By Ancy Donal
We are nearing year end and it’s also probably a great time to look back at the year. Sure, it’s been tough in several ways but 2018 has also given us a lot of reasons to cheer. Let’s have look at the 9 major events that made us proud, happy, inspired, grieve and more in 2018, India so far.
#MeToo
The #MeToo is a campaign against sexual harassment of women in the workplace. This came to limelight when Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment in October 2018. Later singer Chinmayi brought up allegations and this led to many women in the news media, Indian film industry, and even within the government to speak out of sexual harassment against a number of prominent men.
READ: The Ultimate Guide to Consent by Chinmayi!
ALSO READ: “He violated my Trust!” – Chinmayi on Vairamuthu
Stand with Kerala
A flood ravaged road in Kerala
Severe floods in August affected the south Indian state of Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall for more than 10 days during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and many went missing. Many governments, corporations and individuals all over the world extended their helping hands to save Kerala.
India’s national blind cricket team won the 2018 Blind Cricket World Cup
In January, the Indian National Blind Cricket team went up against Pakistan at UAE’s Sharjah Cricket Stadium. India was chasing a target of 308 runs and gave us a nail-biting moment in the final overs. India beat Pakistan to become the World Champions. By doing so, they retained their title, that they had previously brought home in 2014.
LGBT Freedom
Supreme Court decriminalizes section 377 and legalizes homosexuality in September this year. Campaigners celebrated love and liberty by organizing parades and other events. The judgment has been criticized by conservatives as a threat to ‘Indian culture and Hinduism and none of the leaders from the major political parties congratulated the LGBT community.
Lost two South Indian icons
We lost many stars this year breaking millions of hearts. One of them was the Bollywood’s first female superstar, Sridevi was found dead in the bathroom of a hotel in Dubai due to a cardiac arrest in February 2018. The yesteryear actress started her career at 4, appearing in several Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films and shared screen space with many superheroes.
Another big blow was Dr.Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s death on 7th August. He was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades and indeed a long-standing leader of the Dravidian Movement. He retired from active politics in December 2017 and underwent medications for his breathing difficulties.
Big win for the Indian sportswomen
These three women have proved that sports are not just for men and after all why should boys have all the fun?
Mithali Raj, Indian women’s cricket team captain, became the first Indian cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20I, during India’s Women’s T20 Asia Cup tournament held in June this year.
Dipa Karmakar created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to clinch a gold medal in a global event, at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup held in Turkey in July.
Hima Das is the first Indian athlete to win gold in IAAF U20 World Championships in Tampere, Finland this July. Das crossed the finish line in 51.46 seconds.
The Forbes India including many women’s names!
Although Bollywood’s top actors make it to this coveted Forbes list every year, this time is special as we have South Indian actress Nayanthara enter it for the first time! She is the only South Indian actress to enter the list with an earning of Rs 15.17 crore. She has occupied the 69th spot and is said to be two spots ahead of Kamal Haasan. The highest-earning woman celebrity in India is Deepika Padukone, who has made Rs 112.8 crore. She made it to the top five and has overtaken her husband Ranveer Singh, who is in the eighth place with Rs 84.67 crore in 2018.
Meanwhile, Badminton player PV Sindhu stands at 20. She has created a record for being the youngest celebrity from the south to make it to Top 20. Incidentally, the Badminton player made her debut in the coveted Forbes list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2018 in August. The 23-year-old was ranked 7, with earnings of $8.5 million.
About 18 women celebrities including Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, Badminton player Saina Nehwal and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also found positions in the top 100 list. Newly-wed Priyanka Chopra slipped down from her seventh position to 49th rank with Rs 18 crore as earnings in 2018. Forbes India Celebrity 100 List rankings are based on estimates of entertainment-related earnings of celebrities each year.
Section 497
The Supreme Court on September this year has struck down 158-year-old Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes adultery, as unconstitutional. Loss of moral commitment in a marriage creates a dent in the relationship, but it’s just left to the individual to deal. It allows men to file a complaint but doesn’t give women the same right. A lot of cases have been filed after this judgment was made.
Return and win for CSK
Chennai Super Kings is regarded as the most successful T20 team in the Indian Premier League since its inception. Captained by MS Dhoni, the team has won three IPL titles (2010, 2011 and 2018) across 11 seasons. After being banned for two years, CSK made a roaring comeback to win the title in 2018. They have the best record in terms of win/loss ratio which proves the composition of the side and the effective leadership of MS Dhoni.