The Supercrat
Brajesh Mishra, Vajpayee's principal secretary, has emerged as a strong power centre. But his critics say he has bitten off more than he can chew and has become the target of a proxy war against the prime minister.

Going Beyond Square One
India and Pakistan make subtle shifts in their positions on Kashmir, raising hopes of a renewed dialogue and restoration of peace. Much will depend on what happens during Ramzan.

Fifth Column
by Tavleen Singh
Multinational Myths

Prime Movers

Action Manifested

Points Of Conflict

Mishra is under criticism for being a control freak.
Defence analyst Subrahmanyam has stepped up his criticism that by holding additional charge of the powerful post of national security adviser (NSA), Mishra can do little justice to the task at hand. The ensuing slanging match also dragged in Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh's name with a section claiming that he wanted Arun Singh as NSA to clip Mishra's wings. Mishra argues that the posts are best combined to avoid parallel power structures for a while. A group of ministers will now decide the issue.

He is under fire for his high-profile and lone ranger style.
Senior Home Ministry officials and top army brass complain that they were kept in the dark by Mishra over both the July cease-fire and to some extent the Ramzan one. But sources close to Advani say he was always in the know and that officials were deliberately kept out of the negotiations till they had been finalised. Mishra did upset Advani initially when he appointed a secretary to a department in his ministry without consulting him. Nor does the home minister appreciate Mishra's high-profile style and his penchant to frequently go to the press on issues.

The IAS lobby says he lacks expertise in economic affairs.
Recent transfers, especially in the Finance Ministry, reportedly engineered by Mishra have demoralised sections of the bureaucracy. Though Sinha wanted his team changed he was piqued at not being consulted in the appointment of Ajit Kumar as finance secretary. Also, Mishra's expertise in economic affairs does not match his knowledge of security and foreign issues and he has to per force rely on N.K. Singh, secretary in the PMO, for advice on the subject.

PREDECESSORS

P.N. Haksar: 1967-73
A foreign service officer, Haksar was Mrs Gandhi's ideologue and made his job the most powerful bureaucratic post in the country.

P.C. Alexander: 1980-85
Brought both bureaucratic and political acumen to the post. From the IAS cadre, he had Mrs Gandhi's full trust but fell out with Rajiv.

B.G. Deshmukh: 1989-90
Straight-talking and competent, Deshmukh strongly believed that the post should not overshadow that of the cabinet secretary.

A.K. Varma: 1991-96
Emerged as the economic supercrat and was retained by Rao despite mounting criticism against slow pace of reforms and scams galore.

MetroScape
Celebrating India
Trikaya Grey of Delhi and Concept Communication of Mumbai, tied for the top at India Today's "My India My Pride" ad contest. So they were given an equitable deal of Rs 7.5 lakh each.
more...

Looking Glass

Mumbai: Restaurants

Bangalore: Concert

Delhi: Restaurant

Ayodhya is an issue that is pre-determined. And it matters little in the present fuss that the foremost casualty is the truth, writes INDIA TODAY Deputy Editor Swapan Dasgupta in
Day Dreams.

Orissa's Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in Asia, is dying. But there is a concerted effort to restore its health. INDIA TODAY Special Correspondent Ruben Banerjee takes a look at the diagnosis and treatment in Despatches.