketing Director Phil Popham, and Tata Motors Vice-Chairman Ravi Kant, at a press conference in Mumbai to announce Jaguar-Land Rover’s official entry in India. PHOTO: SURYAKANT NIWATE DOWN THE MEMORY LANE 1 >

Nov 26, 2008 ▼ 23 24 ATTACK ON MUMBAI Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel is seen burning in this November 27 file photo, after the city was hit by terrorist attacks at multiple locations the previous night. Indian commandos freed hostages from the Taj Mahal hotel after an overnight gunbattle with the Lashkar-e-Toiba militants. More than 150 people lost their lives as a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai went on for four days.

PHOTO: REUTERS ▼ Jul 3, 2010 IGI GETS A SASSY NEW TERMINAL ▼ (From left) Civil Aviation Minister , Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Jul 19, 2012 and Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the inauguration of Terminal 3 of the SPANNER IN THE WORKS Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi. FILE PHOTO A burnt portion of ’s plant in Manesar, 26 , is seen in this July 19, 2012, file photo. The plant was hit by violence as workers attacked supervisors, killed a company executive and injured several managers. The strife, after suspension of a company employee, is seen as one of India’s worst incidents of industrial unrest. PHOTO: DALIP KUMAR

25

THE AAM AADMI PARTY, BORN OUT OF HAZARE’S ANTI-GRAFT MOVEMENT, WON 67 OF 70 SEATS IN THE 2015 DELHI POLLS 27

28 ▼ Jul 2012 ANTI-GRAFT CRUSADE Social activist Anna Hazare during his hunger strike demanding a strong Lok Pal Bill, at New Delhi’s Ramlila in July 2012. Hazare had in April 2011 launched a campaign to press for improvements in the Lok Pal and Lok Ayukta Bills that the government wanted to get passed. BS FILE PHOTO ▼

▼ May 26, 2014 May 24, 2014 HISTORIC CHANGE COMING TO A GRINDING HALT OF GUARD Hindustan Motors in May declared suspension of President work at its Uttarpara plant near Kolkata. The administering oath of office and company had for some time been sharing updates secrecy to , who on the plant’s worsening conditions, with a decline was elected India’s prime in productivity, growing indiscipline, critical fund minister with a massive crunch, lack of demand for the Ambassador, its core mandate in the polls. product, and large accumulated debt. BS FILE PHOTO Modi’s toppled the Congress-led United , which had been in power at the Centre for a decade. This was the first time 1 in 30 years that a single party had won a majority in polls. PHOTO: SANJAY K SHARMA

...AND SOME SCANDALS, TOO

2 4 5

Jan 9, 2009 THE SATYAM FRAUD Satyam Computer founder B Ramalinga Raju

and his brother ▼ B Raju were Mar 4, 2014 arrested after the former SAHARA’S DEFAULT WOES admitted to a ~7,800- financial fraud through Sahara group chief Subrata Roy was arrested

inflating the IT in March 2014, and has been in jail since, in company’s books over ▼ connection with a default on refund to

investors by two group companies. PHOTO: PTI ▼ several years. BS FILE PHOTO Feb 3, 2011 ▼ Nov 9, 1992 3 THE 2G SPECTRUM SCAM 6 THE ‘BIG BULL’ Former Communications & IT Minister ‘Big Bull’ Harshad Mehta A Raja, arrested in connection with the (pictured) and his two ~1.76-lakh-crore 2G telecom spectrum brothers, Ashwin and allocation scam, being produced at

▼ Sudhir, were arrested in a court in New Delhi PHOTO: PTI connection with a case of alleged misappropriation

BOFORS BUNGLE of 2.7 million shares of May 8, 2014 ▼ Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi arrives 90 blue-chip companies. BOURSE BARON IN A TIGHT SPOT at an Argentine courthouse for a hearing to PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES Jignesh Shah, promoter of Financial extradite him to India for his alleged role in the Technologies, was arrested in relation with a Bofors gun payoff case of the late 1980s, in this June 2007 file photo. Quattrocchi died of a heart attack on ~5,600-crore payment fraud at National Spot July 13, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS Exchange Ltd, a group company. BS FILE PHOTO