Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies XISS, Ranchi, Vol. 19, No. 1, January-March 2021, pp. 8617-8633 RETHINKING ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT ABHIYAAN IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 MIGRANT LABOURERS: A CHALLENGE Shyamal Gomes1 In March 2020, the sudden lockdown in India due to COVID-19 severely affected 8-10 million migrant labourers who are the backbone of Indian minor, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). They struggled with various issues like starvation, transportation to return home, sexual violence, Corona-phobia, Islamo-phobia and job insecurity as well as labour rights. Moreover, because of Centre vs State conflicts as well as social stigma like caste-class-power, the poor and marginalized labourers lost their basic/fundamental necessities. As a socio-economic reformer, on 12th May 2020, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Damodardas Modi announced a combined fiscal, monetary, regulatory, and structural reform packages of INR 20 trillion, about 10 per cent of India’s GDP, and explained India’s economic and social strategy postulated under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan (ABA) self-reliant India movement, and Be-Vocal-for-Local (BVFL). However, this article tries to examine and elaborate the text based on the challenges and opportunities of ABA and BVFL in the context of migrant labourers.. Keywords : Lockdown, Migrant Labourers, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, Be Vocal for Local, COVID-19 Introduction The present study tries to examine the challenges and opportunities of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in the context of migrant labourers. Before going into the details of the studies, it will be of great importance to look into some of the theoretical propositions that the earlier studies have made in both the fields of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, and the ‘migrant labourers’. A theory is expected to perform two major functions, namely, explanation and prediction of a phenomenon. Broadly speaking, Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) is an old concept. Literary meaning of it is to depend upon an internal resources of the economy. However, there is no universally acceptable theory of ‘migration’, which can explain the existing phenomenon of migration of people (labour) and product its future course. What we have is a set of hypothesizes and propositions that constitute higher –level generalization in the field of migrant labourers. However, study on human migration (migrant labour) itself is relatively a recent 1 Professor, Department of Human Resource Management, Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi, Jharkhand. Email: [email protected] 8617 8618 Gomes phenomenon. Only in the 19th century to we see some serious study (Ravenstein, 1885) in the field. The basic concept of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is human dignity, equality, and social justice. There three concepts and not separate and distinct but interrelated and dependent on each other. The emphasis is on co-operation as against competition. It lays emphasis on collectivity as against rugged individualism. Since then, lot more interest has been shown by various scholars. The range of study itself has been multi-faceted anthropological, demographic, historical, sociological, economic, political, development, culture to name a few. It is a matter of fact that struggle for a survival or better livelihood is an intrinsic part of human culture. Migration from the place of scarcity to the plenty has always been attracting people individually as well as collectively. But studies on migration indicate that migration is both a challenge and a opportunity. State-wise Migrants during the Pandemic The Hindi belt is the main source of migrants. According to the Census (2011), four States, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh accounted for 50 per cent of India’s total inter-state migrants. On the other side, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana housed 50 per cent of the country’s inter-state migrants. As widely believed, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar State are responsible for the most migrants. According to the 2011 Census, 20.9 million people migrated outside the state from these two States. The table 1 gives the state-wise picture of out and in migrants labourers in India. Table-1. State wise Status of out and in Migrants Sl Out Migrants In Migrants State Numbers in Lakh State Numbers in Lakh 1 Uttar Pradesh 104.71 Maharashtra 71.64 2 Bihar 42.21 Delhi 52.18 3 Rajasthan 28.97 Hariyana 32.26 4 Madhya Pradesh 25.52 Gujarat 30.90 5 Karnataka 21.95 Uttar Pradesh 25.31 6 Andra Pradesh 19.09 Madhya Pradesh 23.80 7 West Bengal 15.74 Jharkhand 21.61 8 Maharashtra 14.20 Karnataka 21.47 9 Gujarat 14.07 West Bengal 21.15 10 Jharkhand 13.28 Punjab 19.17 Source: Census, 2011 Rethinking Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in the Context of Covid-19 8619 Figure 1 (given below) reveals that between 2001 and 2011, there was an increase in the growth rate of migrants headed for other destinations within their own states as compared to those headed outward. The number of so-called inter-state migrants grew at 55 per cent between the 1991 and the 2001 Census. This came down to just 33 per cent between the 2001 and 2011 Census. In contrast, the rate of growth in so-called inter-district migrants (within the same state) increased from 30 per cent between the 1991 and 2001 census to 58 per cent between 2001 and 2011. Not only are people moving within states, they are moving within districts. The growth in intra-district migration (movement within the same district) increased from 33 per cent to 45 per cent between 1991-2001 and 2001-11. Evidently, people are finding better opportunities closer home than they were before. Source: Census 1991, 2001, 2011 Source: Census 1991, 2001, 2011 What drives migration in India? The reasons vary by gender. Two-thirds of women who reported having migrated from their last place of residence cited marriage as the reason. Among men, work and business account for one-third of total migrations, which is also the single largest reason for migration among men. While migration for marriage among women is skewed towards closer distances, men do not seem to factor in distance while migrating for work. However, the primary reasons for migration are as follows: Table-2. Reasons of – Intra and Inter –District/State Migration (in %) Reasons Intra - District Inter -District Inter - State Work / Business 35.1 34.7 30.3 Education 53.8 32.4 13.8 Marriage 65.4 26.6 8.1 After birth with household 54.8 29.2 15.9 Others 73.7 18.0 8.3 Source Census, 2011 8620 Gomes District-wise migration data in the Economic Survey for 2016-17 reveal that the highest influx of migrants within the country is seen in city-districts such as Gurugram, Delhi and Mumbai along with Gautam Buddh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh); Indore, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh); Bangalore (Karnataka); Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Erode, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). The districts showing the highest outward movement of migrant workers include Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Kaushambi, Faizabad and 33 other districts in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudra Prayag, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat in Uttarakhand; Churu, Jhunjhunu, Pali in Rajasthan; Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Sheikhpura, Bhojpur, Buxar, Jehanabad in Bihar; Dhanbad, Lohardaga, Gumla in Jharkhand; and Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra. As per the Report of the Working Group on Migration, 2017 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, 17 districts account for the top 25 per cent of India’s total male out-migration. Then of these districts are in UP, six in Bihar and one in Odisha. Relatively less developed states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have high net out-migration. Relatively more developed states like Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka take positive CMM values reflecting net immigration. The largest recipient was the Delhi region, which accounted for more than half of migration in 2015-16, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar taken together account for half of total out-migrants. Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu had major net in-migration, while Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had major net out-migration,” the Economic Survey had further stated. Rethinking Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in the Context of Covid-19 8621 The Report of the Working Group on Migration shows that the share of migrant workers is the highest in construction sector for females (67 per cent in urban areas, 73 per cent in rural areas), while highest number of male migrant workers are employed in public services (transport, postal, public administration services) and modern services (financial intermediation, real estate, renting, education, health) at 16 per cent each and 40 per cent each in rural and urban areas, respectively. Actually, migrant labourers are the backbone of India’s informal sector and micro, small and medium enterprises. Their crisscrossing of states for jobs signifies economic integration, and also inter-regional and rural-urban disparities. While empowering themselves, they also enrich their home and host states. Generally, the migrants circulate annually for seasonal work, while others have become more or less permanent residents in their adopted state(s). A minority are fortunate to have fixed work while the majority are compelled to look for temporary work and migrate from place to place in search of short-term employment (Mazumdar, Neetha & Agnihotri, 2013). These labourers are predominantly from impoverished Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim communities - from the most economically backward regions in the country and across the border in Nepal and Bangladesh (Samaddar, 2020). They are the muscle, blood and bones that power the prosperity of different states and indeed the entire nation. Yet within India, they represent the invisible 99 per cent whose exploitation is intrinsic to the enrichment of the 1 per cent, or the Indian Dollar Billionaires (Oxfam, 2019).