24/05/2014
Present India:
In one of the most dramatic political upsets in modern Indian history, the Indian National Congress Party, led by Sonia Gandhi, prevailed in parliamentary elections in May 2004, prompting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to resign. Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, refused to become prime minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party protested Gandhi's elevation to prime minister because of her foreign birth. The Congress Party chose Manmohan Singh, who became India's first Sikh prime minister.
On December 26, 2004, a powerful tsunami ravaged 12 Asian countries. Nearly 11,000 people perished in India.
In March 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Singh agreed to a nuclear power deal that permitted the sale of nuclear technology.
Pratibha Patil, of the governing Congress party, was elected president in July 2007, becoming the country's first woman to hold the post. She defeated Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Prime Minister Singh survived a confidence vote in July 2008. He lost the support of Communist parties as he sought to seal the nuclear power deal between the U.S. and India. In September 2008, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, comprised of representatives from 45 countries, voted in favor of the deal. The U.S. Congress approved the deal in October 2008. The deal could be scrapped if India uses the fuel for its weapons program.
Squirmishing along Kashmir's Line of Control broke out over the summer of 2008. The problems arose after authorities in Kashmir transferred 99 acres of land to a trust that runs a Hindu shrine, called Amarnath. Muslims launched a series of protests. The government rescinded the order, which outraged Hindus. About 40 people were killed in the protests.
Religious and ethnic clashes broke out throughout India in the summer and fall of 2008. The violence was exacerbated by a series of terrorist attacks largely blamed on Islamic militants, including one in the northern state of Assam that killed nearly 70 people and wounded hundreds in October.
India launched its first unmanned spacecraft in October 2008 for a two-year mission to map a three-dimensional atlas of the Moon and search for natural resources on the Moon's surface.
On November 26, 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. About 170 people were killed and about 300 wounded. Indian officials said ten gunmen carried out the attacks. It took Indian forces three days to end the siege. Indian and U.S. officials said they had evidence that Lashkar-e-Taiba was involved in the attack. India's home minister in charge of security, Shivraj Patil, resigned after the tragedy.
New Delhi's highest court overturned the ban on homos*xuality in July 2009. Homos*xuality was illegal in India since 1861. Court justices declared the law to be a violation of human rights and equality outlined in India's constitution.
Muhammad Ajmal Qasab, a Pakistani and the only attacker who survived the Mumbai attacks, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by an Indian court in May 2010.
On July 13, 2011, three bombs exploded in Mumbai's business district during rush hour, killing 18 people and injuring more than 100.
In 2011, Anna Hazare, a 74-year-old Indian activist, went on two hunger strikes attempting to force India's parliament to adopt legislation instituting an independent anti-corruption agency called a Jan Lokpal, or ombudsman. The first strike ended after 13 days with an invitation to help draft a Lokpal bill. Anna Hazare decided the legislation was too weak, which led to a second hunger strike in December. On December 27, a bill was passed in the lower house before being stalled in the upper house.
In April 2012, India successfully launched the Agni 5, a long-range ballistic missile that can reach Beijing and Shanghai, China. It can also deliver a nuclear warhead. The exercise was seen as a response to China's investment in its military and growing assertiveness.
India was hit by the largest blackout in history in July 2012. More than half of India's population lost power for two days.
Protests spread throughout India in December 2012, when a woman died after being gang r***d on a moving bus. The woman was flown to Singapore after three abdominal operations at a Delhi hospital, where her intestines were removed due to damage done by a metal rod during the attack.
In January 2013, the trial for the five men accused of the gang r**e began. In February 2013, the government approved stiffer laws for s*xual violence. The new laws included the death penalty in certain cases. On March 11, 2013, Ram Singh, the driver of the bus, was found hanging in his jail cell. Officials ruled his death as su***de, but Singh's family said he was killed.
On August 31, 2013, a teenager was convicted for his part in the gang r**e. He was sentenced to three years in a juvenile correctional facility. On September 13, Judge Yogesh Khanna handed down a death sentence by hanging for the other four convicted men.
On December 11, 2013, the Indian Supreme Court reinstated a law banning gay s*x. The ruling came after the court determined that the law had been improperly ruled unconstitutional by a lower court. Protests were held after the verdict and India's ruling party spoke out against the Supreme Court's ruling.
In May 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party won a majority in parliament. The election took place in nine phases from April 7 through May 12, making it the longest election in the country's history. Narendra Modi assumed office as prime minister on May 26, 2014.
