A national webinar on “Migrant Labourers: Mobility and Marginality in the Indian Context” organised by the Haji Halima Foundation in Siliguri on Sunday, placed the spotlight on the growing vulnerabilities of India’s migrant workforce.
Scholars and civil society members joined the discussion, which focused on structural inequalities, state apathy, and exclusion faced by millions of migrant labourers.
Opening the session, Dr Narender Nagarwal of University of Delhi drew urgent attention to incidents of violence against Bengali-speaking migrant workers in the national capital. He described the pattern of attacks, including by the Delhi Police, as “coordinated efforts to marginalise the Muslim minority community” and insisted that these must be recognised as hate crimes. Dr. Nagarwal further criticised the absence of FIRs against police personnel accused of abducting workers, including a pregnant woman, who were allegedly deported into Bangladeshi territory with the complicity of the Border Security Force (BSF). “Treating all Bengali Muslims as Bangladeshis in a wholesale manner strips them of their rights as citizens and workers,” he cautioned, adding that such practices infringe on both socio-economic and basic human rights.
The discussion was moderated by Dr Dhiraj Barman of Presidency University, Kolkata, who underlined how the Covid-19 exposed the deep vulnerabilities of India’s vast migrant workforce.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Deepak Kumar Mishra of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) emphasised that migration in India is shaped by structural inequalities, agrarian distress, and dispossession of livelihoods. He argued that institutions governing regional development often enforce both mobility and marginality, while non-capitalist hierarchies of caste, class, and region deepen exclusion. Mishra particularly highlighted the role of Bengali migrant labourers in sustaining cities, even as their citizenship rights are fractured by the very economic structures that depend on them.
Dr. Abdul Hannan of Sikkim University drew attention to labour policy gaps, wage insecurity, and the failure of state agencies to implement the Supreme Court’s directives on migrant welfare. He cited the Suo Motu Case No. 6/2020, where the Court mandated nationwide registration of unorganised workers and stronger welfare provisions, but progress remains slow even after repeated reminders in 2024.
The webinar concluded with a call from the organisers to keep migrant struggles at the centre of academic, policy, and public debates. Participants agreed that robust reforms, social security, and recognition of migrants as key contributors to India’s growth are essential for ensuring dignity and justice for millions of workers.