-Scroll.in Days after the town was submerged, social media accounts started posting about ‘flood jihad’. Last month’s deluge in Silchar, in Assam’s Cachar district, was followed by a dangerous rumour. This was no natural flood, the rumour claimed – it was deliberately caused. Several social media accounts suggested it was “flood jihad”, in a not-so-veiled reference to the Muslim community. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself repeatedly suggested the flood was no...

-The Telegraph Local Circles found only 4 per cent of the around 12,900 respondents from 346 districts reporting that most people in their areas took most basic precaution Ninety-six per cent of sampled respondents have told a nationwide online survey that “most people” in their localities do not use face masks or wear them improperly — despite calls for caution by health authorities and an upsurge in Covid-19 infections. The survey by a...

-The Hindu What India lacks — and needs — is data which can hold the local vision of education and local actors accountable When the children of the poor cannot read and write, when they do not play and dance in school, can the poor speak and demand change? We gather data on enrolments, retention, learning, infrastructure, and teacher training to understand the state of our public school system. But is data...

-The Hindu Health workers need better remuneration and safety guarantee, not just awards Recognition very often goes to those at the top of the pecking order, and stays there. Credit seldom trickles down to the worker at the bottom. The World Health Organization’s act of recognising India’s ASHA (accredited social health activists) and the polio workers of Afghanistan is an attempt to right that wrong. It is a rare, and commendable doffing...

-TheWire.in * According to the Union health ministry’s new Rural Health Statistics report, for 2020-2021, primary health centres have a surplus of doctors. * This could be true – although there are doubts about whether the report included the number of doctors on transitory, ad hoc appointments as well. * The report fails to capture the qualitative aspects of doctors’ availability at PHCs, including a hidden problem motivated by the absence of sufficient...