The World's Biggest Lockdown
What happens when 1.3 billion people are told to stay in under lockdown
India is now grappling with a Covid-19 crisis, and Modi is resisting pressure to put the nation back under lockdown. But what was life like under the world's biggest lockdown in 2020?
With 280 million Indians living below the poverty line, the country's lockdown unleashed one of the biggest mass migrations in India’s history. “If the lockdown has indeed worked... then a disproportionate price for keeping the country safe has been paid by the poorest Indian citizens”, says journalist Barkha Dutt. Tens of millions of migrant workers lost their jobs and their shelter overnight, leaving many stranded while others journeyed to rural villages. "They tell us to wash our hands, change our habits. How do we have the means to change our habits?" says migrant worker Sanjiv. "This corona crisis sort of exposes the bare bones of what’s going on", says author and activist Arundhati Roy. “The poor have been excised from the imagination of this country."
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