Second, the exodus reveals the lack of policy measures in place for migrants, despite a heavy dependence on their services. The Delhi administration scrambled to turn schools into shelters for exiting migrant labourers in order to contain the spread of the pandemic, but their faith had already been broken. Why continue to stay in a city whose administration has given migrants no indication that it acknowledges their presence and protects their interests? Suddenly unemployed, a hand-to-mouth existence is rendered even more precarious for vulnerable migrant workers. Given that the government took until last year to universalise food security across India via its One Nation, One Ration Card programme, migrant skepticism is understandable. Blanket orders to seal borders despite reports of police violence against travelling migrants only add to the heightened insecurity migrants face. The Interstate Migrant Policy Index 2019, a policy evaluation tool released by India Migration Now, a Mumbai-based policy research organisation, pegs the average score for India’s states at 37, indicating poor policy frameworks for migrants across the board in destination states. Delhi and Maharashtra’s average scores, at 33 and 45 respectively, point toward the policy crisis at the heart of the mass departure.

As Migrants Trudge Out of India’s Cities, the Stark Realities of Migration Stand Exposed