Hunger forces boy to eat mud in Thiruvananthapuram, mother gives kids to child welfare
Thiruvanathapuram: Abject poverty and an abusive husband forced a young mother of six to hand over four of her children to Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW) on Monday evening.
The family of eight has been living in a makeshift 50sq ft house that has tin and flex sheets for a roof and walls on railwayowned unused 18 cents at Kaithamukku, some 3km from the state Secretariat.
The appalling condition of the family came to light when the headmistress of the government school, where the eldest child (a boy aged seven) has been enrolled, asked him of his living condition.
“I heard that his alcoholic father would physically abuse all of them, except the youngest kid, who is only three months old. He would beat them up and smash their head against the wall,” the headmistress said.
“Our members found the situation shocking,” KSCCW general secretary S P Deepak said. “The kids only had water for the past two days. One boy was seen eating mud out of hunger.”
Based on the inspecting team’s report, KSCCW asked the 28-year-old mother whether she was willing to hand over the children for a better care. The mother agreed.
“The KSCCW will take care of the children’s needs. Two younger kids were left with the mother because both are being breastfed. However, we provided all materials, including baby food, for them,” Deepak said.
Valsala, a neighbour, said the loud cries of the children used to wake her up late at night.
“He (the children’s father) would consume alcohol daily and beat them up. Even the kids are not spared. We would all support them in a way we could by giving food. Even the local DYFI members would provide provisions. After having food, he would destroy the remaining,” she said.
The father — suspected to be an alcoholic — a casual labourer, would physically abuse them, throw mud into their food or leave them and their mother starving, neighbours said. The mother, however, did not say a word against her husband. She kept mum when asked about the torture.
Mayor K Sreekumar offered the mother a job at the Corporation office after visiting the family on Monday. A flat, being constructed under the Corporation’s housing scheme, would be given to the family, he said.
The mother said she had no idea on who would look after the children when she is at work.
Late at night, based on district collector K Gopalakrishnan’s directive, police shifted the mother and her two children to the Mahila Mandiram at Poojappura.
Around 10 families have been living in poor conditions in the railway land at Kaithamukku.
Courtesy: timesofindia
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
