Jandpur village, located in Panjab’s Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) district, is home to a few hundred migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The village has now imposed rules restricting the movement and behavior of these migrant workers. The eleven rules include a 9 pm curfew, mandatory police verification, ban on smoking, chewing tobacco, wearing revealing clothing, and so on. Home owners are required to provide dustbins to prevent spitting on roads and will be held accountable if their tenants engage in illegal activities. The rules also limit the number of people allowed to dwell in a room. The village council, including local youth committees, justify these restrictions as necessary to curb disturbances such as late-night brawls and disrespectful behavior near religious sites. After the Kharar sub-district police and administration officers intervened and questioned the villagers’ authority to impose such diktats, the villagers agreed to apply the rules equally to everyone. The village’s actions mirror the vigilantism of Resident Welfare Associations in urban areas, driven by a breakdown in the civic system. However, these measures have already caused some migrants to leave. If more villages follow suit, Panjab could face a serious dilemma. Panjab faces a mass exodus of native residents while increasingly relying on migrant workers, yet cultural clashes with these workers continue to strain local sensibilities.
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