Indians fighting Russia’s war in Ukraine — and those who have returned home with war injuries — have told me that hundreds of them remain trapped at different war fronts. Reportedly, at least four Indians lost their lives in the war, and the Russian government is offering compensation and citizenship to the victims’ families. The issue was reportedly taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Is it the right way to handle risky labour migration to Russia? India, which sends the highest number of labour migrants abroad, has a lot it must work on at home. It can either update the 41-year-old Emigration Act to ensure safe labour migration to Russia or adopt an approach similar to its policy for war-torn countries like South Sudan, Yemen, and Iraq by halting migration to Moscow altogether — at least until the war ends.

In 2019 and 2021, the Indian government attempted to update the Emigration Act. However, the 2019 update efforts lapsed in Parliament, and the 2021 version vanished without a trace. Both versions included measures to ensure safe, orderly, and regular migration, such as additional emigration bureaus and offices to act as gatekeepers.

However, with these drafts shelved, potential migrants miss out on safety measures in the initial phase of migration, namely recruitment, making them vulnerable, and even imperilled.

India can better handle risky migration by updating the Emigration Act to include safety measures and streamline labour migration rather than unofficially requesting another country to relieve our youth from its war zones. The high unemployment rate among educated youth makes them willing to take unthinkable risks in migrating to find a job. In March, a farmworker from Kerala was killed in a missile attack in northern Israel. Two of his co-workers, both from Kerala, were severely injured. While the deceased had voluntarily gone to Israel, the Indian government also officially sent hundreds to Israel this year despite the latter being a conflict zone.

Shockingly, India has not imposed any immigration restrictions on job aspirants migrating to Russia and Israel. Both these countries have not been added to the Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) list, despite ongoing security concerns and conflicts. The ECR list is prepared by the Union government based on labour laws and security concerns in host countries. There are currently 18 countries on the ECR list: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Some countries are on this list due to poor working conditions and weak labour laws, such as those in West Asia. Others, like Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, and South Sudan, have been included due to security concerns.

The Russia-Ukraine war started in February 2022. According to TheNew York Times, in May, the Russian army suffered significant casualties in Ukraine, with more than 1,000 soldiers injured or killed on average per day. Despite these losses, it recruits 25,000 to 30,000 new soldiers monthly, which enables it to continuously deploy waves of troops against Ukraine. As of June 30 — before the latest wave of missile strikes — the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had verified 11,284 civilian deaths and 22,594 injured due to the war. The situation in Israel isn’t very different. In May, the UN said that the overall death toll in Gaza is over 35,000. Given such fatalities, why has the government turned a blind eye to labour migration protocols being adhered to when it comes to these war-torn countries?

In India, labour migration must take place through eMigrate — established in 2014 by former minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj to streamline labour migration — to ensure the safety of Indians working abroad, and to uphold their rights. Currently, eMigrate is mandatory only for those travelling to countries on the ECR list. Interestingly, bypassing the eMigrate system, India entered a deal with Israel to send labourers in May 2023. Even when the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October, the labour migration deal wasn’t shelved.

Instead of adding Russia and Israel to the ECR list and halting migration through immigration checks, the Indian government is focusing on raiding recruitment agencies that send workers to these areas. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government advertised job opportunities in Israel — even though this was widely discussed, the concerned authorities seem to have overlooked the safety and welfare of job aspirants. India needs to update its Emigration Act and halt labour migration to Russia and Israel, instead of requesting those countries’ leaders to relieve our citizens from their warfronts.