Republic Day: 73 Events that Shaped India

Happy Republic Day Friends! Today we are celebrating the 73rd year of our Constitution. The air is filled with Pride and Happiness. The Indian Flag is fluttering with joy to see the nation moving strongly on the road of prosperity. The Omicron variant may have dimmed the brightness somewhat but our passion for our nation remains the same! This is one day when we all forget our struggles and express our love for our nation. Ummm! The aroma of the rich 'Laddus' is tingling my senses. What a lovely song playing in the background! The great thing about the patriotic songs is that they fill you up with patriotic fire and a feeling of unity!

The Agony and Ecstasy of 73 years

73 years of great struggle and strength! We have indeed come a long way since our Constitution became effective in the year 1950. Our motherland has witnessed so much pain and progress. From the heart-wrenching partition to touching the soil of Mars, it has been a roller coaster ride! So this Republic Day, let us take a trip down the memory lane and relive the 73 events that have given the shape to new India –

1. The Division of India and Pakistan in 1947.
2. India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir between 1947 - 1948.  
3. India was given the Right to Vote right after the first day of Independence. 
4. Railway Network Nationalization took place in 1951.
5. First General Elections were conducted in 1951.
6. The first Asian Games were organized in New Delhi in 1951. 
7. Asia’s First Nuclear Reactor Apsara was built by India on August 4, 1956.
8. Mother India won the First Indian Movie Nomination for Oscars in 1958.
9. Green Revolution in 1960 stimulated the growth in Food Grains. 
10. Indo-China War in 1962. China declared a ceasefire. 
11. Nationalization of 14 banks by the Government.
12. White Revolution - The Development of Dairy Program in 1970.
13. East Pakistan fought for Independence and became Bangladesh in 1971. 
14. Simla/Shimla Agreement in 1972.
15. Chipko Movement – Forest Conservation Movement in 1973. 
16. Pokhran 1 – First Nuclear Test in 1974.
17. Students of Bihar, under the leadership of Jai Prakash Narayan, fought against corruption in 1974.  
18. First Indian Satellite was designed in 1975 and named after Aryabhatta. 
19. Emergency – Declared by PM Indira Gandhi lasted from 1975 to 1977. 
20. Morarji Desai First Non-Congress PM in 1977. 
21. Mandal Commission – In 1979 to identify backward classes. 
22. 1983 Cricket World Cup Victory – First Cricket World Cup Victory under Kapil Dev.  
23. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian Astronaut to go into Space in 1984. 
24. Operation Blue Star to remove militants from Golden Temple.
25. Anti-Sikh Riots – 1984 attacks against the Sikhs because of Indira Gandhi's assassination. 
26. Bhopal Gal Tragedy in December 1984. 
27. Bofors Scandal – It brought the downfall of the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989. 
28. India Hosts Cricket World Cup in 1987. 
29. Bhagalpur Riots – Hindu Muslim Riots in 1989. 
30. Mandal Agitation against the Government for preference to certain caste in 1990.  
31. Airlifting the Indians from Kuwait in 1991. 
32. Globalization of Economy in 1991
33. Assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991. 
34. Babri Masjid Demolition on December 3 1992. 
35. Securities Scam - The man behind this security scam of 1992, Harshad Mehta. 
36. The famous 1993 Mumbai Blast was instigated by gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
37. The first BJP Government was Formed in 1998 under the leadership of Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
38. Pokhran II – Nuclear Tests were conducted in 1998 in Rajasthan. 
39. Delhi Lahore Bus Service was inaugurated on February 19, 1999. 
40. 1999 Kargil War.
41. Lahore Declaration between India Pakistan in February 1999. 
42. The world of Cricket came to a standstill when the match-fixing scandal erupted in 2000. 
43. Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand became states. Now India has 28 states. 
44. Golden Quadrilateral Project – Shri Vajpayee launched the largest highway project. It connected four metropolitan cities Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata. 
45. Gujarat Riots - In 2002 burning of the Godra train instigated the Gujarat Riots. 
46. Right to Information Act – The Act was passed in 2005 by the parliament. Now people had the right to ask for information from the government. 
47. MGNREGA ACT – Mahatma Gandhi Rural Development Act was passed in 2005 to provide 100 days of employment to rural households per year. 
48. The famous mountain pass connecting Tibet and Sikkim ‘Nathu La’ reopened in 2006. 
49. Tsunami strikes in 2004. It affected Andhra Pradesh, Andman, and Tamil Nadu. 
50. Chandrayaan 1 – India launched Chandrayaan for the exploration of the Moon in 2008. 
51. First Gold Medal in Olympics 2008 by Abhinav Bindra in Beijing. 
52. Mumbai Terror Attacks by Terror Group Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2008.
53. Right to Education Act – Right for every child to attain education in 2009. 
54. First Indian Nuclear Submarine Launched on July 26, 2009. 
55. India hosts Common Wealth Games in 2010. 
56. India wins the 2011 Cricket World Cup. M.S Dhoni hits the winning six!
57. Lokpal protests against corruption headed by Shri Anna Hazare. 
58. National Food Security Act was passed in 2013 to provide subsidized food grains to people. 
59. Mars Orbiter Mission launched on 5th November 2013 to explore Mars. 
60. World Health Organization declares India a Polio free region in 2014. 
61. Telangana acquires Statehood on 2nd June 2014. 29 states in India. 
62. India launches its GPS System, NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation System). 
63. Demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs.1000 was declared in 2016
64. Goods and Services Tax (GST) became effective from July 1, 2017. 
65. Supreme Court bans the practice of Triple Talaq in 2017. A bold move to shape our country. 
66. Supreme Court passes the Judgment in 2018 in favor of the LGBTQ community. It says that Homosexuality was not illegal. 
67. Indigenous Fighter Plane Gets inducted in IAF in 2019
68. Article 370 that gave J&K special status was eliminated on 2019
69. WHO declares Corona-19 a Pandemic on 11 March 2020. 
70. Preventive Measures like Mask and Social Distancing were made mandatory. 
71. Farmer Agitation against 3 Farm Acts from 9 August 2020 to 11 December 2021. 
72. Covid vaccines Covishield and Covaxin were approved on January 2, 2021
73. Amar Jawan Jyoti merged with the National War Memorial Flame on 21st January 2022. 

And the Great Journey continues!

Related: Legendry Hockey Player Major Dhyan Chand

Conclusion

Indeed, when we think about these 72 Years, we feel proud that we were born in such a strong country. It has tolerated so much, but it has kept us united. We protest and revolt, but our love for our country remains the same. We uphold our religions and diverse beliefs. But when it is about our country, we have just one religion - Indian! We are like this, we - We the people of India! And I wish we remain like this! We are the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, the roots of our strong Constitution! May our country continue to travel on the road of development together! Many Salutations to the Tricolor!