Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown imposed in March 2020 triggered one of the largest internal migration crises in independent India. Millions of migrant workers employed in urban centers were forced to return to their home villages often on foot due to loss of income food insecurity and lack of state support. This paper analyzes the reverse migration crisis as a social science case study focusing on the intersection of urbanization labour precarity and state policy. Using secondary data field reports and academic studies the paper explores the vulnerabilities of migrant workers the failures of governance and the social consequences of the crisis. It argues that the migrant exodus exposed structural inequalities within India’s labour markets and challenged dominant narratives of urban growth and development.