PERVEZ MUSHARRAF
US' General
The next door dictator, as an ally of the United States, continues to provide shelter and support to terrorists who target India. Has a canny understanding of the media, a good grasp of global power games, is pugnacious, at the same time vulnerable. But the double game that he has been playing now shows all signs of ending up in another war in the subcontinent.

GEORGE FERNANDES
Sinned George
The year started with the socialist-dressed-in-crumbled-morality finding himself entangled in the Tehelka tapes and resigning. It ended with him back in the Cabinet-and back in the thick of the controversy over coffins. His attention ought to have been focused on the country's defence: instead, the defence minister spent much of the year defending himself.

J. JAYALALITHAA
Comeback Amma
The diva of Dravidian kitsch won the election but lost the chair. However, with the courts announcing that she was corruption free, another comeback to Fort St George is just a matter of time. The lady is certainly here to stay.

AAMIR KHAN
Hero of History
The actor-producer changed the course of the Bollywood dream to take part in a cricket match in history. Lagaan broke the rules, redefined commercial cinema and is playing at the Oscars.

KETAN PARIKH
Bruised Bull
His magic in the market made him the lord of the trading ring. The market danced to his tune as he rigged share prices and multiplied wealth. Those who made money with him called him God, those who lost, lost everything. Finally, fate caught up with him. The big bull is cooling his heels in jail.

D.R. MEHTA
The Survivor
The hero turned villain. For the first six years of his tenure as SEBI chairman, he was the darling of the media. The year 2001 saw him turn into a villain as the world realised that SEBI had slept through two years of price rigging on the bourses. When everyone was talking about the scam, he coolly declared there were no scams. And still survived.