2021 has been a tumultuous year. With the pandemic raging, a country of 1.3 billion people rushing to get vaccinated and anti-India elements spreading terrorism, fake news, propaganda and Islamists, Khalistanis running rampage and holding the state hostage. OpIndia, on its part, tried to document as much as we could to ensure that our readers have the information that they deserve.
As we bid adieu to 2021, here is a list of the top 10 most read articles on OpIndia.
1. Rajasthan: Nafisa Atari, teacher who celebrated Pakistan’s victory against India in T20 World Cup, gets terminated
2021 was the year when India played miserably against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. After India lost to Pakistan, there were several elements who feverishly celebrated India’s loss to Pakistan. Pakistan went as far as to say that it was a victory of Islam, thereby terming India as a “Kafir” nation.
The most read article on OpIndia in 2020 was about Nafisa Atari, a teacher who celebrated Pakistan’s victory against India.
On October 25, a WhatsApp post of a teacher identified as Nafisa Atari, a teacher of Neerja Modi School, Udaipur, Rajasthan, started to get viral on social media platforms. In the post, Atari had shared an image of Pakistani players with the text, “Jeet gaye, we won”. Nafisa was heavily criticized for the post. The netizens questioned what she might be teaching in her class if she was openly supporting Pakistan.
After this, Nafisa was terminated from services. The notice in Hindi read, “Nafisa Atari, a teacher at Neerja Modi School, has been terminated from the school with immediate effect during the meeting of Sojatia Charitable Trust.” The trust runs the Neerja Modi School. The notice did not mention the reason for termination.
2. As daughter of first Indonesian president converts to Hinduism, read how a Hindu priest had prophesised that glory of Hinduism will return to the country
Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the first President of Indonesia, converted to Hinduism from Islam. She embraced Hinduism in a formal ceremony held on October 26th.
The conversion ceremony ‘Sudhi Wadani’ was conducted at the Bali Agung Singaraja at the Buleleng Regency in Singaraja city of Bali, the ancestral land of the family. Bali Agung Singaraja is a monument to her late father Sukarno, built near the home of her grandmother in North Bali.
Her decision to convert to Hinduism was influenced by her grandmother Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai Srimben, who hailed from Bali. Sukmawati Sukarnoputri is the founder of the Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia-PNI).
On OpIndia, the report on her conversion and a report on an ancient prophesy comes in as the #2 most read in 2021.
Sabdapalon was a mystic priest in the Court of King Brawijaya V of the Majapahit Empire, the most powerful empire of Indonesia. When the kingdom fell to Islamic influences and Brawijaya V converted to Islam in 1478, Sabdapalon cursed the King. He vowed to return after 500 years at the time of natural disaster and political corruption. The mystic priest predicted to free the archipelago from the clutches of Islam and restore the glory of the Hindu Javanese religion. You can read the article about the return to Indonesia to Hinduism by clicking on the image above.
3. #PoopyPantsBiden trends on social media after rumours emerge of Joe Biden suffering a ‘bathroom accident’ at the Vatican
On the 31st of October 2021, #PoopyPantsBiden was trending on Twitter. The article explaining why that hashtag was trending became the 3rd most read article on OpIndia in 2021.
#PoopyPantsBiden was trending on social media after former Nevada Republican Party Chairman Amy Tarkanian claimed that there are rumours floating in Rome that US President Joe Biden had a “bathroom accident” during his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
4. Meet Kashmiri educator Sabbah Haji, who does not think of herself Indian and picked up idea of ‘azaadi’ at 8
Kashmiri educator Sabbah Haji has been released on bail after she was arrested for referring to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat as ‘war criminal’ in an Instagram post. OpIndia profiled the teacher who had celebrated the death of General Bipin Rawat.
“I am now 28. Even today, each time I have to fill a form asking for my ‘nationality’, I hesitate before eventually writing ‘Indian’. That’s about 20 years of hesitating over the same point, because yes, even at 8, I knew something was rotten in the State of Jammu and Kashmir,” she had said in the 2010 article stating that young children pick up resentment against India from their family members. “No one in Kashmir drills their children with ‘Azaadi’ mantras and anti-establishment behaviour. Somewhere between infancy and childhood, I had picked up unwittingly on what most of my family and people felt. Just like that, it was part of me,” she had said.
5. Prashant Kishor reveals he had almost joined Congress party, says entire leadership responsible for losing 90% elections in 10 years
Election strategist Prashant Kishor appeared on the cover of the India Today magazine, which carried an exclusive interview of him. During the interview, Kishor revealed that when he was working with the Congress party, he was so close its affairs that he had almost joined the party.
A report on this became the 5th most read article on OpIndia in the year 2021.
Prashant Kishor had said that he has been in talks with the Congress leadership for the past two years but, post the Bengal election, it was a much more structured, intensive engagement. He said that he had almost joined the party, but didn’t as he realized that coming together would be counterproductive for both sides due to some issues. However, he didn’t mention the issues that stopped him from joining the Congress party.
He revealed while replying to the claim that he is attacking the party because he was supposed to advise the party on strategy and it didn’t work out. He said that nobody can advise the Gandhis or the Congress leadership on their own. Kishor said that the party asked him and he told them what he thought was right.
6. Viral rape video: Victim was trafficked by Bangladeshi TikTok ‘star’, all accused arrested in Bengaluru. Details
In May 2021, a viral video clip of a gang rape incident began doing the rounds on the internet on Wednesday (May 26). In the video footage, four men and a woman were seen brutally assaulting a victim and sexually torturing her.
Initially, many social media handles had claimed that the victim in the video is the 25-year-old Nagaland girl Lovi Sumi, who had recently committed suicide in Jodhpur where she worked. However, police officials verified the identity with the family members of the deceased woman and confirmed that the woman in the viral video is not the Nagaland girl but a different woman and the culprits were Bangladeshis.
7. ‘You may be strip searched’: Pakistani cricketer shares boarding pass for USA flight with ‘SSSS’ stamped on it. Read what it means
Pakistani cricketer Umar Akmal took to Twitter in October 2021 to share pictures of himself and his boarding pass of his flight to the United States. Akmal said he is travelling to the United States for some personal meetings and urged his supporters to pray for his success.
Soon after he posted the picture of the boarding pass on Twitter, a social media user noticed Akmal’s boarding pass had “SSSS” printed on them. “You have been marked for extra screening on arrival and you gotta be there for a couple of hours at least—hope that went well,” the user tweeted. You can click on the image above to read the article explaining “SSSS”.
8. After cutting off ties with British Royal family, Meghan Markle to join the BJP
After Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, OpIndia published a satire piece about Markle joining BJP.
9. New York based band ‘Brass Against’ issues apology after lead singer urinated on a fan’s face during performance
A New York based band Brass Against was forced to apologise after its lead singer urinated on the face of a fan at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Florida on the 11th of November.
In an apology on social media, the band said that lead singer Urista got ‘carried away’ and it wasn’t something their fans would see again at their shows. The band also said that what happened was “profoundly unexpected”.
10. When Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam explained why Indian Muslims have always celebrated Pakistan’s cricket match win against India
Following the defeat of India to Pakistan in the group stage match of the T20 World Cup 2021, an old Facebook post of riot accused and radical Islamist Sharjeel Imam surfaced on social media.
In a Facebook post dated June 17, 2017, Imam had confessed, “Several youngsters of our community have been celebrating the victory of Pakistan in the cricket match. When social media was not in existence, we would celebrate at our house or in our neighbourhood. On numerous occasions during childhood, I have participated in such celebrations.”
Hope you enjoyed reading the top 10 articles and we hope you, our readers, would continue to support us in 2022.
