ABSTRACT
In Manipur, the thousands of young men and women who have been migrating to the towns and cities of India in search of work may have begun to feel a sense of being Indian. Despite innumerable difficulties, they have adjusted to different cultures across the country even though they dreamt of returning home one day. No one had in their worst nightmare thought there would be such an exodus back home after the government on March 25 imposed a total lockdown to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. Even worse, they were returning empty-handed, without the gifts they usually took home. Many were quarantined in the Pettigrew College, including the group from Goa. But those who were put in other quarantine centres in Ukhrul did not have access to toilets and had to go out in the open even in the bitter cold nights. There were slippery roads and no electricity.
