YEAR 2006 is departing, leaving behind the treasure-trove of unoblivious events and fragmentary memories. For many, these memories will live long and as sweet dreams of the bygone time. But for some they will haunt as their worst nightmares have come true. No doubt that none of them (memories) will live. But some of them will live long, preserved by historians and mended up by researchers.
This text aims to provide condensed information of the popular events that took place and how they have influenced various cities and states. We have taken into account some of the dominant perspectives and views, which you might find as having secured their place in the news headlines. Empirical data has been least used and the paper has been structured to provide precise interpretation and reflect a unity in the chain of thoughts.
To begin with lets roll up the curtains and have a peek at Indian scenario. With the growth rate in second quarter shooting over 9 per cent mark, people, especially in trade and commerce, are real happy. There has been good going on several other fronts, including the ever-expanding arms of Indian business tycoons. India Inc is a success story and is becoming role model for several other states. Indian business directory has now more entries and it owes a lot to the foreign acquisitions and takeover bids put forth by the states business elite. Bollywood is doing better with movies released and distributed internationally. The package now includes special effects at par with the Hollywood blockbusters. Though improvement is still required. Indian comedies are now entertaining global audience.
Indian nuclear deal and judicial processes have further hit the headlines. The controversial nuke deal made a smooth clearance in the first stage and was approved in the US House. The deal is still in the line of fire but it cleared the first post all the same. Incidents at Varanasi and Malegaon are indicative of the dark forces, hidden beneath layers and masked. During the last three months, judicial processes have gained quite a pace. The longest trial, Mumbai blasts case, is finally over and verdicts of still more like Sanjay Dutt – one film celebrity accused in the case, Shibu Soren – Union Minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu – famous cricketer; have elevated the status a bit. Law and order has been at the receiving end, not much achieved in this area. A new law to curb domestic violence has come into existence. Terrorist attacks, however, continue to haunt the state. Countries like Japan, China and Saudi Arabia are willing to strengthen ties with India.
In Japan, the year started with a heavy snowfall. Commutation services and facilities got halted for some time but it was a welcome sign. Kobe International Airport was opened in the second month. On the 164th session at Diet, the guiding principles of Japan’s policy were discussed and priorities set. Alliance with US and with United Nations continued to be the influencing factors. The obvious landmarks have been the reforms and seeking new partnerships worldwide. Japan particularly showed more interest, this time, in Central Asia. Visits to Yasukini Shrines generated quite a fuss. Erstwhile Emperor Horihito refused to visit the shrines after Class A war criminals were added. Political executives, however, to visit the place. Koizumi, the outgoing prime minister, made his last visit on the anniversary of Second World War, followed by Shinzo Abe, the new prime minister’s visit. The succession crisis was averted with princess Kiko giving birth to a son, in early September this year. Trade and commerce witnessed quite many dips this year. Business enterprises are looking for new markets and places to invest, not going any farther but concentrating on the Asian landmass. One of the greatest challenges for the government has been, and still is, getting North Korea back on the table. The nuclear tests have raised serious concerns, mostly related to security.
News grabber of this year continue to be Iraq and America. Stuck in the middle of the riddle, American policies have turned out to be a failure. Bush and allies’ war were important subjects discussed all through this year. Condoleeza Rice traveled more than she does, to secure support for Iraq misadventure. That also made her land in the Middle East, but nothing proved of much help. It was a bad year for Bush. His approval rating started declining early this year and continued till it swept him and his party off the power. Scandals were reported in high offices and few even have to quit their position. Then reports, classified information and growing criticism turned the tables.
Iraq is all but a tragic saga. Situation is gross in the state with Sunni-Shiite conflicts and bloodshed. Sectarian violence was low and not of that significance in the beginning. Troops were regularly targeted, supplies were short at many places and conflicts went up towards the end of the year. Nurul Maliki took on the charge as the new prime minister. But situations got from bad to worse and the state is now terrorized by civil war. Law and order is out of gear. Every single day scores of people die in violent incidents. The worse hit areas include Baghdad, Fallujah, Tikrit, Mosul and Kirkuk. Saddam’s verdict also called for a worldwide criticism. The high tribunal sentenced him to death, which added more fuel to the rift between the two communities in Iraq.
North Korea ultimately overstepped the deterrent line and conducted its first nuclear test. The test generated a lot of criticism, especially the group of countries that were previously engaged in the talks with the state. With nuclear test now confirmed and possession of advanced delivery systems, this small state has diverted much attention towards itself. America particularly was shocked despite the fact that they have been expecting it since a long time. N Koreas claims gave rise to a new tool of safeguarding interests – deterrence. With Ban Ki Moon, South Korean Foreign Minister, being declared as the new Secretary General, N Korea is stepping back a little.
Iran’s nuclear program has been growing all this time and is now pretty old. Ahmadinejad proved a hard nut to crack. Instead he proved to be more astute and seems to be winning the game of the wits. The President pressed hard that the nuclear program was meant for peaceful purposes and that no state has the right to stop or halt the development processes of Iran. Ahmadinejad further made some good alliances this year. So far the country has been cordial, in talks, with Russia and the two are engaged in a dialogue to avert any undue conflict.
One of the challenging jobs for the outgoing Secretary General, Kofi Anan, has been the negotiations in Darfur. Darfur conflict still haunts thousands of people stuck in the Sudanese territory. The deadlock was arrived at as the militia refused to allow UN peacekeeping troops in the region. Darfur is one place on the map where genocides have been recorded and the figures stand as large as 4,00,000. The conflict started in 2003 and there is enough evidence of the involvement of Sudanese government in the ongoing onslaught.
Palestine-Israel conflict is not nay news but what was new, as of 2006, was the Israel-Lebanon conflict. The two were engaged in a large-scale war, which started on July 12 and formally ended on September 8. The war was primarily fought between Hezbollah militia and Israel. Hezbollah captured two soldiers of Israel and refused to hand them over to the Israeli authorities. While Hezbollah fired mortars and rockets towards the northern perimeters of Israel, the later retaliated with air and ground strikes. Heavy damages were suffered as Hezbollah infrastructure was routed in the strikes. There was also great casuality on Lebanese side and most of them were citizens. The war ended with a ceasefire declared after the UN intervention.
Palestine-Israel conflict has been continuing and no breakthroughs have been made this year. The situation is a little dicey now. First, there was a change in the premiership with Ehud Olmert replacing the former Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. Olmert started with an aggressive policy and went on a full-scale war with Lebanon. Second, the Hamas government came into power early this year. There is a lot of bitterness between Hamas and Israel and both of them are intolerant to each other. Like previous years Israel continue to breach the human dignity and conduct human rights excesses.
Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez also caught some attention. Towards the end of July, Fidel Castro conferred his brother, Raul Castro, the responsibilities of the Cuban state. Fidel was operated for an intestinal surgery. His health is deteriorating and may not have much time now. Till any successor makes its way to the highest position, Raul will take it. Fidel has secured warm relations with a number of states, which indeed will, in case of emergency or political fall out, come to Cuba’s rescue. Hugo Chavez got himself re-elected by winning the hearts of his own people with anti imperial campaigns. Chavez shocked everybody during his speech in UN General Assembly, in which he damned the US President, George Bush. Chavez, the big Bolivarian, referred to Bush as ‘devil.’ Chavez is considered as one of the most influential men in the world. The twosome, Chavez and Castro, have been known for their similar ideologies and are in fact good pals.
In the quite September of this year, Royal Thai Army sacked the leadership and took control of the state. This bloodless coup took place on September 19. The Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, at that time was in New York for a UN meeting. In three days time the parliament and courts were all dissolved, Cabinet Ministers were arrested, media was put off and soldiers were deployed to check protests and martial law imposed. Rumours of coup were in the air as early as May 2006. General Sonthi Boonyaratglin led the show to end corruption in the state and nepotism at high offices.
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