| No regional leader has affected Indian politics recently in
quite the same way as Jayalalitha. The AIADMK leader is also proficient in a relatively
new art form: coalition demolition. We have followed her moves for more than a decade,
tracking her trajectory from chief minister to political oblivion to comeback. She has
featured four times on the cover of India Today in a little over two years. For charges of
corruption ("Booty Queen", Dec 31, '96), her various political bargains
("Odd One Out", March 23, '98), constant harassment of A.B. Vajpayee's
Government ("Cracking The Whip", May 4, '98) and her continuing saga of
political blackmail ("Life Without Amma", August 31, '98). She is back to her
old tricks but this time Vajpayee and Jayalalitha have taken harder positions than ever
before. We tell the story of this volatile politician who is
making her biggest move against a backdrop of the routine instability of coalition
politics. This could be the endgame. But whichever way it ends, everybody loses. Coalition politics aside, we also mark a significant historical moment: the
tercentenary of the formation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. It is our tribute to a
community that has contributed immeasurably to the country's economy and society with
sheer hard work and ingenuity. Says Assistant Editor Ashok Malik, who spent weeks
researching the story along with Principal Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak and Photographer
Bandeep Singh: "People in Punjab are so fiercely individualistic that it is amazing a
collective like the Khalsa has thrived for 300 years."
It's the sort of teamwork that Indian cricket could do with,
at its head a shaky national team that seems to lack the spirit to fight. From this issue,
our exclusive coverage leading up to the World Cup finals moves into high gear. We hope
the action will offset the depressing political circus.
(Aroon Purie) |
