With every announcement of lockdown extension, the migrants got into more trouble and with no immediate measures to make them feel more accepted in the society. There was no sign of government relief to stop or at least slow down the migration rate, the government never seem to be in a comfortable position with the situation. This has been the biggest migrant exodus in modern Indian history. Surely, the reason is coronavirus but the magnitude of migration is because of ill-preparedness, lack of vision, and not having the awareness of the real ground situation.

While it was met with approval by experts and health professionals, the lockdown has already proved catastrophic for India’s millions of migrant and daily wage workers, who earn their salary hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles away from home and live a hand-to-mouth existence.

With no way to earn money and feed their families for undecided time, millions decided to head back to their villages in order to survive

The crammed mass of people at Delhi’s bus stations, Delhi-UP border, Mumbai train station, and widespread migration of people across all the Indian states and borders over the past few weeks has horrified India. Migrants, the already deprived and unaccounted category of India both in terms of the hardships and economic status, their movement will worsen the spread of coronavirus.

With trains and most buses suspended, inter-state buses allegedly charging very high, taxis are unaffordable. Highways are lined up with people, their family, kids, infants, handicap people, bags slung over their shoulders, few clothes in hand to wipe the sweats, with slippers, worn shoes, and few bare feet walking thousands of kilometers in this peak summer with no support whatsoever from the state, hundreds have died over the past few weeks during this painful walk back journey to their home.

Migrants are crammed in the buses in hundreds. They are sitting on the top of the buses, hanging out on the windows. Trains were a little better when they started initially but later on, it was crammed with people. Indian Railways were allegedly charging fare from migrants but after congress took the political mileage and uproar on social media, the BJP government forced to take back the decision.

As soon as exodus news started flashing on the news board and started trending on social media, the government ordered all state borders to be closed, harassment of migrants footing towards their home became usual, the arrest of migrants walking on the highway started by police. In a horrendous incident, Uttar Pradesh police hosed down many migrants with a chemical solution. Many such incidents have gone unnoticed and unreported.

News of inhumane treatment of migrant laborers by different law enforcement agencies are highlights on social media. In an effort to quarantine migrants, state agencies turned school houses, government offices to quarantine centers across the country. Many reported about the worsening condition of people quarantined in these places, poor quality of food to no food, government agencies violating their own rules of social distancing.

Migrant workers are not welcome in their villages even if they have made it to their villages, In several villages in Bihar and Jharkhand, villagers put up barricades at the entry points and hung posters, warning the migrants against entering the village before a health check.

“sarkar aur prasasan dwara humlogo ko bola gaya hai ki agar koi aaye toh usko gaon me ghusne na de aur humlog bhi yehi maante hai ki unke aane se hamare yaha bhi corona failne ka darr hai, humlog pura gaon ko khatre me nahi daal sakte hai”  said Daroga Singh (name changed), member of panchayat Samiti of one of the villages in Saharsa, Bihar.

Brajesh Kumar started his journey from Bathinda, Punjab to reach his village in Nawada, Bihar, almost 1500 km and its been 9 days and still few more days to reach his village and its been epic journey for him, though he traveled partly by bus, it made his journey little easier.

“mai yaha ek chhote se factory me kaam karta tha lekin band hone se bhookhe marne ki naubat aa gayi, maalik puchta bhi nahi tha, phone karta tha toh maalik phone bhi nahi uthata hai, mere pass rent ke liye paise nahi hai, khane ke liye paise nahi hai, purana hisab bhi nahi kiya hai maalik, aur ab toh paise bhi nahi milega” Brajesh said.

At Delhi’s Anand Vihar bus station, as hundreds of thousands of migrant workers gathered in an attempt to get on one of the limited buses still running. The crush of human bodies was the antithesis of the social distancing ordered by the prime minister himself, and the police responded by beating up workers who tried to board the buses.

“The bus station was full of people, desperate to get out, and it was like hell. There were crowds and everyone was being crushed and pulling each other out of the way, there was so much violence and police were charging the lathis [wooden rods].” stated one of the passenger waiting for the bus at the bus stand.

Vinod, 35, and his wife, a newly married couple, workers at automobile factory in Gurgaon area that was shut during the lockdown, suddenly they are helpless without a salary and hence no way to buy food and pay their rent. They started their journey with eight Rotis that her wife prepared along with some pickle.

“Maine aisa kabhi nahi socha tha, ek toh corona ne mara, doosra hamare maalik ne aur jis sarkar par hum bharosa karte the woh toh gareeb logo ko dekh bhi nahi rahi hai. Hamare pass koi doosra raasta nahi hai, shivaye apne gaon wapas jane ke, hume kareeb 6 din lag jayenge hathras pahuchne me”

The road seemed endless, with no government assistance, food, money, and no help at all from the nearby villagers because of lockdown. the children walking along with them, with no to little rest, the condition is unimaginable. Many have died on the road because of heatstroke, worsening health conditions, and other reasons, too many have died because of accidents.

Most national media is not interested in reporting extensively about the grave situation. It does not want the coverage of migrants to take over good news spread by the government. In fact, few media houses have vilified the migrants and this to a certain extent proves the theory that the poor are no more considered to be a citizen and hence not welcome in the society.

A few questions need to be asked from the Central and State government

How come such a big number of students were swiftly sent back from Kota to their states? Is it because most of them belonged to a well-to-do family or some other reasons?

Stale food was distributed at Asansol station in Bengal in a special train from Ernakulam, passengers threw the food on the platform, Railway has accepted it but the bigger question is, had there been another event of the same magnitude and businessmen or political leaders were the guests, the same would have happened?

The India that is generally so much talked about in the political rallies, “Incredible India” ads, foreign agendas, and big economic policy promises. but the very important ingredient of the population is left behind at every level and hence we see one of the biggest migrant crisis in history.

India needs to think about the major chunk of its population. The migrants were treated as if they did not exist. As if there does not exist no people in the cities that do not have their own home, do not have a negligible income barely making the ends meet on a daily basis, do not have children to feed, let alone clothe or education.

A common man is struggling with their own problems in this lockdown and they did not pay attention to the migrant problems and it is completely understandable, but how could it be that the group of IAS and ministers taking strategic decision could not know that large population of our cities have migrants that live in daily wages? how they could not include them in the lockdown plans? this opens up a platform for lots of questions on the functionality of the government and its officials.

Authors acknowledge the reporting by “The Guardian” and sincerely thank them for some of the inputs in their report.