5 months ago
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Looking backmost astatine 2025 done an Indian lens was not casual particularly erstwhile tracking the months — incidental by incident, galore of them pugnacious connected the state and her people.
The large 1 precise aboriginal successful the twelvemonth was the Maha Kumbh Mela astatine Prayagraj — a 45 time mega spectacle stretching the limits of the medication of galore cities. Occurring successful a rhythm of erstwhile successful 144 years, devotees from crossed the state and past immoderate came visiting. It did not spell incident-free, however. Stampedes occurred some astatine the Kumbh, and astatine New Delhi Railway Station wherever the unreserved to get a spot connected a bid to Prayagraj claimed lives: 18 of them astatine the railway station, and galore much astatine the Kumbh itself. Going by crushed reports, the trigger successful some cases was appallingly sad, and could person been easy averted with amended readying and management.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir was chugging on astatine a dependable gait with tourism bringing successful worth to the section population, but everything changed connected a fateful day astatine Baisaran Valley successful Pahalgam connected April 22. Terrorists killed 25 tourists and a pony rider operator.
The daze waves were expectedly larger the life. From crossed the governmental spectrum, determination was condemnation. And the photograph of a recently joined pistillate adjacent to her slain hubby went viral: what followed was India taking connected neighbouring Pakistan successful an equipped onslaught called Operation Sindoor. It was hard to miss the symmetry successful the imagery, oregon the reasoning.
Elsewhere, the Himalayan States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh continued to look landslides and floods astir from wherever it near disconnected successful 2024. The world’s youngest mountains and the radical surviving amid them person had immoderate nightmarish moments successful the past fewer years, and 2025 was nary exception.
In a state arsenic ample arsenic India, the twelvemonth saw immoderate superb moments of inspiration too. The National Defence Academy covered itself successful glory erstwhile its archetypal batch of women cadets, lasting enarthrosis to enarthrosis with men, passed retired arsenic officers from Khadakwasla. It was a infinitesimal to beryllium cherished, and the beaming smiles captured connected camera. When talking gender, Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls lifted their first-ever Indian Women’s Cricket World Cup successful 2025.
But arsenic the twelvemonth comes to a close, the acquainted yet disastrous upwind takes a chemoreceptor dive, by mode of aerial prime crossed the bluish plains. The National Capital Region struggles adjacent arsenic the Delhi authorities tries short-term measures similar pole-mounted mist sprays to instrumentality down a Goliath — an AQI that is person to ‘severe’ astir times than not.
Text by Dinesh Krishnan
Photo: Thulasi Kakkat
Theyyam Kandanar Kelan, a deity based connected the fable of an archer-farmer, braves blazing flames successful an hour-long ritualistic frenzy astatine the Kaliyattam festival held successful March successful Kannur, Kerala.
Photo: Sandeep Saxena
Hues of Haze: A monolithic occurrence broke retired astatine the Maha Kumbh mela astatine Prayagraj successful Uttar Pradesh connected January 19. A cylinder blast pb to the inferno, authorities said. No casualty was reported successful the incident.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Sacred Confluence: Officials estimation that implicit 1.44 crore devotees gathered to instrumentality the beatified bath astatine the Triveni Sangam connected the juncture of Maha Shivratri and the culmination of the Maha Kumbh astatine Prayagraj connected February 26.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Tunnel Tragedy: A worker, portion of a multi-agency adept team, progressive successful operations to rescue 8 men trapped wrong the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) passageway connected February 24. The passageway astatine Nagarkurnool territory successful Telangana collapsed 2 days earlier. After days of efforts, the workers were confirmed dead.
Photo: PTI
Silenced aftermath: A pistillate sits adjacent to the assemblage of her hubby aft terrorists attacked a radical of tourists astatine Pahalgam successful Jammu and Kashmir connected April 22. The wide shooting incidental near 26 civilians dormant and pb to a subject escalation with Pakistan
Photo: Emmanual Yogini
The aboriginal is female: Women cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA) stock a airy infinitesimal with their professors aft the Passing Out Parade marking the culmination of the 148th people grooming astatine Khetrapal Parade Ground successful Pune connected May 30.
Photo: Sudhakara Jain
Vying for a view: Fans during the IPL triumph solemnisation of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru connected June 4, erstwhile a stampede led to the decease of 11 persons.
Photo: PTI
Nature's fury: Flood-like concern successful country affected by a cloudburst, astatine a colony successful Chamoli, Uttarakhand connected July 8.
Photo: M. Moorthy
Crowd surge: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and histrion Vijay astatine a gathering successful Karur connected September 28, erstwhile a stampede led to the decease of implicit 40 people.
Photo: K.R. Deepak
Storm scars: A presumption of houses battered by precocious tidal waves nether the interaction of Cyclone Montha astatine Jaggaraju colony successful Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, connected October 28.
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Alert zone: Security unit seen astatine the blast tract adjacent Red Fort successful New Delhi connected November 10. At slightest 14 were killed successful the incidental which near respective injured.
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Grey choke: A pole-mounted mist spray strategy operates to mitigate contamination arsenic aerial prime remains 'very poor' successful Delhi connected a December morning.
Photo: R. Ragu
Rain lashes respective parts of Chennai connected December 1, 2025.
Photo: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Large pileup of luggage astatine Delhi airdrome successful New Delhi connected December 8, 2025.
Photo: Nirmal Harindran
Indian Navy's MiG 29 multirole combatant craft that took disconnected from INS Vikrant craft bearer during Navy Day operational objection disconnected the seashore of Shangumugham formation successful Thiruvananthapuram connected December 3, 2025.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Forensic unit and constabulary astatine the mishap tract for probe aft a Bengaluru-bound backstage sleeper autobus from Hyderabad caught occurrence astatine Chinna Tekuru colony successful Kalluru mandal of Kurnool territory connected October 24, 2025, sidesplitting astatine slightest 19 people.
Photo: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Anti-smog weapon is being utilized to sprinkle water, to curb contamination station Diwali astatine Kartavya Path successful New Delhi connected October 21, 2025. The Delhi-NCR portion unsocial consumes astir 13% of the fireworks made successful the country, manufacturers say. Opening up this marketplace volition boost income for the manufacturers and livelihood of 8 lakh workers successful the arid regions of Virudhunagar district, they add.
Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
A herd of elephants walking done the wood seen astatine Thekkathi Malai successful Bhavanisagar Reserve wood Range successful Erode district, Tamil Nadu connected October 12, 2025.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
MiG 21 craft during its status ceremonial aft completing work of astir 62 years, astatine the Chandigarh Airbase successful Punjab connected September 26, 2025.
Photo: Emmanual Yogini
Aerial presumption of a battered agelong of the NH 66 Mumbai–Goa Highway, connected July 24, adjacent Kante Village, Sangameshwar successful Ratnagiri District, wherever a lone reddish car navigates a pothole-ridden, rain-damaged roadworthy amid ongoing operation delays.
Photo: Vijay Soneji
In this representation from June 14, 2025, FSL squad examines the process of Air India Ahmedabad - London AI-171 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Aircraft which crashed connected the hostel of B.J. Medical College successful Ahmedabad soon aft instrumentality off.
Photo: Murali Kumar K
Scene astatine 1 of the gates of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium aft unruly RCB fans tried to summation forcible introduction during the IPL-18 triumph solemnisation successful Bengaluru connected June 4, 2025.
Photo: L. Balachandar
A presumption of the caller Pamban obstruction span and the aged Pamban span - with much than a 100 years betwixt them, connected April 4, 2025.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Devotees successful ample fig gathered to instrumentality the beatified dip astatine the Triveni Sangam connected the juncture of Maha Shivratri and the culmination of Maha Kumbh astatine Prayagraj connected February 26, 2025.
Photo: Ramakrishna G.
Rescue unit searching for idiosyncratic missing successful the Hussain Sagar pursuing a occurrence mishap connected the firecracker carrying vessel during the Bharat Mata Harati lawsuit successful Hyderabad connected January 27, 2025.
