How West Bengal’s resolution on Bengali migrant safety underscores the constitutional acrimony against India’s interstate migrants
Going forward, reimagining migrant safety as a constitutional and human rights obligation, rather than a matter of state discretion, is essential, achievable only through co-operative federalism.
Amit Upadhyay
4 October 2025
THE WEST BENGAL ASSEMBLY’S recent resolution on the safety of migrant workers has reignited an unresolved issue of ensuring the safety of migrant workers once they cross state borders in search of work. The resolution highlights the constitutional and human rights concerns about the safety, dignity, and equality of migrant workers who form the backbone of India’s informal economy and growth.
The West Bengal Assembly’s resolution comes in response to increasing incidents of violence, discrimination, and unsafe working conditions faced by its migrant workers in their host states, from construction workers in Kerala and Karnataka, to domestic labourers in Delhi, and industrial workers in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Thus, the constitutional guarantee of free movement under Article 19(1)(d) and the right to reside and settle anywhere in India under Article 19(1)(e) are often violated in practice. In this context, the Assembly resolution calls for recognising these constitutional violations and demands accountability from the Centre and other state governments. The resolution is aimed at asserting the state identity and political dissent within the Indian federation, reinforcing the idea that they are not mere administrative units but active political entities with the power and ability to shape national discourse by raising their voice on significant matters regarding migrant safety and to prevent harassment based on cultural identity.
Migration is not always a matter of free choice but of economic compulsion. Once the migrant workers cross the borders of their states, they face a plethora of issues ranging from cases of physical attacks to unsafe housing. In the past, during the COVID-19 lockdown, thousands of migrants from many states, including West Bengal, were left vulnerable, walking back hundreds of kilometres, violating their dignity.
Bengali migrants continue to face ethnic and linguistic discrimination in post-pandemic India in non-Bengali-speaking states. They are routinely suspected of being illegal immigrants and stigmatised for changing the local demography in states like Assam, with threats of detention and further exclusion. Since many such migrants work in the informal labour market, they get low-paying jobs, work in unsafe conditions, and have little to no job security. As many migrants are registered to vote in their home states, they suffer from political invisibility and exclusion in their host states, making them more vulnerable to violence and harassment. Their concerns are seldom prioritised and voiced by the local leaders. The issue is not only economic but constitutional, as the lived experience of Bengal’s migrants shows a large gap between their rights as citizens and the protections they receive in practice.