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'Pakistan only jeopardises India' - May 30, 2002
'At the moment, it is essential to be focused. Take the focus away from the Hindu-Muslim debate, instead focus on the liberal versus rabid fundamentalism,' says Rajya Sabha member and actor Shabana Azmi.
'I hope saner, authentic Kashmiri voices prevail' - May 24, 2002
'If that happens, there would certainly be lesser violence and the chances of a resolution of the dispute would increase.' Sajad Lone, son of slain Kashmiri separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone, speaks to Basharat Peer in an exclusive interview.
'India's patience is being stretched beyond limit' - May 23, 2002
'We have to deploy forces primarily to safeguard ourselves. It is not an aggressive posture on the part of the Indian Army, but a defensive one.' Former prime minister I K Gujral on the Indo-Pak standoff.
'We don't need lectures on patriotism' - May 21, 2002
'Instead of such vocal muscle-flexing, the government should come out with a comprehensive strategy for countering terrorism.' Congress spokesman Anand Sharma on the government's rhetoric on war.
'There is a realization there should be peace in Gujarat' - May 20, 2002
'Look at the maturity of this country today. If Gujarat had happened in 1992, the whole of UP, Bihar and Rajasthan would have gone up in flames.' K P S Gill, security adviser to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on his new assignment.
'Indian democracy is based upon corruption' - May 13, 2002
'Our conviction rate in corruption cases is as low as six per cent. Hence corruption has become a low-risk, high-profit activity,' says Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal.
'It will take time to eliminate insurgency' - May 8, 2002
'On an average, the security forces have been killing ten terrorists in a day. This means a big setback to the rebels.' Nepal's state minister for home, Devendra Raj Kandel, on the Maoist threat.
'India has to accept Kashmir as disputed territory' - May 8, 2002
'It is not in our hands but in India's hands to bring peace in Kashmir.' Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hawk in the Hurriyat Conference, on the political dynamics before the J&K election.
'The communalists are inviting disaster' - May 2, 2002
'Fanatics say we will kill everybody. Is this the solution? Is it possible to kill everybody you don't like to live with? I think the Gujarati middle class will get back its senses.' The second and final part of political scientist Ghanshyam Shah's conversation with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt.
'The BJP has communalised Gujarat in the name of nationalism' - May 1, 2002
'The recent riots were State-sponsored. Rioting was legitimised in society. The rioters knew nothing would happen to them. Once the mobs got legitimacy from the State, everything collapsed.' Political scientist Ghanshyam Shah in conversation with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt.
'We are not afraid of the Congress' - April 24, 2002
'The Modi government is duly elected. It cannot be dismissed just because the Opposition does not want it.' Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra on the Gujarat impasse in Parliament.
'If the BJP does not contain the VHP, it will be punished by the Indian electorate' - April 23, 2002
'The VHP's acts have seriously diminished the moral high ground India had occupied after 9/11... A country that allows its minorities to be butchered can only lose respect of the world community.' Ashutosh Varshney, author of Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India, in an in-depth interview.
'The Hindus of Gujarat regret the violence' - April 23, 2002
'Whether it's the BJP or the Congress or the rationalists -- nobody in Gujarat will be able to move ahead by ignoring Hindu sentiments.' Kaushik Mehta, joint secretary of the VHP in Gujarat, explains the outburst.
'Muslims have to make cogent efforts to improve their lot' - April 20, 2002
'As far as the progress of a particular community is concerned, it cannot come from outside,' says Justice Mohammed Shamim, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
'You are accusing the BJP of staging a drama' - April 18, 2002
'We are looking for parties with similar views. We want to carry the entire nation with us.' BJP president K Jana Krishnamurthy counters some allegations.
'We have surrendered our Gujarati identity' - April 17, 2002
'The majority of both communities believe that Godhra was a horrible incident. And what happened after Godhra was an act by few people. The Hindu wave is propaganda.' Shiraz Tirmizi, publisher of Gujarat Today, on the violence in his state.
'Modi is anti-Muslim only because it suits him' - April 12, 2002
'I don't believe he is in the chakkar of Hindutvawad. But he can act like a fundamentalist Hindu. He can use Hindutvawad to his advantage. He is anti-Muslim politically.' Former Gujarat chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela lashes out at the Narendra Modi government.
'Modi either lacks administrative will or competence' - April 10, 2002
'If the violence continues even after the PM's visit, it impinges not only on the image of the BJP but also of the NDA allies,' says Shambhu Srivastava, who resigned as Samata Party spokesman after demanding Narendra Modi's ouster.
'Arafat wants to be a revolutionary, not a statesman' - April 9, 2002
'Suicide bombers are killing innocent civilians, mostly young, even children on the street or at a nightclub. Where is the glory in this?' Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel on the West Asia crisis.
'Sonia is Vajpayee's insurance' - April 4, 2002
'The prime minister knows if she is not there in Indian politics and she is not leader of the Congress party, his government will not last 10 days.' Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy in candid conversation.
'We are worried about President Arafat's life' - April 3, 2002
'Suicide bombing is not a luxury. The Palestinians are resorting to it out of despair, frustration and compulsion.' Palestine's Ambassador to India Khaled El Shaikh on the siege of Ramallah.
'Some who couldn't stand stood up...' - April 1, 2002
'Many who have not stood or walked for 10, 12 or 14 years have stood and walked, and it was so exciting to see them walk.' Dr Bernard Brucker on a treatment that spells hope for brain-damaged patients.
'Pakistan has to stop encouraging terrorism in J&K' - March 28, 2002
'Terrorist activities are still taking place both within Pakistan and outside, like in Kashmir. Musharraf cannot control everything.' US Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr, receives the Padma Bhushan for bettering Indo-US relations.
'We should make India a design house in technology' - March 27, 2002
'Anybody with a large vision and a desire to achieve will find the path full of thorns.' Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala on the invention that won him a Padma Shree.
'They don't trust each other anymore' - March 26, 2002
'If the Godhra carnage was gruesome, equally gruesome were the incidents that followed. Perpetrators of crimes were all criminals.' National Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma on the riots in Gujarat.
'The PM is hemmed in by half-baked Hindus' - March 25, 2002
'If the government deviates from the NDA's agreed agenda, including the preservation of the secular fabric, we will not keep quiet.' Janata Dal United MP and NDA ally Devendra Prasad Yadav denounces the Hindutva hardliners.
'Ayodhya dispute cannot be settled in court, but only in the heart' - March 22, 2002
'There is no more controversy about whether it is Ram or Babri. It is no longer an issue whether it is Ram's place, but only whose land it is.' The shankaracharya of Kanchi Sri Jayendra Saraswati on Ayodhya and the Hindu faith.
'The communal virus has permeated society' - March 20, 2002
'It was an insult to the secular philosophy of India.' Former Gujarat high court judge Amubhai Rawani explains how M H Kadri, a Muslim judge, was advised to vacate his official residence to escape the rioters.
'The temple must be completed' - March 18, 2002
'Muslim appeasement will leave our leaders nowhere,' says Balraj Madhok, former president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh.
'Supreme Court is India's greatest bulwark of secularism' - March 13, 2002
'I think the verdict of the court has prevented riots and unnecessary bloodshed.' Mohammad Aslam Bhure on his writ petition that halted the VHP from doing a bhumi pujan in Ayodhya.
'Gujarat is not safe in the hands of Narendra Modi' - March 5, 2002
'Eye for an eye is the primitive concept, and the VHP believes in it,' socio-political analyst Achyut Yagnik tells Sheela Bhatt.
'I know the Ayodhya temple cannot be built in a day' - March 4, 2002
VHP leader Dr Pravin Togadia outlines his plans for March 15.
'US is already playing a mediatory role in J&K' - February 25, 2002
'Despite General Musharraf's putative fondness for Scotch whiskey, Pomeranians and faulty English syntax, I do not know that he has the necessary qualities of head and heart to tackle some of Pakistan's most enduring woes.' Professor Sumit Ganguly on the Indo-Pak standoff.
'No country should allow the distortion of its history' - February 23, 2002
'Swadeshi doesn't mean that there should be no competition and your quality should be poor.' Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi holds forth on the elections, the economy and history.
'Undisputed land belongs to Hindus' - February 21, 2002
Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley discusses the political situation in Uttar Pradesh and explains some of the finer legal points of the Ayodhya dispute.
'Our leadership has been decimated in UP' - February 21, 2002
'Despite being in power for more than three years now, what has the BJP proved? Nothing.' Debutante politician -- and former prime minister V P Singh's niece -- Suneeta Devi fights a tough battle for the Congress in Mahona.
'Know me, understand me, analyse me' - February 20, 2002
'Now Rajkot's residents will get water for 22 days a month instead of four.' In his first electoral contest, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi woos voters with water and oil.
'A country cannot be run on emotion alone' - February 20, 2002
'If the BJP does not change its policies even after we come to power, we will surely topple the Delhi government.' Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Amar Singh, Amitabh Bachchan and the politics of UP.
'The UP verdict will affect the Centre' - February 19, 2002
'At the same time we are not interested in toppling the Vajpayee government. We would like this government to play its role out and get further exposed,' says Congress Working Committee member Arjun Singh.
'We alone can provide a stable government' - February 19, 2002
'If you look into the BJP's track record on secularism with an open mind, perhaps you will realise that we are the only ones who have not treated minorities as a commodity.' Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh is confident of a second stint in power.
'I don't have an identity of my own' - February 18, 2002
'People see me as Phoolan Devi's sister only. I am happy when they say that it doesn't matter if one Phoolan is killed, there is another one emerging.' Munni Devi hopes to win Mirzapur in the name of her murdered sister.
'Guna is enshrined in my heart' - February 18, 2002
'This is where my roots are. At the same time, if you put me between a bunch of investment bankers from Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, I'll talk their talk.' Jyotiraditya Scindia says his maiden electoral battle is a homage to his father.
'I am their raja' - February 17, 2002
'Isn't there always some fear mixed in with respect?' That, for you, is Kunwar Raghuraj Pratap Singh urf (aka) Raja Bhaiya.
'Atalji is chanting my Mandal mantra' - February 16, 2002
'I am vindicated. The BJP should apologise to me for adopting my line on the Mandir issue.' Former Prime Minister V P Singh on Mandir and Mandal.
'Is Vajpayee threatening me?' - February 14, 2002
'I made this government, and if necessary, I will not hesitate to bring it down.' Ramchandra Paramhans, chief of the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, on the Ayodhya controversy.
I wonder if the EC exists in Andipatti' - February 14, 2002
'Only a blind man will believe that only Rs 6 lakh are being spent by the AIADMK candidate.' Dr K Krishnaswamy battles the odds as he takes on J Jayalalithaa.
'No such thing as a Muslim bloc exists' - February 13, 2002
'It is puerile and absurd to suggest that there is a link between Islam and terrorism. Muslims are being stereotyped.' Hamid Ansari, vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, defends his religion and his institute.
'Amitabh is absolutely an apolitical person - February 13, 2002
'Dada Rajnath and Didi Mayawati can have a field day with their 'dons' in tow, I am not bothered.' Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh does not mince words as he takes on all detractors.
'SP could emerge as the single largest party' - February 12, 2002
'But our alliance will be the single largest pre-poll alliance. Suppose a situation arises where the governor has to decide whom to ask to form the government. Then he will have to call the BJP and its pre-poll allies only,' says Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj.
'We are here to stay' - February 11, 2002
'Amitabh, who dominated the Hindi film world for quite some time, shouldn't be made to dance and sing to attract crowds for Mulayam Singh.' BJP president K Jana Krishnamurthy on his party's prospects in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
'You can replace a government but not Ram' - February 6, 2002
'Our level of tolerance can be stretched no more. And those who come in our way will be pulverised.' Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Giriraj Kishore challenges the ruling BJP government on the temple issue.
'Pakistan has to pay the cost' - February 5, 2002
'We must wage a proxy war against Pakistan. Unless we do this, Pakistan will continue to make us bleed.' B Raman, India's leading counter-terrorism expert, on Pervez Musharraf's double game.
'Unless the BJP gives Hindu sentiments importance it has no future' - February 2, 2002
'The Ram Janambhoomi movement has great sentiment for the people. It is their [the BJP's] responsibility now to give back the land,' says Ashok Singhal, international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
'A non-violent movement is the only option for Tibetans' - January 30, 2002
'In a very short spell of time we have brought the issue of Tibet to very high levels of the international community.' Samdhong Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, speaks to Ramananda Sengupta in Dharamsala.
'Kutchis shouldn't be permitted to live on dole' - January 28, 2002
One year after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat, Sandeep Virmani -- executive secretary of Sahjeevan, an NGO -- assesses the rehabilitation work in Kutch.
'Kolkata is considered safe by Pak criminals' - January 23, 2002
'After the attack on the consulate, Rajiv Kumar (superintendent of police, CID) got a call from Aftab Ansari claiming that he had ordered the attack,' says Sudhir Sinha, inspector general of police, border range, Kutch.
'Pakistan cannot be expected to alter its principled stand on J&K' - January 21, 2002
'I believe the president of Pakistan has courageously opened up a window of opportunity for our bilateral relations to get on a new track.' Pakistan's High Commissioner for India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi on the diplomatic standoff between the neighbours.
'I disowned my son when he got married into the Gandhi family' - January 20, 2002
'I would like to seek an explanation from Robert as to how and when I misused the name of Priyanka Gandhi or Mrs Sonia Gandhi.' Rajinder Vadra challenges his son.
'The core issue is not Kashmir, it is Pakistan' - January 18, 2002
'The tension in South Asia can end only when Pakistan's pan-Islamist ideology is abandoned,' says Dr Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management, New Delhi.
'1972 was bad diplomacy on Mrs Gandhi's part' - January 11, 2002
'The time has come when we should have a war with Pakistan and finish this matter once for all. It is better to die once than die in bits and pieces,' says Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
'We are against any foreign intervention in any part of the world, including Kashmir' - December 17, 2001
Afghanistan's interim Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni on the challenges before his government.
'Afghanistan will remain ripe for the picking' - December 14, 2001
'The failure of not destroying Al Qaeda is likely to haunt the US not only abroad but also at home.' Dr Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, an associate with the New York-based International Peace Academy, speaks to Ramesh Menon.
'People say I am the right guy in the wrong party' - December 12, 2001
'There are able parliamentarians in our party, so why should a
tainted person be accommodated?' Actor and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Shatrughan Sinha takes on George Fernandes and questions his own party.
'India's airport security is of the highest order' - December 10, 2001
'We introduced sky marshals after the Kandahar hijacking on selective routes. Now we have them on almost all routes.' Union Minister for Civil Aviation Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on air safety after September 11.
'The future of terrorism will be in the West' - December 6, 2001
'The Arab world succeeded in countering terrorism within their countries and pushed their terrorist organisations outside the Middle East.' Israeli counter-terrorism expert Dr Reuven Paz on the Western vulnerability to terrorism.
'Australia has a lot to offer India' - December 4, 2001
'Often we are seen through a prism of cricket, which is very important, but it perhaps obscures what contemporary Australia is.' Australia's High Commissioner for India Penelope Anne Wensley on her new posting.
'I am only accountable to the children of this country' - December 3, 2001
NCERT Director Jagmohan Singh Rajput denies the BJP's role in altering history in school textbooks.
'The ISI gives a damn about the American threat' - November 30, 2001
'When Benazir Bhutto ordered the arrest of bin Laden, the ISI smuggled him out of Pakistan and lodged him in a safe house in Afghanistan.' Former ISI agent Mir Khursheed on the dubious role of the Pakistani secret service agency.
'Why should we let our treasures be looted?' - November 27, 2001
'All that the culture ministry was doing for the last 20 years was funding and obliging politicians. The worst example was the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.' Maneka Gandhi on her removal from the ministry of culture.
'There is no justification for the US war in Afghanistan' - November 27, 2001
'The US leads the pack of rich and powerful nations that carry out international terrorism on smaller nations.' Professor Noam Chomsky on America's war in Afghanistan.
'Pakistan can be a greater source of instability in the post-Taleban period' -November 19, 2001
'The reconstruction of Afghanistan cannot be achieved by too much reliance on Pakistan.' Professor Amin Saikal, director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, speaks to Ramesh Menon.
'Afghanistan cannot be equated with J&K' - November 13, 2001
'For the first time, America has said the wishes of the Kashmiri people should be kept in mind while resolving the J&K dispute.' Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone on the recent attack on his life and the war in Afghanistan.
'We have not changed our stance on J&K' - November 10, 2001
'We will ensure that every inch of Kashmir is with us.' Bharatiya Janata Party president Jana Krishnamurthy discusses the party's relationship with the Vajpayee government at the Centre.
'Nobody can break away J&K from India' - November 7, 2001
'The government lacks the statesmanship to solve the Kashmir problem,' says veteran Kashmiri Congress leader Ghulam Rasool Kar.
'We have tried our best to extradite criminals but have been unsuccessful' - November 5, 2001
Kripashankar Singh, Maharashtra's minister of state for home affairs, on the confusion about Abu Salem's arrest in Sharjah.
'Unlike Musharraf, the Afghans cannot be bought over' - October 30, 2001
'No power in the world has been able to subjugate the Afghans. The Americans and British are living in a fool's paradise.' Sardar Mohammad Aslam Khan -- who comes from the same family as exiled king Zahir Shah and lives in Dehradun as an Indian citizen -- on the country's spirit.
'We expect justice and we will get it' - October 22, 2001
'For harmony, we accepted the partition of the country. Cannot they (Muslims) forgo the temples in Kashi Vishwanath, Ram Janmabhoomi and Mathura?' VHP vice-president Giriraj Kishore defends their cause.
'Over 20,000 cases of anthrax occur in the world annually' - October 19, 2001
'Biological weapons dislocate society. They are psychic killers which spread panic,' says Dr Narendra Prakash Gupta, says former director of the National Institute of Virology in Pune.
'Pakistan has been bullied by the US adequately' - October 15, 2001
'Pakistan feared that if the US hit the Harkat and Lashkar camps with cruise missiles, Lahore and Islamabad would be taken care of. That's the reason they turned around and agreed to fight Osama,' says former army chief and J&K governor, General (retd) K V Krishna Rao.
'We cannot expect America to fight our battle' - October 15, 2001
'They are not going to wipe out the Jaish-e-Mohammed camps. We have to do it ourselves.' Lt Gen (retd) Satish Nambiar, former head of mission of the UN forces in erstwhile Yugoslavia, on India's role in fighting terrorism.
'There is no point in creating peace, which cannot last' - October 10, 2001
'If Afghanistan is in a state of chaos, the US most of all, as well as the rest of the Western world should share responsibility for it.' Brigadier Shaukat Qadir, in an exclusive interview from Islamabad.
'Jaish is part of Osama's strategy to spread terrorism the world over' - October 8, 2001
'It would be difficult to give you the exact amount, but Osama did give money to [Jaish-e-Mohammed founder] Masood Azhar,' says Jammu & Kashmir police chief A K Suri.
'The war against terrorism has to be fought with minds, not weapons' - October 3, 2001
'What was America doing in the last 12 years when Laden was creating a huge terrorist outfit across the world?' B M Kutty, president of the Pakistan Peace Coalition, on the fallout of the terror attacks.
'Jayalalithaa will not be able to contest elections for 25 years' - September 25, 2001
'It is Jayalalithaa's last chance to break free. Otherwise, the forces ranged against her are such that she will not be able to enter public life,' says Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy.
'India will be the only reliable nation in America's fight against terrorism' - September 24, 2001
'The war against terrorism is not a conventional war. This is a war against a certain system. Those who feel the heat of terror, will fight it.' Information Technology, Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan speaks to Sheela Bhatt.
'We will face increased terrorism from jehadi groups' - September 19, 2001
'In the future, there will be more attacks on economic targets. For example, they might try to make India face a cruel choice between a setback to its economy or let go of Kashmir,' says counter-terrorism expert B Raman.
'You have to confront terrorism and defeat it' - September 14, 2001
'Why should we ever talk to terrorists? Will Bush negotiate with Osama? He will not. Why should we talk to the mass murderers in Pakistan?' Dr Ajai Sahni, executive director, Institute for Conflict Management, on global terrorism.
'Centre cannot force J&K to adopt Vedic astrology' - September 10, 2001
'There is no national consensus on the issue of saffronisation, not even amongst the NDA partners,' says J&K Education Minister Mohammed Shafi Uri.
Even if we can predict an earthquake, what can one do? - September 5, 2001
'We can ask people to come out of their homes. And after the earthquake has passed, it will have left all those people destitute.' Seismologist V K Gaur tells M D Riti it is impossible to predict earthquakes.
'Muslims are questioning the legality of destroying the Babri masjid' - September 4, 2001
'There is no difference between the BJP, RSS and VHP on the temple issue. These tactics will not save the BJP. You cannot play the same card again and again. People are not fools.' The second part of Syed Shahabuddin's interview.
'Vajpayee is playing with fire' - September 3, 2001
'Is it fair that on a sensitive national question the PM should try and find a solution in a dark room talking to unknown strangers? Is it fair they should come out with a piece of paper signed by Tom, Dick and Harry and say that Muslims have conceded the site to the VHP? Can it be acceptable to any fair-minded person?' asks Babri Masjid Coordination Committee convener Syed Shahabuddin.
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