Year Ender: Protests Of 2020 Which Will Reverberate In The Minds Of People For Long| In Pictures

In areas like Bhajanpura, thousands of people attacked petrol pumps, carried petrol bombs, sticks and weapons. Violence was also reported from Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Kardampuri, Babarpur, Gokalpuri and Shiv Puri. Multiple cases in connection with the Delhi riots are being probed by the Delhi Police, which in its charge sheet said it was a conspiracy by persons who committed a crime against humanity.

The protest spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured. Police lathi-charged and used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The following afternoon, violent clashes broke out in several areas of Northeast Delhi, including in the Gokalpuri and Kardampuri areas. Clashes were marked by arson, vandalism of property, stone pelting and burning of places of worship.

2. Delhi Riots-What seemed as intense protests against and in support of the CAA by opposing groups in Delhi, turned into communal violence in Northeast Delhi in February 2020. The clashes between the supporters of the citizenship law and protesters began on February 24. (Image-AFP)

The protest made international headlines with the Time magazine featuring an 82-year-old Bilkis Bano - popularly called Dadi - as one of the most influential people. The protest broke off in the view of the spreading Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown. (Photo: AFP)

1. Anti CAA Protests- The Citizenship Amendment Act came into being in December 2019. Protests against it erupted thereafter with Assam being the focus where protesters linked it with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protesters opposed the CAA for allowing citizenship to immigrants, who came in after 1971. By January, the focus of the anti-CAA protests had shifted to Delhi, particularly at Shaheen Bagh. (Image-AFP)

Farmers’ unions leading the agitation say these laws will ultimately dismantle the MSP system and make the farmers vulnerable to exploitative corporate market forces. The government dismissed their claims but has failed to convince them that the new farm laws are beneficial reforms. As a result, thousands of farmers continue to stay put at Delhi border points. (Photo: AFP)

5. Farmers' Protests- At the other end of the Covid-19-impacted year, Delhi became the theatre of yet another public protest - this time by farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana over the three farm laws brought out first as Ordinance by the government and later enacted by Parliament. (Photo: AFP)

After attacking residents of the university campus for three hours, the mob escaped; none of its members was arrested or detained. All 36 students who were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) were discharged within 24 hours. Eyewitnesses, including students injured in the attack, as well as opposition parties and left-wing organizations, accused the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) student wing, ABVP of orchestrating the attacks. The ABVP, a Hindu nationalist organization, initially denied any involvement and accused left-wing organisations of carrying out the attack. (Image: AFP)

3. JNU Protests: On 5 January 2020, more than 50 masked people armed with rods, sticks, and acid attacked the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and injured more than 39 students and teachers. Many students received serious injuries. Professors who tried to intervene and protect the students, as well as ambulances carrying injured individuals, were attacked. Eyewitnesses stated that police within the campus did not intervene to stop the mob. (Image: AFP)

4. Bengaluru Riots-Riots broke out in Bengaluru on the night of August 11 over a purported inflammatory social media post about Prophet Muhammad by a Congress MLA’s relative. Mobs of hundreds of agitators attacked police stations in DJ Halli and Kadugondanahalli areas of Bengaluru. The residences of Congress MLA R AKhanda Srivinivasa Murthy and his sister were among the targets of the rioters. Large scale arson and violence took place in the city. Four people including three in police firing died during the riots. The riots had triggered fear and panic in the neighbouring areas.

The protesters led the agitation against a provision that made Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan ineligible to acquire citizenship under the CAA. They were required to go through normal routes of acquiring citizenship of India. (Photo: AFP