1991 IIHF European U18 Championship, Group A, Final round
France was relegated to Group B for 1992. The Soviet Union competed for the last time, Russia assumed their spot in Group A, while Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and the Ukraine, all began competing in Group C in 1993. Kazakhstan also began competing in 1993, but they participated in the Asian Junior Championships.


1991 IIHF European U18 Championship, Group B
Played March 23–30 in Jaca, Spain. The hosts were winless until they beat the Dutch on the final day, avoiding relegation.


1991 IIHF European U18 Championship, Group B, Final round
Switzerland was promoted to Group A and the Netherlands was relegated to Group C, for 1992.


1991 IIHF European Women Championships
The 1991 IIHF European Women Championships was held March 15 – March 23, 1991, in Czechoslovakia. Finland skated to their 2nd consecutive tournament with a 2–1 victory of Sweden in the final, after trailing 1–0 at the end of the 2nd Period.


1991 IIHF European Women Championships
Denmark picked up the bronze medal with a victory over Norway in the 3rd place game. The tournament holds the record for the most teams competing in a single IIHF Women's tournament (10) and most games played at the tournament (25).


1991 IIHF European Women Championships, Teams & Format
Ten teams entered the championship. All of the teams were entered into the final tournament without any qualification. These were:


1991 IIHF European Women Championships, Teams & Format
The teams were divided into two groups of five teams. Each team played each other once within the group. The teams then played a play-off game against the team with the same position in the opposing group, i.e. the Group Winners played off for Gold and Silver, 2nd place in each group, for Bronze and 4th place etc.


1991 IMSA GT Championship
The 1991 Camel GT Championship and Exxon Supreme GT Series seasons were the 21st season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was for GTP and Lights classes of prototypes, as well as Grand Tourer-style racing cars which ran in the GTO and GTU classes, as well as a tube-frame All-American Challenge (AAC) class during select rounds. It began February 2, 1991, and ended October 13, 1991, after nineteen rounds.


1991 IMSA GT Championship, Schedule
The GT and Prototype classes did not participate in all events, nor did they race together at shorter events. The AAC class only participated in GT-only events. Races marked with All had all classes on track at the same time.


1991 IPSC Individual Handgun World Championship
In 1991, a special Individual World Championship was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, which was won by John Dixon of USA. The championship was boycotted by several shooters and not widely publicized. There were no team awards, and the championship was called an Individual Championship in distinction to the regular IPSC World Shoot title.


1991 ITU Triathlon World Championships
The 1991 ITU Triathlon World Championships were held in Gold Coast, Australia on 12 October and 13 October 1991.


1991 ITU Triathlon World Cup
The 1991 ITU Triathlon World Cup was a series of triathlon races organised by the International Triathlon Union (ITU) for elite-level triathletes. There were eleven races held in eight countries, most of them held over a distance of 1500 m swim, 40 km cycle, 10 km run (an Olympic-distance triathlon).


1991 IX ACB International Tournament "VIII Memorial Héctor Quiroga"
The 1991 IX ACB International Tournament "VIII Memorial Héctor Quiroga" was the 9th semi-official edition of the European Basketball Club Super Cup. It took place at Pabellón Municipal de Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Spain, on 6, 7 and 8 September 1991 with the participations of Slobodna Dalmacija (champions of the 1990–91 FIBA European Champions Cup), FC Barcelona Banca Catalana (runners-up of the 1990–91 FIBA European Champions Cup), Montigalà Joventut (champions of the 1990–91 Liga ACB) and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv (champions of the 1990–91 Premier League).


1991 Icelandic Cup
The 1991 Icelandic Cup was the 32nd edition of the National Football Cup.


1991 Icelandic Cup
It took place between 29 May 1991 and 27 August 1991, with the final played at Laugardalsvöllur in Reykjavik. The cup was important, as winners qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (if a club won both the league and the cup, the defeated finalists would take their place in the Cup Winners' Cup).


1991 Icelandic Cup
The 10 clubs from the 1. Deild entered in the last 16, with clubs from lower tiers entering in the three preliminary rounds. Teams played one-legged matches. In case of a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place (there were no replays, unlike in previous years).


1991 Icelandic Cup
For the second year running, the final finished in a draw after extra time. In contrast to other rounds, a replay took place. Valur Reykjavik won their seventh Icelandic Cup, and so qualified for Europe.


1991 Icelandic parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 20 April 1991. The Independence Party remained the largest party in the Lower House of the Althing, winning 17 of the 42 seats.


1991 Icelandic parliamentary election, Aftermath
Following constitutional changes made in 1991, the Upper and Lower Houses of the Althing were abolished, and all members became part of a unicameral parliament.


1991 Idaho Vandals football team
The 1991 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.


1991 Idaho Vandals football team
The Vandals missed the I-AA playoffs for the first time since 1984. Led by sophomore quarterback Doug Nussmeier, Idaho finished the regular season at 6–5 and 4–4 in the Big Sky. The Vandals defeated rival Boise State for the tenth consecutive season.


1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1991 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Illinois offense scored 264 points while the defense allowed 188 points. At season's end, the club competed in the John Hancock Bowl.


1991 Imo State gubernatorial election
The 1991 Imo State gubernatorial election occurred on December 14, 1991. NRC candidate Evan Enwerem won the election.


1991 Imo State gubernatorial election, Conduct
The gubernatorial election was conducted using an open ballot system. Primaries for the two parties to select their flag bearers were conducted on October 19, 1991.


1991 Imo State gubernatorial election, Conduct
The election occurred on December 14, 1991. NRC candidate Evan Enwerem won the election.


1991 Independence Bowl
The 1991 Independence Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia defeated Arkansas, 24–15.


1991 Independence Bowl, Setting
Arkansas and Georgia had met in three previous bowl games: the 1969 Sugar Bowl, with Arkansas taking a 16–2 decision, the 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic, which Arkansas also won 31–10, and the 1987 Liberty Bowl, which Georgia won 20-17. Georgia's head coach Ray Goff played quarterback in the 1976 Cotton Bowl loss to Arkansas.


1991 Independence Bowl, Setting, Arkansas
With the Southwest Conference dying, Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles had engineered a deal for Arkansas to move to the flourishing Southeastern Conference. Arkansas' final season before the move was in 1991 when the Razorbacks finished the regular season at 6–5.


1991 Independence Bowl, Setting, Georgia
Georgia defeated #6 Clemson, but lost to an unranked Vanderbilt team to enter the game at 8–3.


1991 Independence Bowl, Game summary
Georgia began the scoring early, throwing two touchdown passes from Eric Zeier to take an early 14–0 lead. After Georgia added a second-quarter field goal, Arkansas finally got on the board when E. D. Jackson rushed in from seven yards out. After halftime, Georgia's Andre Hastings broke a 53-yard touchdown run. Jackson would again score for the Hogs, and add a two-point conversion. However, the Hogs couldn't score again and fell short, 24–15.


1991 Indian Challenge
The 1991 Indian Challenge was an invitational non-ranking snooker tournament held in India in 1991. Stephen Hendry won the title, defeating John Parrott 9–5 in the final, and received £20,000 prize money. Parrott compiled the highest break of the tournament, 132, in the semi-final, having made a 127 break in the preceding frame.


1991 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held on various dates in 1991, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber.


1991 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 1991. They are members for the term 1991-1997 and retire in year 1997, except in case of the resignation or death before the term. The list is incomplete.


1991 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 1991.


1991 Indian economic crisis
The 1991 Indian economic crisis was an economic crisis in India that resulted from poor economic policies, inefficient public sector units, and the resulting trade deficits leading to balance of payments crisis. India's economic problems started worsening in 1985 as imports swelled, leaving the country in a twin deficit: the Indian trade balance was in deficit at a time when the government was running on a huge fiscal deficit. The collapse of the Russian Bloc, with which India had rupee exchange in trade, also caused problems.


1991 Indian economic crisis
By the end of 1990, in the run-up to the Gulf War, the dire situation meant that the Indian foreign exchange reserves could have barely financed three weeks' worth of imports. Meanwhile, the government came close to defaulting on its own financial obligations. By July that year, the low reserves had led to a sharp depreciation/devaluation of the rupee, which in turn exacerbated the twin deficit problem. The Chandrasekhar government could not pass the budget in February 1991 after Moody downgraded India's bond ratings. The ratings further deteriorated due to the unsuccessful passage of the budget. This made it impossible for the country to seek short term loans and exacerbated the existing economic crisis. The World Bank and IMF also stopped their assistance, leaving the government with no option except to mortgage the country's gold to avoid defaulting on payments.


1991 Indian economic crisis
In an attempt to seek an economic bailout from the IMF, the Indian government airlifted its national gold reserves.


1991 Indian economic crisis
The crisis, in turn, paved the way for the liberalisation of the Indian economy, since one of the conditions stipulated in the World Bank loan (structural reform), required India to open itself up to participation from foreign entities in its industries, including its state-owned enterprises.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Causes and consequences
The crisis was caused by currency overvaluation; the current account deficit, and investor confidence played significant role in the sharp exchange rate depreciation.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Causes and consequences
The economic crisis was primarily due to the large and growing fiscal imbalances over the 1980s. During the mid-eighties, India started having the balance of payments problems. Precipitated by the Gulf War, India’s oil import bill swelled, exports slumped, credit dried up, and investors took their money out. Large fiscal deficits, over time, had a spillover effect on the trade deficit culminating in an external payments crisis. By the end of the 1980s, India was in serious economic trouble.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Causes and consequences
The gross fiscal deficit of the government (centre and states) rose from 9.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1980-81 to 10.4 percent in 1985-86 and to 12.7 percent in 1990-91. For the centre alone, the gross fiscal deficit rose from 6.1 percent of GDP in 1980-81 to 8.3 percent in 1985-86 and to 8.4 percent in 1990-91. Since these deficits had to be met by borrowings, the internal debt of the government accumulated rapidly, rising from 35 percent of GDP at the end of 1980-81 to 53 percent of GDP at the end of 1990-91. The foreign exchange reserves had dried up to the point that India could barely finance three weeks worth of imports.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Causes and consequences
In mid-1991, India's exchange rate was subjected to a severe adjustment. This event began with a slide in the value of the Indian rupee leading up to mid-1991. The authorities at the Reserve Bank of India took partial action, defending the currency by expanding international reserves and slowing the decline in value. However, in mid-1991, with foreign reserves nearly depleted, the Indian government permitted a sharp devaluation that took place in two steps within three days (1 July and 3 July 1991) against major currencies.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery
With India’s foreign exchange reserves at $1.2 billion in January 1991 and depleted by half by June, barely enough to last for roughly 3 weeks of essential imports, India was only weeks away from defaulting on its external balance of payment obligations.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery
Government of India's immediate response was to secure an emergency loan of $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund by pledging 67 tons of India's gold reserves as collateral security. The Reserve Bank of India had to airlift 47 tons of gold to the Bank of England and 20 tons of gold to the Union Bank of Switzerland to raise $600 million. The van transporting the gold to the airport broke down en route due to tyre burst and panic followed .


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery
The airlift was done with secrecy as it was done in the midst of the 1991 Indian General elections. National sentiments were outraged and there was public outcry when it was learned that the government had pledged the country's entire gold reserves against the loan. A chartered plane ferried the precious cargo to London between 21 May and 31 May 1991, jolting the country out of an economic slumber. The Chandra Shekhar government had collapsed a few months after having authorised the airlift. The move helped tide over the balance of payment crisis and kick-started P. V. Narasimha Rao's economic reform process.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery, Under Narsimha Rao Government
P. V. Narasimha Rao took over as Prime Minister in June, and appointed Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister. The Narasimha Rao government ushered in several reforms that are collectively termed as liberalisation in the Indian media.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery, Under Narsimha Rao Government
The reforms formally began on 1 July 1991 when RBI devaluated Indian Rupee by 9% and by a further 11% on 3 July. It was done in two doses to test the reaction of the market first by making a smaller depreciation of 9%. There was significant opposition to such reforms, suggesting they were an "interference with India's autonomy".


1991 Indian economic crisis, Recovery, Under Narsimha Rao Government
Then Prime Minister Rao's speech a week after he took office highlighted the necessity for reforms, as New York Times reported, "Mr. Rao, who was sworn in as Prime Minister last week, has already sent a signal to the nation—as well as the I.M.F.—that India faced no "soft options" and must open the door to foreign investment, reduce red tape that often cripples initiative, and streamline industrial policy. Mr. Rao made his comments in a speech to the nation Saturday night." The foreign reserves started picking up with the onset of the liberalisation policies and reached an all-time high US $530.268 billion as on 13 November 2020


1991 Indian economic crisis, Aftermath
The program of economic policy reform which was put in place in 1990 has yielded amazing results, dramatically improving the quality of life in India. Trade liberalisation in India has also corresponded with a dramatic rise in inequality and associated social issues.


1991 Indian economic crisis, Aftermath
The Indian GDP rose from $266 billion in 1991 (inflation adjusted) to $3 trillion in 2019 (1100% increase) while its purchasing power parity rose from $1 trillion in 1991 to $12 trillion in 2019 (1100% increase).


1991 Indian general election
General elections were held in India on 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991 to elect the members of the 10th Lok Sabha, although they were delayed until 19 February 1992 in Punjab.


1991 Indian general election
No party could muster a majority in the Lok Sabha, resulting in the Indian National Congress forming a minority government under new Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao with the support of other parties.


1991 Indian general election
Elections were not held in 2 seats in Bihar and 1 seat in Uttar Pradesh. Elections were not held for the six seats allocated to Jammu and Kashmir, nor for two seats in Bihar and one in Uttar Pradesh. Voter turnout was the lowest to date in an Indian general election.


1991 Indian general election, Background
The 1991 elections were held as the previous Lok Sabha, with Chandra Sekhar at its helm had been dissolved just 16 months after government formation. The elections were held in a polarised environment and are also referred to as the 'Mandal-Mandir' elections after the two most important poll issues, the Mandal Commission fallout and the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue.


1991 Indian general election, Background, Mandal-Mandir Issue
While the Mandal Commission report implemented by the VP Singh government gave 27 per cent reservation to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in government jobs, it led to widespread violence and protests across the country, with many students in and around Delhi even setting themselves on fire. Mandir represented the hallmark of this election, where there was a debate over the disputed Babri Masjid structure at Ayodhya, which the Bharatiya Janata Party was using as its major election manifesto.


1991 Indian general election, Background, Mandal-Mandir Issue
The Mandir issue led to numerous riots in many parts of the country and the electorate was polarised on caste and religious lines. With the National Front falling apart, the Congress managed to make the most of the polarisation, by getting the most seats and forming a minority government.


1991 Indian general election, Background, Rajiv Gandhi Assassination
A day after the first round of polling took place on 20 May, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning for Margatham Chandrasekar at Sriperembudur. The remaining election days were postponed until mid-June and voting finally took place on 12 and 15 June. Voting was the lowest ever in parliamentary elections with just 53 per cent of the electorate exercising their right to vote.


1991 Indian general election, Background, Rajiv Gandhi Assassination
Since the assassination took place after first phase of polling in 211 of 534 constituencies and the balance constituencies went to polls after the assassination, the 1991 results varied greatly between phases. The end result was a Congress-led minority government led by P. V. Narasimha Rao, who had previously announced his retirement from politics.


1991 Indian general election, Background, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
76 to 126 people were shot dead during campaign on 17 June 1991 in two attacks by gunmen in Punjab, an area racked by separatist violence. Police reports said the killings, on separate trains, were carried out by Sikh militants. No elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, a total of 19 Lok Sabha seats. Elections were held in Punjab on 19 February 1992, where INC won 12 out of 13 seats, thereby taking their tally in the Lok Sabha up from 232 to 244.


1991 Indian general election, Aftermath
Congress was in a position to form government. The persons, mentioned in media, as probable Prime Minister, were:


1991 Indian general election, Aftermath
Congress eventually formed the government under the Prime Ministership of P. V. Narasimha Rao. After Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rao was the second Congress Prime Minister from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family and the first Congress Prime Minister to head a minority government that completed full 5-year term. He introduced Economic reforms in India.


1991 Indian general election in Andhra Pradesh
The 1991 Indian general election polls in Andhra Pradesh were held for 42 seats in the state. The result was a victory for the Indian National Congress which won 25 out of 42 seats.


1991 Indian general election in Gujarat
General elections were held in India in 1991 to elect the members of the 10th Lok Sabha. Voter turnout was the lowest ever in parliamentary elections. No party could muster a majority in the Lok Sabha, hence INC formed a minority government with the support of other parties, resulting in a stable government for the next 5 years under the new Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. BJP wins 20 seats, Congress wins 5 seats and JD (G) wins only one seat.


1991 Indian general election in Haryana
The 1991 Indian general election in Haryana, occurred for 10 seats in the state.


1991 Indian general election in Jammu and Kashmir
The 1991 Indian general election in Jammu and Kashmir to the 10th Lok Sabha was not held. Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir which had started in late 1989 had reached a peak in 1990 and 1991 in the region resulting in a collapse of law and order in the state. A state of emergency was followed in Jammu and Kashmir during the time and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 was enacted in July, 1990.


1991 Indian general election in Jammu and Kashmir
No general elections to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) of India were held in Jammu and Kashmir until May 1996. From 19 January 1990 to 9 October 1996, Governor's rule was enacted in the state which means the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Central Government rule in the state.


1991 Indian general election in Kerala
The 1991 Indian general election were held to elect 20 members to the tenth Lok Sabha from Kerala. Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 16 seats while Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) won the remaining 4 seats. Turnout for the election was at 70.66% In the Lok Sabha, INC formed a minority government under the premiership of P. V. Narasimha Rao.


1991 Indian general election in Kerala, Alliances and parties
UDF is a Kerala legislative alliance formed by INC veteran K. Karunakaran. LDF comprises primarily of CPI(M) and the CPI, forming the Left Front in the national level. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested in 19 seats.


1991 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu
The 1991 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a repeat landslide victory for Indian National Congress, and its ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, winning all 39 seats. The opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was part of the National Front, lost heavily, not winning a single seat. During this election, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, when campaigning for Margatham Chandrasekar for the Indian National Congress, in the Sriperumbudur constituency.


1991 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, Post-election Union Council of Ministers from Tamil Nadu
Source:Even though Congress and AIADMK swept Tamil Nadu, which proved to be an important state for Narasimha Rao and Congress to have a minority government at the national level, no cabinet berths were given to members from Tamil Nadu. Also all 4 council of ministers were from the Congress party.


1991 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 1991 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Bill Mallory, in his eighth year as head coach of the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers participated in the Copper Bowl, a post-season matchup against Baylor. The Hoosiers won, 24–0. Vaughn Dunbar set the school record for rushing yards in a single season with 1,805 yards. This record stood until 2014 when it was broken by Tevin Coleman with 2,036 yards.


1991 Indianapolis 500
The 75th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1991. Rick Mears won from the pole position, becoming the third four-time winner of the Indy 500, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser. During time trials, Mears also established an Indy record by winning his sixth career pole position. The month of May for Mears was tumultuous, as he suffered his first ever crash at Indy since arriving as a rookie in 1977. The wreck during a practice run totaled his primary car, and broke a bone in his right foot. Mears kept the injury mostly secret, and later admitted that the pain he experienced during the race was so bad, he had to cross his legs in the car and push the accelerator pedal down with his left foot.


1991 Indianapolis 500
The race was noteworthy in that it featured the first African American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, Willy T. Ribbs. It also saw its first Japanese driver, Hiro Matsushita. The pre-race attention going into the month focused on A. J. Foyt, who was expected to retire from driving after the event. During time trials, Foyt qualified on the front row, his record 34th consecutive Indy appearance. On race day, however, Foyt dropped out early due to suspension damage. He eventually retracted his retirement plans, and returned one final time in 1992.


1991 Indianapolis 500
During time trials, a sudden rain shower halted pole qualifying, unexpectedly shutting out several contenders from a chance at the front row. A number of top drivers were forced to qualify on the second day of time trials. Gary Bettenhausen in a Buick-powered machine was the surprise fastest qualifier, albeit he was ineligible for the pole position. For the first time in Indy history, four members of the same family qualified for the same race. Mario, Michael, Jeff, and John Andretti competed together.


1991 Indianapolis 500
Michael, Mario, and John all finished in the top ten, while Jeff was named the Rookie of the Year. Michael Andretti led the most laps during the race and battled Rick Mears for the win in the closing laps. Andretti executed a daring pass for the lead on the outside of turn one on lap 187. Mears, however, made a similar pass one lap later to re-take the lead, and drove to victory. Michael's second-place finish would ultimately be his career best finish at Indy.


1991 Indianapolis 500
The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Morning rain delayed the start of the race by about 55 minutes. The rain stopped, the track was dried, and the race was run to completion without interruption. Later in the year, Rick Mears would also win the Michigan 500, sweeping both 500-mile races for the season, the final two victories of his racing career.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
A. J. Foyt suffered a crash at Road America in September 1990, which injured his legs and feet. Foyt went through rehab during the offseason, and planned to race at Indy one final time in 1991, then retire from driving.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
Few team/driver changes occurred during the off-season, and most of the key fixtures from 1990 remained on the same teams. Among the few changes, Danny Sullivan departed Penske Racing, and joined the Pat Patrick Alfa Romeo effort. Rick Mears' familiar Pennzoil Z-7 Special livery was gone for 1991, as the Penske team (Mears and Fittipaldi) became a two-car team with Marlboro sponsoring both cars.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
Doug Shierson Racing, who won the 1990 race with driver Arie Luyendyk, was sold to businessman Bob Tezak. The team was re-organized in a joint effort with Vince Granatelli, and re-booted as UNO/Granatelli Racing. The car's sponsor Domino's Pizza left the sport, and the livery was changed to the classic day-glow orange utilized by Granatelli entries over the years. Luyendyk's services were retained for 1991 (he won earlier in the season at Phoenix), and RCA sponsored the fledgling entry car at Indy.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
John Andretti joined the newly rebooted Hall-VDS team, taking over the Pennzoil sponsorship. Andretti kicked off the season by winning his first (and only) career CART race at the season opener, the Gold Coast Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
Al Unser, Jr. and Bobby Rahal returned together at Galles/KRACO Racing. Unser, the 1990 CART champion, won at Long Beach. Rahal started off the season finishing second at all three of the races prior to Indianapolis.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
After sitting out the 1990 season due to injury, Scott Pruett was back behind the wheel at Truesports. The team introduced its brand new "All-American" Truesports 91C chassis, powered by Judd. For the second year in a row, veteran Geoff Brabham was entered at Indy only for a second team car.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pre May News
Derrick Walker, formerly associated with the Penske and Porsche teams, entered rookie Willy T. Ribbs at Walker Racing. On a shoestring budget, the team was considered a long-shot to make the field.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pace car controversy
The pace car for the 1991 Indy 500 was initially chosen to be the Dodge Stealth. However, the UAW, along with fans and traditionalists, protested since the Stealth was a captive import built by Mitsubishi in Japan. Traditionally, the make of the pace car has always been a domestic American brand. In late February, the Stealth was downgraded to be the backup pace car. The pre-production Dodge Viper RT/10 replaced the Stealth as the official pace car when the track opened in May.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Background, Pace car controversy
Carroll Shelby served as the driver, thought to be the first person to drive the pace car after having a heart transplant. It was Shelby's second appearance at Indy. He had also driven the pace car in 1987. As the Viper did not begin production until later that year, the race winner would win the Stealth instead of the Viper, and dealers sold pace car replica editions of the Stealth.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race schedule
* Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1
The first two days of practice (May 4 & May 5) were rained out. The only on-track activity was brief. A limited number of cars took "shake down" laps, but no laps were run at speed.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Monday May 6
The first hot laps were run on Monday May 6. Penske teammates Emerson Fittipaldi (223.981 mph) and Rick Mears (223.430 mph) led the speed chart.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Tuesday May 7
Rick Mears ran the fastest lap thus far at 226.569 mph. Gary Bettenhausen also gained attention with a lap of 224.888 mph in the stock block Buick V-6.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Wednesday May 8
Jim Crawford hit 225.643 mph in a Buick on Wednesday May 8, and Bobby Rahal became the second driver over 226 mph, with a lap of 226.080 to lead the speed chart for the day.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Thursday May 9
The speed of the stock block Buicks continued to impress as Kevin Cogan turned a lap of 226.677 mph on Thursday May 9.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Friday May 10 - "Fast Friday"
On "Fast Friday," the final day of practice before time trials, Rick Mears shocked the establishment, suffering his first-ever crash at Indy. Something broke in the rear of the car, sending him spinning into the turn one wall. Mears suffered an injured right foot, and was cleared to drive later in the day. Later in the day, Emerson Fittipaldi set the fastest lap of the month at 226.705 mph, and became the favorite for the pole. At 5:09 p.m., rookie Mark Dismore lost traction coming out of turn 4, while travelling an estimated 215 mph.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Friday May 10 - "Fast Friday"
His car first slid across the track, clipping the inside wall near the entrance to the pits, then struck the dividing barrier between the pits and the main straightaway head-on. Dismore's car broke into two pieces which both tumbled into the pit lane. Dismore suffered multiple injuries to his arms, legs, and feet, and a fractured neck; and was sidelined for the year. Dismore's incident was similar in both track location and crash trajectory to that of Swede Savage's fatal crash in the 1973 Indianapolis 500.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - week 1, Friday May 10 - "Fast Friday"
As a result of Dismore's crash, officials made a quick change in the pits in the interest of safety for the crews. The two northernmost pit stalls were removed, and replaced instead at the south end of the pit lane. The move added about 80 feet of buffer from the track surface to the first pit box.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Pole Day - Saturday May 11
Pole day was held on Saturday May 11, and conditions were hot and humid. A. J. Foyt drew #1 in the qualifying order, and was the first car out on the track. Foyt put himself on the provisional pole position, with a four-lap run of 222.443 mph. The second car out to qualify was Randy Lewis, who wrecked in turn one on his first lap.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Pole Day - Saturday May 11
About an hour into the session, Mario Andretti completed a run of 221.818 mph, which put him tentatively on the front row. Several cars waved off their runs, and others simply pulled out of line, preferring to wait until later in the day, anticipating better conditions. Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti, and his brother rookie Jeff Andretti completed runs. By 12:45 p.m., there were only eight cars in the field.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Pole Day - Saturday May 11
At 12:51 p.m., Rick Mears took to the track, one day after suffering his practice crash. He qualified for the pole position with a speed of 224.113 mph. It was not a track record, but it would be Mears' record sixth Indy 500 pole. The track went mostly quiet during the heat of the day, and only two cars went out over the next 2½ hours.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Pole Day - Saturday May 11
At 3:52 p.m., Emerson Fittipaldi made his first attempt. After three laps in the 223 mph range (fast enough for second starting position, but not fast enough for the pole), his crew waved him off. Not realizing that storm clouds were hovering just to the east, the team planned to go out later and make another run at the pole position. A few minutes later, John Andretti completed his run under a light mist falling at the north end of the track. Lightning from the gathering storm clouds actually struck near turn 3 while the main straightaway remained awash in sunshine. The sun quickly gave way to the storm and the rain washed out the remainder of the day.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Pole Day - Saturday May 11
Since the original qualifying order had exhausted before the rains came, pole day was officially over. Only twelve cars qualified, and several drivers were left out, including Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, and Gary Bettenhausen. Roger Penske was later presented with the dubious Jigger Award for having waved off Fittipaldi's run, and effectively giving up second starting position. Meanwhile, the front row was established with Rick Mears on the pole, A. J. Foyt in the middle, and Mario Andretti on the outside. Historians point to this as one of the most storied and historic front rows in Indy history.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Second Day - Sunday May 12
Many of the drivers who were left out of qualifying a day earlier returned to qualify on Sunday May 12. The first 45 minutes of the day saw heavy action. Gary Bettenhausen took to the track and completed his run at 224.468 mph, faster than Mears' pole speed, making him the fastest qualifier in the field. Since he was a second-day qualifier, however, he was forced to line up behind the first-day qualifiers, in 13th position.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Second Day - Sunday May 12
Arie Luyendyk's qualifying run of 223.881 mph made him the third fastest car in the field, but his second-day status lined him up 14th. Emerson Fittipaldi finally made the field, qualifying 15th at 223.065 mph. The three cars of the 5th row (Bettenhausen, Luyendyk, Fittipaldi) ended up qualifying faster than the three cars of the front row.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - First weekend, Second Day - Sunday May 12
The rest of the day saw light action with only one major incident, an accident from Dominic Dobson in turn four which fractured his left leg, wiping out the Burns team 89 Lola, but the injury was not sufficient enough to sideline him. However the crash forced Dominic into a backup 89 Lola that was purchased from Truesports (Truesports ran the car during the 1990 season to save money while developing their own chassis). At the end of the day, the field was filled to 22 cars.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - Week 2
The second week of practice focused on the non-qualified drivers, and those still looking for rides. Rookie Willy T. Ribbs passed his drivers test on Monday, but suffered through multiple engine failures during the week. Ribbs managed a practice lap of 213.230 mph, but as practice came to a close, it appeared doubtful he might be able to qualify.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - Week 2
Among the drivers named to rides during the week were former winners Gordon Johncock and Tom Sneva. The Patrick Racing Alfa-Romeo team added Roberto Guerrero (their primary driver from 1990) for a second team car. Al Unser Sr., however, was unable to secure a competitive ride, and decided to sit out the race. Initially Unser was expected to drive a back-up car to Arie Luyendyk at UNO/Granatelli Racing, but engine lease issues, and the lack of adequate preparation time prevented the deal from coming to fruition. Unser missed the race for the first time since 1969, the year he broke his leg in a motorcycle crash in the infield the night before time trials.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - Week 2
Rookie Hiro Matsushita led the speed chart for the non-qualified drivers most of the week, with a top lap of 216.570 mph. Roberto Guerrero quickly got up to speed in the Alfa Romeo, with the fastest lap of the week (216.941 mph).


1991 Indianapolis 500, Practice - Week 2
Two days during the second week of practice, Tuesday (May 14) and Thursday (May 16), saw limited track activity due to rain. After concerns earlier in the month about a short field, going into the final weekend of time trials, enough rides had materialized to ensure a full 33-car field.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Third Day - Saturday May 18
Twelve cars made attempts in the first hour, and the field was filled to 29 cars. Rookie Hiro Matsushita was the fastest car of the day, qualifying at 218.141 mph, officially becoming the first Japanese driver to qualify for the Indy 500. Other notable qualifiers included Roberto Guerrero, John Paul, Jr., and Scott Pruett. Tom Sneva completed a slow run of 213.189 mph, and he sat as the slowest car in the field.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Third Day - Saturday May 18
Two crashes occurred during the day. Dean Hall crashed in the morning practice session, and Ted Prappas wrecked in turn 4 later in the afternoon. Both drivers would miss the race.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Third Day - Saturday May 18
Willy T. Ribbs' frustrations continued, as his car revved too high, and he broke a valve on his warmup lap.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Bump Day - Sunday May 19
Four positions remained open on the final day of time trials. Gordon Johncock was the first driver to complete an attempt, and took a run of 213.812 mph. A few minutes later, Willy T. Ribbs' car started smoking and spewing oil, and suffered a turbocharger failure. Yet another engine-related headache for the team. The team scrambled to replace the turbo, but then discovered a damaged scavenger pump, which delayed them further.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Bump Day - Sunday May 19
At 2:45 p.m., Pancho Carter filled the field to 33 cars. Tom Sneva (213.189 mph) was now on the bubble.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Bump Day - Sunday May 19
At about 3:30 p.m., Willy T. Ribbs finally returned to the track to shake down the car. He ran a few practice laps, and was quickly over 214 mph. At 5:05 p.m., the team placed the car in the tech line, and prepared to qualify. With much anticipation from fans and the media, Ribbs completed the four-lap qualifying run at a speed of 217.358 mph, the fastest laps he had run all month. On his cool-down lap, an ecstatic Ribbs hoisted himself partially out of his seat, waving and cheering with both hands out of the cockpit as he pulled into the pits. Ribbs bumped former winner Tom Sneva, and was comfortably in the field.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Time Trials - Second weekend, Bump Day - Sunday May 19
Randy Lewis was the final car to complete an attempt, and he bumped Johnny Parsons from the field. In the final 15 minutes, three drivers took to the track, but all three waved off. Gordon Johncock survived the bubble, and held on the qualify 33rd.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Start
Morning rain delayed the start of the race by 55 minutes. Mary F. Hulman gave the command to start engines at 11:46 a.m., and the field pulled away. During the pace laps, Danny Sullivan's Alfa Romeo car suffered a fuel pump problem, and was pushed back to the pits. Observers also noted that Willy T. Ribbs' engine did not sound right.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Start
At the start, polesitter Rick Mears took the lead into turn one. Gary Bettenhausen got sideways in turn 1, causing Buddy Lazier to swerve and kiss the outside wall with his nosecone. The caution came out, and both Bettenhausen and Lazier made it back to the pits. Bettenhausen changed tires and continued, but Lazier's car was too damaged to continue.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Start
After quick repairs, Danny Sullivan joined the race three laps down. On lap 5, Willy T. Ribbs pulled into the pits with a misfire, and dropped out.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
Mears gave up the lead to Mario Andretti on lap 12. Michael Andretti then took the lead and dominated most of the first half.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
On lap 25, Kevin Cogan and Roberto Guerrero clipped wheels in turn 1, and the two cars crashed hard into the outside wall. Guerrero was unhurt, but Cogan suffered injuries to his right shoulder and forearm. Debris from the crash littered the track, and A. J. Foyt ran over a large piece of debris, breaking his left front suspension. Foyt limped back to the pits, waving to the crowd, as he felt his day was done. The crowd gave him an ovation as he walked back to the garage area, but he was still non-committal to his retirement decision.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
Cogan assigned Guerrero the responsibility for the crash in interviews that evening, and maintained that stance even later in life. Footage from the broadcast was inconclusive of what caused the Cogan-Guerrero crash. At some point later, however, amateur footage shot from a spectator in the grandstand showed that Cogan may have come down on Guerrero. Blame for the crash has never been fully vetted.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
Several cars began dropping out due to mechanical problems. Jim Crawford, John Paul, Jr., Mike Groff, Tero Palmroth, and Gary Bettenhausen were all out of the race before the halfway point.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, First half
At the halfway point, Michael Andretti continued to lead, with Emerson Fittipaldi holding onto second. Teammates Bobby Rahal and Al Unser, Jr. were strong top five contenders. Rick Mears barely clung to the lead lap, and was in danger of being lapped at one point.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Second half
Michael Andretti continued his dominance, but Emerson Fittipaldi was now a strong challenger. Fittipaldi took the lead on lap 113, and held it for a total of 46 laps in the second half. Fittipaldi suffered a gearbox failure exiting the pits on lap 171, and dropped out the race.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Second half
The field dwindled down to only about 13 cars for the final 50 laps. Early contender Bobby Rahal blew an engine on lap 130, followed by Scott Brayton, who also blew an engine on lap 149 bringing out the race's fifth caution flag. Mario Andretti faded in the second half, falling two laps down and out of contention for the win. Only two cars remained on the lead lap, Michael Andretti and Rick Mears. Arie Luyendyk moved into third, one lap down, with Al Unser Jr. also in the top five. Unser's car though was suffering from wastegate problems.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Second half
Gordon Johncock, who started 33rd, and was suffering from flu-like symptoms before the race, was now in the top ten.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
On lap 183, Danny Sullivan blew an engine down the frontstretch, spewing a huge cloud of smoke. Leader Michael Andretti took advantage of the break, and ducked into the pits for needed fuel. Andretti's stop was quick, and he came back out onto the track in second. He lined up just behind leader Rick Mears for the restart.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
As the leaders came down for the restart to complete lap 186, Andretti diced back and forth down the frontstretch, and passed Mears on the outside of turn 1 to take the lead in dramatic fashion, it was a rare move drivers would seldom attempt. Immediately after the pass Andretti began to pull away, but Mears reeled him back in after the exit of turn 4. At the end of the main stretch, not to be upstaged, Mears pulled the same move, passing Andretti on the outside of turn 1 to re-take the lead. Almost immediately, Mears began pulling away from Andretti, as Andretti's handling began to go away.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
With only 11 laps to go, Mears began to lengthen his lead. Suddenly on lap 190, Andretti's father Mario Andretti stalled at the entrance to the pits. The yellow flag came out for the tow-in and bunched the field for another restart. A controversy erupted, as many felt Mario stopped on purpose in a ploy to aid his son. Mario denied this post-race, saying that he only warned Michael that "Whether he needs a yellow or not, I'm creating one because I can't make it to the pits."


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
The green flag came out with six laps to go, and Mears got the jump on the restart. Michael Andretti's handling was starting to go away for good, and he was unable to challenge Mears for the lead. Mears cruised over the final five laps to the finish line, and became the third four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Race recap, Finish
In a 2011 interview, Michael Andretti and Roger Penske both stated that had Andretti managed to put Mears a lap down, it likely would have been over for Mears. What changed the complexity of the race was that fact that Andretti suffered a cut tire just before he could have lapped Mears.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Results, Official Box Score
R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Bob Jenkins served as chief announcer for the second year. Johnny Rutherford returned as "driver expert" and Bob Forbes conducted the winner's interview in victory lane. The network celebrated its 40th anniversary.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
For 1991, the backstretch reporting location was eliminated permanently. Howdy Bell, who revived the position from 1989-1990, moved into the booth to serve as "Statistician." Bell updated the running order for the entire field in 25-lap intervals. With Ron Carrell's departure, Chris McClure joined the crew as a new pit reporter.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Due to the rain delay, the broadcast signed on at 10:00 EST, but only for a weather report. The airtime was sent back to the affiliates to wait out the delay. Updates were given through the hour, and the network came back on-air for an abbreviated pre-race show. The race itself, however, was carried in its entirety.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Technical director Tom Allebrandi celebrated his 25th year working the broadcast. Longtime network veteran Ralph "Luke" Walton, who served on the crew for the final time in 1988, died on June 18, 1990, at the age of 83.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Bob JenkinsDriver expert: Johnny RutherfordStatistician: Howdy BellHistorian: Donald Davidson


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Turn 1: Jerry BakerTurn 2: Gary LeeTurn 3: Larry HenryTurn 4: Bob Lamey


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. Paul Page served as host and play-by-play announcer, accompanied by Bobby Unser and Sam Posey. The start of the race was delayed about one hour, and ABC filled the time with interviews, highlights, and other features.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
The same exact crew from 1990 returned. To commemorate the 75th anniversary race, Jack Whitaker joined the pre-race coverage as an essayist.


1991 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Television
Rick Mears was the first Indy 500 winner to carry an onboard camera for the television broadcast. The top four finishers happened to all be carrying on-board cameras, as well as the pace car. Bobby Rahal also carried a camera, but he dropped out early in the second half.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
The 1991 Indianapolis Colts season was the 39th season for the team in the National Football League and eighth in Indianapolis. The team was looking to improve on the 7–9 record they had recorded in 1990. Instead, the Colts put together a campaign that ranked as one of the worst in NFL history.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
The Colts only recorded one victory in sixteen games, becoming the fourth team since the extension of the NFL's regular season to sixteen games to accomplish this. To date it is their worst full season record in the entire history of the franchise, and the second worst overall record in team history. The 1991 Colts’ futility was beaten only by the 1982 Baltimore Colts squad, where the team failed to record a victory in the strike-shortened season and finished at 0-8-1.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
The Colts’ poor performance cost sixth-year head coach Ron Meyer his job after the Colts’ fifth consecutive loss to open the season. Meyer had been with the Colts since Week 14 in 1986, when he replaced the fired Rod Dowhower after the Colts had lost their first thirteen games of the season. Defensive coordinator Rick Venturi was promoted to interim head coach; he would lead the team to its only win, a one-point defeat of the Jets on the road. The 1991 Colts are one of three 1-15 teams to win their lone game by one point; the others are the 1980 Saints and 2000 Chargers.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
The Colts scored the fewest points up to that point (143) of any team in NFL history in a sixteen-game schedule, scoring in the single digits in 11 games. The Colts never scored more than 28 points in any game (doing so in their lone victory), scored less than ten points eleven times, were shut out twice, and failed to score one single touchdown in nine of their sixteen games, which remains the largest proportion of games without scoring a touchdown since the 1977 “Zero Gang” Buccaneers did not score a touchdown in eight of fourteen games. Statistics site Football Outsiders said of the Colts 1991 season:


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
It’s the flipside of [Super Bowl champion] Washington; the Colts were the worst offense and defense in the league in the second half of close games, and the worst offense in the league in the first quarter.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season
Their futility was mentioned in a Thanksgiving edition of Bill Swerski's Superfans, a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch. The four characters, all Chicago Bears fans, commented on how some cities aren't as fortunate as Chicago to have a good football team, citing Indianapolis as an example. Coincidentally, six days before the skit aired, the Bears defeated the Colts 31–17 at Indianapolis.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season, Regular season
The Colts were victorious only once in the regular season, finishing last in the AFC East, and their fifteen losses tied an NFL record that was initially set by the 1980 New Orleans Saints and tied by the 1989 Dallas Cowboys and 1990 New England Patriots in the previous two NFL seasons. The 1991 Colts had a much weaker schedule to play than either the 1990 Patriots or 1989 Cowboys, playing eleven games against teams with non-winning records, as against only five for the 1990 Patriots and four for the 1989 Cowboys.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season, Regular season
The Colts lost nine consecutive games to start the season before rallying to defeat the playoff-bound New York Jets by a single point in Week 11. The win against their division rivals came at Giants Stadium; the Colts went 0–8 in the Hoosier Dome. (Incidentally, the Jets would become the next team to finish 1–15, doing so five years later.)


1991 Indianapolis Colts season, Regular season
Since the Colts finished with the worst record in the NFL, they won the right to draft Steve Emtman, a defensive lineman from Washington whose career was derailed by injuries. It would take them until 1995 to reach the playoffs again, and the Colts did not become consistently successful until Peyton Manning joined the team near the end of the 1990s.


1991 Indianapolis Colts season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16
Jim Kelly and Frank Reich managed just thirteen completions, but four of them were touchdowns as the Bills romped 35–7. Jeff George was benched after completing just 83 yards and Mark Herrmann was even worse, throwing three interceptions. The win secured the #1 playoff seed for the Bills.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1991 took place on November 5, 1991 and saw the election of Republican Stephen Goldsmith.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, Nominations, Republican primary
Following his failed 1990 run for Secretary of State, incumbent Republican mayor William Hudnut III announced in December 1990 that he would not seek reelection in the following year's election.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, Nominations, Republican primary
Marion County prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith defeated state senator Virginia Blankenbaker for the Republican nomination. Before the primary, Goldsmith had secured the endorsement of the county Republican caucus. Blankenbaker unsuccessfully sought to win by attracting crossover votes by Democrats.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
On education, Goldsmith was a supporter of school choice, increased parental involvement in education, and an opponent of court ordered desegregation busing. Mahern similarly supported school choice and argued for the need to reestablish neighborhood schools.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
Both candidates supported completing the construction of the Circle Centre mall. Goldsmith, however, promised not to spend any more public funds on it.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
On crime, both candidates supported community policing. Mahern supported implementing a waiting period for the purchase of guns.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
Both candidates argued that the city needed to undertake infrastructure improvements. Both candidates opposed raising property taxes to fund such improvements. Mahern was supportive of an increase in the city's sewer tax, and sought to create a commuter tax. Goldsmith was open to increasing user fees to pay for infrastructure expenditures. The two candidates disagreed on the expense of infrastructure demands. Mahern endorsed the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce's report on infrastructure, while Goldsmith contended that between $100 and 200 million could be cut from the report's $1.1 billion cost estimate. Both candidates proposed selling municipal assets in order to raise funds.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
Less than half of the city's 417,000 eligible voters participated in the election.


1991 Indianapolis mayoral election, General election
Mahern lost a significant share of the  traditionally-Democratic Catholic vote, which some experts attributed to his stance on abortion. Mahern received strong support from African American voters. Goldsmith overwhelming won the city's outlying, primarily white, precincts.


1991 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
The 1991 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship was the 26th edition of the World Championship  The Championship was held on ?, 1991 in Assen in the Netherlands.


1991 Individual Ice Speedway World Championship
Sergei Ivanov won the world title defeating Per-Olof Serenius in a race off after both riders finished on 26 points.


1991 Individual Long Track World Championship
The 1991 Individual Long Track World Championship was the 21st edition of the FIM speedway Individual Long Track World Championship. The event was held on 28 July 1991 at Mariánské Lázně in the Czech Republic, which was Czechoslovakia at the time.


1991 Individual Long Track World Championship
The Championship format returned to the 18 rider field format with 6 riders in each heat.


1991 Individual Long Track World Championship
The world title was won by Gerd Riss of Germany.


1991 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship
The 1991 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 15th edition of the World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships. The event was won by Brian Andersen of Denmark.


1991 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship, World final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1991 Individual Speedway Latvian Championship
The 1991 Individual Latvian Championship was the 17th Latvian Individual Speedway Championship season. The final took place on 10 August 1991 in Riga, Latvia. The defending champion was Nikolay Kokin.


1991 Individual Speedway Latvian Championship, Final
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1991 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1991 Individual Speedway World Championship was the 46th edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.


1991 Individual Speedway World Championship
Diminutive Danish rider Jan O. Pedersen won his first and only World Championship with a 15-point maximum from his five rides, the last time a rider would have a perfect score in the Final. Local favourite Tony Rickardsson finished second with 12 points, with triple champion Hans Nielsen of Denmark finishing third on 11 points after defeating fellow Dane Tommy Knudsen in a run-off. Defending champion Per Jonsson finished in ninth place with 7 points.


1991 Individual Speedway World Championship, Overseas Qualification, World Semi-Final #2
* First reserve Tony Rickardsson replaced injured qualifier Andy Smith


1991 Individual Speedway World Championship, World final, Classification
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1991 Indonesia Open (badminton)
The 1991 Indonesia Open in badminton was held in Bandung, from July 10 to July 14, 1991. It was a five-star tournament and the prize money was US$135,000.


1991 Indy Lights season
The 1991 Firestone Indy Lights Championship consisted of 12 races. Éric Bachelart won four races on his way to the championship. He was one of six different winners on the season.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Long Beach race
Held April 14 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Éric Bachelart won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Phoenix race
Held April 21 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mark Smith won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Milwaukee race
Held June 2 at The Milwaukee Mile. John Marconi won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Detroit race
Held June 16 at the Detroit street circuit. Éric Bachelart won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Portland race
Held June 23 at Portland International Raceway. P. J. Jones won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Cleveland race
Held July 7 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Mark Smith won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Meadowlands race
Held July 14 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Mark Smith won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Toronto race
Held July 21 at Exhibition Place. Éric Bachelart won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Denver race
Held August 25 at the Denver, Colorado street circuit. Robbie Groff won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Mid-Ohio race
Held September 15 at The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Robbie Buhl won the pole. After a full-course caution to clean up the crash of Robbie Groff on lap 27 (of 34), the race went back to green on lap 30. Eric Bachelart and Robbie Buhl were running 1st-2nd. Going into turn one, Buhl got a jump on the restart, and dove inside. But Bachelart closed the door, and the two cars tangled. Brian Till, running third, slipped by to take the lead. The caution came out and the race finished under yellow. Hometown driver Brian Till won his first career Indy Lights race, with Mark Smith second.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Nazareth race
Held October 6 at Nazareth Speedway. Robbie Groff won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Race summaries, Laguna Seca race
Held October 20 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Robbie Buhl won the pole.


1991 Indy Lights season, Final points standings, Driver
For every race the points were awarded: 20 points to the winner, 16 for runner-up, 14 for third place, 12 for fourth place, 10 for fifth place, 8 for sixth place, 6 seventh place, winding down to 1 points for 12th place. Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (1 point).


1991 Indy Lights season, Final points standings, Driver
Race 7, 8 and 11 not all points were awarded (not enough competitors).


1991 Indy Lights season, Complete Overview
R13=retired, but classified NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify (6)=place after practice, but grid position not held free DIS(10)=disqualified after finishing in tenth place


1991 Intercontinental Cup
The 1991 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 8 December 1991 between Red Star Belgrade of SFR Yugoslavia, winners of the 1990–91 European Cup, and Colo-Colo of Chile, winners of the 1991 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of 60,000 fans. Vladimir Jugović was named as man of the match.


1991 Intercontinental Cup, Match details
Assistant Referees: Samuel Yam-Ming Chan (Hong Kong) Kiichiro Tachi (Japan)


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship
The 1991 Formula 3000 International Championship was the seventh season of Formula 3000 in Europe. Christian Fittipaldi won the championship after ten rounds.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Technical changes
A major technical change for 1991 was the introduction by Avon of radial-ply tyres. Compared to the previous crossply tyres, these could be more consistently manufactured, and made the cars more consistent aerodynamically, but gave the drivers less control at high slip angles.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Technical changes
Lola's T91/50 chassis was an evolution of the previous year's championship-winning T90/50, and retained a very short wheelbase of 263.0 cm (103.5 in). By comparison, the Reynard 91D had a wheelbase of 277.5 cm (109.3 in). The short wheelbase of the Lola was blamed for its inability to perform on the new tyres, and the Forti Corse team switched to Reynards after three rounds. The Eddie Jordan Racing team attempted to lengthen its Lolas by adding a spacer in between the engine and gearbox, but eventually it too purchased a Reynard for Damon Hill.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Technical changes
The Ralt name, last seen in F3000 in 1988, returned after being split off from the March Group.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Season summary
Alessandro Zanardi won for the new Il Barone Rampante team at the first race at Vallelunga. Jean-Marc Gounon then took Ralt's last F3000 win at Pau. Christian Fittipaldi won at Jerez, and Zanardi won again at Mugello.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Season summary
Gounon won on the road at Enna, but he was controversially adjudged to have jumped the start. The race win was given to Emanuele Naspetti, who was making his first start in a Reynard after his Forti team had switched from Lolas. Naspetti then won the following three races at Hockenheim, Brands Hatch and Spa-Francorchamps. His success was blamed in part on the exotic fuel blend provided by Agip, which would be banned the following year.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Season summary
Fittipaldi's Pacific teammate Antonio Tamburini won on the Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans. In the finale at Nogaro, Fittipaldi beat title rival Zanardi for the race win and the championship.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Final points standings, Driver
For every race points were awarded: 9 points to the winner, 6 for runner-up, 4 for third place, 3 for fourth place, 2 for fifth place and 1 for sixth place. No additional points were awarded.


1991 International Formula 3000 Championship, Complete Overview
R16=retired, but classified  R=retired NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify


1991 International League season
The 1991 International League season took place from April to September 1991.


1991 International League season
The Columbus Clippers defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox to win the league championship.


1991 International League season, Regular season, All-Star game
The 1991 Triple-A All-Star Game was held at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the Louisville Redbirds of the American Association. The All-Stars representing the National League affiliates won 6-5. Steve Scarsone of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons was given the top award for the International League.


1991 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 1991 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the  Ligue d'Alsace de Tenis in Strasbourg, France that was part of Tier IV of the 1991 WTA Tour. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from 20 May until 26 May 1991. Unseeded Radka Zrubáková won the singles title and earned $27,000 first-prize money.


1991 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Finals, Doubles
Lori McNeil /  Stephanie Rehe defeated  Manon Bollegraf /  Mercedes Paz 6–7(2–7), 6–4, 6–4


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm
The 1991 Interstate 5 dust storm was a dust storm which occurred on November 29, 1991, along Interstate 5 (I-5) north of the city of Coalinga, California. The storm caused a 104-vehicle accident on the highway which killed 17 people and injured 150.


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm, Background
The San Joaquin Valley, in which Coalinga is located, is a major agricultural region of California. The region had historically suffered from dust storms; the Great Bakersfield Dust Storm of 1977 occurred in a different part of the valley, and a series of smaller dust storms killed seven people in crashes on the same section of Interstate 5 in 1978. At the time of the accident, the valley was undergoing its sixth year of a serious drought; as a result, its rainy season had not yet begun, creating unusually dusty conditions. Fields near the crash site had been left fallow during the planting season; as a result, they were covered in dust from plowing, but did not have crops to block the spread of the dust.


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm, The storm
High winds and blowing dust were reported throughout central California on November 29, 1991, both in the San Joaquin Valley and the Salinas Valley. A weather station at Naval Air Station Lemoore, the closest one to the crash site which tracked wind and visibility statistics, measured wind gusts up to 21.6 metres per second (48 mph; 78 km/h) and visibility as low as 0.5 kilometers (0.31 mi). In some parts of the valley, including along I-5, narrow plumes of dust made local visibility conditions even worse than those measured. Accident victims described the rapid onset of near zero visibility conditions, and California Lieutenant Governor Leo McCarthy reported the presence of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h; 27 m/s) winds in a briefing the day after the accident.


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm, The accident
November 29 was the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1991, and traffic on I-5 was heavier throughout the day as a result. Around 2:30 PM local time, the low visibility on the highway caused a series of chain reaction accidents roughly 45 miles (72 km) north of Coalinga. The accidents mainly occurred in five groups spread across 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of highway; while one 20-car pile-up occurred in the northbound lanes, the remainder of the crashes were in the southbound lanes. In total, 104 vehicles were involved in the accident, including 93 cars and 11 semi-trailer trucks. 150 miles (240 km) of I-5 was closed for a day following the accident.


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm, The accident
17 people died in the accident, and an additional 150 people were injured. Several vehicles caught fire, which contributed to the casualties; two bodies were burned so badly that they could not be identified in the aftermath of the crash. The dust storm also impeded the emergency response to the accident; a fire truck and an ambulance were involved in separate collisions while attempting to reach the accident site. Nonetheless, first responders were able to access the remote site within half an hour of the crash.


1991 Interstate 5 dust storm, The accident
According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash was the deadliest accident caused by a dust storm in state history. A report in the Deseret News described it as the largest vehicle crash in then-recent history in terms of the number of vehicles involved.


1991 Intertoto Cup
In the 1991 Intertoto Cup no knock-out rounds were contested, and therefore no winner was declared.


1991 Intertoto Cup, Group stage
The teams were divided into 9 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams each. In two groups teams withdrew from the tournament before it finished.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
The 1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team was coached by Hayden Fry and played their home games at Kinnick Stadium.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Game summaries, Michigan
In the 1991 Big Ten opener, the Hawkeyes led 18–7 midway through the second quarter, but could not stop the Michigan ground game as the Wolverines rolled up 371 yards rushing on 50 attempts. This game essentially decided the conference championship as both teams won the remainder of their Big Ten games.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Game summaries, Michigan
Prior to kickoff, 1957 Outland Trophy winner Alex Karras was presented with a plaque from the College Football Hall of Fame.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Game summaries, at Ohio State
The Hawkeyes played without decals on their helmets in honor of the fallen from an on-campus shooting the day before. Leroy Smith recorded a school-record 5 sacks in the road victory over the Buckeyes.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Game summaries, Indiana
Mike Saunders became the fifth Iowa player to score four touchdowns in a game, tying the school record. The Iowa defense forced four interceptions from Indiana quarterback Trent Green.


1991 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Game summaries, Minnesota
The Hawkeyes closed the regular season with a win in the snow, giving Coach Fry his 100th victory at Iowa.


1991 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The 1991 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University during the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Cyclone Stadium in Ames, Iowa. They participated as members of the Big Eight Conference. The team was coached by head coach Jim Walden.


1991 Ipswich Borough Council election
The 1991 Ipswich Borough Council election was an election to the Ipswich Borough Council under the arrangement, whereby a third of the councillors were to stand for election, each time.


1991 Ipswich Borough Council election
It took place as part of the 1991 United Kingdom local elections.


1991 Ipswich Borough Council election
There were 16 wards each returning one councillor plus one bye-elections for Town Ward. The Labour Party retained control of the Council.


1991 Iraqi Elite Cup
The First Mother of all Battles Championship (Arabic: بطولة أم المعارك الأولى), commonly referred to as the 1991 Iraqi Elite Cup (Arabic: كأس النخبة العراقي 1991), was the first occurrence of the Iraqi Elite Cup. This edition of the competition was organised by Al-Talaba. The top six teams of the 1990–91 Iraqi National League were supposed to compete in the tournament, but Al-Naft withdrew from the competition and were replaced by seventh-placed Al-Najaf. All the matches were played at Al-Shaab Stadium. The competition started on 2 September and ended on 13 September where, in the final, Al-Zawraa defeated Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 3–1 after extra time.


1991 Iraqi Elite Cup, Background
Al-Talaba proposed the establishing of a new tournament that includes only the top six teams of the 1990–91 Iraqi National League: Al-Zawraa, Al-Talaba, Al-Shorta, Al-Karkh, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Naft. Salim Rasheed, the vice president of Al-Talaba, stated that the competition would be played at Al-Shaab Stadium and in two groups. The Iraq Football Association agreed on the proposition on 24 August 1991.


1991 Iraqi Elite Cup, Background
The higher organizing committee of the competition held a meeting with the participating teams' representatives and the FA's representatives at Al-Talaba's headquarters on 25 August 1991 to discuss the start and end dates of the tournament and other technical matters. The duration of the competition was decided to be from 2–13 September 1991 and 31 August would be the last day to receive squad lists. Before the start of the tournament, Al-Naft did not accept the invitation, so they were replaced by Al-Najaf, the seventh-placed team of the league.


1991 Iraqi Elite Cup, Pre-opening
The organizing committee invited 41 former national players, organizing a charity match between them, but only 24 got to play. The players were split into two teams. The green team included Jalal Abdul-Rahman, Muthanna Hameed, Saadi Toma, Shakir Ali, Falah Hassan, Ali Kadhim, Hadi Al-Janabi, Hassan Saddawi, Sabah Hatim, Ayoub Odisho, Abdelilah Abdul-Wahid and Jaleel Salih, while the white team consisted of Kadhim Khalaf, Samir Shaker, Ibrahim, Wathiq Aswad, Abdul-Zahra Aswad, Hussein Saeed, Haris Mohammed, Thair Ahmed, Mahdi Jassim, Faisal Aziz, Abdul-Karim Farhan and Abdul-Muhsin Mohammed. It ended in a 4–1 win for to the green team.


1991 Iraqi uprisings
The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were popular uprisings in Iraq in that lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoordinated insurgency was fueled by the perception that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had become vulnerable to regime change. This perception of weakness was largely the result of the outcome of the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, both of which occurred within a single decade and devastated the population and economy of Iraq.


1991 Iraqi uprisings
Within the first two weeks, most of Iraq's cities and provinces fell to rebel forces. Participants of the uprising were a diverse mix of ethnic, religious and political affiliations, including military mutineers, Shia Arab Islamists, Kurdish nationalists, and far-left groups. Following initial victories, the revolution was held back from continued success by internal divisions as well as a lack of anticipated American and/or Iranian support. Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated Ba'ath Party regime managed to maintain control over the capital of Baghdad and soon largely suppressed the rebels in a brutal campaign conducted by loyalist forces spearheaded by the Iraqi Republican Guard.


1991 Iraqi uprisings
During the brief, roughly one-month period of unrest, tens of thousands of people died and nearly two million people were displaced. After the conflict, the Iraqi government intensified a prior systematic forced relocation of Marsh Arabs and the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes in the Tigris–Euphrates river system. The Gulf War Coalition established Iraqi no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, and the Kurdish opposition established the Kurdish Autonomous Republic in Iraqi Kurdistan.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Earlier calls for uprising
During the Iran–Iraq War, Iran's religious ruler, Ruhollah Khomeini, called on Iraqis to overthrow the Ba'ath government and establish an Islamic state. Because of his incitement, many Shia Arabs were driven out of Iraq and some were recruited into armed militias backed by Iran, although the majority remained loyal to Iraq throughout the duration of the war.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
On February 15, 1991, then President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, made a speech targeting Iraqis via Voice of America radio. Hoping to incite a swift military coup to topple Saddam Hussein, Bush stated:


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
There is another way for the bloodshed to stop: and that is, for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside and then comply with the United Nations' resolutions and rejoin the family of peace-loving nations.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
Bush made a similar appeal on March 1, a day after the end of the Gulf War:


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
In my own view...the Iraqi people should put [Saddam] aside, and that would facilitate the resolution of all these problems that exist and certainly would facilitate the acceptance of Iraq back into the family of peace-loving nations.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
On the evening of February 24, four days before the Gulf War ceasefire was signed, the Voice of Free Iraq radio station, allegedly funded and operated by the CIA, broadcast a message to the Iraqi people telling them to rise up and overthrow Saddam. The speaker on the radio was Salah Omar al-Ali, an exiled former member of the Ba'ath Party and the Ba'athist Revolutionary Command Council. Al-Ali's message urged the Iraqis to overthrow the "criminal tyrant of Iraq" and asserted that Saddam "will flee the battlefield when he becomes certain that the catastrophe has engulfed every street, every house and every family in Iraq." He said:


1991 Iraqi uprisings, U.S. radio broadcasts
Rise to save the homeland from the clutches of dictatorship so that you can devote yourself to avoiding the dangers of the continuation of the war and destruction. Honorable Sons of the Tigris and Euphrates, at these decisive moments of your life, and while facing the danger of death at the hands of foreign forces, you have no option in order to survive and defend the homeland but put an end to the dictator and his criminal gang.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Southern uprisings
Many of the rebels in southern Iraq, where the uprisings began, were either demoralized soldiers of the Iraqi Army or members of anti-regime groups, in particular the Islamic Dawa Party and Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Iraqi armed forces were composed largely of Shia conscripts and contained substantial anti-regime elements, and thus many of the government's troops quickly switched sides and defected to the rebels.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Southern uprisings
The turmoil first began in the towns of Abu Al-Khaseeb and Az Zubayr, south of Basra, at the end of February. On March 1, 1991, one day after the Gulf War ceasefire, a T-72 tank gunner, returning home after Iraq's defeat in Kuwait, fired a shell into a gigantic portrait of Saddam Hussein hanging over Basra's main square and onlooking soldiers applauded.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Southern uprisings
The revolt in Basra was led at first by Muhammad Ibrahim Wali, an army officer who gathered a force of military vehicles to attack the government buildings and prisons in the city; he was backed by a majority of the population. The uprising in Basra was entirely spontaneous and disorganised. The news of this event and Bush's radio broadcasts encouraged the Iraqi people to revolt against the regime in the other towns and cities. In Najaf, a demonstration near the city's great Imam Ali Mosque became a gun battle between army deserters and Saddam's security forces.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Southern uprisings
The rebels seized the shrine as Ba'ath Party officials fled the city or were killed; prisoners were freed from jails. The uprising spread within days to all of the largest Shia cities in southern Iraq: Amarah, Diwaniya, Hilla, Karbala, Kut, Nasiriyah and Samawah. Smaller cities were swept up in the revolution as well.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Southern uprisings
Many exiled Iraqi dissidents, including thousands of Iran-based Badr Brigades militants of SCIRI, crossed the borders and joined the rebellion. SCIRI concentrated their efforts on the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, alienating many people who did not subscribe to their Shia Islamist agenda and pro-Iranian slogans, for which SCIRI was later criticized by the Dawa Party. Ranks of the rebels throughout the region included mutinous Sunni members of the military, leftists such as Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) factions, anti-Saddam Arab nationalists, and even disaffected Ba'athists. Disastrously for them, all the diverse revolutionary groups, militias, and parties were united only in their desire for regime change as they had no common political or military program, no integrated leadership, and there was very little coordination between them.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Northern uprisings
Another wave of insurgency broke out shortly afterwards in the Kurdish populated northern Iraq. Unlike the spontaneous rebellion in the South, the uprising in the North was organized by two rival Kurdish party-based militias: primarily the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and to a lesser extent the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Additionally, the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) served as the principle Assyrian opposition group, although the group was more active in the 1980s. The ADM reported that the government displaced thousands of Assyrians in Kirkuk, as there were around 30,000 in the city prior to 1991. In the north, the defection of the government-recruited Kurdish home guard militias, known as jash, gave a considerable force to the rebellion.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Northern uprisings
The rebellion in the north (Iraqi Kurdistan) erupted on March 5 in the town of Rania. Within 10 days, the Kurdish nationalist (Peshmerga), Islamist (Islamic Movement of Kurdistan), and communist (from the ICP and the Communist Party of Kurdistan; the Kurdistan Workers' Party was also active to some extent) rebels, joined by tens of thousands of defecting militiamen and army deserters (reportedly, there were more than 50,000 of them throughout the region), took control of every city in the north except Kirkuk (which eventually fell to them on March 20) and Mosul.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Northern uprisings
Entire units surrendered without much or any resistance, including the whole 24th Division which did not fire a single bullet. In Sulaymaniyah, the rebels besieged and captured the regional headquarters of the dreaded Directorate of General Security secret police (years later, the building, known as Amna Suraka or "Red Security" in Kurdish, became a museum to the crimes of Saddam's regime). In a bloody revenge, they killed several hundred of captured Ba'athist officials and security officers without a trial; reportedly, over 900 security officers were killed at Sulaymaniyah. They also captured enormous quantities of government documents related to the notorious Al-Anfal Campaign in which the government forces had systematically killed tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds and members of other ethnic minorities three years earlier in 1988; 14 tons of these documents were obtained by Human Rights Watch.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Northern uprisings
Unlike in the south, the Kurdish rebellion was preceded by demonstrations with clear political slogans: democracy for Iraq and autonomy for Kurdistan. After Mosul was taken, Jalal Talabani proposed to march on the capital Baghdad.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
On March 7, in an effort to quiet the uprisings, Saddam Hussein offered the Shia and Kurd leaders shares in the central government in exchange for loyalty, but the opposing groups rejected the proposal. At the height of the revolution, the government lost effective control over 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces. However, the people of Baghdad remained largely passive, as the Dawa Party, the Communist Party, and the pro-Syrian Ba'ath splinter party had all failed to build underground structures in the capital. There was only a limited unrest in the Shia-populated vast slum of Saddam City while the rest of Baghdad remained calm.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
Soon, regime loyalists regrouped and went on an offensive to reclaim the cities. They were helped by the fact that about half of tanks of the elite and politically reliable Republican Guard managed to escape from the Saddam-proclaimed "mother of all battles" in Kuwait and that the Guard headquarters units also survived the war. In addition, the Gulf War ceasefire agreement of March 3 prohibited the Iraqi military's use of fixed-wing aircraft over the country, but allowed them to fly helicopters because most bridges had been destroyed.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
This was because General Norman Schwarzkopf accepted the request of an Iraqi general to fly helicopters, including armed gunships, to transport government officials because of destroyed transport infrastructure, acting without Pentagon or White House instructions; almost immediately, the Iraqis began using the helicopters as gunships to put down the uprisings. The outgunned rebels had few heavy weapons and few surface-to-air missiles, which made them almost defenseless against helicopter gunships and indiscriminate artillery barrages when the Ba'athists responded to the uprisings with crushing force.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
According to Human Rights Watch, "in their attempts to retake cities, and after consolidating control, loyalist forces killed thousands of anyone who opposes them whether a rebel or a civilian by firing indiscriminately into the opposing areas; executing them on the streets, in homes and in hospitals; rounding up suspects, especially young men, during house-to-house searches, and arresting them with or without charge or shooting them en masse; and using helicopters to attack those who try to flee the cities."


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
There were several reports of chemical warfare attacks, including of a nerve agent being used during the assault on Basra. Following an investigation, the United Nations (UN) found that there was no evidence that Iraq used chemical weapons to repress the uprisings, but did not rule out the possibility that Iraq could have used phosgene gas which would not have been detectable after the attack.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
According to the U.S. government's Iraq Survey Group, Iraqi military did in fact use the nerve agent sarin, as well as non-lethal CS gas, on a massive scale when "dozens" of improvised helicopter bombing sorties were flown against rebels in Karbala and the surrounding areas in March 1991; evidence of apparent mustard gas attacks have been also reported in the areas of Najaf and Karbala by the U.S. forces that have been stationed there at the time.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
In the south, Saddam's forces quelled all but a scattering of the resistance by the end of March. On March 29, SCIRI leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim conceded that Shia rebels withdrew from the cities and that fighting was limited to rural areas. The Kurdish uprising in the north of the country collapsed even more quickly than it began. After ousting the Peshmerga from Kirkuk on March 29, the government tanks rolled into Dahuk and Irbil on March 30, Zakho on April 1, and Sulaymaniyah, the last important town held by the rebels, on April 3.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
The advance of government forces was halted at Kore, a narrow valley near the ruins of Qaladiza, where a successful defense was held by the Kurds led by Massoud Barzani. According to the United States Department of State and the Foreign Affairs group of the Parliament of Australia, Iranian rebel organization People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI, also known as MEK), sheltered in Iraq by Saddam Hussein, assisted the Republican Guard in brutally suppressing the uprisings. Maryam Rajavi has been reported by former PMOI members as having said, "Take the Kurds under your tanks, and save your bullets for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards."


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Revolution, Loyalist offensive
On April 5, the government announced "the complete crushing of acts of sedition, sabotage and rioting in all towns of Iraq." On that same day, the United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 688 condemning the Iraqi government's oppression of the Kurds and requiring Iraq to respect the human rights of its citizens.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Casualties
The death toll was high throughout the country. The rebels killed many Ba'athist officials and officers. In response, thousands of unarmed civilians were killed by indiscriminate fire from loyalist tanks, artillery and helicopters, and many historical and religious structures in the south were deliberately targeted under orders from Saddam Hussein. Saddam's security forces entered the cities, often using women and children as human shields, where they detained and summarily executed or "disappeared" thousands of people at random in a policy of collective responsibility. Many suspects were tortured, raped, or burned alive.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Casualties
Many of the people killed were buried in mass graves. Mass burial sites containing thousands of bodies have been uncovered since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003. Of the 200 mass graves the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry had registered between 2003-2006, the majority were in the South, including one believed to hold as many as 10,000 victims.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Refugee crisis
In March and early April, nearly two million Iraqis, 1.5 million of them Kurds, escaped from strife-torn cities to the mountains along the northern borders, into the southern marshes, and to Turkey and Iran. By April 6, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) estimated that about 750,000 Iraqi Kurds had fled to Iran and 280,000 to Turkey, with 300,000 more gathered at the Turkish border. The approach towards the refugee immigration was met with a different approach by Iran and Turkey.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Refugee crisis
Iran had opened its borders to the refugees, while Turkey first closed its borders and only opened its borders following international pressure and assurances of financial help to cope with the refugees. Iran also received much less international help to cope with the crisis than Turkey, mainly due to their strained relations with the USA. According to accounts from international relief organizations cited by Nader Entassar, Turkey received more than seven times the amount of help per refugee, as Iran received.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Refugee crisis
Their exodus was sudden and chaotic with thousands of desperate refugees fleeing on foot, on donkeys, or crammed onto open-backed trucks and tractors. Many were gunned down by Republican Guard helicopters, which deliberately strafed columns of fleeing civilians in a number of incidents in both the north and south. Numerous refugees were also killed or maimed by stepping on land mines planted by Iraqi troops near the eastern border during the war with Iran. According to the U.S. Department of State and international relief organizations, between 500 and 1,000 Kurds died each day along Iraq's Turkish border. According to some reports, up to hundreds of refugees died each day along the way to Iran as well.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Refugee crisis
Beginning in March 1991, the U.S. and some of the Gulf War allies barred Saddam's forces from conducting jet aircraft attacks by establishing the no-fly zone over northern Iraq and provided humanitarian assistance to the Kurds. On April 17, U.S. forces began to take control of areas more than 60 miles into Iraq to build camps for Kurdish refugees; the last American soldiers left northern Iraq on July 15. In the Yeşilova incident in April, British and Turkish forces confronted each other over the treatment of Kurdish refugees in Turkey. Many Shia refugees fled to Syria, where thousands of them settled in the town of Sayyidah Zaynab.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
In southeastern Iraq, thousands of civilians, army deserters, and rebels began seeking precarious shelter in remote areas of the Hawizeh Marshes straddling the Iranian border. After the uprising, the Marsh Arabs were singled out for mass reprisals, accompanied by ecologically catastrophic drainage of the Iraqi marshlands and the large-scale and systematic forcible transfer of the local population. The Marsh Arab resistance was led by the Hezbollah Movement in Iraq (completely unrelated to the Hezbollah of Lebanon), which after 2003 became the Marsh Arabs' main political party.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
On July 10, 1991, the United Nations announced plans to open a humanitarian center at Lake Hammar to care for those hiding out in the southern marshlands, but Iraqi forces did not allow UN relief workers into the marshlands or the people out. A large scale government offensive attack against the refugees estimated 10,000 fighters and 200,000 displaced persons hiding in the marshes began in March–April 1992, using fixed-wing aircraft; a U.S. Department of State report claimed that Iraq dumped toxic chemicals in the waters in an effort to drive out the opposition.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
In July 1992, the government began trying to drain the marshlands and ordered the residents of settlements to evacuate, after which the army burned down their homes there to prevent them from returning. A curfew was also enforced throughout the south, and government forces began arresting and moving large numbers of Iraqis into detention camps in the central part of the country.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
At a special meeting of the UN Security Council on August 11, 1992, Britain, France, and the United States accused Iraq of conducting a "systematic military campaign" against the marshlands, warning that Baghdad could face possible consequences. On August 22, 1992, President Bush announced that the U.S. and its allies had established a second no-fly zone for any Iraqi aircraft south of the 32nd parallel to protect dissidents from attacks by the government, as sanctioned by UN Security Council Resolution 688.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
In March 1993, a UN investigation reported hundreds of executions of Iraqis from the marshes in the preceding months, asserting that the Iraqi army's behavior in the south is the most "worrying development [in Iraq] in the past year" and added that following the formation of the no-fly zone, the army switched to long-range artillery attacks, followed by ground assaults resulting in "heavy casualties" and widespread destruction of property, along with allegations of mass executions.


1991 Iraqi uprisings, Aftermath, Resistance and reprisals in the south
In November 1993, Iran reported that as a result of the drainage of the marshlands, marsh Iraqis could no longer fish or grow rice and that over 60,000 had fled to Iran since 1991; Iranian officials appealed to the world to send aid to help the refugees. That same month, the UN reported that 40% of the marshlands in the south were drained, while unconfirmed reports surfaced that the Iraq army had used poisonous gas against villages near the border of Iran.