This Year in Explainers: Why Sam Manekshaw is India’s ‘Bahadur’

We are celebrating the end of 2023 and the advent of 2024. The year, undoubtedly, has been significant for the country as a myriad of events took place. Some very good, while some others not so much.

And like most others, now is the time for stock-taking.

We sit back and mull over all that happened in the country in 2023 – from India’s highest of highs when it successfully hosted the G20 Summit and reached the moon to its lowest when ethnic violence broke out in Manipur – wreaking havoc and destruction.

As you prepare to ring in the New Year, we present to you our biggest stories from India in 2023 in our yearly wrap.

1) We start off with the biting cold wave that hit Delhi and other parts of north India at the start of the year. Temperatures fell to dangerously low levels, causing the death of 98 people in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur. As the mercury fell, people got more worried about the effects of the weather, prompting many to wonder if cold conditions could cause heart attacks and brain freezes.

In our explainer, we delved into the impact winter weather can have on our bodies and what can be done to protect ourselves. Read here to find out more.

2) Besides the cold weather in the country, January was also the year when flyers got the cold feet. That’s because a man was arrested for urinating on a passenger on board an Air India flight headed to Delhi from New York.

The man was later identified as Mumbai-based Shankar Mishra, a 34-year-old employee of US financial giant Wells Fargo. Authorities later stated that the Mumbai resident had committed ‘peegate’ – as the incident was later dubbed – under the influence of alcohol.

3) The Dalai Lama is a revered person across the world. Most times, he’s praised and called a man of peace. However, in March, the revered Tibetan spiritual leader found himself in hot water and was severely criticised by many on social media.

Many netizens called the Dalai Lama creepy; some others said the leader was being funny, while there were few others who went as far as calling him a paedophile and demanding that he be arrested.

But what exactly caused people to get so upset? Read our explainer here about the incident of him, calling a little boy on stage during an event and then planting a kiss on the minor’s lips.

As anger only grew online, the Dalai Lama offered his apologies for the incident. However, it seems that the damage was done.

4) In the year 2023, India witnessed a fair share of scandals, controversies and crimes that horrified us. Of the many that took place in India, one stood out for being particularly heinous. In May, a 20-year-old Sahil Sarfaraz repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend, who was then just 16-years-old in Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy area, and then bludgeoned her to death with a stone.

How did the police nab Sahil Sarfaraz for the crime? Read our explainer that details exactly how the Delhi Police was able to track Sarfaraz and put him behind bars.

5) Perhaps, one of India’s lowest moments came in the month of May when violence broke out in the northeastern state of Manipur. It began first on 3 May when a rally descended into violence and a larger conflict in the state, which many dubbed as a state of civil war.

According to government figures, as of 15 September, 175 people have died in the violence. Another 1,108 have been injured while 32 are missing. A whopping 4,786 houses have been burnt and 386 religious structures including temples and churches have been vandalised.

The conflict threw light on the battle between the Meitei community and the Kuki-Naga tribes. In our explainer, we detail the differences between the two groups and what led to the animosity between them.

The conflict also showcased human kind’s worst moment when two women, belonging to the Kuki tribe, were paraded naked. The country was up in arms about the incident, with even Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemning it and saying that the incident had put 140 crore Indians to shame.

6) Away from the main headlines, but yet startling enough came the news that 3.3 per cent of all women in the country between the ages of 15 and 49 have had a hysterectomy. Even the Supreme Court took note of the situation and ordered the government to take strict action against medical professionals who perform unnecessary hysterectomies in hospitals and clinics.

The National Family Health Survey revealed that Andhra Pradesh (nine per cent) and Telangana (eight per cent) had the highest rates of hysterectomy.

In our explainer, we explored what exactly is a hysterectomy and dug deeper to find why a rising number of women were opting for this procedure. Click here to find out if this has intrigued you as well.

7) June was perhaps one of the most significant months in the year. It was then that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his way to the United States for his first State Visit. What made the visit even more significant was the fact that he addressed a joint-press conference with US president Joe Biden.

PM Modi took a myriad of questions from journalists from across the globe. But it was one query that grabbed the headlines everywhere. The Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui threw a volley of questions the prime minister’s way on the rights of Muslims and other minorities in the country as well suggesting that democratic rights were under threat in his regime. While PM Modi answered her questions, it seemed that some were very unhappy and trolled her viciously online.

8) In August, India reached new heights. Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 became the first to land near the south pole of the moon and India joined the small lunar club – countries that have reached the moon.

What made the mission even more special was that Chandrayaan’s rover, Pragyaan, left an imprint of the Ashoka emblem on the Moon, effectively leaving India’s imprint on the Moon.

Find out here how this was accomplished and what happened next.

9) In October, Shikhar Dhawan, one of India’s most prominent cricket players, made the headlines but not for his performance on the field. He made the news after the Delhi court granted him a divorce from his wife, Aesha Mukherji, on the grounds of mental cruelty.

Shortly after, many asked what is mental cruelty that Dhawan had invoked to seek a divorce. We delved deep into this topic – from what the law said on it to the many instances when it was invoked by either spouse to seek a divorce.

10) What do you associate with Diwali? Most would answer firecrackers. But in recent times, the bursting of firecrackers, especially in the North has been banned owing to the horrible air pollution.

In November, while hearing a case on Rajasthan implementing a ban on firecrackers, the Supreme Court stated, “At this juncture, no specific order will be necessary in as much as this Court, in the course of hearing the petitions, has passed several orders, where steps have been indicated to minimise and avoid air as well as noise pollution. Hence the said orders will bind every state in the country, including the state of Rajasthan. Therefore, we make it clear that the state of Rajasthan would also take note of this and take all steps to minimise air and noise pollution, not only during the festival season, but even thereafter.”

But it seemed that the court’s order confused many. Were crackers allowed or not? In our explainer, we dispelled the confusion around the bursting of crackers. Read here to find out more.

11) The year 2023 was especially good for Indian travellers and the good news will further continue in the coming year. A rising number of countries – Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia – have announced visa-free travel for Indians. Moreover, countries like Vietnam are also considering the same. Kenya has opened up visa-free travel for all people. Russia, too, has started issuing electronic visas (e-visas) to Indian passport holders.

But why is it that countries are luring Indian travellers? Experts cite a number of reasons, the most significant being that desis are now willing to spend more on travel. In fact, a report titled ‘How India Travels’ released by Booking.com and McKinsey & Company, projected that Indian travellers’ total expenditure will surge to $410 billion.

So go out there and travel! Travel far, travel well and have fun!

12) The year 2023 saw Bollywood release some amazing films, ringing the cash registers at the box office. In December, came Meghna Gulzar’s much anticipated Sam Bahadur, starring Vicky Kaushal in the lead role.

The movie, based on the life of India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, garnered critical as well as box office appreciation. In this essay, we tell you the tales of the bravery of Sam Manekshaw, considered as one of our finest military leaders. He was a gutsy war general but also one with great wit. He was one of a kind.

And that’s it from us for 2023! We hope you have a very happy new year with lots of reading.

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