Events & Issues
New Delhi, 28 October
2021
Outsider-Insider
IMAGINARY
DISTINCTION
By Dr. S. Saraswathi
(Former
Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)
Hundreds of workers
who had gone to Kashmir in search of employment are reported to be fleeing the
region to the nearest safest State gripped by a fear after reports spread far
and wide of non-locals being attacked to be driven out of Kashmir. Targeted
killing of workers from Bihar has become a big threat to all migrant workers,
who as a category has hardly recovered from the pangs of Covid-19 exodus. Thisis
as serious as an aqttack on Kashmiri Pandits to evict them permanently from their home State. Both seem
to bea ethnic-religious cleansing operation in
pursuit of an imaginary goal of making and keeping Kashmir for Kashmiris
-- another imaginary demographic group.
Rough estimates put the
number of seasonal migrant labourers in Kashmir as 3 to 4 lakh, comprising
mostly Hindus from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.There is
certainly a historical background for what is happening in Kashmir which
has to be dealt with as a State-specific issue.But, attack on migrant workers
draws our attention to the plight of such workers elsewhere in India and the growing
unhealthy trend of parochial outlook
submerging our national spirit in manyplaces.
Distinction as insider-outsider,
or locals and migrants has caught hold of several political parties and pressure groups and is voiced loudly and
sought to be justified as part of social justice. The insider/local is here
portrayed as the victim or the deprived and the outsider/migrant the exploiter and villain.
A migrant is a person
who either migrates within the home country or outside to pursue work. He or she usually has no intention to stay
permanently in the country or region where he/she works. Migrants are welcomed in the beginning as they bring
knowledge, skills, and efficiency, and also motivation and energy which are
lacking or inadequate among locals.Problems start when local people begin to
realise that they are deprived of chances of getting employment because of these “outside” workers.Whether or
not they acquire merit and skills necessary, they begin to dislike“outsiders” as
an unwanted lot.
It is universally
true that as long as the services of foreign workers are needed in a country,
whether it is low level plantation labourers or high-tech engineers, they are accepted.
But once locals acquire necessary skills and expertise, foreign workers become
target of attack physically or
otherwise to make their continued employment and stay abroad difficult.
With the rise of
regional parties, many of them with their roots in a State and language, a
strong need for expressing “love for “locals” hasgrown among political classesas
a “vote-catching” strategy. In the “hate politics” spreading fast, accusation
of opponents from outside the State as an outsider and the local leader and politician as “sons
of the soil’ has become common. It was witnessed in recent West Bengal Assembly
election to prevent even entry of leaders from outside the State for
electioneering.
The DMK in its
election manifesto promised to bring a law to reserve 75% of jobs in companies
set up in Tamil Nadu for Tamils. Earlier, the party had sought 90% reservation
for Tamils in central government jobs in
the State. In 2019, the PMK was for 80% private sector jobs for Tamils in the
State, and wanted all State government
jobs to be reserved for Tamils.
TheTN Government has
also introduced 7.5% reservation for government school students, mostly locals, in engineering courses.Nearly,
8,000 seats have been allotted this year
under this quota. Opposition to NEET is for promoting local rural candidates.
Recently, there has
been a sudden interest in many States to pamper locals who matter most in State elections. One way to do this is through offer
of concessions which in India translates
into reservation or quota in employment. A common argument given in many
States is proliferation of urban slums
due to increase in migrant labouremployed inthe unorganised sector for wages lower than that of locals.
Migrant is a touchy
issue in Maharashtra whereit is at the core of Shiv Sena and MNS politics.
The parties accused migrants of spoiling the Maratha culture. According
to the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2019-20, number of migrants from other
States stood at 38.13 lakh. Migrants who left the State during Covid-19 stood
at 12 lakh with many waiting for their turn. They were engaged in about 50 kinds of jobs.
Haryana Government has
reserved 75% of new jobs with salaries
below Rs.50,000 a month for locals in
private sector under Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill. The
government also provides incentives per person per year to employers who
hire locals under
the Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020.
In June 2019, Andhra
Pradesh also followed this, but it is
not yet implemented. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress Government was considering a
proposal to reserve 70% of jobs to locals when the government fell. The successor BJP government is exploring the
possibility of reserving 100% of jobs meaning appointing only locals in
government jobs.Jobs for the “children of the State” by applying the rule of
domicile has become a popular slogan.
Jharkhand passed the Jharkhand
State Employment of Local Candidates Bill in 2021. The cabinet has also approved a proposal to
reserve 75% of jobs carrying a salary less than Rs.30,000 per month in the private sector to locals.
The census of 2011
recorded a total of 5.6 crore inter-State migrants in the country.But, divergence between States is noticeable with
Kerala earning a reputation several decades back that there is no place on
earth where you will not find a Malayalee. There is a village in Kerala
nicknamed Dubai village where at least one in every household is said to be in
the Middle East.
Intra-State
migrations from village to town and between villages are more common in India
than inter-State. “Outsiders” available for wages lower than that of “insiders”, are preferred by employers thus
creating a new labour problem.
Anti-outsider
sentiment in workplaces is a universal phenomenon. It works in European
countries, but between countries and not within as in India.One of the main
reasons for Britain to quitEU is loss of
jobs for British subjects.
Growing anti-immigrant sentiment is cause of tightening visa regulations to prevent job
loss to locals in the USA.The question of growing size of work force with work
permit, that is, green card holders, became an election issue in the last
Presidential election.
To denote workers
moving within a country as “migrant workers”
in India to distinguish them from locals has promoted a tendency to look
upon workersfrom another State as “outsiders”.
Indian Constitution grants to all citizens freedom to move, work, and
settle in any part of the country with provision for essential protection to
local people in the North-East. Therefore, to distinguish employees as
“insider” and “outsider” is untenable.
The ruleof “domicile”
may be an accepted factor to encourage recruitment of locals. By stretching it too far, we will be creating ill-willbetween
States which are already divided by linguistic patriotism. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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