“One of the most telling human stories to result from the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting nationwide lockdown is that of stranded migrant workers. But theirs isn’t a new story; it’s taken a pandemic for urban India to take note of an issue that has remained an unseen aspect of the country’s economy for much of its contemporary history.” - P. Sainath (An excerpt from an interview).

An infection fails to discriminate between the rich and the poor. That being said, the response to the infection and the access to quality treatment depends on a certain level of privilege. Under normal circumstances, the plight of the underprivileged is brushed under the carpet and is given no importance. India’s response to the pandemic stands testament to this fact. Migrant labourers in the country had four hours to pack all their belongings, ensure that they had food to feed their children before they set out for their homes. They had no other choice but to walk back to their respective villages owing to the public transport shutdown. As of 30th March, 17 people had succumbed due to exhaustion. While the government had arranged special trains for the migrants to go back home in the beginning of May, they were made to pay for these tickets, leaving a majority of them stranded yet again. Throughout this pandemic, it has been observed time and again that the migrant labourers in the country, who constitute nearly 90% of the workforce have been sidelined and treated poorly.

There is so much that the government could have done to ease the burden on the migrants by either setting up shelters for them to stay back in or arrange for buses/trains for them to go back to their respective towns/villages for free, to name a few. If the government continues to treat its labourers in such a deplorable manner, it must be prepared to face the consequences.

Written by

Neelanjana Varanasi, Intern

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