The year 2013 will be remembered for protests in which a previously apolitical class came out on the roads with alacrity to change the system and the protests actually became a mark of the alienation of the middle class people with the government.
Here is the list of protests India faced this year:
1. Dec 16 gang-rape protestsIndia had scaled back New Year celebrations, as it mourned the death of a woman whose gang rape on a moving bus sparked public outrage in december 2012. In the national Capital, Delhiites rung in 2013 with new hopes and aspirations but in a subdued tone as the city remained overhelmed with shock over the death of the girl brutally gangraped in a bus.
2. Bharat Bandh
As trade unions celebrated the "unprecedented" success of their stir in February — to protest inflation and the government's economic policies — industry body Assocham raised its estimated loss to the GDP from Rs. 15,000-20,000 crore to Rs. 26,000 crore. Industry sources said the setback to Noida alone could be around Rs. 1,000 crore.
{{/usCountry}}As trade unions celebrated the "unprecedented" success of their stir in February — to protest inflation and the government's economic policies — industry body Assocham raised its estimated loss to the GDP from Rs. 15,000-20,000 crore to Rs. 26,000 crore. Industry sources said the setback to Noida alone could be around Rs. 1,000 crore.
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3. Sarabjit's death in Pakistan
Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national convicted of terrorism and spying by a Pakistani court, died of cardiac arrest in a Pakistani hospital on May 2 after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security jail on April 26. A series of protest demonstrations were held in Punjab over his death, leading to diversion of international buses running between Delhi and Lahore in the neighbouring country.
4. Protests against Telangana formation
Protests rocked Rayalaseema and Andhra regions in August against the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh by carving out a separate Telangana state. The shutdown continued in Seemandhra, with thousands of people taking to the streets, demanding that the Centre reverse its decision.
The protests intensified and took a violent turn at few places with the protestors setting vehicles afire.
5. Protest against gay sex verdictThe Supreme Court in December reinstated a colonial-era ban on gay sex that enables the jailing of homosexuals in a major setback for rights campaigners in the country. The decision four years ago to decriminalise gay sex emboldened the still largely closeted homosexual community which has since campaigned publicly against widespread discrimination and ignorance. Several hundred gay activists gathered in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities to protest the verdict, waving rainbow flags and chanting slogans for freedom.