Good Economics,
Risky Politics
Defying the pressures of politics, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has come forth with a bold, hard budget. He has committed the Government to a slew of daring economic reforms through this year's budget. But, beyond the initial euphoria generated by sheer promises, lies a rough road to fulfilling them. Will the pressures of coalition politics and an irrational Opposition allow him to deliver?

Interview:
Yashwant Sinha
"It is my budget,
not the PMO's."

Smeltdown
The NDA Government handsomely wins a vote moved by the Opposition in the Lok Sabha against the privatisation of Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), but it should now start worrying about the poor response to bidding for strategic partnership of public-sector units.

Progress Report
With an overwhelming response from readers, the CARE TODAY society had funds flowing in from all quarters to aid it in its efforts to help those rendered homeless and jobless by the devastating earthquake of January 26.

Reeling Estate
Gujarat is witnessing a strange phenomenon with the two hands of the Sangh Parivar, the RSS and the VHP, earning public goodwill and the BJP leadership finding itself in the hot seat over links with the building mafia.

Bust to Dust
International outrage doesn't deter the Taliban militia from pushing ahead with its plan to destroy historical statues, including the 2,000-year-old Buddha statues in Bamiyan.

Piecing the
Ahar Puzzle Excavations of sites from the 4,500-year-old Ahar culture provide clues to the link between the Harappans and their predecessors.

SOCIETY AND TRENDS: NRI ADOPTIONS

MARRIAGES OF CONVENIENCE
Migration Vows

Come winters and Punjab is witness to an unusual influx: a horde of foreign women. No tourists these. Candidates for prepaid weddings, these women help the Punjab youth meet or beat immigration rules by marrying them.

Sukhdev Singh with his German "friend' Gabi at his posh home in Kapurthala

Germany, followed by Italy and Belgium, accounts for most of such quickfix marriages. Sarwan Singh is a case in the point. He was barely 16 when he paid Rs 4 lakh to a travel agent to go to Romania as an illegal immigrant before sneaking into Germany. That was in 1991. Facing deportation after his application for political asylum was turned down, he returned to India last year. Not alone though. He was accompanied by an Italian girl, Katia, who lives in Germany. To ward off suspicion immigration officials, he solemnised the wedding in a Delhi temple. It got him a visa for Italy from where he again landed in Germany.

"This is the only recourse for most illegal immigrants from Punjab," says Chandigarh-based lawyer Ranjit Malhotra, who investigates the legal validity of such marriages on behalf of some foreign embassies. Cases of such marriages by fly-by-night brides from foreign countries are on the rise. The past year saw about 400 cases of Germany-based Punjabi youth marrying native women.

With the return of peace in Punjab, the grounds for political asylum-a common ploy for illegal entry into European countries in the early 1990s-have dried up. Most of the illegal immigrants are facing deportation. Hiring a native woman for marriage is now the only way to prolong their stay, get a work permit or even a green card.

	Sarwan Singh with Katia, an Italian living in Germany

"It's a deal of hearts, not money," insists Sukhdev Singh, 30, who has returned from Germany with his German "friend" Gabi who he intends to marry in India. Once an illegal immigrant, Sukhdev-in his posh house in Bholath, Kapurthala-personifies the success that the likes of him have made from such ventures.

The practice has evolved to such an extent that there have been cases of the same woman marrying two different men to facilitate their immigration. Balpreet Singh of Kartarpur shifted to Germany after marrying Maria, a German citizen, in 1997. Last year, Maria returned to marry Balpreet's younger brother Ranjit, who then also succeeded in moving to Germany. Recently a youth in Bathinda was arrested for marrying his own sister who is a Canadian citizen.

Though such extreme cases may be remote, there is no denying the desperation among the youth to fructify their immigration dreams.

-Ramesh Vinayak

MetroScape
Personality Matters Those behind the Grasim Mr India contest think it is one up over other male pageants.
But is it?
more...

Looking Glass

Mumbai: Swarovski Boutique

Delhi: Colours 'n' Spice

Delhi: Mindscapes

The Keoladeo National Park Sanctuary in Bharatpur gets an unprecedented number of migratory birds due to the dry spell last year. But experts feel another drought could be disastrous, writes INDIA TODAY's Supriya Bezbaruah in
Despatches.

"The only obvious competition is in bhangra," say the Pakistani duo of the music group, Strings, in conversation with INDIA TODAY's Sonia Faleiro in
Interviews.