UNION DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh’s way of welcoming guests speaks volumes about him, I felt. As that bit is detailed on Page 28, let me not let the cat out of the bag. Former defence minister A.K. Antony, too, had a ritual as chief minister, I am told. He would stand up to greet every guest. I am not certain if he carried that courtesy to South Block, but Singh has. Chief Associate Editor Riyad Mathew, Resident Editor R. Prasannan and Deputy Chief of Bureau Namrata Biji Ahuja met Singh at his residence and came away impressed by his sharp answers and deep understanding of the political milieu. But then again that was to be expected from a veteran who has risen through the ranks.
As editor, I have a feeling that Singh left a lot of things unsaid. That is not surprising, considering his portfolio and organisational experience. For example, on China, he said, “It is the longest dialogue between the two countries so far, but we have to be patient. People, however, will be happily surprised with India’s capabilities if I could disclose any details.” I truly wish he could! But, even without that, it is a comprehensive interview accompanied by an opening article written by Namrata and Senior Special Correspondent Sanjib Kr Baruah. I would like to sincerely thank the defence minister for making time for THE WEEK’s readers during the hectic campaigning season.
Electronic voting machines have always added a dash of mystery and controversy to elections. The articles on EVMs anchored by Senior Assistant Editor Soni Mishra are eminently readable. Soni’s opening article has covered the journey of EVMs elaborately, and different voices have been brought in through the columns by former chief election commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy and IIM Ahmedabad professor Jagdeep S. Chhokar, who is also a founding member of the Association for Democratic Reforms.
Talking of columns, an interesting first-person account in this issue is by Wing Commander Yogesh Suri (retd) on how he was trained for space travel along with Wing Commanders Ravish Malhotra and S.C. Mittal, and Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma. All of them have retired from active service and are now looking forward to seeing at least three of the four newly minted Indian gaganauts taking off in an Indian spacecraft.
Our Consultant (Sports) Ayaz Memon writes about how head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have their work cut out ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the US and the West Indies from June 1 to 29. “As I see it, only four players are certainties right now for the World Cup: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja,” Memon says. Others might pick themselves through their performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League, he hints. For more, see Page 60.
How will the average US sports fan look at the World Cup, I wonder. Earlier there used to be jokes galore about the absence of cricket coverage in the US and about how Americans looked at the game. The most popular joke perhaps was about a telegram sent to a Yorkshireman who had moved to the US for work: “Regret father died early morning STOP Funeral Wednesday STOP Yorkshire 201/6 STOP Boycott 96*.”
Why talk about the lack of access to live cricket coverage in the US when in India it was quite common to see crowds thronging the display windows of TV shops and those homes with a TV. The internet put an end to the lack of cricket coverage. And, to telegrams.