Down the Memory Lane
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DOWN THE MEMORY LANE 1 > Four eventful decades for India ▼ 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 Gandhi’s Congress suffered a debacle and the Janata Party, modern car domestically to acquiring under Morarji Desai (centre) and the stylish Jaguar brand, from furore spearheaded by leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee (right) and over caste-based Babu Jagjivan Ram, 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 Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state models — we have seen it all. of emergency declared As Business Standard 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 George Fernandes 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 Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium before the 9th Asian Games, held in the city from November 19 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 & REUTERS 6 1982 WORKERS’ LOBBY GETS A VOICE Dr Dattatray ‘Datta’ Samant was a politician and trade union leader who is remembered for 7 leading the year-long strike of about 300,000 textile mill workers in Bombay (now Mumbai) that triggered the closure of most textile mills in the city. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES Dec 14, 1983 ▼ INDIA GETS WHEELS (From left) Suzuki 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 Maruti 800, a 796-cc hatchback. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES 8 ▼ Jun 3, 1984 OPERATION BLUE STAR Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the leader of the Sikh religious group Damdami Taksal, 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 Amritsar’s Golden Temple 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 ▼ Rakesh Sharma, 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 Soviet Union’s Intercosmos Dunkel proposals on agriculture, in New Delhi. 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 Gujarat 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 Delhi University student, shot into Finance Minister Manmohan Singh 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 ASSASSINATION THAT ROCKED INDIA immolation bid, at the age of 33. PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS ARCHIVES (From left) A young Rahul Gandhi, with sister Priyanka Gandhi and actor Amitabh Bachchan, at the 15 funeral of his father Rajiv, in New Delhi. Rahul’s mother, Sonia Gandhi (right), is also seen. Former PM Rajiv Gandhi was killed when a suicide bomber blew herself up at an election rally near Chennai. 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) Ratan Tata, J R D Tata and Russi Mody, soon after Ratan was made chairman of Tata Sons, 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 Cyrus Mistry, 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 Mukesh Ambani (front left) and THE DREAM BUDGET Anil Ambani (front right), carry the Finance Minister P Chidambaram before presenting body of their father, Reliance group the Union Budget, on February 28. Chidambaram’s founder Dhirubhai Ambani, 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) Shankar Acharya, Jairam Ramesh, N K Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia. PHOTO: PIB ▼ 21 May 11, 1998 ▼ Oct 3, 2008 ▼ NUKE PROWESS ENHANCED BIG HURDLES FOR THE 2008 Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Pokhran 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 Mamata Banerjee at a protest rally Lalit Modi at a match in the second edition of in front of Tata Motors’ Nano 20 the T20 cricket tournament. Widely understood project at Singur, near Kolkata. 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 Praful Patel, 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 Maruti Suzuki’s plant in Manesar, 26 Haryana, 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.