What happened in 1991?

For Bollywood, 1991 was a definitive year. It gave the audiences two of the biggest contemporary stars- Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar. As we celebrate the debut of these superstars, here’s what else happened in India that you must know about.

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

1991 saw one of the most shocking events of independent India. On May 21, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, in Tamil Nadu. The bombing claimed 14 other lives as well. The assassination was carried out by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Dhanu, who was associated with the separatist organisation from Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The assassination was seen as retaliation for Gandhi having sent Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in 1987.

Election of PV Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister

In the wake of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, PV Narasimha Rao was elected as the prime minister of India. He was the country's first Prime Minister from the south of Vindhyas and the first time one outside of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to complete a full term of five years in office. During his tenure, India saw a major overhaul of its economy and, for this, he is called the ‘Father of Indian Economic Reforms’.

Economic reform programme initiated by P V Narasimha Rao

By the end of 1990, the nation was facing a serious economic crisis. Consequently, as newly elected prime minister, Rao decided to initiate economic reforms to help India out of this crisis and speed the development process. The centre of these economic reforms, outlined by the then finance minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, was liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. Thus, 1991 marked the beginning of economic liberalisation of the country.

The release India’s first supercomputer – PARAM 8000

PARAM is a series of supercomputers. After being denied the sale of supercomputers by the United States, India decided to make its own. Cut to four years later and PARAM 8000 was installed in 1991.  The supercomputers were designed and assembled by Pune's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). PARAM Yuva II is the addition to this series. It was launched in 2013.

Death of Ismat Chughtai

October 24, 1991, saw the death of eminent Indian writer in Urdu, Ismat Chughtai. Born in 1915, Chughtai was known for her strong feminist voice and the controversial topics she chose to write about. The writer of Lifting the Veil, Terhi Lakir and among many others, she explored themes such as the middle class, the sexuality of women and the conflicts in modern India. Chughtai was a pathbreaking  writer. She won a Filmfare Award for Best Story in 1975 for Garam Hawa.

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Don’t forget to catch the ‘Classic Debut’, a week-long festival showcasing the launch movies of the biggest Bollywood stars starting October 24 at 9 pm every night, only on Zee Classic! Ajay Devgn’s debut film Phool aur Kaante is first of the series.