They are the men and women who build the roads we drive on, the houses we live in, and the skyscrapers that change our skylines. Yet, for all their sweat and sacrifice, migrant workers in India often remain invisible. West Bengal’s Governor has now broken that silence, urging both the State government and the Centre to come together and push through long-overdue reforms to protect this vast, yet neglected, workforce.
In his letter, the Governor reminded policymakers that migrant labourers are not just statistics in the census. They are fathers who leave their villages to feed their children, mothers who work in faraway cities to send money home, and young men and women who chase dreams in unfamiliar places—often at great personal cost.
The letter highlights the urgent need for a welfare framework that follows workers wherever they go—portable ration cards, access to healthcare, safe housing, and job security.
“Their labour fuels our development. It is time we returned the dignity they deserve,” the Governor reportedly wrote.
The pandemic made the crisis of migration painfully visible. Images of workers walking barefoot for hundreds of kilometers, children clinging to their parents in hunger and exhaustion, are still fresh in public memory.
While short-term relief was offered then, structural change has remained elusive.
Labour activists in Kolkata welcomed the Governor’s intervention. “It’s not about charity, it’s about rights,” said one trade union leader. “If India is proud of its growth, it must also be proud of the people who made it possible.”
For Bengal, where thousands of men and women migrate every year to states like Kerala, Maharashtra, and Delhi for work, these reforms could mean less despair and more hope. Families may no longer have to choose between hunger at home and hardship far away.
The Governor’s letter is more than just an appeal—it is a reminder that behind every brick laid and every road built stands a worker who dreams of a better tomorrow. Whether those dreams find support now depends on how quickly governments act.
