The 10 most read articles of The Hindu online in 2024

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. The Madras High Court asked why he was encouraging other women to be hermitesses when his own daughter was married
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

A cursory look at the most-read stories on The Hindu reflects readers’ diverse interests, offering a window into India’s defining moments of 2024. From ISRO’s satellite imagery of natural disasters to Cabinet formations, from celebrity news to compelling fraud prevention stories, these headlines shaped public discourse throughout the year.

Here are the top 10 most visited stories from The Hindu in 2024, in descending order of views they garnered:

Actor Alia Bhatt adds Kapoor surname to her name

Bollywood actors and couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt during the birth centenary celebration event of late legendary actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, in Mumbai.

Bollywood actors and couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt during the birth centenary celebration event of late legendary actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Bollywood star Alia Bhatt officially changed her name, two years after her marriage to actor Ranbir Kapoor. In the trailer of the show The Great Indian Kapil Show season 2, she is introduced as Alia Bhatt Kapoor. Alia married Ranbir in 2022 and the couple has a daughter, Raha.

Narendra Modi 3.0 | Who’s who in the Council of Ministers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, and others during the screening of the film ‘The Sabarmati Report’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, and others during the screening of the film ‘The Sabarmati Report’
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was administered the oath of office on June 9 after the Lok Sabha polls. BJP President J.P. Nadda and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan joined the likes of Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah in the Cabinet.

ISRO releases satellite before and after images of landslide at Chooralmala in Wayanad district of Kerala

An image released by NRSC of ISRO shows the landslide impact map of Chooralmala, in Wayanad district of Kerala. Chooralmala was hit by a landslip on July 30, 2024.

An image released by NRSC of ISRO shows the landslide impact map of Chooralmala, in Wayanad district of Kerala. Chooralmala was hit by a landslip on July 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
NRSC

ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) released high-resolution images taken by the space agency’s satellites which reveal the extensive damage caused by the July 30 landslip in Wayanad, Kerala. The NRSC released images of Chooralmala that were taken before and after disaster struck. The images showed that about 86,000 square metres of land had slipped out of place.

YSRCP has 15 MPs, Jagan Mohan Reddy reminds BJP

File picture of YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy

File picture of YSR Congress Party President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
| Photo Credit:
ANI

On June 15, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted that his party would extend issue-based support to the newly elected National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the Centre, keeping the State and nation’s interests in mind. In the same breath, he reminded the NDA that his party still had 15 MPs in Parliament. Mr. Reddy’s assertion assumes significance as his party lost to the TDP in Andhra Pradesh. At the Centre, the TDP is a key ally of the BJP, without it the safforn party may lose majority in the lower house.

Senior citizen visits SBI to transfer ₹30 lakhs for ‘wife’s treatment’; Staff saves him from losing money to scammers

Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi

Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi

Staff at the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Lothukunta branch in Hyderabad on November 28 foiled a bid by digital scammers to cheat a 78-year-old doctor of ₹30 lakh. The branch manager realised something was amiss when the customer was getting frequent calls on his mobile from the fraudsters asking him to speed up the process of transferring the money to them. The intervention of the branch staff helped against the senior citizen falling victim and losing money, SBI later said.

PM’s stay in Mysuru: Hotel threatens legal action for non-settlement of bills of over ₹80 lakh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his entourage stayed at Radisson Blu Plaza during his visit to Mysuru in April 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his entourage stayed at Radisson Blu Plaza during his visit to Mysuru in April 2023.
| Photo Credit:
M.A. Sriram

The hotel where Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed during his visit to Mysuru in April 2023 threatened legal action May 24 for non-settlement of bills amounting to ₹80.6 lakh. Mr. Modi had visited Mysuru to inaugurate 50 years of Project Tiger event which was organised by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF).

NASA decides to keep astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule

File picture of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore

File picture of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore
| Photo Credit:
AP

NASA decided on August 24, 2024, it was too risky to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams back to Earth in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, and they would have to wait until 2025 for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been a weeklong test flight in June 2024 for the pair will now last more than eight months up to February 2025.

Nitish, Naidu may dump NDA, help INDIA bloc form govt: RJD

Narendra Modi with TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar

Narendra Modi with TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The RJD on June 4, which was the election counting day, expressed confidence in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu “sharing a dislike for vendetta politics” which could lead them away from the BJP-led NDA. The prediction though did not come true as the two leaders played a pivotal role in the BJP’s return to power.

Why planes don’t fly over the Tibetan Plateau

Tibetans are seen near the Kharola glacier some 200km (125 miles) west to Lhasa Tibet Autonomous Region

Tibetans are seen near the Kharola glacier some 200km (125 miles) west to Lhasa Tibet Autonomous Region
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

The Tibetan Plateau, often dubbed the “Roof of the World,” is a colossal expanse of land that towers over much of Asia. Its average altitude of over 4,500 metres (14,764 feet) is enough to make even the most seasoned mountaineer gasp. But what about aeroplanes? Why do these magnificent machines, capable of soaring through the clouds, avoid this imposing landmass?

When Sadhguru’s daughter is married, why is he encouraging other women to be hermitesses, ask Madras HC judges

File picture of the 112-feet iconic statue of Adiyogi Lord Shiva at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore

File picture of the 112-feet iconic statue of Adiyogi Lord Shiva at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Justices S.M. Subramaniam and V. Sivagnanam of the Madras High Court asked why Jaggi Vasudev, alias Sadhguru, of Isha Foundation was encouraging young women to tonsure their heads, renounce worldly life, and live like hermits at his yoga centres but got his daughter married and ensured she was well-settled in life. The judges raised the question on September 30 during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition in which the petitioner had claimed that two of his well-educated daughters had been “brainwashed” to reside at the Isha Yoga Centre permanently.