Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven crew members of the Columbia space shuttle which broke in flames over Texas, 16 minutes before it was due to land on February 1. Aerospace engineer Chawla, a symbol of pride for Indians all over world, was the first Indian-born crew member of a US space mission and India’s second astronaut. Chawla took her first flight into space on November 19, 1997 along with five astronauts that flew the Columbia flight STS-87.

The speed gun at the Newlands ground in South Africa recorded Shoaib Akhtar as having bowled the fastest ball ever hurled across 22 yards of a cricket pitch in the Pakistan-England World Cup match on February 22 at 161.3 km per hour of blistering pace.

The United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom. Described as a 'decapitation attack,' the initial air strike of the war targets Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi leaders in Baghdad, but Saddam escapes.

Off the screen, the year 2003 belonged to Aishwarya Rai, who had named a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury, becoming the first Indian actor to be honoured. Later in the year, the doe-eyed beauty added another feather on her cap when she made it to the cover of the Asian edition of Time magazine.

The tot arrived on the first Lahore-Delhi bus on July 11 after India and Pakistan resumed the service, which was halted in the aftermath of the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament. Baby Noor Fatima of Pakistan underwent successful heart surgery at the Narayan Hrudayalaya in Bangalore by Dr. Rajesh Sharma. The successful surgery earned goodwill for India.

At least 48 people were killed and 150 injured in two blasts in south Mumbai -- one near the Gateway of India and the other at Zaveri Bazaar in busy Kalbadevi area.

In August 2003, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a major international competition - the 9th World Athletics Championships in Paris. This lady finally broke the barrier to take the bronze in the women's long jump with a season’s best effort of 6.70m.

Rahul Dravid seems to have a wonderful year. After a successful stint at the World Cup in South Africa, he hit a magnificent 222 in the second Test against Australia, which ensured India beat the Aussies at Adelaide - a Test triumph after 22 years. He even found his better-half this year.

Mathew Hayden made 380 runs in the First Test between Australia and Zimbabwe at Perth -- the highest ever individual score in Test Cricket - eclipsing the 375 made by West Indian great Brian Lara against England 12 years ago. The day revolved around his remarkable achievement to such an extent that it was almost forgotten that Australia amassed 735 for 6, the highest total in 126 years of cricket on Australian soil, before taking pity on Zimbabwe's bowlers.

Dhanraj Pillay, the seasoned play-maker of the Indian hockey team, mobilised his team to an Asia Cup Gold, beating Pakistan 4-2 in the final. India showed incredible team spirit after the fatal accident of ace hockey star Jugraj Singh.

Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi had a less than pleasant year. The Punjab Police raided his residential and official premises in New Delhi in connection with a cheating case and registered a fraud case against him and four others, including his brother Shamsher Singh. Repeated attempts by him to obtain anticipatory bail have been turned down in court after court.

Like Daler Mehndi, noted danseuse Malika Sarabhai had a complaint of cheating filed against her, for allegedly running a US visa racket. Her passport was confiscated and she was asked to produce documents about the foreign tours, number of participants and the number of tours organised by her dance academy. She was alleged to have helped people migrate to the US, getting them into the country as part of her dance troupe. Once there, they would vanish among the crowd. While she was granted anticipatory bail by the Ahmedabad High Court, the case is still wide open.

The kingpin of the fake stamp paper scam who appointed as many as 300 educated MBAs to sell his fake stamp paper to banks, financial institutions, share companies and earned about Rs. 100 crore a month. Backed by politicians, top bureaucrats, he spread his tentacles to many other states besides Maharashtra.

The Union Minister of State for Environment was touted as the star campaigner in Chhattisgarh who would dig Ajit Jogi’s grave and usher in the first BJP Govt. in the newly carved State. That was until The Indian Express published a story accusing him of accepting bribes.

The man who adorned Chhattisgarh as its first tribal Chief Minister was let down by the tribal community in the recently concluded State elections. His poll war-cry of 'tribal dignity' fell on deaf ears. Mired as he was already in various cases, Jogi was expected to silence his detractors with a convincing win in the elections. But the 'Judeo-in-camera' case only boomeranged. It was seen as a frame-up directed by Jogi and his son. He has been charged with attempts of splitting the BJP State unit after the elections.

Actor Dev Anand, who strode the Hindi film firmament as a superstar for over four decades setting trends in dress and body language, was chosen for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award for 2002 for his contribution to cinema.

Continuing his giant strides, Indian Grand Master Viswanathan Anand scripted yet another successful year winning all but one rapid chess titles, including the World Rapid Chess, in 2003. The highlight of the year was the World Rapid Chess crown he lifted in Cap D’ Agde, France, defeating World No. 2 Vladimir Kramanik in the final.

This year saw the crowning of some powerful women in Indian politics. Uma Bharti, Vasundhara Raje Scindia of BJP and Shiela Dixit of Congress became the Chief Ministers of MP, Rajasthan and Delhi, respectively, in the Assembly elections in 2003.

After nine months on the run, US soldiers captured Saddam Hussein in a raid on December 13, 2003. He was captured near a compound of ramshackle buildings outside his ancestral hometown Tikrit.