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China: The passing of the baton
The process of anointing the new president of the People's Republic of China is truly a management proposition from hell.

BJP's man of the moment
Rajnath Singh has taken over as the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Will his time and energy be spent just keeping the government going, or will he be able to able to win the war for the BJP, asks Roving Editor Ramesh Menon.

Strange coincidences
'Vajpayeeji talks to moderate voters. The RSS to fundamentalist voters. Bangaru Laxman to Dalit and Muslim voters... The BJP thinks they have all the angles covered. But the Indian electorate has proved it is not that gullible. The BJP will realise this after it is too late,' says A Ganesh Nadar.

The chief minister as caricature
Roving Editor Ramesh Menon analyses R P Gupta's controversial reign which ended with the BJP's decision to replace him with Rajnath Singh.

Operation Rescue
Will a commando raid against Veerappan succeed? A resounding 'yes' is what we get from experts...

'We need a thousand more judges like him'
Josy Joseph profiles the judge who sentenced a former prime minister to prison.

Whither RSS?
Though its political wing heads the present government, the RSS cannot push across its agenda. Roving Editor Ramesh Menon looks at the dilemma facing the BJP's parent organisation.

Keeping the faith
Shobha Warrier profiles S Satyanarayanan, a former police officer who has successfully rehabilitated ragpickers in Tamil Nadu. A Project Hope feature.

'How can they release the detenues just to please Veerappan?'
Meet them, these widows of the men whom Veerappan has killed. In more than one sense, they are his real victims... A Ramesh Menon report.

Navy hails successful South China Sea visit
The recent visit of an Indian naval fleet to the South China Sea is a great leap in maritime diplomacy, believe naval officials. It has demolished certain diplomatic prejudices, even as it sets up a strong, confidence-building path between India and China, they say.

Nedumaran: The negotiator
George Iype profiles P Nadumaran, a firebrand separatist, pro-LTTE leader, hardcore Tamil nationalist, who looks set to succeed where two state governments could not: in securing the releasing of Dr Rajakumar.

The worldwide failure of peace process
'The peace keeping has been mainly confined to treating the symptoms as in absence of research, the 'real', as opposed to the perceived, cause of the conflict remains illusive as ever,' says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).

One year of Musharraf's rule
All in all, the Pakistan CEO's balance sheet is not impressive. Whatever may be his claims, he has only led the country further down the hill, says defence analyst Sreedhar.

'You don't operate on a prime minister every day!'
Dr Harish Bhende, a member of the medical team which operated on Prime Minister Vajpayee on Tuesday morning, provides a glimpse into what went on during the surgery.

A sinking Pakistan poses major challenge for India
If Pakistan continues to sink, its military will increasingly take recourse to its economical tool of proxy war to keep India mired in internal security problems,' says Brahma Chellaney.

Where does Pakistan stand?
'Pakistan remains dependent on foreign donors and creditors to meet its financial needs. Even with the assistance of international financial institutions, the country has run a current account deficit in recent years,' said William B Milam, the US ambassador to Pakistan.

A Call For Partition
The dormant demand for an independent Dravidian nation has gained ground in Tamil Nadu. George Iype reports in a three-part series.

An American Ramlila?
'As more and more folks are becoming a part of the virtual community, the primitive need to stay in touch may only get stronger. We have our Santa, our pumpkins, our goblins, so why not burning effigies, too, or hey, why not even Ravana himself?' asks Rohini Balakrishnan Ramanathan.

Vajpayee's US visit: Now historic, soon to be prehistoric
'The visit has been much ado about nothing and we are exactly where we were before. Much has been said and heard, nothing has been furthered. The intentions and sentiments of the visit will become history soon,' says S Gopikrishna.

'The fluttering beauties of Bangalore'
'You don't expect to see butterflies -- big and small, colourful ones -- flitting across across the road, with a few unlucky ones facing a powdery death in front of a speeding vehicle.' Madhuri Velegar K on some unusual sightings in her city.

'Problems raised by Rao's case will not go away'
'Given that no single party has been able to get a majority in recent times, the problem is going to stay with us for a long time to come. No government will be immune from the temptation to buy votes. Some with bags of money, others with offers of ministries.' says lawyer Indira Jaising.

Celebrating South Asiana
'My involvement with SAJA has made me realise what a provocative phrase 'South Asian' is. Those who embrace it are embracing the idea that 1.5 billion people of the subcontinent can have something in common. That close to two million folks in the US share in a destiny that unites them as immigrants, children of immigrants, or as visitors,' says Sreenath Sreenivasan.

After Vajpayee, Who?
'One theory that's making the rounds is that the next PM is going to be Chandrababu Naidu. Someone who has the stature and the CEO capabilities to head the new, Pentium-powered India.' Anvar Alikhan lays his bets on the next PM.

Still At Large!
A glimpse into the mind of Veerappan, India's most-wanted brigand.

Standing duck or Sitting duck?
'There is not a whiff of charisma about Vajpayee. He is now reputed to work for less than four hours each day and has yet to reveal that he has a vision for India.' Mohan Guruswamy on the prime minister.

Campus under siege
Allegations of anti-national activities cloud the Aligarh Muslim University. Josy Joseph reports.

A vision for revision
'Pakistani history, with respect to all periods -- ancient, medieval or modern -- is a myth-maker's paradise. Revisionism and exaggeration are so common place that is difficult to find a book which desists from indulging in the practice,' says S Gopikrishna.

The Tangled Plot
A four-part series on the controversial MP land acquisition case.

'What did I get by giving up militancy?'
Ramesh Menon records the confessions of a Pak-trained militant.

The women in Veerappan's wake
'"What sin have I committed to lead such a miserable life?" That perhaps would be the refrain of the many women whose lives have been blighted by Veerappan,' asks Gita Aravamudan.

How the American press misrepresents India
The American press makes major goof-ups while writing on India and gets away with it without so much as an apology,' says S Gopikrishna.

Life in the jaws of death
Ramesh Menon reports from Kalal, a village on the Indo-Pak border.

How and why China proliferates ballistic missiles to Pakistan
'The emerging nuclear and missile race between India and Pakistan has the potential to damage US-China relations and affect both regional and global stability. Indeed, unraveling the proliferation connection between China and Pakistan remains one of the most important and difficult challenges for global nonproliferation efforts,' say Phil Saunders, Jing-dong Yuan and Gaurav Kampani.

Army suspects Chinese hand behind N-E floods
Army officials suspect that the Peoples Liberation Army of China may have blasted the dam to experiment the impact of flash floods in the sensitive north-east and to study the damage such a flood may cause on the Indian side.

Kashmir massacres: Night without end? Part III
'Strong-arm tactics are the only tactics that work against those who believe in violence. Unless you can break the back of insurgency with force, you can forget about the return to peace,' says Wing Commander R V Parasnis (retd).

Kashmir massacres: Night without end? Part II
'It is not that I wish to condemn all Kashmiris. All of us have our faults and failings. My point is that we, rest of us Indians, are not villains in every way and the Kashmiris are not all saints, says Wing Commander R V Parasnis (retd).

Kashmir massacres: Night without end? Part I
'In spite of our long experience in tackling insurgencies, we have learnt nothing about dealing with them on a political level,' says Wing Commander R V Parasnis (retd)

Cult for the communal
An obscure ISI-backed religious order is spreading terror and Islam in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In a two-part serial, George Iype investigates.

Fighting for Osho in cyberspace
The first round in the ugly war that is being fought over Osho's legacy, between the New York-based Osho International Foundation and the Osho Dhyan Mandir, New Delhi, has gone the latter's way.

A house for Mr Jagadan
Jagadan had won the battle he waged against injustice and administrative apathy. Yet, he was a little sad, a little uncertain, a little scared - will life ever be normal again for him and his family.

'Let those who have not sinned cast the first stone'
"Let me ask you, can anyone stop prostitution?' Shobha Warrier on what drives women into selling their bodies

Miles to go for a durable peace!
'By far the biggest motivation for the ceasefire appears to be to save the Hizb from the Indian army's relentless offensive. The Hizb has been losing on an average 10 men a day. No insurgent outfit with a strength of not more than 3,000 can take these kind of casualties for much longer than three months without suffering from a loss of morale.'

Who are these women?
'Some take us to the beach, some to lodges, some do it inside the car itself and there are some who just want to talk to us. This world is made of all kinds of people.' Shobha Warrier on what drives women into prostitution

'After being in prostitution for a few years, they find it difficult to leave'
'People squirm, are uncomfortable and even repelled at the word 'prostitute.' Who are these women? Do they poison 'good' men from good families? How do they behave in real life? Are they like all the other women we see in society? What drives these women to sell their bodies? Desperation? Poverty? Exploitation? A craving for sex? Why does society treat them as untouchables? Why doesn't the same society criticise the men who go to these women?' asks Shobha Warrier.

Salahudin's village recalls him with fondness
Salahudin may be the Valley's man of the moment, but for the dishoused Kashmiri Pandit community he is the villain of the piece. "It was the Hizb that killed 23 Kashmiri Pandits in Wadhawa on January 26,1998, how can we forget this massacre? It was the Hizb that sabotaged the ceasefire announced by the JKLF in 1994," burst out a Kashmiri Pandit angrily. "This government is talking to such a man!"

The Rogues Gallery
'If roguish forces are to be properly disciplined and new threats to international security deterred, the United States and India have to join hands to fight these elements in the undemocratic arc of Asia. The key point to remember is that unconventional threats can never be adequately deterred by conventional means alone,' says Brahma Chellaney.

Rich in resources, Chhattisgarh has a long way to go
It is one of the richest areas as far as natural resources go. It has everything you wanted: Forest wealth. Gold. Coal. Bauxite. Corundum. Dolomite. Carnet. Limestone. Iron. Tin. Alexandrite. Chinaclay. Quartz Silica. Quartzite. Fluorite. And finally, diamonds. Roving Editor Ramesh Menon's fascinating guide to India's newest state.

'If Veerappan kills Dr Rajakumar, I will also die'
Kannada actor Vodda Nagaraj on the night the matinee idol was abducted.

The Veerappan farce turns into tragedy
'While the people of two states hope for a happy ending to this tug of war between hero and villain, it is clear events will follow a familiar of action. A fresh manhunt will be launched, and after a few days, media and police interest will evaporate. And things will return to normal,' says Krishna Prasad..

The birth of Hizbul Mujahideen
'Master Ahsan Dar came back to Kashmir in 1990 to establish a "hard-hitting fighting organisation" to spearhead the freedom struggle.' A three-part series on the Kashmiri militant outfit that's now ready for talks with India.

The Jethmalani affair: Time to look more closely at the judicial system
'The episode brings down high constitutional functionaries like the attorney general, the Chief Justice and the former law minister from their exalted pedestals and proves them all to be victims of their personal interests.' Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising on the crisis in the judiciary.

Looking back to step forward
Nepal Prime Minister G P Koirala last visited India nine years ago. As he prepares to visit India on August 1, expectations are high in both countries. In the two days he is in New Delhi, a host of contentious issues may emerge.

'I have AIDS. Can I get admission here?'
George Iype reports from the Kundukulam Memorial Research and Rehabilitation Centre at Thrissur, India's largest AIDS rehabilitation centre where dying patients live in peace. A Project Hope feature.
AIDS in India: A reality check
'I have been discarded by my family, by society'

'I am proud my son was the first officer to be martyred and the last to come back'
All they have is memories, says A Ganesh Nadar, after a moving encounter with the late Major Saravanan's family. The officer was among the first to achieve martyrdom in the Kargil war.

'Slum dwellers are treated like shit'
'There is no place for them in society.' Magsaysay award winner Jockin Arputham the friendly president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation, has no qualms about his humble status, and feels that what success he has had in improving the lot of the scores of poor around him, is because he has worked from within that system, being part of it.

The Coming Holocaust
'An Indian official told a gathering of USAID officials: "Even if we lose 25 million, we are one billion strong and can take it." He did not seem to realise that unlike the flu or even the plague, HIV selectively attacked the young, vigorous, energetic, productive segment of the populace,' says Ashok Row Kavi.

The DGCA: Investigator, Prosecutor, Jury, Judge and Executioner
'Isn't this against the principle of natural justice? The very purpose of having the elements and a working system of check and a counter-check over each other's functioning is defeated by such concentration of power in a single individual,' says Wg Cdr (retd) R V Parasnis.

Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!
A strange thing happened when the Thackeray case came up for hearing. All phone lines in the city were jammed. Some policemen claimed it was done to prevent rumours from spreading.

Hizb offer a bid to reclaim primacy in J&K
The Hizbul Mujahideen, by asserting its 'Kashmiri', 'representative' character, has sought to wrest the initiative from the foreign militants who have been dominating the separatist movement. Abeer Malik analyses the motives for the sudden ceasefire offer.

'On the face of it, there is no need to arrest'
'Arrest would be violative of the principles of Constitutional jurisprudence laid down by the Supreme Court in the Joginder Kumar vs State of UP case,' feels advocate Shrikant Bhat.

'In no case is arrest compulsory'
Advocate Shrikant Bhat provides a ready reckoner to the legal issues involved in the Bal Thackeray case.

Is airline safety a myth in India?
'Patience is what the media in general and the television media in particular, lack. If not all, at least a part of the sensationalism value must be sacrificed in the interests of genuine concern for those involved in the tragedy,' says Wg Cdr (retd) R V Parasnis.

The Hawala case: Birth. Demise. Resurrection
The Supreme Court recently issued a directive to the income tax department to present before it all the facts and documents pertaining to the infamous hawala racket of the early nineties in which many Indian politicians and bureaucrats were implicated.

Indo-Israeli ties: A new beginning
After the recent overtures, it is clear India sees Israel in a new light and is serious about establishing a lasting and fruitful relationship with that country. After so many years of inactivity, the relationship is finally promising to bloom.

Mission Destabilise
The ISI has spread its tentacles to South India. George Iype reports on the security scene there in a three-part series.

Indo-Nepal relations: At the crossroads
'Politics, propaganda and media hype apart, there is no denying that the ISI has been using Nepal for anti-India activities. It is a convenient staging post for supply of arms, ammunitions, explosives and fake currency to anti-social and anti-national elements in India. It is also an easy conduit to fuel the insurgencies in the northeast,' says Wing Commander (retd) C M Jaywant.

Who's the saint, who the Satan?
'They [the Christians] are born Indians,' said the Bajrang Dal activist. 'But they are not Indians by heart. They are foreigners.'

'We will remain Christians till we die'
Inside one of the few concrete buildings in her village, momentarily cheating the blistering sun, Sarada is telling you why it doesn't pay to be afraid.

Poor foresight compounds Kashmir situation
'At the root of the problem lies the fact that although New Delhi has always claimed the state to be an integral part of India, Kashmir has, in practice, never been treated as such,' says Professor Brahma Chellaney.

'The LTTE will wet their pants when they see my army...'
Ranjan Wijeratne was a daredevil defence minister. If the LTTE did not like him, it was with good reason.

The truth that killed Vijay Ekka
Some time before he died, at some point in police custody, Vijay Ekka must have realised that truth can be dangerous.

The army fights back!
For the army, it was a fight to the finish. The Tigers had not anticipated this. They thought that once the IPKF left, the Sri Lankan army, which lacked both the firepower and training to fight a guerrilla war, would wilt.

Wounded Journey
Ten years ago, Ramesh Menon was in Sri Lanka to cover the unceremonious return of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. What was it like as Indian jawans packed their bags and boarded a ship back to India after a protracted two year war? A decade later, he goes down memory lane.

Bone of conversion
Conversion appears to be the bone of contention between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Church in India.

Witness to a murder
There is a 10-year-old boy somewhere in North India, in what you can call a safe place, who bears the cross of a bloody truth.

Breakthrough in treatment of 'diabetic foot'
Dr Ramachandran, managing director of the Chennai-based M V Hospital for Diabetes and Director of the Diabetic Research Centre says, "It is a myth that the prevalence of diabetes is low among Indians in India.

'More drug use is going on in society than we are aware of'
The past four years have not only seen an increase in the Asian drug habit in Scotland, but also of two peculiar phenomena termed as the 'holiday drug habit', and the 'to-and-fro' syndrome.

Retiring@30
'Retirement ain't all that it is cracked up to be. Ask anybody who has retired,' says Anvar Alikhan.

How a US national missile defence will affect South Asia
'If current trends persist through this decade, India will probably field a modest nuclear force in the low hundreds,' says Gaurav Kampani.

Warriors of peace
Should the Indian soldier shed his blood on alien shores? Josy Joseph's three-part series on New Delhi's role in UN peacekeeping.

Peace eludes Nagaland
Witness to Asia's longest running insurgency, it has been at the centre of an endless chain of violence since 1956.

Kerala's Kuwait returnees still await compensation
Nearly 50,000 Indians are yet to receive promised compensation from the United Nations Compensation Committee nearly 10 years after they left their hard-earned money and belongings and fled a war-ravaged Kuwait, following Iraq's invasion.

A homeland denied
"We are thrilled that the war against the Sinhalese government is progressing well. We will achieve Eelam this time." A three-part series on the Sri Lankan refugees in India.

North-east, Nagas and future of Muivah
One of the most significant developments to affect India's north-east this year took place, not in this distant and sensitive region, but in Thailand, hundreds of kilometres to its south-east.

Kashmir: The gun's shadow over paradise
Twelve years of militancy have taken its toll in Kashmir.

MP permits blue bull hunting
After three decades of conservation, the government has allowed hunting of antelopes

Talking and killing in Kashmir
Obstacles to negotiations between the Indian government and Kashmiri separatists are huge, but not insurmountable.

Kargil: June 2000
A year after the Kargil conflict, rediff.com chronicles its impact. A four-part series.

Temporary reprieve
Despite the adept juggling of wordsmiths that helped conclude the four-week review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at the UN, the treaty's future appears shaky. Despite its membership having grown to encompass most nations, the NPT regime has come under greater pressure, says Brahma Chellaney.

The forgotten uprising
'The Trotskyites came fairly close to pulling off their coup, but it was just a combination of timing, luck and good, old-fashioned ruthlessness on the part of the Indian Army that saved the day for Mrs Bandaranaike's government. She was deeply indebted to Mrs Gandhi for her help after that,' recalls Anvar Ali Khan.

'We belonged to an era where good lyrics and singing were appreciated'
'His kind of lyrics and my kind of singing always created a bond between us and I will always miss that when I remember him.' Manna Dey on Majrooh Sultanpuri.

So Who Can You Trust, Huh?
'To cut a long -- and sordid -- story short, I ultimately discovered that it was just the old Bible Salesman scam that the CA was trying to pull on me. And I very nearly fell for it.'

Sri Lanka -- war without end, peace without hope!
Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) explains the historical reasons behind the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka.

'Their discipline and self-restraint was a sign of their professionalism'
'But this was a professionalism that was wasted on their adversaries. Indeed, the whole UN presence in Sierra Leone felt, in retrospect, like the collision of two mutually uncomprehending moral systems. It was as if Gandhi had tried practicing civil disobedience on the Soviets.'

All according to the law
'The uncertainty about the regime's legitimacy is over, at least in the eyes of the law. The junta has been empowered to deal effectively with the myriad problems facing Pakistan without having to worry about tiresome court battles. So there is no room for excuses any more.'

No dash to the dustbin
'Indeed, the challenge to the NPT comes from the weaknesses in the international safeguards against proliferation. Although all NPT members are supposed to have safeguards deals with the International Atomic Energy Agency, some still do not.'

'We are not a war-making force'
Indian troops, part of the UN Peace Keeping Force, are now trying to restore peace in troubled Sierra Leone. How does the Indian Army carry out its brief, in an alien land where it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe? New York Times correspondent James Traub went recently to the frontlines, to find out for himself. Another rediff.com exclusive.

'Unless they see somebody dying from AIDS, they won't understand'
'Mentally ill women who roam around the streets don't take a bath, don't dress properly, still men have sex with them. I must tell you, you cannot change men's behavior at all.'

'I am scared. Please don't leave me here'
The shocking story of how mentally unstable women in Tamil Nadu are being infected by the dreaded AIDS virus.

'Now I can see life as a prisoner'
Ramesh Menon on how Laloo Prasad Yadav spent his days in prison. A rediff.com exclusive.

'This drought is not the worst ever'
'Today I am supplying water only to 448 villages; in 1988, 497 villages didn't have a drop of water. Our operation was at a much larger scale. But no one wrote about it!' says Jamnagar Collector Girish Murmu.

For some, drought is the season to make money
"Nobody bothers about us. My village hardly exists to the outside world." Sheela Bhatt reports from the drought-hit Kutch.

Kerala: The LTTE Connection
Among the large number of Tamils who migrate to Kerala from Sri Lanka are said to be LTTE agents, middlemen and cadres who use the state's airports to fly onward to foreign destinations.

'India and Pakistan have to approach the situation in Kashmir as if they were starting all over again'
'India can take a less rhetorical position with respect to the Kashmir issue and to the CTBT perhaps. Nationalism is fine to a point but I think India is secure as a nation." Dr Richard Cohen tells the Rediff Chat.

Passage to Lanka
Kerala has emerged as South India's safest transit point for foreign nationals, especially Sri Lankans suspected to be the members of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

An elephantine problem
Trade in rare species should be permitted, but only if it can be monitored to ensure it does not endanger the species's survival.

'All through the attack, they kept saying mar dalo, khatam kar do'
The attack on St Theresa's Convent at Kosi in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh is the latest in a chain of violent incidents in the state where Christians have been made a target.

A house for Mr Gowda
The former prime minister is desperately looking for a house so that he and his family can start living happily ever after in Bangalore, which he has now made his political base.

More Sun Temple, for the same price
A large of part of the 13th century Sun Temple in Orissa, out of bounds for both casual visitors and researchers for almost hundred years, is likely to be thrown open to public soon.

'They wanted to make me sign a statement against Nawaz Sharief'
When I returned to my country security personnel began interrogating me about my stay in India. Though I explained it was just a study tour, they continued to harass me." Pak poet Aftab Hussain, verbatim

'These alarmist descriptions only encourage those who indulge in terrorism'
President Narayanan's speech at the banquet for Bill Clinton last fortnight still provokes controversy. What did the Rashtrapati say?

The fire burns brightly for Palani lesbian couple
"We can't live without each other," say the young women. "Our love for and understanding of each other will not diminish with age. Nor will we regret our decision later, or want a man in our life, a child, or whatever."

Iran looking to Beijing to break out of US shackles
'The Iranian quest for missile and nuclear technology, to neutralise the Pakistani advantage, can come only from Beijing. Any success on this count will swing the Iranian armed forces in Khattami's favour and silence the conservatives.' Sreedhar analyses the Chinese foreign minister's visit to Teheran.

The Clinton visit: Hype and Reality
'America is no longer siding with Pakistan. That's apparent. But that does not automatically translate into a 'tilt' towards India. America is doing what it has always been doing: assertively promoting its interests. America's interests today demand closer engagement with India than Pakistan,' says Professor Brahma Chellaney.

The 'Mercy Man' of Ahmedabad
A man in Ahmedabad shows that will is all you need to help poor.

Making Peace With Oscar
'The influence of South Asians is -- at least during these few days -- vastly disproportionate to their numbers. Most desis toil away from the spotlight, whether they are cab drivers or medical personnel or Wall Street bankers or Capitol Hill lobbyists. Their anonymous work helps, in a small way, make this country tick,' says Sreenath Sreenivasan.

Me 'n' Bill
'Frankly, the only way you're going to get anywhere near Clinton,' said a well-connected friend of mine, 'is to go to the Mahaveer Hospital, which he is visiting this morning, and pose as a TB patient.'

India's Vietnam
The IPKF in Sri Lanka: 10 Years On. A gripping series on what went wrong.

A break with the past
'The real significance of this joint vision is that the political leadership at the highest level has decided to take personal responsibility and pilot the future together,' says C P Bhambri.

Remembering the Forgotten Heroes
The Indian Army has officially constructed a huge war memorial at Tawang to acknowledging the sacrifice made by 2420 soldiers in 1862 war with China for which the troops were ill-prepared.

At the last frontier, Indian troops battle cold, loneliness
'The troops have to be constantly on guard and supremely fit to survive in these conditions. Some of our posts are above 16,000 to 17,000 feet and it is not easy to remain focused on the job unless there is high motivation,' says Brigadier V D I Devavaram, commander of India's forward-most brigade.

The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming
'Clinton's visit down south will be an affirmation of not just the shift in emphasis from politics to economics (and within that a move from traditional industry to high tech - or in Americanese, from Dow to Nasdaq), but also a celebration of India's growing strength as a federation,' feels S B Ramanujam.

Is Clinton safe in Pakistan?
'Given the surcharged atmosphere in the Indian subcontinent, it will not be beyond imagination to apprehend that blame for any untoward incident in Pakistan will be put squarely in the Indian lap,' fears Colonel Anil Athale (retd).

Run, Rabbit, Run
'My father is going to die tomorrow, at 10.30 am. That's when the doctors are finally, mercifully, going to disconnect his life-support system. He is in the ICU on this, the last night of his life and I am lying on a bench in the hospital lobby downstairs. It's funny the thoughts that pass through my mind as I keep this one final, lonely vigil.' Anvarali Khan's moving memoir.

Desperately seeking Bill
'Since General Musharraf assumed power, except Mullah Rabbani, head of the Taleban government, no important visitor has come to Pakistan. A visit by the sole superpower will be a great morale booster and provide legitimacy for his rule,' feels defence analyst Sreedhar.

'My uncle told Mrs Gandhi the PVC is not for officers, but soldiers'
'When I was in the Congress my uncle would always tell me he did not like the party in which I was.' Union Power Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam recalls his uncle, General P P Kumaramangalam, the former aarmy chief who passed into the ages on Monday, March 13.

Chinks in the armour
Major projects for the development of missiles, armaments, Light Combat Aircraft, radar and electronic warfare systems languish in DRDO laboratories. So much so that the armed forces complain that DRDO is incapable of producing what they want. What ails India's premier defence research organisation? An investigation.

How fallible Washington's South Asia policy is to Islamabad's fears and foibles
'Can Pakistan deliver bin Laden or bring the Taliban leadership to the negotiating table? Not likely, because it has lost effective control over the jehadi outfits. It has gradually become a vortex of bilious religious irredentism in the region, creating a "Frankenstein" it cannot control,' says South Asia expert Dr Anupam Srivastava.

C'est la vie!
A record of the life on an aircraft carrier.

C'est la guerre!
Josy Joseph was there when the Indian Navy engaged the French in a mock war. An exclusive from aboard France's only aircraft carrier P A Foch.

There is no need for alarm bells to go off
'Shortening a training course means cutting out the "frills" ... this may slightly affect the officer's confidence in himself, but nothing to really be alarmed about. Life in the battalion will iron out these wrinkles!' says Colonel John Taylor (retd).

'The fallacy of showing the LOC as running northeast to the Karakoram Pass must be exposed'
Pakistan and the world must know that India's defence of the integrity of its own territory, including that within its own side of the LOC, is not and cannot be held to be escalatory and that the aggressor and his victim cannot be bracketed and placed on par. rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee report.

'The country can no longer afford such ad hoc functioning'
'An effective and appropriate national security planning and decision-making structure for India in the nuclear age is overdue, taking account of the revolution in military affairs and threats of proxy war and terrorism and the imperative of modernising the Armed Forces.' rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee report.

'Kargil highlighted the gross inadequacies in the nation's surveillance capability'
'Every effort must be made and adequate funds provided to ensure that a capability of world standards is developed indigenously and put in place in the shortest possible time.' rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee report.

'The Kargil battle was fought with less than optimum communications capability'
'Despite the challenge of terrorism over the past many years, the Indian Army and other security forces have lagged behind in the quality of their surveillance and communication equipment, although technologically superior equipment is readily available the world over. rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee report.

'This rapid and strong Indian reaction was obviously not expected by the Pakistanis'
'The Committee has not come across any assessment at operational levels that would justify the conclusion that the Lahore summit had caused the Indian decision-makers to lower their guard.' rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee report.

Back to the Future in Hyderabad
Anvar Alikhan views a CD-ROM on his native city and gets an attack of nostalgia.

'The Pakistani establishment has a long and consistent history of misreading India's will'
'The Pakistani intruders operated on the assumption that the intrusions would be under counter attack for only a few days and thereafter some sort of cease-fire would enable them to stay on the heights.' rediff.com presents the executive summary of the Kargil Review Committee Report.

'One of the best kept secrets of the 1990s was the emergence of the Indian economy into a free market'
'The full potential of our growing engagement with South Asia can be realized only if that region addresses some of the tough issues including: proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and regional and social conflict,' says Karl F Inderfurth.

They who might modify the Constitution
Brief sketches of the members of 11-member Constitution Review Commission.

'Our fascination with India remains strong today'
'India is a very intense, dynamic, and in almost every respect a successful democracy. This should make the US and India natural allies and indeed it is quite unnatural that our two countries have for too long seemed at odds on many international issues,' says Karl F Inderfurth.

The question, 'should Bill Clinton visit Pakistan,' is the wrong one
'Pakistan is an important enough country that Bill Clinton should HAVE visited long ago; perhaps a few months after a visit to India. All of this should have taken place in 1994 or 1995 at the latest,' says Professor Stephen P Cohen.

Extortion is big business in the northeast
The funds enable them to finance the visits of their leaders abroad, purchase sophisticated arms and communication equipment and run the organisation. Of course, most of them term the process as "tax collection."

India may not be China, but neither is it an insignificant 'Third World' state
'India has been neglected by American policymakers, but correcting that error should not mean neglecting Pakistan, which is not only nuclear-armed, but by 2002 will be the world's sixth largest state, and perhaps once again its fourth largest democracy,' says Professor Stephen P Cohen.

America's engagement in the Kashmir dispute needs to be raised several notches
'What makes Kashmir such a difficult issue is that it is not only about contested territory and populations but because it also touches upon competing national identities: India as a secular state, Pakistan as an Islamic one,' says Professor Stephen P Cohen.

Both India and Pakistan have demonstrated an ability to resist outside pressures perceived as inimical to their vital interests
'Washington's policy-makers need a better understanding of both the opportunities for and the limitations on American power in the area.' Professor Stephen P Cohen on the need for a fresh look at US policies in South Asia.

By winning a gallantry award a soldier becomes part of his regimental history
'Only the man who inspired his comrades and men, who led from the front and who overcame heavy odds, gets recommended for a gallantry award.' Colonel John Taylor (retd) on awards for the armed forces.

The End of an American Dream
Despite the crimes he has been charged with in the United States of America, Lakireddy Bali Reddy is God in Velvadam. In a three-part serial, Associate Editor George Iype reports from the village in Andhra Pradesh the NRI hailed from.

'It's like banning a book before it's even written'
Actress Nandita Das, in a first person account, recalls her association with Deepa Mehta and regrets the protests over Water.

When I'm Sixty Four
'There you are now, sitting in your chair like a rag doll, drooling. Or lying in bed, praying for an early deliverance. And all you have now is your spouse, your children and a handful of your oldest friends. And if you're not particularly lucky you might not even have that.' Anvar Alikhan has seen the future.

'There's no room for complacency when there's a rogue in the neighbourhood'
Krishna V Rajan, India's ambassador to Nepal, on the post-hijack scenario, the threat from the Inter-Services Intelligence and other issues of concern.

The hijack and the Kathmandu connection
Major Gen Ashok K Mehta says the hijack of the Indian Airlines Airbus was both a pity and a miracle. A miracle because it had not happened so far. And a pity that, had it happened earlier, the CBI team sent to Kathmandu would, long ago, have uncovered the ISI network in Nepal.

The Naxal connection
Some Maoist leaders have contacts in Pakistan and, if a deal is struck between them and the ISI, Nepal, which till now has only been a passive witness to Pakistani operations, may have to pay a heavy price.

Down with India!
The ISI feels more comfortable about operating from Nepal because of the growing anti-India sentiment there.

The auctioned airport
Tribhuvan airport is an apology for an international airport. Security is a pretty meaningless term here and the levels of corruption being embarrassingly high, even by local bureaucratic standards. The only people who feel completely at home there are those with something to hide.

Paris teems with Indian illegals
So alarmed are the EU authorities by this flood of migrants from the Indian subcontinent that it has become a major issue between the two sides. No government has accurate figures, but estimates say up to 20,000 illegal migrants from India are landing in the EU each month. Ranvir Nayar reports from Paris.

Is some rethinking of policy towards Afghanistan now needed?
'Can the Taleban continue to be ignored and denounced as a malign, fundamentalist State bent on doing damage to India, or do the country's interests demand a move, however cautious, to open links with Kabul? asks former foreign secretary Salman Haider.

Working on the Gurkhas
Once it had consolidated its position in Kathmandu, the ISI began expanding operations, going into the hinterland, particularly the region bordering India that is home to what are arguably the Indian army's doughtiest fighters -- the Gurkhas.

The underworld warlord
Dawood Ibrahim and the ISI are looking for someone to replace Mirza Dilshad Beg, the local politician who was killed last year, to manage their affairs in Kathmandu's criminal community.

Twilight Zone
The Inter-Services Intelligence is using Nepal -- and the Pakistan embassy in Kathmandu -- to organise subversive activities in India. Josy Joseph who investigated the issue in the Himalayan nation, believes the situation could go out of control if the Indian and Nepali authorities don't wake up quickly.

At the vanguard of the jihad
The Binori Town madrassah in Karachi, where Maulana Masood Azhar chose to make his first public appearance, is one of the most influential centres of hardline Muslim ideology and a preparation ground for future terrorists.

India caved in too early
'The way the political leadership behaved in the present crisis, is being perceived at the popular level as a weak response. In the process, comparisons are being made between the present leadership and the past,' says Sreedhar.

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 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 Professor Brahma Chellaney.

'The main aim of Pakistan 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.

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