--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen…" description: "\"In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as migrant workers, in the hundreds of thousands, fled the cities on foot, sometimes barefoot, to retu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/barkha-dutt-5931_foot_in-2020-we-saw-the-poorest-indian-citize_60302.jpg" --- # In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as… ![“In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as migrant workers, in the hundreds of thousands, fled the cities on foot, sometimes barefoot, to return to the villages.” quote by Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/barkha-dutt-5931_foot_in-2020-we-saw-the-poorest-indian-citize_60302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/barkha-dutt-5931_foot_in-2020-we-saw-the-poorest-indian-citize_60302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/barkha-dutt-5931_foot_in-2020-we-saw-the-poorest-indian-citize_60302.jpg) > “In 2020 we saw the poorest Indian citizen suffer as migrant workers, in the hundreds of thousands, fled the cities on foot, sometimes barefoot, to return to the villages.” [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The pandemic exposed deep socioeconomic fractures, forcing millions of migrant laborers to abandon urban livelihoods and trek home under dire conditions. **In simple terms:** Pandemic revealed stark inequality. Key Takeaway Migrant workers faced extreme hardship. Themes social inequality urban-rural migration pandemic impact labor rights human resilience Mood somber urgent empathetic Type observational journalistic sociopolitical When to use this quote - urban job loss - lockdown travel restrictions - rural return migration Key Concepts economic disparity public health crisis migration dynamics Practical Applications - policy reforms for migrant protection - social safety net design Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better protect vulnerable workers during crises? - What structural changes could prevent such mass displacements? A Different Perspective Some argue the migration was voluntary, but the lack of alternatives and systemic neglect made it a forced exodus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian/) [Migrant workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/migrant-workers/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [Whether it is clamping down on tax avoidance by multinationals, setting ambitious targets for tackling climate change, or reforming the posted workers' directive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/whether-it-is-clamping-down-on-tax-avoidance-by-multinationals/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [Forced labor affects the most vulnerable and least protected people, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and dependency. Women, low-skilled migrant workers, children, indigenous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/forced-labor-affects-the-most-vulnerable-and-least-protected-people/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [Migrant workers have helped build our roads, homes and offices. We cannot stand and watch them be homeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonu-sood/migrant-workers-have-helped-build-our-roads-homes-and-offices-we/) [Sonu Sood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonu-sood/) > [“Taylor and Fitz sat at a patio table in the back of Las Palmas. The front room was filled with giggling Vanderbilt co-eds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/taylor-and-fitz-sat-at-a-patio-table-in-the-back-of-las-palmas-the/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [It is the BJP that made use of YouTubers such as Manish Kashyap to serve their agenda and spread fake news that migrant workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-stalin/it-is-the-bjp-that-made-use-of-youtubers-such-as-manish-kashyap-to/) [M. K. Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-stalin/) > [“As his children, we were treated as some species of migrant workers who happened to be passing through. My father was the only person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/as-his-children-we-were-treated-as-some-species-of-migrant-workers/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [The walk of migrant workers towards their home is a march against the stripping of their democratic rights. 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The old methods of intimidation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-receding-waves-of-foreign-peon-labor-are-leaving-california/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More by Barkha Dutt > [If you leave out the magnetic stardom of sportsmen and actors, middle-class India today really has just two heroes - the army and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/if-you-leave-out-the-magnetic-stardom-of-sportsmen-and-actors-middle/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [Women - whether in politics, media or business - can't have it both ways. We can't demand to be judged irrespective of our gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/women-whether-in-politics-media-or-business-can-t-have-it-both-ways/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [I don't care if a flight attendant is fat as long as she doesn't sneak back to the galley for a gossip when she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/i-don-t-care-if-a-flight-attendant-is-fat-as-long-as-she-doesn-t/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [Wherever I go, people complain about what they see on television. 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I'm the same. I always step on to the pitch with my right foot first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-firmino/a-lot-of-brazilians-are-very-superstitious-especially-footballers-i-m/) [Roberto Firmino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-firmino/) > [Coming from New Zealand and Australia is like a tough pre-school for Hollywood. And having been on 'Neighbours,' even though the agents I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-ryan/coming-from-new-zealand-and-australia-is-like-a-tough-pre-school-for/) [Jay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-ryan/) > [I managed to get onto 'The Hobbit,' which is a story in itself. 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