Written by Satyaki Dasgupta

Migrant workers have formed the backbone of the development processes that this country often boasts about. According to a 2020-21 Periodic Labour Force Survey, the percentage of migrants in the urban population is about 35 per cent. However, these workers only make the news when some misery befalls them, the most notable instance being when they were forced to walk hundreds of kilometres back to their home towns and villages following the Covid lockdown in 2020. Recently, there have been increasing reports of Bengali migrants being rounded up by police, and beaten and abused by locals on suspicion of being Bangladeshis. This news generally shows up in smaller newspaper columns, and is conveniently ignored or forgotten by us readers. Events like those depicted

See Full Page