Homepage > History > Film Songs & Events > 2010 > This Page

SOUTH ASIAN EVENTS AND THE YEAR 2010

** Master Index for Years ** Index for This Year ** World Events ** South Asian Events ** Film World Events ** Film Song Videos **
Last Year's S. Asian Events ** 2010 ** Next Year's S. Asian Events

Major South Asian Events of 2010

Pakistan is disrupted by a series of bomb blasts. The entire year is punctuated by a stream of bombings as social and political tensions increase. It is estimated that there were 133 separate bombings.

High school bus bombing (Dec. 13, 2010)
Air India Express Flt. 812 overshoots runway at Mangalore International Airport Killing 158. Eight people survive.

Crash site
Miss India, Nicole Faria of Bangalore, wins Miss Earth 2010 crown in Vietnam.

Nicole Faria
A million people are displaced and over 1600 people are killed in flooding in the Khyber - Pakhtunkhwa area of Pakistan.

Flooding in Pakistan
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest (Nov. 13).
Indian Politician Jyoti Basu dies.

Jyoti Basu (1914-2010)
2010 was a bad year for gurus. Swami Nityananda (a.k.a. Sex Swami" was arrested in Himachal Pradesh. New Delhi based Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot Wale was exposed in a call girl racket said to control over 1000 girls. But these are only some of the indiscretions to come to the pubic's (sorry I mean "public's) attention in 2010. There was also much attention paid to Bhagwat Acharya (a.k.a., Rajendra Sharma, or the "Porn Swami"). Sadhvi Ritambhara (a.k.a. Didi-Ma) has had to fight off a number of criminal cases and accusations of aiding terrorism. But it was not just living gurus who had to fend off the public attacks on their character. Deceased gurus such as Sri Chinmoy, and the late Swami Muktananda came under less than complimentary public scrutiny.

Nityananda with devotee
Former President of Pakistan Farooq Laghari passes away.

Farooq Laghari (1940-2010)
Delhi hosts 2010 Commonwealth games.

commemorative stamp
Andhra Pradesh was crippled by Telangana agitations. Many segments of society are demanding that Telangana be deemed a separate state.
US President Obama visits India.

US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The classical vocalist Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, Malayali music director K. Raghavan, and Raghunath Panigrahi are awarded Padma Shrees.

(l to r) Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, K. Raghavan, and Raghunath Panigrahi
A number of right wing political groups are incensed at the engagement of Indian Tennis star Sania Mirza to the former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik. They were married in Hyderabad, India on April 12, 2010, without any major incidents.
India was buzzing with news of the scandal surrounding telecom minister Andimuthu Raja and the way he undersold 2G spectrum licenses. It is estimated that these "sweetheart deals" cost the government over US$40 billion (Rs200 Crore) in lost revenue.
Aka-Bo, the native language of the Andaman Islands, becomes extinct when its last fluent speaker dies.
An Airblue flight in Pakistan crashes killing all 152 people on board.
A bomb explodes at the German Bakery in Pune killing 17, and wounding 60. It was never clear exactly who the perpetrators were.
At least 63 people were injured in a stampede at the Hindu temple in Pratapgarh.

Stampede
Across India, Naxalite-Maoist become bolder in their attacks upon Government security personnel.
India suffers though a major heat wave. Temperatures reach 53C (127F), killing hundreds of people.

The effects of heat.
Ajmal Kasab, the only surviving member of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, is convicted and sentenced to death.
Hindustani vocalist Chhannulal Mishra, Kathak Dancer Kumudini Lakhia, Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer Mallika Sarabhai, Carnatic exponent Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, and sarangi artist and music director Sultan Khan are awarded Padma Bhushans.

(l to r) Chhannulal Mishra, Kumudini Lakhia, Mallika Sarabhai, Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, and Sultan Khan