Approximately half of the 10 lakh migrant workers in Tamil Nadu reside in the towns of Thiruvallur, Chennai, and Chengalpattu in the northern region of the state. Most of the remaining half live in the industrial cities of Tirupur, Coimbatore, and Erode.

The Turmoil

Approximately half of the 10 lakh migrant workers in Tamil Nadu reside in the towns of Thiruvallur, Chennai, and Chengalpattu in the northern region of the state. Most of the remaining half live in the industrial cities of Tirupur, Coimbatore, and Erode.

Because of the recent spread of videos purporting to show Hindi-speaking men being attacked in Tamil Nadu, producers and industry groups are concerned about a probable migration of north Indian labourers from the state, which is inhabited by nearly 10 lakh migrant workers according to government statistics.

If all these rumours [of attacks on the north Indian workmen persist, the complete production and industrial market in Tamil Nadu would then cease operations. We cannot establish a presence in Tamil Nadu without the help of people from northern India.

The Chennai District Small Scale Industries Association is going to have to wait to find out how many employees come back after Holi, according to Jaya Vijayan, the association’s secretary.

When recordings purportedly showing migrant workers being assaulted in Tamil Nadu ended up going viral on the internet such as WhatsApp groups, unrest broke out across the state.

The widespread anxiety and dread among the Hindi-speaking population even drew the attention of the chief ministers of neighbouring states, including M K Stalin in Tamil Nadu, Nitish Kumar in Bihar, and Hemant Soren in Jharkhand. The clips have since then been brushed aside by the officers as “baseless” and “mischievous”.

S Surulivel, president of the Railway Suppliers’ Association and entrepreneur in State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT), claims that over the course of the past three days, nearly 2,000 labourers from the divisions he is intimately acquainted with have left the state.

SIPCOT in Coimbatore is home to over 300 different businesses and employs over 20,000 people from the northern part of India.

Despite repeated attempts by state bodies to appease the turmoil, manufacturers and big businesses lamented that the harm was already done. Governor R N Ravi urged north Indian labourers in Tamil Nadu not to stress or feel vulnerable, as the people of Tamil Nadu were quite nice and the state legislature is dedicated to offering them protection.

Reluctance to head back

Labourers who left for home a week earlier to enjoy Holi alongside those who left within the past three days are frightened because of news stories of threats and murders, according to a prominent construction engineer in Chennai. Given that most of the media articles on their mobiles were written in Hindi, we had a hard time putting an end to these rumours.

“People are trying to comfort them by convincing them to even provide vehicles so they aren’t obligated to utilize public transportation, and by offering to provide meals at the location itself,” he said, though many still were considering leaving.

The majority of those who have left Tamil Nadu, he added, have really no intention of coming back after the festival of Holi. In order to guarantee their return to work after Holi, our labour contractors have been contacting them regularly. Even though party leaders in northern India started spreading rumours about Bihar workmen, it makes no difference on the ground.

The story still unfolds

All of the labourers here hail from the northern part of India. Furthermore, some headlines and posts on Twitter detail threats to Hindi speakers. Workers in every Hindi-speaking state are freaking out. They continue sending us clips and news stories, but we can’t disprove every rumour,” he made a point of saying.

As the case continues to develop, it’s not clear what could help restore trust and stop more trouble.