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December 28
Goodbye Ayodhya!
'Others misguide Muslims. We'll take them along,' says BJP vice-president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, a key accused in the Babri masjid demolition case, in an exclusive interview.
Former UP Congress chief joins SP
Former Union minister Balram Singh Yadav gave the tottering UP Congress a
major blow when he joined the Samajwadi Party.
Master Of The Game
'Zia possessed one extraordinary talent. In the management of his public relations he displayed genius. His manners were so impeccable that those who came to jeer, returned to cheer...' K Natwar Singh recalls his encounters with the late Pakistan president.
'You cannot have any kind of military planning unless you have political support'
'The government should have a long term defence policy. But the defence forces have not been made aware of any such plans. Naturally, we cannot look too far ahead.' Vice-Admiral Arun Prakash on the state of the Indian navy.
Gujarat: Governor may impose
President's rule
Maharashtra: Let Seshan choose his own constituency: Thackeray
Tamil Nadu: State govt hostile to Election Commission, alleges chief
December 27
Exodus rattles Congress
Congress chief Sitaram Kesri's aides allege that Sonia Gandhi is clandestinely engineering defections to the BJP. She is upset with Kesri for defying her. And is trying to ensure that the BJP does not harass her family in case it comes to power.
Urea scam accused chargesheeted
The CBI filed a chargesheet against former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's relative B Sanjeeva Rao, former Union minister Ramlakhan Singh Yadav's son Prakash Chandra and seven others in the Rs 13.3 million urea scam.
Gujarat assembly dissolved
Governor Krishanpal Singh has dissolved the state assembly, rejecting the Bharatiya Janata Party's claim that the party was in a position to form the government.
'If God is with you, the PM's post will come on its own'
''Our voters are very, very mature. Because of the electronic media, they are also well informed,'' Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma tells Pritish Nandy, in an exclusive interview.
Assam's hour of reckoning
Handicapped by history, injured by insurgency, crippled by corruption,
and plagued by growing unpopularity, the AGP regime is desperate
to prove that offence is the best form of defence.
'If some people shake hands with the extremists, how can we tolerate it?'
Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on insurgency, the Tata Tea controversy, and more.
'The army should understand that they are not dealing with a foreign enemy'
Former ULFA publicity secretary Siddharta Phukan, who is now a prosperous businessman in Guwahati, on how the extremist organisation has changed colours.
'Mahanta has betrayed the people of Assam'
An interview with former Assam home minister and AGP rebel Bhrigu Kumar Phukan.
UP govt pulled up for poll sops
The Election Commission has asked the state chief secretary to explain why schemes worth millions of rupees were announced less than a week before the December 29 legislative council elections.
Goa: Rename Vasco as Sambhaji Nagar, demand agitators
Kerala: BJP plays Ezhava card to gain foothold in state
Tamil Nadu: Astrology forces Jaya to put off party's jubilee function
December 25
On the warpath!
The simmering discontent over pay disparities in the Indian Air Force has spilled over to the streets with a section of the uniformed men and their families mobbing senior IAF officers across the country.
'Independence has failed'
'Don't talk to me about Independence. Independence is for our class. We have got education and everything. What has reached the tribals? What benefits have reached them? Nothing!' Magsaysay Award-winner Mahasweta Devi, in a feisty interview.
'Congress gains strength only in AP'
An opinion poll says that Andhra Pradesh is the only state where a pro-Congress shift has been witnessed. But the BJP would eat into the Congress's vote bank, helping Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam. Surprisingly, however, the latter will not increase its tally in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Read on to find out why.
Brothers-in-law land Laloo in trouble
Former Bihar chief minister is caught in the crossfire as his two brothers-in-law -- Anirrudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav and the younger Subhash Yadav -- wrangle. Demanding the Gopalganj Lok Sabha ticket, both have already launched their campaigns.
Kerala gets women priests in temples
Yet another male bastion fell the other day, when four women were appointed priests in two Hindu temples in Kodungalloor and Thiruvananthapuram.
Indian clowns inspired Nobel literature winner
Satirist Dario Fo says Indian clowns have made life easier for the downtrodden.
Dabwali still mourns its children
They hold their head up bravely, even in the face of government apathy. But somehow the pain won't go away.
Himachal Pradesh: State assembly dissolved
December 24
Kesri incurs Sonia's wrath
At the height of his wrangle with stormy petrel Mamata Banerjee, the Congress chief defied Sonia. And is now said to be in deep trouble.
High court blasts CBI for tardy progress in HDW deal
The judges rapped the investigation agency for the inordinate delay in identifying the beneficiaries of the 'kickbacks' in the submarine deal. ''If the CBI's intention is to roll the probe under the carpet, it should be done properly. If it is to be buried, it should be buried properly,'' the judges said.
Muslims and I
'The word Muslim had a familiar connotation for us. It meant uncultured, illiterate, undeveloped minds, full of perversities, driven by
violence and always ready to go berserk...' In a fascinating first-person account, playwright Vijay Tendulkar describes how anti-Muslim prejudice penetrates the Hindu psyche early on in life.
CPI-M rules out joint UF manifesto
"A joint manifesto is not possible because there are some fundamental differences," said CPI-M general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet.
BJP may get five seats in TN
The BJP expects a landslide in Maharashtra, a clean sweep in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and a marked improvement in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar.
Tricky ties kick up confusion
The DMK and the TMC have dissolved their differences. So have the AIADMK, the BJP, the MDMK and the PMK, forging an alliance. But neither group is sure what their electoral plank would be.
Bihar: DIG, CBI officials held for illegal entry, plead for bail
Delhi: CM's nephews attacked in jail
Kashmir: Multi-million scam funding militants unearthed in J&K
December 23
Mamata gets the axe
Three days after Sonia's intervention ended a smouldering crisis in the Congress, stormy petrel Mamata Banerjee struck again. She refused to withdraw her statement that the BJP was 'not communal'. And insisted that she would contest on a separate symbol, forcing the Congress leadership to expel her from the party.
Surjeet doubts Gujral's integrity
Hobnobbing with the Akali Dal and Laloo Yadav, the prime minister has incurred the Left's wrath. ''In the fight against the anti-UF forces, the prime minister has failed to fulfil his role,'' said the CPI-M general secretary.
Ready for compromises: Vajpayee
The BJP leader said his party was ready to compromise on issues like the Ayodhya temple to pre-empt a 1996-like situation -- when his government at the Centre lasted just 13 days.
Congress alone responsible for Rajiv death, says VP
Rajiv Gandhi appointed the people who decided on the protection due to him... And it was a Congressman who lead the killer up to him. The former PM trashes the Jain Commission interim report.
Russia vows not to give Su-30 knowhow to other countries
Russian delegation bows to Indian demand that technology of advanced hardware sold to India not be given to other countries, including China, which has also bought Su-30 aircraft.
'How can you call the BJP a communal party?'
As speculation mounts that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has an uphill task against the Congress, noted film-maker Dasari Narayana Rao took a plunge into politics. An exclusive interview.
Little chance of proxy voting for defence personnel
Only the BJP backs the EC plan. Other parties want a wider debate in Parliament since it involves an amendment of the Representation of People Act.
Documentary to be made on Mahasweta Devi
Award-winning film-maker Raja Sen to make film on the Jnanpith and Magsaysay award-winner, concentrating on her work with the Shabar tribals.
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