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INDIA
TODAY: January 2002 to April 2002
 April
29, 2002
Face of Discord
Call him a fascist or applaud him as the new Sardar, Narendra Modi dominates
the political agenda. To some Modi is the epitome of everything evil and
loathsome; to others, he's the latest poster-boy of the counter-establishment.
He has galvanised the BJP, disoriented its allies and outraged the Opposition.
Unrepentant about his own role, the 51-year-old Gujarat chief minister
has effected the biggest polarisation in society since the Babri Masjid
demolition in 1992.
 April
22, 2002
Vacancy at Raisina Hill
The arrival of coalition politics, greater political turbulence and fickle
majorities have given the President an importance of his own. These days
the President is called upon to apply his mind when there are no conclusive
majorities or when the government takes decisions that are not exactly
in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution. The election of the next
President will be a ferociously fought event because in the era of hung
mandates all parties see it prudent to have a friendly man at Raisina
Hill. There are at least six probables for the post, besides the usual
dark horses.
 April
15, 2002
The Party is Over
Once the party with a difference, the BJP today is caught in a morass
of its own making. A rout in the recent assembly elections, erosion of
its ideological base, the lack of a strong, decisive leadership and bickering
within the Sangh Parivar have left the party floundering.The party looks
just plain tired, adrift, confused and demoralised. Will the Bharatiya
Janata Party be able to reinvent itself and weather this crisis? An EXCLUSIVE
analysis by India Today.
 April
8, 2002
The Communal Divide
In a grim reminder of the Partition years, India has again become compartmentalised
into Hindu, Muslim, Christian and other categories. And though communal
riots are not new to India, what is ominous is their intensity. Some 12
lakh people participated in the Gujarat riots. The fragile consensus of
tolerance has broken down, pitting a sullen majority against frightened
minorities. The lofty dream of creating a new Indian is shattered. Secularism
was an idea that couldn’t sustain itself.
 April
1, 2002
The Life and Death of Natasha Singh
When socialite-photographer Natasha Singh was found dead on the terrace
of a five-star hotel, it was more than a case of a young life cut short.
Despite the growing consensus that she may have taken her own life, unexplained
questions remain about her death. Linked by marriage and later divorce
to a powerful political family, Singh's death was shrouded in mystery.
Beyond murder or suicide, it threw up questions about the ugly secrets
of the capital's beautiful people.
 March
25, 2002
Saffron Quicksand
The Bharatiya Janata Party rode to power as the proponent of Hindutva
but shelved its agenda under coalition compulsions. Now, the Ayodhya issue
has driven a deep wedge between the party and its NDA allies. The BJP,
by trying to distance itself from its core constituency, may have been
able to stave off the current crisis, but its longevity is in doubt. Though
the Supreme Court's clear negation of the VHP's Ayodhya agenda for March
15 bailed out the Government, the aftermath found both political opponents
and religio-social allies criticising Vajpayee.
 March
18, 2002
Guilty Inaction
This has been one of the blackest weeks in recent times. The fragile communal
peace that held for nine years has been shattered. More than 600 people
have been killed and in Ahmedabad alone, 20,000 are huddled into makeshift
camps. The prime minister has called the Gujarat riots a "blot" on the
image of India. It is also a blot on his government, which once boasted
of its ability to ensure a riot-free environment in India. Is Chief Minister
Narendra Modi the villain, a Hindutva hardliner who sat back and allowed
the mobs to seek bloody revenge for the Godhra atrocity? A report.
 March
11, 2002
Trial By Fire
The images of burnt bodies in Godhra and trident-carrying sadhus in Ayodhya
are the last things India needs to see today. They reduce us to a cliche
of a country trapped in religious medievalism. Worse, they distract attention
from far more important issues facing the country. Following communal
riots in the aftermath of the Godhra killings and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's
insistence on its construction work in Ayodhya, the BJP is in a state
of disorientation. It has to choose between its obligations as head of
a coalition government and the impulses of its support base.
 March
4, 2002
Tackling A Hung Economy
Economics is a highly specialised sphere of activity that produces a cacophony
of voices. We remain a baffling country: one billion people, 350 million
bank accounts, and only 50,000 people with declared incomes of over Rs
10 lakh per year. It takes an expert to explain it all. The economy's
fate is precariously placed between the prospects of a recession and the
potential of high growth. Can Budget 2002 provide a breakthrough? To make
sense of what is baffling India, an India Today panel of economists met
in Delhi for an interactive session. They have some answers.
 February
25, 2002
The Instruments of Terror
Last week, Indian diplomacy notched up a significant victory by persuading
the United Arab Emirates to deport Aftab Ansari—also known here as Farhan
Malik—to India. Ansari is said to have been the mastermind behind the
attack on the USIS in Kolkata. Almost simultaneously, the authorities
in Pakistan arrested Saeed Omar Sheikh. Before their arrests, Omar Sheikh
and Aftab Ansari were the sinister masterminds of a nexus between the
underworld and jehadi forces. Their creation had the potential to unleash
a wave of terror across India.
 February
18, 2002
Neck & Neck
Later this month, India will witness elections in one of the country's
richest states and one of its poorest. The scenarios couldn't be more
different: Punjab has shrugged off the memory of insurgency with ebullience;
Uttar Pradesh remains a madhouse of caste, criminality and lax governance.
According to the poll commissioned by the Aaj Tak channel (a part of the
India Today Group) and conducted by C-Voter, the Samajwadi Party is running
the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party close in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress
is well ahead in Punjab while it is the BJP that has the edge in Uttaranchal.
 February
11, 2002
The Lost City of Cambay
Recent archaeological findings have evoked interest, challenging accepted
notions about our past. The excavations at Dholavira, for example, deepened
our understanding of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The exciting discovery
of an ancient city submerged off the Gujarat coast could revolutionise
the way Indians look at history. It could turn out to be the earliest
known settlement in India, at 7500 B.C. predating Mohenjodaro by 4,500
years. Archaeologists hope the discovery will reveal the missing link
connecting the two lots of the Indian people—the hunter and the farmer.
 February
4, 2002
Return of the Militant Hindu
The INDIA TODAY-ORG-MARG State of the Nation poll indicates that concerns
over terrorism and security are generating a Hindu backlash. Ironically,
the BJP is only a modest gainer from the phenomenon while the Congress
is a loser. Our poll indicates that this backlash does not stop at adopting
a hawkish posture on Pakistan. It extends to support for the contentious
issue of the construction of the temple in Ayodhya. This growing aggressiveness
will have consequences not only in elections, but also on the future of
Indian politics.
 January
28, 2002
Can Pakistan Change?
President Pervez Musharraf's carefully chosen words on the national television
last week could change the very face of Pakistan. If he succeeds, he will
sideline the religious right, tame the militants after a decade of guerrilla
war in Jammu and Kashmir and propel Pakistan towards new economic opportunities.
If he slips, the country may lose the chance to stem the tide of Islamic
extremism. But the question is: will the Pakistani General be able to
deliver? An EXCLUSIVE report on the issue by India Today.
 January
21, 2002
The Terror Academy
It has been a frenzied week for global diplomacy, most of it centred on
Delhi. The terrain of the war against terrorism now appears to have shifted
to India and Pakistan. There may be an element of political grandstanding
in the diplomatic sparring that is going on these days, but the issue
of terrorism is closer to us than we realise. In an Afghan rubble called
Rishkhor lie the remains of a school of dark arts. With retired Pakistani
Army personnel as teachers, its students were given degrees in murder.
An EXCLUSIVE report by India Today.
 January
14, 2002
The General in a Jam
Under pressure from the US, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf
deserted the Taliban regime, his long-time ally in Afghanistan. India
now says he must stop supporting the terrorists in Kashmir. The US concurs.
Will he deliver? In an EXCLUSIVE analysis India Today looks at the options
available to the General and the knife-edge he—and the Indian subcontinent—
stands on. It also analyses the situation from Delhi's perspective and
closely studies the list of India's most wanted: the 20 terrorists demanded
by the Government from their safe havens inside Pakistan.
 January
7, 2002
The Messiah of Terror
In recent days vanquished warrior Osama bin Laden's only appearance has
been on a suspect videotape, possibly recorded on November 9, that was
retrieved by the CIA. He may have gone off our screens and those fanatical
tones may not be heard on any radio. But bin Laden is everywhere, dominating
the media, the thoughts of people and the strategies of military experts
across the world. For good or bad, that is an achievement that marks out
the Islamist terror monger as India Today's Newsmaker of the Year.
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