A Sour Romance, an Election Shocker in Haryana (Flashback 2009)
Chandigarh, Dec 20 – From the Chand-Fiza love story going sour, killings at the behest of kangaroo courts to political surprises, Haryana stayed in the news in 2009. Here are 10 landmark happenings of the year:
1. The Congress returned to power after the Oct 13 assembly elections – but just about. It sought the support of independent legislators and others as it failed to get a simple majority in the 90-member assembly.
2. Five legislators of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), which is led by Kuldip Bishnoi and former chief minister Bhajan Lal, defected from the party and joined the Congress. Bishnoi was the only HJC legislator left in the assembly. He sought the disqualification of the defectors.
3. After high drama lasting months, former deputy chief minister Chander Mohan (elder son of Bhajan Lal) aka Chand Mohammad and Anuradha Bali aka Fiza got separated following their controversial marriage. Chand remained out of the country for several months. The Congress denied him the party ticket in the assembly polls.
4.The extra-constitutional orders of ‘khap panchayats’ or kangaroo courts continued to haunt young lovers who hailed from the same communities. Some couples were killed, while others were asked to leave the village or face social boycott.
5. Haryana sought from the central government a separate high court for the state in Chandigarh. Punjab objected, saying it should build its separate
high court in Haryana itself and not in Chandigarh.
6. Millions took a dip in the holy Brahma Sarovar – or Pond of Lord Brahma – in Kurukshetra during the century’s longest solar eclipse in July this year.
7. Rajo Devi, 71, who became the world’s oldest mother last year, celebrated her prized daughter’s first birthday Nov 27 this year. She had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Naveen Lohan, after undergoing In Vitro Fertility (IVF) treatment. She said she wanted to bear another child.
8. The Punjab and Haryana High Court enhanced the compensation amount for the Dabwali fire tragedy victims to over Rs.34 crore. The incident had taken place Dec 23, 1995, during a school function, leaving 446 people dead and 225 injured.
9. Dairy scientists in Karnal’s National Dairy Research Institute cloned two buffalo calves in February and June. The first one died after a few hours, but the second one survived.
10. Reliance sought and got a two-year extension for setting up its special economic zone (SEZ) project near Gurgaon in Haryana. This was the biggest SEZ project to be set up in India.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)
Posted by 
