Vol. 2004No. 360Millennium turn
The India you were born into
Saturday25 December2004
Look at 25 December 2004 sideways: telephones and communication reveals the everyday scale of a year in which a national election and the Indian Ocean tsunami shaped an extraordinary year.
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 december 2004, 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 2004
Moment of the year · Shooting
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore wins Olympic silver
Rathore won silver in men's double trap at Athens.
200405 · 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.
VEER-ZAARA
Year 2004
Film of the year · 2004
Veer-Zaara
Also in theatresMain Hoon Na · Dhoom · Swades · Hum Tum · Lakshya · Khakee
Song of the year · 2004
"Main Hoon Na"
Also on the radio"Tumse Milke Dil Ka" · "Aankhon Se Tune Kya Keh Diya" · "Tere Liye"
$ cat science-and-technology-2004
Internet, mobile phones and the software boom
What science and technology looked like in India in 2004.
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 2004
Manmohan Singh
Sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 22 May heading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Sonia Gandhi
Led the UPA to victory in the general election and declined the Prime Ministership, nominating Manmohan Singh.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Won an individual silver medal in Double Trap shooting at the Athens Olympics.
Virender Sehwag
Became the first Indian to score a Test triple century (309 against Pakistan in Multan).
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Stepped down as Prime Minister after the NDA coalition lost the general election.
Shah Rukh Khan
Delivered acclaimed performances in 'Swades', 'Veer-Zaara', and 'Main Hoon Na'.
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.
Indian Ocean tsunami
26 DEC
A massive undersea earthquake triggers a tsunami that kills more than 200,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
2004, circled in red
The year India turned 57.