1950s
THEN: Fleeing Chinese military brutality, thousands of Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama through the Himalayas, finding home in India
NOW: The National Register of Citizens in Assam aims to identify migrants who are now residing in Indian territories, putting the onus on citizens to prove their Indianness
Image by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Corbis Via Getty Images
2/7
1960s
THEN: With the onset of the Green Revolution, farmers began to grow high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, changing India&rsquos status as a food-deficient country and creating jobs in ancillary industries
NOW: The government is opposed to eager farmers growing unapproved, disease-resistant, genetically modified crops like brinjal and cotton, citing risks of disruption of ecos
Image by Archive Photos/Getty Images
3/7
1970s
THEN: Triggered by a judicial decree that held her guilty of corrupt electoral practices, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an 18-month Emergency across the country, leading to political suppression and chaos
NOW: The Congress&rsquos humiliating loss in the 2019 parliamentary elections has put in doubt the Gandhi family&rsquos dominance in national politics
Image by Francois Lochon/Gamma-Rapho Via Getty Images
4/7
1980s
THEN: On the intervening night of December 3 and 4, 1984, a leak from Union Carbide&rsquos pesticide plant in Bhopal turned the city into a toxic gas chamber, killing thousands and making it one of the world&rsquos worst industrial disasters
NOW: Air pollution in India has assumed the proportions of a public health emergency, claiming over 1.2 million lives in 2017 alone, making i
Image by Sandro Tucci/Liason Via Getty Images
5/7
1990s
THEN: Rajiv Goswami, a student at Delhi University, sets himself ablaze during protests against caste-based job reservations recommended by the Mandal Commission
NOW: Even as state governments increase caste-based reservations in jobs and education to appease various communities, the Telangana government is setting up a university exclusively for Dalit students
Image by Raveendran/ AFP / Getty Images
6/7
2000s
THEN: Delhi High Court scraps a colonial-era law that criminalised homosexuality in India
NOW: The Kinnar Akhara, comprising transgender sadhus, including LGBTQ leader Laxmi Tripathi, takes a holy dip in the Ganga during Kumbh Mela, to reclaim the position held by the community in Hinduism
Image by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images
7/7
2010s
THEN: Isro&rsquos successful Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) proves the country&rsquos space capabilities
NOW: Academics at an Indian Scientific Congress Association event claim that India&rsquos mythological stories aren&rsquot fiction, and that &ldquowe had 100 Kauravas from one mother because of stem cell and test tube technology&rdquo
