By Anush Garg:
We live in the world of greed. Excesses committed can sometimes affect the lives of many and they thus become scandalous in nature. Though, hundreds of instances can be cited which have made headlines all around the world, a few that touched and affected our lives in 2012 are listed below:
1) Pope Benedict’s Documents Exposed:
Pope Benedict XVI’s secret papers became an immediate controversy when they were published in May. The scandal first surfaced in the month of January and it concerned some letters and documents of Pope Benedict XVI, which were leaked out by his butler. This Scandal escalated in mid 2012 when the butler published a book with the help of his friend, which was titled ‘His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI‘ which consisted of the Pope’s secret letters and documents which had a drastic effect on the followers of the Vatican City.
2) Wankhede stadium bans King Khan:
After an IPL match at the Wankhede stadium in May this year, Shahrukh Khan with his children and their friends wanted to see the pitch after the match. The stadium was evacuated as the day had come to an end. However, the entry to the stadium was prohibited and it was then when Sharukh Khan wanted to enter the prohibited area. When stopped, he misbehaved with the security personal, who was a 52-year-old man and in service for last 25 years at the stadium in Mumbai. Following this altercation the ‘Badshah’ of Indian entertainment was banned for 5 years from entering Wankhede stadium by the BCCI. This event shook the entertainment industry and IPL fans across the country.
3) The Libor Scandal:
The land of opportunities brought up a trillion dollar scam that accused approximately 16 Banks and 10 government authorities around the globe. The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which the banks globally lend/ borrow unsecured funds from each other. This particular scheme practiced by major banks round the globe is a regular occurrence and is set on a daily basis. An investigation found that banks were plotting false percentage of interest rates which affected investors and a multi trillion dollar scandal surfaced at Wall Street in New York.
4) The Coalgate scam:
It was this summer when the CAG tabled a report in the Indian Parliament, in which it accused the Government of allocating Coal Blocks to the PSEs (Public Sector Enterprise) and private sector without any auction or specific policy. This resulted in a huge loss. The report suggested that the coal blocks could have been auctioned. The irregular procedure adopted by the government regarding the allocation of coal blocks, made a loss of Rs. 1,85,591 crore to the public exchequer. After the 2G spectrum and Commonwealth Games organizing committee scandal, this scandal affected the economy of our country in a massive way.
5) The controversy surrounding Jimmy Savile:
Jimmy Savile or Sir James Wilson Savile, was an English DJ at the BBC in London. He was known as a hard working man and a supporter of causes for children and charities. He raised approximately 40 million pounds for these charities during his lifetime. After his death in October 2011, a suspicion was raised following an allegation by a now middle-aged woman who claimed to have been sexually abused by him. When the case was investigated he was found to have sexually abused children and women while working as a DJ. It was in the summer of 2012, after his death that this news surfaced and the investigations are going on. But it is most likely that he will be found guilty.
6) The shooting of Malala Yousafzai:
Malala Yousafzai is a young school girl from Pakistan and a child women’s rights activist who also published blogs for BBC Urdu with her anti Taliban posts. She was shot in the head by the Taliban gunmen on her way back home from school and was rushed to a hospital and later treated in Birmingham, UK, on the Pakistan government’s expenses. Just after the incident, global outcry and concern created further support for her writings and encouraged more people to be a part of the activist era that she started online. She soon became an international protégé. This scandal brought awareness in the Islamic society and a group of 50 clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa against those who tried to assassinate her. She has certainly helped the cause of the girl child in Pakistan and truly is the person of the year.
7) There is something fishy about Wal-Mart:
The Indian Parliament’s passing of FDI in retail industry has caused furore. While this news was hot, a scandal surfaced in Mexico that Wal-Mart (Wal-Mex) bribed the Mexican officials to speed up the procedure of growth in the country. The giant company bribed them for building permits and much more to obtain better store sites. This may also happen in India and is a threat to the Indian economy as we are supposed to be the land of corruption. Did Wal-Mart bribe our political leaders too, to get the parliamentary approval on the investment of the retail giants in India? As the Mexican scandal came to my knowledge I was terrified of the fact that they can do similar things to meet their ends by using our political leaders.
8) The heart wrenching Delhi gang-rape case:
It was a chilly evening on the 16th of December 2012, when a paramedical student was gang-raped by a group of six males in a moving bus in South Delhi. She was beaten up along with her male friend and was later raped and both were then thrown out of the bus. This incident left a deep scar in the minds of people across the country. A widespread public outcry covered the headlines. The case of criminal wrong doing is on the floor of the Delhi High Court where soon a conviction will be passed. The medical and criminal investigation is being conducted by the police officials and soon the criminal case will be presented against the culprits who are already in custody. The massive protests and the demand for the safety of women are all that people are talking about.
9) The King Of Good Times gets dethroned:
Kingfisher Airlines was one of the most popular Indian air carriers and was owned by Vijay Mallya. Since the beginning of 2012, Kingfisher was entrenched in losses and wasn’t even able to pay salaries to its pilots and staff members. As months passed by, the airline promised delayed salaries to their employees but couldn’t keep its promise. The problem started because of the low profits and ongoing losses and this resulted in draining the fluid funds from the carrier. The problem when not addressed became a scandal and resulted in the cancellation of their license to operate.
10) The Apocalypse!:
According to many, the world was going to end on the 21st of December, 2012 because they believed in the Mayan prediction. This was claimed ballooned by the media which created a scare among some people. Many movies, articles etc. have been published or made on this subject but now the date has been passed and we all have survived, there is nothing to fear. This definitely must go down as a huge scandal for the year 2012.
It would therefore not be wrong to conclude that 2012 indeed was the year of scandals- those that forced people to believe that the end really was near.