India’s lockdown- a move to contain the spread of novel coronavirus triggered a massive migrant crisis in the country. Ever since the first lockdown phase was announced from March 24, estimated over a million- migrants were forced to walk back to their native villages as public transport was suspended.
Harrowing experiences and images started pouring on social media platforms where migrants with no jobs were seen crying, dying of starvation and fatigue and road accidents.
To highlight the plight of the poor and to spread a message- why the richer section should stand by them in this crisis – the Students’ Federation of India’s (SFI) Jadavpur University’s, local Committee came out with another innovative comic on ‘love, brotherhood and social responsibility’.
The comic named ‘Accident’ starts with a child playing with his toy cars while his mother was speaking to her husband over phone and congratulating him for a new job with a senior position. After the conversation was over, he lit his cigarette and watched breaking news on television – ‘Thousands of workers have gathered at the station hoping to return home.”
In the meantime, his domestic help came and requested him for the month’s salary. However, she was disappointed when she was told by the man that it’s not possible for him as she worked only for 10 days.
In another chapter, the man behaved rudely with the domestic help and denied to help her saying “How do I know how you will run your family? Figure it out. The comic ends with a caricature of a ‘toy car accident’ which his son was playing in the living room.
SFI, Jadavpur University also released another comic to spread awareness, asking people to stay away from unscientific approaches like drinking cow urine and consulting an occultist to deal with the virus.