Ice bucket challenges for a cause, a rise in the number of tigers, liquor bans on highways - 2016 wasn't just about bad news
Volunteers planting trees in Allahabad, in July this year, as part of the commitment India made at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015. Pic/AP
To call 2016 an awful year would be like referring to BMC as an inefficient organisation. Everyone knows it, and the best way to deal with it is to keep one's head down and get on with the business of life. We lost a lot of great artistes, for a start. Then, there were terrorist attacks almost every month, Donald Trump became one of the most powerful individuals on Earth, and we wasted our final weeks of the year by standing in line for money that actually belongs to us.
ADVERTISEMENT
The saddest thing was what seemed like a rise of intolerance from all corners of the globe. Hate triumphed, be it in the form of right-wing groups winning elections abroad, or doing their best to muzzle us here at home. I didn't want to end on a depressive note though, because I can always count on the government of India to perform that task far better. So, I decided to try and think about the good things that happened instead. I assumed this would take me a few days, considering the dearth of good news that appeared to come our way.
Surprisingly, I did find more than a couple of reasons to smile, starting with a rather inane ice bucket challenge that went viral at the start of the year. Apparently, the visibility that the challenge won for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord) made it possible for more research funds to be raised, on account of which a treatment is close to being found. The Internet actually helped spread a positive message there, for a change.
It was a good year for tigers too. The number of big cats in the Sunderbans is healthy and rising, with nine more tigers spotted over last year's figures in the mangroves. Given our appalling history of conservation, and scant regard for flora and fauna, this bit of information almost felt like a miracle. There were also eight new animal species found in our country this year, from the Khaire's Black Shieldtail snake and Indian Dancing Tadpole to the vibrant Red Forest Crab and the rather astonishing Sorting Hat Spider, reportedly named after the Sorting Hat in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.
Something astonishing happened in July, in Uttar Pradesh. 800,000 volunteers reportedly worked for 24 hours planting 50 million trees along roads, railway lines and on public land, as part of India's commitment made at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 to spend $6 billion on reforestation of 12 per cent of our land. It could well be a Guinness World Record, but what should make our right-wing brethren happy about this feat is that the previous record for most trees planted in a single day — 847,275 — was set in 2013 by Pakistan!
A recent Supreme Court judgement banning liquor sale on all state and national highways was the culmination of a fight that began almost two decades ago, in the form of a PIL filed by a gentleman named Harman Singh Sidhu. It started when, at age 26, he was caught in a car accident that left him paralysed from the neck down. He spent the next 20 years campaigning for road safety awareness, and the fact that these highways may now be safer, not just for drivers but also for innocent passengers, is a testament to his dedication and commitment.
In November, 95% of Std XII students appeared for their state board exams in Jammu & Kashmir, defying diktats from separatists against the reopening of schools and colleges that were forcibly shut for four months. In more great news from that troubled region, four boys aged between 17 and 19, from two villages a few kilometres from the Line of Control in Poonch district, made history by making it to the Indian Institute of Technology.
Kerala, the first Indian state to adopt a transgender policy, reportedly saw the opening of the country's first transgender residential school. Located in Kochi, Sahaj International School was to be inaugurated yesterday and aims to provide transgenders 'security, salvation and sustainability.' It's a long road for other marginalised groups, given our government's consistent regressive approach, but this is a step in the right direction.
The year 2017 will bring more of the usual, of course, from sadness and despair, to stupid collective decisions that may make 2016 seem like a birthday party. It may bring happiness too though, so I'm going to try and focus on that instead.
When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
