Why the passenger matters

For those of us lulled into false optimism by videos of the swanky Vande Bharat trains, or by seamless and comfortable journeys on inter-city Shatabdis, the videos that emerged over the past fortnight of people trying to get home by train for the festival season were a bit of a shock. We have known for some time that the Indian state routinely underprovides for migrant labour. That message, certainly, was brought home to us during the pandemic when thousands of people set out to walk home during lockdowns. But, even so, images of people struggling to get into overcrowded compartments, faced with the possibility of a nightmarish journey lasting dozens of hours with nowhere to sleep, were something of a