Vol. 1996No. 239The nineties edition
The India you were born into
Monday26 August1996
A time-capsule view of 26 August 1996: housing becomes the doorway into a year when coalition politics became central to national government while economic reform continued.
Change dateThe Front Page
India’s economy opens further
Reform and global integration reshape the country
India was living through an era of economic liberalisation, new markets and fast-changing public life.
194 pilgrims die of cold at cave temples of Amarnath .
194 pilgrims die of cold at cave temples of Amarnath .
India in Numbers
A snapshot of India when you were born.
In august 1996, 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 1996
Moment of the year · Tennis
Leander Paes wins Olympic bronze
Paes won India's first individual Olympic medal since 1952.
199605 · 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.
RAJA HINDUSTANI
Year 1996
Film of the year · 1996
Raja Hindustani
Also in theatresJeet · Saajan Chale Sasural · Agni Sakshi · Ghatak · Maachis · Khamoshi: The Musical
Song of the year · 1996
"Pardesi Pardesi"
Also on the radio"Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein" · "Ho Nahi Sakta" · "Tanhayee Tanhayee"
$ cat science-and-technology-1996
Internet, mobile phones and the software boom
What science and technology looked like in India in 1996.
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 1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Sworn in as Prime Minister for 13 days after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in parliament.
H. D. Deve Gowda
Sworn in as Prime Minister leading the United Front coalition government.
Sachin Tendulkar
Finished as the highest run-scorer at the 1996 Cricket World Cup and was appointed captain of India.
Sourav Ganguly
Scored a century on his Test debut at Lord's.
Rahul Dravid
Made his Test debut at Lord's, scoring 95 runs.
Leander Paes
Won an individual Olympic bronze medal in singles tennis at the Atlanta Olympics.
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.
Dolly the sheep is born
5 JUL
Scientists announce the birth of Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell.
1996, circled in red
The year India turned 49.