The Migration Story 259d ago

Delhi’s jeans industry was branded a “Jeans Jihad.” Here’s how politics and propaganda drove thousands of workers out of work. Once West Delhi’s denim capital, Khayala was built by thousands of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh who stitched first-copy Levi’s, Zara, and Diesel jeans for less than Rs 500. In 2025, after the BJP came to power in Delhi, non-vegetarian food joints in Khayala began shutting down. Soon, rumors spread that factories would be sealed. Workers were branded as “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and accused of running illegal units. The situation escalated when Delhi’s Industry Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that Khayala’s industrial area was controlled by “illegal Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya.” Sections of India’s legacy media amplified these claims, terming it “Jeans Jihad.” What began as political dog-whistling soon triggered fear and factory closures, bringing Delhi’s jeans hub to a standstill. Within weeks, the industrial cluster that once fed thousands was gone. Over 200 factories were shut and about 15,000 migrant workers were out of work. They returned to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, many now struggling with debt, unemployment, and stigma. This film investigates what happened in Khayala, who the workers are, and how communal politics and misinformation tore apart their livelihoods. It follows their journey from Delhi’s narrow lanes to the broken lives left behind in Kasganj. #JeansJihad #Delhi #MigrantWorkers #CommunalPolitics #India #Documentary #WorkersRights #DenimIndustry #PoliticsAndLivelihoods #MigrantLives