A spate of attacks in Tamil Nadu leaves migrant workers wary

In the month of December, Tamil Nadu saw a spate of attacks on migrant workers that left many alarmed.

On December 15, a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh working in Coimbatore was stabbed by two local men while at a bakery. According to news reports, the locals initiated a conversation with the worker – when he responded in Hindi, an argument broke out and the two men attacked him with a knife. The incident garnered considerable attention after CCTV footage of it went viral.

Other attacks in other parts of the state followed. On December 27, a man from Odisha was attacked by four intoxicated juveniles near the railway headquarters in Tiruvallur district. Police said that the group entered into an argument with the victim and then attacked him with a sickle.

On December 29, a migrant worker from West Bengal died in Coimbatore after a local auto driver punched him following an altercation between them, causing him to fall and hit his head. And on December 30, two migrant workers from Odisha were attacked by two drunk men in Sivaganga district.

In all but the first incident, police stated that the victims were not attacked because of their identities, but more likely as a result of unrelated altercations.

Nevertheless, the sudden spate of incidents raised some fears among workers that the state might be seeing a growing anti-migrant sentiment, particularly worrying in light of the fact that the state has had a large migrant worker population for many years.

According to the 2011 census, 34.87 lakh people had migrated to the state for employment. The Tamil Nadu government is currently carrying out a survey to determine the number of migrant workers in the state, but estimated that there were around 35 lakh in the state as of 2025. The number of workers officially registered in the state's Interstate Migrant Workers portal, however, is only around 14 lakh.

Francis Bosco, an activist who works with migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, said that all workers in the state's informal and unorganised sectors are vulnerable, but that interstate migrant workers were particularly so. “They are more vulnerable because one, this is not their home, they are not familiar with anybody here and secondly, language barriers also cause difficulties,” he said.

In early January, in the aftermath of these incidents, Scroll spoke to more than 20 migrant workers in Coimbatore to learn about their experience of working in Tamil Nadu, and the fears they lived with, of facing discrimination or even attacks from locals.

Most migrant workers said that they were grateful just to have a job, and had not had unpleasant experiences in the city. “Most people are nice and even though we don't know the language, we communicate politely,” said Manoj, a worker from Uttar Pradesh who had been in the district for around a year.

“We have never had any problems,” said Suhail, who has been in Coimbatore for 25 years.

Some, however, said that they encountered an undercurrent of hostility from locals. Among those we spoke to was Anwar, a friend of the worker who died in the December 29 incident in Coimbatore. Anwar, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, said that his friend had moved to the city only a month earlier – his death had left Anwar in shock.

He explained that he himself had not faced any serious incidents of discrimination, but that he did sometimes encounter hostile situations in the city. “My employers and colleagues are nice people,” he said. “But sometimes, if I go to the shop to buy something, I'll hear comments about how North Indians come to Tamil Nadu and take away jobs from locals.”

He added, “They'll say it in Tamil assuming I won't understand, but I do.”

Such comments left him feeling uncomfortable. “We are all here just to earn enough to have a proper meal, that's all,” he said.

Other workers echoed these sentiments and said they, too, faced occasional unwelcome comments and questions. One, from Assam, who works at a clothes shop, said that he had predominantly had a good experience in the city, but that he is sometimes asked questions such as, “Why are you coming here to work?” or “Do you not have jobs in your hometown, and so have come to take ours?”

“These questions are asked mostly in jest, but I sometimes feel bad,” he said.

A vendor from Uttar Pradesh, who moved to the city two months ago, said he was unhappy about his move because of the treatment he faced from locals. The vendor, who sells shawls and dupattas at one of the city's busiest shopping areas, said he frequently felt targeted by customers and other vendors.

“Because I don't know Tamil, sometimes customers will take advantage. Young boys will speak very rudely to me and pay me less than agreed,” he said. “Other vendors will make me move from where I'm standing, even though it doesn't affect their business.”

The vendor found that those he encountered often pointedly treated locals better than him. “When it's raining and I stand near one of the big shops to try to stay dry, the shop keeper won't allow me to stand there,” he said. “But he will allow local vendors to stand.”

Activists and experts noted that on paper, there were some provisions in place for the protection of the workers.

For instance, Bosco noted that the central government passed the Interstate Migrant Workers Act in 1979, which contains provisions to protect workers across the country – it mandates, for instance, that migrant workers receive the same pay as local workers, and that employers provide suitable housing and medical facilities to them. But he noted that the act has not been implemented properly in most places, including Tamil Nadu. “The act has some good rules but it is not being followed,” he said.

The Tamil Nadu government has also put in place some protections for workers, which also extend to migrant workers. Chief among these is the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers (Construction Workers) Welfare Scheme, 1994, which mandates that the government meet the funeral expenses of a deceased worker and provide assistance to the family, such as for the education and marriages of children. In 2023, the government modified the scheme to introduce a compensation of Rs 5 lakh compensation for any deaths that occurred at construction sites, as well as to provide support for the body to be transported to the worker's home. In 2025, this amount was increased to Rs 8 lakh. The Tamil Nadu Constructions Workers Welfare Board and the Tamil Nadu Public Health Department has also set up 50 mobile health clinics for workers.

Also in 2023, the Tamil Nadu government launched a portal for migrant workers employed in places like shops, commercial establishments, hotels and restaurants. Workers could register on the portal to avail of government benefits.

Further, the government has set up Migration Support Centres, which are “walk-in resource centres for migrant workers from other districts and states in search of better employment prospects”. Among the services these centres offer are counselling, access to information and “acclimatisation support”.

The government also has a helpline for migrant workers. Bosco noted that the helpline was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the migrant population finally became “visible”. “But I don't think it is very functional,” he said. “I don't know any workers who have used the helpline.”

Overall, Bosco argued, despite the existence of several schemes and measures for their benefit, many migrant workers needed more support to be able to access government help. “There aren't any migrant workers unions,” he said.

As a result of this lack of organisational support, activists said, many workers do not take the necessary steps to access government benefits for which they are eligible.

Many, for instance, hesitate to register themselves on the government portal. Sara Abraham, a lawyer and activist who has worked with migrant workers in the state, noted that many were also hesitant to participate in the state government's ongoing survey of their population. “They may not feel comfortable giving all their information to the government, the same way that we feel uncomfortable with it,” she said.

Employers, in turn, also often avoid registering their employees with the government portal. “They don't want to do it because the whole system of labour recruitment runs informally and outside the existing legal requirements,” Abraham said. “Registration would mean that workers would be able to prove an employer-employee relationship, they could demand an 8-hour day, minimum wages and overtime, and benefits like provident fund, as mandated by law.”

Bosco noted that local workers “will protest, shout and have other support to insist that they be paid, or given holidays or any other facilities”.

In contrast, Abraham argued, “migrant workers don't have that kind of bargaining power”.

Activists said that among the key measures the government could take to better support migrant workers were the appointment of more labour inspectors to ensure the registration of workers and safer working environments, and the provision of public housing for workers and families.

Further, since migrant workers faced high rates of injuries, and have to frequently navigate the public hospital system, Abraham suggested that the government consider appointing dedicated translators and social workers at the hospitals.

Bosco argued that the workers' home states also had a role to play in their welfare. “The source state and the destination state should also sign an MoU, because both states need to take responsibility of the workers,” Bosco said. “There should be somebody from the source state's labour department at the destination state, so migrant workers feel they can rely on someone for help.”

In light of the risks they faced of being targeted, workers said they had learnt to be cautious.

“During my field work in Chennai, Nepali-origin workers said that they prefer taking autos to buses, which I found to be very odd, because it was so much cheaper to take the bus,” Abraham said. “But they were self-conscious for looking different, and felt intimidated around local crowds.”

Workers echoed this observation. “We know that whatever it is, this is not our home,” Manoj said. “So we try not to get into fights or arguments with any local person.”

Pramod, another migrant worker, said that in his experience, it was often drunk men who picked on them. “ But we try not to get triggered,” he said. “We will inform the police or someone else will intervene.”

One worker, from Assam, who works at a foundry in Coimbatore, said that overall he had not faced any trouble. “The place I work at is great, we have good employers and we don't really go out into the city too much, so there's less chance of interactions,” he said. “I've never had any negative experiences, people have always been nice.”

But, he added that he had come across the video of the December 15 attack and that it had left him worried. “Such incidents should not happen. Migrant workers should feel protected, they should take strong action. I was a little concerned when I saw the video,” he said. “So my friends and I decided that it is best for us to travel in groups and not travel alone anywhere.”

Source: Scroll
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