In late February and early March, rumours of violence against North Indian migrants began to circulate in Tamil Nadu, leading many to flee the state. These rumours were fueled by unverified videos circulating on social media that depicted attacks on migrant workers from Bihar. Families back in Bihar began to panic, and many reached out to HT Media’s Hindi daily and Bihar’s leading newspaper, Hindustan, for help.
To quell these rumors and re-establish peace and harmony, authorities in Tamil Nadu took immediate action. Hindustan, in partnership with The Hindu Tamil Thisai (The Hindu Group), Tamil Nadu’s leading newspaper, held an event on March 18 in Coimbatore to address the concerns of migrants residing in the state. The event was attended by 300 migrants and featured a panel of experts, including V. Balakrishnan IPS, Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, T. Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), G. Arulmozhi, President, Tamil Nadu Open End Spinning Mills Association (OSMA), M. Jayabal, President, Recycle Textile Federation (RTF), K. Asokan, Editor, Hindu Tamil Thisai, and Tirvijay Singh, Executive Editor, Hindustan – Bihar Jharkhand.
The event aimed to provide assurance to the 34 lakh migrant workers spread across Tamil Nadu that the authorities were taking measures to ensure their safety. Hindustan’s Executive Editor, Tirvijay Singh, personally went to Coimbatore to understand the ground reality and provide fact-based coverage about the situation.
During the event, the panelists addressed the concerns of the migrants and assured them that the authorities were taking steps to protect them. Migrant workers who participated in the event were also able to speak with their families back in Bihar through WhatsApp video calls to show them that the situation was fine in Tamil Nadu.
Commenting on the event, D. Rajkumar, General Manager, The Hindu Tamil Thisai, said, “Creating awareness among the workers is the need of the hour, and hence two leading newspaper organisations have come together to conduct this event. The objective was to convey the ground reality which prevails in Tamil Nadu.” Subhash Chand, Marketing Head – Hindustan Times and Hindustan, added, “As the leading newspaper specially in Bihar, it is our foremost responsibility to act onto any situation that concerns the people. Our successful joint collaboration with The Hindu has helped us provide verified on-ground situation to our readers and also the measures taken to ensure their safety.”
K. Asokan, Editor, The Hindu Tamil Thisai, emphasised the importance of media responsibility and the role of the press in promoting unity. He shared examples of migrant workers helping Tamil people during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and the case of a migrant worker who helped a pregnant Tamil woman get admitted to the hospital for delivery.
The event organised by Hindustan and The Hindu Tamil Thisai was successful in addressing the concerns of migrant workers in Tamil Nadu and promoting peace and harmony in the state.