India's bin laden
October 1 in Srinagar was not as dramatic as September 11 in the US. But the attack on the J&K Assembly emphasises the reality that India continues to be a permanent victim of jehad, that the author of the blast is the bin Laden of Kandahar vintage.

Reclaiming The Faith
Despite Pakistan's extremist image, the country is home to a wide cross-section of people holding moderate views on religion. After the terrorist attacks on the US, it is this non-confrontationist lobby that is waging a coup against the militant and vocal religious extremists.

Ready To Strike
The US strategy to strike the Taliban includes making use of the Northern Alliance, favoured by Russia and Iran and distrusted by Pakistan. In its military pact with the front, the US should keep in mind the future power equations in Afghanistan.

EDITORIALS

The Begum's Moment

The return of the Begum was not unpredictable. For, despite her self-portrait as the chosen legatee of Bangladesh's liberation, Sheikh Hasina's record in government wasn't exemplary. Her Awami League regime was seen as ineffectively presiding over a lawless raj. Her anti-Pakistan sentiment was not a good enough anodyne to her poor record in governance. The historical memory of liberation politics doesn't hold the minds of the electorate any longer. That is why the Begum landslide in the election to the Jatiya Sangsad is not as much a personal victory for Khaleda Zia as it is a devastating personal tragedy for Hasina. And India has lost a friend in the neighbourhood since, at home, Hasina had the not-so-popular distinction of being pro-India. The Begum's return leaves India with little to cheer about.

The triumphant Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has never shied from making its Indophobia public. The best example is the 1997 Ganga Accord, which, in the BNP's view, was a sellout. From a national point of view, the most worrying aspect about the election for India is the performance of one of the BNP's allies-the Jamaat-e-Islami. It is the second-largest party in the BNP camp, and it is not going to be a silent partner. The Jamaat turning into a mobilising force of anti-India sentiments is a possible scenario, and that will be to the delight of the Islamic Big Brother next door. It is for the Begum to see that her overwhelming mandate works as a check against Islamic fundamentalism. Such vision is necessary, not only for Bangladesh's domestic well- being but for its relationship with India as well.

India's biggest problem today is its near abroad. India, like Israel to some extent, doesn't have the luxury of being surrounded by friendly neighbours. Most of its neighbours are unevolved civil societies at war with themselves. Their problems continue to influence India's national life. From Pakistan's Kashmir agenda to Sri Lanka's Tamil agony to Nepal's lawlessness, it is an ongoing story of the so-called regional power being a receiver of the destabilising energy from its neighbours' identity crises or politics of hate. Bangladesh, which owes its birth to India, is not today a country with a sense of gratitude. For the Begum, it is a moment to identify true friends, for the sake of her country's democratic spirit of which she is today the biggest beneficiary.

MetroScape

Looking Glass

Bangalore Gallery: Gallerie Zen

Delhi Handicrafts: Crafts Museum

With a dramatic fall in the viewership of Kaun Banega Crorepati, Star makes a last-ditch effort to prop up its ratings. INDIA TODAY's Himanshi Dhawan analyses the revival struggle of the pasha of programmes in
Survival Of The Fittest