ABSTRACT
The predicament of migrant workers in India has historically been marked by exploitation, low wages, poor living conditions, and dislocation from their native regions. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent national lockdown imposed on 23 March 2020 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, further exacerbated their vulnerabilities. Starvation and homelessness, rather than the viral infection, became the primary concerns for this section of the population. The abrupt imposition of the lockdown led to mass migration as workers attempted to return to their villages amidst the cessation of public transport services.
The pandemic-induced lockdown had a disproportionate impact on migrant workers, who were largely dependent on daily earnings and lacked financial resilience. According to an assessment by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (2020), a substantial proportion of workers received inadequate or no support from the State. Approximately 28% of workers received no governmental aid, 26% experienced hunger, and 40% faced difficulties in accessing essential food supplies.
In response, the Central Government introduced welfare measures under schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package, and enhanced allocations under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. However, despite these measures, migrant workers continued to suffer due to systemic exclusion from institutional support, lack of social security, and inability to claim entitlements outside their home states.
The situation was graver for female migrant workers, who not only faced employment discrimination but also bore the brunt of increased domestic violence and gender-based crimes during the lockdown. The pandemic-induced psychological distress, coupled with economic uncertainty and poor living conditions, led to a surge in mental health issues and suicides.
INTRODUCTION
The nationwide lockdown imposed on 23 March 2020 under the authority of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, aimed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the implementation was abrupt and unaccompanied by adequate relief mechanisms for migrant workers. The informal sector, constituting approximately 90% of India’s workforce, including an overwhelming majority of female workers, was left particularly vulnerable. Migrant workers, lacking domicile entitlements and often working under informal contracts, were left stranded, unemployed, and destitute.
Despite the announcement of relief measures, such as direct cash transfers, free LPG connections under the Ujjwala Yojana, and provision of food grains, implementation gaps rendered these measures ineffective for a significant number of beneficiaries. The inability to access ration cards, identity documents, and bank accounts outside home states further marginalized migrant populations.
LEGAL INTERVENTIONS
In light of the humanitarian crisis, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, after initial reluctance, took suo motu cognizance of the plight of migrant workers. Two significant writ petitions were filed before the Court:
- Writ Petition (Civil) No. 468 of 2020, titled “Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India”, filed by an advocate practicing before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, sought urgent intervention for the protection of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner sought directions for the provision of food, shelter, water, and medical facilities to the migrant workforce.
- Writ Petition (Civil) Diary No. 10801 of 2020, titled “Harsh Mander & Anr. v. Union of India”, filed by noted social activist Mr. Harsh Mander and Ms. Anjali Srivastava, represented by Advocate Prashant Bhushan, prayed for the payment of minimum wages to migrant workers and other unorganized sector labourers who were rendered unemployed due to the lockdown.
The failure of the government to make adequate transport arrangements led to the controversial decision to charge fare for Shramik Special trains, which was later clarified by the Solicitor General before the Hon’ble Supreme Court as being borne by the sending or receiving states.
SOCIO-LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
The lockdown’s cascading effects included:
- An increase in food insecurity and malnutrition among low-income households.
- Psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies due to uncertainty and loss of livelihood.
- A steep rise in gender-based violence, domestic abuse, and sexual offences, notably in red zones with severe lockdown restrictions.
- Educational disruption and technological exclusion, particularly among children of migrant workers.
- Overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions leading to heightened risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Empirical data reflects that women bore a disproportionate burden of the crisis. According to the US National Bureau of Economic Research (2020), complaints of domestic violence rose by 131% in COVID-19 red zones during May 2020. Reports from the National Crime Records Bureau and various news agencies highlighted several brutal instances of sexual offences against minor girls in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, underscoring the state’s failure to safeguard the right to life and dignity guaranteed under Article 21.
FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
The State’s failure to timely and adequately mitigate the plight of migrant workers violates the Directive Principles of State Policy under Part IV of the Constitution, particularly Articles 38 and 39, which mandate the State to ensure social and economic justice. The crisis exposed structural inefficiencies in the governance framework and substantiated sociologist Robert Michels’ “Iron Law of Oligarchy,” wherein power tends to be concentrated in the hands of a few, to the detriment of the masses.
Despite the constitutional and moral obligation of the State to ensure the welfare of all citizens, relief was largely dependent on the benevolence of civil society organizations and philanthropic individuals.
CONCLUSION
The COVID-19 pandemic unveiled the fragility of India’s social security infrastructure for its migrant workforce. The abrupt enforcement of lockdown measures without a clear contingency plan led to gross violations of fundamental rights. The lack of coordination between state machinery and poor execution of welfare schemes resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
To avert such crises in the future, there is a need for:
- Universal social protection irrespective of domicile.
- Portable entitlements accessible across state lines.
- Strengthening of legal safeguards for informal sector workers.
- Timely judicial intervention in matters concerning human dignity and right to life.
India’s socio-economic recovery depends not merely on economic revival but on the restoration of constitutional values and the realization of social justice for all segments of the population.