Interview

Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has transformed the face of Delhi in her 10-year reign, is hopeful that she would be judged by her work and she could face the electorate with her head held high. On a sunny May afternoon in her official residence, Dikshit spoke with Sanjay Kapoor about her struggle to make Delhi a city that India could be proud of.

Braving relentless dialysis, frail but resolute, the Mandal Messiah VP Singh has taken on the might of the corporate-political nexus on behalf of displaced farmers in the Hindi heartland and across the country. By brazenly operating in favour of private companies and by openly bulldozing peaceful public dissent, social consensus and people’s aspirations, the establishment is pushing the people to a precipice of no-return. In such unjust circumstances, why shouldn’t the armed struggle of the Maoists spread in the deep hinterland? India is sitting on a volcano of social unrest and economic conflict, he says, which is bound to explode if the politics of liberalisation pushes the people into exile and condemnation

AI chairman V Thulasidas is on the threshold of making history. Besides helping AI earn a profit since he has been at its helm, he would oversee a path-breaking merger with Indian. The merger has to be completed by March 2007 and it would make the new entity the biggest airline in Asia.

In an exclusive interview, Thulasidas shared with Hardnews the philosophy behind the speedy merger.