Cover Story

Congress' winning spree
by Venkatesh Ramakrishnan
Winners and losers
by Lyla Bavadam
Anupama Katakam
The Pawar difference
Shiv Sena at a crossroads
The Dalit factor
The BSP's role
by Dionne Bunsha
Issues in focus in Maharashtra
A bitter harvest
No industry, no Solapur
Of mighty men and development drought
The defunct button
An experiment half done
Slums in the limelight
Uphill task for Apang
by Sushanta Talukdar
U.P.: The race for bronze

Scandal
Petrol and politics

Government
The case against MPLADS

Labour Issues
Press workers' protest in Delhi

The States
Blasts of violence in the Northeast
The American offer
The Sahariyas' struggle
Hunger deaths or...

Defence
Trans-Atlantic thunder:
by Mike A. Johnsingh

World Affairs
Presidential election in Afghanistan
The second salvo of `Col' Karuna
Mindless in Gaza
Horror on a holiday
(© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004)
Another term for John Howard
The Vietnam parallel:
by Vijay Prashad

Art
Trans-Himalayan murals:
by Benoy K. Behl

Reports
ILO: Dealing with insecurity
Interview: Dr. Guy Standing

Analysis

Savarkar, a national hero?:
by A.G. Noorani

Livelihood Issues
The snake charmers' dilemma
Man, goddess and monocled cobra

Spotlight
The songs of a special child

Media
`Second coming' for Reuters

Language Issues
Tamil as a classical language
Classical then, and now
Value enhancement, the challenge

Legislation
POTA reinvented

Special Feature: BSNL

Defending the people's good
Interview: K.B. Brahmadathan, Chennai Telephones
Interview: K. Sridhara, Tamilnadu Telecom Circle
Interview: B.P.S. Pai, Southern Telecom Projects
Interview: K. Balakrishnan, Southern Telecom Region

Excellence
K.N. Raj at 80

Column
Praful Bidwai: The renewable imperative
Bhaskar Ghose: The merit of a civil servant
Jayati Ghosh: Detoxifying the villages
R.K. Raghavan: Targeting terrorist finances

Books
Vajpayee's poetic voice
review by Vasantha Surya
Tribute to Myron Weiner
review by C.T. Kurien
Accepted wisdom
review by Michiko Kakutani
(© New York Times Service)

Also
The English Language
Letters

Update
Maldives' moves