The ‘migrant labourers’ of Chandigarh, who constitute more than 20 per cent of the city’s population, come from far away places to earn their livelihood and to send money back home to their poverty-stricken families, says Manpreet Singh
The search for survival

THEY all come with an ambitious dream — survival. They struggle to earn their livelihood and then work harder still to send money home, to their expectant families, handreds of miles away. These are the ‘migrant labourers’ of Chandigarh, who constitute more than 20 per cent of the city’s population.

They come to the land of opportunities — Chandigarh — from far away places like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madras, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, besides the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Once in the city, determined to find a foothold, they take up a job (any odd job) which brings money.

They sell cigarettes, tea, fruits and vegetables, or pull rickshaws, construct buildings and roads, cut hair, mend shoes, make furniture, whitewash houses, work as domestic help. In fact, they do all kinds of jobs in an unfamiliar land where poverty or their destiny has brought them to.

Harprasad Tiwari, a 49-year-old rickshaw-puller from a village near Lucknow, sleeps at night on the ground in the Sector 18 market. He pensively recalls how he landed in Chandigarh 35 years ago, "When bad times come nothing can help. My forefathers wasted away our lands in the village through their foolishness. I had to come here to earn. Although, Chandigarh has been transformed into a dazzling city from the wilderness of 60s, I have been sleeping in this market area ever since I came here. I have not even been for myself able to make a permanent shelter."

With a head full of white hair and a stubby beard, Tiwari critically evaluates the years spent here and scornfully adds, "Honesty doesn’t pay, poor men starve. Those who came after me set up jhuggis in unauthorised colonies, which later were authorised and one jhuggi is sold for Rs 2 lakh, while I have remained like a stone in the marketplace."

Thirty-year-old Bimla Devi, who lives in a jhuggi near Mohali, goes on her bicycle everyday to Sector 27, where she washes clothes and utensils in many homes. She migrated to Chandigarh when she married a plumber from her state, Uttar Pradesh, 15 years ago. Since then she had had to move from place to place to find shelter. Now she stays with her four children and husband in a small jhuggi with no water and power supply.

Nineteen-year-old Adit Nath had to leave his village in Bihar about three years ago after the death of his father. Being the eldest son he had to shoulder the responsibility of the family. He came to Chandigarh in particular, because some people from his village were already working here. After doing a round of odd jobs, he became a painter but he still nourishes the desire of becoming a taxi-driver.

Staying with other migrants from his native village in a colony, Adit earns between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 a month. He sends at least half of it to his family, without fail. Talking about the plight of poor labourers, he conveys his helplessness in a resigned tone, "Every poor man wants to be rich, but can’t. Whatever God has destined will happen and no amount of thinking or planning will ever change the things."

With Chandigarh rapidly growing into a commercial centre, there has been a considerable increase in the inflow of migrant labourers. The Municipal Councillor of Colony No. 4 (Industrial Area Phase I), Rajinder Kumar, who himself belongs to Bihar, says Chandigarh offers the labourers a lot of which have been increasing over the years. "Migrant labourers from Bihar and other places prefer to come to Chandigarh as the place is clean, organised and has good opportunities for work. It is certainly better than the congested and polluted Delhi, Bombay or Ludhiana."

Commenting on the lifestyle of migrant labourers in the city, Rajinder Kumar says that these people often feel lonely, living thousands of miles away from their families to earn money. "Most of them send at least half of the earned money home every month. They work hard, save money, even at the cost of their health and diet, to provide some help to their families," he adds.

The Councillor charges factory employers and traders with exploiting the labourers: "I’ve received about 100 complaints of non-payment of salaries. Traders usually start finding faults with the labourers as the month draws to a close and then sack them, to avoid the payment of salaries. Even the big factory owners don’t pay the minimum salaries fixed by the government".

A senior jailor admits that some of the labourers employed by businessmen are falsely implicated in petty theft cases, when the time comes to give their salaries.

Labourers lead a tough life in this ‘city of extremes’. Tanya Malik, a young social psychologist, says, "How would you view a 60-year-old man playing golf and a nine-year-old boy repairing cycles or working in a roadside restaurant. The affluent don’t leave house without applying sun-screen lotion, while these people work for meagre money, breaking stones or plying rickshaws in the scorching heat".

As the migrant, hail from poor, rural backgrounds, the desire to be rich and make fast money is irresistible. The lavish lifestyle of the rich also works as a stimulant for acquiring possession, Tanya adds. The city police admits a rise in the crime rate following an increase in the number of migrant labourers.

"There has been an increase in property related crime in the city in which migrant labourers are involved. The number of cases of drunken brawls and fights have also increased," says Senior Superintendent of Police CSR Reddy. "Last year we launched a S3 Project which stands for screen, search and surveillance. We have the record of about 1.20 lakh people in the city who are tenants or migrants. We check their antecedents and those with criminal records are put under surveillance. Now it is mandatory for the migrants and tenants to inform the police of their stay in the city," the SSP added.

Tanya reveals that any big crime committed by migrants is bound to create a collective impression of a particular group, which may not be quite logical as just a few persons may be involved in crimes.

Notwithstanding the travails involved in earning their daily bread, these labourers continue to work hard for their survival.