Other International names US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan, and Former US President Donald Trump.
Mumbai : A list of most influential people of TIME Magazine includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Serum Institute of India’s CEO, Adar Poonawalla also made it into the list.
While listing Modi, TIME also mentioned him as the third pivotal leader of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who “dominated the country’s politics like no one since them.”
TIME also didn’t shy away from alleging that PM Modi has pushed the country away from secularism and toward Hindu nationalism, “In addition to eroding the rights of India’s Muslim minority, Modi’s government has imprisoned and intimidated journalists who shine a light on its abuses and has passed laws crippling India’s thousands of NGOs and advocacy groups,” read the article.
TIME noted that despite “mishandling COVID-19—the death toll PM Modi has been estimated to be much higher than the official count—his approval rating has slipped to a still sky-high 71 percent.”
On Banerjee’s profile for the 100 most influential list, TIME wrote that the 66-year-old leader “has become the face of fierceness in Indian politics.”
“Of Banerjee, it is said, she doesn’t lead her party, the Trinamool Congress – she is the party. The street-fighter spirit and self-made life in a patriarchal culture set her apart,” her profile read.
Other International names US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan, and Former US President Donald Trump.
While all these names were excepted, an unexpected name that made into the list was of Taliban’s deputy prime minister and newly announced caretaker government and the top figure in the Doha deal Mullah Baradar.
Baradar led the Taliban into negotiations with the US during the peace deal. He is said to be a privy person who doesn’t make vigilant statements in media. He represents a more moderate current within the Taliban.
In February 2020, when the US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad officially signed the peace deal in Doha, Baradar was the chief face of the Taliban.
Recently, as the Taliban gained power in Afghanistan, it was on the terms Baradar negotiated. He was said to be making all the major decisions, including the amnesty offered to members of the former regime, the lack of bloodshed when the Taliban entered Kabul and the regime’s contacts and visits with neighbouring states, especially China and Pakistan, TIME magazine said.
Despite being the co-founder of the government of the Taliban and having played the top role in US peace negotiations Baradar is said to be given a lower position than what he deserves.
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