2002 in India
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- President of IndiaPresident of IndiaThe President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
– K. R. NarayananK. R. NarayananKocheril Raman Narayanan , also known as K. R. Narayanan, was the tenth President of India. He was the first Dalit, and the first Malayali, to have been President....
until July 25, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam - Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
– Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
January
- 9 January - The government announces that it is laying landminesLand mineA land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
along the entire length of its 2,800-km border with PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. - 10 January - 800 protesters are arrested in a large-scale illegal protest against the Communist government of West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, which brings the state to a standstill. The authorities there had outlawed "disruptive" protests at the end of 2001. - Mid-January - Direct flights to ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
are set to resume for the first time in 40 years after diplomatic talks between the two countries. - 16 January - ArchaeologistsArchaeologyArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
announce the discovery of ancient man-made structures off the Gujarati coast which could be as many as 9,500 years old - 5,500 years older than the ancient Harappan civilization whose remains are found around the same region. - 22 January - Five policemen are killed and 20 other people injured when IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic militants attack an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cultural centre in KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. Police arrest at least 50 suspects in the wake of the incident. The government immediately accuses its Pakistani counterpart of involvement in the attack. - Late January - The government is roundly criticized for testing a short-range version of its Agni ballistic missile on January 25, the day before the country's Republic DayRepublic DayRepublic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics.-1 January in the Republic of Slovakia:This was the day of creation of the Republic of Slovakia. A national holiday since 1993...
, at a time when military tensions with PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
remain high.
February
- 3 February - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
gives its full backing to India over the KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
dispute with neighbouring Pakistan. - Mid-February - The Cellular Operators Association announces that the ownership of mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s in India rocketed by 75% in the previous year. Almost 6 million Indians now own mobile phones. - 24 February - The Bharatiya Janata PartyBharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) loses control of state governments in Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Punjab, and Uttaranchal (east of DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
) according to election results released this day. The BJP is expected to retain a role in a coalition in Uttar Pradesh (the most populous state in India), whereas the Punjab and Uttaranchal state legislatures are now dominated by the opposition Congress party. - 27 February - A series of riots leaves hundreds dead, after 59 HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
mob in GodhraGodhraGodhra is a town and originally the name came from "Gou" which means "Cow" and "Dhara" which has two meanings: one in Sanskrit which means "Hold or Land" and the other in Hindi which means Flow. So, identically it means The Land of the Cow, a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of...
. - 28 February - Violent sectarian clashes break out in the Gujarati city of AhmadabadAhmedabadAhmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
leaving over 500 Muslims and Hindus dead. The riots came after the death the previous day of 58 Hindus whose train was deliberately set on fire by Muslim militants in Godhra, near Vadodara (the exact circumstances remain unclear). Those victims were said to be supporters of the extremist Hindi group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who had been traveling from the Ayodhya region, near the border with Nepal. VHP has been campaigning for the construction of a Hindu temple on the controversial Ayodhya site following the destruction of an ancient mosque there in 1992. Violence rages on through March, claiming hundreds of lives, most of them Muslim. (See also 2002 Gujarat violence2002 Gujarat violenceThe 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
.) - 28 February - Gulbarg Society massacreGulbarg Society massacreThe Gulbarg Society massacre took place on February 28, 2002, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, when a mob attacked the Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Chamanpura, Ahmedabad...
: During the 2002 Gujarat riots, a mob attacked the Gulbarag Society, a lower middle-class MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
neighbourhood in Chamanpura, AhmedabadAhmedabadAhmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
. Most of the houses were burnt, and at least 35 victims including a former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive, while 31 others went missing after the incident, later presumed dead, bringing the total of the dead to 69. - 28 February - Finance Minister Yashwant SinhaYashwant SinhaYashwant Sinha is an Indian politician and a former finance minister of India and foreign minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet...
presents the 2002-03 budget. Amongst its major features are a 4.8% increase in defence spending and a 5% surcharge on income tax to pay for this.
March
- 1 March - Continuing violence in AhmedabadAhmedabadAhmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
kills 28; police shoot and kill 5 rioters. - 2 March - J. JayalalithaaJ. JayalalithaaJayalalithaa Jayaram ; born 24 February 1948) commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian party. She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her...
returns to power in Tamil NaduTamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
as chief minister. In December 2001, an appeals court had quashed her October 2000 corruption conviction that disqualified her from standing for election. - 3 March - The speaker of the Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
, Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi, is killed in a helicopter crash in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. He was the first low-caste Dalit to be elected to the post. - 6 March - Novelist Arundhati RoyArundhati RoyArundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
, a high-profile campaigner against the Narmada riverNarmada RiverThe Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
dams project, is sentenced by the Supreme CourtSupreme Court of IndiaThe Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
to one day in prison for contempt of courtContempt of courtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
because of an affidavitAffidavitAn affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
she had written criticizing the court. - 8 March - President's rulePresident's rulePresident's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...
is imposed on the northern state of Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
as no party could command a majority after the recent elections. - 15 March - 9,000 suspected HinduHinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
hardliners are arrested, including 8,000 in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
alone, in a massive crackdown aimed at preventing further interreligious violence. Tensions are high surrounding attempts to construct a new Hindu temple on the site of the Ayodhya mosque, which was destroyed by Hindu extremists in 1992. - 15 March - The New Delhi High CourtHigh Courts of IndiaIndia's unitary judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court of India at the national level, for the entire country and the 21 High Courts at the State level. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories...
overturns the October 2000 corruption conviction of former prime ministerPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
P.V. Narasimha Rao. - 25 March - Police arrest Yasin MalikYasin MalikYasin Malik is the chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, the chairman for other faction is Farooq Siddiqi . The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front , founded by Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Bhat, is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK on May 29,...
, leader of the separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), in SrinagarSrinagarSrinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
. - 26 March - The government pushes through its controversial Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) bill in a rare joint session of both houses of parliament, only the third since independence. In separate sessions, the Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
had passed the bill on March 18 but it was defeated in the Rajya SabhaRajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
on March 21.
April
- 4 April - On his first visit to Gujarat since the violence there began, (See 2002 Gujarat violence2002 Gujarat violenceThe 2002 Gujarat violence describes the Godhra train burning and resulting communal riots between Hindus and Muslims. On 27 February 2002 at Godhra City in the state of Gujarat, the Sabarmati Express train was attacked by a large Muslim mob in a conspiracy. But some authentic sources deny the claim...
) Prime Minister VajpayeeVajpayeeVajpayee or Bajpai is a North Indian Brahmin surname, common, among other places, especially in Lucknow. Brahmins,are further sub categorised as Kanyakubjas, a group that also includes Awasthi, Dixits, Tewari, Tripathi, Agnihotri etc...
makes an impassioned speech appealing to the Hindu and MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
communities to end the violence, saying that the "shameful events" in Gujarat are a "blot" on India. - 16 April - Up to 10 million public sectorPublic sectorThe public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
workers, including 32,000 employees of state-owned banks, hold a one-day strike against government privatizationPrivatizationPrivatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
plans. - 18 April - India signs a deal to buy a $146 million weapon-seeking radar system built by the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company RaytheonRaytheonRaytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
. It is the first significant U.S. arms sale to India for a decade. - 29 April - Minister for Coal and Mines Ram Vilas PaswanRam Vilas PaswanRam Vilas Paswan is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party and a Rajya Sabha MP.-Early life and education:Paswan was born to a Dusadh family...
resigns on the issue of the Gujarat violence, which he says has "tarnished India's image" while the government's role appears to be that of a "silent spectator". He pulls his Lok Janshakti PartyLok Janshakti PartyThe Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...
out of the ruling National Democratic AllianceNational Democratic Alliance (India)The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties. Its convenor is Sharad Yadav, and its honorary chairman is former prime minister Atal...
coalition.
May
- 3 May - The stalemate in Uttar Pradesh is resolved when MayawatiMayawatiMayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
of the Bahujan Samaj PartyBahujan Samaj PartyThe Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...
is sworn in as chief minister, in a coalition with the BJP. - 10 May - Manohar JoshiManohar JoshiManohar Gajanan Joshi, is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is one of the prominent leaders of the Shiv Sena political party. He was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995–1999.-Background and family:...
of the Shiv SenaShiv SenaShiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
party is elected speaker of the Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
. - 14 May - An attack by militants on an army base in KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, in which 34 people are killed, leads to sharply rising tensions with Pakistan. On 15 May, Vajpayee says in the Lok Sabha: "We will have to retaliate." Fears increase that the situation might escalate into a nuclear exchange. - 21 May - Moderate Kashmiri separatist leader Abdul Ghani LoneAbdul Ghani LoneAbdul Ghani Lone was an Indian lawyer and politician who for most of his professional career worked as a Kashmiri separatist....
is assassinated. On the same day Vajpayee begins a five-day visit to Kashmir. In a martial speech on 22 May, he says that "a new chapter of victory and triumph will be written in the history books soon". - 23 May - Indian paratroops complete a two-week exercise with U.S. forces south of New Delhi.
- 31 May - Both the U.K.United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
State Department issue unprecedented advice to their citizens living in India to leave the country. - 2002 heatwave in India2002 heatwave in IndiaThe heatwave in 2002 in south India killed more than 1000 people. Most of the dead were poor and elderly. Most of the deaths occurred in state of Andhra Pradesh. In the hardest-hit districts, the heat was so intense that tin-roofed shanties turned into ovens, ponds and rivers dried up, birds fell...
June
- June - Tensions between India and Pakistan are reduced largely as a result of international pressure. Pakistani President Pervez MusharrafPervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
assures visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard ArmitageRichard Armitage (politician)Richard Lee Armitage, GCMG AC CNZM was the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of State, the second-in-command at the State Department, serving from 2001 to 2005.-Early life and military career:...
that the cessation of cross-border infiltration will be made "permanent" and "irreversible". On June 20, Indian Defense Minister George FernandesGeorge FernandesGeorge Mathew Fernandes is an Indian trade unionist, politician, journalist, agriculturist, and member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He is a key member of the Janata Dal , and was the founder of the Samata Party...
says that infiltration has "nearly ended". Analysts note, however, that some 3,000 indigenous and Pakistani militants are already inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, and violent incidents continue on a daily basis. On June 9 police in Srinagar arrest Syed Ali Shah GeelaniSyed Ali Shah Geelani-Early life:Syed Geelani was born in a town called Zoorimunz, Bandipora, in North Kashmir. After his preliminary education in Sopore, he went on to graduate from the Oriental College in Lahore....
, leader of the hardline Islamist Jamaat-i-IslamiJamaat-e-IslamiThis article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
party and a prominent leader of the All Parties Hurriyat ConferenceAll Parties Hurriyat ConferenceThe All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a political front formed as an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations in Kashmir. It was formed achieving the right of self-determination according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 47...
. - 22 June - Ashok SinghalAshok SinghalAshok Singhal is the International President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Singhal, born in a Agrawal Vaishya family of Block-Bijauli,Tehsil- Atrauli District- Aligarh UP, has been one of the major faces of Ram Janmabhoomi movement.He was attached to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and inspired by its...
, leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), announces that the VHP is no longer bound by its earlier promise to the government to await a court ruling before embarking on the construction of a temple to the god Rama on the site of the destroyed Babri mosque at Ayodhya.
July
- 1 July - Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha exchange their portfolios in a cabinet reshuffle. The BJP installs Venkaiah NaiduVenkaiah NaiduM. Venkaiah Naidu is an Indian politician. From 2002 to 2004, he was the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is currently the opposition party in the Parliament of India. He resigned on October 18, 2004 and was succeeded by L.K...
as party president, replacing Jana KrishnamurthiJana KrishnamurthiK. Jana Krishnamurthi was an Indian political leader who rose to be the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2001...
who becomes Union Law Minister. - 15 July - An electoral college composed of the members of both houses of the federal parliament and of all state assemblies elects A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a Muslim and prominent missile scientist, president of India. He was supported by the ruling NDA coalition as well as the opposition Congress and most other parties.
- 27 July - Vice President Krishan KantKrishan KantKrishan Kant was the tenth Vice President of India from 1997 until his death.Kant's first brush with politics came when he plunged into the Quit India movement, while he was still a student in Lahore. He took part in the Indian Independence Movement as a youth and continued to be involved in...
dies of a heart attack.
August
- 12 August - Bhairon Singh ShekhawatBhairon Singh ShekhawatBhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on July 21, 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha...
is elected vice president. - 25 August - Notorious bandit VeerappanVeerappanKoose Muniswamy Veerappan commonly known as Veerappan, was a notorious dacoit, or robber bandit, of India. He was active for a period of years in a broad swath of land covering 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu...
abducts a former minister of Karnataka, Hannur Nagappa, threatening to behead him unless the state governments of Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu release imprisoned Tamil separatists. - 28 August - Chief magistrate Rameshwar Kotha of the Bhopal High CourtHigh Courts of IndiaIndia's unitary judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court of India at the national level, for the entire country and the 21 High Courts at the State level. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories...
rejects the federal Central Bureau of Investigation's attempt to reduce charges against the former chairman of the U.S. Union CarbideUnion CarbideUnion Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
company, Warren Anderson, for responsibility for the 1984 chemical plant disaster at Bhopal. Kotha asks the government to bring extradition proceedings without delay, but it is thought that the government is reluctant to do so for fear of alienating the U.S. business community.
September
- 9 September - At least 119 people are killed in a train crash in the northeastern state of Bihar when part of the Rajdhani Express from Kolkata to New Delhi derails on a bridge over the Dhava river near AurangabadAurangabad, BiharAurangabad is a city and a municipality in Aurangabad district in the state of Bihar, India. Aurangabad is the district headquarters of the Aurangabad district. It is situated on the Grand Trunk Road. The people of this region primarily speak Magahi. Due to lack of industrialization, people are...
. - 16 September and 24, October 1 and 8 - Elections are held in the state of Jammu and KashmirJammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
amid an atmosphere of escalating violence. The result is a surprising defeat of the National ConferenceJammu & Kashmir National ConferenceThe Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is a State political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Led at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, it dominated electoral politics in the state for many decades...
, which was the dominant political force in the state for over 40 years. A government is formed by the People's Democratic PartyPeople's Democratic PartyPeople's Democratic Party could refer to:* People's Democratic Party * Eelam People's Democratic Party * Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party * People's Democratic Party * People's Democratic Party...
and the Congress. PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is to be chief minister for three years, followed by Ghulam Nabi AzadGhulam Nabi AzadGhulam Nabi Azad is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress and the current Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India....
of the Congress for another three years. - 24 September-25 September - Two heavily armed gunmen kill at least 32 people in an attack on a Hindu temple in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, before army commandos recapture the temple and kill the terrorists.
- 27 September - Sukhoi 30 MKI was inducted in Indian Air Force
October
- 10 October - Mohammad Fazal is appointed Governor of Maharashtra.
- Mufti Mohammad Sayeed is sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
- 16 October - Defence Minister George Fernandes announces that a significant number of the million troops deployed since December 2001 on the border with Pakistan will be withdrawn. However, there will be no reduction in strength along the Line of Control in Kashmir.
November
- 15 November - A court in New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
finds that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the UK based businessmen and brothers Srichand, Gopichand, and Prakash Hinduja for cheating, conspiracy, and abetting corruption in the 1986 arms procurement scandal between India and the Swedish arms manufacturer BoforsBoforsThe name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.Located in Karlskoga, Sweden, the company originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The modern corporate structure was created in 1873 with the foundation of Aktiebolaget Bofors-Gullspång...
.
December
- 3 December-5 December - RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n President Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
visits India, holding talks with Prime Minister Vajpayee and other senior ministers. - 8 December - Police confirm they have found the body of H. Nagappa, the former Karnataka minister kidnapped by Veerappan in August. Veerappan issues a taped statement saying that Nagappa has been accidentally killed in a shootout with the police.
- 12 December - The Bharatiya Janata PartyBharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) is returned to power with a landslide victory in state assembly elections in Gujarat. - 16 December - A special court in New Delhi convicts three Kashmiri Muslims of planning the attack on the federal parliament in December 2001. The three men are sentenced to death on December 18.
- 20 December - Guerrillas of the Maoist Communist CentreMaoist Communist CentreThe Maoist Communist Centre was one of the largest two armed Maoist groups in India, and fused with the other, the People's War Group in September 2004, to form the Communist Party of India .-Dakshin Desh:...
(MCC) kill 18 people in an attack on a police van in the Sanda forests of the eastern state of JharkhandJharkhandJharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. It is said to be a revenge attack for the death two days earlier of the MCC leader Ishwari Mahato. - 22 December - Narendra ModiNarendra ModiNarendra Damodardas Modi is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.He was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar; and is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since childhood, as also an active politician since early in life. He holds a masters degree in political...
is sworn in as the chief minister of Gujarat for the second time. - 24 December - Prime Minister Vajpayee opens the first stretch of Delhi's new metroRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system.
Deaths
- 4 February - Bhagwan DadaBhagwan DadaBhagwan Dada was an Indian actor and film director. He is best known for his social film Albela.-Early life:...
, actor and film director (b.19131913 in India-Events:*6 November - Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa.* Rabindranath Tagore , Bengali poet, got the Nobel Prize in Literature for his book of lyrics called Gitanjali translated into English by himself....
). - 23 March - Piara Singh GillPiara Singh GillPiara Singh Gill was an Indian nuclear physicist who was a pioneer in cosmic ray nuclear physics and worked on the American Manhattan project. He was the first Director of Central Scientific Instruments Organisation of India. He was research fellow of Chicago University...
, physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
(b.19111911 in IndiaEvents in the year 1911 in India.-Events:*18 February - Henry Piquet, flying a Humber biplane, carried mail from Allahabad to Naini junction which was the first flight in India....
). - 25 April - Prameela Devi, actress (b.19431943 in IndiaEvents in the year 1943 in India.-Events:*Bengal famine of 1943*10 February - 3 March - Mohandas Gandhi maintains a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.*30 December - Subhash Chandra Bose sets up a pro-Japanese Indian government at Port Blair....
). - 6 July - Dhirubhai AmbaniDhirubhai AmbaniDhirajlal Hirachand Ambani also known as Dhirubhai, was an Indian-Gujarati business magnate and entrepreneur who founded Reliance Industries, a petrochemicals, communications, power, and textiles conglomerate and the only privately owned Indian company in the Fortune 500. Ambani took his company...
, business tycoon (b.19331933 in India-Events:*8 May - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 3-week hunger strike because of the mistreatment of the lower castes.-Births:*14 February - Madhubala, actress .*18 February - Nimmi, actress.*4 April - Balan K...
). - 27 July - Krishan KantKrishan KantKrishan Kant was the tenth Vice President of India from 1997 until his death.Kant's first brush with politics came when he plunged into the Quit India movement, while he was still a student in Lahore. He took part in the Indian Independence Movement as a youth and continued to be involved in...
, politician, Vice President of India (b.19271927 in India-Events:* 12 November - Mahatma Gandhi made his first and last visit to Ceylon.* The commission is formed to consider further steps toward self-rule of India. No Indian member is included.-Births:* 24 January - J...
). - 24 September - Pisharoth Rama PisharotyPisharoth Rama PisharotyPisharoth Rama Pisharoty was an Indian physicist and meteorologist, and is considered to be the father of remote sensing in India.-Early life and education:...
, physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and meteorologistMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
(b.19091909 in India-Births:*3 January - M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, actor and Carnatic singer .*10 February - Pisharoth Rama Pisharoty, physicist and meteorologist .*6 April - Alagappa Chettiar, businessman and philanthropist ....
). - 11 October - Dina PathakDina PathakDina Pathak or Deena Pathak was a veteran actor and director of Gujarati theatre and also a film actor. She was also a woman activist and remained the President of the 'National Federation of Indian Women'...
, actress and activist (b.19221922 in IndiaEvents in the year 1922 in India.-Events:*February - The Chauri Chaura incident occurs, where a mob of about 3000 kills some policemen. With the Non-cooperation movement taking an increasingly violent form, this is the last straw to Gandhi's sense of discipline...
).