Ever since the scandal broke in 1987, it has been surrounded by suspicion. Who were the middlemen, how were they paid, was the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi involved? Suddenly too, an entire lexicon of new terms like the letters rogatory, offshore companies and winding-up charges were becoming conversation openers at cocktail parties. Everyone was picking up the jargon.

This was not a mere economic offence either, for the nature of the players gave it a political dimension. Seven prime ministers, including Rajiv, have come and gone since then, but Bofors has been kicked around like a political football with no one taking the initiative to pursue the case aggressively. That may change. With the filing of a charge-sheet, the Bofors issue has moved forward. And since it appears this Government will last some distance, the case could proceed with greater rapidity. Now the political implications are far-reaching. If it can be proved that Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi used his proximity to Rajiv to swing the deal, it is the Italian-born Sonia and her Congress party who will feel the repercussions. In this week's cover story we explore these issues.

On a more pleasant note, the Punjab Government last week honoured india today Special Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak, "in recognition", it wrote, "of his excellent and courageous reporting of the Kargil war". I must concur, for in his four visits to the Kargil region during the war, Vinayak displayed the relentlessness, courage and inventiveness of a top-class journalist. As Vinayak says, "All of us were putting our lives at risk and it is nice to be recognised for that." Perched atop Vinayak's award is a minor replica of the Bofors gun, for Kargil could not have been won without it.

Delicious irony.

(Aroon Purie)