New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an 82-year-old woman who became the face of the Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi, and actor Ayshmann Khurrana are among TIME magazine’s 100 “Most Influential People. 2020 “.
The annual list features pioneers, artists, titans, leaders and icons of those “who have had the biggest impact this year.”
While PM Modi appears in the “Leaders” category, Bilkis, also known as “Dadi of Shaheen Bagh “has been included in” Icons “.
The Prime Minister, who turned 70 this year, last appeared on TIME magazine’s annual list in 2017.
Shaheen Bagh of Delhi became the center of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA when hundreds of people, mostly women, braved the Delhi winter for more than 100 days and sat on the road in protest .
Bilkis is among those best known as the ‘Dadis (Grandmothers) of Shaheen Bagh’ and had led the protests from the front, stripping herself of the comfort of their homes. The elderly women were granted a prominent space in the front row each day of the protests.
Bilkis’s profile on TIME magazine’s list, written by journalist and writer Rana Ayyub, says that she “became the voice of the marginalized in India.”
“With prayer beads in one hand and the national flag in the other, Bilkis became the voice of the marginalized in India, an 82-year-old man who sat in a place of protest from 8 am to midnight,” He says.
“Look at the protest where we are. It is not that only Muslims are protesting. Come and see how many people are distributing food.
They are of all religions. Someone is giving us bananas, some are giving us juice and cookies, “Bilkis told NDTV in January.
Others featured on the magazine’s list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, US President Donald Trump, Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Professor Ravindra Gupta.
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