Lockdown would have lakhs of people locked out. How come no one anticipated it? As the grim spike in corona cases in India continues, so do the stories of human tragedy playing out at exit points of cities and urban centres across the country. Evicted out of their shantytown accommodations by owners or forced to evacuate themselves due to existential compulsions, almost the entire migrant labour population is out at inter-state bus depots and state borders. Watch the footage of them crowding railway stations and squeezing into crammed vehicles, you realise social distancing is a big joke here, as is the idea of isolation.
DIRE CHOICE: LIFE OVER EVERYTHING ELSE
What explains the desperate homebound rush? Every single one of them is a potential corona vector and once back home they can spell disaster in rural areas, burdening the rickety healthcare system there to the point of collapse. Obviously, they are aware of all this, thanks to the relentless chatter about the outbreak over a month. Still they would prefer the journey back packed like sardines in whatever vehicle that allows them in, risking contacting and spreading infection. The answer is not hard to guess. Corona is a secondary concern for the throng. Food and shelter are its bigger worries at this point. Cities have little patience with the unproductive and still smaller endurance for charity. It was only a matter of time doors were slammed shut on the ‘useless’ migrants. So they had to find a way out. Concern over disease can wait.
THE LONG TRUDGE HOME
Some commentators call it the biggest internal migration on foot after the partition of the country. There’s little point aguing this. Hundreds of poor families setting off to their distant villages hundreds of kilometres away from cities, meagre rations in bags and kids in tow, could well be the defining visual of the pandemic time in India. These are tough people; the toughness forged from life-long struggle with adversity. Yet, the thought of not reaching home alive often crosses their mind. Is the arduous journey worth it? “Starvation will come earlier to us than the disease if we stay back. If it has to be death anyway, why not in the peace of the village surrounded by familiar people?” This refrain in several voices from the desolate stretches of roads will haunt our conscience forever.
THE NOWHERE PEOPLE
“No entry. Stay off the village.” A hostile welcome awaits migrants at home across the country. It doesn’t take long for the physically exhausted and financially drained lot to realise they are unwanted. At some places gates have been erected or repaired to keep them off. Villagers inform the police about new arrivals and they are packed off to healthcare facilities for check-up. It would be at least a fortnight till they are accepted by the village. Abandoned to their fate in distant cities and towns and cold reception at where they thought they belonged to. It’s a double whammy. Try taking a moral position, it won’t be easy. Keeping the circumstances in mind, one cannot blame the villagers for being insensitive, nor can one blame those returning home. Unfortunate situation indeed!
DID WE MISS THE BIG PICTURE?
It is a nightmarish situation for governments at both levels – the Centre and the state. However, it is a surprise that this situation was unanticipated. Before clamping lockdown to check community spread of the virus, didn’t they consider the migrant workers as community too? Was the idea of lockdown foolproof to begin with? Could we have planned it better? Well, troubling questions are expected to crop up as the storm blows over and we sit down to assess our response to it.
