IF THE TERRORIST-TRIGGERED blasts in Varanasi, Mumbai and Bengal were the low points of 2006, the signing of the nuclear cooperation agreement with US president Geroge W Bush, visit of Chinese premier Hu Jintao and prime Manmohan Singh’s consequential visit to Japan were the high marks. India enters the New Year with a never-before confidence, buoyed by unmatched economic performance. But the year wasn’t free from the many problems that have kept it down from realizinf its full potential. Here are snapshots of some of the defining 2006 dates.

January 2: Rajnath is the saffron king

The 54-year-old veteran BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Rajnath Singh formally took over as party president on January 2 after L K Advani, the former party president, proposed his name.

January 7-9: Paravsi Divas organized
Some 5,000 people, including about 2,000 overseas delegates, attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas organized in Hyderabad. Prominent speakers from overseas at the three-day event included Indian-origin leaders Mauritius vice president A R Burdhan, Malaysian works minister Samy Vellu, Singapore education minister T Shanmugarathnam and South African Arts and Tourism Minister Narend Singh. Among prominent Indian who addressed the conference, besides prime minister Manmohan Singh, were United Nations under secretary general Shashi Tharoor, telecom expert Sam Pitroda, tennis commentator Vijay Amritraj and Columbia University professor of economics Jagdish Bhagwati.

President George W Bush four-day visit to New Delhi was the by a Republican US President since Richard Nixon in 1969. India and the US signed the historic civilian nuclear technology cooperation agreement. It was first time for the US to sign the agreement with a nation that was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This agreement was later ratified by Indian Parliament and in December by the US Congress.

Varanasi, the city of pilgrims, was soaked in blood after a terrorist attack that killed at least 15 and left more than 50 injured.

May: Doctors strike to force quota rollback
The central government’s decision to grant reservation to other backward castes sparked off a nationwide strike by doctors in medical institutions. The doctors at AIIMS once again went on strike at the year-end in December after the Lok Sabha passed OBC reservation bill.

July 11: 174 killed in seven Mumabi local train blasts
A series of seven explosions killed at least 174 people on crowded commuter trains and stations in Mumbai.

The Supreme Court on August 3 while observing that the December 13, 2001, attack on Parliament had “no parallel in Indian history” confirmed the death sentence awarded to JeM militant Mohammed Afzal for his role in the conspiracy. Co-accused Shaukat Hussain Guru, who sentenced to death by the high court in the same — was given a lighter sentence of 10 years. The court acquitted accused SAR Geelani and Shaukat’s wife Afsan Guru of all charges.

November 20: Eight killed in Bengal train blast
At least 8 persons were killed and around 60 injured when a powerful explosion ripped off a passenger train’s general bogey at Belakhoba station in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district. Extremists were suspected to be behind the blast.

November 20-23: Chinese premier Hu Jintao visits India
Chinese president Hu Jintao’s visit, which began on a note of bickering on Arunacal Pradesh, went off smoothly with both Indian and China emphasizing the need to foster “mutual political trust”. On Arunachal Pradesh, prime minister Manhohan Singh made it clear that territory exchange was out of question. This elicited a positive response from Hu. “We hope to turn China-India boundary into a bond of good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said in his keynote address at Vigyan Bhawan. Hu emphasized during the visit that Chin’s decision to enter into a strategic relationship with India was not a politically “expedient” decision, but a “firm goal”.

November 28: Actor Sanjay Dutt convicted under Arms Act
Sanjay Dutt, one of the 193 defendants in the 1993 Mumbai balsts case was convicted, under Arms Act by TADA court. The bollywood actor was, however, cleared of the more serious charge of conspiracy in the worst-ever terror attack on the city in which 257 people were killed and several hundred injured. Sanjay was charged with possession of AK-56 rifle that had come in the consignment meant for the serial blasts. 

December 2: 47 die in Bhagalpur railway bridge collapse
In anunusual accident, a 150-year-old railway bridge fell on the Jamalpur-Howrah Super Express. This resulted in the death of 47 persons, including a two-year-old child. The overbridge fell on the sleeper coach, which was being dismantled but no work was going on at the time of the accident. A pillar and portion of the bridge collapsed due to the vibration on the ground caused by the moving train. Railway Minister Lalu Yadav ordered an inquiry into the accident, and two railway officials were suspended. Lalu later took the blame for the mishap on himself. He had earlier blamed contractors and engineers as being responsible for the accident.

A Delhi court, in the first-ever conviction of a Union cabinet minister, sentenced 65-year-old Shibu Soren, holding the portfolio of coal ministry and a tribal leader from Jharkhand, to life imprisonment for conspiring to murder his private secretary in 1994 following the JMM MPs’ bribery scam to save the Congress government headed by Narasimha Rao.

Former Indian test and one-day international cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was sentenced three years rigorous imprisonment in a case of road rage death. The sentence was, however, suspended till the end of the next month to enable him to appeal.

December 12: Jaspal Rana declared best sportsperson of Asiad

Jaspal Rana was declared the Best Sportsperson’ of the 15th Asian Games held in Doha. Rana is the first sportsperson from India to bag the coveted honour. The award was later conferred on him during Closing Ceremony of the Asian Games on December 15.

December 13-16: PM visits Japan
Prime minister Manmohan Singh get a red-carpet reception in Tokyo during his four-day visit to Japan, which further strengthened the growing strategic ties between the two Asian countries. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Manmohan Singh signed nine agreements for cooperation in different areas. The two leaders also decided to cement global partnership and hold annual summits to carry forward the Indo-Japanese ties. 

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