Newsmakers
The Headline Makers
The achievers and under-achievers; convicts and diplomats; leaders and copycats… they made the news for all reasons, right and wrong.
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt got a bit of a breather when he was convicted by the TADA Court under the Arms Act for possessing illegal weapons during the Bombay blasts in 1993. He would have got a stiffer sentence if he had been convicted for terrorism. Dutt’s career reached new peaks in the meantime with Lage Raho Munnabhai, in which, ironically, he became the poster boy of `Gandhigiri’.
Kiran Desai
Writing obviously runs in the family. But Kiran Desai went one up on her illustrious mother Anita Desai by winning the 2006 Man Booker Prize for her novel The Inheritance of Loss. This was Kiran’s second novel, after Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. Mom Anita was short-listed several times for the Booker Prize.
Kaavya Viswanathan
It was the literary anticlimax of the year. Kaavya shot into fame with her debut chick-lit novel How Opel Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life, and a $500,000 advance from Little, Brown & Co in a two-book deal. However, it all came unstuck when it was found that Kaavya had lifted portions from Megan McCafferty novels.
The Indian Cricket Team
It was a year that the Indian cricket team and its millions of followers would rather forget. The batsman battled poor form, the bowlers got belted and the team suffered a humiliating 4-0 ODI whitewash in South Africa. There were calls for coach Greg Chappell’s head, effigies of cricketers were burnt, there was an uproar in Parliament. By the end of the year, Indian cricket had come full circle with Kumble and Laxman back in the ODI side and Saurav Ganguly returning to the Test team.
George Bush
It wasn’t a good year for George Bush. He came under fire for the Iraq imbroglio, and what was seen as the failure of the war on terror. To make matters worse, the Democratic Party wrested control of Congress in 2006. Bush also made a visit to India this year, and was later successful in pushing the India Nuclear Deal through Congress.
Shibhu Soren and Navjot Singh Sidhu
Indian politicians are experts in wriggling out of sticky situations. But there were a couple that didn’t get away. Shibu Soren was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his personal secretary, a first for a Union cabinet minister. In another case, the vocal cricketer-turned-commentator-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu was found guilty of culpable homicide in a road rage case.
Budhia Singh
The four-year-old made headlines when he became the world’s youngest marathon runner, figuring in the Limca Book of Records after his 65-km run from Puri to Bhubaneswar. However, accusations of child exploitation began making the rounds, with the Orissa sports minister vowing to stop him taking part in such events.
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher, one of Formula One racing’s legends, announced his retirement late this year. Schumacher touched new peaks in his career, winning the world championship as many as seven times. Schumacher could have well won his last event – the Brazilian GP – if it weren’t for a puncture and mechanical problems.
Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif
The cricketing world was shocked when Pakistani speedsters Akhtar and Asif were pulled out of the Champions Trophy by the Pakistan Cricket Board and banned for one and two years respectively in a doping case. The case took a curious turn when both were subsequently absolved of wrongdoing by a Pakistani appeals committee.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
The local paparazzi went berserk when the glamorous Hollywood duo – dubbed `Brangelina’ -- touched Indian shores to shoot for a film based on Daniel Pearl. Rumours did the rounds of Angelina adopting an Indian baby, and things got a little sticky when bodyguards roughed up parents at a shoot in a Mumbai school.
Laxmi Nivas Mittal
The billionaire steel tycoon made world headlines when he made a successful bid for Arcelor, the world’s largest steel producer in terms of turnover. The new entity is called Arcelor Mittal and is the largest steel producer in the world, with more than 250,000 employees and a turnover of $50 million plus. His steely resolve seems to have worked.
Mohammed Afzal Guru
Guru was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court for his involvement in the attack on Parliament in 2001. A mercy petition to the President has given him a breather, but opposition parties are baying for his blood. Home minister Shivraj Patil provoked a ruckus in Parliament when he announced that the petition would take six years to process.
Arjun Singh
HRD Minister Arjun Singh stirred up controversy with his plans to impose quotas for OBCs in government-run and private educational institutions in early 2006. This sparked off protests by students – especially medical students – all over the country. But the government has shown no signs of backing down.
The Mahajans
It was a disastrous year for the family of Pramod Mahajan, who was considered a star in the BJP firmament. Mahajan was shot by his younger brother Pravin, and died a few days later. A few weeks later, his son Rahul Mahajan was embroiled in a drugs scandal; more recently, Mahajan Jr has been accused of wife battering by the press.
Shashi Tharoor
The Indian bid for the UN Secretary-General’s post came a cropper when candidate Shashi Tharoor failed to find favour with all candidates of the Security Council. Tharoor was pipped at the post by Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea.