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In the years to come, which will be the defining image of the great Indian labour migration of 2020? Will it be the video of a toddler lifting the shroud over his dead mother’s body on a railway platform? Or of the child half-asleep on a suitcase on wheels as it was being pulled by his mother along a highway?

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected more than 200 countries in the world, with United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil and India being particularly affected. But no country has had a humanitarian crisis as in India in the form of 80 million migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country, with no jobs, or food security for over two months. In India, we are battling two crises: Covid-19, and a humanitarian one. Activists have recorded more than 700 deaths of people that can be traced to lockdown, owing to hunger, starvation, exhaustion and suicide, amongst others, and the number is ever growing.

The corona virus pandemic is the first fearsome disease to leave immeasurable deep scar on humanity. Many pandemic have come left unrecoverable damage on human numbers but none was able to push humanity to its back foot. But the dread of corona virus forced humanity to go back to ancient times and style of existence. Fear of becoming prey of wild animals had forced humans to live alone in safety of their caves. Social distancing was imperative of times. They had no back up of medical sciences or advantages of more organized social life depending on cooperation of others.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Is Kerala witnessing the much-dreaded community spread? That is the question being hotly discussed in the political corridors.

A recent image makeover exercise for the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi by some media houses has inflicted more damage than actually refurbishing his charisma.

Nutrition is the most important issue to sustain life. It is all the more important for children who need special care and therefore special nutrients to grow. For a healthy nourishing diet it is important that it should contain Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates as basic food stuff along with nutrients like Minerals and Vitamins. Normal functioning of the human body requires a balance between nutritional intake and metabolism. The imbalances manifest as nutritional deficiencies. The body requires many different vitamins and minerals that are crucial for both body development and preventing disease. These vitamins and minerals are often referred to as micronutrients and should be essential part of our diet.

First the slogan, then the idea. This has been Mod’s style in all his slogan coinages. Many of these could actually be described as random midnight thoughts. The latest one for the covid stimulus package is no different.

Emperor Ashoka transformed himself from a ruthless conqueror to a champion of justice, after the devastation during the Battle of Kalinga opened his eyes to the futility of territorial expansion at the cost of people’s lives. Will the extraordinary human suffering we are witnessing during our ‘Battle with Corona’ get Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prioritise healing people’s lives and repairing the economy?

Earlier this week, the Apex Court initiated suo motu proceedings to examine state solutions for the difficulties being faced by migrant workers across the country. This comes in the backdrop of another bench’s utter denial in recognising the urgency of the migrant crisis. The court had earlier remarked “How can we stop people from walking” before dismissing the application. Notably, the earlier bench had refused to accept the veracity of newspaper reports, while the current bench has cited newspaper reports to raise a resounding alarm on the current crisis.

BHOPAL: Never in the history of any state did cabinet formation take such a long time as in the present case in Madhya Pradesh. Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath on March 23, 2020. It was for the fourth time that he was sworn in as the Chief Minister. First time he took oath in 2005 after Babulal Gaur was forced to resign. This time, after taking over as Chief Minister on March 23, he functioned as a single-member cabinet. After a big gap, he added five ministers to his team, including two defectors from the Scindia camp. Till now, he is functioning with this truncated team for last 15 days. Rumour is afloat that the ministry may be expanded anytime. Last it was heard that ministry may be expanded on May 31. But there is no indication so far that the oath-taking ceremony will take place then. Why the expansion is getting delayed remains difficult to figure.