2010 was an interesting year in India. Let’s look at some of the events that made the Indian news in 2010 :

In January of 2010, there were six Uttar Pradesh railroad accidents. The first three accidents were caused by a fog; in which ten people died. The other accidents were caused by derailed trains and train collisions. These railroad accidents highlighted the fact that there were still some railroads that needed to be updated and modernized for safety reasons.

In February of 2010, the last native speaker of Akabo languages dies. This individual was from India’s Andaman Islands and was the last person to speak the Akabo languages fluently. There was some worry in the anthropologic and linguistic community that the Akabo language would become extinct. Some recordings of the language were made, but linguists urged that the younger generation were abandoning Akabo languages for English and Hindi.

In April of 2010, five hundred thousand people were left homeless by an East Indian storm in Eastern India. At least 91 people died in Bihar and 44 people died in West Bengal. The strong winds damaged electricity lines, which meant that power was lost in many towns. About 80,000 square meters of maize was destroyed in West Bengal. There were rescue efforts made to provide food, water and shelter to the victims of the storm, but some of the items never reached the victims on time. The Indian government was heavily criticized for its inability to help the storm victims.

In August of 2010, heavy floods reached the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The floods caused mudslides which then destroyed hospitals, houses and schools. Leh, which is a large tourist town, is known for its Buddhist monuments. Five tourists were reported to have been killed by the floods. After the floods subsided, 65 people were still reported missing. Trucks carrying food and supplies were hampered by bad roads.

In October of 2010, India hosted the Commonwealth Games. The opening ceremony was praised by other nations and India was the second country to win the most number of medals. India defeated the U.K with the most number of medals by one medal (India had 38 medals and the U.K. had 37). There were some worries that India would not make all the necessary preparations in time for the Games, but everything went smoothly and according to plan.

2010 may have seemed like a bad year for India, but the success of the Commonwealth Games really established India’s role in the global community as a rising power.