Unicaus NEWS
The big one very early in the year was the Maha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj — a 45 day mega spectacle stretching the limits of the administration of many cities. Occurring in a cycle of once in 144 years, devotees from across the country and then some came visiting. It did not go incident-free, however. Stampedes occurred both at the Kumbh, and at New Delhi Railway Station where the rush to get a seat on a train to Prayagraj claimed lives: 18 of them at the railway station, and many more at the Kumbh itself. Going by ground reports, the trigger in both cases was appallingly sad, and could have been easily averted with better planning and management.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir was chugging along at a steady pace with tourism bringing in value to the local population, but everything changed on a fateful afternoon at Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam on April 22. Terrorists killed 25 tourists and a pony rider operator.
The shock waves were expectedly larger the life. From across the political spectrum, there was condemnation. And the photograph of a newly married woman next to her slain husband went viral: what followed was India taking on neighbouring Pakistan in an armed attack called Operation Sindoor. It was hard to miss the symmetry in the imagery, or the reasoning.
Elsewhere, the Himalayan States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh continued to face landslides and floods almost from where it left off in 2024. The world’s youngest mountains and the people living amid them have had some nightmarish moments in the past few years, and 2025 was no exception.
In a country as large as India, the year saw some brilliant moments of inspiration too. The National Defence Academy covered itself in glory when its first batch of women cadets, standing shoulder to shoulder with men, passed out as officers from Khadakwasla. It was a moment to be cherished, and the beaming smiles captured on camera. When talking gender, Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls lifted their first-ever Indian Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025.
But as the year comes to a close, the familiar yet disastrous weather takes a nose dive, by way of air quality across the northern plains. The National Capital Region struggles even as the Delhi government tries short-term measures like pole-mounted mist sprays to take down a Goliath — an AQI that is closer to ‘severe’ most times than not.
Text by Dinesh Krishnan
Photo: Thulasi Kakkat
Theyyam Kandanar Kelan, a deity based on the legend of an archer-farmer, braves blazing flames in an hour-long ritualistic frenzy at the Kaliyattam festival held in March in Kannur, Kerala.
Photo: Sandeep Saxena
Hues of Haze: A massive fire broke out at the Maha Kumbh mela at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on January 19. A cylinder blast lead to the inferno, authorities said. No casualty was reported in the incident.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Sacred Confluence: Officials estimate that over 1.44 crore devotees gathered to take the holy bath at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion of Maha Shivratri and the culmination of the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj on February 26.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Tunnel Tragedy: A worker, part of a multi-agency expert team, involved in operations to rescue eight men trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel on February 24. The tunnel at Nagarkurnool district in Telangana collapsed two days earlier. After days of efforts, the workers were confirmed dead.
Photo: PTI
Silenced aftermath: A woman sits next to the body of her husband after terrorists attacked a group of tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. The mass shooting incident left 26 civilians dead and lead to a military escalation with Pakistan
Photo: Emmanual Yogini
The future is female: Women cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA) share a light moment with their professors after the Passing Out Parade marking the culmination of the 148th course training at Khetrapal Parade Ground in Pune on May 30.
Photo: Sudhakara Jain
Vying for a view: Fans during the IPL victory celebration of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on June 4, when a stampede led to the death of 11 persons.
Photo: PTI
Nature’s fury: Flood-like situation in area affected by a cloudburst, at a village in Chamoli, Uttarakhand on July 8.
Photo: M. Moorthy
Crowd surge: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay at a gathering in Karur on September 28, when a stampede led to the death of over 40 people.
Photo: K.R. Deepak
Storm scars: A view of houses battered by high tidal waves under the impact of Cyclone Montha at Jaggaraju colony in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, on October 28.
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Alert zone: Security personnel seen at the blast site near Red Fort in New Delhi on November 10. At least 14 were killed in the incident which left several injured.
Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma
Grey choke: A pole-mounted mist spray system operates to mitigate pollution as air quality remains ‘very poor’ in Delhi on a December morning.
Photo: R. Ragu
Rain lashes several parts of Chennai on December 1, 2025.
Photo: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Large pileup of luggage at Delhi airport in New Delhi on December 8, 2025.
Photo: Nirmal Harindran
Indian Navy’s MiG 29 multirole fighter aircraft that took off from INS Vikrant aircraft carrier during Navy Day operational demonstration off the coast of Shangumugham beach in Thiruvananthapuram on December 3, 2025.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Forensic personnel and police at the accident site for investigation after a Bengaluru-bound private sleeper bus from Hyderabad caught fire at Chinna Tekuru village in Kalluru mandal of Kurnool district on October 24, 2025, killing at least 19 people.
Photo: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Anti-smog gun is being used to sprinkle water, to curb pollution post Diwali at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on October 21, 2025. The Delhi-NCR region alone consumes about 13% of the fireworks made in the country, manufacturers say. Opening up this market will boost sales for the manufacturers and livelihood of 8 lakh workers in the arid regions of Virudhunagar district, they add.
Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam
A herd of elephants walking through the forest seen at Thekkathi Malai in Bhavanisagar Reserve forest Range in Erode district, Tamil Nadu on October 12, 2025.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
MiG 21 aircraft during its retirement ceremony after completing service of around 62 years, at the Chandigarh Airbase in Punjab on September 26, 2025.
Photo: Emmanual Yogini
Aerial view of a battered stretch of the NH 66 Mumbai–Goa Highway, on July 24, near Kante Village, Sangameshwar in Ratnagiri District, where a lone red car navigates a pothole-ridden, rain-damaged road amid ongoing construction delays.
Photo: Vijay Soneji
In this picture from June 14, 2025, FSL team examines the tail of Air India Ahmedabad – London AI-171 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Aircraft which crashed on the hostel of B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad shortly after take off.
Photo: Murali Kumar K
Scene at one of the gates of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after unruly RCB fans tried to gain forcible entry during the IPL-18 victory celebration in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025.
Photo: L. Balachandar
A view of the new Pamban rail bridge and the old Pamban bridge – with more than a 100 years between them, on April 4, 2025.
Photo: R.V. Moorthy
Devotees in large number gathered to take the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam on the occasion of Maha Shivratri and the culmination of Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj on February 26, 2025.
Photo: Ramakrishna G.
Rescue personnel searching for person missing in the Hussain Sagar following a fire accident on the firecracker carrying boat during the Bharat Mata Harati event in Hyderabad on January 27, 2025.
