Structural Violence and Normalising Human Suffering: Labour Migration During the COVID Pandemic in India

Abstract

The abrupt lockdown imposed by the Indian government at the start of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 led to unprecedented scenes of human suffering. Millions of migrant workers were suddenly made redundant, evicted from their rented accommodation and unable to travel to their villages. The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy reports that the Consumer Pyramid Survey for April 2020 showed a drop of 122 million workers, and 75% of them were small traders and wage labourers (Vyas, 2020). A majority of those made jobless and stranded were circular, inter-state, labour migrants from the relatively under-developed northern and eastern states of the country such as Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, working in and around major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Surat and Kochi. Many belonged to lower castes and other marginalized groups including minorities and Adivasis . They worked in a range of occupations, mostly informal, such as helpers, assistants and packers, loaders, washers, cleaners, construction labour and domestic workers. Most were in the city to work and earn to send money to their families in the village or save for a better future for themselves. They stayed in the city for varying lengths of time ranging from a few months to several years with trips back home for major events and festivals. Although their jobs were precarious