2019 has come to and end, and hopefully the year was good for you. It brought a mixed bag of emotions for the Indians who had big events like the Lok Sabha Elections, the Pulwama attacks, abolition of Article 370 and a plethora incredible movies to watch.
Hopefully you have already read our previous article listing the ones that attracted the most searches globally. Here is the article if you have missed it.
So, continuing with our series on the most searched events, news and entertainment on Google, here are the ones that excited the Indians.
Lok Sabha Elections
The Indian General Election this year was held in seven phases, from April 11 to May 19 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The number of eligible voters was huge this time with 900 million people and this year’s elections witnessed the highest number of women voters as well. The counting was done and results were declared on the 23rd of May. The ruling party BJP which was in office got the mandate to continue to run the government for another term.
Abhinandan Varthaman
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was part of the Balakot Airstrike which India conducted in Pakistan as a retaliation against the Pulwama Massacre which India believes to have been conducted by terrorists funded by Pakistan. 40 personnel of the Central Police Reserve Force lost their lives when a suicide bomber attacked the convoy they were travelling in on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway
On the 27th of February, he was captured by Pakistan Army after his MiG 21 suffered a missile attack in the Pakistani village of Horran, while the Balakot Airstrike was underway.
He was later released by the Pakistan government on the 1st of March as a ‘gesture of peace’. Since then, he has been awarded for his valour and has also been conferred the Vir Chakra in August, which is India’s third-highest wartime gallantry medal.
Article 370
On 5th August, 2019, the Government of India revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which provided a ‘special’ status to Jammu and Kashmir. This article gave them a limited autonomy which enabled them to have their own Constitution, a separate flag and the liberty to make laws. Later it was concluded that in order to restore uniformity in the country, this step was necessary.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 became effective on 31st October, 2019. It divided the state into two parts, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, giving them the status of two separate Union Territories.
Chandrayaan 2
Chandrayaan 2 was the second lunar exploration mission that was launched on the 22nd of July by the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO. The lunar orbiter, ‘Vikram lander’ and ‘Pragyan lunar rover’ were developed in India and the primary aim of this mission was to find study the lunar surface and its varieties. The lander and the rover were set to reach the near side of the moon on the 6th of September but the lander somehow deviated from its path and lost all communication right before touchdown. It was later concluded by the Failure Analyst Community that a software glitch caused it to crash. ISRO is planning to go for a soft landing with Chandrayaan 3 by November 2020.
The Avengers: Endgame
The finale to the Avengers movie series was waited upon patiently by Marvel fans all around the world. But, in India, the reception it received had surpassed all expectations. Within three days since its release on 26th April, it made profits worth Rs. 157 crore, easily making it the highest-grossing Hollywood movie ever to be released in the country. The thrill of watching the Avengers taking on the evil warlord Thanos for one last time is a feeling every Marvel fan will cherish for the rest of their lives.
Other Blockbuster Movies
This year, the most-searched movies were primarily based on real-life stories that needed to be told to the world. The brave retaliation to the Uri attacks of 2016 was brought to the silver screen through Uri: The Surgical Strike. Mission Mangal narrated the tale of the Indian scientists who spearheaded the ‘Mangalyaan’ mission of ISRO and Super 30 told the story of Mr Anand Kumar, a Mathematician from Bihar who taught 30 underprivileged children and made them crack the IIT entrance exams, in spite of facing harsh challenges. India’s entry to the Oscars 2020 was Gully Boy, a story about an underdog who expresses his hardships through rapping. Kabir Singh was also a very popular movie but it was surrounded with controversies due to many reasons even before it was released.
Among the movies from Hollywood, Captain Marvel and Joker garnered phenomenal searches.
With that, we reach the end of our Year in Review 2019. Although this year was full of events that had us on the edge of our seats, we hope that next year will bring more positivity and provide us with more interesting topics that we will have fun compiling for you. Until next time, we wish you good health and prosperity in 2020.
Happy New Year to you all!
