In an unexpected twist, the humble ‘Cow’ emerged as ‘Personality of the Year,’ trumping other high-profile contenders for the top spot.
Yahoo has announced the 2015 Year in Review (YIR) for India. The YIR is a look at the year’s top trends, happenings and events, which caught the imagination of Internet users in India. In its eighth year now, this review is based on users’ daily search habits and an editorial selection of what they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo.
Politics remained an all-consuming passion through the year in 2015. With high-profile elections in Bihar and New Delhi, Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal were among the Top Newsmakers of the Year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his run from 2014 and remained one of the top newsmakers this year too.
In an unexpected twist, the humble ‘Cow’ emerged as ‘Personality of the Year,’ trumping other high-profile contenders for the top spot. It started with the Maharashtra government announcing a ban on sale of beef in the state – a move, which led to massive debates online and offline, spiraling into the ‘beef controversy’. Fuelled further by the mob lynching at Dadri, the ‘cow’ became the icon of discussions on ‘intolerance’, sparking the ‘award wapsi’ campaign, and even stalling the Parliament proceedings at one point.
The rise of ISIS, 2015 World Cup, APJ Abdul Kalam’s demise, the Sheena Bora Murder investigation and the Vyapam Scandal all made headlines in 2015 and featured on the list of Most Searched News / Events in 2015.
Prime Minister Modi remained the Most Searched Politician this year. The list also featured HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who was in the news often for her vocal stand on issues and controversies involving her. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also makes it to the list for news surrounding Sunanda Pushkar’s death and his comments on ‘intolerance’ in India.
US President Obama’s India visit, AAP’s landslide victory in the Delhi elections, ‘Lalitgate’ and ‘Mahagatbandhan’ winning the Bihar elections, were all among the Top 10 Political Moments of the Year.
Sunny Leone retained the top position as the Most Searched Female Celebrity for the fourth year in a row. Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone took the second and third slots to round off the Top 3.
Among the male celebrities, Salman Khan claimed the No. 1 spot, while singer-rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh came in at No. 2, amidst drug addiction rumors and his noticeable absence from the Bollywood music scene. Other actors to feature in the list include Shahid Kapoor, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.
Moving past the regular Bollywood blockbusters, bilingual epic Baahubali, which broke box-office records while also being the most expensive movie to be ever made in India, went on to claim the top spot as ‘Most Searched Movie of the Year’.
Like previous years, India’s Most Searched Sportsperson’s list was once again dominated by cricketers, with M.S. Dhoni coming in at No. 1. Sania Mirza was the only non-cricketing sportsperson to feature in the list. Her winning streak with Swiss champion Martina Hingis securing her a spot among the other cricketing heavy weights.
Apple dominated technology news and searches this year, with the iPhone 6 taking the top spot in the list of Most-Searched Gadgets.
Other themes which dominated the daily habits of online users in India included international sports, scams and controversies, epic selfie moments, most shocking photos and top fashion trends.