The problem of migrant workers is not to be defined in terms of a choice be tween village and city. It is about a condition in which they are neither part of the village, nor part of the city. Privileged migrants can belong anywhere. They can feel equally at home in Sydney, Dubai and Toronto..and move seamlessly bet ween Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub and Koramangala’s pubs. They are in ‘home towns’ when they come to Patna, Patiala and Palakkad. Villages are their ancestral lands. But the migrant labourers are literally called pardesi/bidesi at home and pardesi outside. ‘Those who have gone to other lands’, and ‘those who have come from other lands’. Outsiders in the village. Outsiders in the city.
This story is from the July 27, 2020 Vol.ll edition of Outlook.
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This story is from the July 27, 2020 Vol.ll edition of Outlook.
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