No record, no compensation, "Fake News" - India's government and the migrant crisis

At 8 PM on 24th March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a hasty lockdown throughout the country, one of the most stringent in the entire world, beginning at midnight. This meant that a crucial decision affecting approximately 1.4 billion people was given a measly 4-hour notice. That's where it began. For months, heartwrenching illustrations of desperate migrant workers flashed before our eyes, as these migrants, (About 100 million of them) amidst extreme vulnerability due to loss of livelihood, took upon a journey towards their native homes. These impoverished workers trudged home, with some having children in their arms and some supporting old parents as they went on.

Most migrant workers, mainly labourers, are daily - wage earners who are often mistreated, poorly paid and overworked. They are also denied proper sanitation, healthcare etc, since most work in the informal sector. When the lockdown was suddenly imposed, they lost food and money, and due to extensive harassment by employers or landlords, chose to go home. These helpless workers, however, had no proper means of transport for their travel, as services of trains, buses act had been suspended. Thus began a journey of plight, where many died of exhaustion, hunger, suicide, the virus, and even police brutality for violating the lockdown.

The State Governments conveniently issued directives to employers at first, to pay the workers their due wage. No heed was paid to the fact that small business owners had little to no money left to sustain themselves, let alone pay the workers. On the 26th of March, the doubling of food ration for Indians in the public distribution system was announced. But most of these people below poverty lines had no ration cards to access the system. It was only after a month and a half that food support was announced for those not enrolled in the system. Even though temporary shelters, food and funds were allocated later for these stranded parties, and even transport was started in May, it was sluggish and uncoordinated. The special Shramik trains had the penniless migrants pay undisclosed amounts in some cases, and almost 80 people died aboard the trains between 9 and 27 May. As of 28 May, 91 lakh migrants had travelled back home in government-arranged transport facilities. However, according to the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN), migrants were confused about the exact procedures to register themselves for travel. Many even had to pay large amounts to register themselves.

 Despite this, it is disgraceful to see the Centre plainly ignoring the issue of compensation for these migrant workers in the Parliament, saying that since no data of deaths were recorded, no compensation could be given. So the question here strongly stands, why wasn't any effort made to record these deaths? To the Centre, who went to the extent of calling the cause behind the exodus "fake news", why isn't hunger, lack of money and a hasty lockdown being taken into account? Avoiding giving answers to the Opposition may be simple, but the truth still remains unflinching.

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Writer: Mannat Kandal

#migrantworker #crisis #lockdown