Dec. 31 – With the end of the decade upon us, 2point6billion.com take a moment to look at the decade that was in India. Please feel free to add to this list in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
2000
May 11 – India’s billionth citizen, baby Astha was born
July 30 – Kannada film super star Rajkumar abducted by bandit Veerapan
Nov. 1 – Chhattisgarh becomes Indian’s 26th state
Nov. 6 – J Jyoti Basu, world’s longest -serving elected communist leader, retires as West Bangal CM
Nov. 9 – Uttranchal becomes Indian’s 27th state
Nov. 15 – Jharkhand becomes Indian’s 28th state
2001
Jan. 1 – Calcutta Officially becomes Kolkata
Jan. 9-Feb. 21 – Largest gathering of humans in history: almost 2 percent of world’s population over 100 million people attend Mahakumbh in Allahabad
Jan. 26 – Gujarat quake kills around 30,000
Mar. 14 – V.V.S Laxaman becomes first Indian to score 250 in a test match as India fight back from following -on to win second test against Australia
July 17 – The Agra summit between Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ends in a farcical dead Lock
Sep. 23 – U.S. led economic sanctions against India’s external defense trade, imposed after the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998 are lifted
2002
May 21 – A moderate in the Kashmiri separatists Abdul Ghani Lone is assassinated
July 25 – Missile scientist APJ Abdul Kalam becomes President of India
Dec. 24 – New Delhi becomes India’s second city to have a metro train after Kolkata
2003
Feb. 1 Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry, killing Indian-born Kalpana Chawala and six other astronauts
Mar. 24 – India lose in ICC Cricket World Cup finals to Australia after a spirited run
Aug. 25 – 52 killed in two blasts in Mumbai
2004
Mar. 29 – Virender Sehwag becomes first Indian to score a triple century in a test cricket in Multan against Pakistan
May 13 – Ruling NDA stunned in the 14th Lok Sahbha elections as congress led UPA emerges as surprise winner
May 22 – Manmohan Singh becomes India’s first Sikh prime minister
Aug. 17 – Shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore wins India’s first ever Olympic Silver medal in Athens
2005
Oct. 8 – Earthquake in Kashmir kills 80,000 most of them in PoK
Nov. 22 – Lalu raaj ends in Bihar. Nitish kumar of NDA is the New CM
2006
Mar. 2 – U.S. President George W. Bush sings landmark nuclear deal with India during his first visit to the subcontinent
July 6 – The Nathu la pass between India and China in the northern reaches off Sikkim reopens trade after 44 years
2007
Apr. 20 – Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai marries Abhishek Bachchan
July 19 – Prathiba Patil elected as India’s first woman President
Aug. 3 – India and the United States release the text of the 123 agreement
Sep. 24 – India wins inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, defeating Pakistan by five runs in the final in Johannesburg
2008
Jan. 10 – Ratan Tata unveils the world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano
Mar. 26 – Tata Motors buys two iconic British automobile companies, Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford
Jun. 1 – Big money enters cricket as Indian Premier League kicks off
Aug. 11 – Shooter Abhinav Bindra wins India’s first individual Olympic gold at Beijing
Oct. 10 – India and the United States sign a landmark nuclear agreement
Oct. 22 – India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 lifts off
Nov. 26-Nov.29 – Terrorists from Pakistan strike Mumbai in more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks
2009
Feb. 22 – A . R . Rahman and sound engineer Resul Pookutty win Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire
May 16 – Congress led UPA retains power in Indian parliamentary elections with a clear verdict
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the first and only Indian actress to be on the Cannes jury, she is also the first and only Asian actress to be on the Time 100 most influential people in the world!
Come on, we’re talking about high points of a DECADE. Who gives a hoot about the Cannes jury and Aishwarya Rai. Let’s retain some sense of what’s high and what’s low!