On 24 March 2020, Narendra Modi asked Indians to remain wherever they were. A nationwide lockdown would begin at midnight and last 21 days. The announcement gave households only hours to prepare for restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. [1] [6]
The instruction had radically different implications for someone able to work from home and someone dependent on a daily wage far from their village. Within weeks, the policy intended to restrict movement was accompanied by a crisis of people trying to return home. [3]
A national order
The legal machinery ran through the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The National Disaster Management Authority directed governments to take preventive measures, and the home ministry issued its order for a nationwide period beginning on 25 March. The ministry cited the need for more uniform measures across states and Union territories. [2]
Modi presented distancing as necessary to interrupt transmission and protect lives. He acknowledged an economic cost while assuring people that essential supplies would continue. The immediate task was to reduce contact; making that possible required food, housing and income support for people whose livelihoods depended on leaving home. [1]
The 21-day announcement was the opening phase, not the duration of the entire response. Restrictions were subsequently extended and modified before the June shift towards reopening outside containment zones. [5]
Staying put, getting home
The World Bank’s April 2020 migration brief described how the loss of largely informal jobs, transport disruption and movement restrictions left internal migrants stranded. It linked lockdowns and lost livelihoods to mass returns in India, while noting the government’s establishment of shelter camps. The same report warned that containment measures could themselves contribute to transmission through the resulting movement. [3]
That warning was not a measured estimate of the lockdown’s net effect on infections. It showed why enforcing a restriction and protecting public health could not be assessed without examining how people managed to survive it. [3]
Organised rail transport for stranded people began later. Shramik Special trains started on 1 May; by 25 May, the railways said they had carried more than 44 lakh passengers to their home states. The figure documented a major transport response after the initial shutdown, without counting everyone affected or everyone still waiting. [4]
On 30 May, the home ministry announced guidelines for Unlock 1 from 1 June. Activities outside containment zones would reopen in phases, while restrictions continued within them. The governing problem had shifted from an initial nationwide stop to managing movement, work and continuing infection together. [5]