SPECIAL
A case for the defense
The PMO stoutly defends the Sakhya Vahini project and those behind it, asserting that all the charges against it ar unfounded.

COLUMNS
Unity, diversity and identity
According to some, our #1 priority is to be whipped in with that cream called 'the American way of life'. Or else, we face a future that includes xenophobia and isolation, says Reeta Sinha.

RECENT FEATURES

East is East opens to mixed reviews
Om Puri's performance is praised but the film itself received a mixed response.

Zakir on a new track
Hussain, L Shankar and others are part of a new show that melds philosophy with music and drama.

Bhopal should never happen again
A survivor of the Union Carbide tragedy in Bhopal remembers, 15 years later

House panel approves hi-tech visa bill
The bill will allow an unlimited number of H-1B visas to be issued over the next three years for hi-tech foreign workers. But critics say some provisions are unfair to technology companies.

Jhumpa Lahiri wins Pulitzer
Her Interpreter of Maladies has been awarded the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making her perhaps the first Indian to win the prestigious US prize.

The spectre of imagined suffering
Any honest assessment of the Indian immigrant experience, especially in the 1990s, must conclude that the spectre of suffering that we are asked to beware of is mostly imaginary. Nobody is out to get us, even if there were an us in the first place, says Ashwin Mahesh.

'India is fast becoming one of the world's software superpowers'
'Indian Americans now run more than 750 companies in Silicon Valley alone. Now, we are moving from brain drain to brain gain in India, because many are coming home.' President Clinton hails Indian enterprise in America.

How blind can we be?
'How fair is it to give this boy preference over thousands of Indians who have been waiting up to three years for their families to be reunited? Why is Elian more important than Indian hi-tech workers who are trapped in H-1B hell?' asks Reeta Sinha.

Indian siblings fifth in Inventions Challenge
Amit and Anjali Behal devised the Diabetes Sentry Bracelet that can detect a condition called hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar. 'We know diabetes is a big problem and many people die in their sleep because of low blood sugar levels,' said Amit, 14 and diabetic.

The smog stretches from Lahore to Delhi
Although there are over 150 million Muslims living in India, there is a perceived equation, on both sides of the border, of India with Hindus.

Ex-academic rocks London bourse with start-up
Prof Madan Singh's software uses mathematical models to find the optimum price at which goods can be sold without discouraging would-be customers and stopping them from buying. 'This is not a dotcom. We have products based on strong technology with global potential,' he says.

Check out earlier reports!