Baas: Labour Migrants as an (Un)Controllable Virus

Special Issue: Pandemic Asia. 2020 July.
The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 18 | Issue 14 | Number 16 | Article ID 5432 | Jul 11, 2020
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis von Japan Focus. 


Labour Migrants as an (Un)Controllable Virus in India and Singapore

Michiel Baas

Abstract:
The COVID-19 crisis has severely 
impacted migrant workers in Asia. This article compares the cases of India and Singapore to understand how these countries have dealt with their migrant populations in response to the crisis, as well as in relation to how they envision their place in society and regulates their rights. This is revealing for the deeply ingrained sense of socioeconomic inequality that informs how these countries narrate their own relatively recent economic success stories on the global stage. The idea of a ‘new India’ and ‘global city Singapore’ are both based on entranced notions of inclusion and exclusion.

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