The off the cuff remark by Mr P Chidamabaram enlisted a quick outburst from many who wait for such an opportunity. He retracted it quickly given the sensitivity of the issue. Nevertheless, migrant is an issue by itself, I being one who lived my life as a migrant ever since my birth.
In my 55 years of age and 33 years of service, I lived in 12 places and was constantly on the run. My dad's employment was the first reason for moving from place to place and my own employment is the later reason for my traveling places. Only in the last 12 years I stay put in a place but that place is also not my native place.
In the true sense, every one is a migrant in one way or another. It is not just limited to moving to another state in the country alone, even moving outside the place where your root belongs to also a migration. The migrant behavior is not a crime . On the contrary, it adds more vibrancy to the society, be it culture, language or any other thing. More than 70% of the families who live in Delhi are migrants. But it becomes a irritant factor when they transcend the limit. It is not the migrant alone who crosses the limit, but the native also do. The worst part is when the migrant commits a crime, the trail is lost in most cases and hence the crime becomes difficult to resolve. That is when everyone expresses their anguish and attributes the migration itself as the cause for the crime.
As we are in the path of global super power status with our presence everywhere in the world, we cannot complain of migratory employment within the country. Indians are present in every country you name in the globe and it is quite natural and by the law of averages one out of every six persons is an Indian.
The migrant employment is quite pronounced in the construction industry, where they move in flocks from one site to another. It is easier for the employer to engage the migratory labourers for various reasons viz.,, unorganized, lower wages, living in camps (thus ensuring full working hours and even beyond that, lesser absenteeism) and the exploitation. In Chennai (in where I currently settled), with such a massive construction activities going on, you can find mostly biharis working in all the sites.
I went to a hair dresser, the first time I am visiting that shop. The attendant there could not understand my needs as he was an outsider who could not understand tamil, so I requested the other one in the shop. He started to trim my hair and as I was speaking to him, I noted that his tamil was also not a natural one. I asked his origin and he replied that he hailed from Jharkhand. He has picked up some words essential for his work in the past 2 years he was working in Chennai. The other guy who was with him was from Bihar.
You visit some of the Saravana Bhavan, a popular eatery chain in Chennai and you can find Nepalis waiting on the tables. In the railways, whether it is cross country long distance trains or trains running within the state, you can find Biharis, working in the railway catering.
Migrant workforce is one we have to contend with and more so in metropolis where the opportunities exist.
