ABSTRACT
For a country thriving on demographic dividend, concerns of labour, especially of the unorganised and migrant sectors, do not form the main body of the political discourse. In her frantic and overzealous attempts to emerge as a fast-growing economy, India has compromised gravely on dignity of labour and their welfare. It is notable that 93 per cent of the labour force in India works in the unorganised economy without any social or legal protection. Seasonal migrant workers form a uniquely vulnerable category within this group, lacking visibility, political representation and the most basic of human entitlements. As per informal estimates, migrants are a 100-million strong workforce (Deshingkar and Akter 2009) and despite these numbers, are largely missed by all formal political institutions of India’s prized democracy.
