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INDIA
TODAY: September 2002 to December 2002
 December
30, 2002
Modi Mania... the Formula
The Gujarat election has thrown up a new model — ignore local issues,
play up the emotive and focus on leadership. Will politics ever be the
same again? With the BJP on a roll, its adversaries, still numbed by the
shock of Gujarat, will have to come up with slogans that will match the
saffron party's winning formula of pitting faith and dignity against insecurity
and terrorism.
 December
23, 2002
When India came close to WAR
Last Christmas, fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force's No. 1 Tiger Squadron
of Mirage-2000 H aircraft were not in celebratory mode. Moved a week earlier
from home base Gwalior to the forward base Adampur near Jalandhar, the
Tigers packed pistols, high-protein Swiss chocolates and a quarter-inch
map of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). These would come in handy in case
any of them was shot down behind enemy lines.
 December
16, 2002
Last Man Standing
The December 12 assembly elections in Gujarat has been described as a
"battle for the soul of India". Should that claim be taken at face value,
irrespective of whether the BJP wins or the Congress, India's soul will
evidently be very scarred after the proverbial last vote is counted. As
D-Day approaches the war of words between the two contending parties,
the BJP and the Congress, and their respective commanders-Chief Minister
Narendra Modi and Congress state unit President Shankersinh Vaghela-becomes
louder by the minute.
 December
9, 2002
The Mess
Despite Rs 1,000 crore being spent on prevention campaigns and management
of AIDS anually, India's HIV positive population has going up to four
milion. Take for example, G.B. Road, Delhi's notorious red-light district,
which health workers call India's AIDS factory. Teeming with commercial
sex workers, the area is a giant reservoir for the deadly virus.
 December
2, 2002
Upper Hand
Italian-born Sonia Gandhi is finally an Indian political reality in her
own right. One can hate her or love her-but not ignore her. Three years
ago, she was the subject of ridicule for her lack of political understanding,
for her inability to make speeches and differentiate between dining table
and dialogue table. Now she leads discussions and discourses on complex
issues of national and international importance. Those who abhorred her
now adore her. She is the icon of the emerging political market.
 November
25, 2002
Gujarat's Icon India's Anxiety
In a vibrant democracy like India, can vitriol get votes? The outcome
of a fiercely fought battle in Gujarat next month will determine both
the colour and contours of India's future electoral battles. A victory
for the BJP will herald the return of saffron aggression and supply the
much-needed oxygen to the currently lacklustre NDA Government at the Centre.
A defeat may accelerate the downfall of the Vajpayee Government.
 November
18, 2002
Housekeepers to the World
It is midnight, the graveyard shift, when most of India is sound asleep.
Yet the sweeping glass and concrete building at Gurgaon near Delhi is
lit like a stadium and is abuzz with activity. A fleet of Toyota Qualises
streams in and out, disgorging trendily dressed 20-somethings babbling
away excitedly. They take their places in a large, bright hall, jammed
with factory rows of computer consoles and telephones.
 November
11, 2002
Drums Of War
Late in the summer of 2002, a debate began in the BJP-led NDA Government
on the merits and demerits of privatising two public sector corporations-Bharat
Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. Like a mosquito biting its way to more
human blood, the issue gradually gained weight. It moved to a dispute
on privatisation per se, then to an argument on market economics-and finally,
as the entire Sangh Parivar got into the act, into a full-fledged attack
on Prime Minister Vajpayee and his Government.
 November
4, 2002
Hip Diwali
For some time now, Diwali has no longer been just the festival of lights
but a celebration of conspicuous consumption instead. While the occasion
calls for big spending and the worship of the Goddess of Wealth, India
often went to an ostentatious extreme—spending lakhs of rupees on fireworks,
decorations, gifts, clothes, lavish parties or just gambling it away.
Gold and glitter is out, togetherness in. Tired of reckless revelry and
rituals, people now look at the festival of lights as a more meaningful
and individualistic celebration. Yet for those who wish to splurge, this
economy-hit festival promises to be the cheapest in years.
 October
28, 2002
Readying for War
Politicians and war make strange bedfellows. War tends to make or unmake
politicians in most unpredictable ways. Winston Churchill, who led Great
Britain to victory in World War II, was defeated in the subsequent elections
of 1945. George Bush Sr, who declared war on Iraq in 1991, too lost to
Bill Clinton in 1992. And now his son George Bush Jr is going to war against
Iraq to succeed where his father failed—in the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
A reluctant Saddam, however, prepares to "fight from every house". But
the odds are heavily stacked against him. This time the economically ravaged
Iraqis may not rally around him as they did in the 1991 Gulf War.
 October
21, 2002
Vote Against Dynasty
The unexpected voter turnout during the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls
has been followed by an equally unexpected result. The National Conference
has been drubbed, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been wiped out while
the Congress has made a comeback. Clearly, the electorate has rejected
the Abdullah dynasty. Though there is no absolute majority, the vote is
clearly for change in a region riven with corruption and terrible violence.
The vote is also an affirmation of faith in democracy.
 October
14, 2002
Love in the Time of SMS
If there is a modern, techno Cupid, it is that small screen on mobile
handsets. The SMS has launched a thousand relationships. Over 2.5 crore
SMS are sent by four lakh cell phone owners daily, an average of over
60 messages per phone per day. More than half of these SMS messages are
generated between 7 and 9 a.m. and between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Across India,
it is increasingly used for instantly conveying intimate details of love-indicating
a paradigm shift in personal communications.
 October
7, 2002
Terrorism's New Strategy
October 1, 2001: Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Srinagar. December 13, 2001:
Parliament House, Delhi. September 24, 2002: Swaminarain Temple, Gandhinagar.
There is a method to this madness: attack symbols of power to demoralise
a nation. If it does not work, change the strategy to attack religious
symbols, the sinister plan being to provoke sectarian violence. Those
responsible for the Swaminarain temple carnage were not freelance fanatics
but pawns of a mastermind bent on destabilising India. It was probably
meant to capitalise on the situation in Gujarat. It could as well be a
reaction to the successful conduct of the Jammu and Kashmir polls.
 September
30, 2002
Money Wars
The popularity of cricket in India has translated into the fact that the
business of international cricket is dependent on Indian cricket. Some
estimates reckon Indian cricket economy to be worth Rs 1,000 crore a year,
driving between 60 and 70 per cent of the world's cricket business. The
world's richest cricket team has lost a sponsor because everyone wants
a chunk of the $200 million business that the game rakes in. With the
stakes getting higher and the World Cup around the corner, more turmoil
and intrigues off the field lie ahead.
 September
23, 2002
How Safe are Fast Trains?
Last week, as the world mourned the 2,800 people who died in the twin
tower tragedy in New York, we had our own moment of grief. The Howrah-New
Delhi Rajdhani Express somersaulted off an 86-year-old bridge in Bihar.
Over 100 people died, some in their sleep. It may take some time before
the authorities decide whether the Rajdhani Express accident was due to
sabotage or negligence. A look at how well-equipped the Indian Railways
is to run high-speed trains.
 September
16, 2002
One Year After
September 11 has brought the Americans to our doorstep and changed the
way the US sees the world; fortunately for India, it has put the fight
against terrorism on top of the world agenda and also put our not-so-friendly
neighbourhood General in a tight spot. The targets were terrifyingly symbolic.
The twin towers epitomised hateful modernity. A year later Osama bin Laden's
medieval utopia has been worsted — not defeated. Kabul has been reclaimed,
not Afghanistan. Seeds of a future terror sprout in Pakistan and the Arab
streets, breeding a perverse cult of martyrdom. It challenges the West
and threatens India.
 September
9, 2002
Rape
The World Health Organisation estimates there is a rape every 54 minutes
in India. It is a horrifying and depressing statistic because it tells
an uncomfortable truth: that no matter how we measure progress, India
remains medieval in the way it treats its women. The alarming news is
that violence against women is being reported from the most cosmopolitan
of Indian cities. Urban India's mean streets are getting meaner and the
causes are complex. An EXCLUSIVE analysis by India Today.
 September
2, 2002
Why Was Shivani Killed?
In the same way you can never say die for a politician, a story is never
buried in India. On a perpetual slow burn, it has a habit of resurfacing,
driven inexorably by politics, sluggish judicial process and ineffectual
governance. After journalist Shivani Bhatnagar was found murdered in her
Delhi flat in January 1999, the investigation floundered for three years.
Then in a melodramatic turn to the case, the Delhi Police announced it
was close to arresting the prime suspect, a senior IPS officer. Amid charges
and countercharges the tale of lust, power and politics suddenly became
a national crime thriller.
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