What is India without the migrant labour? Do read and understand and share to recognise the builders of modern India.
India can be cleaved into two. “Visible India”, that belongs to most of us, and “Invisible India”, a part that is unrecognised, un-feted and dusted under the carpets most of the time, belonging to a host of 126 million migrant workers who work silently.
These are the folk who build that modern skyscraper and see it emerge from the dust, hollow-concrete brick by brick, and these are the folk who will not be there when that snazzy inaugural function declares the building open. Firstly, they are not invited. Secondly and more importantly, they just don’t have the time. They build and scoot to yet another site where they will build yet another edifice for modern India. Yet another edifice that means a daily wage and a livelihood.
The migrant labourer of India has largely remained a faceless entity till now. In comes Covid-19, and the plight of the gig worker at the rock bottom of the pyramid of prosperity is in public showcase. I think it is time for us to recognise “Invisible India” as part of the exciting “Visible India” image we wish to boast of today and in the future.
It is important for us to take cognisance of every point of need—social, economic, political and psychological—that the migrant worker deserves. It is important for us to understand that front-end India would not be what it is today without them. It is important to appreciate as well, that they deserve a more equitable share of the spoils.
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