Editor’s Pick of the Day | Gujarat Migrant Exodus: What Is Happening?

The times we live in – our big story today is the migrant exodus in Gujarat. But the genesis of that story lies, yet again, unfortunately, in an alleged rape. Even as there has been an outpouring of women recounting their harrowing experiences of sexual harassment and assault at the hands of powerful, abusive men, there comes another story with another kind of outpouring – Hindi-speaking people in many parts of Gujarat are leaving the state in droves. The latest reports (per Scroll) indicate that at least 50,000 people have left the state in the past week.

The alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl, belonging to the Thakor community, in Sabarkantha district of North Gujarat on the 28th of September, by a migrant labourer named Ravindra Sahu from Bihar has set the state of Gujarat on edge.

As hate messages on WhatsApp and other social media spread about the incident, there has been a spate of violence against the Hindi-speaking migrant population reported from various districts of Gujarat, causing many to leave the state in fear of retaliatory violence, with some vowing never to return. As per the latest reports on The Times of India, 431 people involved in the violence have been arrested even as the Gujarat government has been appealing the fleeing migrants to return. The rape accused, meanwhile, has also been arrested.

The events leading up to the exodus; the violence seen across various districts of Gujarat; the inevitable mudslinging by opposing political parties; and the effect the exodus has had on Gujarat’s industrial workforce, will be among the chief topics we will discuss on this edition of our Pick of the Day.