Hand-to-Mouth
By Pamarty Venkataramana
Labour day, 2020 will remain etched in minds of all humanitarians. Forever. The pandemic scare and total lockdown all of a sudden has helped surface the core issue of ‘exploitation of labourers’ in a plural society. We are an avowed ‘people’s democratic republic’. Yet, Election Commission has no compunctions over according approval for registration of bodies of people as ‘political parties’ having communism or crony capitalism as their philosophy for rebuilding society of a 150 billion population.
Net result, a stark reality of total confusion, utter chaos and absolute gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. Halving the blame on over population or rampant illiteracy does not address the problem. Shifting goal posts of governance from ‘roti, kapada, makaan’ to ‘start ups, smart phones, power dressing’ from behind television studio cameras or anonymous hordes of ‘social’ media corners does not offer real solutions either.
Casteism in India is akin to Racism faced in overseas lands. Zamindari system was an ecosystem by itself. While there were kings and fiefdoms that ensured patronage across clearly demarcated lands of symmetrical cultures and languages, the bhoodaan aandolan by Vinobha Bhave (who taught the Bhagwad Gita to then Mr. Mohandas K Gandhi)and the subsequent hijacking of a patently communist manifesto by Indira Priyadarshini (daughter of Jawaharlal) led to a total upheaval of long established systems of both land management as also labour class entitlements.
Without pouring over the disturbing seesaw policies of ‘protected tenants’, ‘land grabbing’ and ‘class differentiations’, one may zero in on the root causes for disturbing trend of ‘migrant labour’ mouthed with elan by little knowing reporter-tribe and the responsibility-eschewing political castes.
Naxalbari and Maoism is a tragic reality. The sudden shooting up in real numbers of Moslems of India after opening up of visas to Gulf region and local Churahat lottery type of windfall gains which saw a particular nobody jettisoned to be masked as the messiah of Muslim ‘minority’ citizens (irrespective of their internal bickering over many issues,primarily a never-ending controversy over -‘who is the successor of Prophet Mohammed?’) has led to an anomalous situation where majority voter class of Hindus feel repressed and wronged. The next larger section of nationals, the Christians revel in being the proverbial ‘monkey judge’ who presided over two warring cats over a piece of bread! Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs are segregated for identity purposes but really enjoy harmony both in practice and precepts with the mother religion of Hindutva.
Villains of the piece have undoubtedly been atheists and their ‘leftist’ masters who are set an agenda of ‘spreading fissiparous tendencies’ in a most benevolent land of all Indians. They revel in being the ‘rebels’ and destroyed fabric of culture of India. Hindu undivided family concept is left adopted by Muslims and JNU class of anti-establishment for whom everything banal appears to be sacrosanct and adhering to sacred customs is discriminatory and ‘unscientific’.
Here we turn our attention back to the tragic train of ‘migrant labourers’ treading miles and miles in blazing heat with little bags of ‘worldly possessions’ or a little toddler tucked in the side by womenfolk, in a bid to avoid certain death by starvation in adopted ‘States’ where total lockdown has been clamped in light of a pandemic most deadly. With nowhere to go; nobody to tend to their survival needs,these large groups running to millions by count, have been seen as the scar marks on face of a ‘all-is-well’ Nation.
Who are these beings?
Why are they skirting back?
Whose responsibility are they?
Whiter the ‘one great Nation’ concept ?
What is a ‘federal structure with unitary system’ of governance?
What is a ‘home state’ ?
Which is a ‘native place ’ ?
Why does not any Central scheme take responsibility for welfare & well being of such ‘displaced’ citizens?
Why is there no deliberation over retaining these socially useful and productive human resources in the adopted State of work?
It is a most distressing picture to watch them all being halted en route by unordained and over zealous lowlies in the police forces of different States detaining them on the highways or forcing them to ‘makeshift quarantine camps’ in spots one would otherwise describe as ‘being in the middle of nowhere!’
This is not an ode to the unknown soldiers of modern India, viz; these migrant labourers. Nor is it a tribute to the darkest paid ghetto journalists who are plainly jealous of Mr. Narendrabhai and try to criticise honourable Prime Minister for every imagined wrong.
This is a cry in the wild on world labour day to -‘ Rescue Constitution’ .
Constitution of India, despite tall claims by ignorant masses was neither solely authored by Mr. Ambedkar, nor is it meant to ostracise Hindus from equal opportunity that was sought to be afforded only for an initial duration of ten years to a ‘transitioning society’ !
Constitution in its Preamble has a most beautiful phrase -‘Justice – social, political, economic!’.
All policy making must revolve around this centre point of a people’s democracy.
But, the mishandling of plight of ‘migrant labour’ has revealed the inability of a 303-strong absolute majority force to offer human security to these masses.
Suffice it to say for now, yet again, that an unified civil code is a sine qua non for carving a #NewIndia in post Covid 19 era of global order.
Just as UDAI has been designed to list out population of India, let there be a new Employment Registry system for absorbing these vital life force of economic activity into ‘nation building’ tasks. After all, it was it the ‘software ilk’ which existed all the centuries before or after French Revolution threw up concepts of -‘ liberty, fraternity, equality’ !
India belongs to one and all who eat out of this ‘freedom’ guaranteed by the Constitution.
As one mass of Humanity, let us return to be one class of humane, cultured folks who can reshape a new world order. Beginning with a ‘global health Alliance’. Resulting in Peace, Health & Harmonious co-existence. But that is better discussed another day, soon.
Firstly, let these ‘migrants’ not feel betrayed as the migrant worker force in USA feels today – on being told to go away: after decades of ‘being used’ !
State Governments in India must build separate camps for these dislodged citizens on lines of how emigrants are housed in small lands such as in the Emirates. Human rights should attain first preferential treatment over man-made conundrums such as jurisdictions and rules formulated by little minds wielding pens in enclosures of bureaucracy.
Long live labour. Long live Constitution. Long live Bharatvarsh.
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An essay to be read and commented upon by all who value country and country men.