India, Oct. 29 -- The tricolour above the Kerala Secretariat flutters gently in the evening breeze, its colours dulled by dust and time.

A little away from it, outside the mighty compound wall, a large number of women sit in the open, their placards hand-written and their faces marked by fatigue and quiet defiance.

They are Kerala's ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers, the community health volunteers who became the state's frontline defenders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For several months now, they have been on strike before the Secretariat, demanding fair wages, social security and dignity.

"We have served every home in Kerala. We were the state's strength during the pandemic. But today we are forgotten," said M A Bind...