We returned home empty‐handed: COVID‐19, care, and contested citizenship of Naga migrant workers in northeast India

Abstract

COVID‐19 highlighted interconnections between questions 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 socio‐economic consequences. The pandemic brought into question who is ‘Indian’ and 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; but COVID‐19 also exposed structural inequalities within and between Naga communities. The study shows that identity‐based citizenship regimes and multination federalism interact to increase minorities' exclusion during crises; and that crises can strengthen both divisions and solidarity at local levels in multination federal systems. Inclusion in and exclusion from systems of care is shaped by and can reshape notions of identity and citizenship, highlighting the need for inclusive socio‐political systems to mitigate crises in multination federal states.