Nearly two weeks have passed since rumours were spread that north Indian labourers were being assaulted and murdered in Tamil Nadu. While the rumours, which led to a political storm, have been proved to have been false, TNM spoke to migrant workers from other states to ask their opinions on the matter. “I’ve worked here for eight years as a security guard,” says Om Prakash, who is from Assam, “I go around the neighbourhood freely. No one has caused problems. I speak a bit of Tamil, but I get conscious of how I sound so I only speak with friends,” he adds laughing, “No one has demanded that I speak in Tamil only. Even in the teashop they know some Hindi enough to speak to me.” Om Prakash used to work as an agricultural labourer before deciding to move to Tamil Nadu.
Many like him have come to Tamil Nadu hoping to earn more than they can in their own states. A man from Uttar Pradesh, who makes bajjis daily at a small tea shop, told TNM, “I’ve lived here for ten years, I’ve had no issues. I came here to make money, just like people from Tamil Nadu go to other states for work. That’s how it’s anywhere, people migrate for work. It’s normal.” This means that workers have to live far away from their families. “But what can we do? Rents are too high. I can’t afford to bring them here. If I have enough money, of course I’d go home to them,” he says.
This is why he feels irritated by the videos that were circulated to spread rumours of violence against workers like him. “People who are jobless make such videos and spread rumours. So do politicians. Everyone else has their own work to do and mind their business,” he says while dismissing the videos as fake. He however observes that one of the problems faced by workers is unregulated work hours. “We are hired with the promise of eight-hour shifts, instead we end up working even 12 hours. This is a problem for workers everywhere in India. Not just Tamil Nadu.” A young man from Bihar who also works at the tea shop chimed in with a laugh saying, “Those videos are fake. Many workers are just going home for Holi.”
Workers TNM spoke to were cautious about videos showing purported violence against migrant workers. Utham, a construction worker from West Bengal, says these days, with cell phones, it’s possible to claim anything you want and spread them. “People are able to blow up a small issue into something massive,” says Utham, who arrived in Tamil Nadu 15 years ago in search of work. ”Our manager at this site, the mason, are from Tamil Nadu. Many of the other labourers working here are also Tamil. I haven’t had any issues about where I come from. Even outside of work, at the market, for example, I’ve not been harassed,” he says.
Sheik, a construction worker, also from West Bengal, echoes Utham’s sentiments. When asked what the state government needs to do, in order to ensure the safety of workers like him, he says, “There should be immediate intervention to quickly resolve an issue, that’s all.”
Raju, who too is from West Bengal and works as a construction labourer, says, “I don’t speak much Tamil but that hasn’t been a hindrance to me. No one has given me trouble for not speaking in Tamil. When I go to shops they will even manage to reply with a bit of Hindi.” Raju too feels that the videos are likely to be fake. “Maybe an altercation happened somewhere, who knows? I have worked here for ten years and never experienced any harassment nor have heard of such harassment from people like me.” For Raju, there is a considerable difference between doing the same work in Kolkata as compared to Chennai, which is why he has chosen to stay here. “I would make only Rs 600 a day there. In Chennai, we get 1000 rupees a day.”
Rajesh, a security guard from Nepal says he feels safer in Tamil Nadu than in other states. ‘But I also know that some people think we are coming here and taking away jobs. Actually, we are only doing work that most others don’t want to do. We’re not holding government or corporation jobs. We don’t have Aadhaar Cards or any kind of security. We’re just earning what we can to feed ourselves and our families. I hope people can understand this.”