Citizens and the Sovereign: Stories from the largest human exodus in contemporary Indian history

This report was published by Migrant Workers Solidarity Network (a collective of individuals and organisations in India) on November 7, 2020. It documents the experiences of the Covid-19 lockdown on migrant workers from across the country. The 76-page report discusses the government’s response to the migrant worker crisis under the lockdown, as well as protests by migrant workers for wages, food, travel, shelter and other facilities. It also contains interviews with activists aiding migrant workers during the lockdown. The report contains 10 chapters – Travelling 500 kilometres to get quarantined in a home that doesn’t exist (chapter 1); “Despite having lived in Gurgaon for fifteen years, they have remained ‘migrant workers’” (chapter 2); “Uttarakhand issued ‘fit to work’ certificates within days of factories reopening” (chapter 3); Neither ‘charity cases’, nor public nuisance (chapter 4); “They knew that employers were violating all laws” (chapter 5); Between home and the world (chapter 6); Organised cities want workers unorganised (chapter 7); Environmental migrants (chapter 8); “I am afraid for the future of migrant workers” (chapter 9); and Migrants were being stoned, lynched and locked up; then lockdown happened (chapter 10).