Hyderabad:India witnessed some major controversies this year, especially in politics, sports, and education, with social media further amplifying them to the point that it seemed the crises would never end.
From India and Maldives’ diplomatic ties sinking to their lowest to wrestler Vinesh Phogat seeing her Olympic dream crash most bizarrely, here are ten such controversies that captured the nation’s attention for weeks together.
India-Maldives Diplomatic Row
It all started with a reaction from a bunch of Maldives’ politicians on Lakshadweep. They deemed it was okay to poke a country that has roughly 2700 times a larger population than theirs. The union territory comprising a bunch of remote islands on the southwestern coast of India became the centre of discussion when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited its pristine beaches in January.
On January 4, he shared some breathtaking photos from Lakshadweep, including ones in which he was seen snorkelling. “For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list. During my stay, I also tried snorkelling—what an exhilarating experience it was!” Modi posted on X.
The Prime Minister’s post prompted many to search for Lakshadweep, triggering a wave of interest among tourists in the place. However, soon after, some politicians, including three sitting ministers of the Mohamed Muizzu-led Maldivian government, posted derogatory and racist remarks against India and Indians while mocking those comparing Lakshadweep with the Maldives.
The comments triggered a diplomatic row with the Indian High Commission raising the issue with the Maldivian government, following which the three ministers were suspended. The Muizzu government also distanced itself from the remarks and attempted to mend the ties as the diplomatic fallout led to a boycott of Maldivian vacations by many Indians, including Bollywood celebrities.
This had a significant impact on the Maldivian economy, heavily reliant on tourism revenue from India. Realising the blunder its politicians had made, the Maldives attempted to mend ties with its Foreign Minister, Moosa Zameer, visiting India in May 2024 to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
Sandeshkhali Protests Brought BJP, TMC Face-to-Face
The Sandeshkhali area of West Bengal became a centre of political conflict after Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of inciting riots.
The unrest began on January 5 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) planned to raid the house of an influential TMC leader, Sheikh Shahjahan, who was accused in multiple cases, including atrocities against women.
A month later, on February 8, local women staged a protest calling for the immediate arrest of Shahjahan and his accomplices. The BJP backed the demonstration, igniting a verbal war that culminated in violent violence.
On February 17, TMC leader Shibu Hazra, a key suspect in the alleged land grab and sexual harassment of women in Sandeshkhali, was arrested from the Najat area of Basirhat, followed by more arrests.
Amid the prohibitory orders, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari got the Calcutta High Court’s permission to visit Sandeshkhali after his two failed attempts to visit the area. However, Adhikari's visit triggered another row after a Sikh police officer accused him of hurling a “Khalistani” slur at him, which the leader denied. Following this, CM Banerjee slammed the BJP, saying that the party’s "divisive politics have shamelessly overstepped constitutional boundaries."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought up the Sandeshkhali incident during the BJP’s election in West Bengal's Cooch Behar, accusing TMC of protecting the culprits involved. “The entire country saw how the Trinamool threw its weight to save the culprits of the Sandeshkhali incident," he had said.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s Bizarre Olympic Disqualification
India’s Paris Olympics 2024 campaign was also marred with controversy after wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women's 50kg final for failing the weigh-in by 100 grams. It missed her chance to become the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic gold.
Before entering the finals, Phogat beat top seed Yui Susaki, two-time European Games medallist Oksana Livach, and Pan-American Games champion Yusneylys Guzman Lopez.
According to the regulations, she was required to reduce around 2 kg of weight before the final showdown. However, after taking various dramatic steps, Phogat missed the weigh-in by 100 kg on August 7 and was disqualified from the tournament. Following this, she approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), hoping to get a joint-silver medal, but his appeal was dismissed. However, Phogat announced her retirement from wrestling through a social media post on August 8, much before the verdict.
The final verdict signed by Sole Arbitrator Annabelle Bennett allowed Cuba's Yusneylys Guzman Lopez, who lost to Phogat in the semi-final, to fight against the USA's Sarah Hilderbrandt in the gold medal bout.
Paper Leak Scandal in NEET
The National Eligibility and Entrance Test (Undergraduate), a prominent medical competitive test in the country, saw various anomalies, which resulted in the 2024 NEET-UG scandal. On May 5, 2024, it was accused of question paper leaks, but the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the annual test, denied the allegations, despite social media statements to the contrary.
Four students were among 13 persons held by police in Patna, Bihar, after reportedly paying between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh to receive the questions in advance.
During a raid at an exam centre in Godhra, Gujarat, a teacher who also served as the deputy superintendent was found to have instructed candidates to leave unsolved questions blank, promising to deliver the correct answers. It was determined that applicants from several states had taken the exam at the same site, and five persons were arrested.
The cases were handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which found an unexpected increase in top scores in the test results, announced on June 4, 2024, sparking another controversy. Several students received mathematically implausible ratings, resulting in complaints and legal challenges. Students protested, demanding a retake and cancellation of the exam.
Tirupati Laddus and Political Slugfest
The Tirupati temple, dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, became a hotbed of controversy after a Gujarat-based lab allegedly found animal fat in the ghee used to make sacred laddus,offered as a devotional offering or prasad.
The revelation triggered a political slugfest in Andhra Pradesh after Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu accused his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of “religious desecration” and corruption in the procurement of ghee and other items.
Following the dispute, the temple management body, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) board, formed a four-member panel to investigate quality standards in laddu preparation. It also sought the lab reports following various complaints.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is an ally of Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, also joined the bandwagon, with Union Minister Bandi Sanjay terming the act as an “unforgivable sin,” suggesting a communal angle to the controversy. However, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) strongly defended against these accusations.
As the conflict was refusing to go down, the Supreme Court on October 4, 2024, constituted an “independent” five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of two CBI officers to replace the one formed by the Andhra Pradesh government to probe the allegations.