2012: Impact makers

NIRBHAYA: A city that registers two rapes a day was shocked into outraged protests when this 23-year-old was gangraped and brutalized in a moving bus. The large-scale protests forced the govt to promise a review of rape laws setting up of fast-track courts to deal with rape.

ARVIND KEJRIWAL: Having remained a loyal lieutenant to Anna Hazare through 2011 and the first half of 2012, Kejriwal came into his own in the second part of the year. After taking on many including Robert Vadra, Nitin Gadkari and Reliance Industries with daring 'exposes', he formed the Aam Admi Party.

MARY KOM: In an Olympic in which Indians won their largest tally of six medals, including two silver, there were many heroes but none who captured the public imagination more than M C Mary Kom. The 29-year-old mother of two from Manipur, the only woman boxer to have won a medal at every World Championship, won the Olympic bronze and a billion hearts.

VINOD RAI: Undoubtedly the most high-profile of all the CAGs India has ever had, Rai remained in the headlines for much of the year with CAG reports unveiling many a scam. The most talked-about of them was clearly the scam in allotments of coal blocks to private firms, which became infamous as Coalgate.

NARENDRA MODI: Winning the Gujarat assembly elections for the third successive time and with a near two-thirds, Modi has driven home the fact that he remains unbeatable on home turf. He has also established himself firmly as the front-runner in the race to determine who will lead the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

SAVITA HALAPPANAVAR: The tragic death of Karnataka-born Savita after a miscarriage in an Ireland hospital triggered a global outcry. The fact that the hospital refused to abort the fetus, leading to her death through septicemia, provoked protests against anti-abortion laws and a debate through the Catholic world. Ultimately, Ireland amended its abortion laws.

AAMIR KHAN: Long seen as a choosy film star who invested a lot in his projects, Aamir shone in a new role this year with his TV show Satyamev Jayate. Focusing on social ills like honour killings, caste and gender discrimination and alcoholism, the show became a Sunday must-watch for many families.

MAMATA BANERJEE: Last year, the feisty Bengal leader dealt the Left a blow from which it is still reeling. This year, she trained her guns on the Congress, accusing it of being 'anti-people'. She quit the UPA in September against the decisions to allow FDI in multi-brand retail and hike in fuel prices.

AKHILESH YADAV: Mulayam Singh Yadav's son shepherded the Samajwadi Party to an unprecedented victory, winning 224 seats in the 405-member House. His promise of a new, modern SP, which would not allow the 'goonda raj' of the party's earlier stint in power clearly clicked, but he has largely failed to deliver on that promise.

HONEY SINGH: The 28-year-old Punjabi rapper has been around for several years, but really hit the big league this year. Not only did songs from his album International Villager top lists such as the world iTunes and BBC Asian charts, he became Bollywood's highest-paid pop artiste when he was reportedly paid Rs 70 lakh for a song in Mastaan.

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