From Section 377 to Delhi gang-rape verdict: News that made big headlines in India in 2013

This year was marked with many landmarks events that will someday be recalled as part of history. On more than one occasion, Indians were drawn out into the streets this year protesting or in an expression of solidarity (accompanied with a few cheers as well). But that should not be surprising, considering we entered 2013 whilst still mourning the passing of the Delhi gang-rape victim.

Not a year for women
The tragic death of the Delhi gang-rape victim not only brought the nation together in one voice against violence on women, but also set in motion the law-making efforts in form of the JS Verma committee that created a crowd-sourced document of amendments to criminal law for faster trial and punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women.

But, unfortunately, crimes against women didn't abate. If anything, it reared its ugly head in the city of Mumbai, which otherwise held the reputation of being a cosmopolitan haven. The gang-rape of a photo-journalist in the heart of the city not only came as a rude shock, but also rekindled the still fresh memories of the Delhi gang-rape.

A few months further down, three other accusations of rape and sexual assault shocked the nation—the first against self styled God man Asaram Bapu, second against Tehelka chief Tarun Tejpal by one his employees, and the most recent against Justice AK Ganguly by a law intern.

But crime, of course, never is limited only to women. Safety became a matter of great concern for India this year. Be the repeated ceasefire violations at the border, to petty crimes turning violent like the Bangalore ATM attack .

Terror attacks
And even as we executed one terrorist last year, the country witnessed a spate of terror attacks, many of which were a result of internal conflicts. The year kicked off with the Hyderabad twin blasts that killed over 14 and injured about 100 individuals. This was followed by the Bodhgaya blasts and the Patna serial blasts at the Narendra Modi rally.

And even though India managed to nab a couple of terror suspects, including Manzar Imam, Yasin Bhatkal and Abdul Karim Tunda, for some reason, there were others like Afzal Usmani that nearly escaped captivity.

Also earlier this year, India hung Afzal Guru, who was convicted for his role in the attack on parliament. This, some believe, was what caused the murder Sarabjit Singh an Indian convict on death row in Pakistani jails.

Nature's fury
All the grief this year wasn't man-made though. Nature wasn't too kind either,  The Uttrakhand floods cause incomparable damaged or so we thought until Cyclone Phailin took over.

This year also saw quite a few building collapses, especially in Mumbai which was witness to as many as six tragedies of structural collapses in six months, while Bangalore saw four in four months taking the lives of many.

Good news!
But the year wasn't all bad as this article might suggest so far. There was a lot that happened that we need to be proud of. India launched our very on mission on Mars—Isro's Mars Orbiter.

In sports, Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar retired with much pomp and glory.

This year also saw five states go to assembly elections, and in a true victory for democracy the capitol witnessed a common man Arvind Kejriwal take over as the chief minister of Delhi. 

Then there were other impactful events such as the fall of the rupee, the new RBI chief, submarine explosion, the mid-day meal tragedy, Aarushi murder trials, and even the most recent Supreme Court judgement criminalising homosexuality and the Devyani Khobargade diplomatic row. 

This is, of course, in no way a comprehensive list of the important events of 2013 in India, but looking back at the happening of the past year helps give us an insight to the direction the country is headed towards; so we take stock, intensify efforts and, where ever necessary, make amends, in the year to follow!