India’s lack of compassion for migrant labourers within and outside the country has once again been brutally exposed. Else they would have been awarded at least a one-week window prior to actual lockdown so that the migrants can return home and the authorities could have established a solid infrastructure to look after the labourers who desire to stay put.
Stay at “home”, Bang plates on “balconies”, “Download” Aarogya Setu app — each and every statement clearly brings to the fore who the target audience are, leaving sea of stranded migrant labourers, their families back home and the wage earners without livelihood in the lurch! It is nothing but an inhuman scandal that migrant labourers stranded in United Arab Emirates are not being brought back in the country despite the Gulf nation offering to fly them back to India.
What a contrast to the behaviour meted to the privileged Indians who were honourably flown back home from the foreign shores where they got stranded. What a contrast to the national uproar when any Bollywood star get detained in any USA airport for few hours for routine security formalities! Yes our “national honour” gets “vanquished” if any privileged matinee star falls “victim” to a routine procedure, but it doesn’t get vanquished when scores of our hapless labourer brothers and sisters are left to fend for themselves without livelihood in alien territories.
Seen from this naked class-based attitude where our “national honour” is directly related to economic status; it is highly expected that our poor labourer citizens, be of migrant vintage or domestic, would be awarded step-motherly treatment. No wonder why The Stranded Workers Action Network research came out with reports that nearly 96 percent of a sample of lockdown-hit migrant workers did not receive any dry rations. Various reports clearly depict not only the plight of the stranded migrant workers in various states; but also show the contrast between the projected rosy picture of the shelters and hard practical reality. Not only are they short of food products, but also get humiliated by police or contractors with their families in dire straits back home due to lack of remittance of wages.
Through regular scheduled salary payments, handsome bank balance, Internet debit/credit facilities as well as shopping apps at the tip of finger; privileged folks can easily take care of themselves. Else even in this hour, they could not have afforded to indulge in posting pictures of private acts of sleeping/cuddling/relaxing/preparing food delicacies or engage in video chats or spew communal vitriol exploiting Nizamuddin.
So it is high time instead of addressing the privileged, maximum attention and financial assistance be awarded to the vulnerable non-privileged folks who not only form the overwhelming majority in “elite” “mighty” India; but also keep the wheels of economy running, build our mansions, produce and transport our food products and clean our surroundings!
Let class-conscious India display a bit of humane attitude at least in this moment of crisis and express it’s gratitude to the poor folks whose hard honest toil and perspiration set up the base or infrastructure of the nation and privileged class.
