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For India, 2021 was a difficult year as the Delta wave wreaked havoc in the summer leaving a trail of large-scale death and destruction. Having braved one of the worst tragedies since the Partition, the year ended in tragedy as well. The country’s first chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat was killed in a chopper crash on December 8, along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 other defence personnel.
Iconic sprinter and ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh breathed his last on June 18 at the age of 91. He died of Covid-19 five days after his wife Nirmal Milkha Singh also died of the virus.
It was also the year India lost ‘Tragedy King’ Dilip Kumar, who died due to prolonged illness at the age of 98. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the loss of a ‘cinematic legend’ at the Bollywood superstar’s death while the nation remembered the man known for romantic classics, Mughal-e-Azam and Devdas.
We also bid adieu to anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu a day after Christmas. The South African was a tall leader and humanitarian. A tireless activist, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for combatting white minority rule in his country.
In April, Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, died two months before his 100th birthday. The husband of Queen Elizabeth II, he was the longest-serving royal consort in history from Elizabeth’s accession in February 1952 till his death.
JANUARY
Buta Singh: The Congress veteran died of a cerebral haemorrhage on January 2 in Delhi aged 86. He was the union home minister from 1986-89 when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister. Later, he served in the cabinet of PV Narasimha Rao holding the agriculture portfolio among other departments. He had remained a junior minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet as well. A prominent Dalit face, he was the chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes from 2007-10. He was governor of Bihar from 2004-06, when he made the controversial decision to recommend the dissolution of the Bihar assembly in 2005. The family struck by a dual tragedy in 2021 as Buta Singh’s son, Arvinder Singh, former Congress MLA from Delhi, died in November at age of 56.
Narendra Chanchal: The iconic bhajan singer died at the age of 80 due to age-related issues on January 23. He sang mostly in Punjabi and Hindi, and is best known as the voice of iconic ‘Vaishno Mata’ bhajans, Chalo bulawa aaya hai and Tune mujhe bulaya shera waliye. He was born in Amritsar and shot to national fame when film-maker Raj Kapoor gave him the song Beshaq mandir masjid for the film Bobby in 1973. He won a Filmfare award for it. In 2009, he released an autobiography Midnight Singer and was so famous that several bhajan singers across India changed their names to rhyme with his and used the surname ‘Chanchal’.
Larry King: The suspenders-sporting everyman’s broadcast interviews with world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes helped define American conversation for a half-century. He died on January 23 at the age of 87. He had been hospitalised with Covid-19. A longtime nationally syndicated radio host, from 1985 through 2010 he was a nightly fixture on CNN, where he won many honours, including two Peabody awards.
Hal Holbrook: The award-winning character actor died aged 95 on January 23. He was known for touring the world for more than 50 years as Mark Twain in a one-man show and uttered the immortal advice, ‘Follow the money’ in the classic political thriller All the President’s Men. It was his most famous movie role, portraying mysterious informant ‘Deep Throat’, who provided the key information to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward (played by Robert Redford) in the 1976 adaptation of the bestselling account by Woodward and fellow Post reporter Carl Bernstein about their investigation of Richard Nixon’s administration and the Watergate scandal. Holbrook pursued a busy career in theatre, television and movies, winning five Emmys and a Tony. His more than two dozen film credits ranged from Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln to Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. He was a steady presence on television as well, having appeared on such shows as The West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy and Bones.
FEBRUARY
Rajiv Kapoor: The youngest of legendary film-maker Raj Kapoor’s sons, he died of a heart attack on February 9 at the age of 58. He was the star of his father’s directorial Ram Teri Ganga Maili.
Sardool Sikander: The legendary Punjabi singer died of Covid-19 on February 24. He was 60. Known for his massive contribution to folk music as well as pop, Sikander’s memorial service was an example of religious harmony. During his last journey to the burial site, Vaishno Mata bhajans were played. He was laid to rest as per Muslim rites and, later, a Sikh prayer meeting was also held in his honour.
Christopher Plummer: The award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music died on February 5 at the age of 91. At the age of 82, he became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history. With Julie Andrews by his side, his role as von Trapp made him a star. But Plummer spent the resy of his life lamenting that the character was humourless and one-dimensional, and often referred to the film as ‘The Sound of Mucus’ or ‘S&M’. Over more than 50 years in the industry, Plummer enjoyed varied roles ranging from the film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, to the voice of the villain in 2009’s Up and as a canny lawyer in Broadway’s Inherit the Wind.
MARCH
T Ganesan: The Tamil actor died at the age of 30 on March 22. He predominantly played supporting roles in Tamil films, known for his work in the action film Renigunta.
APRIL
Shashikala: The veteran Bollywood actor died on April 4 at the age of 88. Known for her typical vamp characters, she appeared in more than 100 films, including Bimla, Sujata, Aarti, Anupama, Waqt, Gumrah and Khubsoorat. Born in a Hindu family, she later converted to Christianity.
Shravan Rathod:
Of the famous Nadeem-Shravan duo, Shravan died of Covid-19 on April 22 at the age of 66. One of the most successful composers in the Hindi film imdustry in 1990s, the duo’s career was affected when the other half of the duo, Nadeem Akhtar Saifi, was initially accused of being involved in the murder of T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar. They have worked with all the popular singers of their time like Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Sonu Nigam among others. They have composed the music for films like Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, Raja Hindustani, Dhadkan, and many others.
Rohit Sardana: The popular television news anchor died of Covid-19 on April 30 at the age of 41. He shot to fame with a debate show, Taal Thok Ke, on Zee News and later hosted the primetime show Dangal on Aaj Tak.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: The longest serving royal consort in history died at the age of 99 on April 9, just two months short of his 100th birthday. The reason behind his death was cited as “old age”. The husband of Elizabeth II became the consort to the British monarch on her accession in February 1952. The irascible and tough-minded royal spent more than seven decades supporting his wife in a role that both defined and constricted his life.
DMX: The iconic hip-hop artist died at the age of 50 due to multiple organ failure on April 9. He had been hospitalised for a cocaine-induced heart attack, but did not recover. He was behind the songs Ruff Ryders Anthem and Party Up (Up in Here), whose distinctively gruff voice and thoughtful messages in his rhymes made him one of rap’s biggest stars.
MAY
Ajit Singh: The founder and chief of Rashtriya Lok Dal, a prominent political party in western Uttar Pradesh, died of Covid-19 on May 6 at the age of 82. He was the son of tall farmer leader and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. He was a seven-time MP from Baghpat.
Vanraj Bhatia: National Award winner for the television film Tamas, the music composer died due to old age at the age of 93 on May 7. He was known as a pioneer of western classical music in Indian cinema. He was the go-to music composer for those making parallel cinema and he has been associated with the Indian New Wave Cinema.
Sunderlal Bahuguna: The Chipko movement leader breathed his last on May 21 at the age of 94. The activist and environmentalist gave India its first full-fledged environmental movement in the 1970s, and was also a champion of human rights. He fought tooth and nail for the protection of Himalayan forests and later branched out to larger issues such as construction of large dams. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s call for “strength of non-violence and fasting”. Despite hailing from an affluent Brahmin family, Bahuguna fought for the entry of Dalits into temples. In the 1950s, he and several Dalits entered a temple at Budakedar.
JUNE
Milkha Singh and Nirmal Milkha Singh: One of India’s first sport superstars and ace sprinter, he died at the age of 91 on June 18, due to complications from Covid-19. Orphaned during the Partition, he overcame this childhood tragedy to become the country’s most celebrated athlete. Popularly known as ‘Flying Sikh’, he is a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion but his greatest performance remains the fourth-place finish in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics. Milkha Singh also represented India in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics and was bestowed the Padma Shri in 1959. He died within five days of his wife Nirmal Kaur, who was a former national volleyball captain. Nirmal was also a former director of sports for women in the Punjab government and died at the age of 85.
Donald Rumsfeld: The two-time secretary of defense of the United States, he died at the age of 88 on June 29. He was also a one-time presidential candidate, whose reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern US military was unravelled by the long and costly Iraq war.
JULY
Stan Swamy: The jailed Jesuit priest and longtime tribal rights activist died after of cardiac arrest in jail. He was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and had requested bail on medical grounds several times. He died at the age of 84 on July 5. He was the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India. In October, he was arrested in Jharkhand after being charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA arrested him and 15 other activists and academics over the 2018 Elgaar Parishad case.
In January, to mark 100 days in jail, Swamy penned a letter thanking all those who had stood by him. He said he hadn’t met the 15 other people accused with him, despite being in the same jail. “But we still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing,” he wrote. In his last bail hearing in May, he predicted his death if he remained in jail. “I would rather die here very shortly if things go on as it is,” Swamy told the judges.
Dilip Kumar: The Bollywood icon hailed as the Tragedy King and one of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors died on July 7 due to prolonged illness. He was 98. His career spanning six decades, 58 years to be precise, comprises unforgettable movies and moments. The Tragedy King title came from his numerous serious roles in films such as Mughal-e-Azam and Devdas. In several, his character died as a frustrated lover and a drunkard. He was also known as Bollywood’s only “method actor” for his expressive performances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also mourned his death on Twitter: “Dilip Kumar will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world.”
He was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan, a Muslim, on December 11, 1922. His Pathan family hailed from Peshawar, in what became Pakistan after Partition, and he visited his ancestral home in the late 1980s. He changed his name as he debuted in Bollywood with Jwar Bhata, which went largely unnoticed. His first major box-office hits were Jugnu in 1947 and the 1948 film Shaheed. In 1994, he was given the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest honour for contributions to Indian cinema.
Virbhadra Singh: The 87-year-old veteran died due to post-Covid complications on July 8. An era ended in Himachal Pradesh Congress after his death. He cut across political parties and ideological hues and enjoyed mass appeal and clout, being fondly known as ‘Raja Sahib’. He dominated the political space in Himachal Pradesh for almost six decades that saw the Congress stalwart remain a union minister for that long a period. He became an MP at the young age of 28 in 1962. He was elected chief minister in 1983 for the first time, a feat that he repeated six times. Arguably, among the tallest Congress leaders in the country, he won nine assembly and five Lok Sabha elections. He remained the state Congress President in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 2012 before becoming the CM.
His political career was dotted with his dogged fights, not just against his opponents in other parties, but even with his own party high command. He also had his fair share of controversies. His last stint as CM from 2012 to 2017 saw the Congress veteran leader battling against CBI, ED and Income Tax, who slapped cases against him for alleged disproportionate assets and money laundering. In fact, the CBI raided his house ‘Holly Lodge’ in Shimla in 2015 on the day of his daughter’s wedding. The corruption charges filed against him, his wife and son, are still in various stages of investigation.
Yahspal Sharma: The explosive middle order batsman in the 70s and 80s died of a massive heart attack on July 13 at the age of 66. He was a part of 1983 World Cup-winning squad. Fondly nicknamed as the ‘Crisis Man for India’ by cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar, he is portrayed by actor Jatin Sarna of Sacred Games fame in the newly released movie 83. The sports drama is based on India’s World Cup win under Kapil Dev in 1983.
Danish Siddiqui: The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from Reuters was killed while covering clashes between Afghan security forces and Taliban on July 15. He was 38. He was a largely self-taught and documented wars, riots and human suffering. He was part of a team that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 2018 for documenting Myanmar’s Rohingya refugee crisis, a series described by the judging committee as “shocking photographs that exposed the world to the violence Rohingya refugees faced in fleeing Myanmar.”
Friends and colleagues described a man who cared deeply about the stories he covered, carrying out meticulous research before embarking on assignments and always focusing on the people caught up in the news. In recent months, his searing photographs capturing the coronavirus pandemic in India have spread across the world. He became a journalist after a Master’s degree in mass communications from Jamia Milia Islamia University.
Surekha Sikri: The National Award winning actor died of a cardiac arrest on July 16. The 76-year-old actress was also suffering from complications of two brain strokes. The veteran actress delivered fine performances in a career spanning over four decades. Not just in TV, the screen legend was a performer par excellence in theatre and films. It was in 2008 when Sikri added a major milestone to her acting journey. The audiences loved her as Kalyani Devi, the stern matriarch in the popular television show, Balika Vadhu. She was last seen in 2018 film Badhaai Ho, alongside Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Sanya Malhotra and Ayushmann Khurrana.
AUGUST
Kalyan Singh: The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BJP veteran died on August 21 at the of 89. He was hospitalised due to an infection and reduced consciousness level on July 4. He was the CM of UP when Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. Kalyan Singh left the BJP for a brief time before returning to the party some years before his death.
Maki Kaji: The 64-year-old creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku died on August 10. Kaji’s life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles.
Charlie Watts: The self-effacing Rolling Stones drummer died on August 24 at the age of 80. He helped anchor one of rocks greatest rhythm sections and used his day job to support his enduring love of jazz.
SEPTEMBER
Syed Ali Geelani: The icon of disputed Kashmir’s resistance against Indian rule died on September 1 at the age of 90. He was a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi.
Sidharth Shukla: The Big Boss fame actor’s sudden demise on September 2 sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry. He was probably the most popular TV figures of recent times, having tasted success from his very first show. Shukla started his acting career with the TV show Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na (2008), where he played a benevolent rich man who falls in love with a girl from a middle class family. He marries her with a promise to share her responsibilities towards her dependent family members. In 2012, Sidharth entered the long-running show Balika Vadhu as district collector Shivraj Shekhar.
Chandan Mitra: The former BJP MP who switched to the TMC in 2018, died on September 2. He was also the editor of The Pioneer, but recent reports stated that he resigned as printer and publisher of the newspaper in June. Several leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as President Ram Nath Kovind condoled his death.
Kamla Bhasin: Prominent women’s rights activist, poet and author Kamla Bhasin died on September 25. She was 75. Bhasin was a prominent voice in the women’s movement in India and other South Asian countries.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika: The former Algerian president died at the age of 84 on September 17. He fought for independence from France, reconciled his conflict-ravaged nation and was then ousted amid pro-democracy protests in 2019 after two decades in power.
OCTOBER
Ghanshyam Nayak: He was best known as ‘Nattu Kaka’ on long-running show Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. He died of a rare form of cancer on Ocotber 3. He was 77. Nayak started as a child artiste in 1960 and went on to have a crowded career in Gujarati and Hindi films and on the Gujarati stage. He even lent his voice as a playback singer, teaming up with Asha Bhonsle and Mahendra Kapoor.
Puneeth Rajkumar: The South Indian actor died on October 29 from a cardiac arrest. He was 46. Saddened by the Kannada film star’s untimely death, a die-hard fan died by suicide in Karnataka, while two suffered heart attacks. Chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai condoled the death of Rajkumar and announced that full state honours would be accorded during the actor’s funeral. His untimely demise sent shockwaves across the country. The youngest son of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar, Puneeth was referred to as ‘Power Star’ and ‘Appu’ by fans. Puneeth started his acting career as a child artiste along with his father. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu (1985). Puneeth also won the Karnataka State Award for Best Child Artist for his performances in Chalisuva Modagalu and Yeradu Nakshatragalu.
He starred in over 29 Kannada films. He had appeared as a lead actor in a number of commercially successful films.
Umer Shareef: One of Pakistan’s most beloved comedians died on October 2 at the age of 66. Many Indian comedians, including Shekhar Suman and Kapil Sharma, considered this Punjabi Pakistani theatre actor and comedian their inspiration. In the days of the video cassette, his state show Bakra Qiston Pay made him a household name across South Asia and the diaspora.
Abdul Qadeer Khan: He was a controversial figure who died at the age of 85 on October 10. He was known as the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb.
Colin Powell: The trailblazing soldier and diplomat died on October 18 at the age of 84. His sterling reputation of service to Republican and Democratic presidents was stained by his faulty claims to justify the 2003 US war in Iraq.
NOVEMBER
FW de Klerk: South Africa’s last apartheid president died on November 11 at the age of 85. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela and oversaw the end of the country’s white minority rule.
Stephen Sondheim: The songwriter died at the age of 91 on November 26. He is known to have reshaped the American musical theatre in the second half of the 20th century with his intelligent, intricately rhymed lyrics, his use of evocative melodies and his willingness to tackle unusual subjects.
Virgil Abloh: The leading designer died of cancer on November 28 at age of 41. His groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and beyond.
DECEMBER
Vinod Dua: The senior journalist died due to prolonged illness on December 4. He was 67. A pioneer in broadcast Hindi journalism, he held stints in Doordarshan and NDTV. Dua, who was hospitalised with Covid-19 earlier this year, lost his wife, radiologist Padmavati ‘Chinna’ Dua, to the virus in June.
He and his wife were in a hospital in Gurgaon when the second Covid wave was at its peak. The journalist’s health had suffered ever since and he had been in and out of hospitals. The couple is also parents to elder daughter Bakul Dua, a clinical psychologist.
CDS General Bipin Rawat and wife Madhulika Rawat: In a shocking incident, India’s first chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat was killed in a chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. Along with Gen Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 12 other defence personnel were also killed. The incident took place on December 8. Known to be forthright, fearless, and blunt at times, the 63-year-old Gen Rawat strongly backed a policy of hot pursuit in dealing with cross-border terrorism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir when he was the army chief between 2016 and 2019. He was an alumnus of National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles in December 1978. Born in Pauri, Uttrakhand, Gen Rawat’s family has been serving in the Indian Army for four generations.
His wife Madhulika was the daughter of late politician Mrigendra Singh and a native of Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh. She completed her studies in Delhi and her graduation in psychology from Delhi University.
Suresh Jadhav: The executive director of vaccine maker Serum Institute of India died on December 8 at the age of 72. He was suffering from cancer. He was associated with Serum institute, maker of the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield among others, since 1979 and looked after manufacturing and quality control.
PT Thomas: The Kerala Congress working president and four-time MLA died on December 22 due to pancreatic cancer. He was 71. The quintessential firebrand leader’s last wish was that there should be no wreaths or funeral at church or even religious service on his death, but the evergreen film song Chandrakalabham chaarthi urangum theeram should be played during a public service.
Belonging from a Catholic family, he married Uma, a Hindu Brahmin, who did not convert to Christianity against the wishes of many. He did not even insist that his sons be baptised at birth, leaving the choice to them as adults.
Thomas was the sitting MLA from Thrikkakara in Ernakulam, from where he won in 2016 and 2021. He was also elected MLA from Thodupuzha twice from 1991-96 and 2001-2006.
Anne Rice: The novelist died on December 11 at the age of 80. Her lush, best-selling Gothic tales, including Interview With the Vampire, reinvented the blood-drinking immortals as tragic antiheroes.
Bell Hooks: The groundbreaking author died at the age of 69 on December 15. The explorations by the educator and activist of how race, gender, economics and politics intertwined helped shape academic and popular debates over the past 40 years.
Joan Didion: The revered author and essayist died on December 23 at the age of 87. Her social and personal commentary in such classics as The White Album and The Year of Magical Thinking made her a clear-eyed critic of turbulent times.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu: South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, died on December 26 at the age of 90. He worked passionately, tirelessly and non-violently to tear down apartheid South Africa’s brutal, decades-long regime of oppression against its Black majority that ended in 1994.
Nicknamed the Arch, the diminutive Tutu became a towering figure in his nation’s history, comparable to fellow Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela, a prisoner during white rule who became South Africa’s first Black president. Tutu and Mandela shared a commitment to building a better, more equal South Africa. The Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 highlighted his stature as one of the worlds most effective champions for human rights. Tutu also campaigned internationally for human rights, especially LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage.
Jean-Marc Vallee: The Emmy-winning director of Big Little Lies died on December 27. He was 58. The director and producer, whose 2013 drama Dallas Buyers Club earned multiple Oscar nominations. Valle was acclaimed for his naturalistic approach to filmmaking, directing stars including Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal over the past decade. He became a sought-after name in Hollywood after Dallas Buyers Club, featuring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, and earned six Academy Awards nominations, including best picture. He directed Witherspoon in Wild in 2014, and re-teamed with her to direct the first season of Big Little Lies in 2017, and directed Adams in 2018’s Sharp Objects.
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