2004 in India
|
|
See also: 2003 in India, other events of 2004, 2005 in India and the Timeline of Indian history.
| Contents |
Events
Politics
- January 17 - The national executive of the BJP meets at Hyderabad.
- January 17 - P.A. Sangma quits the Nationalist Congress Party and decides to ally with the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
- January 28 - BJP president Venkaiah Naidu elected for 3 year term.
- January 29 - Congress president Sonia Gandhi meets DMK supremo Karunanidhi to finalise their electoral pact which also includes the MDMK, PMK and the Left parties in the state.
- April 20 - First phase of polling for fourteenth Lok Sabha elections covering 141 constituencies.
- April 26 - Second phase of polling for fourteenth Lok Sabha elections covering 137 constituencies.
- May 5 - Third phase of polling for fourteenth Lok Sabha elections covering 83 constituencies.
- May 10 - Fourth and last phase of polling for fourteenth Lok Sabha elections covering 182 constituencies.
- May 13 - Results for the fourteenth Lok Sabha elections announced, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) loses.
- May 20 - Dr. Manmohan Singh sworn in as the new prime minister of India, after Congress forms the United Progressive Alliance with the Left parties.
- July 14 - Lalu Prasad Yadav, amidst walkouts by the opposition in both houses orders a high-level departmental inquiry into the Godhra tragedy in 2002.
- July 18 - UP BJP chief Vinay Katiyar resigns from his post on the direction of the party high command.
- October 17 - Assembly elections Congress and alliance win Maharastra election Maharashtra
- October 17 - After the loss in Maharastra assembly election BJP president Venkaiah Naidu quits, Advani to lead BJP.
- October/November - Vilasrao Deshmukh is elected Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Sports
- January 28 - Former all-rounder Robin Singh appointed coach of the under-19 Indian cricket team for the junior World Cup to be played in Bangladesh in April.
- March 24 - India win the ODI cricket series in Pakistan.
- April 2 - India win the 1st Test Match.
- October 10 - Australia won First Test Match between India and Australia by 217 runs.
- October 18 - Second Test Match between India and Australia drawn because of rain.
Terrorism
- January 28 - The Border Security Force busts a hideout of pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen in Pulwama District of south Kashmir and recovers a "huge quantity" of ammunition and explosives. Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel raided the hideout at Remu village in the early hours and recovered around 12,000 rounds of AK ammunition, 2.5 kg RDX and three grenades according to a BSF spokesman.
- August 31 - Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's brother Ghulam Abbas Azad is attacked by militants, seriously injuring his security guard in Doda District of Jammu and Kashmir.
- September 22 - Militants in Jammu and Kashmir make an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed by firing grenades.
- November 20 - Policemen and soldiers recover 300 kg of RDX from a grocery store near Anantnag.
Culture
Pollution
- March 4 - The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) refused to clear a project of Pepsi to expand their plant to triple production in Chembur, Mumbai on the grounds that the expansion will have a polluting effect on the environment.
Miscellaneous
- January 28 - Commerce minister Arun Jaitley announced the Cabinet decision to free gold and silver imports from all restrictions.
- January 28 - The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court fixed February 23 for further hearing of te revision petition filed against deputy prime minister L. K. Advani's discharge in the Babri Masjid demolition case by a special CBI court at Rae Bareli.
- February - T S Krishnamurthy is appointed Chief Election Commissioner of India
- April 6 - The biggest ever Indo-French naval exercise Varuna 2004 gets underway off the coast of Goa.
- June 1 - Justice Ramesh Chandra Lahoti appointed Chief Justice of India.
- July 15 - Maninder Pal Singh Kohli, prime accused in the high profile rape and murder of British teenager Hannah Foster is arrested by West Bengal police in Darjeeling District while trying to flee to Nepal.
- July 28 - Maninder Pal Singh Kohli admits to having raped and murdered British teenager Hannah Foster in an interview to a private television channel.
- August 1 - The senior citizen savings scheme offering a "high" nine percent taxable return is expected to be launched.
- September 1 - The Bombay high court passes interim orders restraining television channels from broadcasting "any adult TV programme and film without an appropriate certificate from the Indian censor board."
- November 11 - Shankaracharya of Kanchi Jayendra Saraswathi is arrested on charges of murdering a temple priest.
- November 27 - Lieutenant General Joginder Jaswant Singh is named the next Chief of the Army Staff of Indian Army. He will succeed General N C Vij when he retires on January 31.
- December 21 - Zahira Sheikh, key witness in Best Bakery case is declared hostile by the prosecution after she went back on her police statement during the retrial.
- December 26 - The strongest earthquake in 40 years originates from the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra island in Indonesia, measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale and creating tsunami tidal waves that sweep across much of the coastlines of South Asia. More than 15,000 reported killed in India.
Deaths
- January 9 - Nissim Ezekiel, 79, poet, playwright, art critic
- January 31 - Suraiya, 75, actress and singer
- February 23 - Vijay Anand, 70, movie director and brother of Dev Anand
- February 23 - Sikander Bakht, 85, Governor of Kerala
- February 26 - Shankarrao Chavan, 83, ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- April 7 - Kelucharan Mohapatra, 78, Odissi dancer
- April 17 - Soundarya, 32, South Indian film actress
- May 1 - Ram Prakash Gupta, Governor of Madhya Pradesh
- May 16 - Kamala Markandaya, novelist and journalist
- May 19 - E.K. Nayanar, 84, ex-Chief Minister of Kerala
- June 2 - Dom Moraes, 65, poet, writer
- June 2 - Shrikant Jichkar, 49, politician
- June 26 - Yash Johar, 75, film producer
- July 3 - Priyamvada Birla, chairperson of Birla Corp
- July 23 - Mehmood, 72, film actor and comedian
- July 29 - Nafisa Joseph, 25, model, MTV VJ, Miss India 1997
- September 23 - Dr. Raja Ramanna, 79, nuclear scientist
- September 28 - Mulk Raj Anand, 99, English novelist
- October 11 - Gulshan Rai, 80, film producer and distributor
- October 13 - Nirupa Roy, 73, film actress
- October 18 - Veerappan, 59, forest brigand involved in poaching, smuggling, abduction and murders
- December 5 - Christiano Junior, 24, Brazillian footballer playing for Indian clubs
- December 11 - M.S. Subbulakshmi, 88, Carnatic singer
- December 16 - Laxmikant Berde, 50, film actor comedian, Marathi theatre artist
- December 18 - Vijay Hazare, 89, cricket batsman and former Indian captain
- December 23 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, 83, 9th Prime Minister of India
Observances
The following events which are observed according to the Hindu calendar were observed on the following dates in 2004.
- Basant Panchami - January 26
- Maha Shivratri - February 18
- Holi - March 6
- Ram Navami - March 30
- Raksha Bandhan - August 30
- Janmashtami - September 7
- Ganesh Chaturthi - September 18
- Dassera - October 22
- Deepavali - November 12
The major Muslim festivals are also observed as holidays in India. (Id, Muharram etc.)