Yearender 2016

The year 2016 witnessed vitriolic US presidential elections leading to Republican Donald Trump's victory; Syrian civil war killed thousands of civilians; the refugee crisis and the Brexit heated up politics in Europe. Back home, demonetisation sent shock waves across the country as the Narendra Modi government\'s decision led to a cash crunch. The Parliament saw a rare unanimity when they passed the Goods and Services Tax Bill, but this unanimity did not last long. The Winter Session of Parliament was a complete washed out over demonetisation. Tamil Nadu lost its tallest leader as AIADMK\'s J Jayalalithaa passed away of cardiac arrest. The ties between India and Pakistan remained frozen. The surgical strike against Pakistan-based terror camps was said to be the revenge for the killing of 19 Indian soldiers in Uri. Bollywood was forced to boycott Pakistani artistes as the nationalism debate continued through the year. Samajwadi Party saw a bitter family fight between Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal and there\'s disquiet in the Bihar governing alliance after Nitish Kumar\'s vocal support for deminetisation, a stand that goes against RJD. On the tech front, the year saw the launch of Apple iPhone 7, Google Pixel.