Prof. Rajan started his talk by stating that COVID-19 is a health crisis, which has been converted into a migrant crisis. “COVID-19, secondly is non-discriminatory, it has no bias”, however, the policies and approach of the government is discriminatory. Policies like imposing the lockdown brought about inequalities suffered by people, as the conditions during the lockdown were not the same for everyone. The most affected people due to the COVID-19 policies are migrants. The problems faced by the migrants, exposed due to implementation of COVID-19 policies, were always present. The crisis throughout the world related to migrants was brought to light, thanks to COVID-19. It exposed the failures and shortcomings of the governments, the civil societies, the researchers and policy makers, and how they all have failed the migrants.
Home states and host states blame each other and push the responsibilities of the migrants onto each other. “We all failed to recognize the migrant as an Indian.” There are about 400 million people who are migrants, rich and poor alike. 200 million are inter and intra state migrants, out of which 140 million have been directly affected due to the lockdown and its effects, as they have not been able to move and reach their destinations. “For migrants, if there is no mobility, there is nothing.” The government talk between life and death, but for migrants it is between life and livelihood, which is more important to them. They move to make livelihood, to sustain themselves and restriction of mobility has severely affected them.
“What we are fighting now is the third world war”- Prof Rajan
The nations are fighting against COVID-19 at an individual level. Countries are cancelling flights, visas, and cross border travel, the consequences of which are faced by the migrants. Making people immobile will not make COVID-19 immobile. The employers of the migrants did not take responsibility for the migrants and protect them. Prof Rajan further said that this is the first time in the history of India that migrants are going home empty handed. The migrants are not paid their wages, and the situation that he said is quite like daylight robbery of their rightful money. The migrants are not a single entity, they support 4-5 people back home.
“The migrants are heroes in their own way. They are fighting against poverty, malnutrition and unemployment, and during lockdown, we made them zeroes.” The migrants are committing suicide due to the consequences of the lockdown. The migrants were reduced to beggars since they were begging for free train tickets, food and water.The migrants were stigmatised as carriers of COVID-19. When the migrants returned home, they were moved like live stocks. No city in the country will survive without migrants.
The government is doing what it can in the face of the crisis, but they deserve better, and we have not done enough. The well-off people were flushed with money and the poor are suffering. The policies and programs announced for the migrants have not reached them, their pockets are empty. The money given to the poor would have generated demand, but the government has failed.
20 million Indians are working in the world, out of which 10 million are in6 gulf countries. Out of them, 10-15% has come back to India due to COVID-19. “This is just the teaser, not the film”. The return migrants are often forgotten and are not considered. Mahatma Gandhi was a return migrant and he, very obviously, contributed vastly to the country. There are 3 categories of return migrants: Normal return, distressed return (1/3 Indians have lost jobs), Re-migrants. According to Prof. Rajan, apart from COVID-19 affectingmigrants and migration, it is going to accelerate migration and create a new migration corridor. It is going to prove to be a great opportunity for migration researchers, scholars and provide concrete data. A new trend of immigration will emerge. The migrants will win in the long term, but will suffer in short term, as a consequence of the recent policies. Indians will play a major role in the future of migration, and under Skill India, will provide labour and workers who will earn and send money back home. This will help India and Indians emerge victorious.
Tejaswinee Jog, is an avid reader, fond of history, mythology and religion. She is from an army background, and travelling is her passion, especially if the place is historical. She is a fourth-year undergraduate student of International relations and Economics and wishes to make a future as a diplomat or work in the sector of defense, strategy and national security or maybe, RAW.