Mediaboss Marketing

The debate over migrant workers in recent times and their invisibility in government data and in policy discourse has led to a series of responses from state and central governments. While the number of returning migrants is lower in the second wave ofCovid-19, nothing much has changed for the migrants on the ground. This past year has seen state governments, such as Haryana and Karnataka, move to give preference to local persons over migrants, even as a draft national migrant policy is under consideration. Is there a constitutional right to migrate within India? What, if any, are the duties cast upon governments and employers? These questions must be considered if the current migrant crisis is not to result in deprivation of the fundamental right to internal migration.

The images of returning migrant workers due toCovid-19 lockdown triggered widespread public debates on the invisibility of migrant workers in normal times, their absence in policy discourse, and the need for a robust legal framework to protect migrants (ILO2020). In the midst of this pandemic, pressure has been brought upon governments to ensure minimum dignity and rights of migrant workers. Yet, disturbingly, some governments such as Karnataka had sought to restrict migrant workers right to return to their home states, while others such as Haryana sought to replace them with local workers (Poovanna 2020;PRS2021). A draft policy on migrant workers is reportedly under discussion at the national level. The question whether there is a right to migrate within India, and what, if any, are the duties cast upon the central government, the employer and state governments involved, must be considered so that the current migrant crisis does not result in depriving workers of their right to internal migration.

Right to Internal Migration

Read the original:
The Fundamental Freedom to Migrate within India | Economic and Political Weekly - Economic and Political Weekly