I was in my adolescent age and the most reliable news that was available was on Radio or News papers with a few news bulletin on TV! A Govt initiated City Central Library was a boon, where in one can read as many newspapers & books as they wish between 10 am to 5 pm everyday for free and these spots were amongst one of my favorite to gather the information.
Though the 1980s witnessed massive changes in automobile industry, introduction of pub & disco culture, introduction of new products, at the same time 1980s was scary and truly a decade of disasters of large proportions too. Loss of Human lives at large scale were recorded! With events like Iran - Iraq War, Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Chernobyl Disaster, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square Massacare & the AIDS epidemic which left a long lasting impact in human minds.
The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) was a brutal and prolonged conflict between Iran and Iraq, marked by territorial disputes, ideological clashes, and external interventions. It was one of the longest conventional wars of the 20th century, which lasted for 8 long years, causing immense destruction and loss of lives.
The war began when Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini to gain control of the Shatt al-Arab river, annexing the oil-rich Iranian province of Khuzestan, thus weakening the Iranian military. The war ended in a truce with a UN ceasefire & no side gaining victory. However, the death toll from the war was high & estimates put the total death toll at 500,000 soldiers, on each side. Irony is that over 100,000 civilians were killed in the fighting as well.
The Bhopal gas tragedy, classified as a catastrophic industrial disaster, occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, when a highly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), leaked from a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) in Bhopal, India, resulting in death of approximately 3000 people instantly and estimates suggest that over 20,000 people have died as a direct result of the gas leak, and hundreds of thousands have suffered long-term health problem.
The tragedy led to stricter environmental and industrial safety laws in India. The Environment Protection Act of 1986 was enacted. This untoward incident raised global awareness about corporate responsibility and industrial safety. Even today, victims and activists continue to seek justice and proper rehabilitation.
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Soviet Union (now Ukraine). The disaster was caused by a combination of factors, including a flawed reactor design, inadequate training, and a lack of safety culture. The explosion ignited the graphite moderator, sending radioactive material into the atmosphere.
Two Chernobyl plant workers died immediately on the night of the accident. 28 more people died within a few weeks from acute radiation syndrome. The accident contaminated large areas of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. Surge in cancer cases in thousands, especially in children were reported, due to radiation exposure. Today, Chernobyl remains a ghost town, but it has become a site for scientific study, tourism, and a symbol of the dangers of nuclear power mismanagement.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was a historic event that marked the end of the Cold War and led to the reunification of Germany. The Berlin Wall had stood since August 13, 1961, dividing East Berlin (controlled by communist East Germany) from West Berlin (a democratic enclave within East Germany). The Wall stood from 1961 to 1989 to stop Germans from fleeing the communist East to the more prosperous West.
People from both sides of Germany began tearing down the wall with hammers and pickaxes. East and West Berliners celebrated together, marking the symbolic end of division. On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany officially reunified, ending 45 years of separation. The fall of the Berlin Wall remains a symbol of freedom, unity, and the power of people's movements. Some sections of the Wall still remain as memorials and museums, reminding the world of the past divisions and the triumph of democracy over oppression.
The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. It was a violent military crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by students, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries.
The Chinese Government has asserted that injuries exceeded 3,000 and that over 200 individuals, including 36 university students, were killed that night. Western sources, however, are skeptical of the official Chinese report and most frequently cite the toll as hundreds or even thousands killed. (Source : https://history.state.gov)
The AIDS epidemic is one of the most devastating public health crises in modern history. It began in the early 1980s and has since claimed millions of lives worldwide. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is caused by the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which attacks the body's immune system, making it vulnerable to infections and diseases.
The HIV virus, which causes AIDS, is believed to have originated in chimpanzees in Central Africa and spread to humans. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a devastating impact on global health, with an estimated 42.3 million people dying from AIDS-related illnesses since the beginning of the epidemic.
Though all these events were alarming, the after effects of these uneventful happenings never pushed me to give it a thought on a serious note! However, today, the history has to be reminded often to current generation & the much younger generations who hardly bother to read & understand, unless they are students of history or with keen interest to study the history of the world!