India sang songs - from Bollywood hits to nuanced diplomatese in 2003, and joint peace drills and peace theater attempted to stitch together its unravelling relations with Pakistan. In the process, India took center-stage in the sub-
continent, despite communal violence and terrorism, corruption in politics and sundry domestic problems. An upsurge in the economy, an assertive international presence at the World Trade Organisation in Cancun, Mexico, Bollywood winning hearts, if not minds, even overseas, and the feel-good cricket win Down Under - all in all, it has rather been a satisfactory year for the world's most populous democracy.

India's offer of the "hand of friendship" and Pakistan's cautious but positive response leave the world waiting to see if the two nuclear adversaries really mean what they say. Is this a turning point for lasting peace between India and Pakistan? Or is it yet another false dawn like the 1999 Lahore and 2001 Agra summits. The present moment could well produce a breakthrough if both sides seize the opportunity and do the necessary spadework without raising unrealistic expectations.

THE temple-mosque tangle remained unresolved, after the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Jayendra Saraswati’s negotiations with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board over the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site ran into rough weather. The matter remains sub-judice. However, the related evidence of terrorism was not as perceptible as last year.

THE year ended with a bang as the country’s foreign exchange reserve crossed the historic US$100 billion mark, vaulting India into the big league of only five emerging market nations that have such high reserves, though still falling behind its nearest competitor China by almost $300 billion. The economy has been humming with a feel-good factor, mainly due to a good monsoon and excellent corporate performances.

Economic activity picked up, boosted by restructuring efforts in the industrial sector, a drop in interest rates to 30-year lows and the best monsoon since 1988, which is likely to augment foodgrain output this year to a record 220 million tons. The spurt in agricultural production gave momentum to output in industry and services as well. Adding to the good news, only a brief and small spike in inflation took place just after the war in Iraq.

Tax collections have been by and large on target. Declaring the economy’s fundamentals to be strong, the Vajpayee Government jacked up its projection for GDP growth for the current financial year to more than 7 per cent from 6 per cent, outpacing the previous year’s 4.3 per cent. Further, private investment in industry has revived. The present spell of buoyancy in the capital market, if it lasts, will encourage outlays.

The fear of imports still haunts industry but the China syndrome that seemed to weaken confidence in the late 1990s has largely disappeared. Both should push investment in industry. But revival of private investment does not reflect its counterpart’s health: public sector investment. Bogged by policy uncertainty and government indifference, it is most evident in petroleum and telecom sectors. And less said the better about capital expenditure by the Centre and state governments.

As the events leading to the collapse of WTO talks at Cancun unfolded, India’s fortunes swayed dramatically as it took to center-stage the concerns of developing countries. The most important factor, which helped the Indian delegation in the Mexican meeting, was unanimity of national opinion behind the broad stand. It was well that the government consulted with political parties, trade unions, industry associations and other stakeholders prior to the meet. However, back home, the government got a jolt as the Supreme Court restrained the Centre from proceeding with the privatisation of two major public sector enterprises — Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, holding that disinvestment in them could not take place without prior Parliament approval.

War was the buzz theme in the global arena as the US waged the battle against Iraq to "save the world" from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which never materialised. In the beginning, the US reason seemed to be convincing. Later, the US claim and reasoning proved hollow after US troops swept through Iraq, and combed the country - but no weapons were found.

India, which opposed the war and US unilateralism in waging it, did not contribute troops.

As in other years, Indian Railways sustained a bleak accident record. Fifty-one people were killed when three coaches of a train of the Konkan Railways derailed at a tunnel entrance near Kankavali in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, after rain washed boulders onto the track. Then 36 people died from a fire, which broke out in a rear car of the Golden Temple Express. At least 100 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh when a flash flood swept through a make-shift tent site where labourers were sleeping. They were building a tunnel through a mountain near the popular summer resort town of Kulu, as part of a hydro-power project.

After 20 years, India got a chance to win the cricket World Cup again, making the final, but the team collapsed like a house of cards against Ricky Ponting’s Australian squad. Thus the dream of captain Sourav Ganguly and his band of merry men turned sour as they lost to the Aussies by 125 runs, failing to repeat their 1983 feat. The only saving grace was that master blaster Sachin Tendulkar became ‘’Man of the Series’’ in the World Cup. The Indian batting maestro with 669 runs had an unassailable lead in the race for World Cup’s top individual prize.

However, every dog has his day and that came when India defeated the world champions in their own den by four wickets after 22 years. It was an amazing come-from-behind victory at the Adelaide Oval, similar to a marathon runner storming his way home to the victory podium after being hopelessly placed at the beginning of a gruelling 42 km run.

The men to be admired for making possible this fantastic fight-back are Rahul Dravid, who has slowly and surely taken over the mantle from Tendulkar as the kingpin of the Indian batting lineup, and V V Laxman, the Hyderabadi with the magical wrist. There was another man in the scheme of things. A bowler who has come out of the woods - Ajit Agarkar. His 6 for 41 was nothing short of a magical performance.

At last, hockey has bounced back to rekindle memories of India’s golden past. It came a close second to cricket in terms of victories and popularity, if not on the financial fronts. India won the Asia Cup after beating Pakistan in the final, and booked a World Cup ticket three years in advance. They again defeated Pakistan in the Afro-Asian Games to clinch the gold, but lost to the arch-rival for the bronze medal in the Champions Trophy. Golf had also its say in the year as Arjun Atwal became the first Indian ever to make it to the most prestigious golfing circuit in the world - the US PGA Tour - after a sterling final round performance in the Qualifying School. His card of three-under 69 in the final stage of the US PGA Tour Qualifying School ensured him a pride of place in India’s golfing history.

Reeling under flop after flop for the past two years, Bollywood heaved a sigh of relief with mega hits evenly distributed across the year, though it could not stave off its usual share of big budget disasters. At the top of the list of major disappointments were Sooraj Barjatya’s Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Honey Irani’s Armaan, Anil Sharma’s spy thriller The Hero and Kaizad Gustad’s Boom. These films raised high hopes but faced equivocal rejection from the masses.

The question is not which movies were the biggest grosser: KHNH or Hrithik-starrer Koi Mil Gaya or Bachchan-led Baghban, but these blockbusters effected a turnaround in the fortune and future of the dream world. And the industry is all set to start 2004 with a string of promising films.