NEW DELHI: Exactly a year ago, a 14-hour-long Janata Curfew was imposed in the wake of rising coronavirus cases in the country. The curfew would pave the way for a 21-day nationwide lockdown that would be extended till May 31, 2020.
Here is a look back at some of the events that took place a year ago.
PM Narendra Modi announces Janata Curfew, says gear up for long battle

At 5 pm on March 22, 2020, all citizens stood on their doorways, balconies or windows, and clap their hands or ring their bells in appreciation for the professionals delivering these essential services.

At the end of the Janata Curfew, PM Narendra Modi served notice of a lengthy battle against Covid-19 and more measures to contain and isolate its spread when he thanked people for responding to his call to observe a ‘Janata curfew’ and signal empathy with frontline workers by clapping, ringing bells or banging ‘thalis’ for five minutes at 5 pm on Sunday. He emphasised his call for social distancing and stay-at-home advice through multiple tweets as he urged people not to start celebrating the end of ‘Janata curfew’ and instead asked them to gear up for a long battle that could only be won if people stayed united and committed.

Modi tweeted, “Today’s Janata curfew may get over at 9 pm but that doesn’t mean we should start celebrating. Do not consider it a success. This is the beginning of a long fight. Today, countrymen have declared that we are capable, if we decide, we can beat the biggest challenge together.”
Before the imposition of Janata Curfew, there were 13 states and Union territories where coronavirus pandemic was yet to spread. In the coming months, the virus would spread as far away as Andaman and Nicobar Islands, killing over 1,59,000 people.