This paper analyses findings of the ‘PROWELLMIGRANTS’² project, which qualitatively investigated COVID-19 impacts on migrants’ well-being and mental health in Kerala, India. It draws on a novel conceptual framework that combines assemblage-thinking with theories of social contracts in disasters. The paper first explores how past development processes and contemporary migration policies in Kerala, and India more widely, generated conditions of vulnerability for migrant workers in Kerala prior to the pandemic. Next it shows that Government of Kerala interventions, in some cases supported by the central Government of India, temporarily addressed these vulnerabilities during the pandemic. In acknowledging the helpful response of the Kerala government, we problematise its stance on migrant workers during ‘normal’ times and speculate that permanently addressing these conditions of vulnerability would be a more logical approach. We acknowledge this involves overcoming many wider barriers. Thus, the paper also contains national-level policy implications.

中文翻译：

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调查印度喀拉拉邦 COVID-19 大流行期间移徙工人的脆弱状况

本文分析了“PROWELLMIGRANTS” ²项目的调查结果，该项目定性调查了 COVID-19 对印度喀拉拉邦移民福祉和心理健康的影响。它利用了一种新颖的概念框架，将组合思维与灾害中的社会契约理论相结合。本文首先探讨了喀拉拉邦以及更广泛的印度过去的发展进程和当代移民政策如何在大流行之前为喀拉拉邦的移民工人创造了脆弱的条件。接下来，它表明喀拉拉邦政府的干预措施（在某些情况下得到印度中央政府的支持）在大流行期间暂时解决了这些脆弱性。在承认喀拉拉邦政府做出的有益回应的同时，我们对其在“正常”时期对移民工人的立场提出了质疑，并推测永久解决这些脆弱条件将是一个更合乎逻辑的方法。我们承认这需要克服许多更广泛的障碍。因此，本文还包含国家层面的政策含义。