Do you think that forced displacement of labourers has caused their deprivation and resultant inequalities during the recent past years? Elaborate.

Indeed, forced displacement has profoundly deepened deprivation and exacerbated structural inequalities among labourers in India during the recent past years. This can be understood through several interconnected dimensions:

1. Causes of Forced Displacement in Recent Years

Forced displacement stems from a confluence of factors, often disproportionately affecting marginalized communities:

• Development Projects: Large-scale infrastructure projects like dams, industrial corridors, special economic zones (SEZs), mining operations, and highways continue to displace thousands of agricultural labourers and tribal communities. For example, the expansion of industrial zones in states like Odisha and Chhattisgarh has led to the displacement of indigenous populations from their ancestral lands.
• Urban Expansion: Rapid urbanization often involves slum clearance, metro construction, and road widening projects, forcing low-income informal workers to relocate, frequently without adequate rehabilitation or compensation.
• Environmental and Climate Factors: Increasing frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, and other climate-induced disasters compel agricultural labourers to migrate, often turning them into climate refugees. The recurrent floods in states like Bihar and Assam exemplify this.
• Economic Crises and Conflicts: The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented reverse migration of labourers. More recently, geopolitical tensions or local conflicts, such as the India-Pakistan border situation in May 2025, have also led to mass departures of migrant workers from industrial hubs like Ludhiana due to safety concerns and livelihood uncertainties.

2. Multi-dimensional Deprivation Caused by Displacement

Forced displacement transforms precarious livelihoods into absolute deprivation across various aspects of life:

a. Economic Deprivation

• Income Shock and Livelihood Loss: Displaced labourers lose traditional livelihoods (e.g., land, artisanal skills) and are often forced into the informal sector, characterized by low wages, precarious work, and lack of social security. This leads to a significant reduction in income security.
• Emergence of Precariat: As observed by Guy Standing, many displaced workers become part of the 'precariat'—a class defined by chronic insecurity, irregular employment, and absence of occupational identity.
• Increased Indebtedness: Loss of income and assets often pushes families into debt traps, sometimes leading to neo-bondage relations, as Jan Breman notes, where workers become "footloose labour" trapped in perpetual mobility without stable employment.

b. Social and Cultural Deprivation

• Loss of Social Capital: Uprooted from their communities, displaced workers lose vital kinship networks, community bonds, and social support systems. This leads to social isolation and alienation in new environments.
• Cultural Alienation: Marginalized groups, particularly tribal communities, face significant cultural alienation when displaced from their traditional habitats and cultural practices.
• Stigmatization and Exclusion: In new settlements, displaced populations, especially those from lower castes or indigenous groups, often face stigmatization and exclusion, impacting their social integration.

c. Physical and Health Deprivation

• Poor Living Conditions: Resettlement sites or urban slums where displaced labourers often find refuge typically lack adequate housing, sanitation, and access to clean water.
• Health Vulnerabilities: The arduous journeys during displacement (e.g., during COVID-19 lockdown) involve exhaustion, starvation, and accidents. Limited access to healthcare facilities in new locations further exacerbates health issues.
• Food Insecurity: Loss of land and traditional food sources, coupled with unstable income, directly contributes to food insecurity among displaced families.

d. Political Marginalization and Citizenship Deficit

• Weakened Political Voice: Displacement often weakens the political participation and bargaining power of affected communities, making them less able to advocate for their rights.
• Citizenship Deficit: Many displaced workers exist in what Partha Chatterjee terms "political society," surviving without substantive citizenship rights or access to welfare benefits due to lack of proper documentation or awareness in new locales.

3. Resultant Exacerbation of Inequalities

Forced displacement amplifies pre-existing structural inequalities and creates new disparities across various axes:

a. Class and Income Inequality

• Widening Gap: Displaced labourers, losing productive assets, see their income levels fall, widening the gap between them and the formal sector workers or urban elites. The shift from skilled agricultural work to low-status informal urban employment reinforces economic dualism.
• Informalization of Labour: The majority of displaced labourers join the informal sector, where wages are low, working hours are long, and social security benefits are non-existent, further entrenching economic disparities. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22, only 21.5% of workers were in regular wage/salaried employment.

b. Caste and Ethnic Inequality

• Compounded Discrimination: Displacement disproportionately affects Dalit, Adivasi, and other marginalized caste groups, who already face systemic discrimination. Michael Cernea's "impoverishment risks" manifest through heightened landlessness, joblessness, and marginalization for these groups.
• Segregation: New settlements often perpetuate existing social hierarchies, with displaced communities facing segregation and unequal access to resources based on their caste or ethnic identity.

c. Gendered Inequalities

• Increased Vulnerability for Women: Women in displaced communities face greater economic vulnerability, loss of traditional roles, increased burden of care work, and heightened risks of sexual harassment and exploitation in new environments.
• Limited Opportunities: Due to gender norms and lack of access to education/skills, displaced women often have even more limited employment opportunities compared to men.

d. Regional Inequalities

• Strain on Rural Economies: Return migration, particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, strains already fragile rural economies, leading to increased pressure on land and limited opportunities like MGNREGA, pushing families further into debt.
• Disparities in Welfare Access: Migrant workers often face challenges in accessing welfare schemes and social security benefits due to a lack of portability across state borders, creating regional disparities in welfare access.

Legal Frameworks and Policy Gaps

Despite the existence of several legal provisions and initiatives, their implementation and effectiveness remain a challenge:

Legislation/Policy	Key Provisions/Objectives	Challenges/Gaps
Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 (ISMWA)	Mandated registration of establishments employing migrants, licensing of contractors, minimum wages, equal pay, journey allowance, accommodation, medical facilities.	Largely remains 'only in letter' due to poor implementation, as seen during COVID-19 reverse migration. Lack of express provisions for state/employers during crises.
Labour Codes (2020)	The Code on Social Security, 2020, includes provisions for social security for migrant workers. The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020, includes a dedicated chapter for inter-state migrant workers.	Critics argue that reforms dilute worker protections and make unionisation harder. Codes lack specific provisions for assisting workers during crises. Implementation challenges persist.
National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007	Aimed to minimize displacement, ensure adequate rehabilitation and compensation for those displaced by development projects.	Often criticised for being non-binding, inadequate compensation, and failing to address the comprehensive rehabilitation needs of displaced populations, especially the informal workers.
e-Shram Portal (2021)	National database of unorganized workers, including migrant workers, to extend social security benefits.	While a crucial step, challenges remain in universal registration, awareness, and seamless integration with all welfare schemes. Documentation gaps hinder full inclusion.