Pakistani leader killed
January 4:
Pakistan's Punjab’s liberal Governor Salman Taseer is assassinated by his security guard for calling the blasphemy law a “black law.”
United andhra
January 6:
The Justice Srikrishna Committee recommends a united Andhra Pradesh with Constitutional measures for social, economic and political empowerment for Telangana, as the “best way forward” to “continue the momentum of development of all three regions.”
2g loss is less
January 7:
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal disputes the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's estimate that the exchequer suffered a presumptive loss of `1.76 lakh crore on account of giving 2G licences in 2008 without an auction, stating that there was no such loss.
Floods kill hundreds in Brazil
January 13: Devastating mudslides and floods sweep away entire neighbourhoods in the mountains near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, killing at least 335 people.
Indian scientist honoured
January 18
The UK government awarded the Guy Medal in Gold, the highest prize for innovative contribution to statistics, to Prof. C.R. Rao, a Hyderabad-based scientist and mathematician. This is the first time in 100 years that the medal is being awarded to a non-European.
Prosecute Yeddy
January 21:
Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj grants approval for the prosecution of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, for his alleged involvement in illegal land deals, setting off a political storm, with violence breaking out in the state.
Kalmadi sacked
January 24:
Newly-appointed sports minister Ajay Maken sacks Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the scandal-ridden Commonwealth Games 2010’s Organising Committee (OC), who along with other members of the committee, faces corruption charges in connection with the conduct of the games.
FEBRUARY
Protest like an Egyptian
February 1:
People gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo, respo-nding to the Opposition’s call for a “million man protest”. Lakhs take to the streets in scenes never seen before in the Arab nation’s modern history, demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.
Ex-minister Raja arrested
February 2:
The CBI arrests former telecom minister A. Raja, and former telecom secretary Siddartha Behura, for allegedly violating established procedures in allotting licences for 2G spectrum in 2007-08, and causing a Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss to the national exchequer.
Chiranjeevi Joins Congress
February 6:
Praja Rajyam leader and matinee idol K. Chiranjeevi announces the merger of his party with the Indian National Congress.
Shahid Balwa is arrested
February 8:
The CBI arrests Dynamix Balwas (DB) group managing director Shahid Usman Balwa in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Hosni Mubarak resigns
February 11:
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns, and hands control to the military after 30 years in power, bowing to a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by thousands.
AP Governor assaulted
February 17: Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan is assaulted by pro-Telangana leaders in the House during a joint session of the state legislature.
65 die in earthquake
February 22
At least 65 people were killed after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand’s southern city of Christchurch, crushing buildings and leaving hundreds of people trapped.
MARCH
Gaddafi’s forces kill Libyans
March 7: Muammar Gaddafi’s forces kill 21 people, including a child, and injure dozens in Libya’s rebel-held city of Misurata during fighting and shelling.
Quake and Tsunami hit Japan coast
March 11
The biggest earthquake
on record to hit Japan rocks the northeast coast, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that kills at least 10,000 people. The incident leads to the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown, bringing back memories of the Chernobyl disaster.
Hasan Ali Khan arrested
March 8:
Pune-based racehorse owner Hasan Ali Khan, known for his lavish lifestyle, is arrested on charges of money laundering.
Raja aide dies
March 16:
Sadiq Batcha, a close aide of former telecom minister A. Raja, who is facing a CBI probe in the 2G scam, found dead in his house in Chennai.
We are now 1.21 billion people
March 31:
India’s population stands at 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million in the last 10 years, according to the provisional 2011 General Census. The census shows the sex ratio to be 914 females per 1,000 males. Female literacy, which in 2001 stood at 53.67 per cent, is at 65.46 per cent in 2011. Male literacy has risen from 75.26 per cent to 82.14 per cent.
APRIL
Adi Godrej ISB chief
April 2:
Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej group, is elected chairman of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
National awards presented
April 1:
President Pratibha Patil presents the Padma Vibhushan to veteran actor Dr A. Nageswara Rao and the Padma Shri to agriculture scientist Dr E.A. Siddiq and ace shooter Gagan Narang at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
First fast of Anna
April 5:
Anna Hazare begins his fast to demand a strong Jan Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption. The fast led to nation-wide support for his India Against Corruption movement. The fast ended after his demands were accepted, but it was only the first of many agitations he has launched since.
Binayak Sen gets bail
April 15:
The Supreme Court grants bail to rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, who had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chhattisgarh trial court for sedition and helping Naxalites set up a network to wage war against the state.
MAY
Osama Bin Laden is killed
May 2:
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a US Special Forces and CIA helicopter-borne raid on a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Pakistani troops were kept out of the operation and bin Laden’s body was buried at sea.
Gogoi’s third win
May 13:
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi leads his party to a hat-trick victory, with the Congress winning a majority of 71 in the 126-member Assembly. He will be Chief Minister for the third successive term.
IMF chief is arrested
May 15: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, International Monetary Fund chief and possible French presidential contender, arrested and charged with sexual assault, including attempted rape, on a hotel maid in New York City.
Kanimozhi arrested
May 20:
Kanimozhi, Rajya Sabha MP, was arrested and sent to Tihar Jail by a Delhi court which dismissed her bail plea in the 2G spectrum scam case.
Ladies come first
May 13, 2011:
Trinamul Congress chieftain Mamata Banerjee ends 34-year Left rule in Bengal and becomes Chief Minister.
Chandy takes oath as Kerala CM
May 18:
Oommen Chandy is sworn in Kerala Chief Minister after the Congress wrests the state from the Left Front. Chandy was earlier CM from 2004 to 2006.
JUNE
Ramdev evicted
June 5:
The government justifies police action to evict anti-corruption protesters from Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, it also rules out any further negotiations with Baba Ramdev regarding his demand to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks.
Anna announces fast
June 21:
Failing to arrive at a consensus on the provisions of the proposed Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare announces that he will go ahead with his proposed hunger strike from August 16 to “teach the government a lesson”.
Car bomb kills 60
June 25:
A huge car bomb at a hospital kills 60 people in Afghanistan’s worst attack in three years.
Temple treasure
June 30:
Vaults of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala are opened to reveal astonishing wealth estimated to be `10,000 crore. Valut B is not to be opened for the present due to the fear of an ancient curse.
JULY
Wedding in Monaco
July 2:
Prince Albert II of Monaco gets married to Charlene Wittstock of South Africa. The wedding was marred by allegations that the bride was reluctant and also by rumours that the Prince was facing a paternity suit.
A new country is born
July 9:
Oil-rich South Sudan becomes the world’s newest country, splitting from the Khartoum-ruled north after decades of brutal war that claimed some two million lives. Glorious celebration of the long-awaited independence began in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, at midnight.
70 die in rail mishap
July 10:
The Howrah-Delhi Kalka Mail derails near Fatehpur in UP, killing 70 people. Three days earlier, the Mathura Chhapra Express had rammed into a bus carrying wedding guests, killing 38 persons.
The last edition
July 10:
The News of the World bid goodbye with its last edition with the headline, Thank You & Goodbye, printed on the backdrop of front pages of the breaking stories it published in 8,674 editions over its 168-year-old history.
Terror hits Mumbai
July 13:
Serial terror strikes in Mumbai — three blasts ripped through congested areas of the city, leaving 21 people dead and 145 others injured. The blasts took place between 6.50 pm and 7.04 pm at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and near Kabutarkhana in Dadar.
AUGUST
Justice Sen impeached
August 18:
Rajya Sabha creates history by voting overwhelmingly to impeach Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen for alleged misappropriation of Rs 32 lakh and misrepresenting facts.
Narayana Murthy retires
August 19:
N.R. Narayana Murthy, the iconic chairman of Infosys, bids adieu to the company he co-founded in 1981 and nurtured to make it India’s second largest software services company with $6 billion in annual revenues.
Protests in Syria
August 20:
Syrian forces fire heavy machine-guns and kill 34 people in a residential district in the central city of Homs after protests against President Bashar al-Assad, who faces growing world isolation for his repression of five months of unrest.
SEPTEMBER
September 5:
CBI, Hyderabad, arrests mining barons Gali Janardhan Reddy and his brother-in-law B. Srinivas Reddy after an early morning raid in Bellary in connection with the illegal mining case.
Bombing outside Delhi HC
September 7:
Terrorists executed an audacious strike in the national capital by triggering a powerful explosion outside the Delhi High Court, leaving at least 11 persons dead and over 70 injured. The terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI) claimed responsibility for the blast.
Amar Singh arrested
September 6:
Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and two ex-BJP MPs, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora, are arrested at the national capital’s Tis Hazari Courts for their alleged involvement in the cash-for-votes scam that had rocked Parliament in July 2008.
Cop arrested
September 30:
Whistleblower IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who had riled Narendra Modi by filing an affidavit in the SC against the Gujarat government and the CM in connection with the 2002 riots, was arrested by cops who later raided his home.
Earthquake hits Sikkim, Bengal
September 18:
An earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hits Sikkim and West Bengal, killing 111 people and destroying vast tracts of the hilly state.
OCTOBER
Cheap Aakaash tablet arrives
October 5:
The government unveils the world’s cheapest tablet web access device Aakaash. Priced at `2,276, the device will be subsidised by up to 50 per cent for students, as the government prepares to expand IT education in the country.
PSLV launched into orbit
October 12:
In yet another successful flight, India’s trusted workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle perfectly places an Indo-French satellite, Megha-Tropiques, in orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Shar in Sriharikota.
New Saudi crown prince
October 27:
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz Al Saud is made the new Prince of the country.
Iqbal mirchi arrested
October 11:
The police in London arrests Iqbal Mirchi, a key associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, a move viewed as significant by the intelligence establishment.
Bhutan’s king marries
October 13:
Bhutan’s 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck marries 21-year-old student Jetsun Pema in a colourful ceremony showcasing the rich Buddhist culture of one of the world’s most remote and insular countries.
Raj Rajaratnam convicted
October 13:
Raj Rajaratnam, 54, billionaire hedge fund manager and founder of the Galleon group, convicted in May on 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy, is handed a 11-year jail term by a Manhattan court.
Quake in Turkey
October 23:
An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey, with a seismological institute estimating that up to 1,000 people lay dead under the rubble of nearly 4,000 collapsed buildings and homes.
Sushil Kumar wins Rs 5 crore
October 27:
Sushil Kumar, a computer operator from Bihar, becomes the first ever person to win Rs 5 crore on Kaun Banega Crorepati. Kumar hails from Motihari and is now the ambassador for NREGA.
Muammar Gaddafi killed by rebels
October 20:
Muammar Gaddafi is dead, Libya’s new leaders said, killed by fighters who overran his home town and final bastion. His bloodied body was stripped and the images beamed around the world from a cellphone video.
Kareena gets a wax double
October 27:
Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor inaugurates her wax model at Madame Tussauds, Blackpool, England.
NOVEMBER
Koneru prasad arrested
November 3:
Koneru Prasad, the alleged mastermind behind the Emaar scam, is arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Hyderabad. Prasad is founder of Stylish Homes and chairman of the Trimex Group. He is also the director of Emaar Hills Township Private Limited.
It’s Venezuela once again
November 6:
Miss Venezuela Ivian Sarcos is crowned the 2011 winner of the Miss World beauty pageant at a glittering final ceremony in London. The country has won six each of Miss Universe and Miss World titles.
Kolaveri Di is a rage
November 16:
Why This Kolaveri Di, a ‘soup song’ from the Tamil film 3, written and sung by Dhanush and composed by music director Anirudh Ravichander, is released and goes viral on the Internet. It has scored 20 million hits so far.
Jackson’s doctor guilty
November 7:
Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the King of Pop’s 2009 death, at an emotional climax to his long-awaited trial. He was later sentenced to serve four years in jail.
Godhra accused convicted
November 9:
A special fast-track court awards life imprisonment to 31 persons convicted in a 2002 post-Godhra riot case; 33 Muslims were burnt alive in Sardarpura village of Gujarat’s Mehsana district.
Baby Bachchan arrives
November 16:
Actress Aishwarya Rai gives birth to a baby girl at a private hospital in Mumbai. News of the birth is tweeted by grandfather Amitabh and husband Abhishek within minutes.
Berlusconi resigns
November 13:
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s Prime Minister of 17 years, resigns after Parliament’s lower chamber passed reforms demanded by the European Union.
Kishenji killed in encounter
November 24:
Maoist leader Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji is killed in an encounter in the Burisole forest area in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. Activist groups cry foul and allege that he was shot dead in cold blood.
DECEMBER
93 dead in hospital blaze
December 8:
As many as 93 people suffocate to death during a fire at Kolkata’s prestigious AMRI hospital. The blaze was caused by inflammable material kept in the basement.
Hooch kills 121 in bengal
December 14:
Hooch kills 121 people in Sangrampur village of South 24 Parganas of West Bengal.
Food bill introduced
December 22:
Food Security Bill, which legally entitles 63.5 per cent of the population to subsidised food grains, is introduced in Parliament.
Lokpal bill passed in LS
December 27:
Lok Sabha passes Lokpal Bill without according it Constitutional status, as Anna Hazare sits on fast. Lok Sabha also passes a Bill to protect whistleblowers.
Putin faces huge protests
December 9:
Unprecedented protests break out in Russia against the electoral victory of Vladimir Putin’s party
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