For over a decade, he had almost guaranteed employment at least once in two days. But today Michael, a porter at the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab, has to fight every day to get work. The life of porters, traders, truckers, and their whole ecosystem has come to a halt since August 9, 2019, when Pakistan suspended trade with India a few months after India hiked import tariffs on products from the neighboring country to 200 per cent. With the loss of nearly Rs 30 crore that was being added to the local economy of Amritsar every month, lives, livelihood and a border trade economy have been crippled.
“Before the trade stopped, I was earning around Rs 15,000 per month. Now I earn just Rs 1,000-2,000. We have to look for new employment opportunities, though there are not many options,” says Michael, describing the situation of around 2,500 families of porters and helpers. “Many are quitting the vocation due to uncertainties caused by political decisions.”
This story is from the August 17, 2020 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 17, 2020 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle