Social media footage shows floodwaters sweeping a house away in Kerala after heavy rains that began to intensify on Friday. At least 25 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by the rains in south-west India, officials said on Sunday, as rescuers searched for survivors and the military flew in emergency supplies
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India floods: at least 25 dead after heavy rains spark landslides in Kerala
Rescuers search for survivors after days of rain bring devastation to south-eastern state
At least 25 people have died in landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains in south-western India, officials said on Sunday, as rescuers scoured muddy debris for survivors and the military flew in emergency supplies.
Residents were cut off in parts of the coastal state of Kerala as the rains, which started to intensify from late on Friday, swelled rivers and flooded roads.
Continue reading...‘He lives freely, I live in fear’: the plight of India’s abandoned wives
Activists highlight the poverty, stigma and abuse faced by women deserted by spouses living abroad
Kamala Reddy*, 33, a software engineer from Andhra Pradesh, married Vijay Kumar* in a traditional Hindu wedding in 2012. Kumar, who was working in the UK, was chosen by Reddy’s family. “But he didn’t take me to the UK after our marriage. He made excuses such as problems with the visa and so on,” says Reddy.
In 2016, Reddy became pregnant. Under pressure from the family, Kumar brought her to England. On arrival, she was shocked to discover Kumar’s secret. He had a British partner, two children and a stepchild. Neither Kumar’s nor Reddy’s families knew about the other family. Kumar threatened to leave Reddy if she told anyone.
Continue reading...Local Covid vaccines fill gap as UN Covax scheme misses target
India, Egypt and Cuba among first states to develop and make their own vaccines as Covax falls behind
Developing countries are increasingly turning to homegrown Covid vaccinations as the UN-backed Covax programme falls behind.
While western countries roll out booster jabs to their own populations, Covax, which was set up by UN agencies, governments and donors to ensure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, has said it will miss its target to distribute 2bn doses globally by the end of this year.
Continue reading...‘Evil customs’: why a Kashmiri village abandoned dowries
Dowries, illegal since 1961, still cause 20 deaths a day in India. But Babawayil has had no divorces or violence against women since it banned them
Babawayil, in the foothills of the Zabarwan mountains by the Sind River, is a typical village in Indian-administered Kashmir. Groups of men and women sit on their lawns breaking open green husks of walnuts, freshly gathered from the giant trees shading the sleepy hamlet. Other villagers are busy in the paddy fields bringing in the harvest. Harud, the harvest season, is usually busy.
Most of the 150 households make their living from farming and weaving pashmina shawls.
Continue reading...India faces electricity crisis as coal supplies run critically low
Eight in 10 thermal power stations within days of running out as state blackouts spark protests
India is facing a looming power crisis, as stocks of coal in power plants have fallen to unprecedentedly low levels and states are warning of power blackouts.
States across India have issued panicked warnings that coal supplies to thermal power plants, which convert heat from coal to electricity, are running perilously low.
Continue reading...Sindhu Vee and her father go back in time: ‘As a child, I was always copying him’
The comedian and her dad recreate a childhood photo and talk about early days in India, agoraphobia and swapping banking for comedy
Born in New Delhi in 1969, Sindhu Vee spent her childhood in India and the Philippines, before throwing herself into academia, getting degrees from Oxford, Montreal and Chicago universities. In her early 40s, she traded the world of investment banking for standup comedy. Her career quickly ascended, with appearances on QI, Have I Got News for You, Radio 4 and Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of Matilda. She lives in London with her husband and three children; she is currently touring her new show Alphabet.
Continue reading...‘We want dignity’: the vanishing craft of Kashmir’s papier-mache artists
Award-winning artist Maqbool Jan is one of a handful still practising the ancient artform, but without government help he fears it could be lost
Kashmir’s ancient papier-mache artworks are famous throughout the world. The art form is a staple of the luxury ornamental market, and has a rich and long cultural lineage. It is closely associated with the advent of Islam in Kashmir, and depicts scenes from the Mughal court, Arabic verses from the Qu’ran, Persian poetry, as well as Kashmir’s iconic tourist attractions.
However, this ancient art form is vanishing, with only a handful of artisans left practising.
Continue reading...Facebook outage highlights global over-reliance on its services
Shutdown heavily impacts ability to communicate and do business for many of platform’s 2.8 billion users
From bereft Brazilians to relaxed Russians and internet-savvy Indians, Facebook’s outage highlighted the dependence much of the world has developed on its social media products, and put the spotlight on its global power.
The fallout of Facebook’s unprecedented almost six-hour outage has mostly focused on the financial impact to the $1tn social media empire: $50bn (£37bn) was wiped off the company’s market value by jittery investors, founder Mark Zuckerberg’s paper fortune shrunk by $7bn and more than $13m of the advertising dollars that are its lifeblood disappeared each hour the platform was offline.
Continue reading...‘Renting the Taj Mahal’: the fight to save Darjeeling’s toy train
India’s tiny train has puffed up the Himalayas since 1881 but now the world heritage site is under threat
“Darjeeling ko sano rail, hirna lai abo tyari cha / Guard le shuna bhai siti bajayo” (Darjeeling’s dainty train is all set to chug off / Oh, listen to the guard blowing the whistle): generations of children in Darjeeling have grown up hearing these lines from a Nepali nursery rhyme. Serenading the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), it depicts the close relationship between the “Queen of the Hills” and local people.
However, that relationship has become strained after the Indian government decided to hand over the running of the railway – listed by Unesco as a world heritage site – and oversight of the land adjoining the stations to a private company, threatening jobs and livelihoods.
Continue reading...Coronavirus treatments: the potential ‘game-changers’ in development
After positive clinical trials for antiviral drug Molnupiravir, it joins other medicines that have shown promise
The first clinical trial results showing a positive effect for a pill that can be taken at home has been hailed as a potential gamechanger that could provide a new way to protect the most vulnerable people from the worst effects of Covid-19. Molnupiravir joins a growing list of medicines that have shown promise. Here are some of the main developments in treatments so far.
Continue reading...Gail Omvedt: US sociologist who ‘lived by her principles’ among India’s poor
The respected academic, who has died aged 80, was a leading anti-caste campaigner and fought tirelessly for women’s rights
At the village of Kasegaon, in India’s rural western region of Maharashtra, huge crowds turned up for the funeral in August of a US-born, white sociologist whom many local people saw as one of their own.
Most of the mourners were Dalits, who belong to the lowest caste in Indian society, previously deemed “untouchables”.
Continue reading...‘Free and open’: Quad leaders call for ‘stable’ Indo-Pacific in veiled China dig
Joe Biden meets leaders of Australia, India and Japan in latest effort to cement US leadership in Asia
US president Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan highlighted their Quad group’s role in safeguarding a stable, democratic Indo-Pacific in a veiled dig at rival China.
The first in-person summit of the Quad held on Friday marked Biden’s latest effort to cement US leadership in Asia in the face of a rising China.
Continue reading...Notorious gangster gunned down in Indian courtroom
Attackers dressed as lawyers opened fire and killed Jitendra ‘Gogi’ Maan before police shot them dead
One of India’s most notorious gangsters has been shot dead in a Delhi courtroom after members of a rival gang disguised themselves in lawyers’ cloaks and opened fire.
The shooting took place as Jitendra Maan, alias Gogi”, previously one of Delhi’s most wanted men, entered the court to face murder and extortion charges. Police returned fire, according to officials, killing two gunmen.
Continue reading...England’s Covid travel rules spark outrage around the world
Refusal to recognise vaccines given across Latin America, Africa and south Asia has been denounced as ‘discriminatory’
England’s Covid travel rules and refusal to recognise vaccines administered across huge swaths of the world have sparked outrage and bewilderment across Latin America, Africa and south Asia, with critics denouncing what they called an illogical and discriminatory policy.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, described England’s rules, unveiled last Friday, as “a new simplified system for international travel”. “The purpose is to make it easier for people to travel,” Shapps said.
Continue reading...Why Kerala is still in the grip of India’s second wave of Covid
National cases are at record lows, yet in state that excelled in handling first wave rates have stayed high since May
As Covid-19 swept through India last year, there was one state that was always seen to stand out in its handling of the pandemic.
The “Kerala model” became a byword for success in containing the virus, named after a series of measures introduced early on by the south Indian state, including rigorous and focused testing, containment, community support and contact tracing. The state boasted the lowest death toll from the virus and Kerala’s now-ousted health minister, KK Shailaja, became known as the “Covid slayer” and was named Vogue India’s woman of the year.
Continue reading...‘Every man was drinking’: how much do bans on alcohol help women in India?
Women’s protests led to prohibition in Bihar but can alcohol bans end domestic abuse and harassment?
Holding sticks and brooms, the women marched to the liquor shop in the centre of Konar village. It was a rare ambush in the staunchly patriarchal Bihar state in eastern India. But they were at breaking point.
“In every village women were troubled by alcohol. Men harassed them on the streets. Husbands beat them at home,” says Sunita Devi, 52, a former seamstress who led the crowd. “When they saw us they gained courage that we can come together and fight.”
Continue reading...‘£3k just to hold the bed’: Exorbitant Covid care costs push Indians into poverty
A struggling healthcare system and inflated prices mean hospital treatment can result in a lifetime of debt for many
Anil Goel remembers the night in May when he received a call from his desperate nephew asking for money for his Covid treatment. The nephew had been admitted to a private hospital with his wife and four other family members with Covid complications but had used up all of his savings.
“I was shocked by the request as this was a young man who was doing well in life otherwise. But the high hospital bills and the black marketing just exhausted all of his savings within days. After all, six family members were on life support,” said Goel.
Continue reading...‘I feel more secure’: how a holistic approach helps India’s beggars build a better life
In Rajasthan a project developing self-esteem and skills is getting people off the streets and into work
Pandit Tulsidas, 52, was resting under a tree by a road junction in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where he had begged for years.
When an official approached him about a government scheme that would teach him job skills, he rejected the offer. When the man said his meals would be looked after and he would have a room to share with only one other person, he refused again.
Continue reading...‘Deeply rooted tradition’: one man’s long fight to end illegal dowries in India
After 15 years campaigning, Satya Naresh believes it’s time for government action to stop the custom that causes a woman to die every hour through murder or suicide
For more than a decade, Satya Naresh has been trying to persuade India’s men to stop a wedding custom that he sees as one of the country’s worst social evils.
He wants men to declare: “I don’t want dowry”. The line is the name of the website he set up in 2006 as part of his campaign. Naresh wants Indian men not to expect the money, motorbike, sofa, TV, iPhone, gold jewellery or fridge that a future wife is expected to come with.
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