2018 has been an extremely fruitful year for us at OpIndia. It has been a year of growth and prospects. It has been a year where we bettered our own performance and continued to get undying support from the ones who matter: our readers.
These are the top 10 articles that you helped go viral and made them the most read this year. You can click on the preview images or the link below the images to read the respective articles:
1. To the angry middle class, read it before you press NOTA, or worse, choose Congress
After the budget presented by the Modi government in 2018 February, several people were rather angry about this government’s decision to not give a massive income tax holiday to the middle-class. The narrative that this government does paltry little for the middle-class of the country was gaining traction even among supporters of BJP. This article by @SoulInExile listed the steps taken by the Modi government that benefit the middle-class and asked people to not fall for the prevalent narrative and press NOTA.
This massively viral article becomes our most-read article of 2018. Click here to read this article.
2. With 1500 squatters kicked out from Lutyens bungalows, it might explain why its always Modi vs All
The second most-read article of 2018, was a commentary by Abhishek Banerjee on how the Modi government has asked 1500 Lutyens’ squatters to vacate their houses. It also commented upon how, this might explain why politically, it has always been a Modi vs All since this government has withdrawn the favours that the previous Congress government did for many such influencers.
The article, that comes at the second spot can be read here.
3. I am a Muslim, and I am not a victim
4. Dear Twinkle Khanna, I love you, but you are so, so wrong
5. Koregaon battle: Lessons in unity
They had written:
Koregaon was NOT a battle between Dalits and “Upper Castes”. The British did NOT win in this battle. More importantly, we will show that this “Dalits against non-Dalits” narrative, where only the former are oppressed, and only the latter are oppressors, is the most misleading misconception perpetuated over the years to paint Hinduism as a proponent of segregation.
The full article, that features as the 5th most read article of 2018, can be read here.
6. Dear Swara, at the end of your rant, I felt you should rise above your Vagina – perhaps
After the release of the movie Padmaavat, Swara Bhaskar felt “reduced to a vagina” because Rani Padmaavat chose to commit Jauhar rather than succumb to a sex maniac Khilji who wanted to enslave her. Nirwa Mehta had written an article that Swara should perhaps rise above her vagina when evaluating such issues.
You can read the full article here.
7. Imam Tawhidi speaks to OpIndia on Islam, India, Narendra Modi, and more
When one thinks of Muslim clerics or ‘Imams’, usually an image of someone old with obscurantist ideas and moustache-less beard gets formed in our minds, thanks to the kind of clerics we usually see outraging on different issues in the media. But Imam Tawhidi is different. He is just 35 years old, sports a moustache and trimmed beard, has a calm demeanour, supports progressive ideas, and calls himself “The Imam of Peace”.
He spoke to OpIndia about India, Narendra Modi, Pakistan and more. Read the full interview here.
8. Here is why BJP lost elections, and of course, it was deliberate
This article, which is ranked at number 8 created quite the furore. Twitter, which has lost its sense of humour, ended up taking a political satire seriously. In this article, Nupur J Sharma wrote about how the BJP’s loss in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh was deliberate.
You can read the full article here.
9. Chidambaram signed order to benefit 13 companies including Mehul Choksi on 16th May 2014, the day Congress lost
The Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi financial scam shook the country this year. OpIndia covered a story that blew the lid off the scam and traced it back to Congress’ doorsteps. Right before vacating office, P Chidambaram signed an order on 16th May 2014 that benefited 13 companies including Choksi’s company that facilitated the scam.
The details of this story can be read here.
10. Illegal bungalows: Did you know of Arundhati Roy’s bungalow on illegally grabbed forest land?
A fantastic article by Abhishek Banerjee which spoke about Arundhati Roy and her husband squatting in a bungalow that was built on illegally grabbed forest land.
Abhishek wrote:
The last I know of this long battle begun in 1999 is that the local court declared the bungalow illegal in 2010, upholding a decision of an earlier Revenue Court. An appeal was filed with the Hoshangabad Divisional Commissioner, which was also dismissed in 2011. But our activists are determined not to let go. They had filed a petition with the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2003 itself.
I wish Ms Roy and Mr Kishen the very best of luck in the High Court. May you get justice.
And with that, Team Opindia wishes you all a happy, prosperous, opinionated and media-lies-free (sorry for the joke) 2019! We hope you enjoyed reading our articles as much as enjoyed publishing these gems for you!
