Migrant's Saga

Posted this picture in Facebook, and comments started pouring in left, right and centre. I know reading about the walking migrants, I got a bit sentimental - various stories, of a women delivering while walking, death of 16 people in Maharashtra, when a train went over them, as they were sleeping on the platform, people falling down dead, carrying children and heavy load without any food and water. But the discussion did make me ponder.

Indeed, we need to think on humanitarian grounds. For a mother whose one son is daily wage worker and another is a NRI, both of them would be definitely equally important. She would take all possible actions to ensure their betterment to the best of her capabilities.

When you lockdown a vast country like India in 4 hours, In the process taking away jobs and livelihoods in a jiffy, removing all forms of commutation, to leave lakhs of them homeless and hungry, they just have one choice - a long walk back without clamoring for any subsidies or stimulus packages. Lockdown was sudden, so may be impact could not be gauged. Actions were taken may be bit late. After all they are children of lesser God who were not part of the lockdown plans anyways . They hardly matter to the Vikas plans. So as plane loads of HowdyMody promoters arrive to fanciful welcome there is this part of India that walks hundred and thousands of kilometers if only to explore accessing Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs ! Even people who came by flight during initial days were stranded in the airport and had difficult time. Later after flights started, they had to pay, and be quarantined before starting their life in India. If they didn't have money for taxi they would have also walked. Moreover those working outside India miss so many things when they are overseas.

What hurts is that people are still trying to lay the blame on a certain group, as if what the country is going through today is just because of them! They are completely oblivious to sheer ineptitude of the governments, center or state. There are many stranded away from their families whose pain and struggle is not visible. But here something that's so visibly hurting all of us and nothing much done for them is really sad and over that people putting blame on each other instead of sitting together and finding a solution is even more sad! The question is why it is been arranged only after so much of anger? Why it took them so long to arrange basic transportation? If media persons can track them and show features, do you think the government is so technically backward to do so? People were panicked and fleeing. They were not given awareness or assurance. If each state government could work together with their local administrative blocks, these people could have got relief long ago! But no, we were busy blaming each other. Our administrative divisions are amazing and if they all work in an organized way things would not go out of hand so much. I'm pissed because I know what our government and administration is capable of but they are not doing it as they lack empathy.

The word 'migrant' is both racist and insulting, when they all belong to India. Should doctors, engineers, CAs and others who work in other states be dismissed as migrants. We should be careful before we make the kind of disrespectful remark that some have chosen to make. Being penurious is a crime, a sin, a torture even today and presume, so will it be. Only way out, is to come out of it.