COVID-19 and the Indian Migrant Workers—Citizens of States or Citizens of Nation?

Abstract

The affair of migration is as old as human civilization. Migration is the movement of people away from their usual residence. The migration can be internal (within the country) or international (across countries) borders. Earlier, the reason for the migration was because of war, terrorism, persecution, natural disasters, and climate change. But in recent years, people have also migrated to get an education, a livelihood, and other reasons. According to the last Census of 2011, India had 45.6 crore migrants, i.e., 38% of the country’s total population. COVID-19 dislocated human mobility by shutting down national borders and halting travel worldwide. COVID-19 has shattered the concept of ‘Life, work, and society’ and created challenges for the migrants. One of the issues during the pandemic was that the responsibility to take care of the migrants was with the states or of the center, and in the case of the states, whether the original State from where the people migrated or the State where the migrated people were getting their livelihood. The chapter argues that the rights bestowed upon migrant workers under the Indian constitution were breached extensively during the lockdown. Also, there needed to be more cooperation and coordination between the Centre and the State regarding law enforcement and promptly tackling the situation. The chapter also discusses the status of Migrants and whether it was the Centre or States’ responsibility to provide relief and redressal to the migrants during an unprecedented situation.