The Lost Nation
General Musharraf is on the offensive, wielding unlimited powers and taking on the establishment in a bid to whip a battered nation back into shape. But will he succeed? Plus an exclusive interview with the Pakistan President.

Travels In
Veiled Reality
From an optimistic country to one draped in despondency, it's a journey through a nation transformed.

Candle In Wagah Wind Track II diplomacy, the citizen-led campaign for Indo-Pak peace, has bloated into a virtual industry.

Comeback Drive
After two years in reverse gear and scarred by a dented marketshare, India's largest car maker shifts into top gear. With bold new launches and fresh strategies, it strides back into reckoning to regain part of the lost market.

Steering Under Test Even as Indian rally drivers rev up for overseas competition, motorsport within the country takes a beating. A sport that holds enormous revenue potential for the country is stalled by petty politicking as two rival organisations fight for the right to be called the official governing body.

Spray Of Misery
Crippled bodies and minds is a way of life for many in the villages of north Kerala.

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

Unfortunately for us summits are not timed to suit our publication deadlines. The dates for the one due to take place in Agra could not be more unsuitable. When you read this issue, the Agra summit would be happening or already over. Fortunately, in spite of their theatrics, summits don't change some fundamentals-like the state of a nation. We therefore decided to present to you an in-depth look at Pakistan as a country.

Despite common borders, a shared history and a spate of emotive headlines, Pakistan remains a mystery to most Indians. After 54 years of troubled coexistence, the dominant image is one of stereotypes. No amount of well-meaning Track-II exercises has been able to attune us to Pakistan's wavelength. Even cricket, otherwise a great leveller, hasn't cleared the air. At an individual level many of us have friends across the border but at a collective level Pakistan is the great unknown, its complexities overwhelmed by suspicion, fear, even hate.

India Today has always taken its coverage of Pakistan very seriously. Our reporters have regularly travelled to Pakistan to speak to its rulers and the man on the street. It hasn't been easy given that visas aren't always available and media access is by and large restricted to three cities. This week, with the subcontinent's gaze firmly on Agra, we examine Pakistan, not through the prism of bilateral contentiousness but on its own terms. Columnist Tavleen Singh travelled to Lahore and Karachi to gauge the mood and understand recent changes. Executive Editor Raj Chengappa camped in Islamabad to get a sense of President Musharraf's domestic agenda and interviewed the General about his future plans.

Says Chengappa: "Musharraf is very clear and surprisingly open about what he wants to do." The question remains whether he will be able to deliver whatever is agreed on at the summit.

(Aroon Purie)

MetroScape

Man In The Mirror
You wouldn't have missed the dark, brooding look in the television promos of Amitabh Bachchan's forthcoming psycho-thriller Aks. Credit the film's surreal halo to 40-year-old cinematographer and ad filmmaker Kiran Deohans.
more...

Looking Glass

Delhi Restaurant:
Eatopia

Kolkata Restaurant:
Ar-han Thai

Delhi Theatre:
Once I Was Young ... Now I'm Wonderful

A renewed legal offensive against former Union minister Sukh Ram foils his political plans in Himachal, besides embarrassing the state Government. INDIA TODAY's
Special Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak reports in
Blast From The Past