Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee, Adar Poonawala in Time Magazine’s list

Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee, Adar Poonawala in Time Magazine's list

Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee, Adar Poonawala in Time Magazine’s list. Image Courtesy – India Today

Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2021 includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee, Adar Poonawala. The internationally acclaimed magazine featured two of the top political figures known to be arch-rivals in current Indian politics.

Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2021 is considered to be one of the most powerful and trustworthy lists in the world. Each and every entry there is carefully chosen by the editors of the magazine for their extraordinary work in the following year. So, appearing a person’s name on the list is considered an honour for the respective personality.

Keeping the eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Trinamool leader has become a face of anti-BJP and anti-Modi in national politics. She is trying to unite all the political parties against the saffron brigade.

Along with these two political leaders, Adar Poonawala, CEO of Serum Institute of India, the maker of Covishield Vaccine, is also on the list of Time’s 100 most influential people.

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The Time Magazine published a list on Wednesday of ‘The 100 Most Influential People of 2021’ – this is a global list of leaders. This list includes US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan.

What Time Magazine says on Narendra Modi?

Writing a profile of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of Time Magazine, Farid Zakaria, a well-known CNN journalist, said that India has had three great leaders in its 64-year history since independence. They are Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi is the third person to influence the politics of the country after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

However, criticizing Narendra Modi, Zakaria alleged that Prime Minister Modi has pushed the country away from the path of secularism and towards Hindu nationalism. Many people assumed that Modi would move India from its past socialist era into a capitalist future. Two international think tanks stated their assessment this year that under the ruling of Narendra Modi, India has diverged away from democracy to electoral autocracy. The 69-year-old leader denounced the rights of India’s Muslim minority, threatened journalists, and imprisoned them also.

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What Time Magazine says on Mamata Banerjee?

Barkha Dutt wrote on Mamata Banerjee that she stood like a fort against Narendra Modi who seemed invincible. She stood strong and retained her role of the Chief Minister of West Bengal in the assembly elections despite the money and muscle power of the ruling BJP government. She has presented a ‘face of fierceness in Indian politics’.

Unlike many other women politicians in Indian politics, Mamata Banerjee has never been identified as someone’s daughter, wife, mother, or partner. She entered into politics from the level of acute poverty. 

The Time Magazine also stated that it was said about the 66-year old leader – she does not lead her party Trinamool Congress, in fact, she is the party. The street-fighter spirit and self-made life in a patriarchal society set her apart. If any coalition of the anti-BJP forces were to come together against Narendra Modi, Mamata could be the pivot role in Indian politics.

What Time Magazine says on Adar Poonawala?

In the case of Adar Poonawala, the 40-year-old chief of the world’s largest vaccine maker has emerged as a savior in the major crisis period since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The epidemic is not yet over. But, Poonawala can still help bring it to an end. Vaccine inequality strongly prevails in the world. Delays in vaccine delivery in some parts of the world could have serious consequences worldwide. A more dangerous variant of the virus may stand out.

This list of Time Magazine is divided into 6 major categories – Pioneer, Artist, Leader, Icon, Titan, and Innovator. Each of the categories represents a list of personalities from all over the world.

Shalini Gupta

About Shalini Gupta

Shalini Gupta is a teacher at New Delhi with multifarious talents. She has passion for reading, writing, drawing, sketching etc. simultaneously with her teaching job. presently she is writing for Bigumbrella.

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