MARCH 29, 2020
KARO-NA! Human Displacement
In the last few days, all Indian newspapers and electronic media are filled with stories of hundreds of thousands of people stranded at various state borders. People are stuffed in buses, tractors, trollies, handcarts and every possible moving object, much beyond their capacities. This sheer sight is hair raising! We are observing social distancing in corona times. This dichotomy reflects a grim situation in a country like India where 800 million people are dependent on agriculture and can trace their roots back to some village in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The reported population of Uttar Pradesh is 220 million and Bihar is 120 million. Whereas the whole of Europe comprises 750 million and The United States of America 320 million.
The statistics are alarming, as the Indian population is close to 1.3 billion. Let us reflect on another type of statistic that is relevant to this piece. The distance between Delhi and the hometowns of migrant workers ranges from 70 kilometers to 1000 kilometer. The Indian government has ordered a 21 day lockdown; which means all state borders are sealed and all means of transportation have been shelved. Due to closure of businesses, workplaces etc., a large number of migrants from different parts of India have started walking back on foot to places, some of which are as far as 1000 kilometers. They are not alone; there are families with very young children, women and infirms. Things don’t stop here; they do not have money. Hunger, tiredness, fear, helplessness, and uncertainty is looming large.
India experienced human displacement in 1947, when she was divided into today’s India and Pakistan. Around 12 million people moved out of their regular homes and moved to unknown places on religious lines. The number of deaths ranged from half a million to two million. They also moved in dire circumstances - no water, no food, no money, lost dear ones on the way, and an uncertain future.
In recent times, the Middle east is the new ground of human displacement. The UN High Commission reports 16 million refugees and 60 million displaced people. War in Syria and Iraq has produced the greatest share of middle east refugees in recent years. Once again, things do not stop here. All European member states are staring at a crisis in their countries once these refugees, legally or illegally, enter European states. While North African states and Turkey are new transit hubs for refugee flows in Europe, at least a million displaced people from war torn countries are bracing the cold and lack of food besides this pandemic. Ironically, all European states have increased their defence and security budgets to keep fence sitters at bay.
Another notable human barrier is the 1945 mile long border between the US and Mexico. The US has deployed all kinds of means - wall, fence, drones, electronic surveillance, sensors, cameras etc. to stop illegal migrants from entering its territory. All presidents, in recent times, adopted multiple means to protect their territory including innovative legislation like The Security Fence Act, 2006 . President Trump even threatened to Veto any spending that did not include $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
There are diverse reasons for human displacement; one thing is common in all - human suffering. Reasons for displacement can be political, economic, internal or external aggressions etc. This time it is COVID-19.
Coming back to the Indian scenario; a very large population is dependent on agriculture. Over a period of time, the majority of this population has become landless and per capita land holding has become very insignificant. The constituents of this segment are uneducated and unskilled and three out of four are dependent on one person. Any kind of disruption in the functioning of this segment is a recipe for humongous humanitarian and economic crisis. These are the people splashed over the media today. These people, every year, move to big cities and large farming states to work as construction workers and land laborers. This class is under a test of human elasticity and the contest is between humanity and COVID-19.