Delhi Riots 2020: Unmasking the Real Causes Beyond the CAA

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Deep Analysis of Delhi riots 2020

The Delhi riots 2020 of February 2020 claimed at least 53 lives and injured hundreds, erupting in North East Delhi amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)—some of them in the most inhuman manner in the world ever. Mainstream pins it on the CAA, but that’s a dodge. The mainstream narrative pins the violence on the CAA, framing it as a communal reaction to a law perceived by some as discriminatory toward Muslims. Yet, a deeper look reveals the CAA was not the root cause but a convenient trigger exploited by foreign influences, radical elements, and an anti-India agenda. Five years on, as of March 14, 2025, judicial inaction, Canadian ties, and a shifting Hindu identity under BJP leadership expose a broader conspiracy.

The CAA: A Misrepresented Spark

Enacted on December 11, 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) sought to expedite citizenship for non-Muslim minorities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. This wasn’t a random list. In Bangladesh alone, Hindus faced decades of slaughter and displacement: the 1979 Marichjhapi massacre saw thousands of Hindu refugees gunned down or starved by the CPI(M) government (Hindu Infopedia, Part I); post-Partition, 49 lakh Hindus vanished from East Pakistan by 1971 amid pogroms (Part II); and political massacres in 1971 and beyond killed countless more (Part III). From Noakhali in 1946 to Kumirmari in 1983—where Muslim vigilantes torched Hindu homes (Part V)—the pattern is unrelenting, with 26 lakh Hindus displaced since 1990 (Part IV). The CAA was a lifeline for some of these survivors who met a certain criteria, not a Muslim threat. Yet, opposition parties and critics screamed it marginalized Muslims with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), ignoring the facts contained in the text of the Act and availability of a credible legal recourse.

Sonia Gandhi, the tallest leader of Congress Party, lit the fuse at Ramlila Maidan on December 14, 2019, rallying Congress with a ‘now or never’ call against the CAA (The Times of India), setting the stage for protests like Shaheen Bagh, which began the next day, December 15, and fed on narratives of Muslim peril. The riots, erupting February 23-25, 2020, weren’t spontaneous—armed Muslim mobs, targeted Hindu killings, and sudden escalation (Delhi Police FIRs) scream premeditation, not CAA rage. Logic: a humanitarian law was twisted into a scapegoat by opposition-incited violence.

A Foreign Hand: Canada and Beyond

Foreign interference isn’t a whisper—it’s a neon sign, and Canada’s role stands out. Look at the 1985 Air India bombing: Flight 182 exploded June 23, killing 329—mostly Indian-origin Canadians—in the worst pre-9/11 air terror attack. Sikh extremists, led by Talwinder Singh Parmar, bombed it from Vancouver. India warned Canada’s CSIS beforehand (2010 inquiry), but they ignored it, botched it, and let Parmar walk—refusing India’s extradition demands. One weak conviction in 2003; justice died. Canada’s name as a Khalistani safe haven stuck—Hindus paid the price. Now, 2020-2021: farmer protests, part of the same chaos web, received comments from Justin Trudeau on December 1, 2020 (Global News), which India’s MEA on December 4 criticized as interference, with some alleging Canadian support, though without confirmed evidence, also fueled opposition to the farm bills.

Greta Thunberg’s February 2021 tweets (Hindu Infopedia.org – Mahatma Gandhi and Nonviolence and Delhi Riots, 2020) cheered the farmer protests, backing their demands for unlimited groundwater and free power—policies that shred the environmental principles she claims to champion. Some view this as suggestive of an international ‘toolkit,’ with allegations that Greta may have been used to promote anti-India sentiment globally, potentially reflecting a broader conspiracy that some believe could extend beyond Canada or the USA.

Farmer Protests: An Anti-India Facade?

The farmer protests of late 2020-2021 targeted the farm bills—laws crafted to unshackle agriculture from middlemen and boost farmer livelihoods. Yet, the agitation wasn’t about rural woes. Clues point to external puppet masters pulling strings, turning legitimate economic gripes into a weapon against India. Far from a grassroots cry, this was a slick, calculated hit job designed to destabilize, not defend, the nation’s backbone.

Radical Elements and the Shaheen Bagh Blueprint

None of this stumbled into being—it fed on a system primed to choke on restraint, especially the kind Hindus have borne for decades. Across the border in Bangladesh, that patience was a death warrant: in 1979, Marichjhapi’s Hindu refugees were gunned down or starved out by a communist regime; in 1946, Noakhali’s villages were torched to rubble by Muslim mobs—a grim tally of tolerance turned lethal. That same script flickered in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, across 2023 into 2024, where Hindu pleas of assault and land theft under TMC muscle reignited an old wound. India’s power brokers took notes, banking on this endurance to keep the majority muted and the nation unsteady—a dynamic that, since 2014 under BJP leadership, has fueled a Hindu assertion to shed this ‘oppressed’ status, met with backlash from those losing vote-bank leverage. Shaheen Bagh wore a legal halo—courts nodded, politicians cheered—letting radicals strangle Delhi for 101 days. Highways froze, commerce bled, and the city choked, all riding on the bet that Hindus wouldn’t snap. That restraint, rooted in faith and worn thin by history, wasn’t just a weakness to exploit—it was the fuel.

Timing with Trump’s Visit: Coincidence or Design?

The Delhi riots 2020 began February 23, 2020, coinciding with the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose February 24 Ahmedabad speech praising India’s diversity was overshadowed by the bloodshed. This timing suggests an intent to embarrass the Modi government globally, amplifying the anti-CAA narrative and painting India as unstable, a theme that connects to the broader influence of radical elements and judicial responses explored next.

Courts: Silent Enablers?

Judicial passivity amplified the unrest. Shaheen Bagh’s months-long blockade disrupted lakhs of commuters, yet the Supreme Court appointed interlocutors rather than ordering its removal. During the farmer protests, the Court stayed the farm laws but failed to act when farmers skipped SC-called meetings. This leniency—despite thousands suffering and businesses losing hundreds of crores monthly—emboldened agitators, allowing radical elements to operate unchecked. Years later, the failure to convict key riot instigators reinforces perceptions of a judiciary hesitant to confront orchestrated chaos.

The Farm Bills: A Misunderstood Reform

Introduced in 2020, the farm bills aimed to dismantle trade barriers and boost farmer incomes. Yet, opposition parties and protest leaders—some allegedly supported by Canadian funds, though without confirmed evidence—portrayed them as anti-farmer. Farmers, caught in the crossfire, became pawns, their potential prosperity overshadowed by slogans and blockade.

Hindu Assertion Under BJP

Since 2014, the BJP’s rise has empowered Hindus to shed their “oppressed” status under decades of Congress-led minority appeasement. The Delhi riots 2020 and protests reflect a backlash from those losing vote-bank leverage. Radical elements, possibly with external backing, sought to restore the old order through violence. The 2023 Nuh attacks in Haryana (Hindu Infopedia)—a military-style aggression with pre-stocked weapons and coordinated assaults—exemplify this resistance, underscoring the stakes of Hindu assertion under BJP rule.

Legal Status of Delhi Riots 2020 Cases As of March 2025

As of March 14, 2025, over 750 FIRs from the Delhi riots 2020 have seen slow progress: 126 cases decided, with 80% acquittals and only 20 convictions, per Karkardooma Court. High-profile UAPA cases against Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam remain unresolved, with bail denied or delayed. The “Urban-Naxal-Jihadi network” claim, backed by Delhi Riots 2020: Report from Ground Zero and FIRs, lacks court convictions, resting on police assertions rather than judicial proof.

Connecting the Dots

The Delhi riots 2020 were not a reaction to the CAA but a convergence of foreign influence, radical agendas, and domestic power struggles. Canada’s diaspora ties hint at a 2020 role, while USAID’s 2025 controversy suggests broader patterns. Courts enabled chaos, Greta’s hypocrisy unmasked the farmer protests, and Nuh 2023 reflects the backlash to Hindu empowerment. As of March 14, 2025, the full truth remains elusive, but the anti-India agenda behind the violence is undeniable.

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Glossary of Terms Blog

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA): A law enacted by the Indian government in December 2019 aimed at providing expedited citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, excluding Muslims from these countries.
Shaheen Bagh: A locality in Delhi, India, where a prolonged sit-in protest against the CAA took place from December 2019 to March 2020. The area became a symbolic center for anti-CAA demonstrations.
FIRs (First Information Reports): Official documents prepared by police in India to register an offense or complaint, marking the initiation of an investigation.
Umar Khalid: An activist and former student leader from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, often associated with left-wing activism. He was one of the accused in cases related to the Delhi riots of 2020.
Sharjeel Imam: A research scholar from Jawaharlal Nehru University who came into the limelight for his involvement in the CAA protests and was later arrested under charges related to the Delhi riots.
Marichjhapi Massacre: An incident in 1979 in West Bengal, India, where a large number of Bengali Hindu refugees who had settled in Marichjhapi were forcibly evicted and allegedly killed by the state police.
Noakhali Pogrom: A series of massacres, rapes, abductions, and forced conversions of Hindus to Islam, and looting and arson of Hindu properties, organized by the Muslim League and carried out by local Muslims in the districts of Noakhali in the Bengal province of British India in 1946.
UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act): An Indian law aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. It is often invoked in cases of terrorism and national security.
Karkardooma Court: A district court in Delhi, India, where many cases, including those related to the Delhi riots, are adjudicated.
National Register of Citizens (NRC): A register maintained by the Government of India to document all the legal citizens of India. Its purpose is to identify illegal migrants residing in India.
Hindu-Muslim Riots: Communal clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities, often characterized by violence and significant casualties and damage.
Greta Thunberg: A Swedish environmental activist known globally for her straightforward speaking manner in which she addresses world leaders and her activism to combat climate change.
Toolkit: Refers to a collection of materials, resources, or information structured to help organize a social, political, or informational campaign. In this context, it relates to a document shared by Greta Thunberg on social media supporting the farmer protests in India.
Justin Trudeau: The Prime Minister of Canada, mentioned in the context of alleged foreign interference in Indian domestic issues, specifically referencing his comments on India’s farmer protests.

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