Dec 20, 1999

COVER STORY
Manufacturing Beauty
With a Miss Universe and three Miss Worlds since 1994, India appears to be the new fountainhead of beauty. A veritable beauty industry has cropped up to take care of every aspect of pulchritude. An inside look at the world of body sculptors, cosmetic dentists and etiquette teachers who construct Indian beauties. 

NATION
Fumbling Police
An overworked, poorly equipped, understaffed police force bungles its way across the metros in investigating crime and prosecuting the guilty. 

Judging Judges
The judiciary announces a lofty self-regulatory code to cleanse the system but questions remain on how it will be enforced.

In the Red Against the Reds
Indian railways is broke and facing its worst financial crisis. But it is still a useful weapon for Mamata Banerjee to score points against her left rivals. Can she rise above politics and fix the mess?

The Ayodhya Spark
The opposition party raises the demolition case issue discomfiting the BJP in Parliament. 

STATES
An Oriya Roulette
A desperate Congress tries to clear the mess in the state unit. But replacing the chief minister may not put an end to factionalism in the party.

The Red Degree
Qualified candidates get sidelined as Marxist supporters get all the plum academic posts.

OTHER STORIES

LITERATURE
Faces of the Millennium
Carrying on in the tradition of past masters, today's artists are covering new areas of expression, creating works which are charged and arresting. The eighth in our profile series, this one is on art.

THE ARTS
Couple Colours
In a unique millennium idea, Delhi's prominent art gallery showcases works done by 14 prominent artist couples jointly.

SPORTS
Verbal Duels
Subcontinental teams get to face the rough side of the Australians.