Swarajya’s 10 Most Read Articles Of The Year

Year 2016 saw several interesting developments occur in the world of politics, economy and culture. Swarajya sought at every turn to add to the discourse and shine the spotlight on points of view that perhaps would not receive as much attention as they deserve.

Among all the articles that we published this year, some seemed to connect with our readers more and receive greater love than the others. It’s only apt, then, that as we approach the end of the year, we compile them into a single list so that readers, old and new alike, can revisit them and hopefully find a new perspective on familiar subjects.

So, here is the Swarajya Top Ten, ranked from 10 to 1 in terms of the number of unique visitors the articles drew this year.

10) Recall Bhopal Tragedy To Know Real Teresa

When her reaction to the gas tragedy was sought, Mother Teresa projected it as a consequence of sin and said the affected must seek forgiveness. Then she deflected the issue to abortion, a pet subject of the Church.

9) How Narasimha Rao Was Humiliated In Death

Sonia Gandhi didn't allow Rao's body to be cremated in Delhi.

Manmohan Singh promised his family a memorial in the national capital. But it was built only last year.

Rao's dead body wasn't even allowed into the Congress party's headquarters.

8) Why Indian Real Estate Will See A Crash, Or At Least A Long Period Of Stagnation

Real estate in India is overpriced, while rental yields are too low to make sense as a good enough investment.

If the property market were to function as efficiently as the stock market, real estate prices should crash, but the market is rigged.

The fundamental reason why property prices have to fall is because they are no longer affordable to the vast majority of Indian middle class households.

7) Sexist Attacks Against Smriti Irani - Media Plumbs New Depths

The jokes on Smriti being handed textiles ministry, misunderstanding it for a ministry of ‘texting’, or the beti being given a sewing machine instead of education, have come from even the most feminist of women, all with unbridled glee at seeing a woman fail.

The cherry-picking of a women to be slammed in a manner that is degrading and humiliating of the person, and not their work, must rankle anyone.

6) Congratulations Kanhaiya Kumar On Your Speech , But Here’s What You Should Know

It is an irony that Kanhaiya is so passionately finding fault with the very system that removed him from a Rs. 3000 per month house-hold, brought him to Delhi, and gave him Rs. 6000 stipend for his research, and allowed him to make his “powerful” speech live on TV!

5) The Real UPA Scam Was In Messing Up The Banks

Quiz: Where did the UPA do the maximum damage? (a) 2G scam; (b) Coalgate; (c) CWG scam; (d) Banking sector scam(s).

It’s (d) the banking sector near-scam, where cronies got crores of loans from nationalised banks for dubious projects which have now gone bad and are staining banks’ balance-sheets with red ink.

4) What If The British Had Never Ruled India?

The British established a ruinous tradition of governance that the Congress loyally continued for nearly 60 years. This style of governance is now deeply entrenched.

If the British had not come and occupied India, we could quite possibly have been where Japan is today.

3) How Subramanian Swamy Has Changed The Game In The Rajya Sabha

Swamy has established one fact: that Sonia Gandhi is not beyond reproach.

2) Deepawali: Selective Shaming Of Hindu Festivals Must Stop

Criticising Hindu festivals has become the new ‘liberal’ sport in India. Stop this tyranny and reclaim your festivals.

1) Here’s What These 5 Ex-RBI Governors Have To Say About Modi’s Demonetisation Drive

Read what YV Reddy, Bimal Jalan, C. Rangarajan, D. Subbarao and Raghuram Rajan have to say about demonetisation.