The 10 most read articles of The Hindu online in 2025

The year’s 10 most-read articles offer a clear snapshot of what readers were drawn to over the past 12 months. Together, they reflect the stories and themes that resonated most strongly, revealing what audiences actively sought out and engaged with across the year.

From the Ahmedabad Air India crash and the Pahalgam attack followed by Operation Sindoor to Narayana Murthy’s refusal to take part in the Karnataka caste survey, here are the top 10 most visited stories from The Hindu in 2025.

In a sign of quick-footed diplomacy, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in New Delhi late on May 7, 2025. His arrival coincided with the arrival of the Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi who is in New Delhi for a day-long visit in the backdrop of India hitting terror targets inside Pakistan on May 7. The Hindu reported that Mr. Al-Jubeir’s visit was unannounced and took place specifically in the context of the spike in tension between India and Pakistan.

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court refused to grant relief to a mosque seeking permission to use loudspeakers, noting it was not entitled to use the device to practise religion as a matter of right. The court, while relying on Supreme Court judgments, said that no religion mandates prayers to be offered through voice amplifiers or beating drums.

The Hindu’s live updates about the Red Fort blast was one of the top read articles of the year. A high-intensity explosion in a slow-moving car outside the Red Fort in central Delhi left at least 14 people dead and several injured on November 10, 2025, sparking a nationwide alert and a probe involving multiple agencies.

The Supreme Court on November 25, 2025 upheld the dismissal of a Christian Army officer who refused to enter the sanctum sanctorum of his regiment’s temple to perform pooja, saying that he had used his “personal understanding” of what his religion permits to break military discipline and, in the process, insulted his troops. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant described the refusal of Samuel Kamalesan, the petitioner, to participate in the regimental religious activity as the “grossest kind of indiscipline”.

The Hindu’s live coverage after the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan in the early hours January 16, 2025, garnered attention and interest from readers. He received multiple injuries after an intruder attacked him with a knife during an alleged burglary attempt at his residence in Mumbai. Mr. Khan was admitted to the hospital and discharged five days later.

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murthy declined to take part in the ongoing Social and Educational Survey in Karnataka, saying they do not belong to any backward caste, sources in the BBMP said on October 16, 2025. When enumerators came for the survey a few days ago, Sudha Murty and Narayana Murthy reportedly told them, “We don’t want the survey conducted at our home.”

A Krishna Janmashtami procession in Ramanthapur turned tragic on August 17, 2025, when a 10-foot chariot being carried by devotees came into contact with a live overhead electric wire, leading to the death of five men and injuries to four others. For many in the colony, the tragedy was all the more shocking because this was the first time a Shobha Yatra for Krishna Janmashtami had been organised. In the past, residents explained, the celebrations were limited to Utti or Utsalovam, where clay pots filled with butter or sweets are suspended and broken by climbing human pyramids.

The live blog for Delhi election results 2025 is the third most read news of the year. The BJP staged a thumping comeback in Delhi after more than 26 years as it won 48 of the 70 seats in the Assembly polls on February 8, 2025. The Aam Aadmi Party won 22 and the Congress drew a blank for a third straight time.

The Hindu’s live coverage after the Pahalgam attack that happened on April 22, 2025 was the second most read news article of the year. That, combined with lives for Operation Sindoor’s launch and terror attack updates drew huge attention from a large section of The Hindu’s readers. At least 26 people, including two foreign tourists, were killed by a group of terrorists in one of the most deadly attacks on civilians in the Baisaran meadows in the upper reaches of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025 afternoon.

The live coverage The Hindu did for Air India air crash on June 13, 2025, was the most read article of the year. The live updates for the crash, combined with updates regarding institution of high level committee was the top read article of the year. The crash claimed the lives of 242 people including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. One person survived. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft took off at 1:38 p.m. and minutes later, plummeted into the B.J. Medical College hostel mess 5km from the airport.