What made India shocked?

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, faced flak over the Planning Commission's reported contention that anyone who earned over Rs 32 a day, could not be defined as poor. Strong condemnation from all sides forced him to clear the air.

Gujarat top cop Sanjeev Bhatt drew headlines for his claims implicating Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the Godhra riots. The headlines only increased once he was arrested in Ahmadabad on September 30. Why? The government contended that Bhatt had coerced a subordinate to back up his claims. The battle raged on in court as India watched.

Members of Team Anna had been attacked but none worse than Prashant Bhushan. The senior lawyer was slapped, kicked, and his shirt torn by three men in his chamber in the Supreme Court in October. The attackers said they had heard Mr Bhushan's controversial views (he advocated a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir) and decided to teach him a lesson.

The senseless killing of Gurgaon toll attendant Umesh Kumar Pandey for just Rs 27, drew an outcry from all corners of India. Help poured in for the boy's family, for whom he was the sole breadwinner.

The murder of MidDay journalist J Dey in broad daylight on June 11 was enough to create over a dozen conspiracy theories, especially as he was a specialist on the underworld. What was even more shocking was that Mumbai journalist Jigna Vora was arrested by police on charges of aiding and abetting the crime.

A bright young lawyer Juhi Prasad's mysterious and gruesome death – she was burnt in a bed as she slept – drew nationwide condemnation and attention. Her father alleged Juhi's boyfriend who slept beside Juhi, Nimesh Sinha, was responsible. But the police arrested Nimesh's former girlfriend Anushree, and alleged she had murdered Juhi in a fit of jealous rage.

Keenan Santos, 24, and Reuben Fernandez, 29 lost their lives for being brave. The duo were out with a group of friends in Mumbai, in October, where some men tried to eve-tease the girls in the group. The resulting argument saw these two young men get stabbed. Keenan died on the spot, Reuben, 11 days later in hospital.

Outrage turned to violence as Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing activists broke police barricades at a protest in New Delhi in February. The BJP activists were protesting the fact that radio collars had allegedly been placed on Indian students studying at the Tri-Valley University in California. According to reports, the students had been forced to wear the collars so US authorities could keep a tab on their movements.

What made India shocked?

It was not just the Rajasthan government who has had to provide explanations this year. The Supreme Court is now demanding the Delhi government explain why 65,000 of Baba Ramdev's followers were tear-gassed and lathi-charged in the middle of the night in June this year. Baba Ramdev was on an indefinite fast against black money.

If the death of Sri Sathya Sai Baba on April 24, was not shocking enough for his disciples, then what was to follow was even worse. Over 98 kilos of gold, Rs 11.56 crore in cash, and 307 kilos of silver were discovered by IT officials in Sai Baba's personal chambers in June. Allegations followed putting the Satya Sai Baba trust in an embarrassing position.

A court-ordered search in July of vaults beneath the 16th century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple unearthed gold, jewels and statues worth $22 billion (Rs. 90,000 crore). The treasure trove, believed to be the largest find of its kind in India, has raised questions many people would have preferred not to answer.

A court-ordered search in July of vaults beneath the 16th century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple unearthed gold, jewels and statues worth $22 billion (Rs. 90,000 crore). The treasure trove, believed to be the largest find of its kind in India, has raised questions many people would have preferred not to answer.

Substance abuse made big headlines and caused a much bigger embarrassment for India. From athletes of repute testing positive to accusations of rampant doping in India's premier sports training facility (NIS Patiala), Anti-Doping agencies had a busy 2011. Even the Kabaddi World Cup saw foreign teams being disqualified for failing tests. 2011 it seems, made India the hub of doping.

Vinod Kambli alleged that the 1996 World Cup semi-final match could have been rigged. Azharuddin screamed back saying to field was a team decision. Demand for probe and name-calling slams mud on the repute of cricket in general and of Indian cricket in particular.