COVID-19 Pandemic and the Scheduled Caste Workers in Rural Punjab: A Need for Structural Transformation

Unprecedented stringent nationwide lockdown imposed on 24th March 2020 inadvertently brought into relief one of the most poignant facts of Indian society. The pathetic condition of its workers who infuse life into its economy became visible across the world in their complete poverty. What it means to be a worker in these times can help one understand the nature of our society better. With COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant problems, it is imperative to understand the kind of challenges posed to the most marginalized segment of workers in one of the most prosperous states of India. The paper, thus, looks into the socio-economic status of Scheduled Caste Workers in rural Punjab and tries to understand their predicament in the period of pandemic. The study finds that with larger population of workforce returning back to their villages in Punjab, the SC workers being historically landless have been exposed to greater risk than usual as they lack the most basic of the resources to have a dignified life. With hardly any resources to fall back upon and devoid of basic economic and cultural capital they are poised to face more and more crises in the pandemic phase. The paper identifies ownership of land as one of the fundamental principles of Punjabi social structure and draws attention to the need for structural transformation in order to obviate the deepening of existing inequalities and usher in an era of larger equality.