We returned home empty-handed

Covid-19, care, and contested citizenship of Naga migrant workers in northeast India

Bibliographic Data

ID3898722
AuthorsAnne Décobert (0000-0002-5153-2790, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies University of Melbourne Australia, corresponding author), Akumsungla Aier (Assistant Professor of Clinical Counselling Oriental Theological Seminary India), Michael Breen (0000-0002-5857-9938, Lecturer in Public Policy University of Melbourne Australia), Michael G Breen (0000-0003-1876-6453, Analysis & Policy Observatory), Sashipokim Jamir (Director, Foundation for Church and Society, and Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation Oriental Theological Seminary India), Alemmeren Jamir, S Alemmeren Jamir, Pangernungba Kechu (Dean of Post Graduate Studies and Professor of Society, Christian Ethics and Contextual Theology Oriental Theological Seminary India), Dolly Kikon (0000-0003-0875-6008, Professor of Anthropology University of California Santa Cruz United States), Matthew Mabefam (0000-0001-9451-4149, Lecturer in Development Studies University of Melbourne Australia), Matthew Gmalifo Mabefam
Year2024
Volume48
Issue3
Pagese12616-e12616
Publication date2024-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDisasters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/disa.12616
PMID38098173
OpenAlexW4389792251
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

COVID-19 highlighted interconnections between matters of identity and citizenship, vulnerability, and inclusion in/exclusion from systems of care in times of crisis. Migrant workers from Nagaland state, northeast India, were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic's socioeconomic consequences. The public health emergency brought into question who is 'Indian' and the citizenship rights attached to that identity, heightening migrants' exclusion from central structures. Communitarian responses in Nagaland enhanced resilience in the face of often inadequate government responses; however, COVID-19 also exposed structural inequalities within and between Naga communities. This study shows that identity-based citizenship regimes and multi-nation federalism interact to increase minorities' exclusion during crises, and that crises can strengthen both divisions and solidarity at the local level in multi-nation federal systems. Inclusion in and exclusion from systems of care are shaped by and can reshape notions of identity and citizenship, underlining the need for inclusive sociopolitical systems to mitigate crises in multi-nation federal states

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Citizenship · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Geography · Medical emergency · Migrant workers · Occupational safety and health · Personal protective equipment · Poison control · Political science · Politics · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Gerontology · Virology

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