2023 has been yet another year where OpIndia documented the biggest stories from across India. From Hindus being persecuted by Islamists to the strife in Manipur, OpIndia carefully documented several important events. From cases of Grooming Jihad (Love Jihad), to Hindu religious processions coming under attack, the propaganda against Hindus and their faith, the denial of their plight and even the Israel-Hamas war, OpIndia tried its best to bring to its readers the information they deserved to have.
As we bid adieu to 2023, here is a list of the top 10 most-read articles on OpIndia.
Manipur viral video shows women paraded naked, gang rape and murder reported, May 4 incident triggers shock and outrage: CM informs first arrest made
The most read report of 2022 was one where we documented the horrific incident of a woman being paraded naked in strife torn Manipur.
On July 19 horrifying visuals of two women being stripped naked and paraded naked surfaced from Manipur. The incident was from May 4, a day after the violence in the North Eastern state started. The visuals show two women being paraded naked while a group of men around them heckled them on, and then being dragged into a paddy field. It has been reported that the two victims were then gang-raped. The indigenous tribal leader’s forum condemned the incident and stated that the victims were from the Kuki community while the assailants were from the Meitei community.
While the incident was from May 4th, the complaint was filed only on the June 21st. There after, arrests were made by the state government.
Gujarat: Ashish Goswami of Jetpur who converted to Islam to marry a Bangladeshi Muslim girl does a Ghar Wapasi, returns to Hinduism
The second most read report on OpIndia in 2023 was one of a Hindu man called Ashish Goswami who had converted to Islam to marry a Bangladeshi woman he met on Instagram. The report detailed how he had converted to Islam and then later, done a ghar-wapsi and reconverted to Hinduism.
Ashish Goswami converted to Islam for a Bangladeshi woman he met on Instagram. He had also been brainwashed by the videos of Zakir Naik. The news of his conversion to Islam in Jetpur swiftly gained widespread attention. The individual in question, Ashish Goswami, had assumed the name Sheikh Mohammad Alsami. The situation escalated when Ashish, accompanied by two Muslim companions, caused a commotion upon arriving at the Jetpur government hospital for circumcision. Eventually, the matter was brought to the attention of the local police station triggering further investigation.
Determined to rescue the Hindu youth from the clutches of conversion, Kanhaiyanand Maharaj, the revered leader of the local Hindu Dharma Sena and mahant of the Narasimha temple in Jetpur, wasted no time. In a show of solidarity, he assembled a substantial group of Hindu youths and personally visited the young man’s residence at night. After a long conversation, Ashish realised his error and reverted to Hinduism.
Israel: Dead woman paraded naked and spit on by Hamas terrorists identified as German tourist, mother pleads for help
2023 saw the brutal terror attack against Israel where thousands of Hamas terrorists and Palestinians descended upon Israel to rape and kill innocent civilians. A horrifying visual went viral from the brutal October 7th assault where a woman was seen being taken in a truck by Palestinian terrorists, naked.
The terrorists could be heard shouting the Islamic slogan ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ in these gruesome videos of the incident. In some videos that surfaced on social media, a murderous crowd of Hamas terrorists could be seen surrounding the vehicle, chanting slogans and spitting on the woman’s body.
Hamas initially claimed that the lifeless body was of a female Israeli soldier. However, it was later ascertained that the woman being paraded in that video was a German tourist named Shani Louk.
‘Hinduism shall not be preached here’: Holy Family Convent School in Bareilly cuts Rakhis tied on wrists of Hindu students, apologises later
A case emerged from Holy Family Convent School, a private school in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh where Hindu students were prevented from celebrating Raksha Bandhan and the Rakhis tied to the wrists of Hindu students were cut saying Hinduphobic things like ‘Hinduism shall not be preached here’.
The parents of the students and members of various Hindu organisations visited the school and protested this act by the school after which the school furnished a written apology.
The incident took place at Holy Family Convent School on Bhamora Road in Aonla police station area of Bareilly. Here the students reached the school wearing Rakhi on their wrists. Some students also tied Rakhi to each other in the school. At that time, a teacher removed Rakhi and Kalava from the hands of the students. Seeing the students tying Rakhi, the teacher there became furious. The teacher scolded the students saying that ‘Hinduism shall not be preached here’ and the Hindu students who had Rakhi and Kalava in their hands were targetted. Their Rakhis and Kalavas were cut with scissors.
Upon getting information about the incident, the parents of the children and members of Hindu organisations including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and ABVP reached the school and held a protest. When informed about the situation, the police arrived at the school, and subsequently, the school management extended an apology to the Hindu parents.
Maharashtra: Illegal memorial of Tipu Sultan built by AIMIM MLA in Dhule bulldozed after local Hindus filed a complaint
On 8th June 2023, an illegal memorial of Tipu Sultan built in a square in Dhule was bulldozed by the local municipal corporation after local Hindus raised a complaint against it.
This Tipu Sultan memorial was built right in the middle of the 100-feet wide road by the local All India Majlis e Ittihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Dr Farooq Anwar Shah to appease the Muslims who are a majority in the nearby Vadjai Road area.
Pakistani opener Imam-ul-Haq blames diet for lack of big hits from the Pakistan team, says ‘need proteins, not carbs to hit sixes’
World Cup 2023 was a massive disappointment for Pakistan. Pakistani opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq tried to explain the lack of big hits from the openers and put the blame on the diet.
“Maybe we want to eat more proteins and not that much carbs, but it is just that this is not something we want to talk about. It is just we really do not feel it if we are not hitting six or not hitting four, it is just that what are we doing for the team? And if we are winning matches – unfortunately last two matches we did not play well and we accept it, but it is just that we still have five matches then we will go to the semi-final but it is just how you play how you prepare and that is really matters,” Imam said.
Former Indian Express journalist Irena Akbar floats conspiracy theory, claims that deceased Shani Louk wore bikini and was not stripped by Hamas terrorists
A day after Hamas terrorists stripped a German woman and paraded her dead body on a pickup truck, former Indian Express ‘journalist‘ Irena Akbar came out in defence of the terrorists.
In a tweet, she wrote, “The woman, whose body was being taken in a pick-up truck, has been identified as Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen who was reportedly attending a music festival. First, this is NOT an etiquette of war in Islam to attack women, and hence this is condemnable.”
The ex-scribe put out a token condemnation over the death of Louk only because ‘attacking women during war’ is supposedly against the tenets of Islam. Then, she proceeded to suggest that the victim was not stripped as she was not ‘fully naked.’
“The woman is not fully naked, as parts of her upper & lower body are covered. If you check the Instagram account of Shani Louk (@shanukkk), you would see pictures she posted of herself wearing bikins or other skin-exposing outfits,” Irena Akbar brazened it out.
She claimed that the victim could have been ‘partially naked’ at the time of her killing and not necessarily stripped by Hamas terrorists. “It could be possible that when she was killed, she was wearing a bikini or other skin-exposing garment,” the former Indian Express ‘journalist’ said.
“…I am being factual here, based on evidence from her own Instagram account where she would post pictures of herself in such clothes. So, it cannot be ruled out that Shani (with all due respect to her) was wearing a bikini or other similar garment when she was killed or captured,” she further alleged.
Kanpur: Female teacher attempts to convert a Class 10 boy after trapping him in a love affair, FIR filed after court order
An FIR was filed against a female teacher, her husband, her brother, and the school manager in Kanpur for attempting religious conversion of a Class 10 student after trapping him in a love affair. The Cantonment police initiated the investigation on 16th November, following court orders.
The incident dates back to 17th October 2023, when the teacher from a missionary school in Kanpur was suspended for allegedly coercing the student into physical relations and attempting to change his religious beliefs. The victim’s father accused the teacher of attempting to convert his son from Hinduism to Christianity.
Delhi anti-Hindu riot: Prashant Bhushan hosted the earliest conspiracy meeting with Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Yogendra Yadav in attendance. Read details
The destruction and carnage unleashed during the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots 2020 left the nation in shock. On the 24th and 25th of February, Delhi was gripped with unbridled violence and riots that were unleashed after an elaborate conspiracy was hatched by certain Muslim groups and Left groups. Several conspirators have been charged and are lodged in jail, standing trial for their role in instigating and planning the violence. However, several individuals were either directly or tangentially involved in the conspiracy, who have not been named as accused in the investigation that followed the violence.
One such person was Prashant Bhushan.
On the 8th of December 2019, a meeting was held between Yogendra Yadav, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and others at a Jangpura basement. The image of this meeting has been included in the chargesheet by the Delhi Police.
It was in this meeting, that according to the chargesheet, a plan was hatched on how to implement the Chakka Jam. It was decided that it would be Sharjeel Imam who would organise and lead students from various universities and colleges in and around Delhi. It was, interestingly, also decided that organisations like United Against Hate and Swarajya Abhiyaan would help each other in every way possible. This has, according to the Chargehsheet, been revealed by a witness.
It turns out, that this initial meeting where the conspiracy was hatched, was held at the office premises of Prashant Bhushan.
‘ISIS bride’ Nimisha alias Fathima, who converted to Islam to join ISIS with her husband, confirms that the story of The Kerala Story is not baseless
‘The Kerala Story’ was a dramatic representation of the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories of women from Kerala who were radicalized to join the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) terrorist ranks. It is notable that many of these women from Kerala joining ISIS were converted to Islam from Hinduism and Christianity with the motive of sending them to the terrorist organization ISIS.
The character ‘Shalini Unnikrishnan’ in The Kerala Story is loosely based on the life of Nimisha alias Fathima Isa, one of the four women from Kerala who fled to Afghanistan, between 2016 and 2018, to join the terror outfit ISIS and wage war against the US forces in ISIS-controlled Khorasan Province.
In November 2015, Nimisha, a BDS student, went missing from her college in Kasaragod with Rehman, and 19 others from Kerala before reaching an ISIS-controlled territory in Afghanistan. Nimisha and Merrin left Kerala for Afganistan with their husbands, Bexin Vincent and Bestin Vincent.
This article traced Nimisha’s life story.