What a lockdown means when home is hundreds of miles away

“Stay at home” is a common refrain as countries announce lockdowns against COVID-19. But that can be practically impossible for society’s most vulnerable. That challenge has played out on a massive scale in India.

Late last month, as India’s transport came to a halt and its residents prepared for lockdown, Prakash Meghwal began a long walk home. With roughly a dollar and a half in his pocket, and three other people for company, he traced his way through forested land, careful to avoid the main roads whenever possible. Small roadside shops provided them some food during the day and shelter outside their shuttered fronts at night.

“We were scared,” Mr. Meghwal says. “‘What just happened?’ we wondered. We have never experienced anything like this before in our lifetime.” Six days later, having covered more than 90 miles on foot, he reached his village in Rajasthan state.

For over a decade, Mr. Meghwal worked as a waiter in the tourist hill town Mount Abu, and sent money to his family of six back home. But suddenly, with the new coronavirus shutting down business, there was no work or wages, and he was forced to return home. His household no longer has a source of income.

In the face of a pandemic, a third of the global population is under some form of lockdown, and countries are grappling with how to balance health and the economy – particularly for society’s most vulnerable. And on March 24, with only four hours’ notice, India began the world’s biggest test yet: Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the entire country of 1.3 billion people to stay indoors for 21 days.

The announcement did not include any concrete transport, safety, or economic measures for India’s roughly 400 million informal workers, who are estimated to make up 80% to 90% of the total workforce and live without a safety net. With businesses and establishments shut down, they lost their daily wages; many of the country’s roughly 100 million migrant workers have also lost the roof over their head. Balancing either the belongings on their heads or young children on their shoulders, hundreds of thousands tried to walk back home.