The death of migrant workers in India during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic
| Date | 26 September 2023 |
| Pages | 766-779 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-08-2023-0086 |
| Published date | 26 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
| Author | Sumant Kumar,Avanish Bhai Patel |
The death of migrant workers in India
during the first wave of COVID-19
pandemic
Sumant Kumar and Avanish Bhai Patel
Abstract
Purpose –COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the government in India affected markets, factories,
industries, construction sites, restaurants, transport services, etc. in which migrant workers were
engaged. Migrant workers expectedthat after the imposition of the lockdown government will facilitate
transportation facilities to their hometowns as they lost their jobs. But due to negligence from both the
central and the state governments, neither transportation was arranged nor food, shelter or health
facilities werearranged. This paper aims to investigate the causesof the death of migrant workers under
the theoreticalframework of negligence theory.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors haveapplied the content analysis method and collected
926 death casesof migrant workers from 28 Indian states. The researchersapplied this technique as the
newspapers in India are one of the largest and most useful sources to generate a report/record on
migrant workers causes during the COVID-19 lockdown. During the lockdown period, due to lack of
attention from the government, police atrocities,hunger and accidental cases increased whichresulted
in the deathof migrant workers.
Findings –The finding of the study proves that during the first phase of COVID-19 lockd own the death cases
of migrant workers increased due to negligenceby the governments. The number of death cases of migrant
workers has been analysed through applying negligence t heory which included duty, breach, cause, in fact,
proximate cause and harm which increased the death cases. It has b een noticed that the central government
without any prior notice-imposed lockdown all over India, in which all the states were not received any
guidelines or communicationwhich indicate what they have to do or how to handle the Covid-19 situation.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’ knowledge,this is an original work of researchers which is
basicallybased on negligence theory.
Keywords Negligence, Death, Migrant workers, COVID-19, Lockdown
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In contrast to other developing and developed nations, the situation of migrant workers in
India is unique. Over 92% of the labour force in India works in informal sectors, with the
majority being daily wage earners. These individuals earn and consume on a daily basis,
making it incredibly challenging for them to survive if they miss even a single day of work.
The first wave of the COVID-19 lockdown witnessed one of the biggest migrations in India.
This kind of migration was earlier noticed during the partition of India-Pakistan in 1947
(Slater and Masih, 2020a,2020b, 27 March). The World Bank stated that in just one month
of nationwide lockdown in India, the livelihoods of nearly 40 million internal migrants were
affected (PTI,2020a, 2020b, 23 April). Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy mentioned
that, in just two months of the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown in India, around 122 million
Indian lost their jobs, out of which 75% were daily wage earners and small traders (The
Hindu Data Team, 2020, 07 May). Due to job loss, they were unable to afford food, shelter
Sumant Kumar is based at
the Alliance School of
Liberal Arts, Alliance
University, Bengaluru,
India. Avanish Bhai Patel is
based at the Amity Institute
of Social Sciences, Amity
University System, Noida,
India.
PAGE 766 jMENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION jVOL. 28 NO. 5 2024,pp. 766-779, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-08-2023-0086
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting