2023 was a rollercoaster trip for the nation, with moments of joy when Chandrayaan-3 landed down on the moon, grief as the country suffered amid several natural calamities, and heartbreak when India lost the cricket World Cup final.
This year 2023, India has much to be excited about: Manipur Violence, the election of a new Parliament, two accomplished space missions, and a successful attempt to rescue individuals trapped in a collapsed tunnel,ODI World Cup, amd many more. However, this year’s headlines were also dominated by the ethnic conflicts in the Northeast that claimed hundreds of lives, several natural calamities and accidents that claimed countless lives, and prominent women wrestlers in the nation speaking out against sexual harassment.
Here, we take a look a handful of the major events that impacted the nation this year:
JANUARY
- On January 18, 2023, Indian wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia, accused BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual misconduct. They staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, urging the collapse of WFI, the president’s dismissal, and an investigation.
FEBRUARY
- From 6th to 8th February, first meeting of the Youth20 Group on the occasion of the G-20 summit held in Guwahati.
- On February 26, Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, was arrested by the CBI related to excise policy, in providing special treatment to liquor vend licensees for political influence during the Punjab Assembly elections.
MARCH
- With resounding victories in the Tripura Assembly elections, the BJP reestablished itself as a minor player in ruling coalitions and regained power in Meghalaya and Nagaland.The National People’s Party became the dominant party in Meghalaya.
- On 24 March 2023 Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Indian National Congress, was disqualified as member of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha).
APRIL
- On 24th April, with an estimated population of 142.86 crore by the middle of this year, India officially overtook China as the most populous nation in the world, surpassing China’s estimate of 142.57 crore.
- On 15th April, the Sudan War attained Global attention. More than 9,000 civilians have been killed and 5.6 million forced to flee their homes, while the capital, Khartoum, continues to be ravaged by savage internecine warfare.
MAY
- On May 3, Manipur Violence broke out at several locations in Manipur during a “Tribal Solidarity March,” which was organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union. This marked a long-standing ethnic divide in the state between the hill tribes and the Meitei population, who live in plains.
- On May 28, The centre of attention and last remarks of the inauguration of the new Parliament building came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who aimed to situate this occasion within a larger and more expansive national vision.
JUNE
- On June 2, a devastating disaster happened near Bahanaga Bazar station involving the Coromandel Express, an SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Express, and a cargo train. Over 280 persons were killed and over 850 injured.
JULY
- On May 4, wo Kuki-Zomi women being sexually raped and paraded nude by a group of men went viral. This incident occurred in Manipur over two months prior, at the outset of the violence.
- Starting from July 8, in Himachal Pradesh, three episodes of heavy rain caused chaos. Extreme weather phenomena, particularly in Mandi, Kullu, Manali, Shimla, and certain areas of Kangra, caused severe damage to property and loss of life through landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, subsidence, and sinking of land.
- On July 14, Chandrayaan-3 was launched as India’s moon mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
AUGUST
- On August 23, India was celebrating this month as its Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 scripted history by successfully landing on the lunar surface. With the Lander accomplishing a ‘soft landing’ on the Moon’s south pole, India became the only country to have ever done so.
- On August 7, Senior leader Rahul Gandhi returned to Parliament following the Supreme Court’s stay of his conviction in a criminal defamation case in 2019 due to his comments against the surname “Modi.”
SEPTEMBER
- On 9-10 September, the 18th G20 Summit was successfully conducted at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
- On September 15, in the Manipur violence over 175 people have died and over 1,000 have been injured as a result of intermittent violence that has been sparked by an ethnic dispute between the Meitei and Kuki populations.
OCTOBER
- On October 4-5, in Sikkim, over 70 people lost their lives when the glacial South Lhonak Lake, which is located at an elevation of 17,000 feet in the northwest of the state, broke as a result of constant rain, causing water to spill into downstream areas and killing Army troops. As a result, the Teesta River’s water levels rose, flooding at least four districts on October 4—Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi.
- Since 7 October 2023, an armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups[s] has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million population, and around 500,000 Israelis have been internally displaced. The war resulted in the death of 695 Israeli civilians, 373 soldiers and 71 foreigners, giving a total of 1,139.
- On October 17, the Supreme Court decided not recognise same-sex unions, stating that the legislature alone has the authority to do so and that the court’s attempt to do so would be a challenge on the legislative branch.
NOVEMBER
- Starting from October 5 and concluding on 19th November, the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup was held, with Australia winning the tournament. 1.4 billion Indians were left heartbroken after their country’s incredible bid to win the ODI World Cup came up short. India had dominated Australia for 40 nights after their initial victory in Chennai, but on the 41st night they would stumble and lose comprehensively.
- On 12th November, 41 workers trapped in an Uttarakhand tunnel, rescue efforts were made to save and it continued till 28th November. After rescuers arrived at the 41 stranded workers, ending an over 400-hour effort, a nationwide sigh of relief was felt.
DECEMBER
- On December 3 and 4, the results of the Assembly elections were released, bringing in new governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. The National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has taken over 17 states and Union Territories after defeating the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and winning a resounding victory in Madhya Pradesh.
- On December 13, two individuals broke significant security, the 22nd anniversary of the Parliament assaults, by jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery. They yelled slogans and opened canisters that ejected yellow smoke, which caused terror among those in attendance.
- On December 29, 2023, a tripartite Memorandum of Settlement was signed in New Delhi among the Centre, the Assam government, and ULFA. This settlement came to be known as The Historic Peace Accord.
