By Nirmala Carvalho
Sister Sarla Macwan and Goretti Xalxo celebrated Christmas with 196 tribal migrant families from Chotanagpur. The celebration, with songs, prayers and exchange of gifts, took place on Saturday, the day after Christmas.
These families are part of a larger group of 465 migrant families who came to work in Maharashtra from the Chotanagpur plateau, which extends across the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, more than 1,600 km from Mumbai. Unlike the others, they were unable to return to their villages during the lockdown.
On 24 March, the Indian government shut down shops and factories, leaving migrants who worked as daily labourers stranded without money, food and shelter.