It is very easy to forget that “a few people” for India is still lakhs of people. Time and again the media feeds us numbers about the coronavirus pandemic. But the real victims of this pandemic are thousands of miles away from the virus hotspots, crushed not by the virus but the severe economic implications this lockdown will have on them.
Migratory labourers are a huge chunk of our population. An invisible force that we need to build our flyovers, metro stations, and sky-high buildings but in a crisis situation, we want them to magically vanish into their imaginary homes. Once the situation gets better, we want them to be back in attendance, because our bushes need to be pruned.
People worry so much about these labourers spreading the disease when the disease actually came on flights and even if they get it is the flying classes that are the sole reason for this pandemic!
They would at least be privy to 3 meals a day and a shelter if they test positive! It is easy to question why they are out walking thousands of miles to reach home when employers, NGO’s and governments could have provided them basic accommodation and food with a little proper planning. When you have neither work nor a place to call a home, work from home does sound scary right?
Please make some time to watch this lecture by Journalist Sainath who has been the voice of rural India and underprivileged for decades! And don’t stop there head to
https://ruralindiaonline.org/ and read up and open your eyes to your privilege!
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