One of the nicest things about 2020 — and this is going to be a shortlist for everyone on Earth, given what we have been through so far — is how young Indians stood up and made their presence felt at the start of this year. I remember being moved, like millions of others like me, at the sight of teenagers crowding public places, placards in hands, standing up without fear to what they believed was inhuman behaviour by an uncaring government. It was an act of unqualified bravery that faded from our consciousness all too quickly after a virus took its place.

Those teenagers came to mind again this month, when the President of the United States was reportedly conned into thinking he was more popular than he really is.