Cover Story
Afghan quagmire
by Sukumar Muralidharan
The New War Against Terror
by Noam Chomsky
Multiple jolts to Musharraf
by B. Muralidhar Reddy
The weary course
by Sridhar Krishnaswami
Nuclear chickens come home
by Praful Bidwai
How to lose a war
by Walden Bello
India-Pakistan tensions
by John Cherian
Voices of protest
by Naunidhi Kaur
Security vs privatisation dogma
by Prakash Karat

Controversy
The POTO terror
Mounting resistance

The States
A flare-up in Malegaon
Afghan war echoes in Kashmir
Waiting for TANSI case verdict
Lessons from local body polls
The Veerappan hunt
Waking up to GM cotton
Leadership change in Uttaranchal
The plight of the Pardhis

World Affairs
To Doha with concern
by Michael Hindley
Vatican's apology
by Biswajit Choudhury
Left resurgence in Berlin
A communal challenge in Bangladesh
Sri Lanka: Alliances of opportunity
A new APEC agenda
Putin's policy shift
Signs of peace in Northern Ireland

Analysis
Of diplomacy and democracy
by A.G. Noorani

Art
An exhibition from Bhutan
by Suneet Chopra

Literature
The ignoble politics of Naipaul's Nobel
by Githa Hariharan

Space
Success of PSLV-C3

Obituary
Joseph Allen Stein, the architect
by Ram Rahman

Ayodhya
Vajpayee's shifting stand
by A.G. Noorani

Science
Bio-terrorism, for real
Interview with Kalyan Banerjee

Litigation
Contempt and free speech
Arundhati Roy's reply to the court

Events
Noam Chomsky in India
Chomsky's public lectures

Special Feature: Maharashtra

Leader in industrial development
Emphasis on the services sector
Automobiles: Speeding ahead
Advances in Information Technology
The insurance rush
Flyovers to ease congestion
The driving force
A range of options for tourists

Column
K. Natwar Singh: The Kargil conflict
Jayati Ghosh: Public deficits and public interest
C.P. Chandrasekhar: Desperate measures
R.K. Raghavan: The spectre of terrorism

Books
A British view of the Empire
review by Govind Talwalkar
Asterix in Kerala
review by R. Krishnakumar
An epic retold
review by S. Varadachary