ELECTION 99
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
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ELECTION

Benazir describes hijacking as 'successful'
In a statement issued from London yesterday, she said New Delhi's accusations against Islamabad of sponsoring terrorism in various parts of India have never been proved in the past.

Special CBI team to probe hijacking
The team, headed by CBI joint director M L Sharma, will go into the possible involvement of the Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan in the hijacking, bureau sources said today.

RSS flays Centre again over hijack issue
RSS joint general secretary K S Sudarshan said the government should try to rectify its lapses, such as those at Amritsar.

'World help sought to declare Pak a terrorist state'
The national security adviser and principal secretary to the prime minister, Brajesh Mishra, said snapping diplomatic ties with Pakistan would put to an end to whatever little could be achieved.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL

Pakistan's role in the hijack
'Taleban authorities were openly confessing to the diplomatic corps that they were in no position to withstand the pressure being mounted on them by Islamabad. If they did anything to help India, Pakistan could destabilise the entire Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, says Sreedhar.

The Flight 814 Message Board

THE REDIFF INTERVIEWS

'If we can improve life in Bangalore, then the same lessons can be implemented elsewhere'
'There is an opportunity here to make a difference, and one has the wherewithal in terms of time and money. If one is able to achieve something with all this, it would be really wonderful,' says Nandan Nilekani, managing director, Infosys Technologies.

'We regard the Samata Party as a mitra'
Janata Dal (United) Sharad Yadav says that the party is confident that things will work out for his party in the end.

OTHER REPORTS

Tarar warns Pak not to be hasty over CTBT
The Pakistani president said a hasty decision in this regard could become a source of anguish for the country in future.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
The arithmetic of a hijacking
'It took more than 48 hours for the country's Crisis Management Group to come to grips with the problem. Since when have babus been able to manage a crisis? It is the country's misfortune to have an Intelligence Bureau without intelligent people,' says Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd).

Mr Considerate
'Resolving the crisis, Vajpayee told key aides, must be done in such a manner that everyone escapes unscathed...' Capital Buzz. Gossip from the Delhi Durbar.

January 9

Karmapa Lama escapes to India
According to information available on the Internet, Urgyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th living Buddha, arrived at Dharamsala on January 5 at 1030 hours, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based. The website www.maiu.net/~tsurphu/karmapa said the escape took seven days.

Kathmandu confirms ISI hand in fake currency operation
The huge consignment of fake Indian currency seized from a Pakistani embassy official on January 2 could only have been printed at a national security press, probably of the Pakistan government, say reliable sources in Nepal's administration.

Assembly elections between Feb 17 and 22
The commission also announced that by-elections to five Lok Sabha seats -- including Bellary in Karnataka and Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh -- would be held in the same period.

Mysterious youths keep Trivandrum police guessing
The group comprising eight girls and seven boys was deported on November 9 to Trivandrum from Istanbul after Turkish emigration officials caught them travelling on fake passports.

THE HIJACK AND AFTER

Hijack case: CBI team no yet ready
Though the government had made up its mind to hand over the investigations to the CBI much earlier, the order was held back because at that point of time all other intelligence agencies were providing crucial inputs.

RSS flays Centre again over hijack issue
RSS joint general secretary K S Sudarshan said the government should try to rectify its lapses, such as those at Amritsar.

'World help sought to declare Pak a terrorist state'
The national security adviser and principal secretary to the prime minister, Brajesh Mishra, said snapping diplomatic ties with Pakistan would put to an end to whatever little could be achieved.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL

Pakistan's role in the hijack
'Taleban authorities were openly confessing to the diplomatic corps that they were in no position to withstand the pressure being mounted on them by Islamabad. If they did anything to help India, Pakistan could destabilise the entire Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, says Sreedhar.

The Flight 814 Message Board

THE REDIFF INTERVIEWS

'If we can improve life in Bangalore, then the same lessons can be implemented elsewhere'
'There is an opportunity here to make a difference, and one has the wherewithal in terms of time and money. If one is able to achieve something with all this, it would be really wonderful,' says Nandan Nilekani, managing director, Infosys Technologies.

'We regard the Samata Party as a mitra'
Janata Dal (United) Sharad Yadav says that the party is confident that things will work out for his party in the end.

OTHER REPORTS

Tarar warns Pak not to be hasty over CTBT
The Pakistani president said a hasty decision in this regard could become a source of anguish for the country in future.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
The arithmetic of a hijacking
'It took more than 48 hours for the country's Crisis Management Group to come to grips with the problem. Since when have babus been able to manage a crisis? It is the country's misfortune to have an Intelligence Bureau without intelligent people,' says Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd).

Mr Considerate
'Resolving the crisis, Vajpayee told key aides, must be done in such a manner that everyone escapes unscathed...' Capital Buzz. Gossip from the Delhi Durbar.

January 8

Four CRPF men shot dead in Srinagar
Two other policemen were injured in a shootout inside the heavily guarded Meteorological Centre, Rambagh, early on Friday.

Six soldiers killed in Manipur ambush
The ambush came even as Chief of Army Staff General V P Malik was touring the state.

THE HIJACKING AND AFTER

Probe Azhar's activities, US tells Pak
The United States has asked Pakistan to probe the activities of Maulana Masood Azhar, freed by the Indian government in exchange for the hostages of the Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 on New Year's Eve.

Prove hijackers were Pakistani: Azhar
The ideologue of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul Mujahideen (earlier Harkat-ul Ansar) warned that hijackings and such attacks would continue till the Kashmir problem is resolved.

COMMENT

'The RSS has never advocated the exchange of terrorists for hostages'
'In the aircraft, seven or eight youth could have got up and tried to overpower the hijackers. But the fear of death kept them immobile even when one of their fellow travellers was murdered,' says RSS chief Professor Rajendra Singh.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL

The hijack crisis bares India's political diffidence and diplomatic credulity
'Admission of defeat does not have to take the form of grovelling. But Jaswant Singh's flight to Kandahar with the three terrorists amounted to that,' says Prof Brahma Chellaney.

THE REDIFF INTERVIEW

'Our foremost need is to change our casual attitude'
'The hijacking, it goes without saying, could not have been possible for an organisation like the Harkat-ul Ansar without the knowledge and support of the Pakistani security agencies,' says Prof Kalim Bahadur.

MESSAGE BOARDS

'Hang the terrorists who are in jail'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'Withdraw all ties with Pakistan'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

The Flight 814 Message Board

POLITICAL PULSE

Young Turks want more space in BJP
Sources indicated that the race for recognition among the second-generation party leaders began in right earnest after Prime Minister Vajpayee's last Cabinet reshuffle.

Infighting makes a mess of Punjab politics
After the recent Lok Sabha election, politics in Punjab has undergone a significant change. Like in Delhi, the dilution of the ideologies of major parties has resulted in the quest for power gaining centre stage.

Ram temple at any cost, says VHP
Ashok Singhal said the incomplete job would be finished despite the obstacles.

Goa reserves ZP seats for OBC women
The tourist state is also set for another first -- electronic voting machines will be used in district council polls whichwill be held on February 6.

Patnaik smiles as BJP rifts from BJD
For the Orissa Congress chief, the rift between the Biju Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party is heaven-sent.

JMM-Soren expels Suraj Mandal
Mandal, who was suspended for six years from the party by Soren last month, had during his suspension called the Morcha's central committee meeting claiming the support of 113 members and expelled the latter.

OTHER REPORTS

Kargil review panel submits report
The committee, headed by K Subrahmanyam and comprising B G Verghese, Lt Gen K K Hazari and Satish Chandra, took a little over five months to make its report.

Maharashtra willing to refer Srikrishna report to investigating agencies
The Supreme Court, however, adjourned the matter since one petitioner asserted that the Action Taken Report tabled in the state assembly that rejected the recommendations should be quashed first.

Delhi blast: Police release suspect's sketch
Commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma admitted to some lapses on the part of his department, but maintained that the overall law-and-order situation in the capital is satisfactory.

Cold wave continues to kill in Bihar
The unusually high death figure is an indicator of the poverty in the state. Hundreds of people still sleep under the open skies even in Patna.

Drug abuse to be tackled on a war footing in North-east
The project will target two million people, out of whom 55,000 are drug addicts.

Expelled Pak embassy staffer leaves Kathmandu
Aslam Saboor, posted as an UDC/Assistant in the visa section, was issued orders to "quit Nepal within 72 hours" for involvement in "activity incompatible with your status".

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Hijack Afterthought: Being Tough
'While the hijack was abhorrent, it did not happen by itself. Nor is it sensible to pretend that it did. As long as Kashmir remains an unresolved issue between India and Pakistan, we had better expect such incidents,' says Dilip D'Souza.

Indians are running scared
'The fault is not with the government alone but with India's cowardly middle class. This middle class got its way, and in the bargain showed that it lacks the guts to fight, to wage a war against the terrorists,' says Amberish K Diwanji.

January 7

THE HIJACKING AND AFTER

All five hijackers have been identified
Home Minister L K Advani said the photographs of the five men who had commandeered the Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar had been shown to the hostages who had identified every single one of them.

Advani under pressure from RSS
The RSS chief is believed to have told the home minister that "believers in the RSS philosophy can only go to a limited extent to rescue the government on sensitive issues on which it has bungled".

For the US, Pak is as important as India
"The US relation with Pakistan is independent of its relation with India, and Washington DC will not jeopardise its ties with Islamabad just for New Delhi's sake," one observer said.

THE REDIFF INTERVIEW

'The whole hijack drama was very well organised'
'He [Maulana Masood Azhar] is living in a fool's paradise. What can you say about a man like him who was languishing in Indian jails for the last four-and-a-half years? The Indian defence forces are ready to give him a fitting reply,' says Defence Minister George Fernandes.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL
'Pakistan's main aim is the destabilisation of India, not merely grabbing Kashmir'
'The reasons for Pakistani hostility are rooted in the very ideology of that nation. India enjoys an edge over Pakistan in conventional weaponry. This force should be used in a graduated manner against the Pakistani border areas as a first step,' says Colonel (Dr) Anil A Athale.

MESSAGE BOARDS

'Terrorism can be countered only by counter-terrorism'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'India has not sold its national interest'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'India was in a lose-lose situation'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'Why can't we retaliate like Israel?'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'Shall we negotiate Kashmir too now?'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

'Is it Islamic to hold hostages at gunpoint?'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

The Flight 814 Message Board

OTHER REPORTS

Samata Party breaks away from JD-U
But Defence Minister George Fernandes said the co-ordination between the Janata Dal constituents would continue in Parliament.

12 injured in blast at Old Delhi railway station
Twelve people were injured when a crude bomb exploded in the Shamli-Saharanpur passenger train when it was about to depart from the Old Delhi railway station.

Court helpless on Chadha's plea for passport
Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke observed that it was beyond his jurisdiction to direct the government to issue a fresh passport to Dubai-based businessman Win Chadha to enable him to come to India.

Farooq Abdullah holidays as Kashmir burns
The chief minister left for London on Monday when a powerful bomb exploded in the Srinagar vegetable market, killing 17 persons, including 15 civilians.

CPI-M's fund collections draw flak
The party approaches the public for contributions at the drop of a hat, especially when it is power. It is merely a ploy to indulge in corruption, allege critics who are growing by the day.

Bangalore angels put their money where their heart is
'Surakshaa' is now a year old. This group, which has now set itself up as a non-profit trust, was formed by five fairly affluent businessmen who had heard several stories of how money, or the lack of it, had taken away precious lives.

Satellite Insat-3B ready for launch
The first of the third-generation Multipurpose Indian Communication Satellite Insat-3B is ready for transhipment to Kourou in French Guyana from where it will be launched in the middle of March.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
How the soldiers rang in Y2K
'The soldiers seemed uncomfortable... that's how they brought in the new millennium while the "nationalists" of the BJP-led government were out counting the liberal votes and winning new friends and influencing people... Army lives come so cheap...' Varsha Bhosle on spending New Year's Eve on the LoC.

The hijack, another Kargil?
'Parvez Musharraf was the author of the Kargil tragedy. He may have also blessed the hijacking. This may be his way of erasing the humiliation he suffered at Kargil,' says Kuldip Nayar.

January 6

THE HIJACK AND AFTER

Nepalese authorities lukewarm towards probe
The intelligence agencies are also probing an allegation that the first secretary of the Pakistani embassy in Kathmandu, Mohammed Arshad Cheema, drove into the Tribhuvan International Airport in an embassy vehicle (42CD14) with his assistant Zia Ansari and handed over a bag to the hijackers.

US in no hurry to brand Pak a terrorist state
Officials and experts on international affairs pointed out that despite Pakistan's apparent weaknesses, the Americans envisage a positive role for it in central Asia.

Britain too refuses to brand Pakistan
"It is not UK government practice to designate states in that way," High Commissioner for India Rob Young said.

Pallone to draft legislation to declare Pak a terrorist state
The senior American congressman said now is the time "for the US and other major nations to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism".

Fernandes accuses US of duplicity on terrorism
Pakistan has convinced itself that under the nuclear umbrella it can take Kashmir without India being able to punish it, the defence minister said.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL

Time to hijack Taleban from Pakistan?
'By officially declaring that they had released the hijackers on the Pak-Afghan border, the Taleban made it known that they endorsed the Indian assessment of Pakistan's role in the hijacking,' says Sreedhar, senior research associate at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.

PHOTOFEATURE

The Agony and the Ecstasy
Flight IC-814 was pure hell for the relatives of the hostages. Photographer K M Joseph records the traumatic eight days.

OTHER REPORTS

ISI agents buying land in Assam: minister
Union minister Bijaya Chakraborty appealed to the religious minorities, especially the Bangladeshis who had acquired Indian citizenship, not to provide shelter and help to the ISI and militants.

Easing Indo-Pak tension is priority, says Clinton
The US president said this in the 1999 national security strategy report, sent to Congress on Tuesday, in which he outlines his vision for his country's role in the world and sets out the government's priorities in international affairs.

CPI-M, Church to launch TV channels in Kerala
While the Marxists say their channel will be used to put across their political views, Church leaders say their electronic venture -- christened Jeevan TV -- would aim to protect morality.

An ad war of a different kind
The day's newspaper as readymade raddi, a kangaroo that is not a kangaroo -- Kerala's two leading Malayalam dailies are openly at each other's throat.

Sikh wins legal battle against Domino's
Prabhjot S Kohli, who works with the Maryland State Highway Administration, sued Domino's in 1988 after he was turned away from a job because he sported a beard.

11 killed in Colombo blast
The blast, triggered by a suspected LTTE woman suicide bomber, occurred in front of the prime minister's office on the busy Flower Road in the heart of the capital at 0930 hours (local time).

The bloody saga of the Santhals
Victims of a major ethnic riot in May 1996, a quarter of a million of them now live in makeshift refugee camps along National Highway 31 in Assam's Kokrajhar district.

Juti Jena's lonely struggle against the system
All her colleagues, who had gathered under the banner of Orissa Home Guards Union in 1993, have long since given up the struggle. Some have taken up menial jobs in the city, others have gone back to their villages. The union, headquartered in Cuttack, too has not been touch with Jena.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
A time to celebrate
'Tony Blair and his merry men attracted more tourists to London on a freezing winter day than we get here in this gorgeous country in an entire year. Where there is so much to offer in terms of beauty, history, nature and celebrations,' says Pritish Nandy.

'Kumaratunga realises her army cannot win the war for peace'
'The most distressing feature of this war in India's backyard is its hands-off-Sri Lanka policy. Will India do nothing were the Tigers to come close to achieving Eelam? That would send a dangerous signal to secessionists in India,' says Major General (retd) Ashok K Mehta.

January 5

THE NIGHTMARE OF FLIGHT 814

Hijackers believed to be in PoK
According to Indian intelligence sources, the hijackers, who left Kandahar on the evening of December 31, reached one of the Harkat-ul-Ansar camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by afternoon the next day.

Advani denies thinking of resigning
The home minister described as baseless reports that he wanted to resign in protest against the government's decision to set free three Kashmiri terrorists to secure the safe release of hostages onboard Flight IC-814.

Police reveal Bombay connection to hijacking
Five men caught in the suburb of Jogeshwari last week following a bank robbery were discovered to be ISI agents and members of the Harkat-ul-Ansar, Commissioner R H Mendonca said.

THE REDIFF INTERVIEW

'I must have died a hundred times on board...'
'I told the passengers that if worse comes to worst, then we shall fight for our lives and try to save as many as we could. I showed them how to open the door, how to open the chutes and how to slide down,' says Captain D Saran, commander of the hijacked plane, in the concluding part of an exclusive interview.

OTHER REPORTS

Tribal-Christian tension explodes again in Orissa
The attack was the third in a series of skirmishes between the Panas and the tribals this week. It took place despite the deployment of a large contingent of police in the area following a clash between cops and tribals last week in Majhiguda village that left eight dead.

India to design ABM on lines of Star Wars
"The country can pursue an inter-continental ballistic missile programme if adequate funds are made available," Dr Abdul Kalam told the plenary session of the 87th Indian Space Congress in New Delhi.

Dead airman's mother takes defence ministry to court
Flying Officer Amit Singh was killed when his MiG-21 was hit by a bird. He could not eject from the fighter owing to a mechanical failure.

Student's death ignites Ranga University campus
Agitated students boycotted classes protesting against the "callousness" of the university in failing to save the life of a student who took ill on Sunday and demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor I V Subba Rao.

Silicon Valley gurus to visit India
The high-powered delegation will make presentations on the latest trends in venture capital funds and angel investments in four vital fields -- value-added IT services, software products, IT-enabled services and e-businesses.

Mercury dips dangerously in north India
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the last 48 hours in Bihar and some neighbouring states.

Cancer plays the grim reaper in a Punjab village
Though the spread of the disease cannot be attributed to any one reason, the villagers believe it is caused by the brackish ground water with high levels of fluorine that they are forced to drink because of inadequate supply of potable water for the last two decades.

BJP in a tailspin in Uttar Pradesh
The large-scale transfers of IAS and IPS officers was another issue that revealed the warts of the BJP-led administration in the state.

EVMs, photo I-cards to be used in assembly polls
CEC M S Gill said that, for the first time, "effective use" would be made of photo identity cards in Haryana, where the distribution of these cards is nearly complete.

Of harassed husbands and belligerent brides
At a conference of the Kerala Purusha Peedana Parihara Vedi (Men's Grievance Redressal Forum), speaker after speaker unburdened nightmarish experiences with their wives.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Cure the other epilepsy now
'Women have demanded reservation of seats in Parliament; they have demanded the right to be pilots and shuttlers in spacecraft; they have demanded that men too should nurse the new-born and therefore be entitled to "paternity" leave, etc. etc. But they have never launched a movement for securing a uniform civil code. Why?' asks Arvind Lavakare.

Who will avenge Rupin Katyal?
'Those responsible for this gauche, yet deadly, game are responsible for Katyal's death, and since the government has more or less admitted that it lacks the wherewithal to bring the hijackers to book, the least it can do is carry out an inquiry to pinpoint responsibility for the failure at various levels of administration,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

January 4

14 killed in Srinagar market blast
Abdul Rashid, a vegetable vendor, told rediff.com that there were around 2,000 persons in the market at that time. 'More than half of them were security personnel. They make purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables from this market,' he added.

Militants change tack in Kashmir
According to army sources, terrorism has "undergone a sea change", with the militants now focusing attention on military camps, paramilitary establishments and government centres.

Hijackers with Pak military intelligence, says ISI ex-chief
External affairs ministry spokesman Raminder Singh Jassal, when asked about Gen Hameed Gul's statement that the hijackers had left Kandahar for Pakistani territory, quipped: "Sometimes he speaks the truth."

Hijackers may have reached Pakistan
The five hijackers are believed to have crossed into Pakistan from the border outpost of Chaman.

Mental disorders await hostages, says expert
Six-year-old Bhavit Nathani has discovered a new game since his return from captivity. He masks himself and plays 'hijacking' at home.

'I want a smile on your faces'
Rajendra Kumar Goud, the co-pilot of the ill-fated aircraft, said yesterday that the hijackers began treating them well once the plane landed at Kandahar.

Declare Pakistan a terrorist state, says PM
Talking to reporters during his visit to Pune, where he inaugurated the 87th Indian Science Congress, Vajpayee strongly urged major nations of the world to declare Pakistan a terrorist state as its active and sustained role in fomenting terrorism in India is very obvious.

Centre to issue white paper on ISI activities
Union Minister of State for Home Vidyasagar Rao said all state governments had been asked to be alert, as any laxity might provide scope for the 'hijack of trains, buses and autos'.

THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'They had a gun at my neck all the time'
'The control tower told me that they had refuelled the plane and now it is time that we got out Pakistan. If they had allowed us to leave behind the injured maybe the life of Rupin Katyal would have been saved because he was still alive then,' says Captain D Saran, commander of the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL
'They looked at my recent haircut and asked me if I worked for the intelligence service'
Kollattu Ravikumar, one of those who survived the ordeal on Flight IC-814, on his harrowing experience.

OTHER REPORTS
Bihar cold wave claims 61 lives
Many people affected by the cold wave have been hospitalised.

Crucial Bofors papers handed over to CBI
The agency will now scrutinise the papers and file a supplementary chargesheet soon.

Clinton keen on visiting India, says Deora
The senior Congress leader and former Bombay mayor met the US president for the millennium celebrations at the White House on the New Year's eve.

AP initiates movement to regenerate mangroves
The people living along the coast are being made aware of the efficacy of mangroves, which are salt-tolerant and flood-resistant besides acting as a host to several marine creatures, including shrimps. They also act as natural bio-filters to various pollutants being dumped upstream.

THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
India and the Islamic threat
'Militant Islam impinges on India only in the limited context of an insurgency in Kashmir and an unstable neighbour's desire to exploit it. Neither of which warrant a blanket reaction to the phenomenon as such,' says Anil Nair.

Millennium blues for greens
The Internet is akin to Columbus' voyage to the New World in 1492. The virtual world is the equivalent of the seventh continent, with boundless potential. It remains to be seen how green groups everywhere are able to use this modern tool to their advantage. Darryl D'Monte on the environmental movement.

January 2

THE NIGHTMARE OF FLIGHT 814

Hijackers headed for Quetta: Jaswant
The minister pointed out in the list of 35 names of jailed militants whose release the hijackers had demanded, most of the names were of Pakistani nationals.

'Where is he? Why isn't he here to see me...'
Rachna, Rupin Katyal's bride of 23 days, returned home a widow after her honeymoon in Kathmandu. There is no rationale to her destiny. The Katyals can't see rationale in anything for that matter.

Advani unhappy with release of terrorists
The Union home minister's dissent was "palpable" in the meeting of the Union Cabinet where the decision to release the extremists was taken, sources said.

Released militants will return to Kashmir
A top-secret report prepared by the Research and Analysis Wing has indicated that people sympathetic to the hijackers' cause may get them refuge in Sudan, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia before they are provided asylum in Afghanistan or Pakistani.

CMG, PMO trade charges
The stand-off between the Indian Administrative Services lobby and the Prime Minister's Office continues, with each claiming that the other was responsible for the Amritsar fiasco.

Nepali not involved: Intelligence agencies
Intelligence agencies have denied that Gajendra Man Tamarkar, the Nepalese citizen who was alleged by a section of the media as one of the hijackers, had any role in the entire crisis.

A midnight call and an impending climax
A report on the scramble that followed the final deal with the hijackers.

Flight 814 arrives in Delhi
After a thorough check, the plane left Kandahar around 1000 Afghan time. In the cockpit were the pilots who had arrived in the Afghan city last Monday on the relief Airbus 300.

Europe still views India through blinkers
There is a total lack of appreciation of the Indian security concerns and the ground reality in South Asia by many Western nations.

January 1

THE NIGHTMARE OF FLIGHT 814

154 hostages exchanged for 3 militants
All the three terrorists accompanied External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Kandahar in the afternoon on a Boeing 737.

Hijackers headed for Pakistan: Taleban
"They [the hijackers] have started their journey under the monitoring of our people. Ultimately, their destination will be Pakistan," Taleban representative in the US Hakim Abdul Mujahid told rediff.com

'For four days I was forced to sit in the cockpit, blindfolded, without seeing sunlight'
While some passengers exhibited signs of the Stockholm syndrome, the co-pilot of the Airbus, Captain Rajendra, presented a very different view of his abductors.

The nightmare is over, but...
The release of three hardcore militants is sure to boost the confidence of ultras in the valley and make the security forces' task that much more difficult.

Relatives of hostages elated, yet...
The announcement of their release spawned both relief and apprehension among their kith and kin.

'The extra names were only a red herring'
"It was a battle of nerves and we lost it," said an extremely angry senior government official who preferred anonymity. "The battle was half lost the day the aircraft flew out of Amritsar, but now it is completely lost."

'We would have preferred to die for the country'
Guru Krishnanand Bhatt, a passenger on the hijacked plane, took strong exception to the release of three terrorists by the government to secure freedom for him and other hostages.

Hostages are fine except for minor ailments
Only one patient was hospitalised. The man, who had been released for treatment in Kandahar but returned to the plane, is believed to be suffering from stomach cancer.

Hijackers got more weapons at Kandahar
"They had a wireless set with which they were in constant touch with the ISI and getting instructions," one passenger said.

'No criminal shall go unpunished'
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has fighting words for the hijackers.

'We were able to scale down their demand'
Prime Minister Vajpayee tells the nation. Also in Real Audio.

Two turn up at PM's all-party meeting
While Bahujan Samaj Party chief Kanshiram was forthright in terming it a 'monumental failure' of the government, Congress politician Manmohan Singh said the nation has to ponder over the repercussions of the release of three terrorists.

Police dossiers reveal 35 men are committed, dangerous
The Jammu and Kashmir government sent a detailed report to the Centre about the 35 militants whose release was demanded by the hijackers of Flight IC-814.

Zargar used to tie grenades to his victims...
Mushtaq Zargar was involved in scores of killings, including that of two Border Security Force personnel, and kidnappings. He was lodged in Srinagar after his arrest, where he remained till he was flown to Delhi.

Best possible settlement, says Brajesh Mishra
The PM's principal secretary justified the decision to hand over three dreaded terrorists in exchange for 155 hostages abroad the Indian Airlines plane.

Formal recognition of Taleban by India on the cards
A security analyst said it could begin in the form of humanitarian aid and medical assistance. "We could also discuss with them ways of countering transborder terrorism."

More and more people wanted government to act tough
Criticism of the government was getting muted and more and more people were coming round to the view that the government should not give in to the militants' demands.

'PM learnt of hijacking 40 minutes late'
Vajpayee and Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav were returning from Patna after addressing an election rally when the Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 was hijacked over Lucknow and taken to Amritsar.

Hold Pakistan responsible, says Pallone
The senior House member, who has been one of Congress's most outspoken voices on the dangers of the armed separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir, said India and the United States had both been targeted by Osama bin Laden and the loose network of militant forces sharing his goals.

IA's training ex-chief calls for sky marshals
Commandos trained to tackle emergency situations should travel on Indian Airlines and Air-India flights, Captain S T Deo, former director (training), Indian Airlines, and chief executive of the airline's central training establishment in Hyderabad, said.

Demonstrations against Zee News in Kathmandu
The Nepal government also denied that one of its citizens was involved in the hijack.

MESSAGE BOARD
'India will rescue its people'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

MESSAGE BOARD
'Why don't they send Amitabh Bachchan or Ajay Devgan to save the Indians?'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

MESSAGE BOARD
'My heart cries out for the passengers and crew'
Readers respond to our Message Board.

The passengers on IA Flight 814
Names of all the 174 passengers and 11 crew.

SPECIALS
Who are the Harkat-ul-Ansar?
A background to the terrorist organisation to which Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the terrorists who was released by the government, belongs.

OTHER REPORTS
A tribal time bomb is ticking away
Numerous clashes between tribals and policemen have resulted in casualties and a very tense atmosphere in Orissa's Ganjam distict.

COLUMN
Hostage Insanity, circa Y1.999K
'150 people suffered in that plane... More deadly attacks by militants on Army establishments in Srinagar. Enormous destruction and misery in Orissa from a cyclone 2 months ago... We lurch from one crisis to another. But the millennium show must go on,' says Dilip D'Souza.

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