An anti-Gandhi play was banned, unpleasant paintings torn, a film called Fire `extinguished': controversies took an ugly turn in the year gone by as India witnessed dissent being met more with violence than debate be it on opening up of the insurance sector to foreigners or allowing trials of a videshi seed.

The governor's role came under scrutiny, questions were raised on stability of coalitions as also on adding iodine to salt and the ethics of subjecting humans to trials of a contraceptive vaccine without informing them.

A shrine in Karnataka became the bone of contention of two religious sects and a bill on 30 per cent reservation for women in parliament faced vehement protests like the film exploring their relationship as a new brand of hardliners made headlines, prefering to ``secede'' or beat opponents into submission.

India gatecrashed into thenuclear club demonstrating its `Shakti', ironically on Buddha Jayanti but was perhaps greeted with more dissent within the country than outside. If it was India's crowning glory, as several defence analysts explained citing the presence of a nuclear neighbour in the north, it was also an achievement whose necessity was questioned and initiated a debate that still remains a hot topic at many a gathering.

While the nuclear hawks fought, the events did take an ugly turn when a forum of scientists questioning nuclearisation were attacked in Bangalore and their meeting disrupted.

The new brand of dissenters also brought to a close an exhibition on goddess Sita's paintings by M F Hussain with fellow artist Jatin Das receiving a beating for supporting Hussain. The artist apologised for hurting the sentiments of those disturbed, but writer, director Pradip Dalvi ofMee Nathuram Godse Boltoy tapped the court and succeeded in getting a favourable verdict on staging the play that sought to hear theversion of Gandhi's assassin.

That the play was withdrawn by the producers themselves was a different matter. In quite the same manner, the votaries of ``Indian culture'' forced the withdrawal of Deepa Mehta's Fire, which had interestingly cleared the censor board and had received rave reviews.

As the film was sent to the censors again, governments themselves were severely criticised for endorsing violent means of protest and insisting that veneration of the Goddess of Learning was in keeping with the ``Indian culture'' even though a minister in Uttar Pradesh was sacked for the controversy.

While cautious governments went on the defensive refusing to take sides, a landmark judgement ruling that a lawmaker could not be charged for corruption in connection with a vote of confidence vertically divided the legal community, which said it could set unhealthy precedents. The ruling by the bench itself had two dissensions, which experts cited to pick holes in the verdict that translated into punishmentfor the bribe-givers among the acused but absolved those who had taken it and voted.

Even as the government sought a review of the verdict, a new SC bench shut the doors on it saying it was too late to seek a second opinion on the judgement.

President K R Narayanan's refusal to endorse the Cabinet's recommendation on central rule in Bihar also did raise a few eyebrows with critics saying the head of state was breaking one too many conventions.

As the year drew to a close, the Babri controversy threatened the secular fabric of Bababudan Giri Dattatreya peetha in karnataka -- a shrine venerated by both the Hindus and Muslims for centuries. For once fanatics did not have their way as the celebrations were held albeit under tight secuirty.

The year thus moves into history but not without asking whether Indians are moving away from their tradition of tolerance and if there's no room for dissent.