Special Issue: Reverse Gear  |
Editor-in-chief Vinod Mehta had the difficult task of picking the 15 best stories that Outlook has carried, from what is (even if we say it ourselves) a prodigious and varied output. He chose stories that not just reflected journalistic perseverance and excellence but also those that broke new ground and strongly impacted public debate, discussion and, in cases (even if they didn't always admit it), policy.
Kashmir Poll [Survey] | October 18, 1995
"A whopping 77 per cent are firm in their belief that a solution to the Kashmir problem does not lie within the framework of the Indian Constitution, and a clear 72 per cent say categorically that it is independence alone which can bring peace in the violence-riven Valley."
Meet PV the Novelist | October 18, 1995
Exclusive extracts from a draft of The Insider, a novel by the then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao: "Sex was like an itch to Jeevan; the urge to fornicate was not very different from the urge to urinate. His need was quite simple, his detractors said—to wit, any female orifice."
39 MPs With Criminal Cases | August 14, 1996
An investigative survey pioneered by Outlook staffers much before it became mandatory for people contesting polls to declare their assets and file affidavits on pending criminal cases.
Cricket's Dirty Games | June 11, 1997
Match-fixing in the gentleman's game was brought out in the open by Aniruddha Bahal and Krishna Prasad. It just wasn't cricket anymore, the game was now changed forever.
The Kargil Papers | September 6, 1999
An exclusive report on the Kargil war by Nitin A. Gokhale and Ajith Pillai which showed for the first time how intel reports reached various decision-makers but were not taken seriously for reasons best known to them. [Read with] 'Kargil Blunders' by Saikat Datta—February 28, 2005: An internal assessment report lists the blunders committed during the war....
Life & Crimes in Karachi | November 20, 2000
Where for the first time Dawood Ibrahim's presence in Pakistan—more precisely Karachi—was established. Ghulam Husnain's article even had details of the D-company's address in a tony part of the port city.
Vajpayee's Achilles Heel | March 26, 2001
Ajith Pillai and Murali Krishnan wote this controversial story on Vajpayee's three blindspots, Brajesh Mishra, N.K. Singh and Ranjan Bhattacharya. This and a follow-up story led to vindictive I-T and ED raids on Outlook's owners.
A Hotel's Dirty Linen | July 19, 2004
Saba Naqvi on anomalies in the NDA's privatisation rush. Why did Arun Shourie's disinvesment ministry show such indecent haste in selling off the Juhu Centaur to Ajit Kerkar's Tulip. And that too for a song? And then it helps Tulip raise the money too?
Is IT All for Land? | November 7, 2005
The Infosys land scam story by Sugata Srinivasaraju. "Creating land banks was a key challenge. We persuaded state governments to allot us land." Picking up from this line in their annual report, we found the Infy story wasn't all about information technology.
Middlemen in Scorpene Deal | April 10, 2006
A series of stories through 2006 by Saikat Datta exposed what we called the Navy's Bofors, the wrongdoings and murkiness behind the Rs 18,798 crore Scorpene submarine deal.
Chasing Down Obama | July 21, 2008
Ashish Kumar Sen was the first from any Indian media house to speak to the US presidential candidate Barack Obama. In an exclusive interview, he revealed how his mother worked as an anthropologist in rural India and how Mahatma Gandhi remained an abiding inspiration.
Words for a Price | December 21, 2009
The story on 'paid news' by Anuradha Raman went into the innards of how it's become de rigueur for many media houses to compromise on ethics, publish stories in exchange for lucre.
Lost in the Outback | February 8, 2010
Pranay Sharma's story on 'Why the Aussies Hate Us' analysed the latent racism in Australia. It elicited a record number of responses.
We, the Eavesdropped | May 3, 2010
Saikat Datta's story on how the UPA government was tapping phones of not just political opponents, but even their own leaders' political leaders. It led to much heartburn in Parliament.
Walking with the Comrades | Mar 29, 2010
Arundhati Roy travels with Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh's forests. [Read with] 'Inside the PWG' by Rajesh Joshi—Dec 18, 1996: Travelling in Bastar, he wrote on how the Naxals had formed a guerrilla zone deep in central India's jungles. Prescient?
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Palash Biswas
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http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/
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