26/11 terror attacks to World Cup win: HT’s 12 years in Mumbai
On its 12th anniversary, HT Mumbai gives the highs and lows the city saw in 12 years
On the occasion of the 12th anniversary of HT Mumbai, we present a selection of photos from the past 12 years that showcase the city, its character and its varied moods.
From the euphoria around Sachin Tendulkar’s swansong to Mumbai’s changing look to the city’s darkest moments, you saw it all through our lens...
1. 2005: The year when dance bars shut
Dance bars have a long and torrid history in the state. Once wildly successful, the bars were abruptly banned in 2005, putting thousands of young women out of jobs. The Supreme Court overturned the ban in 2013 – citing that the ban violated bar dancers’ right to earn a livelihood – but Maharashtra quickly amended its laws to clamp the ban a year later.
2. 2006: Blasts rock the lifeline
Seven blasts tore through the first-class compartments of crowded local trains in a span of just five minutes on July 11, 2006, during evening rush hours, when millions of office-goers were heading home, killing 188 people and wounding 816. In October 2015, a special court sentenced five people to death for planting bombs and gave life sentence to seven for providing chemicals, assistance and logistical support for one of the worst terror attacks to hit the country.
3. 2007: The year India won the T20 World Cup
It was the tournament in which MS Dhoni took his first step as captain, Yuvraj Singh was the star of the show, Rohit Sharma had arrived on the international scene and Harbhajan Singh was in his prime. The BCCI were reluctant to send a team to SA, and seniors Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly kept away to indicate that the game’s biggest draw wasn’t taking T20 seriously. But India charged through unbeaten to win the trophy. Yuvraj’s six sixes off an over by Stuart Broad electrified the event.
4. 2008: The terror the city wants to forget
On November 26, 2008, Mumbai was attacked by 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives who came from the sea starting around 9pm. The siege continued till 9.30am on November 29. The attacks left 166 people dead, 238 injured and lakhs devastated. Nine of the attackers were killed and lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was captured and later hanged in 2012. Prime suspect LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, is in hiding after getting bail over a year ago. American citizen David Headley, who admitted scouting targets for the 2008 assault on Mumbai by Pakistani militants, has testified that the plot was hatched with at least one Pakistani intelligence official and a navy frogman.
5. 2009: Power centre
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested by the enforcement directorate (ED) on March 14 in a money laundering case related to the controversial deal of Maharashtra government with a private developer. Bhujbal was called for interrogation and arrested after daylong questioning. He is now in judicial custody at Arthur Road jail. Hailing from Nanded in Marathwada region, Chavan, 56, was elected as the chief minister in December 2008 in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and to replace late Vilasrao Deshmukh. However, Chavan was forced to quit in November 2010 after his name figured in the Adarsh Society scam
6. 2010: Obama is in town
He came, he met and he conquered. Then US president Barack Obama’s visit to the city was a success. From businessmen, ministers and government officials to school and college students – he met them all. While Obama said he wanted to take ties with India to another level and asserted that the South Asian nation has already “risen” as a power, his wife Michelle greeted students with a namaste and reminded them to “dream big”.
7. 2011: We bring the World Cup home
Team India conquered the pinnacle of ODI cricket as they won the World Cup after 28 years. What made the victory even sweeter was that it came at home and was a farewell gift for Sachin Tendulkar, who retired before the next World Cup in 2015. MS Dhoni hit an emphatic six off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 49th over of the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka when India only needed four runs from 11 balls to win, becoming part of the Indian cricketing folklore and debatably world’s best finisher.
8. 2012: Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray dies
Bal Thackeray, a maverick politician who roused emotions on Marathi pride and catapulted Shiv Sena to power in Maharashtra in the 1990s, died in Mumbai. A rabble rouser, who started out as a cartoonist alongside R K Laxman in the Free Press Journal in the 1950s, founded the Shiv Sena in 1966 on the plank of job security for the Marathi manoos (sons of the soil) which translated into attacks on South Indians whom he had blamed for taking away the opportunities from the locals.
9. 2013: The little master retires
Cricket would never be the same again as Mumbai’s favourite son and a legend of the game, Sachin Tendulkar, retired from Tests after playing his 200th match at the Wankhede Stadium. The city cheered and shed a tear as Sachin gave an emotional speech about his journey.
10. 2014: The fire threw light on how unprepared we were
A fire broke out in the 22-storey Lotus Business Park in Andheri (West), killing one fireman and injuring about 20 others.It showed unprepared Mumbai was to tackle a blaze, bringing in stricter rules.
11. 2015: Indrani saga, a media potboiler involving mediapersons
It was a story straight out of a potboiler. A media bigwig, Indrani Mukerjea, was accused and later arrested for killing her daughter, Sheena Bora, and disposing of the body. Then came along a saga of husband, ex-husband, her daughter’s lover. The nation is still hooked on to the twists and turns in the case.
12. 2016: Mumbai gets its happy feet
Eight Humboldt penguins reached the Byculla zoo from Seoul, South Korea, in the wee hours of Tuesday, bringing the civic body’s Rs2.57-crore ambitious plan to reality. The Humboldt penguin is a south American species found in cold climate of coastal Peru and Chile. The death of one of them, Dory, created an uproar. The 7, who are now in Byculla zoo, are attracting crowds making Mumbai happy.