NEWS
Fatwa against Shabana Azmi
Five Hyderabad-based Islamic seminaries have termed the actress' decision to tonsure her head for a film "as a violation of Islamic doctrine and abominably inadmissible." They want her to renew her faith.

NEWS
Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM
The Samata Party politician became Bihar's 29th chief minister at a function attended by Defence Minister George Fernandes and Rajya Sabha member Shatrughan Sinha, among others.

SPECIAL
Chanakya lives!
But unlike the wily author of the Arthasashtra, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar aspired to become, and became, the king himself.

NEWS
IT official confirms VDIS declaration by cricketer
'When a cricketer declares this kind of income he is certainly not disclosing clean money,' Vishwabandhu Gupta asserted.

THE REDIFF SPECIAL
'The country can no longer afford such ad hoc functioning'
'An effective and appropriate national security planning and decision-making structure for India in the nuclear age is overdue, taking account of the revolution in military affairs and threats of proxy war and terrorism and the imperative of modernising the Armed Forces.' rediff.com presents the Kargil Review Committee report.

MONEY
Taxes: a ready reckoner
Chartered accountants from Ganesh Jagadeesh & Co enumerate the salient features of personal taxation proposals in Budget 2000-01.

INFOTECH
The funding funda
Shekhar Kapur backs a £20 million hi-tech fund that will bankroll promising newcomers in India and Silicon Valley.

SPORTS
Proteas take charge on Day 2
India lost the plot yet again, with the ball, on the field, and in the mind. A disciplined display saw South Africa attain a position of immense strength in the second Test. Prem Panicker reports

SPORTS INTERVIEW
'We have given ourselves a lot better chance of winning than the last time'
Gary Kirsten discusses his career, South African cricket, and the current tour of India.

MOVIES
Dangerous liaisons
Khauff: predictable, yet watchable.

MOVIES
'I don't want to act with half-baked idiots any longer'
The rebirth of Aiswarya.

COLUMNS
The Lanjot village massacre
'The militants and ISI personnel are being trained to infiltrate through a barrage of artillery and other heavy fire, which the Pakistani military resort to at will to occupy some unheld piece of ground while being supported by the army's artillery fire. In short, expect more intensified attacks on Indians by the Masood Group...' says Varsha Bhosle.

Disasters in the making
'Mistakes made in Bihar or with the Budget can be corrected sooner or later. Who shall pay the environmental bills when they fall due?' asks T V R Shenoy.

Thirty words about a dam
'Medha Patkar is a publicity-seeker. Arundhati Roy should stick to her Booker Prize. But what is it that prompts many villagers to spend days in water that rises steadily about their bodies? What drives a shrivelled old woman on through lathi blows that break her bones?' wonders Dilip D'Souza.

Games punters play
'I am extremely nervous at the reckless manipulation of the market, the political involvement, the manner in which shady promoters are dumping stock on mutual funds in private placement deals,' a fund manager tells Sucheta Dalal.