Vol. 2003No. 075Millennium turn
The India you were born into
Sunday16 March2003
16 March 2003 offers a small historical doorway — school and education, set against a country where technology, services and India's space programme were gaining international visibility.
Change dateThe Front Page
India in a connected century
Growth, security and technology shape the national story
India was adapting to a more connected economy and society while facing significant questions of security and development.
India in Numbers
A snapshot of India when you were born.
In march 2003, a litre of petrol cost Loading… and a local phone call cost Loading….
Interpolated placeholder between benchmark years; replace with annual UN WPP estimate before publication. Not a census count. Source: current India population working dataset.
Prices from the month you were born, listed the way the kirana shop would have written them.
- The Hindu archive
- National archival records
- Press and public memory
04 · Sport
India on the field in 2003
Moment of the year · Cricket
India reaches the Cricket World Cup final
India finished runner-up to Australia.
200305 · Cinema & music
What India was watching and humming
The film everyone queued for that month, and the song that played from every cassette player that year.
KOI... MIL GAYA
Year 2003
Film of the year · 2003
Koi... Mil Gaya
Also in theatresMunna Bhai M.B.B.S. · Kal Ho Naa Ho · Baghban · Tere Naam · Chalte Chalte · Jism
Song of the year · 2003
"Kal Ho Naa Ho"
Also on the radio"It's the Time to Disco" · "Koi Mil Gaya" · "In Dino"
$ cat science-and-technology-2003
Internet, mobile phones and the software boom
What science and technology looked like in India in 2003.
Broadband era approaches
Always-on internet access began emerging as an alternative to traditional dial-up.
Technology moves closer to daily life
Computing, communication and consumer electronics were gradually moving from specialist institutions toward ordinary homes, offices and public life.
Faces of 2003
Kalpana Chawla
Tragically died alongside six crewmates when Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on 1 February.
Sachin Tendulkar
Scored 673 runs at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, earning the Player of the Tournament award.
Sourav Ganguly
Captained India to the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.
Rahul Dravid
Scored 233 and 72 not out against Australia in Adelaide, securing a historic Test victory.
Mukesh Ambani
Launched Reliance Infocomm, bringing low-cost mobile telephony services to the Indian market.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Advanced the Golden Quadrilateral highway project connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, a landmark national road-infrastructure programme.
09 · BEYOND INDIA
Beyond India
Before the internet put the world in our pockets, news from abroad arrived through telegrams, radios, television sets and eventually phones.
Iraq War begins
20 MAR
A U.S.-led coalition launches military operations against Iraq.
2003, circled in red
The year India turned 56.