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Behind
Pakistan's Defeat
A
secret inquiry into Pakistan's debacle in the 1971 war held army atrocities,
widespread corruption, cowardice and the moral laxity of its generals
as prime reasons for the defeat in East Pakistan. The explosive Hamoodur
report has never been disclosed-until now.
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The
Nation
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Peace
Takes a Knock
The
Hizb has resumed battle, the killings continue and the Hurriyat is in
a quandary but the Government feels these are temporary roadblocks to
peace.
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AS
Good As It Gets?
The
economy has been chugging along well this year. Will it pick up speed
or lose steam in the coming months? Right now there is more optimism than
unease about the future.
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FLIPSIDE
Ransom
Notes
By
Dilip Bobb
Deep
in the jungles of Karnataka, the hero and the villain finally come face
to face. The audience is never quite sure which is which, but that is
why south Indian cinema is so popular. Into this boiling pot of a pot-
boiler steps the other hero, an emissary, and the only one Veerappan will
trust with his audio cassettes, knowing that piracy is rampant. The Other
Hero keeps a secret diary, which he will secretly pass on to his readers,
having tripled his publication's (Nakkeeran) print order. Here
are the extracts.
Day One:
I am called in the middle of the night by the Tamil Nadu chief minister.
He tells me: "Only Nakkeeran can save lakhs of Tamils living in Karnataka."
I feel humble. I get a call from the Karnataka chief minister who tells
me: "Only Nakkeeran can save thousands of Kannadigas living in Tamil
Nadu." I feel more humbled.
Day Two:
Deep in the jungle, I meet a wolf in sheep's clothing. He tells me he
is Veerappan's man and will take me to the hideout. Clever disguise. No
wonder 600 policemen and Rs 180 crore later, they still haven't caught
a hair of his moustache. Never mind, Nakkeeran will not let its readers
... I mean leaders, down. He guides me through the jungle. He is heavily
armed, with an antique muzzle loader and an autographed poster of Dr Rajkumar.
Day Two
and a Half: Readers of Nakkeeran will recall my last meeting with
Veerappan and the photos of us together. I had said then that he was an
ordinary man, very humble and God-fearing. He prays every day and burns
sandalwood as an offering, which is why he needs so much of it. He made
me swear, by all the hairs on his face, that I would tell the world that
he is only holding the state to ransom so that the poor get justice, just
like Laloo Yadav is doing in Bihar.
Day Three,
morning: I reach the hideout. Veerappan and Dr Rajkumar are listening
to All India Radio which does not have as much reach as Nakkeeran but
has more frequencies. It has been broadcasting a message telling Veerappan
that his past deeds are now water under the bridge.
Day Three,
afternoon: Dr Rajkumar tells me he is a changed man even though he
hasn't changed for five days. Veerappan, he says, is a selfless man who
wants nothing for himself, everything he wants is for the people of Tamil
Nadu. I also said that in Nakkeeran but I am not a film star. Dr Rajkumar
says he will make a film based on Veerappan which will tell the true story.
After that, Veerappan can join politics and fulfil his secret ambition
to emulate Phoolan Devi and join politics. In one swoop, he has solved
the Cauvery problem, released illegally-held prisoners and ensured compensation
to riot victims and plantation workers. Soon, there will be a statue of
him in every corner of Bangalore. He will make a good chief minister.
Top
Back
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 Web
Exclusives |
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COLUMN |
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 Don't
ask for more funds, demand the right to collect, INDIA TODAY Associate
Editor V. Shankar Aiyar writes to Chandrababu Naidu in Au
ContrAiyar.
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CHAT |
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 Read
the transcript
of
Wednesday's live chat with Vasudevan Bhaskaran, Chief Coach of
Indian hockey.
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BEAT
STREET |
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The
Mercenary Journalist
Pressures of meeting deadlines have always been
nerve-wracking in Kashmir. But never before has there been such desperation
to be the first to break news, writes India Today Special Correspondent
Ramesh Vinayak who has covered militancy for over a decade.
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TALKING
POINT |
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"May be Veerappan should be given a chance
to reform," Karnataka
CM S.M. Krishna tells INDIA TODAY Principal Correspondent Stephen
David as one of the options being considered to secure the release of
superstar Rajkumar.
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DESPATCHES |
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In
the eerie world of superstition that still exists in Andhra Pradesh's
Telengana region, four women and a man are brutally burned to death allegedly
for practising black magic. INDIA TODAY Associate Editor Amarnath K.
Menon says in Despatches
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Full coverages
with columns, infographics, audio reports.
»1971:
The Untold Story
This is a story not
told in Pakistan. A secret inquiry into the splintering of Pakistan
in 1971 held army atrocities, widespread corruption, cowardice,
even loose morals, among its generals in East Pakistan as prime
reasons in losing the war. The explosive Hamoodur Rahman report,
obtained exclusively by NEWS TODAY's Samar Halarnkar, has never
seen the light of day—until now.
»
Veerappan
Strikes Again
Kannada filmdom's top
star Dr Rajkumar at his rural farmhouse was rudely interrupted when
one of India's deadliest killers, Koose Muniswamy Veerappan,50,
burst in a half hour before midnight. .
»
The
Tiger Catastrophe
India's
national animal is in crisis in the hands of its keepers. The death
toll at Nandan Kanan Zoo in Orissa is now 12, nine of these rare
white tigers.
»
The
SriLankan crisis
Exclusive interviews, columns and infographics that track the battle
for Jaffna.
» The
Kashmir jigsaw
With both the governments and militants taking strong
positions, talks on autonomy could be heading for
a major showdown.
»
The
Nepal Gameplan
'secret'
new report obtained by INDIA TODAY lays bare the ISI's infiltration
in Nepal.
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