Crossing the Seven Seas: Covid 19 induced migrant crisis with reference to Uttar Pradesh.

Abstract

Wars, conflict, and natural disasters displaced 14.6 million people in 127 countries from January-June 2020. To elaborate, humankind faces the worst pandemic ever, leading to massive loss of life and crippling the economy. Among these are the disadvantagedand poor, who are worst affected in the present times? Union government implementation of lockdown across the country to curtail virus transmission and protect people from COVID-19 threat turned into a significant socio-economic crisis for urban poor, mainly migrants. With lockdown 1.0, migrant workers from the big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai started rushing back to their native place. Uttar Pradesh houses about 20 million people, provides most informal workers to all these large cities, and saw severe crises across state borders and within state limits. Health hazards coupled with sudden lockdown brought colossal fury and mismanagement across India. People started moving in large numbers without any planning in the hope ofreaching their land. Very little did they know what lied ahead, with several migrants dead due to extreme heat, hunger, and thirst? On their way, home administration brutality towards them like complete body sanitization, lathi charge, hostility, and unwelcoming brought ore misery. Complete lockdown meant no vehicular movement and no public transport forcing a large flock of humans to walk back barefoot or any means possible. Present research looks to analyse the plights of the migrant movement with the idea of social justice amidst difficulties and hardships faced during the Covid-19 lockdown 1.0. The study is based on secondary data analysis, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It was concluded that despite the lockdown and hardship associated, the migrant workers were ready to travel any distance to reach their native place (sense of belongingness). They were hopeful of getting to their village in whatever way possible, prepared to march on cycle, walk back barefoot, on buses, trains, or any other means possible. The scenes of young people's dragging their parents and kids caught everyone's eye, women giving birth on the road, few individuals being run over by vehicles, indicating fighting against the pandemic is secondary, and reaching home being primary. The mass movement also sent the government wary and frenzy, meaning unplanned preparations questioning migrants' very existence. More needs to be done by the democratic government both at the centerand state to cope up during one of the most threatening crises to humankind and prepare for the future.