Cover Story

Enduring music
by K. Jayanthi
Asha Krishnakumar
The M.S. Phenomenon
by Gowri Ramnarayan
A tribute in pictures

India and Russia

Firming up a friendship
The real meaning of Putin's visit:
by Anuradha M. Chenoy

Essay
America's decline:
by Aijaz Ahmad

Politics
The Laloo-Paswan squabble
Soren's return and Jharkhand polls

The States
Kerala: Derailing decentralisation

Issues in focus
For an improved Employment Guarantee Act :
by Smita Gupta

World Affairs
Interview : Howard Zinn
Stalemate in Sri Lanka
Another Heroes' Day speech
Japan : The peace motif
Ukraine : A loser's victory
A clockwork orange
(© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004)
Interview : Hamas leader Usamah Hamdan
War and the deer hunter :
by Vijay Prashad

Travel
On the trail of two rivers:
by Sudha Mahalingam

Books
A job seeker's lament
review by A.G. Noorani
Faith seeking freedom
review by Nandagopal R. Menon
A democratic tradition

Awards
Mike Pandey, nature's film-maker

Environment
Displacement fears:
by Ashish Kothari

Campaigns
A battle for information:
by Sowmya Kerbart Sivakumar

Special Feature: Environmental Issues

A policy of promise

Spotlight
SAHMAT's tribute to Premchand

Focus: Pune Institute of Engineering and Technology
A legacy of excellence
To move with the times
The many milestones

Economic Perspectives
Privileging FDI in banking:
by C.P. Chandrasekhar

India and China
Hastening slowly:
by Mira Sinha Bhattacharjea

Column
Bhaskar Ghose: Coping with our cities
R.K. Raghavan: The hell that is prison
Praful Bidwai: The BJP's decline

Also
The English Language
Letters