The Coronavirus is impacting not only the physical health of people but also the mental health, posing innumerable challenges to society. It is testing the strength of human relationships by shaking its very foundations. The manner in which bodies of the victims of the Coronavirus infection are being disposed in various places show us that it is not only important for people to protect themselves but also ensure that humanitarian values that form the bedrock of a civil society are also protected and nurtured. 

If democracy falls victim to an  ‘autocratic’ virus, its first symptoms are seen in the police department. When the police repeatedly take law into their own hands, it should alert us about the state of the heart of our democracy – the Constitution. If the behavior of the police with the common man in various parts of the country is observed over the past five years, people are forced to question whether the police are working as protectors of the Constitution or whether they are rowdies clad in khaki uniforms. Added to this, the police are seen increasingly playing a direct role in communal riots.

When the Coronavirus had still not yet entered India, and the world was trying to grapple with its onslaught, our ‘astrologer scientists’ had gone several notches ahead by researching and even discovering a medicine for the virus. The geniuses of Sangha Parivar and several politicians issued public statements that drinking cow urine could save people from the Coronavirus. Even as cow urine and cow dung were being touted as effective barriers for the entry of the virus into the country, the number of Coronavirus infected people was increasing.

It has been 45 years since Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in India. From June 1975 to March 1977, for nearly two years, democracy was suspended in the country. We need to remember those tumultuous days every year to make sure that the country’s Constitution and democracy are not subjected to the same treatment again. 

Finally, the state government has decided to go ahead and conduct the SSLC examination, subjecting itself to one of the most crucial tests yet in office. More than eight lakh students are appearing for the  examination being conducted in more than 3000 centres. The Department of Public Instruction has released a manual with guidelines on the safety measures students should adopt while appearing for the examination. This time, students are facing the specter of dual examinations – the textbook-based examination and the one induced by the coronavirus.

There was a time when newspapers splashed banner headlines about a small hike in fuel prices. There was also a time when people would resort to street protests on a regular basis to protest against such hikes. But not anymore as such hikes have become a norm these days.

A  war hysteria is gripping  the country after violent clashes between the Indian and Chinese soldiers on the Ladakh border left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Without understanding the gravity of the situation, a few media organizations are giving unnecessary advice to the government, almost encouraging the government to wage a war without showing even a modicum of concern for those who lost their lives in the recent clashes. 

For the past one week, the Opposition has been demanding that the Government come out with the truth about the developments in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and present the facts before the country.