The textile industry in my belt ran an extremely devious scheme called "sumangali" where young girls would join as apprentices in mills/looms/garmenting units, stay in hostels & only paid a lump sum for their wedding instead of salary. Bonded labour dressed up as philanthropy+

15 years back, NGOs & left organisations picked this issue up & it was presented & discussed in the parliament. Committees were formed to look into the issue but they were all managed by the rich owners. Once SM became popular, they realised that it could attract trouble and.. +

Slowly, the original exploitative scheme went underground while some companies tailored it to make it look fairer & carried it on with a better mask. But smart companies found a better way out of this conundrum. They used middlemen to procure workers from north to replace locals+

The north Indian workers proved to be difficult at first 'cos they lacked patience & fineness necessary for textile work, but soon they picked up & became doubly productive than women & the local guys. Soon the middlemen were busy getting droves of them to work in this region +

Despite the language barrier, employers were happy 'cos they were very hard working, demanded only subsistence wages & took no holidays. Most importantly, they were used as workers managed by contractors & that absolved them of being responsible for their life & well being +

The downside of this new exploitative arrangement was that the workers developed zero emotional attachment to the companies or the society which considered them as "Hindikaaru Pasanga" (Hindi boys) & nothing more. They worked like machines to earn money to send home. 15 years.. +

Yes, businesses here enjoyed this new labour arrangement for 15 years & the whole region flourished. The western belt almost controls the state now. Political power is in the hands of Goundars who dominate most businesses. Everything was going good, till the virus came calling +

The lockdown showed the "Hindikaaru Pasanga" that despite living here for a decade & contributing so much for its growth, they are nothing more than "cheap labour" for the natives here. As a result, the moment they were deprived of work & income, they decided to take a break +

I am pretty sure that most of these people who are leaving now will come back once normality returns, 'cos in their native villages they can't even earn enough to feed themselves. But the terms of engagement will definitely change. They will now demand better wages & benefits +

The migrant workers who have acquired some skills from here will be in a position now to bargain with the contractors & companies. They have proved to the business community that they CAN show their finger & walk away if they decide to. They now have nothing to lose or fear +

Companies, authorities & the society at large need to assimilate the migrant workers into their cities & encourage them to settle down in them. Medical insurance of employees must become a statutory requirement for all employers. Easy home loans should be extended to them. +

Providing the workers with quarters, helping them with the admission of their children in schools, assisting them in getting registered in the nearby ration shops, making them learn the local language & customs, etc.. will go a long way in making them feel part of this society +

Like Arundhati Roy said, this pandemic is a portal. One can either change oneself & walk into the waiting new world or stay back this side to slowly become irrelevant to the emerging order.

Will Tamilnadu start treating "Hindikaaru Pasanga" as "Namma Pasanga" after the lockdown?