Omar1984
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
- Messages
- 12,296
- Reaction score
- 0
Labourers face brunt of anti-north Indian sentiment in Chennai
CHENNAI: A day after a mentally ill person was assaulted by Pallikaranai residents who thought he was a 'north Indian burglar', migrant workers in the city say they have always feared for their safety.
"We never go out alone because locals call us names. We don't know Tamil, but we understand we are being abused. We remain silent as we are far from home,'' says a 28-year-old migrant worker from Odisha.
Even if they are in groups, they say police question them as they look different. The recent robberies have increased mistrust. Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat, an organisation working with construction labourers, says there are three lakh migrant workers in Chennai. Close to 60% are employed on construction sites along the IT corridor between Madhya Kailash and Tiruporur.
In the past decade, there has been an influx of people, including software professionals and banking executives, from north India, and there have been instances of friction between locals and newcomers.
Madhumita Dutta, member of the NGO Campaign for Justice and Peace, says the recent police move to profile north Indians has added to the problem. After the Perungudi bank robbery, police did door-to-door verification in nearby Burma colony. "They asked how many north Indians were there and checked documents,'' says Dutta. "It was done so blatantly that small differences got heightened, adding to the perception that north Indians cannot be trusted,'' she says.
Poverty and unemployment pushes many from Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to migrate to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai where infrastructure projects are on. Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat data says most workers between the ages of 18 and 40 stay in shanties close to the sites as they don't know Tamil and don't want to get into trouble with locals.
"Even if we complain, the police treat us as suspects. We remain silent because if there is trouble with locals, we might lose our jobs,'' says a worker from Bihar.
Dutta says police need to be discreet while doing checks. "Migrant workers are insecure as they don't know the language,'' she says. "By treating them as outsiders, there will be more distrust.''
This was not the case when Ramesh Lamba of Punjab Association of Chennai moved here after the Partition. "There was no hatred, just cultural differences. It got sorted out easily as the main differences related to food,'' says Lamba. Being north Indian became a problem during the anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s, but that soon disappeared.
Recently, many from other states have been involved in break-ins. "These cases add to the perception that north Indians from a particular class are untrustworthy. This could lead to more tensions if locals are feeling resentful about losing jobs to them,'' says Vikram G, an IT professional from Uttar Pradesh, who has been in Chennai for 10 years.
Vikram likes it here but has learnt to mind his own business. "If get into trouble on the road, I know the crowd will gang up against me even if it is not my fault,'' he says. All because he can't speak fluent Tamil. "It is frustrating when nobody is willing to listen to your side of the story. But you learn to live with it,'' he says.
Labourers face brunt of anti-north Indian sentiment in Chennai - Times Of India
CHENNAI: A day after a mentally ill person was assaulted by Pallikaranai residents who thought he was a 'north Indian burglar', migrant workers in the city say they have always feared for their safety.
"We never go out alone because locals call us names. We don't know Tamil, but we understand we are being abused. We remain silent as we are far from home,'' says a 28-year-old migrant worker from Odisha.
Even if they are in groups, they say police question them as they look different. The recent robberies have increased mistrust. Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat, an organisation working with construction labourers, says there are three lakh migrant workers in Chennai. Close to 60% are employed on construction sites along the IT corridor between Madhya Kailash and Tiruporur.
In the past decade, there has been an influx of people, including software professionals and banking executives, from north India, and there have been instances of friction between locals and newcomers.
Madhumita Dutta, member of the NGO Campaign for Justice and Peace, says the recent police move to profile north Indians has added to the problem. After the Perungudi bank robbery, police did door-to-door verification in nearby Burma colony. "They asked how many north Indians were there and checked documents,'' says Dutta. "It was done so blatantly that small differences got heightened, adding to the perception that north Indians cannot be trusted,'' she says.
Poverty and unemployment pushes many from Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to migrate to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai where infrastructure projects are on. Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat data says most workers between the ages of 18 and 40 stay in shanties close to the sites as they don't know Tamil and don't want to get into trouble with locals.
"Even if we complain, the police treat us as suspects. We remain silent because if there is trouble with locals, we might lose our jobs,'' says a worker from Bihar.
Dutta says police need to be discreet while doing checks. "Migrant workers are insecure as they don't know the language,'' she says. "By treating them as outsiders, there will be more distrust.''
This was not the case when Ramesh Lamba of Punjab Association of Chennai moved here after the Partition. "There was no hatred, just cultural differences. It got sorted out easily as the main differences related to food,'' says Lamba. Being north Indian became a problem during the anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s, but that soon disappeared.
Recently, many from other states have been involved in break-ins. "These cases add to the perception that north Indians from a particular class are untrustworthy. This could lead to more tensions if locals are feeling resentful about losing jobs to them,'' says Vikram G, an IT professional from Uttar Pradesh, who has been in Chennai for 10 years.
Vikram likes it here but has learnt to mind his own business. "If get into trouble on the road, I know the crowd will gang up against me even if it is not my fault,'' he says. All because he can't speak fluent Tamil. "It is frustrating when nobody is willing to listen to your side of the story. But you learn to live with it,'' he says.
Labourers face brunt of anti-north Indian sentiment in Chennai - Times Of India
