We take a look at some of the biggest moments & stories of the tumultuous year that was 2020:
1. COVID-19 in India:
The first case of the coronavirus in India was located in Kerala on January 30 through a medical student who had returned from Wuhan. This was followed by the second and third cases in February. Kerala moved quickly to contain the cases by conducting extensive tracing and stringent quarantining of patients and their contacts. However, by March, the virus had spread to Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other places.
Mass gatherings such as the Tablighi Jamaat event at Delhi’s Nizamuddin, held between March 1-21, became superspreaders. As cases increased, Our Respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns on March 23rd, halting most economic and social activities, closing borders and allowing only essential services to continue.
2. Migrant exodus:
As the virus spread, India saw a humanitarian crisis, with the lockdown impacting nearly 40 million migrants.
What started as groups of migrants walking from Mumbai and neighbouring districts to their hometowns in Gujarat and Rajasthan slowly grew into the largest mass exodus since the Partition, in March.
Many travelled thousands of kilometres on foot to reach their villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while others travelled by the special Shramik trains that were launched by the Government. Not all reached their destinations, though.
3. India-China clashes:
On May 5th, a scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese forces, who had encroached into the Indian border at the Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh. Soldiers from both sides engaged in stone-pelting and fistfights and around 11 soldiers were injured.
On June 14, after a group of PLA soldiers erected tents and an observation post on the LAC, senior Indian Army officer Colonel Suresh Babu and two of his soldiers went, unarmed, to meet their Chinese counterparts and discuss de-escalation measures. They were attacked with iron rods and barbed wires, unprovoked. In the resultant hand to hand combat, during the interluding night between June 15 and 16, 20 Indian army personnel and 43 Chinese soldiers were killed.
While anti-China sentiments flared in India, with a call for banning Chinese goods, the Indian Government reacted by banning 59 mobile apps developed in China, along with several infrastructural projects for which Chinese companies had won contracts.
4. Cyclone Amphan:
5. GDP shrinks 23.9 per cent:
India recorded a GDP drop of 23.9 per cent, in the period April-June 2020. This is the worst contraction since India started reporting GDP data in 1996. The stringent lockdown measures, which put a huge dent on the economy, caused all sectors, apart from agriculture to suffer huge losses. The gross value added growth (GVA) in the manufacturing sector shrank by 39.3 per cent, while industries such as construction, trade, travel and hospitality, were all badly affected. The RBI’s monthly bulletin for November has projected contraction for a second consecutive quarter, meaning that India has entered into a technical recession for the first time in its history.
6. Sushant Singh Rajput passes away:
A death that shook an entire nation, actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Bandra residence on June 14. The death was treated as a suicide and discussions around his mental health state and clinical depression due to professional rivalry, did the rounds.
Meanwhile, Sushant’s family filed an FIR against actress Rhea Chakraborty, his former girlfriend, and five others of abetment to suicide. On 8 September, Rhea was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after three consecutive days of questioning, in connection with a drugs case. Actors Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh were also summoned by the NCB over the drugs racket case unearthed during the investigation.
While Dr Sudhir Gupta, head, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), has ruled out murder and submitted its report confirming death by suicide, the CBI is yet to give any information about its findings of the case.
7. The Death of Irrfan Khan & Rishi Kapoor are Shocking:
We all rationalise death but we don’t try to rationalise birth. And that seems to be the greatest tragedy of humankind.
The Bible says, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” Lord Krishna in The Bhagwad Geeta talks of the temporal nature of material things around us. Nothing is yours and when you leave the world it is the ‘atman’, i.e., consciousness that stays.
Irrfan Sir was only 53 and his genius had just begun to flower. He struggled hard to make a name for himself and emerged as one of the most refined actors. But his full potential could not be realised. He wanted to play cricket and was doing well but could not pursue it because he did not have Rs 200 to pay a fee. Most of us identify with his struggle and hence his death filled our hearts with gloom. He appeared logical and sensitive on the screen and made things look so easy.
Rishi Kapoor Sir was one of the biggest entertainers of Bollywood. He added a few more notches to the prestige of the Kapoor family that has been one of the strongest pillars of Indian cinema. His simple but graceful dance, guitar work, and romantic histrionics taught youngsters how to love.
8. India elected to UNSC:
India was formally elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a period of two years on June 18, 2020, after winning with an overwhelming majority.
9. Construction of Shree Ram Mandir begins in Ayodhya:
On August 5th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation brick for the Supreme Court-mandated Ram Temple to be constructed in Ayodhya. A 40 kg silver brick was laid as the foundation stone.
The construction of the Ram temple has been BJP’s poll pledge since 1991. This brings into fruition the three-decade-long movement by BJP to build a temple at the site, after a long and battle over the ownership of the site.
Construction work is set to be completed in 36-40 months, as per the Temple trust.
10. Mumbai Indians win IPL 2020, amidst pandemic:
11. Farm Bills 2k20:
India's farming sector is poised for a sweeping change in reforms, as promised by the Central Government in late 2019. In September 2020, the Upper House of the Parliament introduced three new Bills as reforms to the agricultural and farming sector,
For more information about farm bill read the previous blog: Farm Act 2k20.
Conclusion: ✍️
Goodbye, 2020. I don’t have a bad word to say about you in my heart. It brought us a great and shocking clarity, amidst all the pain. We were given a once-in-a lifetime chance to take a step back, regroup, rethink and consolidate. So thank you, and Welcome 2021. I wish everyone a healthy, happy and successful 2021.🙏🤗
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