The year 2020 has been a mess all around. A raging pandemic, a grave economic crisis, geopolitical turmoil and widespread protests around the globe, it has been perhaps the worst year for humanity since the end of the second world war. Of course, when the story of 2020 is written, there will be some who will emerge as principal villains while there will be those who come out of it as heroes.
In this report, we shall focus on the most heinous villains of the year. And since we are an Indian media outlet, this report is from an Indian perspective. The following is our list of the Top 10 villains of the year, in no particular order.
The ‘Dadis’ of Shaheen Bagh and the Anti-CAA protesters
Global media and dominant sections of Indian media are in love with the ‘Dadis’ of Shaheen Bagh. Their protest was for democracy, we are told. It was for secularism and tolerance and communal harmony. And yet, during the Shaheen Bagh protests, we witnessed the worst of humanity in all its terribly might.
A child died in these protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act after being exposed to the cold Delhi winter and the parents said they were willing to sacrifice the other as well. Rampant Hinduphobia prevailed and slogans such as ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi‘ were raised. Journalists were attacked as well and all of this culminated with the anti-Hindu riots at the national capital which caused a huge destruction of life and property.
Xi Jinping
This one is certainly not a surprise. China has been working overtime to block attempts to uncover the origins of the Wuhan Coronavirus. They bungled up the Coronavirus response, and perhaps intentionally, ensured that people infected with the virus were able to leave the country and take it along with them elsewhere.
Meanwhile, China under Xi Jinping has been using the Coronavirus crisis to bully other countries and up the ante militarily. Their aggressive expansionist mindset led to the clash at Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese troops and both forces are still locked in a stalemate amidst a freezing winter.
There has been some push back in the international arena, however, that has nearly not been enough. India has taken certain measures on the economic front and Australia is trying hard to free themselves from the clutches of Communist China. All in all, 2020 has been the year when it became evident to everyone the threat posed by China to the international order.
Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra
After Xi Jinping, it is only natural that the ruling alliance in Maharashtra finds a mention. Maharashtra has fared by far the worst during the Coronavirus pandemic. The state will enter 2021 accounting for over 30 per cent of Covid-19 deaths in India on its own. And yet, the government continued to maintain that they had done a stellar job at countering the virus.
Meanwhile, the ruling alliance initiated a campaign against journalists and private citizens who dared to criticize their policies. Republic Tv Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami was imprisoned and so was Sameet Thakkar. Goswami was even assaulted and the state sanctioned persecution against him and his channel continue to this day.
Instead of improving its Covid response, the Maharashtra government was more concerned with silencing its critics. And for that, the people of Maharashtra have paid with their lives.
‘Tukde Tukde Gang’
The ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’ moniker was invented to describe the the Leftist-Islamist nexus that is perennially inclined to bring disrepute to India, undermine Indian national interests and challenge India’s territorial integrity. The same gang played an intrinsic part in the anti-Hindu Delhi riots that unfolded in February because they wished to create turmoil during US President Donald Trump’s visit to India.
Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi and Pinjra Tod members have been accused of conspiring to unleash violence at the national capital. The involvement of PFI is also suspected. Then there was Newslaundry Columnist Sharjeel Usmani who was arrested on allegations of inciting anti-CAA riots before being granted bail in September. He also announced his plan to launch a propaganda war against India.
Investigation has revealed that foreign funding could also have played a part in the riots that ensued. All in all, it was this year that the threat posed by this brigade of miscreants became amply evident.
Sharjeel Imam
While he could be clubbed along with the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’, as the mastermind of the Shaheen Bagh, he deserves a special mention. Because, after all, it was his brainchild that eventually led to the riots in Delhi. Sharjeel Imam was arrested in January but the seeds of chaos he had sown had long taken root by then.
If there is to be one person more responsible than anyone else for the riots in Delhi, it would be Sharjeel Imam. Even so, the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’ is still busy calling for his release and portraying him as a victim. His intentions were pretty clear when he made that now infamous speech.
Sharjeel Imam wanted to cut off North East India and hold the country at ransom in order to fulfill his Islamist objectives. His plan also included blocking roads to make the government bend to his demands. The events in Delhi proved that such plans often have gory ends, as the carnage in Delhi revealed.
The ‘Holy Trinity’ of Indian Protesters
The Activist Brigade has been instrumental in fomenting chaos across the country this year. First, they were involved at Shaheen Bagh and now, one of them suddenly appears to have transformed into a farmer and is now attempting to ensure that the protests over the farm laws are not resolved amicably.
The ‘Holy Trinity’ of protests in India have been particularly active this year. We are, of course, referring to ‘PIL Activist’ Prashant Bhushan, ‘Love Caravan’ Harsh Mander and ‘Ichchhadhaari protester’ Yogendra Yadav.
Prashant Bhushan has been at the forefront of undermining the faith in the Indian judiciary this year. He was found guilty of Contempt of Court but was let off with a symbolic 1 rupee fine. Immediately after, he proceeded with his campaign against the Judiciary who he calls a puppet of the NDA Government. His comrades have been far more active on the ground.
‘Love Caravan’ Harsh Mander and his organisation ‘Karwan-e-Mohabbat’ (Caravan of Love) were extremely active in the anti-CAA protests. A video of his went viral where he can be seen inciting a mob to come out on the streets and he declared that there was no scope for Secularism in the country. We exposed his membership of an NGO that is intrinsically tied with the Italian government, works with Italian secret service and helps them achieve foreign policy goals.
‘Ichchhadhaari protester’ Yogendra Yadav is extremely busy these days at the ‘farmer protests’. On Tuesday, he made some crazy demands which he said were non-negotiables for the resolution of the protests against the new farm laws. He is clearly using the current spate of protests in order to fulfill his personal objective of undermining the Modi Government.
The Aam Aadmi Party
Delhi was another of those states which totally bungled its Covid-19 response. Ultimately, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had to step in to prevent utter devastation in the Union Territory after the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi put its arms up in surrender.
Furthermore, the manner in which the Aam Aadmi Party conspired to chase away migrant workers in the national capital was horrifying indeed. Their false rumours and cutting off water supply prompted lakhs of migrants to undertake the journey back home on foot.
Their actions undermined India’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic which has otherwise been quite good considering all circumstances. Since then, consistent with their anarchist tendencies, they have also lent support to the ‘farmer protests’ and has delivered WiFi to the protesters.
The Congress party
The Congress party has always demonstrated that it is overwilling to burn the country to the ground if it only could rule over the ashes. They were actively fearmongering during the anti-CAA protests and they are again fearmongering during the ‘farmer protests’.
A senior leader of the Youth Congress was celebrating the acts of vandalism by the ‘farmer protesters’ against Jio mobile towers and advocated for such vandalism across the country. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh also helped incite the ‘farmer protests’. Congress leader Ishrat Jahan was arrested for inciting riots during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots. The political party has hit the ultimate pits this year.
WHO Chief Tedros
WHO and its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus have come under severe criticism for their conduct since the pandemic broke out in China. The organization took long enough in declaring it a pandemic, leading to countries not being vigilant enough on time.
In January, WHO had endorsed the conclusion of Chinese authorities that the Novel Coronavirus does not spread from person to person, and stated that it does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers to and from Wuhan. WHO also ignored Taiwan which had informed them that it has evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus.
Taiwan wrote to WHO on the 31st of December, but WHO kept denying human-to-human transmission till mid-January. Experts are of the view that this laxity and callousness is responsible for the catastrophe that has struck the world and that the organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, like China’s Xi Jinping, should be held accountable for recklessly managing this deadly pandemic.
Tablighi Jamaat
During the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country, the Tablighi Jamaat played a critical role in its spread. It all started from the mass gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi and from there, spread to all parts of the country.
While they were being transported from Nizamuddin for their treatment, they spat on roads during the bus ride. After being shifted to quarantine facilities in Delhi, they engaged in unruly behaviour with the staff and doctors. The occupants made unreasonable demands for food, misbehaved and abused staff members and spat all over and on persons working/attending to them, including doctors. They also started roaming around the hostel building.
Then, it was reported that some of them were found roaming naked at the MMG Hospital in Ghaziabad and making lewd gestures at the hospital staff. They sang obscene songs and asked for beedi-cigarettes from the staff at the hospital. The nurses had also written a letter to the Police regarding the matter and later, the UP Government had decided that female members of the healthcare community and the Police will not be attending to the members of the Tablighi Jamaat.
It was not just in India but Tablighi Jamaat members had emerged as super spreaders across Asia.
