THE PRIMARY school in Kota Gunjapur village of Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district has 31 registered students. After the Central government announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 and the school received orders to hold classes online, the principal, Rohni Pathak, organised a door-to-door survey to assess its feasibility. “We found that households of only eight of the 31 students had mobile phones, and just two were active,” Pathak says. Hakki Bai, a daily wage labourer belonging to Gond tribe, whose son Brij Kumar, 13, studies in the school, says the family does not have a phone. “Even if we buy one, there is no power supply to charge it. I don’t know how will he catch up with the studies once the classes start,” she says. “The situation is the same in other villages,” adds Pathak.
Education is just one area that has highlighted the digital divide between India’s rural and urban areas during the lockdown. The trend is evident everywhere— telemedicine, banking, e-commerce, e-governance, all of which became accessible only via internet during the lockdown.
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In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
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Return of Rambhog
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Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
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True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
