Gujarat’s forced exodus

Gujarat’s forced exodus

If we cannot tolerate migrants from other states it will take India down.

One of the most powerful stories in the Panchatantra is that of a frog, in the mouth of a serpent, trying to catch an insect. I was reminded of this by the political cacophony of accusations and counter accusations that followed the recent forced exodus from Gujarat of Hindi speaking migrants, especially from Bihar and UP.

Using the story as an analogy in this specific case, the serpent is the bigger crisis that could loom over a federation like ours if every state decides that ‘outsiders’ must be driven out, in direct violation of Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to every citizen to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India, and to move freely throughout the territory. The frog in the mouth of the serpent is what happened in Gujarat. And, the frog’s attempt to catch an insect is symbolic of the shortsighted advantage political parties are seeking to derive from this unfortunate development.

First, the facts. On September 28, a 14 month old girl child was raped in the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat allegedly by a labourer from Bihar. This was a heinous crime deserving the strongest punishment under the law. The culprit has been arrested. Following this incident, there was a concerted attempt to tar anyone not belonging to Gujarat – and especially Biharis and those from UP – with guilt for this crime. Non-Gujaratis were hounded out of their homes, beaten, threatened, intimidated and hounded out of the state. Some 60,000.

Now the politics. Congress promptly accused the Gujarat government of dereliction of duty for not doing enough to prevent the exodus. Its spokespersons repeatedly made the point that law and order is a state subject, and, therefore, the BJP government in Gujarat is culpable. Congress also said that the root cause of this crisis is the ‘failed Gujarat model’. It has not been able to generate enough jobs, and this paucity has fanned anger against ‘outsiders’ who take away jobs which would otherwise go to Gujaratis.

BJP, for its part, trained its guns on Congress MLA, Alpesh Thakor. In a speech on October 1, of which video recordings are available (although now Thakor says somewhat unconvincingly that the speech was made much earlier), the MLA said: “These people who have come from outside, commit crime here. They beat our villagers. After committing the crime, they go back to their own places. They have got jobs here … but our people do not get jobs.” Thakor has subsequently pleaded his innocence, but his incendiary speech is on record, and there is also evidence that much of the violence against migrants was organised by his private ‘army’, the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena.

It is true that the BJP government led by chief minister Vijay Rupani is primarily responsible for law and order in the state. It is only to be expected that Congress will target Rupani. Those in authority cannot avoid public scrutiny. However, by all accounts, the state government responded as well as it could. CM Nitish Kumar and Rupani spoke to each other; the chief secretaries and DGPs of both states were constantly in touch; hundreds of people were arrested; police and district officials held meetings with migrants; flag marches were held in areas where migrant workers were attacked. The net result is that the quantum of the exodus has verifiably come down.

What is also true is that Congress was less than upright in dealing with the behaviour of its own MLA, Alpesh Thakor. In fact, he was almost given a clean chit, even when the evidence was clearly to the contrary. Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, appeared to put the entire blame on the government’s inability to create jobs. Congress attacked PM Modi, and BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi.

In this opportunist political slugfest, the real issues have been overlooked. Firstly, even if jobs are scarce, does this justify mob violence against ‘outsiders’? If Congress – and other parties – condemn the violence by thugs of MNS and Shiv Sena against ‘outsiders’ in Mumbai, why couldn’t Congress, at the very least, ask Thakor to explain his conduct? For a party that had played such a vital role in the making of the Republic, this would have been the correct stand to take, even if it also criticised the BJP government in Gujarat.

Secondly, according to the 2016-17 Economic Survey, Gujarat has the second largest share among all states of migrant workers. These workers are critical for the wellbeing of Gujarat’s economy, since they bring much needed skills, and are often willing to work at relatively lower wages, thereby providing the competitive edge to the industries of the state. Already, with Diwali around the corner, businessmen in Gujarat are lamenting the loss to their earnings in the absence of this vital workforce.

While politicians squabble for short term gains Gujarat suffers, and the Hindi speaking migrant community faces displacement and the spectre of unemployment. The Constitution of India guaranteed the unity of India for all its citizens. It did not sanction divisive politics by the very people who are elected to protect the Constitution.