Reflections 2023

India Lands on Moon

The south pole region of the Moon is believed to contain frozen water, with large deposits hidden in shadowed craters. Water and its elemental ingredients—hydrogen and oxygen—will be critical to support human activity on the Moon

Indian lunar lander Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down on the lunar surface on August 23, 2023, making India the fourth nation to successfully land on the Moon and the first to land in the south pole region. This historic accomplishment further cements India’s rise as a global space power at a time of heightened international competition in space.

ISRO’s mission sets India up to lead internationally in the exploration of frozen water on the Moon and demonstrate its scientific and technical prowess, which Prime Minister Modi remarked, “are the foundation of a bright future for our nation.”

The south pole region of the Moon is believed to contain frozen water, with large deposits hidden in shadowed craters. Water and its elemental ingredients—hydrogen and oxygen—will be critical to support human activity on the Moon. It can provide drinking water and oxygen, power lunar habitats and equipment, and fuel rockets for longer journeys to Mars.

BJP’s excellent show in Assembly polls

On December 3, election results of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana were out and BJP registered a landslide victory in 3 out of these 4 states. While BJP ousted Congress from power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, it retained its position in Madhya Pradesh. Congress also won the assembly elections in Telangana for the first time, while ZPM won the Mizoram assembly elections results held on November 4. In the assembly elections held in May in Karnataka, an important state of South India, Congress registered a landslide victory and ousted BJP from power. Congress won 135 out of 224 seats in the assembly and formed its government with a huge majority. With the defeat in Karnataka elections, Karnataka, the strongest fort of BJP in South India, collapsed. BJP got only 66 seats in the elections and the party’s plan to make Basavaraj Bommai the CM in place of BS Yediyurappa failed.

200 dead in Manipur

Manipur made headlines for much of 2023 as it witnessed one of the worst ethnic conflicts between the Kuki and Meitei communities, resulting in over 200 deaths and leaving nearly 60,000 people homeless. Though violence broke out on May 3, tension had been building in the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi since February due to the state government’s efforts to remove encroachers from reserved forest areas. A video of two women being paraded naked and subjected to blatant acts of sexual assault by a group of tribal men in Manipur goes viral, triggering outrage across the country.

Atiq Ahmed shot dead

Criminal-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azim were shot dead by three assailants in Prayagraj on April 15, while being escorted by about a dozen police personnel for a routine medical checkup. The former Samajwadi Party (SP) MP was killed hours after the last rites of his son Asad Ahmed, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi two days ago.

Rail TRAGEDY 296 perish

On 2 June 2023, three trains collided in Balasore district in Odisha state of eastern India. The Coromandel Express entered the passing loop instead of the main line near Bahanaga Bazar railway station at full speed and collided with a goods train. Due to the high speed of the Coromandel Express, its 21 coaches derailed and three of those collided with the oncoming SMVT Bengaluru–Howrah Superfast Express on the adjacent track. A total of 296 people were killed in the crash and more than 1,200 others were injured.

Opposition form ‘INDIA’ alliance

In July, the leaders of 26 Opposition political parties from across India joined hands to form the INDIA coalition—the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance—to take on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The Great tunnel rescue

On 12 November 2023, a section of the Silkyara Bend–Barkot tunnel, planned to connect National Highway 134 in the Uttarkashi district caved in while under construction. 41 workers got trapped inside the tunnel. The government brought in “rat-hole” miners who were able to use manual mining methods to get an access pipe to the trapped workers. .All 41 workers were rescued after 17 days.

146 MPs suspended

Opposition INDIA bloc parties protested at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on December 22 against the suspension of 146 MPs from both Houses of Parliament. The “Save Democracy” protest lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for “bulldozing” the Opposition MPs out of Parliament and getting crucial Bills passed.

G20 Summit in New Delhi

September marked a historic moment for India as it hosted the G20 Summit in its vibrant capital, New Delhi. The 2023 G20 New Delhi summit was the eighteenth meeting of the G20 (Group of Twenty), held at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, on September 9–10, 2023. It was the first G20 summit held in India.

Wrestlers on roads

2023 started with serious allegations of sexual exploitation by players against the Indian Wrestling Association President and BJP MP. On one hand, while star wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik staged a protest and made serious allegations against the WFI President, on the other hand Brij Bhushan kept denying all the allegations. Ultimately, after the intervention of the court, an FIR was registered in this matter and the players’ strike ended.

SC landmark verdicts

Demonetisation scheme

In the month of January this year, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court affirmed the validity of the November 2016 demonetisation scheme of the Centre. The Supreme Court by a 4:1 majority judgement upheld the November 2016 decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

Nod to Jallikattu

In the month of May, the top court upheld the amendments made by the legislatures of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Karnataka to The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. These amendments allow for bull-taming sports such as Jallikattu, kambala, and bullock-cart races.

Rahul’s conviction in defamation case

The year has been the year of ups and downs for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case over ‘Modi surname’ remark during a political rally in 2019. As Gandhi’s conviction was stayed, his Lok Sabha Sabha MP status was reinstated. Gandhi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment which disqualified him as an MP under the rigours of the Representation of People Act.

No to same-sex marriage

In the month of October, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court refused to recognise the right of same-sex couples to enter into marriages or have civil unions and left it to the Parliament to decide the issue. The Supreme Court unanimously said it cannot strike down the provisions of the Special Marriage Act (SMA) or read words differently to include non-heterosexual couples within its fold.

Manual scavenging eradication

In the month of October, the Supreme Court highlighted concerns over deaths during manual scavenging and termed it a “deplorable practice”. Supreme Court increased compensation upto Rs 30 for the kin of individuals who die while cleaning sewers. Asking the Centre and State government to take measures to completely eradicate manual scavenging, the Supreme Court further ordered that those who suffer permanent disabilities while engaged in this work will receive a minimum compensation of Rs 20 lakh.

SC upholds abrogation of Art 370

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on December 11 unanimously upheld the Union government’s 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution which conferred the special status of Jammu and Kashmir while pointing out that Article 370 is a “temporary provision”. Supreme Court took the Solicitor General’s assurance into note that the Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored, except for the Union Territory of Ladakh. It asked the Centre to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2024.