Vilaap, a new documentary, tells the story of how last year’s mismanaged lockdown unleashed a humanitarian disaster in India.
The national lockdown imposed by the Indian government early last year caused untold pain and suffering, not least for migrant workers who, suddenly left without an income or a support system, were compelled to leave cities for their villages and small towns, often walking hundreds of miles on foot.
It was the largest mass migration in India since the Partition and we decided to tell the heartbreaking stories of some of the migrants to understand how government mismanagement and apathy had unleashed a humanitarian disaster atop of a public health crisis.
The more we travelled the more we were overwhelmed by the sheer helplessness of the migrants. “There is no one for us” was a common refrain.
This documentary film then is a story of how this country abandoned its poor and marginalised in a pandemic.
Watch.
This film was produced with support from the Thakur Foundation.
The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free.
ContributeGeneral elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together to focus on the issues that really matter to the voter. From political funding to battleground states, media coverage to 10 years of Modi, choose a project you would like to support and power our journalism.
Ground reportage is central to public interest journalism. Only readers like you can make it possible. Will you?