ABSTRACT
Amidst the lockdown, India’s middle class woke up to images of lakhs of migrant workers walking along National Highways to fight their own battle against the global pandemic—Covid-19. Newspaper reports told us that migrant workers were leaving for their homes. ‘Forced’ migration and transient forms of labour are integral to the lives of migrant workers and the case of domestic workers is no different. Covid-19 therefore remained a threat in the lives of these migrant domestic workers with no access to information about a disease which spreads through contact and touch. The challenge the state faces is that touch is subjective, experiential and therefore the only success stories of ‘touch-me-not’ are how drones are being used to spray disinfectants in public places. Despite promises, the state is struggling and fails to acknowledge already existing inequalities produced through a history of ‘social’ distancing around touching and not touching existent in India.
