In the current scenario, when India is in the 4th phase of the lockdown and emphasizing mostly on the economic and victual problem of migrants their emotional well being also needs to be catered as soon as possible.
Our forefathers and constitution-makers were aware of the discriminatory approach adopted by the residents towards the migrants. That is why they explicitly mentioned that no person shall be discriminated based on their place of birth and residence, explicitly in Article 15 and 16 of the Indian constitution.
Migrants are stuck away from their families without food, money and shelter. It is quite obvious that they came to mega cities to feed their families by sending their hard-earned savings back to home. However, in this crisis when their family needed them most, they are left helpless. Their families are relying on the pity of others. When the elders needed the utmost care, the young ones are trapped. Their decision, maybe compelled or chosen, of coming to the city in search of work forced them to leave the old dependents behind. Moreover, as the lockdown continues, they are unable to find any work and are running out of money.
Many RWAs, civic societies and individuals are feeding them but what they are providing in the name of help is more like beneficence. Hungry children are being scolded to maintain the queue for a bowl of rice and dal, though the service provider intends to align with the norms of social distancing, the means adopted does not justify their ends. This inhuman treatment is not new for them and has been engraved in the societal setup and the mindset of city dwellers who forget that their luxury comes from the hard work of the migrant coming from the remote areas of the country. So its the duty of everyone to dignify them and treat them as an integral part of our ecosystem. One way in which it can be achieved is through maintaining proper behavioural conduct. This will not only give them moral support but also the much-needed strength to fill the moral vacuum, with the help of societal acceptance, in a territory which is also a part of their motherland India but gives them the vibes of a foreign land.
In the words of Karl Marx, the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.
{Marx, Theses On Feuerbach: Thesis 11 (1845)}
