India, Sept. 7 -- If you ask me which was the greatest news story I reported or commented upon during my 53 years in journalism, I would answer without batting an eyelid: the eradication of smallpox from India.

I still remember the excitement I felt when Dr Karan Singh, then Union Minister for Health and Family Planning, made the announcement at a press conference at Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi. I had reported many important events before and many more afterwards. But some news stories are bigger than the headlines they generate. They become part of the lives of people. The eradication of smallpox was one such story.

The World Health Organisation's declaration came after an extraordinary campaign to identify every possible case, isolat...