India is in the grips of a health and humanitarian catastrophe, in stark contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration of readiness to fight the pandemic.
Mass cremations in the city of Bengaluru, India, due to the large number of COVID-19 deaths.
Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)
As cremation grounds struggle to keep up with the long line of people dying from COVID-19, age-old customs are being pushed aside.
Hindu devotees attend evening prayers on the banks of the Ganges River during the religious Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar, India.
Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images
Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage that started earlier this month in India, has survived wars and famine since its origin. But the biggest threat has been the spread of illness – back then as now.