ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront issues of economic, political, and social marginalisation faced by migrant populations globally. In India, the issue of undocumented migration has been at the centre of political debates for the past few decades and has been manifested in recurrent legislation around the discourse of citizenship. As documentation becomes a precondition for the statist recognition of citizenship, the conditions of vulnerable groups such as undocumented migrants entail precarity. For undocumented migrant children whose existence is located around questions of citizenship, their rights and welfare become increasingly precarious amidst the twin burdens imposed by their undocumentedness and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This chapter explores the issues faced by undocumented migrant children in India who are enmeshed in a precarious tangle between undocumentedness and soaring vulnerabilities amidst political and health crises. It also brings to light the lack of a social justice framework to cater to children of undocumented migrants. It takes into account how the intersectional location of these children in caste, class, gender, ethnicity, and religious positionings shape their ability to access welfare and rights across sectors such as health, education, nutrition, and security at the destinations.
