S. Irudaya Rajan (Editor), Sumeetha M. (Editor) - Handbook of Internal Migration in India-SAGE Publications (2020)

Handbook of
INTERNAL MIGRATION
IN INDIA
Edited by
S. Irudaya Rajan • Sumeetha M.
Handbook of
Internal Migration in India

Handbook of
Internal Migration in India
Edited by
S. Irudaya Rajan
Sumeetha M.
Copyright © S. Irudaya Rajan and Sumeetha M., 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in 2020 by
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Dedicated to the Godfather of migration studies,
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Contents
List of Figuresxiii
List of Tablesxvii
List of Abbreviationsxxvii
Foreword by Vinod Mishra xxxi
Prefacexxxiii
About the Authorxxxvii
PART I: INTRODUCTION
1 Migrant Odysseys 3
S. Irudaya Rajan and Sumeetha M.
PART II: MACRO PERSPECTIVES
2 Employment, Urbanization and Education: Migration’s Mega-Challenges 33

Santosh Mehrotra
3 Rural Migrants with Urban Jobs 40

Arup Mitra
4 Labour Migration: Trends and Characteristics 51

M. Imran Khan
5 Internal Migration: Emerging Patterns 80

Sandhya R. Mahapatro
6 Domestic Remittances 93
Bhaswati Das and Rajni Singh
7 Associated Gains from Migration 111

Pinak Sarkar
PART III: STATE-LEVEL PERSPECTIVES
8 Labour Casualization and Spatial Mobility 125

Floriane Bolazzi
viii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
9 Temporary Labour Migration 140

Kunal Keshri
10 Student Migration 153

S. Irudaya Rajan, K. C. Zachariah and S. Sunitha
11 Building Resilience: Compulsions and Challenges 164

Rukmini Thapa
12 Impact of Migration on the Local Labour Markets 178

Aijaz Ahmad Turrey and Tulika Tripathi
13 Demographic and Social Profile 186

S. Irudaya Rajan, Bernard D' Sami, S. Samuel Asir Raj and P. Sivakumar
14 Impact of Rural Out-Migration 198

S. Amuthan
15 Migration and Widening Labour Divide 208

M. S. Raunaq
16 Diversification of Household Labour 220

Nandan Kumar
17 Distress Migration 235

Manasi Mahanty
PART IV: MIGRATION AND CASTE
18 Migration and Caste 253

Kalyani Vartak and Chinmay Tumbe
19 Migration Trends and Vulnerable Populations 268

Amitabh Kundu
20 Labour Process in Migration 279

Sumeetha M.
21 Nasrani Family Histories and Migration 290

Nidhin Donald
22 Tribal Migration 303

Bhagyoday Khandare, Himanshu Chaurasia and Sunil Sarode
23 The Saga of Tribal Livelihood Migration 313

Anjali Borhade, Milind Babar, Isha Jain, Vishika Yadav, Pallavi Joshi,
Karthik Prabhu, Ajay Shekhawat and Subhojit Dey
Contents ix
PART V: MIGRATION AND GENDER
24 Gendered Spatialities 331

Amrita Datta
25 Unexplored Facets of Female Migration 342

Jajati K. Parida and S. Madheswaran
26 Female Caste-based Labour Migration 358

Sonia Krishna Kurup
27 Women’s Economic Migration 372

Sunetra Ghatak
28 Middle Class Women’s Migration 385

Tina Dutta and Annapurna Shaw
29 Women Workers on the Move 408

S. Irudaya Rajan and Sumeetha M.
30 Narratives of Left-Behind Women 415

Neha Rai
PART VI: MIGRATION AND URBANIZATION
31 Urban Migration and Policy Issues 429

R. B. Bhagat
32 Migration and Urbanization 449

Jajati K. Parida and Ravi K. Raman
33 Circular Migration and Urban Housing 462

Renu Desai and Shachi Sanghvi
34 Occupational Mobility in Migrants 476

Arvind Pandey and Ajit Jha
35 Maternal Healthcare in Slums 496

Namrata Ahirwar and Kunal Keshri
PART VII: MIGRATION AND POLITICS
36 Displacement and the Biopolitics of Development 509

Samir Kumar Das
37 Migrant, City and Changing Lives 521

Ranabir Samaddar
x HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
38 Adverse Incorporations and Subnational Welfarism 530

M. Suresh Babu, Mansi Wadhwa and M. Vijayabaskar
39 Spaces of Alienation and Resistance 545

Charvaak Pati
40 Politics of Sons of Soil 550

Shahana Purveen
PART VIII: EMERGING ISSUES
41 Nature of ‘Unfreedom’ among Migrants 563

Deepak K. Mishra
42 Climate Change and Migration Nexus 574

Avijit Mistri
43 Behind the Shining Brick and Mortar 592

Amrita Sharma and Divya Varma
44 Cyclical Mobility 605

Rabiul Ansary and Bhaswati Das
45 Migrant and Language 622

S. Irudaya Rajan, I. V. Prasad and Rinju
46 Family Migration 629

Madhusudan Nag
47 Precarious Employment in Power Looms 642

Divya Varma and Amrita Sharma
48 Economic Inequality and Migration 651

Rikil Chyrmang
49 Needs of Migrants 671

Helga Thomas and Govindappa Lakshmana
PART IX: MIGRATION POLICY
50 Migration Policy: Where Do We Stand? 685

Meera Sethi and Debolina Kundu
51 Integration Policies for Interstate Migrants 703

Varun Aggarwal and Saniya Singh
52 Vulnerability and Social Protection Access 720

Nabeela Ahmed
Contents xi
53 Access to Maternal Health Programme 738

Divya Ravindranath
54 Challenges to Stakeholders 749

Ansari P. A. and Caroline Osella
55 Exclusion of Migrants in Policy 767

Vicky Nandgaye
56 Migration and Financial Transfers 780

S. Irudaya Rajan and U. S. Mishra
Index791
List of Figures
4.1 Migration Rate: Consumption Quantile, Upper (Q5) and Lower (Q1) 63
4.2 Change in Migration Rate (in %) from 1983 to 2007–2008 66
4.3 Change in Migration Rate (in %) from 1999–2000 to 2007–2008 67
4.4 Education Gap between Migrants and Non-Migrants in Rural Areas 69
4.5 Education Gap between Migrants and Non-migrants in Urban Areas 69
5.1 Trends of Internal Migration in India, 1971–2011 (%) 81

5.2 Percentage Change in Streamwise of Migrants by Sex, 1999–2000 and
2007–200885
5.3 Rural–Urban Interstate Male Migration across Economic Class, 1999–2008 88
6.1 Pattern and Magnitude of Domestic Remittances in India (2007–2008) 99

6.2 Volume of Remittances Against Employment-related Reasons for Migration 100
6.3 Volume of Remittances Against ‘Other than Employment’
Reasons for Migration 101
6.4 Scatter Plot of Mean Amount of Remittances Sent Against Mean Age of
Out-migrants across States in India 102
7.1 Analytical Framework 113

7.2 Relative Weighted Position of the Indian States Capturing Remittance
Dependence across Migration-reporting Households in Rural Areas 116
7.3 Relative Weighted Position of the Indian States Capturing Remittance
Dependence across Migration-reporting Households in Urban Areas 117
7.4 Odds Ratio for Expenditure Incurred on Consumption for Rural and
Urban Households across MPCE Wealth Distribution 120
7.5 Odds Ratios for Saving/Investment for Rural and Urban Households
across MPCE Wealth Distribution 121
8.1 Percentage of Agriculture as a Primary Occupation in Palanpur in

1958–2014 (Male Population Aged 15+ Years) 128
8.2 Palanpur and Towns in Moradabad District 134
9.1 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (Migrants per 1,000) across the
States in India, NSS, 2007–2008 142
9.2 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (Migrants per 1,000) across the
NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 147
xiv HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
10.1 Trends in Estimated Number of Out-Migrants, 1998–2018 155

10.2 Out-Migrants by Age and Sex, 2018 158
10.3 Age at Migration of Out-Migrants, 2018 159
13.1 Distribution of Out–Migrants per 1,000 HH across Districts in

Tamil Nadu, 2015 188
13.2 Distribution of Return Out–Migrants per 1,000 HH across Districts in
Tamil Nadu, 2015 189
16.1 Out-Migration Propensity from States Compared with the

National Average 226
16.2 Structure of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workforce 228
16.3 Mean and Median Income of Households by Occupation Categories 231
18.1 Framework to Understand the Relationship between Migration and Caste 263
20.1 Structure of the Gold Jewellery-Making Industry 284
22.1 District-wise Percentage of Tribal Population of Maharashtra 306

22.2 Division-wise Tribal Population of Maharashtra 306
22.3 Literacy and Educational Level 308
22.4 Regression Analysis of Tribal Literacy Rate of Maharashtra 308
22.5 District-wise Sex Ratio among the ST Population in Maharashtra 309
23.1 Number of Migrant Households per 1,000 Households in Each

Social Group during NSS 49th (1993) and 64th (2007–2008) Rounds 314
23.2 Distribution of Households in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 316
23.3 Age–Sex Distribution of Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
Block Panchayats 316
23.4 Caste Profile of Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 317
23.5 Occupation of Individuals Aged 18 Years and Above in Peint and
Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 317
23.6 Education Levels of Individuals between 6 and 30 Years in Peint and
23.7 Family Occupations in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 318
23.8 Family Annual Incomes in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 318
23.9 Family Landownership in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 318
23.10 Size of Landholdings among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
23.11 Source of Water for Farming among Population in Peint and
23.12 Measures Taken by Population in Case of Insufficient Capital in Peint and
23.13 Methods of Cultivation among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
23.14 Ownership of Livestock among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
List of Figures xv
23.15 Distance of Primary Healthcare Centre from Villages for Population

in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 320
23.16 Regular Source of Medical Care Availed among Population in Peint and
23.17 Types of Residences among Population in Peint and
23.18 Awareness about Navsanjeevani Yojana among Population in
Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 322
23.19 Availed Nutritional Diet Programme among Population in
23.20 Frequency of Ration Benefit Utilization among Population in
23.21 Awareness about MGNREGA Scheme among Population in
23.22 Reasons for No Benefits Availed from Social Schemes among
Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats 323
23.23 Season-wise Migration Rate among the Population in Peint and
23.24 Reasons for Migration among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
23.25 Migration Destinations of Out-migrants from Peint and Trimbakeshwar
23.26 Problems Faced by Migrants at Destination Regions in Peint and
23.27 Income from Migration among Population in Peint and
23.28 Remittance Utilization Pattern in Population in Peint and
25.1 Migration Trends in India, 1983–2008 344

25.2 Reasons for Female Migration in India (Figures in %) 346
31.1 Net Interstate Migration in India, 2007–2008 435

31.2 Contribution of Net Rural-to-Urban Migration in
Urban Population Growth (Percentage) 437
31.3 Migration Rate by MPCE Decile Class, 2007–2008 439
31.4 Million-Plus Cities in India, 2011 440
31.5 Percentage of Migrants in Selected Million-Plus Urban Agglomerations 441
32.1 Internal Migration Trends by Sectors in India, 1971–2011 451

32.2 Migrants as Percentage of Total Population by Sectors in India, 1971–2011 452
32.3 Annual Growth Rate of Internal Migration by Sectors in India, 1971–2011 453
32.4 Sectoral Flow of Internal Migration by Sex in India, 1971–2011 453
35.1 Location of Slums in Prayagraj City 499
42.1 Sustainable Livelihoods Framework 576

xvi HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
42.2 Schematic Plan of Sampling, Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve 578

42.3 Migrants’ Places of Destination 579
42.4 Environmental Risk Perception in Farming 581
42.5 Environmental Risk Perception in Fishing 582
44.1 Age Distribution of the Sampled Respondents 610

44.2 Occupational Shift Based on Type of Occupation between Origins
and Destinations 617
45.1 Percentage of Hindi Speakers in India, 1971–2011 624

45.2 Percentage of Non-native Speakers in South Indian States, 1991–2011 625
48.1 Percentage Distribution of Remittances from Out-Migrants 658

48.2 The Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient 664
48.3 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Food Items 664
48.4 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Non-food Items 665
48.5 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Combined Food and Non-food Items 665
48.6 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Education 666
48.7 Household MPCE Lorenz Curve on Health 666
48.8 Lorenz Curve on per Capita Saving 667
48.9 Lorenz Curve on Investment per Annum 667
48.10 Lorenz Curve on Land Possession 667
48.11 Overall LC MPCE 668
50.1 Intradistrict, Interdistrict and Interstate Migration 691
51.1 IPEX 2018 Overall Score for Kerala, Delhi and Maharashtra 710
51.2 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Identity and Registration and
Political Participation 711
51.3 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Labour Market, Education and
Children’s Rights 712
51.4 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Social Benefits, Housing and
Health & Sanitation 712
51A.1 IPEX Scoring Schematic 717
54.1 Movement of Migrant Workers from Northern India towards Kerala 752
56.1 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Stream of Migration in

India, 1981–2001 782
56.2 Percentage of Lifetime Interstate Migrants of Major States of
India, 1971–2001 785
List of Tables
1.1 Workforce and Migration for Economic Reasons, Based on

the 1991–2011 Census 6
1.2 Duration of Residence and Migration 7
2.1 Occupational Structure of Short- and Long-term Male Migrants 36
3.1 Probability to Migrate (Binomial Logit) with Marginal Effects 43

3.2 Factor Analysis: Migration, Urban Informal Sector and Other Rural and
Urban Labour Market Characteristics 44
3.3 Distribution of Workers by Occupation and Networks (%) 46
4.1 Internal Labour Migration in India (in %) 54

4.2 State-wise Labour Migration Rate and Distribution in India (in %) 55
4.3 Percentage Distribution of Labour Migrants by Sector, Sex and PLR 57
4.4 Labour Migration Streams across States (Rural) (in %) 58
4.5 Labour Migration Streams across States (Urban) (in %) 60
4.6 Migration Rate (%) by Economic Class 62
4.7 Migration Rate (%) by Socio-religious Group 65
4.8 Percentage Distribution of Different Levels of Education by Migrant Status 68
4.9 Employment and Unemployment Rates (%) of Migrants and Non-migrants
in the Age Group 15–60 Years 71
4.10 Nature and Type of Employment of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workers (in %) 72
4.11 Industrial Distribution of Migrants and Non-Migrants (in %) 74
4.12 Real Daily Wages in Rupees (1999–2000 Constant Prices) 77
5.1 Migration Rates by Sex and Place of Residence, NSS, 1983–2008 (%) 82
5.2 Reasons for Migration by Sex, Place of Residence
(Duration of Residence < 5 Years), 1999–2000 and 2007–2008 83
5.3 Distance-wise Distribution of Migrants (Duration of Residence < 5 Years) 84
5.4 Interstate Net Migration Rate (Duration of Residence < 5 Years), 1999–2008 86
5.5 Economic Characteristics of Migrants by MPCE Class (Duration < 5 Years),
1999–2000 and 2007–2008 87
5.6 Industrial Classifications of Migrant Workers (UPS) (Duration of Residence
< 5 Years), 2007–2008 (%) 89
5.7 Factors Associated with Migration to Urban Areas (Duration
< 5 Years), 2007–2008 90
xviii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
6.1 State-wise (interstate) Amount of Remittances as a Percentage Share of

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at Constant (2004–2005) Prices for 2007–2008 98
6.2 States and UTs with Difference in Male and Female per Capita
Remittances Sent in 2007–2008 103
6.3 Multiple Classification Analysis of Total Amount of Remittances Sent
by the Out-migrants by Background Characteristics of the Migrants, 2007–2008 104
7.1 Share of Households Reporting Out-migration in Rural and

Urban Areas across Indian States 114
7.2 Share of Households Reporting Out-migration across Economic Classes 114
7.3 Methodological Illustration 115
7.4 Gap in Consumption Expenditure between Remittance-receiving and
Non-Remittance-receiving Households in Rural Areas across
Indian States (in Rupees) 118
7.5 Gap in Consumption Expenditure between Remittance-receiving and
Non-Remittance-receiving Households in Urban Areas across
Indian States (in Rupees) 119
8.1 Occupational Structure in Palanpur, 1958–2014 (Primary Occupation,

Adult Male 15+)130
8.2 Occupational Status of Commuters, 1983–2015 (Adult Male 15+)133
8.3 Primary and Secondary Occupations of Migrants and Commuters in 2015
(Adult Male 15+)133
8.4 Workplace of Migrants and Commuters in 2015 (Adult Male 15+)134
8.5 Fares and Time Taken for Travel to Main Towns by Different Means of
Transport Available from Palanpur in 2014 135
9.1 Comparison of Estimated Number of Temporary and Permanent Migrants

from Different States of India (in 1,000), NSS, 2007–2008 145
9.2 Estimated Number of Permanent Migrants (Lifetime) from
Uttar Pradesh to the Different States of India, NSS, 2007–2008 146
9.3 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (%) (Migrants per 1,000) by
Place of Residence across the NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 147
9.4 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (%) (Migrants per 1,000) by
Caste across the NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 147
9.5 Streams of Temporary Labour Migration across the NSS Regions in
Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 148
9.6 Intrastate and Interstate Streams of Temporary Labour Migration
across the NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 148
9.7 Results of Logistic Regression Analysis for Determinants of Temporary Labour
Migration of Uttar Pradesh (Age Group 15–64 Years), NSS, 2007–2008 149
10.1 Estimated Number of Out-Migrants by Districts, Kerala, 1998–2018 154

10.2 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Gender and Place of Origin, 2018 155
10.3 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Educational Level and Place of Origin, 2018 156
10.4 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Marital Status and Place of Origin, 2018 156
10.5 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Economic Activity and Place of Origin, 2018 157
List of Tables xix
10.6 Ten Taluks with the Highest Number of Out-Migrants (OMI), 2018 157
10.7 Ten Taluks with the Lowest Number of Out-Migrants (OMI), 2018 157
10.8 Out-Migrants by Religion and Districts, 2018 160
10.9 Educational Level of Out-Migrants by Sex, 2018 161
10.10 Economic Activity of Out-Migrants by Sex, 2018 161
10.11 Students and Job Seekers among Out-Migrants, 2018 161
10.12 Education Level of Student Out-Migrants, 2018 162
10.13 Reason for Migration of Out-Migrants, 2018 162
11.1 Characteristics of Households in Study Villages 167

11A.1 Major Migration Streams in Study Villages 176
12.1 In-migrant Workers Classified by Locality, Sex and All Durations of

Residence in Place of Enumeration 179
12.2 Percentage Distribution of In-migrant Workers in the Valley Classified by
Age and Duration of Residence, 0–9 Years 180
12.3 Percentage Distribution of In-migrant Workers in the Valley Classified by
Marital Status and Duration of Residence, 0–9 Years 181
12.4 In-migrant Workers Classified by All Durations of Residence and
Reasons for Migration 183
13.1 Districts with Most Number of OMIs and ROMs 190

13.2 Taluks with Most Number of OMIs and ROMs 190
13.3 Taluks with Most Number of OMIs per 100 HH and ROMs per 100 HH 190
13.4 States Receiving OMIs and ROMs from Tamil Nadu 191
13.5 Reasons for Migration among OMIs and ROMs, 2015 192
13.6 Age Composition of Out-Migrants, 2015 193
13.7 Age Composition of Return Out-Migrants, 2015 193
13.8 Distribution of Out-Migrants across Religions in Tamil Nadu 194
13.9 Educational Status of Out-Migrants, 2015 194
13.10 Rates of Employment Before and After Migration among ROMs and
OMIs, 2015 195
13.11 Occupations of Out-Migrants After Migration, 2015 195
13A.1 Destination between OMIs and ROMs in Tamil Nadu, 2015 196
14.1 Structural Changes of Economy in Tamil Nadu 199

14.2 Percentage Share of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at
Factor Cost by Industry of Origin in Tamil Nadu, 1980–1981 to
2014–2015 (Prediction through 2019–2020) 200
14.3 Total Main Workforces in TN, 1981–2011 201
14.4 Trends of Main Workforce by Sex in TN (Rural) 202
14.5 Background Information of Migrants 203
14.6 Motivation and Causes of Out-Migration from Rural Tamil Nadu 204
14.7 Mean Difference in Working and Financial Condition of First Migrants
During, Before and After Migration 205
14.8 Paired Samples t-Test 205
14.9 Dependent Variable: Migrants’ Household Assets 206
xx HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
15.1 Actual Wages and Relative Wages across States (in `)212
15.2 Average Wages of Migrant and Malayali Workers in Kerala 212
16.1 Socio-economic Background of Out-Migrant Households 224

16.2 Share of States/Union Territories in Out-Migrant Population in India (%) 225
16.3 Types of Destination by States 226
16.4 Types of Destination by Area 226
16.5 Employment Status of Out-Migrants 227
16.6 Occupational Status of Employed Out-Migrants (Whose Occupation Is Known) 227
16.7 Age Structure of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workers 229
16.8 Educational Status of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workers 229
16.9 Number of Activities Taken Up by the Households 229
16.10 Diversification of Household Livelihood in Different Sectors 230
16.11 Matrix of Combination of Activities Taken Up by the Household 230
16.12 Inequality by Occupation Categories 232
17.1 Trade: Sewing Machine Operation, Batch Summary, IIS, Rayagada 240
17.2 Sewing Machine Operations, Batch Summary, IIS, Rayagada 241
17.3 Sewing Machine Operations, Trade-wise Report, IIS, Rayagada 241
17.4 OSDA Training Status of IIS, Rayagada, for Financial Year (FY) 2017–2018 242
17.5 OSDA Training Status of IIS, Rayagada, for Financial Year (FY) 2018–2019 243
18.1 Out-Migration for Work in India by Social Group and Religion, 2007–2008 254
19.1 Percentage of Migrants in the Population as per Decennial Censuses 269

19.2 Percentage of Total Migrants in Different NSS Rounds in Rural and
Urban IndiaRound (year) 270
19.3 Percentage of Decadal Migrants and Those Not Reporting Duration to
Total Migrants 271
19.4 Percentage of Decadal Migrants with Different Durations of Stay to the
Total Migrants Reporting Duration 271
19.5 Decadal Growth of Net Rural Urban Migrants with Less and
More Than 10 Years of Stay at the Place of Enumeration 272
19.6 Percentage of Population for Different Socio-Religious Groups in
Rural and Urban Areas 273
19.7 Percentage of Population for Different Socio-religious Groups in
Rural and Urban Areas in Various NSS Rounds 274
19.8 Percentage of Total Muslim Population to Total Population in
Urban Areas 274
19.9a Distribution of Population by Sectors of Residence across Different
Socio-religious Groups in 2011–2012 (%) 274
19.9b Distribution of Population by Sectors of Residence across Different
Socio-religious Groups in 2004–2005 (%) 275
19.10 Growth Rates of Population for Different Socio-religious Groups in
Rural and Urban Areas and the Urban-to-Rural Growth Differential (%) 276
19.11 Migration Rates (Migrants per 1,000 Population) for Major Religious Groups 277
List of Tables xxi
22.1 Maharashtra Scheduled Tribe Population in 2001 305

22.2 Scheduled Tribe Migrants within the State 306
22.3 Percentage Distribution of Duration-wise Tribal Migration in
Maharashtra307
22.4 Percentage Distribution of Reasons for Scheduled Tribes’ Migration by
the Last Residence 307
22.5 Socio-economic and Migration Variables for Districts of Maharashtra, India 310
24.1 Distribution of Six Typologies of Workers by Sex (%), Age 15–64 Years 333
24.2 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for RI Workers (%),
Age 15–64 Years 334
24.3 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for RII Workers (%),
24.4 Distribution of Secondary Work Status by Sex for RII Workers (%),
24.5 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for MI Workers (%),
24.6 Distribution of Secondary Work Status by Sex for MI Workers (%),
24.7 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for MII Workers (%),
24.8 Distribution of Secondary Work Status by Sex for MII Workers (%),
24.9 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for MIII Workers (%),
24.10 Distribution of Secondary Work Status by Sex for MIII Workers (%),
24.11 Distribution of Primary Work Status by Sex for MIV Workers (%),
25.1 Employment Status of Women Migrants Who Reported Marriage

Migration, 1983–2008 347
25.2 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Duration of
Migration, 1983–2008 348
25.3 Females Reporting Marriage-Migration by Their Duration of
Migration and Employment Status, 1999–2008 349
25.4 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by
Their Age Group, 1983–2008 351
25.5 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by
Their Social Group, 1983–2008 352
25.6 Trends of Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by
Their Economic Group, 1983–2008 353
25.7 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Their Level of
Education, 1983–2008 354
25.8 Probit Estimates for Labour Force Participation Decision of Female
Migrants in India 355
xxii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
27.1 Total Internal Migration in India by Sex and Residence (Figures in %) 374
27.2 Reasons for Migration (Figures in %) 375
27.3 Reasons for Migration by Last Place of Residence (Figures in %) 375
27.4 Activity Status of Women Migrants in India (Figures in %) 377
27.5 Naming of Components 378
27.6 Factor Loadings from the Significant Factors 379
27.7 Results of the Probit Model to Identify the Role of Network on the
Skilled and Unskilled Migrants 382
27.8 Estimated Marginal Effects of the Explanatory Variables of the
Probit Model of Skilled and Unskilled Migrants 382
28.1 Types of Service-Sector Jobs 388

28.2 Basic Demographic Profile of the Respondents 389
29.1 Average Age of Female Migrants in Kerala 410

29.2 Average Wages, Remittance and Savings with Female and Employment Sector 411
29.3 Possession of Bank Account 411
29.4 Daily Wages with Sex and Employment Sector 412
29.5 Mode of Remittance by Sex and Employment Sector 413
31.1 Trends in Migration Rates in Urban Areas, 1981–2008 (Migrants per

100 Persons) 432
31.2 Distribution of Migrants in India by Streams of Migration (Percentage) 433
31.3 Migration by Streams and Administrative Locations (Percentage) 434
31.4 Migration by Administrative Locations in Rural and Urban Areas (Percentage) 434
31.5 Reasons of Migration to Urban Areas 438
32.1 Sectoral Employment Trends in India, 1994–2012 451

32.2 Rural-to-Urban Migrants by Age, Sex and Socio-economic Groups in India
(in Percentage) 455
32.3 Level of Education and Rural-to-Urban Migration in India
(Figures in Percentage) 456
32.4 Growth of Rural-to-Urban Migration and Urban Population in India,
2001–2011457
32.5 State-wise Employment Patterns of Migrants in Urban India 459
32.6 Rural–Urban Migrants by Their Industry of Employment in Urban India
(Figures in Percentage) 460
33.1 Housing Typologies of the Survey Respondents 465

33.2 Quality of Shelter in Squatter Settlements 465
33.3 Source of Water in Squatter Settlements 466
33.4 Access to Toilets in Squatter Settlements 466
33.5 Source of Water in Homeless Settlements in Public Spaces 467
33.6 Access to Toilets in Homeless Settlements in Public Spaces 468
33.7 Rent Levels for the Rental Rooms/Units 469
33.8 Source of Water in Rental Rooms/Units 469
33.9 Access to Toilets in Rental Rooms/Units 469
33.10 Rental Costs Incurred in Rental Spots on Land/Rooftop 470
List of Tables xxiii
33.11 Source of Water in Rental Spots on Land/Rooftop 471

33.12 Access to Toilets in Rental Spots on Land/Rooftop 471
34.1 Background Characteristics of Migrant Workers 481

34.2 Employment Status of Migrant Workers before Migration to Delhi
(Pre-Migration Employment Status) (in Percentage) 483
34.3 Pre-Migration Employment Status of the Migrant Workers across
Social Groups and by Landholding Size at Place of Origin (in Percentage) 485
34.4 Post-Migration Employment Status (First Job in Delhi) of the
Migrant Workers (in Percentage) 486
34.5 Post-Migration Employment Status of Migrant Workers According to
Industrial Categories (NIC-2008) 487
34.6 Current Employment Status of the Migrant Workers (in Percentage) 489
34.7 Current Employment Status of Migrant Workers According to Industrial
Categories (NIC-2008) 490
34.8 Post-Migration Employment Status and Current Employment Status across
Social Groups (in Percentage) 491
34.9 Sectoral Distribution of Post-Migration Employment Status and Current
Employment Status across Social Groups 492
35.1 Socio-demographic Characteristics of the Sample 500

35.2 Utilization of Antenatal Care among Pregnant Women 500
35.3 Delivery and Postnatal Care among Woman Who Recently Delivered 503
38.1 Percentage of Interstate Migrants in Successive Rounds of NSSO Surveys 532

38.2 Rate of Net Interstate Migration (Intercensal) in Some Major States
during 1961, 1971 and 1981 533
41.1 Migration Processes in the Study Region: Sources of Advance Payment 571
42.1 Work Status of Respondents during the Last 365 Days 580
42.2 Sources to Find Jobs 584
42.3 Sustainable Livelihood Model by Binary Logistic Regression 587
43.1 Daily Wage Rates, Labour Nakas and Work Sites 595
44.1 Demographic Characteristic of the Study Population 610

44.2 Respondents’ Family Size and Family Type 612
44.3 Religion and Social Groups of the Respondents 613
44.4 Debt of the Households and Type of Mobility 614
44.5 Multiple Sources of Debt by Type of Mobility 615
44.6 Households’ Living Characteristics by Type of Mobility 618
44.7 Household Assets’ Possession by Type of Mobility 619
45.1 Top 10 Languages with Speakers’ Strength of 10,000 and Above at the
National Level and Percentage of These Speakers to the Total
Population of India, 2011 624
xxiv HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
45.2 Growth of Hindi Language Speakers in South Indian States, 1991–2011 625
45.3 List of Non-native Languages Spoken in South Indian States, 2011 626
45.4 Percentage Share of Selected Language Speakers in South Indian States,
1991–2011626
45.5 Selected Language Speakers (in Thousands) and Their Decadal Growth
(in Per Cent) in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh, 1991–2011 626
46.1 Decomposing Migrant Status of Households According to

Rural/Urban Region in India (in Millions) 633
46.2 Distribution of Migrant Household According to Rural/Urban
Region in India (Per thousand) 633
46.3 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Family According to Origin and
Destination Place in India 633
46.4 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Family and Place of Migration
According to Origin and Destination Place in India 634
46.5 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Family According to Duration at
Destination in India 634
46.6 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Families According to Means of
Migration in India 635
46.7 Distribution of Short-term Migrant Family across the States in India 636
46.8 Short-term Migrant Family and Monthly Per Capita Consumption in
India (in migration rate) 636
46.9 Short-term Migrant Family and Usual Principal Activity Status in India
(in migration rate) 637
46.10 Short-term Migrant Family and General Education Level of
Head Member of the Household in India (in migration rate) 637
46.11 Short-term Migrant Family and Social Croups in India (in migration rate) 638
46.12 Short-term Migrant Family and Religious Groups in India (in migration rate) 638
46.13 Short-term Family Migration Rate (Migrants per 1,000) According to
Religion for All India 638
47.1 Monthly Wages of Power Loom Workers 645
48.1 Percentage Distribution of Household-Heads and Respondents by Gender 653

48.2 Percentage Distribution of Native and Non-native Settlers by Gender 654
48.3 Percentage Distribution of Relationship to Household-Head 654
48.4 Percentage Distribution of Marital Status 655
48.5 Percentage Distribution of Religion by Gender 655
48.6 Percentage Distribution of Language by Gender 655
48.7 Percentage Distribution of Social Groups by Gender 655
48.8 Percentage Distribution of Educational Status by Gender 656
48.9 Percentage Distribution of Usual Activity by Gender 656
48.10 Percentage Distribution of Household Member’s Occupation by Gender 657
48.11 Duration of Stay of the Migrants 657
48.12 Out-Migration by Destination 658
48.13 Percentage of Use of Remittances 658
List of Tables xxv
48.14 MPCE on Food and Non-food Items 659

48.15 MPCE on Education 660
48.16 MPCE on Healthcare 660
48.17 Average Monthly per Capita Savings 661
48.18 Average Investment per Annum (in `)662
48.19 Per Capita Land Possession (in Acres) 662
48.20 Overall MPCE 663
48.21 The Gini Index 668
48A.1 Monthly per Capita Consumption Expenditure Items 669
48A.2 Cumulative Frequency and Lorenz Curve of the Natives and Non-natives 670
49.1 Background Details 673
50.1 Internal Lifetime Migrants in India by Gender and Residence

(in Percentage), 1971–2011 688
50.2 Total Internal Migration in India by Gender and Residence
(in Percentage) 689
50.3 International Migrants from India (1990–2017) 689
51.1 Sources Referred for Deriving IPEX Policy Areas and Dimensions 707
51.2 IPEX Policy Indicators on Education 707
51.3 An Illustration of How IPEX Policy Indicators Are Scored 708
51.4 Policies Relevant for IPEX at the Central Level 709
51A.1 IPEX 2018 List of Policy Indicators 716
51A.2 IPEX 2018 Final Results 718
53.1 Key Maternal Health Programs in India 740

53.2 Knowledge of Maternal Health Programmes among Female Workers (n = 55) 741
54.1 Profile of Government Officials 759

54.2 Reasons for Migration 759
54.3 Barriers Faced by Government Officials and Migrants 760
54.4 Challenges Faced by Migrant Workers 760
54.5 Measures and Suggestions for Inclusiveness (of Migrants) 761
54.6 ILO Convention and Rights (for Migrant Workers) 762
55.1 Total Cess Amount Collection, Expenditure and Other Expenses

at the End of June 2015 772
55.2 Total Number of Registered Beneficiaries, Registered Workers and
Other Accident-related Information at the End of October 2015 773
56.1 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Type of

Migration, 1971–2011 782
56.2 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Stream of
Migration, 1981–2001 783
56.3 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Reasons for
Migration, 1981–2001 783
xxvi HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
56.4 Percentage of Lifetime Interstate Migrants, 1971–2001 784

56.5 Percentage of Lifetime Migrants by Their Educational Level and
Stream of Migration, 2001 785
56.6 Percentage of Interstate Migrants and Their Migration from
Rural to Urban Areas, 2001 786
56.7 Percentage Share of Interstate Migrants with Duration of 0–9 Years
Who Stated Their Reason for Migration as ‘Work/Employment’, by
Place of Origin and Educational Levels, 2001 786
56.8 Percentage of Decadal Growth Rate, Natural Growth Rate and
Migration Rates in India, 1971–2001 788
List of Abbreviations
A&N Andaman and Nicobar Islands

ADB Asian Development Bank
ADML Average dependency on mobile labour
AFMC Armed Forces Medical College
ALO Assistant Labour Officer
AMC Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
AMP Automotive Mission Plan
ANC Antenatal care
APL Above poverty line
AWC Anganwadi centres
AWW Anganwadi worker
BHU Banaras Hindu University
BOCW Building and other construction workers
BPL Below poverty line
CA Chartered accountancy
CAD Current Account Deficit
CDS Centre for Development Studies
CPI Consumer price index
CSR Corporate social responsibility
CTs Census Towns
CWC Child Welfare Committee
D&D Daman and Diu
D&N Dadra and Nagar Haveli
DDA Delhi Development Authority
DISH Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health
DLO District Labour Officer
DML Domestic migrant labour
DOTS Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course
DUSIB Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board
EAG Empowered Action Group
EI Expert interview
ESI Employee State Insurance
EU European Union
EXIM Export Import Bank
FERA Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
FGDs Focus group discussions
xxviii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
FY Financial year
GCA Gross cropped area
GDP Gross domestic product
GI Gini index
GOI Government of India
GRP Government Railway Police
GSDP Gross state domestic product
GST Goods and Services Tax
GVT Grameen Vikas Trust
HDI Human Development Index
HH Household
HP Himachal Pradesh
ICDS Integrated Child Development Services
ICTs Information and communication technologies
IDIs In-depth interviews
IFA Iron folic acid
IHDS India Human Development Survey
IIP Index number of industrial production
IIS IL&FS Institute of Skills
ILO International Labour Organization
IOM International Organization for Migration
IPEX India Migration Policy Index
ISMW Interstate Migrant Workmen Act
ISMWRA Inter-state Migrant Workmen Regulation Act
IT Information technology
J&K Jammu and Kashmir
JJ Clusters Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters
JSY Janani Suraksha Yojana
KBK Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi
KCHR Kerala Council of Historical Research
KI Key informants
KII Key informant interview
KMS Kerala Migration Survey
KMSS Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti
LC Lorenz curve
LFP Labour force participation
LFPR Labour force participation rate
LPI Livelihood promotional index
MAO Military Accounts Office
MBP Maternity Benefits Programme
MCA Multiple classification analysis
MCD Municipal Corporation of Delhi
MEA Ministry of External Affairs
MGI Migration Governance Index
MGNREGA Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
MGNREGS Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
MI Migrant I
MII Migrant II
List of Abbreviations xxix
MIII Migrant III

MIPEX Migrant Integration Policy Index
MiRC Migration Information Resource Centre
MIV Migrant IV
MNCs Multinational corporations
MORD Ministry of Rural Development
MOSPI Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
MOT Ministry of Textiles
MP Madhya Pradesh
MPCE Monthly per capita consumer expenditure
MSIL Maruti Suzuki India Limited
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
MSWU Maruti Suzuki Workers’ Union
NCAER National Council of Applied Economic Research
NCEUS National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector
NCT National Capital Territory
NELM New Economics of Labour Migration
NFHS National Family Health Survey
NGOs Non-governmental organizations
NIC National Industrial Classification
NIHL Noise-induced hearing loss
NITI National Institution for Transforming India
NM Non-migrant
NRIs Non-resident Indians
NSDC National Skill Development Council
NSS National Sample Survey
NSSO National Sample Survey Office
NTFPs Non-timber forest products
NTs Notified Tribes
OBC Other Backward Category
OEPA Overseas Employment Promotion Agency
OMI Out-migrants
ORGI Office of the Registrar General, India
ORs Odds ratios
OSDA Odisha Skill Development Authority
OSEM Odisha State Employment Mission
PARI People’s Archive of India
PCA Principal Component Analysis
PDS Public distribution system
PF Provident Fund
PO Probationary Officers
POE place of enumeration
POLR Place of last residence
PSU Public Sector Unit
QR Quintile regression
RBI Reserve Bank of India
RI Resident I
RIGA Rural Income Generating Activities
xxx HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
RII Resident II
ROM Return out-migrants
RTO Regional Transport Office
SAG Socially advantageous group
SBR Sundarban Biosphere Reserve
SC Scheduled Caste
SCS Severe cyclonic storm
SDG Sustainable Development Agenda
SEWA Self-Employed Women’s Association
SEZ Special economic zone
SHGs Self-help groups
SID Social integrationist discourse
SLA Sustainable livelihood approach
SLM Sustainable livelihood model
ST Scheduled Tribe
SUH Shelters for the Urban Homeless
TFO Two for One
TFR Total fertility rate
TMC Trinamool Congress
TMS Tamil Nadu Migration Survey
TN Tamil Nadu
TNHDR Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
TOT Trainer of trainers
UA Urban agglomeration
UCH Upper Caste Hindu
ULBs Urban local bodies
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UP Uttar Pradesh
UPR Usual place of residence
UR Unemployment rate
URGD Urban rural growth differential
UTs Union territories
WB West Bengal
WCT Works Contract Taxes
WGC World Gold Council
WPR Workforce participation rate
Foreword
I was delighted for two reasons when I received a request from Professor Rajan to write a fore-
word for this book. First, I have known and admired Rajan’s work for many years, and second,
he is the protégé of the great statistician and demographer Professor K. C. Zachariah, who turns
95 this year. It was Professor Zachariah who was tasked with preparing the first United Nations
Manual on Internal Migration in 1965, and as Chief of Migration and Urbanization at the United
Nations, I feel a sense of pride and joy that his ideas and teachings have contributed to this
handbook more than 50 years later.
The idea for this handbook was conceived during the 90th birthday celebrations of Professor
Zachariah, when the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, hosted the
International Seminar on Migration, Care Economy and Development. While various other pub-
lication ideas emerged from the conference, this handbook deserves special attention due to the
increasing relevance of internal migration and the range of issues covered.
Internal migration is a massive phenomenon. Globally, there are more than four times as
many internal migrants as there are international migrants. In recent decades, internal migration
has been rising rapidly in terms of both volume and growth, especially in developing econ-
omies. In India, for example, between 2001 and 2011, the number of internal migrants rose
from 314 million to 454 million. Assuming this trajectory, there are currently an estimated
600 million internal migrants in the country. As India and other developing nations across the
world urbanize, the intricate relationship between migration and cities has become increasingly
important for planning and policymaking.
More than half of the world’s population today lives in urban areas. By 2050, two-thirds of
our planet’s population will reside in urban areas. Almost all of the future growth of the global
human population in the coming decades will be accounted for by the growing number of city
dwellers. Cities throughout the world are contributing significantly to economic growth, and
migrants gravitate towards them in search of better life opportunities. In developing economies,
internal migration, which is predominantly spurred by employment and marriage, is a vital force
behind economic, social and political changes.
The interplay between migration and urbanization poses both challenges and opportunities
for the concerned migrants, communities, cities and governments. To harness the developmental
impacts of migration and address its challenges, national and local governments need to plan
and coordinate their activities for the benefit of all. People migrating in millions should be pro-
vided work and shelter and assisted in obtaining access to essential services. These are some of
the main issues that this handbook discusses with the utmost academic rigour.
The handbook is divided into eight sections—macro perspectives, state-level perspectives,
migration and caste, migration and gender, migration and urbanization, migration and politics,
emerging issues and migration policy. The editors have brought together some of the leading
xxxii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
experts in the field to create a comprehensive work on all major views and issues related to inter-
nal migration. I am certain that this handbook will serve as a valuable reference for researchers,
an essential read for students, a resource for planners and policymakers, as well as an important
source of information for the general public.
I congratulate and express my best wishes to the editors, Professor S. Irudaya Rajan and
Dr Sumeetha M., along with all the authors, for their outstanding contributions. I hope to see
this handbook kick off discussions and debates that will contribute to the effective management
of internal migration and maximize its contributions to development.
Vinod Mishra, PhD

Chief, Migration and Urbanization
United Nations Population Division
New York, United States of America
Preface
Completion of this handbook has been an eventful journey. The development of an idea and
transforming it into something concrete has not been an easy task. As editors of the volume, the
process of identifying relevant themes, choosing chapters, reworking them and organizing them
was time consuming but a thoroughly fulfilling task. Our passion to promote and strengthen
migration research is reflected in the shaping of this book. The idea of this book was conceived
at the International Seminar on Migration, Care Economy and Development held at the Centre
for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, during 17–19 September 2014, organized to
felicitate Professor K. C. Zachariah, a doyen of migration studies, on the occasion of his 90th
birthday. The three-day seminar, with numerous sessions, was packed with papers on migration
and development, remittances, gender and migration, tribal migration, student migration, cli-
mate change, social networks, growth of the diaspora and social costs of migration. The senior
editor, S. Irudaya Rajan, who also organized the conference, requested Sumeetha M. to join him
and develop a volume on internal migration.
Though other topics, such as Gulf migration, climate change and migration, displacement
and forced migration, migration and gender soon took shape to emerge as another volume, we
are particularly excited about this book on internal migration. Internal migration is not a topic
that has gained overwhelming global focus, although discourses are changing. This book is a
comprehensive collection of chapters authored by leading experts in the field.
It was Rajesh Dey, Managing Editor, SAGE Publications, who suggested the idea of con-
verting the edited book into a handbook on internal migration. The journey, which started with
just five chapters, went on to become a sound collection of 56 chapters in 2018. The senior
editor, who has over 35 years of research experience on population and development issues,
was instrumental in bringing scholars working in different areas of research in internal migra-
tion together to shape this handbook. For the junior editor, the journey has been an invaluable
learning experience.
As editors, we were entrusted with a huge responsibility to bring out this new idea of a
handbook. What had begun as a small concept took the shape of a dream project in a span of
three years. Bringing out this handbook has had its challenges, constraints and limitations. But
despite all the hurdles we faced, we are glad that we could put forth one of the best works on
internal migration.
Internal migration as a phenomenon has started drawing attention among policymakers,
academicians and researchers. We take this opportunity to thank Dr Arvind Subramanian, the
Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, who wrote a chapter on internal migration
titled ‘India on the Move and Churning: New Evidence in the Economic Survey 2016–17’. It
is this contemporary relevance of the subject that prompted us to compile a work on internal
migration. Since migration studies can be analysed from different thematic perspectives, in this
xxxiv HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
work, we adopted an interdisciplinary perspective. The voices that echo through these chapters
provide a fresh perspective on the dynamics of internal migration in India. The chapters in this
handbook cover almost all states in India and comprehensively deal with internal migration.
The final part of the book discusses nuances of migration policymaking, which is sure to have
widespread implications.
Post-liberal Indian economy has seen an uneven growth of cities and urban areas. The devel-
opment process has been skewed in India, attracting labour from underdeveloped regions to
production hubs. This leads to increasing urbanization coupled with increasing internal migra-
tion, which has now spread to all parts of India. We observe flow of migrant workers from the
northeastern parts of India to the far south, workers from eastern parts of India migrating to
Maharashtra and so on. This unabated flow of migrant workers has not been adequately cap-
tured by the Census or National Sample Survey data, as they often tend to ignore short-term or
circular migrants. Although policies for migrant workers have featured in plan documents of
some states, for most states, migrant workers seem to be non-existent.
Migration changes the socio-cultural dynamics of a region and offers a new set of issues to
be explored. A thorough analysis of labour migration in India can help us examine the func-
tioning of social networks and also analyse the flow of domestic remittances. These remittances
not only fuel migration but also act as an important source of survival for workers at the places
of origin. As labour markets in the country are transforming themselves, with more and more
workers joining the informal labour force, the pattern and nature of migration need to be scruti-
nized to comprehend the development process itself. This handbook is an attempt in this direc-
tion, and it tries to bring a host of factors for migration analysis, questioning the undercurrents
of the present development process.
The handbook is organized into eight broad themes, with 56 chapters, including an intro-
duction by the editors. They are: ‘Macro Perspectives’ (6 chapters), ‘State-Level Perspectives’
(10 chapters), ‘Migration and Caste’ (6 chapters), ‘Migration and Gender’ (7 chapters),
‘Migration and Urbanization’ (5 chapters), ‘Migration and Politics’ (5 chapters), ‘Emerging
Issues’ (9 chapters) and ‘Migration Policy’ (7 chapters). We plan to update the handbook every
3 years with new themes or existing themes with additional chapters by replacing some of the
published papers. Readers are requested to write to the editors for any missing themes or if they
are interested in contributing towards future editions of the handbook.
We would like to wholeheartedly thank all the contributors of this book—Santosh Mehrotra,
Arup Mitra, M. Imran Khan, Sandhya R. Mahapatro, Bhaswati Das, Rajni Singh, Pinak Sarkar,
Floriane Bolazzi, Kunal Keshri, K. C. Zachariah, S. Sunitha, Rukmini Thapa, Aijaz Ahmad
Turrey, Tulika Tripathi, Bernard D' Sami, S. Samuel Asir Raj, P. Sivakumar, S. Amuthan, M. S.
Raunaq, Nandan Kumar, Manasi Mahanty, Kalyani Vartak, Chinmay Tumbe, Amitabh Kundu,
Nidhin Donald, Bhagyoday Khandare, Himanshu Chaurasia, Sunil Sarode, Anjali Borhade,
Milind Babar, Isha Jain, Vishika Yadav, Pallavi Joshi, Karthik Prabhu, Ajay Shekhawat, Subhojit
Dey, Amrita Datta, Jajati K. Parida, S. Madheswaran, Sonia Krishna Kurup, Sunetra Ghatak,
Tina Dutta, Annapurna Shaw, Neha Rai, R. B. Bhagat, Jajati K. Parida, Ravi K. Raman, Renu
Desai, Shachi Sanghvi, Arvind Pandey, Ajit Jha, Namrata Ahirwar, Samir Kumar Das, Ranabir
Samaddar, M. Suresh Babu, Mansi Wadhwa, M. Vijayabaskar, Charvaak Pati, Shahana Purveen,
Deepak K. Mishra, Avijit Mistri, Amrita Sharma, Divya Varma, Rabiul Ansary, I. V. Prasad,
Rinju, Madhusudan Nag, Rikil Chyrmang, Helga Thomas, Govindappa Lakshmana, Meera
Sethi, Debolina Kundu, Varun Aggarwal, Saniya Singh, Nabeela Ahmed, Divya Ravindranath,
Ansari P. A., Caroline Osella, Vicky Nandgaye and U. S. Mishra. We are grateful to all of them
for their scholarly contributions to this book.
Preface xxxv
Rajesh Dey, SAGE Publications, deserves special thanks, and his suggestions and comments
have been invaluable at every stage of creation of this book. We would also like to thank
V. Sriram, Librarian, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, and the library
staff for all resources that they provided us with. Last but not the least, we would like to thank
our family members for their sustained support throughout so that we could do our best in edit-
ing this topical and relevant book.
S. Irudaya Rajan
Sumeetha M.
About the Authors
Varun Aggarwal is Founder and Lead at India Migration Now, a migration research agency
working to ensure that India grabs the opportunities migration has to offer. His past research has
focused on remittances, the integration of asylum-seekers in the European Union (EU), digital
financial inclusion in India, and nutrition and obesity in Mexico.
Namrata Ahirwar is a doctoral student at the Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute
(GBPSSI), Prayagraj, Allahabad. She is also a Junior Research Fellow of UGC (University
Grants Commission), Government of India. Her research areas include population geography,
migration, slums and maternal health.
Nabeela Ahmed is an interdisciplinary researcher at King’s College London, with a background

in critical geography. Her work focuses on social exclusion, migration and state–citizen rela-
tions in post-colonial urban contexts and uses participatory qualitative methods to understand
these areas. She has completed her doctorate at the University of Sussex, on urban migrants’
access to welfare entitlements.
S. Amuthan is a faculty member of Economics at DMI – St. Eugene University, Lusaka,

Zambia. He has worked as a Research Associate at the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. He has completed PhD in the field of internal migration
from the Department of Economics, Madras Christian College, affiliated to the University of
Madras, and has been awarded the prestigious ICSSR Fellowship and has also been awarded for
a minor research project funded by the Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust, Chennai.
Rabiul Ansary is working as an Assistant Professor (guest faculty) in Utkal University,

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Before joining Utkal University, he worked as an Assistant Professor
of Geography (contract) in Regional Institute of Education (RIE) (NCERT), Bhubaneswar. He
has completed his MPhil and PhD in the field of migration from Centre of the Study of Regional
Development (CSRD), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His research interests
include, but are not limited to, migration, livelihood, gender, public health and finance, local
economy and sanitation.
Milind Babar is a professional with more than 25 years of experience in the development and
livelihood sector. He is also involved in various legal aid and support activities for migrants. He
has completed Master’s in law and social work. He has been involved in Disha’s activities since
its inception and is working as the Head of Operations in Nashik.
xxxviii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
M. Suresh Babu currently teaches economics at the Department of Humanities and Social
Sciences at IIT Madras. He works on the issues related to the Indian economy, mainly the
industrial sector and development policy. His latest book is Hastening Slowly: India’s Industrial
Growth in the Era of Economic Reforms.
R. B. Bhagat is Professor and Head, Department of Migration and Urban Studies, International
Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He has served as Consultant
to the UNESCO–UNICEF India Initiative on migration and to the International Organization of
Migration (IOM), and Advisor to theYale University Project on Climate Change and Communication.
His research interests include population, urbanization, environment and migration issues.
Floriane Bolazzi is a PhD candidate in Economic Sociology and Labour Studies at Università
degli Studi di Milano and Université Paris Diderot. She is also affiliated to the Centre for
Social Sciences and Humanities (CSH), New Delhi, where she collaborates in the programme
‘Palanpur: India’s Economic “Revolution”: A Perspective from Six Decades of Economic
Development in a North Indian Village’.
Anjali Borhade is Founder Director of Disha Foundation. She has a PhD from the University
of Oxford in Population Health. As a public health professional, she has expertise in and is pas-
sionate about urbanization, migration, livelihood, urban health and development issues.
Himanshu Chaurasia is a Scientist-B (statistician) at the National Institute for Research in

Reproductive Health, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Parel, Mumbai. He has
Master’s and MPhil degrees in Population Studies from the IIPS. He has experience and knowl-
edge of research using statistical modelling, structured and unstructured data analysis and soft-
ware packages, such as SPSS, Stata, Epi Info, SPECTRUM, ArcGIS and MortPak.
Rikil Chyrmang is an Assistant Professor (Economics) in the Department of Economic Studies

and Policy, School of Social Science and Policy, Central University of South Bihar, Gaya. His
broad research interests are migration issues, economics of conflicts and development, Northeast
economic development and local government finance.
Bhaswati Das is a Faculty of Population Studies at the Centre for the Study of Regional
Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. She completed graduation from the
Presidency College, Kolkata, and continued higher education at the JNU. Her area of research
is population and development. Migration being one of the most complex human responses of
development, she has published several research papers in peer-reviewed national and interna-
tional journals. She has also served as a member for different consultative bodies.
Samir Kumar Das is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Calcutta, India. Previously
the Vice-Chancellor of the University of North Bengal, he served as an Adjunct Professor of
Government at the Georgetown University (2014), a Visiting Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru
University (2015) and Universite Paris 13 (2016), among many of his recent assignments.
Amrita Datta is an Assistant Professor of Development Studies at the Department of Liberal

Arts, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human
Development, New Delhi. Amrita’s research interests are in the areas of rural–urban migration,
gender and development, and village and longitudinal studies. Her research has been published
About the Authors xxxix
in several edited volumes and journals such as the Journal of Development Studies, Children’s
Geographies, Indian Journal of Labour Economics and the Economic and Political Weekly.
Renu Desai is an independent scholar based in Ahmedabad. She was Senior Research Fellow at
the Centre for Urban Equity, CEPT University, during 2013–2018. Her research examines urban
transformation, urban informality and housing in Indian cities, with a focus on equitable devel-
opment and urban citizenship. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters
and is a co-editor of Urbanising Citizenship: Contested Spaces in Indian Cities (SAGE, 2012).
Subhojit Dey is a medical practitioner with a PhD in Epidemiology from the School of Public
Health, University of Michigan. He is also Executive Director-Health at Disha Foundation. He
has opened new frontiers of public health by creating sustainable and scalable enterprises.
Nidhin Donald is a doctoral student at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive
Policy, JNU. His MPhil dissertation was a sociological study of printed and archived Syrian
Christian family histories of Kerala. His present work deals with family websites and social
reproduction of caste on new media platforms.
Tina Dutta holds a PhD in Regional Development from the Indian Institute of Management
Calcutta, an MPhil in Population Studies and an MSc in Statistics. She currently works as
Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Management at the Marwadi University, Rajkot, Gujarat.
Her research interests include migration, gender, public health and mathematical demography.
Sunetra Ghatak is a Consultant at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New
Delhi. She has completed MPhil and submitted her PhD thesis in Economics at the JNU.
Sunetra has 10 years of experience in the field of socio-economic and development research.
She has contributed several research papers on development economics in various prominent
national and international journals. Her specializations include labour, gender, education and
trade-related issues.
Isha Jain has completed graduation in dental surgery (BDS) and post-graduation from
International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), New Delhi, with specializa-
tion in public health and working in public health for around 6 years. Over the years, she had
the opportunity of working with reputed organizations such as Voluntary Health Association of
India (VHAI), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) and Disha Foundation.
Ajit Jha is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New
Delhi. He has completed his PhD (Economics) from the JNU. His research interest is in applied
macroeconomics and development economics. He is specifically working in the areas of informal
labour market, industrial organization and productivity estimation.
Pallavi Joshi is a doctoral research scholar at the Centre for Study of Regional Development,
JNU. She holds Master’s and MPhil in Geography from the centre. She is a social geographer
with a special research interest in labour health issues. This work was undertaken as a part of
her research internship at Disha Foundation.
Kunal Keshri, a PhD from the IIPS, Mumbai, is an Assistant Professor at the GBPSSI,
Allahabad. His research areas include migration and development, urbanization, environment,
xl HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
maternal and child nutrition, urban health and population ageing. He has written several research
papers on these areas.
M. Imran Khan has completed PhD (Economics) from the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram, which is affiliated to the JNU. His primary interests are labour and devel-
opment economics. Specific topics of interests include labour migration, labour markets in
developing countries, education, healthcare, social and economic inequality, housing, employ-
ment and programme evaluation.
Bhagyoday Khandare is a Project Officer with the National Aids Control Organization,
Mumbai. He also has Master’s and MPhil degrees in Population Studies from IIPS. He has
experience and knowledge of research using statistical modelling, structured and unstructured
data analysis and software packages such as SPSS, Stata, Epi Info, SPECTRUM and ArcGIS.
Nandan Kumar is a Programme Officer at the National CSR Hub, Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. He is a geographer cum demographer and has completed PhD from
the IIPS, Mumbai. As part of his dissertation, he has worked on rural distress migration and
livelihood diversification.
Amitabh Kundu is Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for
Developing Countries. He has been the Regional Advisor on Poverty at UNESCWA, Beirut;
Consultant to the Government of Sri Lanka on urban issues; and member of the National
Statistical Commission. He has been Professor and Dean at the School of Social Sciences, JNU.
Debolina Kundu is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Urban Affairs, India, with
over 20 years of professional experience in the field of development studies. She has worked
as a consultant with ADB, LSE, IIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCAP, KfW, GIZ, Urban Institute
and East-West Centre on urbanization, migration, urban policies, municipal finance, governance
and exclusion.
Sonia Krishna Kurup is a research scholar at the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s
Studies Centre, Savitribai Phule Pune University. She has obtained her MA from the Centre for
Historical Studies, JNU, New Delhi. She is currently researching the historical specificities of
internal labour migration in India from a feminist perspective.
Govindappa Lakshmana is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work, Central

University of Karnataka.
Sumeetha M. is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences and

Business Studies, Christ University, BGR Campus, Bengaluru. She was awarded a PhD in
Economics by the JNU, in December 2015. Her doctoral work at the CDS, Thiruvananthapuram,
focused on migrant workers and the changing labour process in the gold jewellery-making
industry in Kerala, India. Her research interests include migration, labour process, traditional
industries and globalization studies. She has over 10 years of research experience in migration
studies and has a number of publications to her credit. She has also presented her work in
national and international conferences.
About the Authors xli
S. Madheswaran is a Professor at Centre for Economic studies and Policy, Institute for Social
and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. He has been engaging in teaching and researching
Applied Econometrics for the past 20 years. He has worked as an adviser to the Government of
Karnataka (India) and also as Chief Evaluation Officer at the Karnataka Evaluation Authority,
which is an independent evaluation body of the Government of Karnataka.
Manasi Mahanty is a Lecturer in the P. G. Department of Political Science at Rayagada

Autonomous College, Odisha. She is a recipient of the Indian Council for Social Science
Research (ICSSR) Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme on Labour Migration from University
of Hyderabad. She has been involved with numerous research projects on issues of migration
and gender over the last one decade.
Sandhya R. Mahapatro is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the A N Sinha Institute of

Social Studies, Patna. She has completed PhD from ISEC, Bangalore, and postdoctorate from
the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her areas of work are mainly related to popula-
tion and development issues with a focus on migration, health and labour.
Santosh Mehrotra is a Professor of Economics at the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour
Studies, JNU. After an MA in Economics from the New School for Social Research, New
York, and a PhD from the Cambridge University (1985), Mehrotra was Associate Professor of
Economics at JNU (1988–1991). He spent 15 years with the UN in research positions, heading
UNICEF’s global research programme at Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, and as Chief
Economist, Global Human Development Report, New York. He returned to India to head the
Development Policy Division of Planning Commission, Government of India. He was also
the Director General (2009–2014) of the National Institute of Labour Economics Research,
Planning Commission. See www.wikipedia/santoshmehrotra
Deepak K. Mishra is a Professor of Economics at the Centre for the Study of Regional
Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. His research interests are politi-
cal economy of agrarian change, rural livelihoods and agrarian institutions, migration, gender
and human development. He co-authored The Unfolding Crisis in Assam’s Tea Plantations:
Employment and Occupational Mobility (2012) and edited Internal Migration in Contemporary
India (SAGE, 2016). Recently, he has co-edited Rethinking Economic Development in Northeast
India: The Emerging Dynamics (2017).
U. S. Mishra is a statistician/demographer and Professor at the Centre for Development Studies,

Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, India. He is engaged in research and teaching on population and devel-
opment issues and has a number of national and international publications to his credit. In recent
times, he has served in various capacities in guiding scientific research in social sciences. During
the two-and-a-half decades of his teaching and research experience, he has contributed research
to the areas of ageing, health, nutrition as well as population policy and programme evaluation.
Avijit Mistri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Nistarini Women’s

College, Purulia, and a guest lecturer at the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. He has
done extensive work on climate change and migration, especially on the Sundarban Biosphere
Reserve of India, environmental legislation and livelihood conflicts, Environmental Kuznets
Curve and water sustainability.
xlii HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
Arup Mitra is a Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, and is cur-
rently the Director General, National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development.
His research interests include development studies, urban economics, labour and welfare, industrial
growth and productivity and gender inequality—areas in which he has several publications. He has
been a consultant to a number of international organizations and has worked as a senior researcher
at the ILO. He held the Indian Economy Chair at Sciences Po, Paris, in 2010. He has also been a vis-
iting scholar at the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan, and visiting Professor at the Nagoya
University, Japan. He was awarded the Mahalanobis Gold Medal by the Indian Econometric Society
for his outstanding contribution to quantitative economics.
Madhusudan Nag is a PhD scholar at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram,
which is affiliated to the JNU, New Delhi. He is currently working on the political economy
of labour migration in India for his PhD thesis. He has completed MA in Economics from the
School of Economics, University of Hyderabad.
Vicky Nandgaye is doctoral research scholar at the School of Management and Labour Studies,
TISS, Mumbai. His field of research includes informal labour market, decent work, migration
and e-commerce. He has published papers on ‘Mathadi Workers in Maharashtra’ and ‘Decent
Work and Informal Labour Market’.
Caroline Osella taught social anthropology at SOAS, London, for 20 years and has recently
shifted to the University of Sussex Global Studies. She not only continues to research about
Kerala migrants to the Gulf but is also moving towards broader questions around identities and
belongings in coastal towns. Caroline also writes fiction and is an active blogger at: https://
blogs.soas.ac.uk/osella-realm/en/, https://worthingethnographic.com/
Ansari P. A. is a doctoral fellow (Human Rights) in the Department of Political Science,

Aligarh Muslim University, India. His topic of research is socio-economic rights and challenges
of migrants in Kerala, India. His areas of interest are social and economic rights and internal
migration.
Arvind Pandey is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi. He
is part of the GCRF Centre for Sustainable, Healthy and Learning Cities and Neighbourhoods—
an international consortium of nine research partners, based at University of Glasgow, UK. His
research interest lies in the dynamics of internal and international migrations, urban policies and
social protection.
Jajati K. Parida is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies, Central University
of Punjab, India. He has also worked at the National Institute of Labour Economics Research
and Development and at the College of Vocational Studies, University of Delhi. His research
areas include migration, employment, regional development, poverty and human development.
Charvaak Pati is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography at York University,

Toronto. His research interests are labour geography, trade union movement, migration and
development studies.
Shahana Purveen is an ICDD doctoral researcher at the School of Social Sciences, TISS,
Mumbai. As a part of her PhD, she visited COMPAS, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
About the Authors xliii
Karthik Prabhu is Managing Director at Anugraha Clinical Care and Foundation, Kerala. He
is a medical practitioner and post-graduated from the School of Public Health, SRM Institute
of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University), Chennai. He has 7 years of
clinical experience in medicine and 2 years of research experience in community participation,
mobilization and research. He has worked with Disha Foundation as a Research Coordinator.
I. V. Prasad holds an MPhil in Population Sciences from IIPS, Mumbai, and is currently work-
ing as a Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala. He has worked on issues related to migration, urbanization, gender, health and ageing.
S. Samuel Asir Raj is the Head of Department of Sociology at the Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. He has the distinction of having created the first Centre for
International and Diaspora Studies in Tamil Nadu to study the Tamil diaspora. He is actively
involved in the human rights issues in Tamil Nadu, and is presently involved in studying child
health and nutrition issues in anganwadis, the problems of the differently abled in obtaining
education and the complex issues faced by the pastoral communities—a study funded by the
ICSSR, New Delhi.
S. Irudaya Rajan is Professor at Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram,

Kerala. With more than three decades of research experience at the CDS, Kerala, he has coor-
dinated eight major migration surveys in Kerala since 1998 (with Professor K. C. Zachariah);
conducted migration surveys in Goa (2008) and Tamil Nadu (2015); and provided technical sup-
port to the Gujarat Migration Survey (2010) and the Punjab Migration Survey (2011). He has
published extensively in national and international journals on social, economic, demographic,
psychological and political implications of migration.
Professor Rajan is currently engaged in several projects on international migration with the
European Union, the World Bank and the UAE Exchange Centre, Abu Dhabi. He works closely
with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India; the Department of Non-Resident
Keralite Affairs, Government of Kerala; and the Kerala State Planning Board. He is editor of the
annual series India Migration Report since 2010 and the founder editor-in-chief of the journal
Migration and Development since 2012.
Neha Rai is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the S. S. Khanna Girls Degree College,
University of Allahabad. She is pursuing PhD on ‘Women in Homeland: Socio-cultural Impact
of Male Migration on Left-behind Women of Jaunpur District’ at GBPSSI. Her research inter-
ests include gender and its stereotypes, life world of women, their struggles and vulnerability
during migration.
Ravi K. Raman is a member of the State Planning Board, Government of Kerala. Until recently,
he was Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. He has been
a visiting Fellow at Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester for various periods. He is also an
Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Development Studies, SOAS, London, and
an affiliated researcher on Egalitarianism at the University of Bergen and a visiting Research
Fellow at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. He is the author of Global
Capital and Peripheral Labour (2010, 2012, 2015), editor of Development, Democracy and
the State (2010) and Corporate Social Responsibility (with Ronnie Lipschutz) (2010) and has
contributed to journals such as Review of International Political Economy, Review of Radical
xliv HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
Political Economics, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Nature and Culture,
Social Analysis, Sociology and Business History Review.
M. S. Raunaq is a PhD scholar and UGC-Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic
Studies and Planning, JNU.
Divya Ravindranath is a post-doctoral researcher at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements
(IIHS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Her dissertation work is focused on maternal health and
child malnutrition among households engaged in construction work (Washington University in
St Louis). On completion of Master’s degree from TISS, Mumbai, Divya worked with several
not-for-profit organisations in various parts of urban and rural India. She has recently been a
visiting faculty at CEPT, Ahmedabad, where she taught qualitative research methods to masters
and doctoral students.
Rinju is a research scholar at the IIPS, Mumbai, and is currently working as a Junior Research
Fellow at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She works on
migration, women and child health issues.
Ranabir Samaddar is currently the Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced Migration
Studies, Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata, India. He belongs to the critical school of thinking
and is considered one of the foremost theorists in the field of migration and forced migration stud-
ies. His writings on nation-state, migration, labour and urbanization have signalled a new turn in
critical postcolonial thinking. Among his influential works are Memory, Identity, Power: Politics
in the Junglemahals, 1890–1950 (1998), The Marginal Nation: Transborder Migration from
Bangladesh to West Bengal (1999) and Beyond Kolkata: Rajarhat and the Dystopia of Urban
Imagination (co-authored) (2014). His latest work is Karl Marx and the Postcolonial Age (2017).
Bernard D' Sami is a Senior Fellow at the Loyola Institute of Social Science Training and
Research, Loyola College, Chennai. He served as an Associate Professor (1984–2015) and
Head of the Department of History and Politics at Loyola College, Chennai. He is a Guest fac-
ulty at IIT Madras. He is also a media commentator and a columnist.
Shachi Sanghvi is a Research Associate at the Centre for Urban Equity, CEPT University. The
studies she has worked on explore the relationship of the urban poor with the city. She has a
Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a Master’s in Habitat
Policy and Practice from TISS.
Pinak Sarkar is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Development Practice and Research,
TISS, Patna. He has completed PhD in Economics at the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram, and has worked extensively on issues of internal migration in India,
health economics and health technology assessment.
Sunil Sarode is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Migration and Urban Studies
at IIPS, Mumbai. He is pursuing a PhD on Barriers to Healthcare and Treatment for Nepali
Migrants Living with HIV/AIDS from TISS. His area of research is migration and health.
Meera Sethi is an International Consultant on migration policy and development with 35 years
of experience managing humanitarian, development and migration-related programmes in var-
ious regions, such as Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. She retired in 2017 from
About the Authors xlv
the UN International Organization for Migration as the Director General’s Special Envoy to
India, having served previously in senior positions in Geneva, Turkey and Ethiopia. She made
significant contributions to high-level policy dialogues, academic seminars, training events and
technical reports/publications in the area of migration.
Amrita Sharma leads the Centre for Migration and Labour Solutions, a knowledge institution
specializing in seasonal labour migration and informality studies, set up by Aajeevika Bureau.
She has published on changes in India’s agricultural demography, political economy of internal
migration in India and creative practices and policies on reducing the associated vulnerabilities.
Annapurna Shaw is a recently retired Professor of Public Policy and Management Group,
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. She has worked in areas of urban policy and plan-
ning, sustainable cities, informal economy and economic development. Her books include The
Making of Navi Mumbai, Indian Cities in Transition and Indian Cities.
Ajay Shekhawat has been working in public health for around 6 years. He has completed
post-graduation from IIHMR, New Delhi, with specialization in public health. He has worked
with Disha Foundation on a study on livelihood migration and health issues of migrants.
Rajni Singh is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development,
School of Social Sciences, JNU. She has completed MPhil in Population Studies and is pursuing
PhD on Socio-Economic Implications of International Migration from Uttar Pradesh from JNU.
She has presented several papers on migration issues in national and international conferences.
Saniya Singh is a Commonwealth Scholar with a Master’s in Global Politics from the London
School of Economics. She is currently working at UNODC in Vienna as a Youth Advocate for
the Sustainable Development Goals. She is also an Associate Member with India Migration
Now, where she contributes towards establishing an inclusive and effective policy regime for
migrants in India.
P. Sivakumar is a Faculty in the Department of Development Studies at Rajiv Gandhi National

Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Tamil Nadu, India. He has completed Post-Doctoral
Fellowship from IIT Delhi (ICPR Fellowship) and PhD from University of Kerala.
S. Sunitha is a Research Associate at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram,

Kerala. She has completed PhD in Demography from the University of Kerala. She has been
part of various research projects and has presented various research papers nationally and inter-
nationally. She has a research experience of over 10 years. She has published her works in
various journals on different demographic aspects.
Rukmini Thapa is an independent researcher. She has completed PhD in Economics from
the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU. Her research interests are linkages
between labour migration and the agrarian question in India and the political economy of
uneven development.
Helga Thomas is a PhD Scholar in the Department of Social Work, Central University of
Karnataka, Karnataka.
xlvi HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
Tulika Tripathi has a PhD in Economics from the Banaras Hindu University and a postdoc-
torate from the University of Chicago, USA. She is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the
Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar. Dr Tripathi has presented more than 10 research
papers in internationally reputed journals, published one book and two research project reports
on issues of health, gender, labour, migration, rural transformation and informal sector, apart
from supervising research students in a teaching and research career of seven years.
Chinmay Tumbe is a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, with
research interests in migration studies, urban economics and business and economic history. He
is the author of India Moving: A History of Migration.
Aijaz Ahmad Turrey is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Studies in Economics and Planning
at Central University of Gujarat (CUG). He completed MPhil from CUG and Masters in
Economics from the University of Kashmir. His areas of interest are labour, migration and
economic growth.
Divya Varma anchors the Policy and Partnerships work at Aajeevika Bureau and has led
diverse partnerships with a range of stakeholders in the labour and migration policy ecosystem.
A Fulbright Scholar, Divya holds a degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government and a postgraduate diploma from the Institute of Rural Management
Anand.
Kalyani Vartak is a doctoral candidate at TISS, Mumbai. Her research interests include migra-
tion, urban development and women’s studies.
M. Vijayabaskar is a Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. His

research centers on political economy of regional development with a research focus on labour
and land markets, industrial dynamics and rural–urban transformations as they are shaped by
social institutions, processes of marketization and other policy interventions. He has published
in numerous scholarly journals and media outlets, including the Indian Express, Economic
Times and the Financial Express.
Mansi Wadhwa is pursuing PhD in Public Policy at the George Washington University,
Washington, DC. She has completed Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Hertie School of
Governance, Berlin. Her research interests include social and labor policy, gender, microfinance
and migration.
Vishika Yadav is a trained medical doctor (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) and
Masters in Public Health (MPH). She has been working with Disha Foundation for last 4 years
handling projects on migration, public health, livelihood and women empowerment.
K. C. Zachariah is an Honorary Professor at the Centre for Development Studies,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was a Senior Demographer at the World Bank from 1971 to
1989, Washington, DC; the United Nations expert on demography at the Cairo Demographic
Centre (1966–1970) and Deputy Director at the International Institute for Population Sciences,
Mumbai (1957–1966). He has coordinated migration surveys in Kerala since 1998 and has pub-
lished extensively in national and international journals on social, economic and demographic
implications of international migration.
PART I
Introduction
1
Migrant Odysseys
S. Irudaya Rajan
Sumeetha M.
Internal migration is often associated with the sugarcane workers in small industry and hotel
urbanization, modernization and industrializa- workers, there are a few workers who occupy
tion debate in India. The trajectory of migra- higher positions in the labour hierarchy. In the
tion has taken an interesting turn in the present context of migration, state policies and poli-
economy because urban growth is considered tics become a determining factor. One of the
as development and the country is promoting single most important economic reasons that
urbanization in the form of the ‘smart cities’ fuels migration is the remittances transferred
project. In addition, migration is gendered and by migrants to their family members back
also segmented depending on various caste/ home.
tribe, religious and regional identities. The The general trend of internal migration
structural changes in the Indian economy post reflects that migrants are mostly youth, indi-
liberalization made the labour market more cating the role of demographic dividend in
informal and accentuated internal migration. accelerating the patterns of migration in India.
Migrant workers often find it difficult to enter It is easier for young, single male migrants
the formal labour market as their network is to find work and undertake long journeys to
constrained and they have limited bargaining diverse work locations—from the Northeast
power. Migrant organizations and collectives to Kerala (Rajan and Chyrmang, 2016). The
are important to assess how migrants perceive debate on gender and migration is also rel-
themselves in the labour market and in the evant as feminization of labour continues.
new society. Gender identities and livelihood strategies are
Despite migration being visualized as a cru- in a flux because of the accentuating internal
cial strategy to eradicate poverty among poor migration. Social networks play a crucial role
households, migrant groups may be forced in enabling and sustaining migration to new
into neo-bondage and precarious employ- locations. The movement of people across
ment because of continuous debt and broker- national boundaries has received some atten-
age at different phases of migration. Though tion as it directly relates to remittances, and
there are sections of workers who are tied therefore, resonates with the growth of nations
to a workplace, such as brick-kiln workers, that send migrants.
4 HANDBOOK OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA
Internal migration on the other hand is per- political hierarchies in the cities. This in
ceived as a relatively easier movement of turn tends to replicate the position, status
labour because internal boundaries are porous. and power of the migrants at the destination
Certain glaring concerns related to internal (Mahanirban Policy Briefs, 2016). Thus, the
migration, such as wages, labour conditions, migration outcomes link the source and des-
identity issues, worker organizations, pov- tination areas to form a vicious circle. Often,
erty and remittances, are often ignored from upward mobility is very difficult for margin-
the policy perspective. In fact, in the Indian alized groups as they have limited access to
economy, migrants are invisible in the policy better jobs in the destination areas. Only few
debate. who settle down in the city are able to margin-
The post-liberal Indian economy has seen ally improve their situation and perhaps create
an uneven growth of cities. The developed better scope for their children.
areas are hubs of capital growth and expan- Migration from one area to another in
sive activities that attract and/or forcibly pull search of improved livelihoods is a key fea-
labour force from underdeveloped areas, ture of human history. While some regions
thereby creating the phenomenon of migra- and sectors fall behind in their capacity to
tion. Urbanization, growth of service sector, support populations, others move ahead and
infrastructure development and growth of people migrate there to access these emerg-
informal employment require abundant cheap ing opportunities. Industrialization widens the
labour in the cities and migrants are the only gap between rural and urban areas, inducing
source. Neoliberal policies pursued in India a shift of the workforce towards industrial-
have accelerated the pace of internal migra- ized areas. There is extensive debate on the
tion (Moses and Rajan, 2012). We cannot sep- factors that cause populations to shift, from
arate labour migration from the broader social those that emphasize individual rationality
relations of production both at the source and household behaviour to those that cite the
and destination areas. The internal migration structural logic of capitalist development (de
phenomenon creates a classic relationship Haan & Rogaly, 2002). Moreover, numerous
between labour and capital at both the source studies show that the process of migration is
and destination areas. In the course of this influenced by social, cultural and economic
relationship, the labour undergoes marginali- factors and the outcomes can be vastly differ-
zation, fragmentation, violence, vulnerabili- ent for men and women, for different groups
ties, lack of adequate access to social services, and different locations (ibid.). There was a
various levels of exploitation, exclusion and quantum leap in the growth rate of female
lack of bargaining power. The insecure con- migrants from 0.4 per cent in 1991 to 7.5 per
dition of poor urban migrants is immensely cent in 2011. This rate was twice that of male
influenced by the social structure and produc- migration. Thus, female migration for work
tion relations at the source areas. and study is on the rise (Rajan & Srinivasan,
Circular migrants are those who are 2018).
involved in seasonal occupations at the In the past few decades, new patterns
destination. Caste and class hierarchies, land- have emerged challenging old paradigms.
lessness, meagre wages, lack of adequate First, there has been a shift of the workforce
work, lack of ‘skills’, partial mechanization towards the service sector in both developed
of farm production and debt shape their socio- and developing countries, as there has been
economic and political position, status and job creation in this sector. In developing coun-
power in the source areas. These structural tries, the majority of the labour force shift
conditions accompany the rural migrants, towards the secondary/tertiary sector has been
intertwined with the socio-economic and slow and has been dominated by an expansion
Migrant Odysseys 5
of the ‘informal’ sector. This has expanded dynamic components of population growth in
over time. In countries like India, permanent the modern world.
shifts of population and workforce exist side The Census of India is the single largest
by side with the ‘circulatory’ flow of popula- source of data on migration characteristics of
tion between lagging and developed regions the people of India. Migration in the Census
and between rural and urban areas, mostly in of India is of two types—migration by place
the unorganized sector of the economy. These of birth and by place of last residence. When a
movements show little sign of abating with person is enumerated in the Census at a place,
development. that is, a village or town, different from her/
The introduction has been organized into his place of birth, she/he would be considered
two broad sections. The first section ‘Migrant a migrant by place of birth. A person would
Odysseys’ is divided into four subsections. be considered a migrant by place of last res-
The first subsection deals with the macro per- idence, if she/he had last resided at a place
spectives of internal migration, the second other than her/his place of enumeration. In
looks at how micro studies are relevant to the 2001, 309 million persons were migrants based
question of internal migration and the third on place of last residence, which constituted
subsection explores the concepts of urbani- about 30 per cent of the total population of the
zation, smart cities and growing migration. It country (Table 1.1). This figure indicates an
also reviews the state policy in the liberalized increase of around 37 per cent from the 1991
Indian economy and how it can be made more Census that recorded 226 million migrants.
inclusive to bring migrants into its ambit. The Thus, migrants constitute around 30 per cent
second section is devoted to the organization of the total population, with male and female
of the chapters in the handbook. migrants constituting 18 per cent and 45 per
cent of their populations, respectively. Of
the total migrants, 87 per cent were migrants
within the state of enumeration while 13 per
MIGRANT ODYSSEYS cent were interstate migrants. Among the male
migrants, 79 per cent moved within the state of
Macro View of Internal Migration enumeration while 21 per cent moved between
states. Among female migrants, 90 per cent
The UNDP Human Development Report 2009 were intrastate migrants and 10 per cent were
states that there are four times as many internal interstate migrants. In all the censuses, rural
migrants in the world as there are international to rural migration stream has been the most
migrants (UNDP, 2009, p. 22). The ultimate important. Female migrants constitute a sig-
decisions that enable mobility of people as nificantly higher proportion of rural migrants
well as their direction of movement are com- mainly on account of marriage. As regards to
plex and involve a number of factors in differ- long distance (interstate) movement in India, a
ent ways. The 2001 Census of India reported clear sex differential is observed from the 2001
that there are 309 million internal migrants. Census. Among the male interstate migrants,
Of these, nearly 70.7 per cent are female the rural-to-urban stream emerged as the most
migrants. Two-thirds of migrants are rural prominent accounting for 47 per cent of the
(67.2%) and only 32.7 per cent are urban. At total number. On the other hand, rural to rural
the time of finalizing the introduction for the migration has remained the major pattern of
handbook, only one table on migration based female movement, with 36 per cent of them
on the 2011 census was released and availa- migrating from rural to rural areas. When inter-
ble at public domain. This is an indication of state migration is taken into account, employ-
how data-producing organizations give impor- ment emerges as the main reason for migration.
tance to the subject of migration—one of the
Table 1.1 Workforce and Migration for Economic Reasons, Based on the 1991–2011 Census
Indicators 1991 2001 2011 2001–2011
Workforce (in millions) Total 317 402 482 1.8

Male 227 275 332 1.9
Female 90 127 150 1.7
Migrants stating economic reasons Total 26 33 51 4.5
for migration (in millions) Male 22 29 42 4.0
Female 4 4 8 7.5
Migrants stating economic reasons Total 8.1 8.1 10.5 NA
for migration as a share of workforce Male 9.6 10.4 12.7 NA
(%)
Female 4.4 3.2 5.7 NA
Migrants who moved within last one Total 1.4 2.2 3.5 59
year, stating economic reasons for Male 1.1 1.7 2.8 65
migration (in millions)
Female 0.3 0.5 0.7 40
Flow/Stock ratio (%) among migrants Total 5.4 6.7 6.9 NA
who moved for economic reasons Male 5.0 5.9 6.6 NA
Female 7.6 12.1 8.2 NA
Source: Ministry of Finance (2017).
Nearly 32 per cent of all interstate migrants (May–September 1955), NSSO conducted a
during the intercensal period migrated for the number of surveys to collect data on migration
reason of employment. as part of its employment and unemployment
According to the Economic Survey enquiries. Prior to the 55th round survey, data
2016–17, the interstate labour mobility
on migration was collected during the 49th
between 2001 and 2011 was at an average round survey through Schedule 1.2 which
of 5–6 million, which resulted in an inter- had a comprehensive coverage, including,
state migrant population of 60 million and inter alia, housing conditions and migration
an interdistrict migrant population as high in India.
as 80 million. Labour mobility in India cuts Migration to large metropolises was signif-
across language and regional barriers and the icant in 1991–2001 with the Greater Mumbai
Economic Survey highlights the need for more Urban Agglomeration (UA) accounting for
robust policies to ensure social protection. The 2.49 million migrants, Delhi UA account-
growth rate of migrants between 1991 and ing for 2.11 million migrants, Chennai UA
2001 (4.5% per annum) was much higher than accounting for 0.43 million migrants, to name
the workforce growth rate (1.8% per annum). the three largest urban destinations. As the
In the period 2001–2011, according to census trend in migration to large UAs continued, the
estimates, the annual rate of growth of labour 2011 Census showed a growth in population in
migrants nearly doubled relative to the previ- these places. The estimate from NSSO figures
ous decade, rising to 4.5 per cent per annum reveals a steady increase in internal migration
in 2001–2011 from 2.4 per cent in 1991–2011 from 24.8 per cent in 1992–1993 to 28.5 per
(Ministry of Finance, 2017). cent in 2007–2008, which is also supported by
Various surveys conducted by the National the census figures.
Sample Survey Office (NSSO) are also According to the 2011 Census, there are
important sources of migration data. To 454 million Indians who are migrants based
assess the volume and structure of migra- on the place of residence. In other words, 37
tion in India, starting from the ninth round per cent of Indians are internal migrants. Let
Migrant Odysseys 7
Table 1.2 Duration of Residence and of more than one month but not exceeding
Migration six months for employment; and (v) return
Duration of Percentage of Migrants to migrants. However, except in the case of UPR
Residence the Total Migrants in India migrants, strictly comparable estimates are
Less than one year 4.6
not available from the earlier rounds.
1–4 years 15.8
Despite improvement in coverage of sea-
5–9 years 15.2
sonal/circular migrants, NSSO estimates are
still inadequate for such migrants because of
10 years and above 64.4
two major reasons. First, in many cases, the
Source: Calculated from the 2011 Census, Migration seasonal/circular migration cycle is longer
Tables.
than six months. Second, quite often, entire
households and not just individuals participate
us review the status of internal migrants by the in seasonal migration.
duration of residence (Table 1.2). According to the 64th round of NSSO, about
On the one hand, short-term migration is a 43 per cent of Delhi’s population are migrants
rising phenomenon in India. About 5 per cent with over half coming from Uttar Pradesh
of the total migrants are short-term migrants and Bihar. Internal migration has dipped in
who have been residing in the new place for Maharashtra and surged in Tamil Nadu and
less than a year. Increasing manufacturing Kerala reflecting a growing pull of southern
output with campaigns like Skill India and states in India’s migration (Economic Review,
Make in India demands an increase in employ- 2016). The youth in India first undertake rural-
ment opportunities, which further requires to-urban or urban-to-urban migration within
employment of migrant workers. On the other the country to find lucrative employment or
hand, long-term migration is on the increase intermediary services to support international
as 64 per cent of the migrants have moved to migration in the near future (MOSPI, 2017).
their residence for more than 10 years and are Another source to understand internal
staying there even now. migration and remittances and their eco-
One of the main lacunae of both the nomic and social implications is the Indian
census and NSSO surveys is their failure Human Development Survey (IHDS). The
to adequately capture seasonal, short-term IHDS conducted the first round of a nationally
and circular migration, and their coverage is representative survey of 41,554 households
best suited for permanent migrants and only encompassing 1,503 villages and 971 urban
reasonably adequate for semi-permanent neighbourhoods in 2004–2005 and the second
migrants (National Workshop on Internal round of almost 42,152 households in 2011–
Migration and Human Development in India: 2012. Like other surveys, we cannot estimate
Workshop Compendium, 2012). However, internal migration from the IHDS because of
while the census has confined itself to the two its small sample size.
definitions of a migrant (place of birth and last The Centre for Development Studies,
residence) over the last 50 years, the NSSO Kerala has conducted migration surveys since
has tried to collect information on migration 1998 in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Goa and
flows from different perspectives. The 64th Gujarat, and they provide reliable estimates
round of the NSSO, which is the recent and for both internal and international migrations.
most comprehensive round on migration, col- However, it is not available at an all-India
lects data on (i) migrants as per the usual place level to examine internal migration by states
of residence (UPR) approach; (ii) migrant and union territories. One of the solutions to
households; (iii) out-migrating individuals; this problem is to conduct an India Migration
(iv) seasonal or short-term migrants, that is, Survey every five years (in the pattern of
those who have out-migrated for a period
the National Family Health Survey) so that relies on a series of micro studies that deal
migrants are more visible in India’s economy with seasonal migration in West Bengal,
and society. Bihar, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh and Jharkhand (Breman, 1996, 2003;
De Haan, 2003; De Haan & Rogaly, 2002;
Deshingkar & Akter, 2007; Deshingkar &
The Relevance of Micro Studies in
Farrington, 2009; Rajan, 2011, 2016a, 2016b;
Internal Migration
Rao & Mitra, 2013). These works stress the
The official data sources in India, Census of importance of remittances and view migra-
India and NSSO, focus more on long-term tion within India to be extremely gendered.
migration. In 1999–2000, the 55th round of Lerche (2009) views migration as a part of the
NSSO made an attempt to assess temporary development process in India where most of
migration and reported gross figures of tem- the poor persons used migration as a path for
porary migration for work in India (only 1% social and economic mobility. This involves
of the total population). However, it is in using powerless, extremely poor and vulner-
this context that micro-level studies help us able groups, who are easily incorporated into
understand the extent and volume of inter- informal industries as workers in all parts of
nal migration in the country. Mobility need the country. This is extremely significant in
not always be linear and it depends on vari- understanding the spread and extent of the
ous socio-economic conditions. Patterns of phenomenon of migration in India. Guerin
movement are determined by context-specific and Venkatasubramanian (2009) look into the
and complex dynamics, mediated by social working lives of migrant brick-kiln workers in
networks, gender relations and household Thiruvalluvar district of Tamil Nadu, whereas
structures (De Haan et al., 2002). Migration Craswell and DeNeeve (2014) probe into the
literatures, especially those pertaining to inter- workplace dynamics among Gounders and
nal migration, have discussed circular migra- Matharis in Tiruppur knitwear industry in
tion (Standing, 1989), distress migration and Tamil Nadu. An estimated 0.3 million labour-
other forms of temporary migration. Circular ers migrate for work from the drought-prone
movement from rural areas is now an impor- Balangir district in western Odisha every year
tant livelihood strategy and is emerging as a (Deshingkar, 2003). The studies of Srivastava
dominant form of movement amongst poorer (1998) and Byres (1999) also found that sea-
sections in India. About 10 million poor sonal migration from rural areas for manual
people move away from their usual places of work has increased dramatically in India since
residence to find work for short periods rang- the 1960s. Rogaly et al. (2001) estimated that
ing from a few weeks to months (Deshingkar over 0.5 million people, parents and children,
& Grimm, 2005). The village-level studies migrate seasonally in the rice-producing dis-
in major states of India, Rajasthan, Madhya trict of Bardhaman in West Bengal each year
Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and from the surrounding districts and the neigh-
Uttar Pradesh, documented vast and growing bouring Jharkhand state, erstwhile south
numbers of short-term internal out-migrants Bihar.
accounting for nearly 30 million or more Most studies stress the importance of social
migrants (Deshingkar, 2006). Standing’s networks (Massey et al., 1993; Rogaly et al.,
(1985) analysis of migration visualizes the 2001) and question the inability of migrants
migratory process in India as a new form of to find a path towards upward mobility. The
proletarianization and as a disciplining mech- lack of proper wages and employment oppor-
anism and focuses on the importance of remit- tunities in the native place are considered as
tances. Recent research on internal migration the problems leading to migration (Breman
Migrant Odysseys 9
& Guerin, 2009). Breman’s (1996) work on involvement in labour markets and changes in
migrants in Gujarat’s sugarcane cutting indus- workers’ tastes, perceptions and attitudes. The
try demonstrates the enormous extent of a latter are less tangible but nonetheless of great
footloose labour force with complete lack of significance.
social protection mechanisms. Social security The impact on gender relations as a result
provisions, and health and safety issues for of migration is complex. Sometimes single
migrants in the workplace are highlighted in women or widows accompany other family
literature. Neo-bondage of migrants arising workers or kinsfolk in a migration stream
from monetary advances from their employers (National Workshop on Internal Migration
and the extremely crucial role that ‘Mukadam’ and Human Development in India: Workshop
or middlemen play in recruiting migrants are Compendium, 2012). Migration can lead to
widely discussed in literature. Thus, objective greater freedom, cash incomes and change in
conditions of work and structural constraints attitudes among the migrating women (Shah,
that workplaces impose on migrants become 2006), but may also expose them to exploita-
crucial components of internal migration in tion and sexual harassment at the workplace
India. These studies successfully capture the (Sardamoni, 1995). Except in such cases,
drudgery of migrants in new destinations, and women have been generally known to par-
in some sense understand the ways in which ticipate in the migration streams along with
they try to minimize their hardships (Rajan, male members of their households. It is usual
Korra & Chyrmang, 2011, 2016a, 2016b; in such cases for younger siblings and older
Rajan & Mishra, 2011). children to accompany their parents and work
The NSSO report estimates that the total along with them. This negatively affects the
remittances by out-migrants amounted to participation of these children in education.
`493.5 billion in 2007–2008, of which At the destinations, the women and the girl
internal migrants contributed the lion’s child also have to cope with household work
share—about two-thirds—while the remain- and sibling care, and there is little change
ing came from international out-migrants in gender relations as a result of migration
(National Workshop on Internal Migration (Gartaula, Niehof & Visser, 2011; Mosse et
and Human Development in India: Workshop al., 2002).
Compendium, 2012). Given that these figures Most micro studies give us an idea of labour
do not include all savings, as well as savings/ conditions, working hours, wages, remit-
remittances made by seasonal migrants, the tances, social networks and worker resistance,
impact of migration on the living conditions which helps us understand the nuances of
of the poor migrant workers in India could be internal migration. This further allows policy-
quite considerable. makers to frame policies in a more compre-
Remittances and savings are primary hensive manner.
channels through which migrant workers are
able to stabilize or improve their living con-
ditions. Remittances also influence intra- and
Urbanization, Smart Cities,
inter-household relations and the pattern of
Informalization of Labour: A Steady
growth and development in the source areas. It
has been the focus of several studies recently, Growth of Internal Migration?
especially by the World Bank, but the focus With increasing urbanization and pressure on
has been on international remittances. Other land in rural areas, the Indian government has
important channels through which migration now realized the need for cities that can cope
affects workers and influences the source with the inherent challenges of urban living.
and destination areas are the nature of their Cities are seen as engines of growth and as
potential investment hubs. The announcement such a way as to make it more inclusive for
of ‘100 smart cities’ adheres to this vision. A the migrants. The state can play an impor-
‘smart city’ is an urban region that is highly tant role in migration as it can help migrants
advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, lower the cost of migration, ensuring that rules
sustainable real estate, high density of commu- and regulations are in place while employing
nication network and a wider market (Gandhi, migrants and also reduce the antagonism that
2018). It is a city with information technol- locals have at times towards migrant workers.
ogy as its principal infrastructure and the very Delhi can be seen as an example where
basis for providing essential services to its historically urban migration was actively dis-
residents. There are many technological plat- couraged through policymaking but this is now
forms involved, but not limited to automated changing with a focus on revitalizing nearby
sensor networks and data centres. A smart city cities, such as Meerut, and building transport
is thus a concept to make rapid strides in the links and connectivity (Bhagat, 2011). Also,
economic development of regions by focusing the National Capital Region surrounding Delhi
on improving the living standard of people. is a nodal point where migration has recently
Over 34 per cent of India’s current pop- increased. Gurgaon and Noida are now cen-
ulation lives in urban areas, increasing by tres of many export-processing companies and
3 per cent since 2001. More importantly, therefore attract migrants in large numbers. It
while existing large UAs, those with a popu- is yet to be seen if the workers in these areas
lation above 5 million, have remained mostly are provided basic facilities even as they con-
constant in numbers since 2005, smaller clus- tribute to the country’s economic growth.
ters have increased significantly from 34 to The government has a long way to go in
50 clusters with a population of 1–5 million. addressing concerns of circular migration. It
By some estimates, India’s urban population is imperative that the process of migration is
could increase to 814 million by 2050. In facilitated with a focus on ease of movement
India, even today cities lack urban planning, and better returns from labour. Policies such
but are the centres of urbanization and attract a as the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and
number of migrants thereby putting more pres- Urban Transformation will make the process
sure on urban infrastructure. With an increase of urbanization smooth. Furthermore, smart
in urban population will come rising demands cities should be designed and run in a way
for basic services, such as clean water, public that provides equal opportunities to women
transportation, sewage treatment and housing. migrants (George and Rajan, 2015; Rajan &
Meanwhile, on the ‘smart city’ front, while Sivakumar, 2018).
over 90 ‘smart cities’ have identified 2,864 Intra-rural mobility is quite significant, no
projects, India lags in implementation, with doubt, but the main emphasis is now on the
about 148 projects completed and over 70 per transition from rural to urban destinations. It
cent still at various stages of preparation. needs to be stated at the outset that although
Urban migration is not viewed positively the pace of urbanization has accelerated, it is
in India, with policies often bluntly seeking to generally not accompanied by a rapid expan-
reduce rural-to-urban migration. Policies are sion in industrial employment. Migrants
framed in such a manner so as to reduce labour who settle down in the urban fringes fail, to
movement, for example the Mahatma Gandhi a large extent, to secure steady jobs in fac-
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act tories, mills or even small-scale sweatshops
(MGNREGA) scheme. But unprecedented (Breman, 2009). Instead, they find a niche in
flow of migrants into the city should force the service sector as waged workers or remain
urban planners to rethink migration policies, self-employed. They get stuck in the infor-
and urban policies should be structured in mal sector economy, the defining features of
Migrant Odysseys 11
which are low wages, payment by piece rate protection of human rights of migrants, access
or job work, low- or unskilled work, casual to social services, protection from discrimi-
and intermittent employment, erratic work- nation and lowering the cost of migration. On
ing hours, no written labour contracts and the matter of internal migration, whether it is
an absence of institutional representation providing basic services to the poor migrants
(Breman, 2009). These features are dominant or protecting them from chauvinist violence,
in the slum habitats where most newcomers the state’s record has been rather poor. Strong
from the hinterland congregate. political pressure for development initiatives
For many of them, migration is bound to combined with fully thought-out development
remain circular in nature because of the dearth policies will have an impact on migrants’
of physical and social capital to settle down living and working conditions. Effective state
elsewhere. The decision to remain is also not action can be possible only by understand-
based on the exercise of free will but of forced ing the issues of local governance and local
choice imposed by the need to sell one’s labour relationships, thereby ensuring a better labour
power in advance and thus become entrapped market and better working conditions for
in a relationship of debt bondage (Breman & migrants.
Guerin, 2009). Development strategies often This handbook is an attempt to address
intend to reduce the number of migrants, the lacunae of internal migration research in
neglecting the central role migration plays India and also make migrants more visible for
in the livelihoods of people (McDowell & their role in accelerating economic develop-
de Haan, 1997). Differentials are most likely ment. It has 55 chapters that focus on various
because of a combination of several barriers facets of internal migration and is organized
to the mobility of labour: strong local workers’ into eight themes—macro perspectives, state-
unions that act to keep out competing employ- level perspectives, migration and caste, migra-
ees; rigidities in nominal wages (Joshi & tion and gender, migration and urbanization,
Little, 1994); lack of housing in fast-growing migration and politics, emerging issues and
urban areas; and, most importantly, social, migration policy. In addition, the chapters in
cultural and linguistic barriers to the cross- the handbook cover most of the states from
regional substitutability of labour (Cashin & Kerala to Jammu and Kashmir.
Sahay, 1996, p. 162). There is little consen-
sus in the literature about the relationship
between migration and development. This is
partly due to the theoretical complexity of the ORGANIZATION OF THE HANDBOOK
question, but it is also related to the variety of
forms of migration that exist (De Haan, 1999). Macro Perspectives
Different migratory opportunities attract dif-
ferent groups of people, with varying social There are six chapters included in this sec-
relations that structure their movements, tion. The lead chapter, by Santosh Mehrotra
possibly having different consequences. on Employment, Urbanization and Education:
Migration’s Mega-Challenges, examines the
structural transformation and its implica-
tions and presents policymakers with three
State and Migrants mega-challenges—migration of agricultural
The state can play an important role in redi- workers seeking non-farm employment, grow-
recting resources for migrant workers, this ing urbanization and need to ensure better
includes entry channels for more workers, education and vocational training for increas-
especially those with low skills, ensuring the ing entrants into the labour force. If planners
and policymakers want to reap the benefits
of demographic dividend, then they should better educated and, therefore, are more likely
pay attention to these challenges and frame to get regular jobs in non-agricultural sectors
suitable policies. The increase in social con- with higher daily wages than non- migrant
flict is already evident: the agitation by some workers. By contrast, female migrants, unlike
caste groups for reservation in government non-migrant female workers, generally are
jobs—the Patels in Gujarat, the Marathas less educated and are mostly employed in
in Maharashtra, the Jats in Haryana and the casual and unpaid family work.
Kapus in Andhra Pradesh—is only the tip of The socio-economic transformation is
the iceberg. India’s migration rate has already under way in the process of development in
increased and will only go on increasing. India, and it has significant implications on
Arup Mitra draws information from both migration trends and patterns. Given this,
primary and secondary sources, such as the Sandhya Mahapatro provides a perspective
NSSO and the population census, and reveals on the current pattern of internal migration in
that migration takes place in search of better India and examines its correlates. The study
jobs and regular employment, compared with uses data from different rounds of the NSSO
self-employment, which in the Indian context and the Census. To understand the current pat-
is mostly of a residual type. Among various terns of migration and their implications, the
caste categories, those with a relatively higher recent migrants, ‘those who migrated prior
social status seem to have a higher probability to the five-year period of the survey’, have
of migrating compared to those who belong been analysed. The findings reveal that while
to socially disadvantaged classes and are also migration among men arises both out of pov-
economically worse off. The survey-based erty and for better employment, the likelihood
analysis also brings out evidence in favour of to migrate among women was higher than the
limited mobility within the informal sector. better-off group. Appropriate policy meas-
Through various social networks, the rural ures are needed to provide a decent standard
migrants pursue their job search in the urban of living to the urban poor migrants through
labour market and subsequently migrate to the economically sustainable employment oppor-
urban areas. tunities and social security measures because
There are 714 million internal migrants majority of them have no access to appropriate
globally, which is four times more than the housing, sanitation and healthcare, and they
international migrants (UNDP, 2009). One- also face wage discrimination at workplace.
third of India’s population is defined as inter- Domestic migration has been important in
nal migrants but not all internal migrants are sustaining local economies across the globe,
labour migrants. In this context, Imran Khan and in the case of India, it is currently estimated
examines the trends and patterns of inter- at around 453 million, or nearly 37 per cent of
nal labour migration in India from 1983 to the total population as per the 2011 Census.
2007–2008. The trends show that there is Financial remittances remain a primary source
an increase in female labour migration and of external flow of fund to the receiving areas.
a decline in male migration, irrespective of Thus, the need of the hour is to study the
socio-economic groups, whereas the migra- dynamics and determinants of domestic remit-
tion rate, on the whole, has remained more or tances flow in the country both at the aggre-
less stable over the period of time constitut- gate and household levels. Bhaswati Das and
ing one-third of the labour force. The labour Rajni Singh attempt to analyse the dynamics
market outcomes show that there is a signif- of domestic remittances using unit level data
icant gender difference in the labour market from the 64th round National Sample Sample
characteristics of migrants. The male migrants Survey Office (NSSO, 2007–2008) on migra-
have higher employment rates as they are tion. Contribution of the domestic remittances
Migrant Odysseys 13
in the Indian economy is estimated to be examines the spread of temporary forms of

`127–198 billion at the intra- and interstate mobility from rural areas to urban centres
levels, respectively, which is brought into along with the diffusion of employment struc-
transaction by around 22 million migrants ture from irregular and non-contractual forms
across the country. Age of the migrant has of non-farm jobs over the last half-century.
been a major factor influencing the remitting The spread of casual and non-contractual jobs
behaviour of the out-migrants. Grossly, it was in a more flexible labour framework and the
found that around 25–60 per cent of the remit- partial conversion of the labour force in the
tances were sent by those in the age group of secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy
15–45 years, but the net effect of the age and is a peculiar trait of the structural transforma-
amount of remittance indicates at a signifi- tion in India. The prevalence of commuting
cantly increasing share of remittances by the over migration is partly the result of the fluctu-
increasing age of the out-migrant. ations of the labour markets and the difficulty
Tumbe (2011) shows that India’s domestic in access to regular employments, but it might
remittance market was around $10 billion in also be preferred in order to benefit from the
2007–2008, 60 per cent of which was received vicinity with the village which is the locus of
through interstate transfers. It was also strong ties.
observed that 80 per cent of the total remit- In his eminent mobility transition theory,
tances were directed towards rural households. Zelinsky (1971) tried to explain temporary
Are there any associated gains from migra- or circular migration and stated that all short-
tion? Pinak Sarkar underlies the importance of term movements, repetitive or cyclic, having
remittances and points out that households are the common motive of a temporary change of
endowed with different characteristics, and residence, are circular in nature. Generally,
therefore, the gains from migration vary across it is a short-term move with the intention to
migrant sending households. One important return to the place of usual residence. Kunal
observation is that the flow of remittances Keshri, utilizing the most recent available
across sectors—rural or urban economic data of the 64th round of NSSO, attempts
communities—has drastically improved the to explore the regional pattern of tempo-
economic well-being. Consumption expendi- rary labour migration within and from Uttar
ture of the remittance receiving households is Pradesh. The study also attempts to assess
much higher compared with non-remittance the determining factors of temporary labour
receiving households. migration, particularly the economic factors,
such as monthly per capita consumer expendi-
ture and educational attainment. Uttar Pradesh
has the second highest number of registered
State-level Perspectives
temporary labour migrants at the national
Mobility—spatial and occupational—has level after Bihar, and more than three-fourths
become the hallmark of Indian labour dynam- of the temporary labour migrants move out of
ics over the last three decades, with a remark- the state seasonally. Interestingly, more than
able increase of rural-to-urban streams of 80 per cent of the temporary labour migrants
labourers (Eric& Zérah, 2017), and a signifi- move from rural to urban areas. Temporary
cant shift of the rural working population from labour migration is found to be very high in
agriculture to the secondary and the tertiary the southern region (Bundelkhand), followed
sectors of the economy (Lerche, Guérin & by eastern Uttar Pradesh. In a nutshell, it
Srivastava, 2012; Srivastava, 1998). Through could be argued that temporary labour migra-
a case study of the Palanpur village in tion in the state is mostly distress-driven, as
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Floriane Bolazzi socio-economically deprived groups, such as
scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, less edu- to development offers resistance to the swell-
cated, poorest of the poor and landless, are ing reserves of cheap migrant labour under
more likely to migrate temporarily. varying degrees of ‘unfreedom’ at work and
Kerala Migration Survey, one of the oldest adjustments at home. Not all migrants viewed
migration surveys conducted in India, started themselves as unfree workers but agreed that
in 1998 and has completed eight rounds of the prevailing economic circumstances and
migration surveys in Kerala since. One of dearth of local alternatives in the village had
the objectives of the survey is to estimate subjected them to an inferior position in the
the trends, levels and differentials of inter- power relations, where resistance at the indi-
nal migration. Using data from the Kerala vidual level was easily crushed and scope of
Migration Survey 2018, S. Irudaya Rajan, collective action was weak.
K. C. Zachariah and S. Sunitha explored the The Kashmir Valley is experiencing sea-
trends in internal migration from Kerala over sonal and short-term in-migration of labourers
the last 20 years. The number of out-migrants from the other states of India, such as Bihar,
in 2018 was estimated to be 0.524 million and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal
has declined gradually over the years since and Punjab, in huge numbers. As statistics
1998, partly because of the changing demo- are sparse, Aijaz Ahmad and Tulika Tripathi
graphic structure of Kerala. About one-fifth analyse in detail about an underresearched
of the employed out-migrants have higher region. These in-migrants have not been cov-
educational qualifications at the professional ered in earlier studies and state statistics are
level and among them, female out-migrants also not available about them. This makes the
are more than their male counterparts. The Kashmir Valley a peculiar area to stay. These
out-migration of students is increasing over in-migrant workers are seasonal in character
the years, but that of job seekers is decreasing. because most of them stay for summers only
Kerala is also likely to witness a large inflow and leave the valley in winter. This process
of migrants from other states of India. of in-migration in the valley shows that rural
Labour migration among the rural poor in-migrants prefer to stay in rural areas while
requires to be linked to the upsurge of uneven urban in-migrants prefer cities. It is also evi-
development (Wise & Veltmeyer, 1998). dent that the entire in-migration in the valley
While in the pre-reforms period, the govern- has been dominated by female in-migrant
ment intervened to balance regional disparity, workers. The main reason for in-migrant pull
this role has been lost after neoliberalization. in the valley is shortage of local labour, higher
Trade policies rather facilitate export-oriented wages and more employment opportunities.
industrialization that vests far-reaching Using the Kerala model of migration
autonomy on industries in choosing cost- survey, Tamil Nadu has completed large-
effective locations. Bihar and West Bengal scale migration survey among 20,000 house-
have witnessed the highest percentage of holds. S. Irudaya Rajan, Bernard D' Sami,
short-term migration among major states in S. Samuel Asir Raj and P. Sivakumar examine
India as per data from the 64th NSSO survey the dynamics of the internal migration with all
of 2007–2008. Using primary data collected its complexities. The number of out-migrants
from two backward districts—Kochbehar and (OMI) from and return out-migrants (ROM)
Malda—of north Bengal region, Rukmini to Tamil Nadu is estimated at 1.02 million
Thapa re-established the links between migra- and 0.91 million, respectively. The total
tion and regional economic backwardness number of interstate out-migrants (OMI and
and declining viability of agriculture at a ROM together) is 1.93 million. The state of
time when global capital is flowing to remote Karnataka receives the most OMI from Tamil
areas to absorb cheap labour. The low route Nadu (Rajan, Sami & Raj, 2017). It has 43.1
Migrant Odysseys 15
per cent of total OMI as of 2015 and 38.8 per of income. The chapter conceives migration
cent of the total ROM. Hindus are the dom- as the deployment of the household labour
inant out-migrant population in Tamil Nadu, force at distant locations and supplementing
with 88.2 per cent share of OMI and 91.9 per the livelihood basket through remittance earn-
cent of ROM. Christians share 7.6 per cent of ings. By using income, workforce and migra-
the OMI population and 4.2 per cent of the tion data from IHDS-II (2011–2012), it shows
ROM population, and Muslims share around how a household employs its members at dis-
4 per cent of both. In addition, Tamil Nadu is tant places and activities and what they get as
home to more than a million migrant workers a result. The findings show that in very few
from other states of India. circumstances migration is taken up in isola-
One of the highest out-migrant districts in tion, and in most cases, it is combined with
Tamil Nadu is the Tirunelveli district. Based other activities. There is a dynamic trade-off
on a small micro survey among migrant between migration and remittance earnings
households, S. Amuthan examines structural in a household. The income from remittance
economic change and rural out-migration, its is higher than the income from agriculture. It
impact on migrants and their income contri- shows that at a macro level at least, remittance
bution to household assets. The study runs is not inducing inequality in the society and
a regression model and concludes by view- migration remains an opportunity for all.
ing migration as an important accelerator to Distress-driven migration occurs every
improve the household conditions and a sali- year from different parts of Odisha, espe-
ent factor to eradicate poverty. cially from the KBK region—the undivided
While S. Irudaya Rajan, K. C. Zachariah districts of Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi.
and S. Sunitha examine out-migration from Over the last few decades, people from these
Kerala, M. S. Raunaq discusses the working areas mostly migrate to the southern states of
and living conditions of long distance in- India in search of employment. Rayagada, a
migrants to Kerala and focuses on the implica- significant part of the erstwhile undivided
tions of this recent trend (Rajan & Sumeetha, Koraput district, is endowed with rich mineral
2015). It is observed that there exists a labour resources, covered by dense forest and hills. It
divide between the migrants and the native has attracted investment in mining and mineral
Malayali workers. The migrant workers have processing industries in the name of develop-
different systems of accessing work compared ment. This has displaced a large number of
with the Malayali workers, and they often face people from their habitats and traditional live-
exploitation at the hands of the agents/con- lihoods, which has emerged as a push factor for
tractors/employers. They face exclusion and migration (Rajan, 2018). Using the available
alienation not just in their workplace but also data, Manasi Mahanty examines the problem
at their places of residence. Despite the valu- and process of labour migration of Rayagada
able contributions of the migrants to Kerala’s district in Odisha. People of this district are
economy, they are often forced to live in inhu- mostly migrating to other states, particularly in
man conditions and are blamed for everything the southern part of India after a lean harvest-
that is wrong in the society. ing season to earn higher wages as there is not
Nandan Kumar discusses out-migration enough work in the source areas. The rescue
as a process of livelihood diversification in of child migrants of Rayagada district reveals
the Indian context. When agriculture cannot the involvement of labour brokers who prom-
promise a stable and adequate remuneration ise families to engage their minor children in
and casualization of employment is ram- more or less paid work in Andhra Pradesh,
pant, a household has to diversify its liveli- Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It draws attention
hood portfolio and supplement its sources to the issue of child trafficking. Even the death
reports of migrant workers of Rayagada at the issues. In addition, he examines the migration
destination sites of Kerala and Karnataka raise patterns of vulnerable sections of the popula-
the issue of labour exploitation. tion, that is, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe
and Muslims (Das & Bhushan, 2014). Among
the major religious groups, the Muslims gener-
ally have the lowest percentage of migrants in
Migration and Caste
their population, both in rural and urban areas,
Most studies that deal with caste and migra- for men as well as women. The highest per-
tion focus on the migration of a single caste centage was reported among the Buddhists in
(Tumbe, 2012). The first piece of evidence on urban areas at two time points, 1999–2000 and
caste selectivity and migration can be gleaned 2007–2008. During this period, the percentage
from the urbanization rates of the four social of migrants among rural males in the country
groups. While the all-India urbanization rate declined at a national level—for all socio-
as per the NSSO survey of 2007–2008 was religious groups except Jains—but remained
around 28 per cent, it was nearly 43 per cent constant for urban males. This is a matter of
for the General Category, 26 per cent for serious concern for the Muslims because their
Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 21 per cent share of migrants is the lowest across commu-
for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 per cent for nities. The sluggish pace of urbanization of
Scheduled Tribes (STs). A virtually identical the Muslim, SC and ST populations over the
distribution is obtained from the IHDS 2004– course of time, in particular, must be an item
2005 data, where additional information is of concern and policy intervention. This calls
obtained for Brahmins, among whom the for focused empirical studies to identify the
urbanization rate was noted to be 46 per cent factors behind their low and declining access
(Desai & Dubey, 2011). Kalyani Vartak and to urban and metropolitan space, resulting in
Chinmay Tumbe review the evidence on caste what may be called urban exclusion. However,
selectivity and migration and in turn the effects one important fact that emerges clearly, not-
of migration on caste practices and related withstanding the anomalies in the data, is
issues. Macro-level evidence suggests that that Indian women are travelling much more
the upper castes are usually the first to move than they did in the past. Marriage mobility of
out of the villages and for longer durations women is determined by socio-cultural factors
and distances. Micro-level evidence based that change slowly over the course of time.
on their re-study of a Konkan village known The spurt in their migration must, therefore,
for mass migration over five decades shows be attributed to economic factors. The growth
a more variegated picture of both change and in the number of women migrants for employ-
continuity in caste demography and practices. ment during 2001–2011 was very high.
They also provide a framework in which the The gold jewellery industry has burgeoned
relationships between migration and caste can in Kerala and has expanded to other states and
be analysed and highlight the importance of even outside national boundaries. Sumeetha M.
economic and social remittances in the source examines the labour process in migration and
region, anonymity in the destination region looks at the changing role of the state, when
and ‘migration as resistance’ strategies as fac- there are different players in the industry,
tors that challenge caste practices. through her five-year fieldwork data (2010–
Amitabh Kundu discusses the broad trends 2015) in the gold jewellery industry and a larger
and pattern of migration in India and enquires data set on interstate migrant workers survey
if there has been a significant departure in the conducted by the Centre for Development
last decade’s Census from the past, highlight- Studies in 2012. Kerala’s migration experi-
ing certain methodological and data-related ence reveals that gold has been one of the most
Migrant Odysseys 17
favoured investment avenues for the migrants. of Nashik district of northern Maharashtra,
The changes in the production regime are asso- Anjali Borhade, Milind Babar, Isha Jain,
ciated with the expansion of local markets and Vishika Yadav, Pallavi Joshi, Karthik Prabhu,
the integration of the Indian economy with the Ajay Shekhawat and Subhojit Dey examine
world economy. State policies are observed the saga of tribal livelihood migration. The
to have a direct bearing on the labour market, study is one of the first to explore the socio-
especially altering labour use and intake in this economic and socio-demographic charac-
industry. The deregulation of the gold indus- teristics in migration-prone tribal areas and
try in the post 1990s has resulted in increasing issues in the destination area. While migration
investment into the sector, which also fuelled appears to provide marginal financial benefits,
intense competition. The traditional ‘Thattan’, there is a great deal of social isolation and mar-
the goldsmith, has given way to new workers ginalization. The majority of migrants are not
from all castes and communities working in aware of their welfare rights and are unable
informal workshops from elsewhere in India to access social security schemes. Even basic
and mostly from West Bengal. access to benefits from possessing a ration
Nidhin Donald provides an interesting card are either not known or not accessed
glimpse into the textual strategies of a highly because of a range of barriers. Multiple prob-
mobile community, namely Syrian Christians lems and barriers are faced by migrants at the
in Kerala, by analysing select themes from destination, the commonest being inadequate
their family histories. This chapter is an out- and irregular wages and unsuitable and sub-
come of sociological engagement with Syrian standard accommodation. The study suggests
Christian identity formation and social repro- ways and means to facilitate tribal migration
duction, especially through printed, published and contain distress-driven migration.
and archived family histories or kudumba
charitrams. The author argues that migration
has been a crucial process that has both spon-
Migration and Gender
sored family history projects and informed
their consent. As an ongoing dynamic social In the present Indian context, understanding
process, migration has led to numerous jaati the role of women as economic migrants is
anxieties among Syrian Christians. significant. The following section precisely
Bhagyoday Khandare, Himanshu analyses gender and migration dynamics.
Chaurasia and Sunil Sarode examine the There has been a rapid increase in labour
socio-demographic characteristics with inter- mobility in contemporary India. Large-scale
district flow of tribal migration in Maharashtra surveys as well as village studies across the
based on the 2001 Census data. Findings reveal country report an upsurge in the incidence of
that men migrate for employment whereas out-migration from rural areas (Coffey, Papp
women migrate because of marriage. Few dis- & Spears, 2015; Datta, 2018; Himanshu &
tricts in Maharashtra have shown significant Rodgers, 2016; Rajan et al., 2017; Roy, 2016;
results regarding in-migration as well as out- Schenk-Sandbergen, 2018; Vartak, Tumbe
migration. The total tribal population showed & Bhide, 2019; Zachariah & Rajan, 2016).
a negative relationship with tribal literacy rate. These accounts reveal that while migration
However, recognition of the barriers to and streams may be differentiated by their histor-
within the migrants is needed to frame sub- ical origins, regional, caste, class and gender
sequent policy discussions and development attributes, there has been a spatial reconfig-
planning for tribal migrants. uration of work and employment in rural
Based on a survey among 20 tribal villages India. In particular, migration has emerged
in Peint and Trimbakeshwar blocks (talukas) as a significant livelihood strategy among
rural households. The New Economics of post-marriage period) labour force participa-
Labour Migration suggests that migration tion decision. The major findings of the study
decisions are jointly made by family mem- suggest that about 50 per cent of the women
bers and are mediated by remittances (Stark, migrants, those that reported marriage as the
1991). Livelihood approaches emphasize on reason for their migration, are found in the
migration as a household strategy of rural labour market, performing low-quality infor-
livelihood diversification (Ellis, 1998). The mal sector jobs based on both censuses and
migration project is also a gendered project. NSSO surveys. It can be stated that migrant
Recently released census data on migration women in India normally do not partici-
shows that female migration for work has rap- pate in the labour market immediately in
idly increased between 2001 and 2011. Using the post-marriage period because of existing
preliminary results of new data collected in socio-cultural constraints. However, with
2016, Amrita Datta maps gendered spatialities increasing duration of migration, they tend to
of work in rural Bihar. The study covers 12 participate in wage employment in increasing
representative villages in seven districts and numbers. Household poverty and low stand-
draws on a long-term study on social and eco- ard of living are the major determining fac-
nomic change in rural Bihar (Rodgers, Datta, tors behind their decision to participate in the
Rodgers, Mishra & Sharma, 2013). Datta for- labour market.
mulates six typologies of workers based on Many historical studies on migrant women
an individual’s location of work. By focus- from Kerala have challenged the significance
ing foremost on the location of work, that is, placed on women’s associational migration by
the space and place where work is done, for exploring their early work-based migration
both primary and secondary work statuses, in professions such as nursing and teaching
the chapter is able to capture worker mobili- (Gallo & Hornberger, 2017; George, 2005;
ties that are often excluded from large-scale Joseph, 2000). Sonia Krishna Kurup focuses
survey exercises. In addition, a disaggregated on women’s work-based movement for cleri-
analysis of worker mobility by sex contrib- cal, secretarial and administrative jobs within
utes to an understanding of the gendered eco- the country. Specifically, the chapter stud-
nomic geography of work. The findings from ies the experiences of educated middle class
this work have implications beyond Bihar and women from Nair and Christian communities,
India. who migrated from Kerala between the late
Studies on female migration in India, by 1960s and early 1980s to work in the civilian
and large, conclude that women migration section of the defence establishments in Pune
is driven by marriage and associated reasons in the pre-liberalization era. The study shows
(Kundu & Gupta, 1996; Mitra & Murayama, that a combination of factors enabled single
2009; Parida & Madheswaran, 2011; Premi, women from upper caste and upper class fam-
1980; Singh, 1986; Srivastava, 1998, 2011; ilies to find employment in pensionable, sal-
Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). But most aried jobs with the central government after
recently, a few other studies (Mahapatro, migration to Pune. Higher educational attain-
2010; Mazumdar, Neetha & Agnihotri, 2013; ment and unmarried status were contributing
Shanti, 2006; Sundari, 2005) have highlighted factors that enabled upper caste, highly edu-
the issue of employment-driven female migra- cated women to find attractive salaried jobs
tion. Jajati K. Parida and S. Madheswaran after migration.
examine the unexplored facets of female Earlier studies on migration focused only
migration—post-marriage employment status on male migration, assuming that female
of migrant women—and explore the factors migration would not have many social and
that determine their post-migration (in the economic implications (Neetha, 2004). The
Migrant Odysseys 19
existing theories based on the social, cultural Kerala, India. Wage differentials and skill
and economic factors are also male-centric and are discussed with respect to women work-
consider female migration by two factors— ers on the basis of primary data collected
marriage and dependency on the principal from a survey on Interstate Migrant Workers,
bread-earner of the family (Premi, 1980; Kerala 2012, conducted by the Centre for
Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). However, in Development Studies, Trivandrum. Women
the recent times, because of change in gender- migrants, and most of all, circular women
specific demand of labour and increased edu- labour migrants, are highly vulnerable. They
cational attainment of women in almost all tend to gain entry to labour markets only by
parts of the world, women have a chance to taking the most precarious jobs and have little
participate in activities outside their home prospect of upward mobility. Despite locating
boundaries. This change can also be noted to a different labour market, women migrants
from the change in roles, patterns and causes in Kerala face formidable challenges.
of female migration in the developing coun- Whenever migration data is documented
tries. Sunetra Ghatak explains two related or analysed, the reports cover only the people
processes in the Indian economy, the femi- who have migrated. Neha Rai closely looks
nization of labour and the role of social net- at the migration dynamics from a gender per-
works in women’s migration. To identify the spective through an extensive primary survey
presence of ‘feminization of migration’ in conducted in Uttar Pradesh. In social sciences,
internal migration in India, the study has used scholars ignore women’s roles, aspirations
data from the 55th and 64th surveys conducted and experiences and make them invisible in
by NSSO and Census of India’s provisional migration, especially women who are left
D-5 table. For the role of networks, a primary behind. Migration discourse should be investi-
survey was conducted in Delhi from January gated in a gendered context to analyse gender
to April 2016. as a system of power relations that permeates
Very little research has been directed to every aspect of the migration experience. Not
grasp the economically viable migration trend only migrants but also lives of women left
of middle class women. Drawing on qual- behind should be examined.
itative data on migration collected through
fieldwork in the city of Kolkata and using the
theoretical lens of structuralism, Tina Dutta
Migration and Urbanization
and Annapurna Shaw attempt to unravel the
nuances of middle class women’s migration Migration policy should not be viewed merely
to Indian cities. The field data further shows as part of labour policy, but needs to be actively
that migration of women seems to be boosting incorporated in urban development policy and
women’s agency. All migrant women under planning as rural-to-urban migration is the
the study acknowledge that physical distance predominant form of migration. R. B. Bhagat
from home and economic self-reliance have examines both migration and urbanization
somehow relieved them from patriarchal con- in India with the help of secondary data and
trol and increased their bargaining power in points out that inclusive policies alone can
their family to varying degrees, whether it is for make migration a better option for all. In
marriage with a partner of their choice, work- India, all migrants are not equally vulnerable.
ing in night-shift jobs or living a lifestyle of On the one hand, permanent and semi-perma-
their own choice, migration of women appears nent migrants with higher education and skills
to be smoothing the negotiation process. can withstand the challenges and succeed in
S. Irudaya Rajan and Sumeetha M. explore becoming members of the urban citizenship.
the in-migration of women workers into On the other hand, migrants with low education
and skills, combined with the seasonal and ‘Lewisian transition’ is taking place in India,
temporary nature of their employment, are with a large number of persons migrating
more vulnerable and are prone to various kinds from rural to urban areas to take up urban
of exclusions in urban areas. These categories employment. Because migrants find employ-
of migrants are excluded from social security ment in manufacturing and service sectors, it
programmes, such as public distribution of is expected that their labour productivity may
food, access to education and health care and, have increased. Consequently, the incidence
most importantly, entitlement to housing at the of poverty has declined substantially.
place of destination, owing to the absence of There is increasing recognition that cir-
identity and residential proof. Social security cular and seasonal migrants in cities remain
programmes are place-bound and implemen- on the extreme margins in their urban work
tation of the programmes falls under the pur- destinations, facing layers of social, eco-
view of the state governments. The interstate nomic and political vulnerabilities, although
migrants incur more hardships as the port- they contribute significantly to the economy
ability of social security programmes is not (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). In Ahmedabad,
possible; they also face hostility from native migrants work in construction, factories,
residents instilled with the ideology of the small hotels, restaurants and food stalls, as
sons of the soil. domestic help, in head-loading and load cart
The Indian economy is in a transition phase. pulling, scrap recycling and vegetable vending
It has moved up in the income ladder and has (Aajeevika, 2007). A large number of them
become a lower middle income country since work as construction labour, migrating from
2007–2008 (World Bank, 2015). Because other districts of Gujarat as well as Rajasthan,
of a sustained growth rate of gross domestic Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and
product (GDP) (about 7% per annum) since other states. Renu Desai and Shachi Sanghvi
2002–2003, the incidence of poverty has examine, in depth, the spaces inhabited by
reduced substantially (Chauhan et al., 2014). migrant construction workers in Ahmedabad
More importantly, a structural transformation by developing a typology of their housing,
is taking place with a falling share of employ- describing the conditions and migrants’ expe-
ment in agriculture and a corresponding rise of riences in each housing type and outlining the
employment in the non-farm sectors (Mehrotra policy and governance issues shaping these
& Parida, 2017). With growing mechanization conditions. Housing and basic services for
in agriculture (Himanshu, 2011; Mehrotra, migrant construction workers in their urban
Parida, Sinha & Gandhi, 2014), for the first work destinations continue to be inadequate
time in Indian economic history, the absolute for majority of both the floating migrant work-
number of workers in agriculture declined (5 ers who migrate directly to construction sites,
million per annum) massively between 2004– do regular work for a significant duration and
2005 and 2011–2012 (Mehrotra et al., 2014; are provided a place to stay by the employer or
Parida, 2015). Moreover, it is important to contractor as well as the migrant naka workers
note that rural-to-urban migration in India also who are engaged in irregular daily wage work
increased by 3 million per annum between and arrange for their own housing in the city.
2001 and 2011, as per census migration data. Furthermore, little is being done at present
Jajati K. Parida and Ravi K. Raman explore to seriously address this inadequacy, which
the trends and patterns of rural-to-urban is particularly striking in the context of the
migration and in turn study the employment Government of India’s (GoI) ‘Housing for All
patterns in urban India using both Census and by 2022’ slogan.
NSSO data. During the period of high eco- Arvind Pandey and Ajit Jha document
nomic growth and structural transformation, a employment patterns and occupational
Migrant Odysseys 21
mobility of migrant workers living in selected Migration and Politics

slums of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
This study closely analyses occupational and Samir Kumar Das seeks to find out how devel-
employment mobility among migrant workers opment impinges on body—the living human
across social groups. Construction and man- body of those who are displaced by it—and
ufacturing are seen as two important sectors vice versa and most importantly, with what
where migrants find work. An analysis of effects. In the existing literature still dom-
the pre-migration employment status of the inated by a high developmentalist streak,
migrant workers indicates that before migra- development is viewed as one that not only
tion to Delhi, majority of the migrant workers calls for the production of a docile body of the
were agricultural labourers and cultivators. In displaced persons—a body that is not invested
contrast, a high percentage of SC and OBC with an insatiable desire for development—
migrants were agricultural labourers before but also strives for honing and chiselling it in
migrating to Delhi owing to landlessness or ways that are considered conducive to devel-
limited landholdings. opment. Through his work, the author high-
Recent growth of Indian urbanization has lights how easily vulnerable sections of the
the peculiar characteristic of lopsidedness population, such as migrants, are chiselled
towards megacities, that is, Mumbai, Delhi to meet the needs of development and how in
and Kolkata (Registrar General of India, the process they turn into docile beings. The
2005). In addition, the latest population body is cultivated and perfected, honed and
census results suggest that a majority of the chiselled so that it becomes productive, makes
urban population is residing in the 53 million itself available for the productive use of devel-
plus cities. There was an increment of 18 such opment and in the process turns what Foucault
cities from the year 2001 to 2011 (Registrar calls ‘docile’. Development targets the already
General of India, 2001, 2011). These cities vulnerable bodies and makes them further vul-
are facing the predicament of mushrooming nerable to serial displacement (Indu & Rajan,
of slums. Apart from problems such as inad- 2016).
equate housing, lack of basic utilities and Ranabir Samaddar views migrant labour
affordable transportation, Indian slum dwell- as a critical element in the transformation of
ers are facing immense problems of meagre a city to a rental outlet and at the same time
public health infrastructure which tends to a site of extraction. He highlights in his work
increase gradually in the near future. Namrata that infrastructural growth in the world of
Ahirwar and Kunal Keshri look into the uti- cities has now produced the urban in which
lization of maternal healthcare services by migrant labour remains a hidden, subaltern
migrants in the slums of Prayagraj city, Uttar figure. In short, infrastructure and logistics
Pradesh. They also aim to identify major of supply—of commodities, human beings,
determinants of the utilization of maternal money, information and waste—do not make
healthcare services. Migration has been found labour flow homogenous, even and standard,
to be a significant factor in the utilization of but heterogeneous. Postcolonial capitalism is
maternal healthcare services and most of the a confirmed evidence of this law of mobility.
migrant women lag in the utilization of ante- Based on a micro-level study of inter-
natal and postnatal care. Duration of migra- state migrant workers in the state of Tamil
tion, however, has a positive relationship with Nadu, Suresh Babu, Mansi Wadhwa and
the utilization of maternal healthcare services. M. Vijayabaskar point to the emerging inade-
Utilization of maternal healthcare is better quacy of social protection for migrant workers
among non-migrants than among migrant and to the pathways of exclusion and margin-
women. alization of migrant workers. Through this,
they also show the lacunae in distributional
framework of welfare entitlements in India. migrants. In the 2000s, same politics was
The discussion on migration, labour and cit- played by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
izenship in academic literature has largely leader Raj Thackeray against migrants from
revolved around international migrant work- Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—commonly called
ers, who are subject to restrictions and dis- migrants from Bhaiya land—to find a foothold
criminations in their country of employment, in state politics. Shahana Purveen explores
by virtue of absence of citizenship. However, how taxi drivers from Uttar Pradesh relate to
the authors point out in the chapter that internal their role and work when their situation and
migration in multi-ethnic countries like India, identity as migrants is uncertain and accompa-
marked by different levels of political commit- nied by suspicion in Mumbai. The work makes
ment to social protection across regions, can us grasp various expressions of urban realities
also generate exclusions and adverse incorpo- in driving work and the ways in which they
rations that are similar in some ways to that coalesce with established discourses on taxi
observed in the case of international migration. driving, identity and migration.
The automobile industry in India has
grown enormously in recent decades. India
is the sixth largest producer of automobiles.
Emerging Issues
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in The virtuous cycles of growth underpinning
India has declared the industry as the fore- the ‘migrating-out-of-poverty’ discourse are
most driver of its ambitious ‘Make in India’ generally based on the notions that increasing
programme to turn India into a manufacturing levels of migration from relatively less devel-
powerhouse with an ostensible goal to com- oped areas to the pockets of growth would
pete with China. The Automotive Mission necessarily result in the counterflow of remit-
Plan (AMP) 2016–2026, prepared jointly by tances, technology and information. However,
the GOI and the Society of Indian Automobile in large developing countries like India,
Manufacturers, predicts that the industry despite the increase in mobility in a period
will contribute over 12 per cent to the coun- of relatively robust growth, the outcomes of
try’s GDP and will constitute 40 per cent of migration are highly uneven among different
the manufacturing sector and add 60 million sections of the migrants. While migration to
jobs (AMP 2016–2026, 2017). Charvaak Pati relatively fast-growing metropolitan areas and
narrates the experience of migrant workers in regions has opened up new possibilities for
the automobile industry with a specific focus social and economic mobility for a section of
on workers working in the Manesar plant of workers, the bulk of them is employed in the
Maruti Suzuki. The experiences of migrants informal economy with low wages and virtu-
are more or less similar to experiences of ally no social security. Drawing upon insights
other workers but the way they differentiate from a field survey in the KBK region of
their experiences from others is revealed by Odisha, Deepak K. Mishra attempts to analyse
their status as migrant workers which actually the ways through which the livelihood diver-
reflects in production, reproduction and resist- sification of seasonal migrants is constrained
ance on the shop floor. both at the origin and the destination. Seasonal
Mumbai is known for its ‘cult of violence’ migration started as a response to food and
against migrants that came into prominence employment insecurity in this rainfed belt and
in the 1960s with the rise of Shiv Sena and was largely distress-driven. However, over a
its leader Bal Thackeray. Shiv Sena played period of time, both the nature and the out-
the politics of regionalism or sons of soil comes of such migration showed remarkable
for political mileage against South Indian variations. Yet, the economically and socially
Migrant Odysseys 23
marginalized groups continue to face lack the streams of migrants coming to work in
of freedom during and after the episodes of the construction industry of Ahmedabad and
migration. describe their living and working conditions
Environmental migration is becoming a and the challenges they endure as temporary
growing concern, particularly in low-lying footloose workers, outside the purview of
areas and islands. Nearly 300 million people state social protection mechanisms. The evi-
with an average density of 500 people per dence presented in the chapter builds a case
square kilometre inhabit 40 deltas globally, for immediate policy attention to the tens of
including all the mega deltas (Ericson & thousands of workers coming to Ahmedabad
Haggerty, 2006). The most populated delta is every year and contributing to its prosper-
the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta and the delta ity. The government, in partnership with the
with highest density is the Nile delta. Using the industry, should introduce low-cost rental
coarse digital terrain model and global popu- accommodation for migrant workers on a
lation distribution data, Ericson and Haggerty sharing basis in high migrant density centres.
(2006) estimated that more than one million Furthermore, worker hostels that are available
people would be directly affected by sea-level for short periods could be created in the city.
rise in 2050 in each of the three mega deltas, Migration, much of it as cyclic mobility, is
namely the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna now an integral part of the alternative liveli-
delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal, the hood strategies pursued by a large number of
Mekong delta in Vietnam and the Nile delta poor people living in destitute conditions in
in Egypt. Avijit Mistri provides more insight rural areas (Deshingkar & Farrington, 2009).
into the nexus between livelihood issues and Rabiul Ansary and Bhaswati Das made an
migration from Sundarbans where the envi- attempt to distinguish the socio-economic and
ronment has been given special consideration, demographic characteristics of the respond-
through a comparative study between migrants ents who have opted for cyclic mobility and
(exposed group) and non-migrants (control migration from the primary data collected
group). The study thoroughly reminds us that from the Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
migration and climate change do not have a The study concludes by observing that migra-
linear relationship but have numerous factors tion helped the households to come out of
and subfactors affecting them. Environmental indebtedness and mobility helped them to
stressors can be considered as an additional come out of poverty.
push factor along with the socio-economic Existing migrants in any destination will
factors that play a major role in migration influence the pattern and volume of migration
from Sundarbans. to that destination. Literature suggests that
Construction is one of the fastest growing earlier migrants and their linguistic composi-
work sectors in India. It accounts for 8 per tion are crucial factors in the migration pattern
cent of India’s GDP and is projected to grow rather than physical distance between place of
at an annual rate of 7.6 per cent between 2015 origin and destination. Individuals perceive
and 2020, making India the world’s third larg- themselves and their place in the world through
est construction market by the year 2020. A their language and culture. Therefore, people
highly labour-intensive sector, it is the second speaking a particular language tend to move to
largest employer of labour force in the coun- areas where groups of people who speak the
try and the single largest employer of migrant same language have migrated and settled. S.
workers, nearly 92.4 per cent of the labour Irudaya Rajan, I. V. Prasad and Rinju attempt
input in the construction sector is in the unor- to understand interstate migration through the
ganized sector (2004–2005). Amrita Sharma lens of language data provided by the decen-
and Divya Varma attempt to characterize nial censuses of 1991–2011. Currently, 43.63
per cent of Indians speak in Hindi. It is also destinations through a contractor for construc-
found that there is an increasing presence of tion and non-agricultural work.
Hindi speakers in non-Hindi speaking states, Surat, a prominent poster child of the
especially in South Indian states. For instance, ‘Gujarat model’ of development, is one of the
Hindi speakers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu fastest growing cities in India. It boasts of a
recorded a growth rate of 97 per cent and 108 thriving diamond and textile industry, both of
per cent, respectively, over the last decade, which have together contributed to its growth
2001–2011. Hindi and Bengali speakers in two as an economic powerhouse of India. It is also
South Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu home to several of India’s major processing and
together registered a positive growth rate of manufacturing facilities in sectors such as zari,
118 per cent, whereas Tamil and Malayalam chemicals, petrochemicals and natural gas.
speakers in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh Surat’s textile sector fulfils 40 per cent of the
together recorded a negative growth rate of demand for man-made fabric in India. The city
5 per cent in the same decade of 2001–2011. houses over 65,000 power looms in 450 tex-
These changing non-native speakers are an tile processing units that manufacture around
indication of growing migration from North to 30 million metres of raw fabric and 25 million
South Indian states. metres of processed fabric on a daily basis. It is
Although seasonal and short-term migra- the largest manufacturer of clothes in India and
tion has often been distress-driven, it contrib- notably accounts for 90 per cent of polyester
utes to the economy through different channels and 10 per cent of synthetic sarees produced
(Breman, 1996; Deshingkar & Akhter, 2009). in the country. It employs close to 1.2 million
Most studies on seasonal migration report workers and has an annual turnover of `30–35
that this type of migration often leads to billion. Divya Varma and Amrita Sharma high-
family migration (couple with children). light the working and living conditions of
Notwithstanding, family migration in India Odiya migrants in the power loom sector of
has ‘gone up from 1.539 million in 1993 to Surat. They also attempt to outline a few policy
2.351 million in 2008’, which accounts for recommendations that can potentially bring
nearly 53 per cent of total migration (Jayaraj, about a change in the socio-economic status of
2013, p. 49). Madhusudan Nag discusses var- this vast invisible population.
ious aspects of family migration at the macro Assam was considered one of the most
level in the Indian context. He also looks backward states in India (Rajan, 2013). Rikil
into characteristics of family migration in Chyrmang examines the socio-economic
India, destination choices of families, occu- characteristics between the native and non-na-
pational patterns and their socio- economic tive settlers in Assam and analyses the extent
backgrounds, based on round II of the IHDS of their economic inequality. The study is
(2011–2012). There are approximately more based on survey data collected through inter-
than 2 million households that migrate as views with a structured questionnaire that
family, either with children or without chil- consisted of 300 households of the 784 house-
dren. This finding of the study suggests that holds in two villages, with 150 households
short-term family migration rates from rural each from Kathalguri in the Udalguri district
areas are predominantly higher than urban and Kharupetia in the Darrang district. The
areas and equal in both rural and urban des- distribution of household resources for the
tinations. Further, a higher percentage of fam- natives and non-natives shows a significant
ilies are migrating within the same state as difference within the ‘poorest’ and ‘richest’
intrastate migration rather than interstate for quintiles as regards to the monthly per capita
periods of three to six months. The study also expenditure (MPCE) on food and non-food
found that a majority of families migrate to items, education and health care, per capita
Migrant Odysseys 25
saving and investment and land possession. chapter recommends that India could draw
The non- natives’ Gini index of MPCE for immense benefits if it was to integrate inter-
food, non-food, food and non-food combined, nal and international population movements
investment and land possession shows less within a single mobility framework.
inequality than the natives. Helga Thomas and One of the abiding characteristics of post-
Govindappa Lakshmana explore the needs of 1991 India has been the ready availability of
the migrant workers in the brick-kiln industry cheap and (largely) informal labour. This infor-
of Odisha through qualitative research. The mal labour force built the urban infrastructure
needs discussed were concerning living con- that powers India’s economy. Its members
ditions, psychological, social, healthcare and worked in abysmal conditions for less than the
work aspects of the migrants. minimum wage—to keep domestic industries
competitive and investment-friendly—as well
as provided flexible and cheap services that
preserved the position of the urban affluent
Migration Policy
class. In the absence of a migrant labour work-
Meera Sethi and Debolina Kundu argue that force, the Indian economy would come to a
international migration has been the subject standstill (Rajappa, 2017). Interstate migration
of far more research and writing, attracting is a key income generating strategy for low-
more political and media attention in public income households in India. It also allows for
discourse, than internal migration. There has the allocation of labour to higher productive
been little recognition in the recent policy parts of the economy. But, despite the prev-
debate on international migration about the alence and importance of migration between
significance of internal migration even though states in India, migrants continue to face sig-
in many countries internal migration is far nificant barriers in their destination states. The
more important not only in terms of num- impact of state borders is significant on migra-
bers but given its impact on shifting demo- tion levels within India. This study attempts to
graphics and reduction of poverty. The case compare the major destination states of India
of India is significant, being the only country based on their policy frameworks relevant for
in South Asia that has a distinct legislation the integration of out-of-state migrants. Using
on internal migration to protect its interstate a variation of the Migrant Integration Policy
migrant workers (Srivastava & Pandey, 2017). Index (MIPEX), we measure state-level poli-
Drawing on the provisional 2011 Census data, cies to integrate migrants using a large basket
which provides new evidence on the mag- of indicators. The exercise allows for the eval-
nitude and most recent mobility trends, the uation and comparison of which state govern-
authors argue that despite laws and varied ments are promoting policies for integration
schemes to protect rights of migrant workers, of migrants in Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi.
they suffer from lack of implementation and Nabeela Ahmed compares the experi-
limited impact. Moreover, there is no compre- ences of internal migrants engaged in low and
hensive migration policy till date. The authors unskilled labour with their local non-migrant
call for an integrated rights-based policy counterparts in urban India to explore patterns
approach as India embarks upon the 2030 and structures of access to the state’s social
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), protection. While Indians are constitutionally
which for the first time includes references to permitted to work anywhere within the coun-
mobility and offers an overarching framework try, migrants face a range of barriers in access-
for mainstreaming migration into national ing the state’s social protection, in terms of
development policies. In keeping with the policy and implementation. Using the example
SDG spirit of ‘leaving no one behind’, the of the public distribution system—a universal
food subsidy scheme and India’s largest social and nutritional well-being of migrant women
protection programme—this chapter offers and children. This chapter is part of a larger
insights into the role of governance in impact- ethnographic study that looked at the health
ing how social protection access is experi- and nutritional well-being of migrant women
enced by diverse types of labour migrants, and children.
compared with local labourers living in the Rajan (2013) claims that three out of ten
same city. The chapter presents evidence gath- Indians are moving across the state for liveli-
ered through qualitative methods and a survey hood, which is more than 400 million people.
conducted in the fast-growing metropolitan This movement has impacted as population
city of Nashik in western Maharashtra. The shift, a rural–urban developmental divide
empirical findings show that both migrants and an unequal modes of development in
and local labourers face a range of significant the southern and northern parts of India. A
barriers to access, though to varying degrees. recent trend is the shifting of the labour force
While a strong dichotomy between their expe- from rural areas of the northern states into
riences is not observed, their diverse experi- the comparatively more developed parts of
ences can be represented as a ‘spectrum’ of the southern state of Kerala. Kerala itself is
vulnerabilities, where local labourers face noted for high out-migration overseas to the
relatively fewer barriers and migrants—varied Gulf and other developed nations, as well as
in terms of spatial and temporal factors—face for high education and skill levels and reluc-
distinctly intense barriers. The findings also tance among youth to take up non-white collar
highlight the role of dissonances within gov- work. This leaves gaps in the state in unskilled
ernment policy at the central and state levels, and manual labouring sectors and in the unor-
regarding migration, development and social ganized economy. Internal migrants from
protection in further shaping the experiences north India are filling these gaps and Kerala
of precariousness among labour migrants. is becoming the ‘new Gulf of India’, with a
Though rural-to-urban mobility transition population of 3–4 million interstate migrant
has been largely viewed to be necessary and workers. Ansari P. A. and Caroline Osella
an inevitable part of a country’s development explore these changing trends through inter-
trajectory (Todaro, 1969), there is growing views, with a focus on the attitude and percep-
recognition today that migration can also tion of government stakeholders and migrant
have undesired effects, especially for poor workers in the state. The chapter contributes
migrant households who live and work on the new understandings to public debates about
geographic, economic, social and political migration and emphasizes the need for shifts
periphery of cities (Betancourt, Shaahinfar, in roles and attitudes among government
Kellner, Dhavan & Williams, 2013; Desai, stakeholders and internal migrants.
Soni, Vaid & Mevada, 2014). Such forms of Vicky Nadgaye’s chapter is based on pri-
marginalization expose migrant households to mary data gathered in Mumbai city and its
various forms of vulnerabilities with multiple suburbs related to life and health conditions
and complex implications. These are accen- of migrant construction workers, comparing
tuated by the absence of migrant-friendly with the existing labour policy provisions,
policy frameworks that further alienate house- such as wages, healthcare and social security,
holds from basic access to services such meant for such workers.
as healthcare and education among others Understanding the trends and patterns of
(Borhade, 2011; Deshingkar, 2006). Divya interstate migration justifies the role of migra-
Ravindranath specifically focuses on migrant tion in shaping the compositional features
women engaged in the construction sector in of population in various states. S. Irudaya
the city of Ahmedabad, looking at the health Rajan and U. S. Mishra argue for the need for
Migrant Odysseys 27
recognition of migration flows within the cal- Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Pro-
culus of assigning population-based weights gramme Implementation, Government of India (Social
in determining federal transfer of resources. Statistics Division). (2017). Youth in India 2017.
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PART II
Macro Perspectives
2
Employment, Urbanization and
Education: Migration’s
Mega-Challenges
Santosh Mehrotra
India’s demographic dividend cannot be real- by age turns more cylindrical than pyramid-
ized if young entrants to the labour force ical). India’s planners will need to manage
and potential migrants from agriculture do these three processes much better than ever
not gain new livelihoods. Structural trans- before over the next two decades, as India’s
formation requires that people migrate from demographic dividend draws to a close by
labour surplus sectors (e.g. agriculture) to sec- 2040. We will discuss each of these challenges
tors where output/demand is growing faster in turn in this short chapter.
(industry and modern services) and from
regions with total fertility rates (TFRs) higher
than 2.1 to other regions where the TFRs are
less than 2.1. That is exactly what has been MIGRATION: ITS SCALE, SECTORAL
happening in India, but data suggests that this DISTRIBUTION AND GEOGRAPHY
process was relatively slow until 2004–2005.
Structural transformation gathered momen- Lewis (1954) posited a two-sector model, the
tum after 2004–2005 as the gross domestic ‘capitalist’ and the ‘subsistence’, in which the
product (GDP) growth rate sharply picked up. transition of ‘unlimited supplies of labour’
This hastening of the structural transforma- from the latter to the former would lead to the
tion brings with it three mega-challenges final absorption of excess labour into the capi-
for policymakers: the migration of erstwhile talist (read the industrial and services) sectors
agricultural workers on a vast scale seeking during economic development. Migration was
non-agricultural work, growing urbanization inevitable. However, in India, this structural
and the need to ensure better education and transformation has been so slow (and popu-
vocational training for increasing entrants into lation growth fast) in the first half-century
the labour force (as the demographic structure of its development that while the share of
agriculture in the total workforce was falling, non-agricultural jobs must grow fast enough
the absolute number of workers in agriculture to absorb these youth as well as the older mar-
was increasing—until 2004–2005. Never in ginal farmers and rural landless—all of whom
India’s post-independence history till 2004– need non-agricultural jobs.
2005 has the absolute number of workers in
agriculture fallen; the Lewisian turning point
took over a half-century to arrive. The share
The Scale and Geography
of workers in agriculture fell to 57 per cent
by 2004–2005. However, since then, it fell Net migrant flows at the all-India level aver-
so sharply, as non-agricultural output and aged close to 9 million annually (between
employment growth picked up, that the share 2011–2012 and 2016–2017), peaking around
of agriculture in employment fell to 49 per 2013–2014, considerably above levels sug-
cent in seven years by 2011–2012, and the gested by the census (of 6.9 million in 2011,
absolute number of agricultural workers fell see Table in Ministry of Finance, Economic
on average by 5 million per annum over the Survey, 2017).
same period (Mehrotra, Parida, Gandhi & The largest recipient was the Delhi
Sinha, 2014). region which accounted for more than half
During 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, of the migration in 2015–2016, while Uttar
non-agricultural job growth was as high as Pradesh (UP) and Bihar taken together
7.5 million per annum. At the same time, accounted for half of total out-migrants.
the number of young entrants into the labour This is consistent with our finding that of
force was only about 2 million per annum. the 5 million leaving agriculture per annum,
The remaining 5 million plus workers were there were 3.5 million from UP and Bihar
migrants from agriculture and were mostly alone (Mehrotra, 2018a). Maharashtra, Goa
absorbed in construction activity, which was and Tamil Nadu had major net in-migration,
booming as both public and private infrastruc- while Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had
ture and private real estate investment grew at major net out-migration.
unprecedented rates (Chand, 2018; Mehrotra, States such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil
2018a). As these workers were mostly poorly Nadu and Gujarat were recipients of migrants
educated, they could only be absorbed in from UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Kolkata
manual work in construction (or in traditional in West Bengal attracts migrants from nearby
services) in rural or urban areas. states of Jharkhand, UP and Odisha con-
Meanwhile, after 2004–2005, the youth sistent with the laws of migration whereby
were getting much better educated than ever people immediately surrounding a rapidly
before in India’s history, and therefore, the rise growing town move into it and the gaps they
in the labour force of these youth remained leave are filled by migrants from more dis-
limited. While 12 million annually joined the tant areas. Thus, Surat (in Gujarat) has been a
labour force during 1999–2000 to 2004–2005, counter-magnet region to Mumbai and attracts
that number fell sharply to merely 2 million migrants from the neighbouring districts of
per annum over the next seven years, because Maharashtra. Other counter-magnet region
secondary school enrolment jumped from 58 dynamics exist in Jaipur and Chandigarh (to
per cent in 2010 to over 80 per cent in 2016 Delhi).
(Mehrotra, 2018a). The report by the Working Group on
The youth are potential entrants to the Migration (GoI, 2017) identified 54 districts
labour force; however, they would prefer with a high level of interstate out-migration
urban jobs in industry and services to agri- intensity. These districts account for half the
cultural jobs. However, for that to happen, male interstate out-migration in the country.
Employment, Urbanization and Education 35
Of these, 36 districts are concentrated in east- to merely 1 million per annum, thereafter, as
ern UP and Bihar, with certain districts in construction jobs collapsed.
other states like Nadia and Midnapore Just as the youth were getting better edu-
(West Bengal), Ganjam (Odisha), Gulbarga cated, non-agricultural job growth collapsing
(Karnataka), Jalgaon (Maharashtra) and Pali had the effect of stalling the structural trans-
(Rajasthan) and a few in western UP (Working formation process. While the number of youth
Group on Migration, 2017). (aged 15–29 years) leaving agriculture was at
Over the course of time, there has been a a rate of 4 million per annum from 2004–2005
shift towards the southern states, suggesting to 2011–2012, the number of youth in agricul-
the emergence of new migration corridors. ture fell only by about 3.5 million per annum
So, language is not a barrier to the migration from 2011–2012 to 2017–2018, a sharp slow-
of people. The Economic Survey (2017) pre- ing of the process of structural transformation
dicted an increasing rate of growth of migrants (Mehrotra, 2018a).
over the years. Internal migration has been In manufacturing, in urban areas, 38 per
rising over time, nearly doubling in the 2000s cent of the male workforce is composed
relative to the 1990s. This suggests that the of migrant workers, with a similar share
rewards (prospective income and employ- in modern services (Working Group on
ment opportunities, a la Harris–Todaro model, Migration, 2017). However, one difficulty is
1970) have become greater than the costs and that historically, less than 5 per cent of India’s
risks that migration entails. Higher growth workforce has acquired vocational skills for-
has triggered this acceleration of migration. mally. With low levels of general academic
This acceleration has not been discouraged by education of the workforce (see the section
disincentives such as domicile provisions for ‘The Education Challenge’), the extremely
working in different states, lack of portability low share of the workforce with any formally
of benefits, legal and other entitlements upon acquired vocational skills is a mega-challenge
relocation. if the manufacturing share of GDP is to rise
above 17 per cent, where it is stuck for the
past quarter century (since 1991). In contrast,
with the stereotype of migrants being largely
THE EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE in low-income occupations such as street
vending, they are employed across all sectors
The job challenge created by migration will and are essential for manufacturing growth
be monumental in scope. After a dramatic (Working Group on Migration, 2017). It is
fall in the entrants into the labour force from also an important contributory factor underly-
2004–2005 to 2011–2012 due to the increase ing the very high share of informality among
in educational enrolment, there should the workforce.
have been a sharp rise in the entrants to the Although the census does not capture
labour force, post-2012 to at least 5 million short-term flows, there is a high likelihood
per annum. However, that did not happen as that because of the sharp increase in construc-
job growth fell sharply. I have noted else- tion (especially in urban areas) work-related
where (Mehrotra, 2018a) that the number of migration is turning more short term. ‘If
entrants merely increased to 2.5 million per indeed work-related migration is becoming
annum between 2011–2012 and 2015–2016, more short-term, given the growing number of
primarily because non-agricultural job growth urban centres and their increased accessibility,
itself fell. Also, while 5 million agricultural it could also be just the nature of migration
labourers per annum left agriculture between that is changing—and becoming blurred with
2004–2005 and 2011–2012, that number fell
Table 2.1 Occupational Structure of Short- and Long-term Male Migrants

Rural Origin Urban Origin
Short term (%) Long term (%) Short term (%) Long term (%)
Primary 24.9 59.5 13.2 14.7

Manufacturing 16.8 13.1 26.0 19.9
Construction 41.6 5.3 25.2 5.3
Traditional services 13.0 11.3 23.0 25.0
Others 3.7 10.7 12.6 35.1
Total 100 100 100 100
Source: Working Group on Migration (2017).
commuting—and not the extent of migration’ from being a rural society to an urban society
(Working Group on Migration, 2017). that is far larger than any transformation seen
Though the proportion of short-term in the past, in any part of the globe (Asian
migrants is much lower than long-term Development Bank [ADB], 2011). By 2025,
migrants, they are definitely drawn from the the majority of Asia’s population will be
lower consumption quintiles. Most short-term urban. By 2050, there will be approximately
migrants are of rural origins and males. Of the 3.2 billion urban inhabitants in Asia which
estimated 13.6 million short-term migrants will double the current Asian urban popula-
from the National Sample Survey Organization tion of 1.6 billion people. India’s urban popu-
round of 2007–2008, 12.6 million were of rural lation is expected to grow from 410 million in
origins, of which only 1.9 million were female. 2014 to 814 million by 2050.1
There is a certain concentration of migrants Rapidly growing cities, increasing slum
in specific sectors that is noticeable in Table 2.1. populations, disputed land tenure and corrupt
Moreover, in construction, the concentration officials combined with high open unem-
of Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste ployment among educated youth and under-
(SC) categories is rather high. The SCs tend to employment among less educated adults can
be landless, poorer and with the least education. lead to violent social conflict. Latin America’s
Hence, it is not surprising that they are found to wave of urbanization was roughly 65 years
engage in manual work in construction. ahead of Asia’s (ADB, 2011). Argentina,
Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela were unable
to manage the rapid growth of illegal and
unserviced settlements and failed to provide
THE URBANIZATION CHALLENGE adequate services. Slums and urban peripher-
ies can become the hub of drug trafficking. In
This migration has been, and will be to a many cases, urban gangs filled a gap left by
greater extent than before, accompanied by weak local governments. Delayed action to
faster urbanization in India. Asia is going improve living conditions of the poor in Asian
through a historic demographic transformation cities could lead to Latin American-style
1
India, China and Nigeria—will account for 37 per cent of the projected growth of the world’s urban population
between 2014 and 2050. India will add 404 million urban dwellers, China will add 292 million and Nigeria will
add 212 million (UN DESA, 2014). By 2025, 46 per cent Indians will live in cities with more than 1 million people.
By 2030, cities with populations of more than 1 million will grow from 42 to 68 (McKinsey, 2010). Ahmedabad,
Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad with currently 5 to 10 million inhabitants are projected to become meg-
acities in the coming years, for a total of seven megacities projected in the country by 2030 (UN DESA, 2014).
development—characterized by great ine- implement a new urban vision to ensure that

qualities. The difference in the Indian case is India prepares to receive migrants in its bur-
that the total population involved will be much geoning cities.
larger, given that India is slated to become However, this too would require a reinstate-
the world’s most populous country and also ment of a much more powerful planning com-
already has a much higher density of popula- mission for India—and vastly more competent
tion. This combination can be explosive. than the National Institution for Transforming
Already, poor services and squalor are India—and institutions that can undertake
ubiquitous in Indian cities today. More than urban planning in each state. Urban planning
half the world’s slum population currently on a national scale is essential because the
resides in Asia—some 490 million people in challenge of generating decent work for rural
2005, according to UN Habitat. Poor power migrants and for the growing and more edu-
supplies, intermittent water availability, insuf- cated workforce cannot be met by megacities.
ficient treatment of wastewater, flooding due India’s urbanization challenge is made clear
to poor drainage and uncollected garbage, by comparing it with China’s urbanization
combined with poor sanitation in low-income pattern. Only 27 per cent of India’s urban pop-
areas, lead to poor health conditions. ulation lives in tier 2 cities (the ones with pop-
What is most unfortunate is that contrary ulations between 0.5 million and 4 million),
to successful cities in the world, India has while only 28 per cent of the urban population
been locking itself into more dispersed pat- is found in small (0.5–1 million) and medium
terns of urbanization. Compact, higher den- (1–4 million) cities. Comparatively, almost
sity cities like Singapore, London, Seoul and 50 per cent of urban citizens in China live in
Tokyo encourage a high percentage of walk- tier 2 cities (1–4 million) (Mckinsey Global
ing and public transport trips and have lower Institute, 2014).
per capita CO2 emissions than lower density While most new industrial and service
cities (ADB, 2011). However, urban densities sector jobs will be created in urban locations,
in Asia are decreasing while the growth in car it will be expensive to accommodate such jobs
ownership is increasing so fast that carbon in the megacities. Rather, what governments,
emissions could increase by 2.5 times over both union and state, will have to focus on is
current levels in China and by four times in infrastructure for tier 2 cities because it will be
India by 2035 (ADB, 2011). Public transport much too expensive to invest in the 193 tiny
is experiencing a significant loss of trans- towns with populations below half a million,
port mode share. Lower densities are leading but at present, these tiny towns are home to
to sprawl which is leading to higher rates of half of India’s urban residents (as against a
motorization, leading to more sprawl in a quarter of China’s urban residents). In other
vicious cycle. words, the missing middle in respect of urban
High-density cities are less expensive on a India will need to be filled to attract the
per capita basis than low-density cities (wit- migrant population to tier 2 cities.
ness Tokyo, Hong Kong, China, Singapore,
Berlin, Paris, London, San Francisco and
New York). ‘While a few cities have adopted
a formal vision for a sustainable future, most THE EDUCATION CHALLENGE
cities in Asia are moving in the wrong direc-
tion. They face the danger of being locked into Major rural-to-urban migration went hand in
an irreversible, high cost, high energy land hand with the economic growth of the 19th
use and infrastructure pattern’ (ADB, 2011). to mid-20th centuries in today’s high-income
Clearly, the country needs a far more sophis- countries. As high-income countries tran-
ticated planning framework, to imagine and sition to urbanized, ageing societies, these
movements have subsided (Champion, Cooke provide transport and mobile education vol-
& Shuttleworth, 2017). Today, the largest unteers and improve coordination between
internal population movement occurs in low- sending and receiving from states and dis-
and middle-income countries, particularly in tricts (Chandrasekhar & Bhattacharya, 2018).
China and India. In 2016, about 77 million However, implementation challenges remain.
Chinese migrant workers moved to find work Vocation education and training (VET)
in another province and 93 million moved can also help the poor and disadvantaged,
within their province (UNESCO, 2018). and those who have dropped out of school
In India, interstate migration rates doubled and thus promote inclusion and equity. The
between 2001 and 2011. percentage of secondary students enrolled in
The education level of India’s workforce VET programmes in Asia (13%) is low rel-
is extremely poor (Mehrotra, 2018a). When ative compared with Europe (24%) and par-
male migrants move, they leave behind their ticularly low in South Asia (Lee & Mehrotra,
children who go to school. If families migrate 2017). Children will need to be diverted to
together, children must then enrol in schools vocational schooling/training between the
in urban locales. age of 15 and 18 years, instead of allow-
If the state and union governments were ing them into an aimless general academic
serious about the well-being of migrants and tertiary education, where too rapid mas-
the quality and productivity of enterprises sification from 2006 to 2016 has already
employing these migrants, there would have resulted in a dramatic decline in the quality
been concentrated efforts to skill these work- of education.
ers at both source and destination. However,
there is no evidence that India’s fragmented
skills ecosystem is prepared to deliver on
this urgent requirement (Mehrotra, 2014, CONCLUDING REMARKS
2018b; Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, 2016). Clearly, without a visionary planning frame-
In India, 10.7 million children between 6 work that deals with each of these mega-
and 14 years of age lived in rural households challenges—employment, urbanization and
with a seasonal migrant in 2013. About 28 education/skills—that increasing growth in
per cent of youth aged 15–19 years in these internal migration will entail, India risks experi-
households were illiterate or had not com- encing growing social conflicts. The increase in
pleted primary school, compared with 18 per social conflict has already been evidenced: the
cent of the cohort overall (Chandrasekhar & agitation by some caste groups for reservation
Bhattacharya, 2018). We noted above that the in government jobs (the Patels in Gujarat, the
construction sector absorbs majority of short- Marathas in Maharashtra, the Jats in Haryana
term migrants. Between 65 per cent and 80 per and the Kapus in Andhra Pradesh) is only the
cent of all children aged 5–14 years living at tip of the iceberg. India’s migration rate has
the kilns worked there from 7–9 hours per day. already increased and will continue to increase.
About 77 per cent of kiln workers lack access The three mega-challenges will be hard enough
to early childhood or primary education for to handle even with a synergy among employ-
their children (Anti-Slavery International and ment policies, sophisticated urban planning on
Volunteers for Social Justice, 2017). a national scale and a far greater focus on divert-
Under the Right to Education Act, 2009, ing youth towards occupational trades where
local authorities are legally obliged to admit labour market demand is growing. Absent this
migrant children. It recommends to allow synergetic effort, India’s demographic dividend
flexible admission, develop seasonal hostels, could become a nightmare.
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3
Rural Migrants with Urban Jobs
Arup Mitra
INTRODUCTION also cut across castes. But, in such a situation,

what individuals from different caste back-
A huge body of literature exists in the area grounds pursue is an important line of research.
of migration and urban poverty arguing that Do they then return to their caste-based activ-
the disadvantaged (social) classes usually get ities in the urban setup in an attempt to earn
uprooted from the rural areas and strive hard a livelihood, or the residual (supply-push)
in an alien urban situation to access sources absorption of labour becomes a completely
of livelihood. In this sense, urban poverty random phenomenon, suggesting equal prob-
is a reflection of rural poverty (Dandekar & ability of locating individuals of every caste
Rath, 1971; Singh & D'Souza, 1980). A dete- background in a given set of activities? From
rioration in the land–man ratio in agriculture another angle, even within the informal sector,
and the sluggish growth of the rural non-farm some of the activities may require certain spe-
sector, on the one hand, and the rapid indus- cific types of skills or experiences, and thus,
trialization in the urban space or the lack of the concentration of certain castes in certain
it with an expanding informal sector and the activities needs not be interpreted always as a
political support to low-income households, phenomenon of social discrimination.
who are used as ‘vote banks’, on the other The literature on caste and occupations
hand, explains the growth of slums in the pro- is vast and varied (Kannapan, 1985). While
cess of urbanization. In an anonymous urban one class of studies tends to suggest erosion
space, the caste factor is usually expected to of the caste base in the process of develop-
get blurred and, hence, caste-based occupa- ment both in rural and urban areas, the other
tions which might have been pursued in the line of research exemplifies the dominance
rural setup prior to migration may change of caste factor in every sphere. Thus, human
significantly, implying availability of jobs in capital formation, sources of livelihood and
the urban labour market being independent of well-being may be expected to move along
caste. Similarly, non-availability of jobs may the caste lines. It is often argued that in India,
Rural Migrants with Urban Jobs 41
the underemployed and poor mostly belong part of the urbanization process. The sluggish
to the lower castes—scheduled castes (SCs) growth of employment in the high-productivity
and scheduled tribes (STs). Social seclusion sector and subsequently the residual absorp-
is said to have led to economic deprivation. tion of labour in low-productivity urban infor-
Hence, the essence of the government policy mal sector activities with meagre earnings (in
in an attempt to reduce poverty and rehabili- the face of escalating land and housing prices)
tate the poor rested on the reservation policy are seen as the prime causes of urban poverty
since independence. Social integration was and slum dwelling.1 Even when rural-to-urban
to be achieved through the availability of migration is not rapid, excess supply of labour
education and employment opportunities to relative to demand in the high-productivity
people belonging to lower castes. The Mandal sector may exist in urban areas because of a
Commission (1990) reinforced this objective high natural growth of population and this can
by including other backward classes (OBCs) lead to the growth in informal sector activities
as beneficiaries. However, even after pursuing and slums (Mitra, 1994). Since slum demoli-
the reservation policy for more than five dec- tion is not the right solution either from the
ades, the percentage of population below and feasibility angle or from the point of view of
marginally above the poverty line is not negli- human rights, the need for appropriate policy
gible (Thorat, 1993). Is it not then unrealistic formulation to tackle these issues has become
to assume that higher castes cannot be poor, an integral part of urban planning and urban
and that economic upliftment can be attained development.
purely on the basis of caste? The functioning Some questions that are worth posing are:
of the rural labour market is largely caste- What is the scope for the informal sector
based, but that is expected to get blurred in the workers to experience upward mobility, how
context of an urban job market (Mitra, 2006). do the poor cope with uncertainties they
In other words, urbanization follows and face in the labour market, and above all,
results in commercialization, which in turn is what positive role does urbanization play in
likely to erode the influence of the caste factor the process of development by helping rural
in the job market, although the job seekers migrants to improve their standard of living?
may access jobs in the urban labour market on There is a need to study issues that relate the
the basis of caste and kinship bonds (Banerjee, micro responses to macroeconomic changes
1986; Desai, 1984; Mitra, 2003). in explaining the growth of city-slums and
If the urbanization process is ‘generative’, highlight efforts made by their inhabitants to
urban areas are expected to offer employment escape poverty. The interplay between indi-
opportunities to low-income households who visibilities, infrastructure and concentration
migrate in search of jobs from the rural areas. of activities on the one hand and individual
Information, skill formation and experience preferences for occupations and locations
then facilitate the process of upward income and individual endowments such as educa-
mobility. However, given the diverse nature of tion, asset and networks or social capital, on
the city’s economic structure and variations in the other hand, is crucial to the understanding
economic activities conducted across space, of urban poverty and growth of urban slums.
individual preferences for occupations— Instead of succumbing to their poor socio-
given their social and economic asset base and economic conditions, the strategies and infor-
their urge to reside near the workplace—often mal security mechanisms that the low-income
accentuate the pressure on land and housing. households develop to cope with uncertainties
Hence, slums and squatters are an inevitable and to experience upward income mobility are
1
For details, see Mitra (1990, 1994).
significant not only for analytical purposes but on the other hand, shows a lower migration
also for policy formulation. All these enable propensity. What is most startling is that the
one to perceive measures that attribute merit illiterates and those with primary, middle and
to individual responses and complement them secondary levels of education are more likely
in attaining individual goals. Without a pro- to migrate than the graduates or those with
found understanding of their behaviour, mere a higher level of education. Those with less
discussions on growth or anti-poverty meas- education are more vulnerable in a rural setup,
ures at the level of the aggregate economy are and thus, they are more likely to out-migrate
bound to be futile. in search of jobs. With age, the probability to
migrate increases. Further, women are more
likely to migrate compared to men possibly
because of marriage and other social reasons.
FACTORS INFLUENCING MIGRATION:
SURVEY RESULTS
Based on the survey data, we have tried MIGRATION, INFORMAL SECTOR

to capture in a logit framework the factors EMPLOYMENT, POVERTY AND OTHER
which induce or discourage the probability IMPORTANT CORRELATES
to migrate to the urban areas. The survey was
carried out in the slums of four cities (Jaipur, In this section, based on the data at the state
Ludhiana, Mathura and Ujjain) in India in level, we try to bring out certain important
the year 2006–2007 under the GoI–UNDP associations between migration and other
project.2 Though the caste composition of variables. The variables are defined in Table
migrants of different durations and origins 3.2 along with the citation of the sources from
and the livelihood patterns of migrants caste- which they have been extracted. The factor
wise were looked into in the past (Shah, analysis carried out on a number of variables
2007), within the universe of the low-income reveals that higher rural literacy tends to raise
households whether caste factor matters or all the migration rate, moderately though (Table
social categories are equally vulnerable is an 3.2). The percentage of people belonging to
under-researched question. After controlling the SC category in rural areas also has a pos-
for relevant variables, we try to assess whether itive impact on the migration rate, support-
caste still matters within the broad context of ing the view that the disadvantaged sections
slums, which are largely characterized by low- migrate to escape their vulnerability (factor
income households. The dependent variable is 1). The most interesting part is that migration
migrants—those who moved into the city over reduces both rural and urban poverty as seen
a period of <10 years—versus non-migrants from both factors 1 and 4. This is, however,
characterized in terms of 1 and 0, respectively, not a very strong pattern emerging from the
at the place of destination (Table 3.1). Regular cross-sectional data.
wage employment raises the probability Higher urbanization and work participation
to migrate compared to self- employment rate in both rural and urban areas are positively
or casual wage employment. General and associated with migration (factor 2), suggest-
OBC categories show a higher probability ing that those in the labour market are more
to migrate in comparison to SCs and STs. likely to migrate, and after migration, they are
Relative to Ujjain (comparison category), likely to continue in the labour market. Such
Mathura does not show a different propensity patterns are more prevalent in states which are
to migrate whereas Ludhiana does. Jaipur, more urbanized than the others.
2
The survey was carried out by the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi.
Table 3.1 Probability to Migrate (Binomial Logit) with Marginal Effects

Dependent Variable: MIG Coefficient z-ratio dy/dx z-ratio
EMP1 0.228 1.58 0.010 1.47

EMP2 0.489 3.17** 0.024 2.69
SOC1 1.058 1.78* 0.054 1.47
SOC2 1.318 2.23** 0.068 1.79
SOC3 0.885 1.49 0.044 1.24
CITY1 −1.286 −7.39** −0.044 −9.3
CITY2 0.445 3.58** 0.021 3.17
CITY3 0.152 1.24 0.007 1.2
EDU1 0.846 4.71** 0.044 3.87
EDU2 0.513 3.07** 0.024 2.76
EDU3 0.900 5.27** 0.050 4.13
EDU4 0.737 3.63** 0.041 2.83
NET1 −0.015 −0.07 −0.001 −0.07
NET2 0.178 0.51 0.008 0.47
Hh size −0.002 −0.1 0.000 −0.1
Age 0.092 2.43 0.004 2.43
Gender −0.904 −8.77** −0.040 −8.29
Constant −4.319 −6.96
Source: See Chandrasekhar and Mitra (2018).

Notes: No. of Observation = 8996; chi2 (17) = 347.3; ** and * denote significance at 5 and 10 per cent levels, respectively.
EMP1 = Casual; EMP2 = Regular; SOC1 = General; SOC2 = OBCs; SOC3 = SCs; CITY1 = Jaipur; CITY2 = Ludhiana;
CITY1 = Jaipur; CITY2 = Ludhiana; CITY3 = Mathura; MIG1 ≥1 year; MIG2 = 1–4 years; MIG3 = 5–9 years;
EDU1 = Illiterate; EDU2 = Primary; EDU3 = Middle; EDU4 = Secondary; (reference category: graduation and above);
NET1 = Networks through family members; NET2 = Network through relatives; Hhsz = Household size; Age = Age of
the principal earner; Gender = Gender dummy (female = 0 and male = 1).
Migration, urban informal sector employ- The relationship between urbanization and
ment and the incidence of SC population informal sector employment is not distinct:
(representing lower social categories in terms the factor loadings of both urbanization and
of caste) in the urban and rural areas are all urban informal sector employment do not turn
positively connected with each other, sug- out to be high or moderate simultaneously in
gesting that the socially backward groups any of the four significant factors. In factor 3
are more likely to migrate and land up in the or 4, only one of the two is closer to unity,
urban informal sector. However, this pattern is while the other is negligible. From this, we
accompanied by a decline in the incidence of may conclude that informal sector employ-
poverty in both rural and urban areas, though ment and urbanization do not show any signif-
nominally. icant relationship.
In factor 4, urbanization takes the high- R and U subscripts stand for rural and
est factor loading and is associated posi- urban areas, respectively, MIG: migration rate
tively with the percentage of the rural and (2007–2008), NSS; MIG EMP MALE: migra-
urban workforce engaged in non-household tion rate for employment among males (2007–
manufacturing and services. Also, urbaniza- 2008), NSS; UINF: the share of informal
tion is negatively related to rural and urban sector employment in urban non-agricultural
poverty. activities (2009–2010), NSS; CHILDWOM:
Table 3.2 Factor Analysis: Migration, Urban Informal Sector and Other Rural and Urban Labour
Market Characteristics
Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4
MIG −0.1138 0.1812 0.2294 0.1403

UINF −0.1574 −0.0995 0.6029 −0.0252
MIG EMP MALE 0.1105 0.1661 −0.1277 0.0488
RHHSZ 0.6576 −0.4285 −0.1047 −0.1598
RCHILDWOM 0.8675 −0.2058 −0.1431 −0.1511
RWFPR −0.1262 0.6799 −0.0787 −0.1019
RLIT −0.5362 0.0718 −0.0909 0.5245
RSC −0.1469 −0.0411 0.9067 −0.0705
ROTHERACT −0.1406 0.0425 −0.1517 0.8636
UHHSZ 0.4938 −0.7729 −0.0294 −0.0745
UCHILDWOM 0.8359 0.0413 −0.1793 0.0322
UWFPR −0.0001 0.9216 −0.0934 0.1698
ULIT −0.4368 0.2878 −0.2512 0.2123
USC −0.0547 −0.0303 0.9247 −0.0724
UOTHERACT −0.1567 0.1456 −0.1291 0.4363
RPOV 0.1190 0.1737 −0.1193 −0.2127
UPOV 0.2697 −0.1800 −0.0965 −0.2519
URBN −0.0244 0.1433 0.0027 0.8671
Eigen Value 5.43 2.97 2.18 1.60
Percentage Explained 0.3563 0.1951 0.1432 0.1045
Source: Author’s calculation.

Note: N = 35.
child–woman ratio (2011), Census; LIT: lit- as also observed from the results pertaining
eracy rate (2011), Census; SC: percentage of to factor analysis. The decline in the unem-
scheduled caste population (2011), Census; ployment rate and the decline in the per-
HHSZ: household size (2011), Census; centage of the workforce engaged as casual
WFPR: work participation rate (2011), workers after migration compared with the
Census; OTHERACT: percentage of work- respective magnitudes prior to migration
force in other activities (2011), Census; POV: vary positively with the level of urbanization
poverty (2011–2012), NSS and URBN: per (Mitra, 2017). Further, we observe that casual
cent urbanization (2011), Census. employment and self-employment are higher
Also, based on other evidence, we may in smaller urban settlements, while regular
conclude that migration and urban informal wage employment is higher in larger urban
sector employment are closely connected settlements (Mitra, 2017). From this, we may
(Mitra, 2017). Migrants do not necessar- conclude that individuals in large cities are
ily move in search of jobs within the formal better-off after migration.
sector only; even the possibility to work in the On the whole, though, the evidence is
informal sector induces population mobility not highly supportive; the broad patterns are
across space. Further, rural and urban pov- suggestive of population movement to large
erty are connected through migration and urban centres which provide better job oppor-
other state-specific characteristics, although tunities compared to the rural job market.
migration and an increased urbanization level Such mobility does not necessarily result in
tend to reduce both rural and urban poverty, absorption in the formal sector; rather, there
is an indication of a rise in the incidence of results in heterogeneity in the city’s economic

informal sector employment. However, the structure—results in market information

livelihood opportunities in the urban informal asymmetry leading to physical segmentation
sector could be better than what the migrants of the labour market. Excess supplies of labour
had access to at their places of origin, and in certain activities reduce the scope of upward
thus, a subtle mechanism that facilitates pov- mobility in terms of income. As the contact
erty reduction after migration seems to exist. persons and the new entrants (migrants) both
But, the reduction is nominal, and thus, the pursue their jobs in similar activities and in
regions—even after experiencing a reduction the same neighbourhoods, wages remain
in poverty due to migration—may continue highly competitive. The social ties do not
to reveal a positive association between rural often release them from the close nexus they
and urban deprivation. Such observations are share, and thus, they cannot diversify their job
substantiated with evidence from the factor search across space. Elliott (1999) noted that
analysis confirming the decline in poverty in for less educated workers, the use of informal
relation to both migration and urbanization. contacts results in significantly lower wages.
In order to strengthen these beneficial effects, Hence, the trade-offs between social ties and
more policy interventions are required so that economic gains can be significant.
migration and urbanization exert their positive Kono (2006) demonstrated that hiring
spillover effects in both rural and urban areas. workers through employee referrals reduces
the new applicants’ payoffs, while a diversi-
fication of networks can raise their payoffs.
Network extension or pursuance of similar
JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES: HOW DO networks reduces the market equilibrium wage
INFORMAL SECTOR WORKERS ACCESS while network diversification raises referral
JOBS? wages through the bargaining effect. Munshi
and Rosenzweig (2006) noted that male ‘work-
Issues relating to migration of low-income ing-class-lower-caste-networks’ in Bombay
households and slums are wide and can be send boys to local language schools as a result
approached from different angles. An impor- of which they end up in traditional occupa-
tant question is how the rural migrants access tions, though the non-traditional white-collar
jobs in the urban sector, including the infor- occupations were on the rise in the 1990s.
mal and formal sector activities. Some stud- As observed from our survey results,3 most
ies have already highlighted the importance of the workers, including the migrants, do not
of informal networks in accessing jobs in the possess high levels of education; so the possi-
urban labour market. Networks are an indis- bility of utilizing formal methods of accessing
pensable part of the job search process through job market information is rather weak. The
which an entry is made to the labour market. percentage of workers accessing informal net-
But, as Mitra (2004) points out, the preva- works across occupations is given in Table 3.3
lence of networks—given the specialization of based on our survey of slum workers in four
activities in different parts of the city which cities under the UNDP project. Tailoring and
3
A detailed socio-economic survey that was conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization on slum
dwellers in all the class one cities in India dates back to 1976–1977 (Mitra, 1994). One primary survey was con-
ducted in Delhi slums in 1999–2000 under the Institute of Economic Growth-World Bank joint project: Urban
Poverty, Social Capital and Risk Management (for a detailed analysis, see Mitra, 2003). Subsequently, another
survey in Delhi (2004–2005) was conducted, and as mentioned earlier, the slum survey was also conducted in
four other cities under the GOI–UNDP project in 2006–2007. In spite of the differences in sampling techniques
and other methodological issues, it may be worthwhile to bring together the findings corroborated by all the
three aforementioned surveys.
Table 3.3 Distribution of Workers by Occupation and Networks (%)

Jaipur Ludhiana Mathura Ujjain All Four Cities
Occupation Self Networks Self Networks Self Networks Self Networks Self Networks
Semi-professional 45.57 54.43 70.37 29.63 74.12 25.88 70.59 29.41 64.26 35.74
Sales & trade 44.17 55.83 62.78 37.22 56.65 43.35 71.74 28.26 57.14 42.86
Personal services 47.22 52.78 72.50 27.50 59.18 40.82 72.58 27.42 58.80 41.20
Manufacturing & repair 40.24 59.76 66.45 33.55 44.04 55.96 67.03 32.97 57.25 42.75
Commerce & security 41.38 58.62 70.59 29.41 60.00 40.00 75.00 25.00 62.50 37.50
Transport 58.62 41.38 81.63 18.37 76.71 23.29 78.57 21.43 69.12 30.88
Tailoring 41.89 58.11 64.41 35.59 50.00 50.00 47.37 52.63 54.39 45.61
Construction 63.57 36.43 65.71 34.29 76.09 23.91 90.24 9.76 69.23 30.77
Labour 34.48 65.52 79.49 20.51 75.00 25.00 88.89 11.11 81.71 18.29
Others 51.61 48.39 71.43 28.57 61.70 38.30 76.19 23.81 64.97 35.03
Total 48.33 51.67 67.77 32.23 62.64 37.36 77.57 22.43 63.49 36.51
Source: Slum survey (2006–2007) under the GoI–UNDP project.
manufacturing were some of the activities (employment categories) and several individ-
in which workers used networks to a larger ual attributes such as gender, caste, education,
extent than in other activities. On the other migration status, asset, networks and prefer-
hand, those working as construction work- ence to reside near the workplace. Various
ers and labourers (excluding Jaipur) seemed types of informal and formal channels of infor-
to be using networks relatively less. Since mation flow that exist pertaining to the urban
the construction sector is predominated by labour market determine the ultimate selection
contractors and operates on the basis of the of occupation. While certain occupations are
daily wage labour market, the requirement for accessed largely through relatives—general
networks would be rather less. However, the as well as close—certain others are acquired
nature of the city could also be a determinant through co-villagers, friends, neighbours and
of network use. A large city with greater eco- members of the same caste groups and only
nomic opportunities attracts larger supplies of few are secured through formal channels like
labour, and accessibility to the labour market non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and
from an individual point of view becomes employment exchange, thus highlighting the
more difficult. Even the possibility of access- dominance of the informal channels of infor-
ing public space to squat is more difficult in a mation flow. The importance of social capital
large city compared to a small one (Edelman in framing individual responses to macroeco-
& Mitra, 2006). Hence, operating through net- nomic changes is indeed reflected in the house-
works among workers is an effective solution. hold surveys. The nature of networks changes
Though we do not have detailed data for dif- over time with acquisition of experience,
ferent size classes of cities, it is seen widely which again facilitates the process of upward
that the low-income households use informal mobility. There is evidence of improvement in
networks even in large cities to access labour the levels of income, accompanied by changes
market information (Banerjee, 1986). We in the nature of networks and occupations.
are, however, not able to provide any strong Though the graduation hypothesis, that is, the
evidence in favour of a positive association movement from the informal to the formal
between network intensity and city size. sector, does not seem to get substantiated with
Empirical findings are indicative of evidence, even within the informal sector,
associations between occupation groups workers are found to change occupations, and
this in turn adds to their benefit. In the initial are of the same type, and hence, the problems
stages, networks are of great significance, but they face could be quite diverse in nature are also
for those who had already been in urban jobs, reflected in the results. Though some of the prob-
self-initiated efforts are important for any fur- lems relating to basic amenities could largely be
ther improvement in occupation and income. an endemic feature of most of the slums, indi-
Though the incidence of migration is very vidual responses to challenges that they face and
high in the slum clusters, many of them are efforts they make to overcome them could be
long-duration migrants, and among them, significantly different from each other. Hence,
a large percentage moved to the city around policy directives need to consider these realities.
twenty years ago. Further, the incidence of Women workers in the urban informal
poverty tends to decline with a rise in the sector are engaged mostly in the lower rungs
duration of stay in the city, suggesting that of activities. Many of those working in the
migration results in economic gains, although informal sector seem to have come from large
on a limited scale. It also refutes the view that households, which is indicative of the double
perceives urban poverty merely as a ‘spillo- burden that they face in managing a large
ver’ of rural poverty, because other than the household and striving hard to augment the
migrants, the natives too belong to the below household income. Many of the women work-
poverty line (BPL) households and the per- ers are either illiterate or without any higher
centage share of short-duration migrants in education, employed in casual jobs in personal
total BPL households in the sample is much services. These are the activities that do not
lower than that of long-duration migrants. The seem to facilitate skill formation and enhance
fact that many of the long-duration migrant their future status in the urban labour market
households do not have property of any signif- that could add to their bargaining strength and
icant amount or strong contacts in their places raise the stream of future earnings. However,
of origin and that their economic and social long-duration migrants and natives among
capital has shifted its base to the urban locali- women are relatively b etter-off as they manage
ties suggests that they are to be treated more as to access jobs yielding higher earnings through
natives rather than migrants. This brings out their acquaintances compared with the short-
the inadequacy of policy perception that aims and medium-duration migrants. Gender dif-
at reducing urban poverty through implemen- ferentials in terms of income across most of
tation of rural development programmes only. the occupations are considerably high.
The economic structure of any large city (with Though most of the workers from slum
a few exceptions of highly specialized industrial households are engaged in the informal
cities) is diverse, supporting the physical seg- sector, not all of them are found to be poor.
mentation of the urban labour market. Though Two important points in this respect need to
from a macro point of view unlimited supplies be noted. First, within the informal sector,
of labour exist, a closer look at the survey data there exist several activities that are not nec-
allows us to unravel the illusion that often sur- essarily characterized by low productivity and
rounds our understanding of labour market and several activities have the potential to enhance
urban development. Intracity variations in activ- productivity with support coming in terms of
ities explain variations in employment opportu- microcredit, vocational training and marketing
nities across space and consequently the impact assistance. Second, poverty is not a function
on housing and other basic amenities, leading to of the employment sector only. There are sev-
over congestion in certain localities. Evidence eral household-specific characteristics which
is noted in support of individuals’ preference would indeed determine poverty. Besides, the
to reside in close vicinity of their workplaces, role of social capital is important in helping
which in turn explains the physical segmentation slum dwellers cope with uncertainties relating
of the urban labour market and that not all slums to consumption.
As expected, with a rise in the income of the on the help received from others. In other
household head, the standard of living in terms words, it appears to be an act of reciprocation.
of per capita expenditure improves. Given the Hence, interpreting remittances purely on the
percentage of children within the household, basis of altruism may not be correct. Other
any rise in the household size, implying an factors that matter in determining transfers
increase because of a rise in the number of are education, caste, household size, ability
adults, tends to improve the quality of housing. to save, contact with the place of origin, the
However, with a rise in the proportion of chil- duration of migration and job market stabil-
dren, the per capita expenditure also increases ity. Holding property at the place of origin
instead of declining, though the latter is usu- and visits to the place of origin influence the
ally expected. The increase could be owing decision to remit, which would be indicative
to the contribution made by the child labour of the practice of exchange; though, in its
in augmenting the family income and thus face value, altruism seems to be the motivat-
expenditure in per capita terms. Relationships ing factor. With the increase in the duration of
between occupations and/or employment migration, people tend to remit more because
categories and standard of living are note- their ability to earn as well as save increases
worthy, and hence, it would be misleading to over time and with experience. However, the
characterize all activities within the informal other side of the story also needs to be under-
sector by low productivity. It is quite evident stood. With an increase in the experience in
that female-headed households are worse off the urban labour market, the ability to help
compared to the male-headed households in others to access jobs increases, and hence,
terms of per capita consumption expenditure. more number of relatives and co-villagers of
The quality of housing again indicates the het- the first comers are expected to migrate to the
erogeneity in living standards across space. city. As this may dampen their future earnings
Even in terms of per capita consumption in the urban labour market because of a rise
expenditure, some of the areas within the city in the supply of labour and also increase their
turn out to have lower living standards com- liabilities on the domestic front—for they may
pared to the rest. However, even within these have to put up the new comers in their own
so-called low-income households, variations households—remittances are considered to
in living standards exist as their resources and be better substitutes. Networks, which are in
responses to challenges vary. The effect of wide practice as we have observed, for access-
caste on the quality of housing is not insignif- ing information on the job market are also, in
icant either; people belonging to SCs usually fact, indicative of mutual help—the principle
reside in poor-quality housing. The impact of of exchange rather than altruism—though the
education on both the quality of housing and nature of reciprocation need not be the same.
per capita expenditure is positive. Some of In order to identify the statistically sig-
these findings, as well as the interconnections nificant determinants of upward mobility,
between health and per capita expenditure, Mitra (2010), based on a binomial logit
have important policy implications. framework, tried out the following variables:
Addressing the larger issues of individ- household size, gender, age of the worker
ual behaviour in understanding the practice as a proxy for job market experience, levels
of networks and the role of social capital, of education of the worker taken in terms of
we tried and analysed whether transfers— dummies with illiteracy as the comparison
monetary and non-monetary both—are moti- category, m igration status taken in terms of
vated by the feeling of altruism or exchange. four dummies (those who migrated in the
Notwithstanding the limitations of the data, past five years, those who migrated in the past
empirical results tend to suggest that mone- 5–10 years, those who migrated in the past
tary or non-monetary help given is dependent 10–15 years and those who migrated more
than 15 years ago) with non-migrants as the provision of health, skill formation and educa-
comparison category, occupation categories tion, dissemination of job-market information
and finally, the types of network that the work- (pertaining to the informal sector) through
ers used to access the job market information. effective channels and a range of livelihood
Four network dummies (NETi = 1, … , 4) have support schemes, including marketing and
been used, taking those who depended on credit assistance and assurance of minimum
their own initiative as the comparison cate- wages.
gory. NET1 takes a value of 1 for those who
used their connections with family members
to access the job market information. NET2
refers to those who accessed jobs through CONCLUSION
general relatives (other than family members
or close relatives). NET3 represents friends, This study, which draws information both
neighbours, members of the same caste group from primary surveys and secondary sources,
and co-villagers. NET4 corresponds to formal such as National Sample Survey (NSS) and
institutions like employment exchanges or any population census, tends to suggest that migra-
welfare organization run by NGOs or employ- tion takes place in search of better job pros-
ers of the previous or current jobs. Recalling pects like regular employment, compared to
the hypothesis, our major objective was to self-employment which in the Indian context
examine whether the traditional or informal is mostly of a residual type. Among various
networks tend to reduce the probability of caste categories, those with a relatively higher
upward mobility although they may be offer- social status seem to have a higher probabil-
ing survival strategies. ity to migrate compared to those who belong
The empirical results suggest that net- to socially disadvantaged classes and are also
works operating through close relatives neither economically worse off. Though the standard
enhance nor reduce the probability of upward development literature suggested that poverty
mobility. On the other hand, networks which is strongly associated with rural-to-urban pop-
include general relatives (other than close rela- ulation mobility, this finding refutes such a
tives), reduce the probability of upward mobil- possibility. Contrarily, it may be argued that
ity in Jaipur. Mathura also shows a similar migration involves a substantial cost in mon-
effect, although not significant at 10 per cent etary and non-monetary terms, which the poor
level. In the other two cities, the networks of may not be able to afford. Based on second-
general relatives turn out to be highly insignif- ary data at the state level, it is distinct that
icant. This is evident despite the fact that the migration tends to reduce poverty at the place
informal networks are essential to enter the of destination. However, with a higher inci-
urban job market. However, younger workers dence of poverty in the rural areas, population
are able to form new networks, particularly movement declines. Higher urbanization and
through new communication technologies. As work participation rate in both rural and urban
a result of this, the duration of job search seems areas are positively associated with migration,
to have lessened; although, with increased suggesting that those in the labour market are
competition between the young workers and more likely to migrate, and after migration,
the elderly workers who have been forced to they are likely to continue in the labour market.
participate in the labour market in search of Such patterns are more prevalent in states that
a livelihood, the real income levels have not are more urbanized. Migration, urban informal
increased widely. Hence, government inter- sector employment and the incidence of SC
vention is important from a long-term devel- population (representing lower social catego-
opmental point of view. These interventions ries in terms of caste) in the urban and rural
can be manifested in terms of housing support, areas are all positively connected with each
other, indicating that the socially backward minants and adverse effects. Review of Urban and
groups are more likely to migrate which is Regional Development Studies, 18(1), 25–40.
in contrast with the findings emanating from Elliott, J. (1999). Social isolation and labour market
primary survey-based results. Though the insulation: Network and neighbourhood effects on
less-educated urban workers. Sociological Quarterly,
migrants are seen to land in the urban informal
40(2), 199–216.
sector, this pattern is accompanied by a nomi- Kannapan, S. (1985). Urban employment and the labour
nal decline in the incidence of poverty, reflect- market in developing nations. Economic Development
ing on the positive consequences of population and Cultural Change, 33(4), 699–729.
movement even without any strong possibility Kono, H. (2006). Employment with connections: Negative
of getting absorbed in the formal sector. network effects. Journal of Development Economics,
The survey-based analysis also brings out 81, 244–258.
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the informal sector. Through various social employment and poverty: An exploratory analysis.
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An exegesis based on micro data from Delhi slums.
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unless they are able to diversify their networks city variations in activities: Findings from Delhi slums.
outside the traditional domain. Policy inter- Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies,
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to the migrants in terms of housing and basic ——— . (2006, May 27). Labour market mobility of low
amenities. Given their drive to undertake hard- income households. Economic and Political Weekly,
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4
Labour Migration: Trends and
Characteristics
M. Imran Khan
INTRODUCTION patterns of labour migration in India (De Haan,

2011; Kundu & Gupta, 1996; Srivastava,
There are 714 million migrants migrating 2011; Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2005). While
within countries, and the number is four times defining labour migration, studies have either
more than international migrants (UNDP, focused on male migration (Kundu & Gupta,
2009). One-third of India’s population is 1996; Kundu & Saraswati, 2012) or have
defined as internal migrants, but not all inter- defined labour migration as only those migrat-
nal migrants are labour migrants. In 2007– ing for economic reasons (Srivastava, 2011).
2008, there were 326 million internal migrants This definition of labour migration under-
in India, of whom 141 million migrants were estimates the presence of labour migrants at
workers. Based on a detailed analysis of large the destination because it overlooks those
household surveys conducted by the National who have migrated for different reasons but
Sample Survey Office (NSSO) from time to are currently active in the labour market, par-
time, this chapter presents a review of the ticularly female labour migrants who may
trends and patterns of labour migration, con- have migrated for marriage or have moved
sidering the time period of three decades from with their household.1 There have been some
1983 to 2007–2008 which witnessed major attempts to include female labour migrants by
changes in the Indian economy. There have incorporating those workers who had migrated
been many studies analysing the trends and for ‘education’ and ‘other reasons’ or had
moved with their family (Mazumdar, Neetha,
1
National sample surveys ask migrants to provide only one reason for migration from among many reasons,
including for employment (Deshingkar & Akther, 2009), and women may find it socially acceptable to give mar-
riage as a reason (Krishnaraj, 2005).
& Agnihotri, 2013). The authors have argued comprehensive definition of labour migration
for including those female migrants, other than which will capture more accurately the extent
marriage migrants, as labour migrants, whose of the phenomenon, especially in the case of
initial reasons were non-economic, ‘presum- female labour migrants.
ing that their migration premised the nature of Thus, we are defining ‘labour migrants’ as
employment’. However, they have excluded individuals who have reported their place of
those female migrants who had migrated for enumeration different from their place of last
marriage but are presently working, arguing residence and are currently part of the labour
that it would ‘distort and inflate female labour force and ‘non-migrant labour’ as those indi-
migration as they are largely immobile in their viduals who have not experienced any kind of
local capacity as wives/daughters-in-law in migration in their lifetime and are currently
the destination’. This definition is ambiguous part of the labour force. The definition is based
because it is not clear how a female labour on the simple assumption that the number of
migrant who moved with the family is dif- individuals in a working age group migrat-
ferent from a marriage migrant in terms of ing for any reason from region A to region B
being immobile. A female who moved with reduces the labour supply, say by 2 per cent, in
the family may also be immobile as daugh- region A and increases the labour supply in the
ters and prospective wives/daughters-in-law destination (region B, in this case) by the same
in the destination. While it is a step towards proportion or less (depending on whether all
inclusion of non-economic migrants who are the migrants enter the labour market or not).
currently working as labour migrants, the There are some crucial advantages to this
exclusion of those marriage migrants who par- broader definition of labour migration. It does
ticipate in the labour market after migration not depend on the initial reasons for migra-
overlooks a significant supply of labour in the tion, and hence accounts for migrant labourers
destination.2 For instance, while examining whose initial reasons were non-economic and
the initial reasons for migration and current corrects the underestimation of labour migra-
labour market status of the migrant workers tion particularly of women who migrated for
in the 64th round of National Sample Survey marriage or moved with households and later
(NSS) unit-level data, it is found that only 93 entered the labour market at the destination.
per cent of those who migrated for economic At the same time, it also corrects the overesti-
reasons were active in the labour market at mation of labour migration at the destination
the time of the survey. Similarly, a signifi- labour market, arising due to the inclusion
cant proportion of migrants who migrated of those migrants whose initial reasons for
for non-economic reasons and are usually not migration were economic but they are not cur-
counted as labour migrants were part of the rently part of the labour market.
labour force in the destination. Among those The new definition corrects the major
who migrated for education, 11 per cent had overestimation and underestimation of labour
entered into the labour market, probably after migration and gives a clearer picture of labour
completing their studies, and 40 per cent of migration in India. We follow the same defi-
those who migrated for other reasons, such as nition across the chapter to analyse the trends
moved with family or marriage, were active and patterns of migration in India over the past
in the labour market at the time of the survey. three decades using nationally representative
Therefore, we attempt to give a broader household surveys.
2
The definition of migration, thus far, is dependent on census data which mainly uses reasons for migration and
does not take into account the current labour market status of the migrants. NSSO data is flexible in considering
the reasons of migration as well as the current labour market status of the migrants.
Labour Migration 53
LABOUR MIGRATION: TRENDS AND Even when they have a rising trend in both
PATTERNS IN GENERAL AND ACROSS rural and urban areas, the share of female
REGIONS migrants in the rural labour force is increas-
ing faster than that in urban areas. This differ-
We have used five successive NSS rounds con- ence is more evident in absolute terms, where
taining information on individual migration female migrants in rural areas increased from
status and employment details: 38th (January– 48.87 million in 1983 to 83.53 million in
December 1983), 43rd (July 1987–June 2007–2008. Female labour migration in rural
1988), 49th (January–June 1993), 55th (July areas is overwhelmingly large and has been
1999–June 2000) and 64th (July 2007–June increasing despite a consistent decline in the
2008). These rounds also include information female labour force participation rates over
on consumption expenditure, levels of educa- the last two decades. This probably explains
tion and other socio-economic characteristics. the ‘feminization’ of the agriculture sector
The NSS data is unable to capture short-term where men leave for non-agricultural jobs in
temporary and circular migration; as a result, urban areas and women—especially migrant
this data concentrates on permanent rather women through marriage migration—take up
than temporary and circular migration. agricultural jobs. However, the subject needs
We estimate the labour migrants as 143 further exploration.
million3 for the year 2007–2008 using the Male migration increased slightly from
revised definition of labour migration, of 1993 to 1999–2000 but again declined in 2007–
which 96.17 million (67.25%) labourers were 2008 to the lowest in the last three decades. In
women. The share of labour migrants in the contrast to female migrants, the share of male
labour force slightly increased from 29.00 per migrants is declining in both rural and urban
cent in 1983 to 30.50 per cent in 2007–2008. areas, except that, in urban areas, the share of
However, the increase in labour migration is male migrants increased from 1993 to 1999–
because of female labour migrants alone. The 2000 and declined in 2007–2008. In rural areas,
female migration rate consistently increased male labour migrants, which were increasing
from 54.21 per cent in 1983 to 70.72 per cent till 1999–2000, declined in absolute terms from
in 2007–2008, as opposed to the declining 17.76 million in 1999–2000 to 14.38 million
share of male labour migrants in the labour in 2007–2008. However, in urban areas, male
force from 16.04 per cent in 1983 to 13.30 per labour migrants increased from 18.03 million
cent in 2007–2008 (Table 4.1). to 32.44 million and female migrants doubled
Further, this predominance of female from 6.38 million to 12.64 million from 1983
labour migration is largely into rural areas, to 2007–2008, respectively. Similar trends have
whereas that of male labour migrants is been noticed in other studies using census data
largely into urban areas. The share of female where general migration trends are found to be
migrants is rising in rural areas. Of the total declining till 1991 and increasing thereafter till
96.17 million female migrants, 83.53 mil- 2001 (Srivastava, 2011).
lion were in rural areas, which constitute A similar trend can be seen across various
85.30 per cent of the total migrants in rural regions in India. There is a decline in rural
areas. However, females constitute a signifi- male migration in all states except Himachal
cant share of migrants in urban areas—28 per Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and other northeast-
cent (12.64 million) of the total 45.08 million ern states (Table 4.2). The reason for increas-
labour migrants in urban areas in 2007–2008. ing rural to rural migration in states like
3
Srivastava (2011) estimated migrant workers as 140 million using the same definition. Our estimate is 143
million, which also includes those who are unemployed according to Usual Principal Subsidiary Status definition
of labour force.
Table 4.1 Internal Labour Migration in India (%)

Rate of Labour Migration Labour Migration in Millions
Round Year Male Female Persons Male Female Persons
Rural
38th (January–December 1983) 9.64 54.70 26.41 14.72 48.87 63.59
43rd (July 1987–June 1988) 9.77 61.89 28.70 15.98 57.27 73.25
49th (January–June 1993) 8.37 61.74 26.93 15.73 61.14 76.87
55th (July 1999–June 2000) 8.86 66.33 28.81 17.76 69.34 87.10
64th (July 2007–June 2008) 6.30 73.46 28.67 14.39 83.53 97.92
Urban
43rd (July 1987–June 1988) 35.79 52.86 39.48 19.33 7.62 26.94
49th (January–June 1993) 32.22 50.49 35.59 21.03 7.28 28.31
55th (July 1999–June 2000) 33.11 54.13 37.28 26.78 10.87 37.66
64th (July 2007–June 2008) 32.07 55.11 36.45 32.44 12.64 45.08
Total
43rd (July 1987–June 1988) 15.6 60.78 30.76 35.31 64.88 100.19
49th (January–June 1993) 14.13 60.40 28.70 36.76 68.42 105.18
55th (July 1999–June 2000) 15.13 64.62 30.68 44.54 80.22 124.76
64th (July 2007–June 2008) 13.30 70.72 30.50 46.83 96.17 143.00
Source: Author’s calculation from different NSS unit-level data.

Note: All the figures presented are census adjusted to the census projected (or interpolated) population figures of the
NSS round year.
Punjab and Kerala is high rural wages and the moving to urban areas for better opportunities.
remunerative nature of rural to rural migration. The findings also go in line with the micro-
Rural female labour migration has increased level studies conducted in rural Bihar which
in all states, and the increase has been higher reported a high level of out-migration from
in backward states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, poorer backward regions to most developed
Odisha and Madhya Pradesh which contrib- regions within the state or outside the state
ute to the major share of labour migrants in (Karan, 2003). Similarly, though the urban
India. With regard to the urban male category, female migration rate as a whole is increas-
the labour migration rate is stagnant, but when ing, it is not so for all states. States like
disaggregated across different states, it is Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
found that they are not declining in all states. Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra and Tamil
Some states, especially industrially advanced Nadu have shown a declining trend for urban
states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and female migration. States like Bihar, Odisha
Gujarat, have shown an increase in the urban and Gujarat have shown a higher increase in
male labour migration rate. Apart from these labour migration of urban females.
states, Bihar has shown a higher increase in One of the explanations put forward for the
the urban male labour migration rates, which decline in rural to rural migration is the imple-
increased 18 percentage points from a lowest mentation of the Mahatma Gandhi National
4 per cent migration rate in 1993 to 23 per cent Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
in 2007–2008. Even though the state is con- (MGNREGS) in rural areas as revealed by some
sidered poor and backward, the rural-to-urban studies (Das, 2015; Jacob, 2013). MGNREGS
disparities in growth are huge and people are might explain some decrease in 2007–2008
Labour Migration 55
Table 4.2 State-wise Labour Migration Rate and Distribution in India (%)
Labour Migration Rate Distribution of Migrants
Rural Urban Rural Urban
State Year Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Jammu and Kashmir 1993 9.5 35.63 16.96 54.39 0.47 0.28 0.14 0.2
2007–2008 3.28 60.08 10.6 34.09 0.47 0.78 0.18 0.36
Himachal Pradesh 1993 11.46 70.09 36.77 74.62 1.08 1.47 0.25 0.42
2007–2008 16.4 84.2 49.86 75.09 1.93 1.48 0.33 0.43
Punjab 1993 6.02 69.83 22.16 69.23 1.38 1.12 2.12 1.85
2007–2008 8.9 82.02 29.14 68.81 3.09 1.97 3.02 2.62
Haryana 1993 5.34 82.63 43.71 82.13 1.13 2.08 2.67 2.55
2007–2008 5.18 92.4 37.26 74.68 1.7 2.43 2.52 3.04
Rajasthan 1993 7.19 79.43 29.84 70.47 4.28 9.42 3.83 5.24
2007–2008 5.79 86.93 30.1 74.67 4.97 8.99 4.48 5.5
Uttar Pradesh 1993 6.52 75.04 21.32 69.33 13.89 14.5 8.38 12.28
2007–2008 4.43 89.51 20.49 59.6 12.03 15.41 8.37 8.76
Bihar 1993 3.59 30.58 4.46 13.42 3.89 2.25 0.57 0.66
2007–2008 1.45 66.18 22.7 59.38 2.45 6.62 2.65 2.38
Assam 1993 4.06 24.64 31.86 46.57 1.46 0.59 0.94 0.44
2007–2008 3.29 28.93 27.46 46.4 1.74 0.64 0.81 0.53
West Bengal 1993 10.49 66.7 36.58 49.63 10.58 5.45 10.88 6.43
2007–2008 5.23 67.04 26.87 52.44 7.24 3.77 6.35 6.74
Odisha 1993 3.81 46.02 38.81 50.16 2.2 3.13 2.34 1.54
2007–2008 4 71.63 39.22 64.19 2.78 4.32 2.23 2.3
Madhya Pradesh 1993 6.48 79.57 29.91 66.89 6.62 13.57 6.08 8.59
2007–2008 4.86 85.44 23.04 73.4 6.86 12.51 4.57 8.74
Gujarat 1993 10.6 64.59 23.71 33.93 7.16 7.01 4.36 3.27
2007–2008 6.2 81.62 32.95 59.77 4.61 5.57 7.56 6.53
Maharashtra 1993 12.75 79.18 48.81 63.07 12.23 15.41 21.91 20.35
2007–2008 10.37 80.52 46.32 58.82 13.29 12.39 21.63 15.54
Andhra Pradesh 1993 11.84 44.21 34.43 46.21 12.53 9.1 8.68 10.74
2007–2008 8.39 63.61 41.43 61.35 10.57 10.63 9.7 12.01
Karnataka 1993 7.6 56.43 19.77 37.38 4.71 5.9 3.84 5.96
2007–2008 6.7 67.34 32.43 45.41 5.1 5.46 6.27 6.49
Kerala 1993 20.34 40.57 29.97 42.3 7.51 1.74 3.04 4.43
2007–2008 23.89 58.3 29.61 54.85 11.21 2.27 2.33 4.44
Tamil Nadu 1993 9.69 45.92 34.28 38.76 7.54 6.73 11.25 12.47
2007–2008 8.34 49.48 21.08 36.5 6.54 4.49 6.63 10.86
Other NE 1993 5.72 5.05 12.37 5.67 0.62 0.07 0.21 0.09
2007–2008 6.75 11.95 15.56 20.31 1.28 0.19 0.4 0.54
Other States 1993 22.84 57.03 51.09 40.83 0.71 0.17 8.52 2.5
2007–2008 36.26 45.34 56.86 49.62 2.15 0.09 9.98 2.21
Total 1993 8.36 61.74 32.22 50.49 100 100 100 100
2007–2008 6.34 73.57 32.18 55.18 100 100 100 100

but may not fully explain the declining labour available, migration locations such as intra-
migration in rural areas because labour migra- district, interdistrict and interstate migrations
tion has been declining consistently since 1983, may be considered as short-, medium- and
long before the implementation of MGNREGS. long-distance migrations, respectively. Apart
Furthermore, the impact of MGNREGS has from the distance-wise distribution of migra-
been found to affect short-term distress-driven tion, the gender-wise distribution of rural and
migration, and its impact on long-term labour urban migrants to rural or urban areas in these
migration is limited (Imbert & Papp, 2015). particular streams is also examined across
Some scholars have even discarded the asser- states as presented in Tables 4.3–4.5.
tion that migration is declining, arguing that Rural-to-urban migration, hitherto, has
the existing data (NSSO and census data) on been the main focus in the migration devel-
migration is not able to capture short-term, cir- opment discourse, but in reality, intrarural
cular migration (De Haan, 2011; Deshingkar & and intraurban migrations are more impor-
Farrington, 2009). tant than rural-to-urban migrations, and often,
The increase in migration in urban areas female migrants are more dominant in rural
has been mostly attributed to changing poli- to rural migration streams in some develop-
cies of the Indian economy which has shifted ing countries such as India and Egypt (United
from state-led to market economy. The eco- Nations, 2004). The data shows that in 2007–
nomic reforms have enhanced communica- 2008, rural to rural labour migration was the
tion systems and roads, creating new growth highest constituting 66.5 per cent of total
centres in urban areas, which has led to labour migration, followed by rural-to-urban
increased mobility of the Indian labour force. (17.8%) and urban-to-urban (10.3%) labour
Nevertheless, this increased mobility remains migration (Table 4.3). However, there are
low compared with other developing countries gender differences in the pattern. For female
(Munshi & Rosenzweig, 2016); but, other labour migrants, rural to rural migration was
forms of migration such as short-term migra- the highest constituting 84 per cent of total
tion (<6 months) and commuting for work labour migration, followed by rural-to-urban
have emerged (Chandrasekhar & Sharma, and urban-to-urban streams. Among male
2015). The migration definition both in NSS migrants, in 2007–2008, rural-to-urban migra-
and census is not able to capture short-term tion was the highest at 41.7 per cent, followed
and circulatory migration, underestimating by rural-to-rural (25.6%) and urban-to-urban
migration flow. Permanent or semi-permanent migrants (24.4%). The patterns for females
migrations, captured in NSS and census data, are more or less stable over the course of time.
are most often for jobs in the formal sector, as By contrast, for male migrants, the patterns
is evident from the higher share of migrants are changing, wherein there is a decrease in
in regular work (Srivastava, 2011). However, migration to rural areas and an increase in
jobs in the recent past have been created in the migration to urban areas from both rural and
informal sector, most often for a short period. urban areas. This indicates that males are
As a result, labourers resort to short-term responding to labour market opportunities in
migration, and the lack of creation of regular distant places, whereas mobility for females is
jobs affects the flow of permanent migration. still limited but shifting slowly.
To further understand migration and its Analysing the migration streams across
changing patterns, it is pertinent to explore regions gives a more nuanced picture of the
distance-wise migration through different direction of migration that has changed over the
migration streams to get a better understand- last two decades among both male and female
ing of the change in labour mobility across labour migrants. Tables 4.4 and 4.5 present
short and long distances at different time the picture of streamwise migration in rural
points. Because information on distance is not and urban areas, respectively. As understood
Labour Migration 57
Table 4.3 Percentage Distribution of Labour Migrants by Sector, Sex and PLR
Round Year Rural to Rural Urban to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Urban
Male 1983 37.32 8.08 33.1 21.49

1993 32.92 11.32 35.95 19.81
1999–2000 31.59 11.16 35.63 21.62
2007–2008 25.56 8.3 41.73 24.42
Female 1983 84.58 4.06 7.81 3.55
1993 85.46 4.62 6.79 3.13
1999–2000 83.88 4.42 7.57 4.12
2007–2008 84.27 4.11 7.48 4.15
Persons 1983 67.77 5.49 16.81 9.93
1993 68.02 6.84 16.47 8.67
1999–2000 66.48 6.66 16.91 9.95
2007–2008 66.53 5.37 17.82 10.27

Note: PLR: place of last residence.
from the aforementioned section, rural to rural the last three decades to understand whether
migration is declining in total migration share, unprivileged and poor are more mobile and
but within that, the decline is in short-distance the changes therein over the last three dec-
intradistrict rural migration and not in long- ades. Economic class is defined by consump-
distance interdistrict and interstate rural to rural tion quantiles, separately, for rural and urban
migration, which has shown an increase for both areas.
male and female labour migrants, as shown in Table 4.6 presents the data on migration
Table 4.4. This trend is shared across the states rates of different economic classes measured
in India with few exceptions. States such as by consumption expenditure. While analys-
Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Assam ing the migration rates by economic class,
show an increase in the share of short-distance one must be careful of drawing conclusions
rural to rural migration to total migration, espe- based on data collected at the destination
cially among male labour migrants. when migration decision has already taken
In urban areas (Table 4.5), labour migrant place. Remittances sent by labour migrants
streams are changing towards long distance have a significant positive impact on con-
rural-to-urban migration, and short-distance intra- sumption expenditure of the developing
district migration is declining. Similarly, urban- countries (Zarate-Hoyos, 2004). For example,
to-urban migration, which constitutes a major migrant labourers migrating to high-wage
migration stream in urban areas but is moving destinations or taking up high-paying jobs in
towards long-distance urban-to-urban migrations. places other than the place of origin implies
that migrants are in an income distribution
which is higher than the income distribution
at their place of origin. So, comparing them
ECONOMIC AND SOCIO-RELIGIOUS with non-migrants creates a sample selection
CHARACTERISTICS OF LABOUR bias. Because we do not have information on
MIGRANTS the income levels before the migration deci-
sion was taken, we rely on consumer expend-
The current section analyses migration rates iture data for migrants reported at the place of
by socio-religious and economic classes over enumeration.
Table 4.4 Labour Migration Streams across States (Rural) (%)
Last Usual Place of Residence
Male Female
Intrastate Intrastate
Intradistrict Interdistrict Interstate Intradistrict Interdistrict Interstate
State to Rural
(Current Place of Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to
Residence) Year Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural Rural
Jammu and Kashmir 1993 67.9 0.0 24.8 0.8 3.8 2.8 85.0 0.6 11.5 1.5 1.2 0.2
2007–2008 28.0 30.7 12.9 14.9 5.9 7.7 88.1 1.6 8.8 1.2 0.3 0.0
Himachal Pradesh 1993 43.7 14.2 11.6 4.4 8.0 18.1 91.8 1.4 5.3 0.5 0.5 0.5
2007–2008 36.7 13.3 9.3 6.8 8.3 25.7 83.2 2.4 11.0 0.7 1.7 0.9
Punjab 1993 22.2 14.6 30.3 9.6 16.3 7.1 62.4 4.3 16.1 2.3 13.9 0.9
2007–2008 22.0 8.6 16.2 5.0 40.7 7.5 50.6 3.4 30.3 5.0 9.9 0.8
Haryana 1993 15.5 2.8 29.8 14.1 17.8 20.1 34.8 2.2 41.7 0.7 17.9 2.7
2007–2008 17.2 1.5 29.0 10.8 26.4 15.2 33.7 1.4 47.8 1.3 13.9 1.9
Rajasthan 1993 51.4 10.3 13.8 6.5 7.1 10.9 75.7 2.3 14.3 0.8 6.5 0.4
2007–2008 52.1 5.6 17.0 6.3 8.6 10.4 75.8 2.1 16.0 1.1 4.3 0.7
Uttar Pradesh 1993 44.7 8.9 20.5 7.6 7.5 10.9 70.9 2.5 22.0 1.1 2.8 0.6
2007–2008 36.3 7.9 18.8 8.5 11.7 16.8 69.1 1.9 23.9 1.1 3.5 0.6
Bihar 1993 24.7 1.3 3.0 6.2 4.7 60.2 85.2 0.1 14.1 0.1 0.6 0.0
2007–2008 54.3 4.3 24.8 3.4 6.2 7.0 67.2 2.3 25.8 1.2 3.3 0.3
Assam 1993 51.5 5.9 5.0 6.3 26.5 4.8 86.9 1.2 5.7 4.8 1.0 0.6
2007–2008 74.3 1.4 15.4 3.8 3.3 1.8 71.3 4.3 23.8 0.6 0.0 0.1
West Bengal 1993 62.8 7.2 16.4 4.1 9.0 0.5 81.6 1.4 12.9 0.4 3.6 0.2
2007–2008 59.2 4.9 12.2 14.5 4.2 5.1 77.7 1.8 16.4 1.1 2.7 0.3
Odisha 1993 61.4 4.4 11.6 5.5 7.2 10.0 93.4 0.2 4.3 0.5 1.3 0.2
2007–2008 50.7 2.6 16.4 9.2 6.8 14.5 82.7 1.2 14.0 0.5 1.5 0.2
Madhya Pradesh 1993 66.1 4.8 16.1 5.3 5.8 2.0 82.5 1.5 11.8 0.9 2.9 0.4
2007–2008 49.7 8.0 22.4 3.9 9.1 7.0 72.6 3.2 19.0 0.8 3.9 0.6
Gujarat 1993 22.9 3.3 3.9 60.1 8.8 1.0 80.6 2.7 6.3 10.0 0.3 0.0
2007–2008 36.9 13.4 11.2 7.4 30.4 0.7 74.4 4.5 18.7 0.7 1.6 0.0
Maharashtra 1993 47.9 10.1 23.7 8.2 7.5 2.6 76.7 3.5 15.3 2.4 1.7 0.5
2007–2008 43.5 7.1 25.9 13.2 8.4 2.0 70.8 3.5 20.5 2.2 2.8 0.2
Andhra Pradesh 1993 65.1 13.2 16.5 1.0 2.5 1.8 80.3 4.6 10.8 1.2 2.8 0.3
2007–2008 58.5 10.4 16.9 8.3 3.8 2.1 83.1 3.1 10.3 1.2 2.3 0.2
Karnataka 1993 56.8 5.7 15.5 6.2 12.6 3.2 76.1 4.4 14.2 0.9 3.8 0.6
2007–2008 44.2 6.7 29.0 8.8 7.1 4.3 73.0 1.5 18.3 0.8 6.1 0.4
Kerala 1993 60.6 5.8 20.0 3.2 5.1 5.2 76.1 4.4 14.5 1.5 3.1 0.5
2007–2008 48.4 8.8 20.4 7.2 7.1 8.2 70.4 6.5 15.5 1.7 2.9 2.9
Tamil Nadu 1993 43.2 10.8 23.4 14.9 2.6 5.2 79.3 3.1 12.6 2.9 1.4 0.7
2007–2008 42.8 10.6 18.5 19.8 3.5 4.8 66.2 3.3 24.2 4.6 0.9 0.9
Other NE 1993 63.4 6.9 10.0 9.3 8.3 2.2 84.1 3.2 4.8 4.1 3.8 0.1
2007–2008 46.2 6.3 15.2 7.8 19.2 5.3 65.8 5.9 14.9 4.9 7.6 0.9
Other States 1993 22.6 9.0 2.5 1.1 51.6 13.3 56.9 3.7 2.5 0.7 30.4 5.8
2007–2008 12.6 3.4 1.5 4.3 60.8 17.4 35.8 3.8 8.6 7.6 37.9 6.3
Total 1993 50.1 8.2 17.0 10.3 7.3 7.1 77.5 2.7 14.2 1.9 3.2 0.5
2007–2008 45.4 7.9 19.1 9.2 11.0 7.4 72.1 2.7 19.7 1.4 3.5 0.5

Note: NE: Northeastern.
Table 4.5 Labour Migration Streams across States (Urban) (%)
Last Usual Place of Residence
Male Female
Intrastate Intrastate
Intradistrict Interdistrict Interstate Intradistrict Interdistrict Interstate
State to Urban
(Current place Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to Rural to Urban to
of residence) Year Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban Urban
Jammu and Kashmir 1993 14.9 9.2 23.6 22.0 12.3 18.0 34.9 29.1 3.5 13.7 2.1 16.8
2007–2008 21.2 5.7 18.1 16.1 23.4 15.4 22.3 29.8 13.0 16.2 9.9 8.8
Himachal Pradesh 1993 30.3 7.3 23.1 18.3 3.1 17.8 67.4 4.7 11.7 3.8 6.2 6.3
2007–2008 25.6 3.5 23.4 17.2 21.3 9.0 44.9 6.0 19.5 8.5 14.1 7.1
Punjab 1993 18.7 6.0 16.6 9.3 31.3 18.1 31.2 23.1 10.8 14.1 6.4 14.3
2007–2008 5.6 2.6 4.3 11.0 62.2 14.3 13.6 25.0 11.2 31.0 4.5 14.8
Haryana 1993 12.6 4.6 8.0 8.0 54.1 12.7 27.1 8.4 11.6 10.8 27.5 14.6
2007–2008 12.1 4.0 9.5 9.9 48.4 16.1 15.4 4.5 24.5 13.1 21.1 21.5
Rajasthan 1993 32.0 9.8 14.5 22.8 8.4 12.5 41.7 12.2 15.3 11.7 5.0 14.1
2007–2008 44.7 4.0 18.2 12.4 13.0 7.7 51.3 9.0 15.6 13.7 6.3 4.2
Uttar Pradesh 1993 25.5 12.6 30.2 17.7 7.3 6.7 41.1 15.1 19.5 14.6 4.2 5.4
2007–2008 16.5 8.7 29.1 20.1 12.8 12.9 35.8 13.4 18.3 15.9 7.9 8.9
Bihar 1993 22.9 11.8 30.9 24.7 3.0 6.8 47.7 3.1 33.0 10.8 1.3 4.1
2007–2008 35.4 3.7 25.8 20.7 5.0 9.4 43.2 6.8 33.6 7.7 5.2 3.5
Assam 1993 21.6 8.2 21.6 23.0 21.4 4.3 32.6 11.2 34.8 14.0 7.4 0.1
2007–2008 29.5 3.4 36.2 12.5 15.3 3.0 44.6 2.2 36.5 7.4 8.9 0.4
West Bengal 1993 15.9 14.4 19.4 10.1 35.2 5.1 33.8 20.5 25.4 9.0 8.5 2.8
2007–2008 8.7 16.5 19.4 19.9 28.4 7.1 29.9 23.6 15.8 22.8 5.7 2.1
Odisha 1993 40.8 12.1 21.8 8.9 8.2 8.3 69.4 5.7 13.3 7.3 3.2 1.1
Odisha 2007–2008 23.5 7.0 29.8 22.2 9.3 8.1 43.3 9.6 28.0 7.6 4.6 6.9
Madhya Pradesh 1993 35.5 9.1 13.7 20.6 11.9 9.3 52.6 4.5 20.6 12.2 5.7 4.4
2007–2008 22.8 8.4 16.0 22.3 18.4 12.1 40.2 12.2 17.0 20.2 6.3 4.2
Gujarat 1993 30.0 13.7 18.1 19.2 12.6 6.5 40.1 14.4 20.9 17.0 6.7 1.0
2007–2008 23.7 5.4 15.9 13.2 35.2 6.7 27.4 13.6 24.4 16.3 14.0 4.4
Maharashtra 1993 15.8 6.9 27.5 13.0 29.7 7.2 38.3 6.6 22.1 14.4 14.0 4.7
2007–2008 10.4 7.2 19.4 20.9 31.8 10.2 24.3 8.4 24.9 23.1 11.8 7.5
Andhra Pradesh 1993 39.4 10.4 22.4 14.0 3.9 9.8 51.0 10.7 20.0 10.0 2.2 6.0
2007–2008 35.8 5.6 30.6 20.4 4.2 3.4 48.5 7.8 26.9 11.1 2.4 3.3
Karnataka 1993 27.6 16.8 19.1 16.8 6.9 12.9 40.6 22.6 17.7 8.7 4.2 6.2
2007–2008 14.3 6.2 23.9 20.2 16.6 18.8 23.7 10.8 27.9 17.9 10.7 9.1
Kerala 1993 43.6 23.3 17.8 9.4 1.2 4.7 51.4 20.2 20.4 4.6 0.3 3.0
2007–2008 24.9 23.5 22.9 11.4 6.9 10.4 40.1 21.6 19.5 14.8 1.9 2.0
Tamil Nadu 1993 15.7 14.5 28.9 27.3 6.8 6.9 35.1 17.8 22.8 18.5 3.1 2.8
2007–2008 20.7 14.2 26.5 26.3 5.2 7.1 38.8 15.0 22.4 17.2 4.3 2.2
Other NE 1993 33.7 10.6 7.9 8.8 34.3 4.8 58.0 15.8 14.1 9.0 0.4 2.7
2007–2008 31.1 8.2 15.0 18.9 17.7 9.2 39.6 10.1 18.1 17.4 9.3 5.5
Other States 1993 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.5 61.8 36.9 3.5 0.5 0.2 0.8 38.5 56.5
2007–2008 1.3 3.1 0.7 10.9 60.5 23.6 8.5 11.3 6.0 17.2 39.2 17.8
Total 1993 21.9 10.3 20.9 14.8 21.7 10.5 40.9 12.5 19.9 12.5 7.6 6.6
2007–2008 17.9 7.5 19.7 18.3 25.5 11.1 34.2 12.3 21.9 17.3 8.3 6.1

Note: NE: Northeastern states.
Table 4.6 Migration Rate (%) by Economic Class

Rural Urban Total
Male Female Persons Male Female Persons Male Female Persons
Consumption Quantile 1
1983 7.02 50.57 25.19 21.20 46.60 28.39 10.26 50.02 25.81
1987–1988 6.50 59.87 28.07 20.59 51.20 29.86 7.75 59.36 28.20
1993 6.91 57.29 25.33 20.23 49.20 27.01 10.94 55.78 25.77
1999–2000 5.26 62.53 27.83 17.32 56.20 27.4 8.35 61.54 27.74
2007–2008 3.54 72.17 27.9 15.96 58.11 26.06 6.95 69.67 27.45
1983 7.29 53.10 25.14 25.62 50.26 31.49 11.55 52.74 26.38
1988 7.20 60.25 27.34 19.21 52.84 28.52 8.70 59.65 27.47
1993 6.77 62.02 26.85 23.79 48.37 28.83 9.89 60.77 27.15
1999–2000 6.15 65.02 27.39 25.29 53.28 31.52 11.19 63.22 28.32
2007–2008 3.97 72.60 27.15 21.69 55.09 28.6 8.87 69.74 27.50
1983 8.49 54.85 25.62 32.98 49.32 36.22 14.23 54.22 27.68
1987–1988 8.48 62.13 27.64 25.1 49.86 31.24 11.42 60.74 28.20
1993 6.44 62.02 26.09 28.78 49.45 32.36 11.81 60.66 27.33
1999–2000 7.05 66.77 27.54 30.12 53.98 34.51 13.09 65.07 29.09
2007–2008 4.62 73.79 27.92 30.73 51.81 34.43 11.82 70.77 29.45
1983 9.36 56.12 26.01 41.26 52.67 43.22 17.06 55.75 29.42
1987–1988 10.53 63.59 28.63 32.91 53.40 37.20 16.2 62.08 30.52
1993 7.90 61.33 26.22 40.27 54.18 42.27 17.26 60.51 30.03
1999–2000 8.25 67.36 28.21 39.52 54.68 41.94 16.37 65.90 31.18
2007–2008 5.41 73.55 27.88 39.48 53.71 41.66 14.66 71.17 31.02
1983 14.97 59.68 29.86 54.90 55.90 55.07 24.91 59.23 35.16
1987–1988 18.54 67.68 34.29 48.06 55.47 49.36 31.22 64.59 40.06
1993 13.19 66.31 30.02 50.57 52.59 50.88 20.13 65.15 33.27
1999–2000 15.96 70.35 32.68 48.4 52.17 49.07 24.22 67.78 36.33
2007–2008 12.88 75.59 32.37 48.72 56.19 50.07 22.3 72.69 36.46
Table 4.6 shows that labour migration rates migration does not vary much across quantile
are higher at higher quantiles. The 2007–2008 classes. Female migration rates were 72.69
data shows migration rates as being highest per cent for Q5 class and 69.67 per cent for the
for males in the fifth quantile (Q5) and pro- lowest quantile Q1. Similar patterns are noted
gressively declining with subsequent quan- across rural and urban areas. Interestingly, the
tile classes where economic class Q1 has the dominance of male migration into urban areas
lowest migration rate (6.95%). In contrast to and female migration into rural areas is also
male migration across quantile classes, female observed across all economic classes.
Labour Migration 63
Irrespective of the quantile class, male quantiles (Q5). Second, the migration rates are
migration rates are lower in 2007–2008 than increasing for rural females both in the lowest
in 1983. However, the migration rate increased and highest quantiles. Similarly, migration
in all quantiles except economic class (Q1) rates for urban females increased in the lowest
from 1993 to 1999–2000 and remained either quantile, whereas in the highest quantile, the
stagnant or declined in 2007–2008. The same rates declined from 1983 to 1999–2000 and
is true for male labour migrants in urban increased thereafter. The results are in line
areas, but in rural areas, their migration rates with the findings of earlier studies showing
have consistently declined for all economic that migration takes place among better-off
classes. For female migrants, the consistent groups and that lower economic classes are
increase in their migration rates in both rural less likely to migrate (Bhagat, 2010; De Haan,
and urban areas from 1983 to 2007–2008 is 2011; Deshingkar & Anderson, 2004).
also reflected across all economic classes. The income quantile classification may not
The diagrammatic representation of migration capture the socio-economic reality of the Indian
rates of the lowest and highest quantiles ena- society where evidence from a large body of
bles a better understanding of migration rates literature shows that workers are discriminated
for both rural and urban areas at different time on the basis of their social and religious back-
points from 1983 to 2007–2008. Figure 4.1 grounds (Deshpande, 2011). It is relevant to
provides some interesting results. First, the understand the socio-religious background of
migration rates for both rural and urban males the labour force to understand mobility across
are declining both in lowest (Q1) and highest social groups over the last three decades.
80.0 75.6
72.2
70.4
67.7 66.3
70.0
62.5
59.9 59.7
60.0 57.3 55.5 56.2
52.6 52.2
Labour Migration Rate (%)
50.6 54.9
58.1
50.0 56.2 55.9
51.2 49.2 50.6
48.1 48.4 48.7
40.0 46.6
Rural male
30.0 Rural female
21.2 20.6 20.2 Urban male
17.3 16.0 18.5
20.0 15.0 16.0
13.2 12.9 Urban female
10.0 7.0 6.5 6.9

5.3 3.5
0.0
1983
1987–88
1993
1983
1987–88
1993
1999–2000
2007–2008
1999–2000
2007–2008
Consumption Quantile 1 Consumption Quantile 5
Figure 4.1 Migration Rate: Consumption Quantile, Upper (Q5) and Lower (Q1)
We categorized workers by socio-religious (45.06%). Among males, SAG urban males

categories into scheduled caste (SC), sched- show the highest migration rate (39.13%) in
uled tribe (ST), Muslim, other backward class 2007–2008. It is interesting to note that the
(OBC) and Others. ST, SC and OBC are iden- migration rate among rural females is higher
tified as the socially disadvantaged groups, than that in urban females, whereas urban
availing the benefits of affirmative action of the males have higher migration rates than rural
government in the form of reservation policy in males across social groups. Besides, SAG male
education and employment. The government migrants in both rural and urban areas have
appointed a committee to study the socio- higher migration rates than male migrants of
economic and educational status of the Muslim socially disadvantageous groups such as SC,
community. In India, known as the Sachar ST or Muslims, which is consistent across all
Committee (Government of India, 2006); it time points. This indicates a social hierarchy
found that Muslims rank somewhat above ST in migration wherein SAGs use networks to
and SC but below Hindu OBC in almost all grab opportunities, whereas the socially dis-
the development indicators. Therefore, in this advantageous groups lag behind in reaping the
study, we take Muslims as a socially disadvan- benefits of migration.
taged group along with ST, SC and OBC. The The percentage point change in migration
category ‘Others’ is a residual one forming the rates reveals that the rates for female migration
socially advantageous group (SAG) category in all social groups increased from 1999–2000
consisting of Hindu upper castes, Jains, Sikhs, to 2007–2008, as shown in Figure 4.3, and even
Christians, Zoroastrians and a few others. for a longer period from 1983 to 2007–2008, as
Because the data on OBC is compared only in shown in Figure 4.2. Unlike female migrants,
the two latest employment and unemployment male migrants have declined across all social
surveys, 55th (1999–2000) and 64th (2007– groups in both rural and urban areas as shown
2008) rounds, we present two groups for the in Figures 4.2 and 4.3. Rural females belong-
Others category in our analysis—one with ing to the ST category experienced the high-
and the other without OBC in order to make est change in the migration rates, with an 11
it comparable with the earlier NSS rounds that percentage point increase from 1999–2000 to
do not report OBC as a separate category. 2007–2008 and a 14 percentage point increase
In order to understand the migration from 1983 to 2007–2008, followed by rural
rates better, we constructed an interaction of Muslim females (12.21 percentage points) for
socio-religious categories with gender (male the longer period and rural females belong-
and female) and location (rural and urban) ing to the OBC category for the shorter time
which subdivides the labourers into 20 mutu- period (Figure 4.3). Male SAGs in both rural
ally exclusive subgroups presented in Table and urban areas showed the highest decline in
4.7. Once the classification is introduced, the migration rates from 1983 to 2007–08 when a
stark differences in migration rates across the shorter duration is considered; migration rates
social groups are evident. Figure 4.2 reports have declined faster for urban male Muslims
the percentage point difference in migration and rural male SAGs (Figure 4.3). The left
rates from 1983 to 2007–2008, and Figure 4.3 column of Table 4.7 presents the ratio of share
reports change from 1999–2000 to 2007–2008. of migration of different social groups to their
Table 4.7 shows that of all migrants, rural share of labour force, which suggests that if the
females belonging to SAG have the highest ratio is greater than one, the particular group
migration rate (80.25%), followed by rural is overrepresented in migration and if it is
females belonging to SC (75.24%) and the less than one, the group is under-represented
lowest rate belongs to rural males belonging in migration. As we can see from Table 4.7,
to ST (4.38%). Among females, urban Muslim the ratio of females is greater than one for all
females have the lowest migration rate groups, which suggests over-representation
Labour Migration 65
Table 4.7 Migration Rate (in %) by Socio-religious Group

Ratio of Migrant Share/
Migration Rate Labour Force Share
Socio-religious group 1983 1987–1988 1999–2000 2007–2008 1983 1987–1988 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural, Male, ST 8.59 7.26 6.39 4.38 0.30 0.24 0.21 0.14
Rural, Male, SC 9.28 9.30 8.11 6.00 0.32 0.30 0.26 0.20
Rural, Male, OBC 8.47 6.00 0.28 0.20
Rural, Male, Muslim 8.25 7.56 6.83 5.34 0.28 0.25 0.22 0.17
Rural, Male, SAG 12.11 9.26 0.39 0.30
Rural, Male, SAG (with OBC) 10.12 10.88 9.94 7.04 0.35 0.35 0.32 0.23
Rural, Female, ST 47.49 54.24 57.50 68.33 1.64 1.76 1.87 2.24
Rural, Female, SC 57.37 65.61 68.06 75.24 1.98 2.13 2.22 2.46
Rural, Female, OBC 66.54 73.74 2.17 2.41
Rural, Female, Muslim 47.20 50.43 56.55 62.64 1.63 1.63 1.84 2.04
Rural, Female, SAG 74.06 80.25 2.42 2.62
Rural, Female, SAG (with OBC) 56.24 64.05 69.18 75.46 1.94 2.07 2.26 2.47
Urban, Male, ST 40.03 33.69 35.84 35.58 1.38 1.10 1.17 1.16
Urban, Male, SC 34.45 33.07 29.97 29.36 1.19 1.07 0.98 0.96
Urban, Male, OBC 32.15 31.98 1.05 1.05
Urban, Male, Muslim 21.51 21.81 22.35 19.37 0.74 0.71 0.73 0.63
Urban, Male, SAG 38.89 39.13 1.27 1.28
Urban, Male, SAG (with OBC) 40.07 39.64 36.18 35.83 1.38 1.28 1.18 1.17
Urban, Female, ST 48.97 50.43 52.30 57.73 1.67 1.65 1.75 1.94
Urban, Female, SC 55.25 56.82 57.24 57.29 1.91 1.83 1.85 1.86
Urban, Female, OBC 57.08 56.28 1.86 1.84
Urban, Female, Muslim 37.39 42.34 42.64 45.06 1.28 1.37 1.41 1.45
Urban, Female, SAG 53.90 56.40 1.76 1.84
Urban, Female, SAG (with OBC) 52.10 54.05 55.47 56.33 1.80 1.75 1.81 1.84
Total 29.03 30.89 30.68 30.57 1 1 1 1
of female labour migrants in migration. The employment and experience increased earn-
ratio is less than one for all males in all socio- ings. The current section tries to understand
religious categories which suggests under- the levels of education between migrant and
representation of male labourers in migration. non-migrant workers to have a better under-
standing of the skill differences between them.
NSSO surveys provide information on levels
of education rather than years of education
MIGRATION AND EDUCATION which makes it difficult to examine the years
ATTAINMENT of schooling of different education groups
between levels. Hence, we defined education
Education plays an important role in deter- levels into four categories: first, low education,
mining employment outcomes of workers in those who have completed 5 years of school-
the labour markets. Workers with higher edu- ing or less; middle education, those who have
cation are more likely to get decent and formal completed 8 years of schooling; secondary
Rural, Female, ST 14.09
Rural, Female, Muslim 12.21
Rural, Female, SAG (with OBC) 11.41
Rural, Female, SC 9.63
Urban, Female, ST 7.30
Urban, Female, Muslim 2.72
Urban, Female, SAG(with OBC) 2.28
Urban, Male, ST 1.89
Urabn, Female, SC 0.47
Rural, Male, Muslim −2.22
Urban, Male, Muslim −2.44
Rural, Male, ST −2.88
Rural, Male, SC −3.30
Urban, Male, SC −3.71
Urban, Male, SAG(with OBC) −3.81
Rural, Male, SAG(with OBC) −3.84
−5.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00
Figure 4.2 Change in Migration Rate (in %) from 1983 to 2007–2008

education, with 10 or 12 years of schooling; Conversely, for rural females, the percentage
and graduate and above, those who have com- of low education is even higher than rural
pleted 15 years of schooling or above. males. In 2007–2008, 83 per cent of rural
Table 4.8 presents the percentage distribu- females were low educated, and rural female
tion of migrants and non-migrants in each of migrants are more likely to have low educa-
the four education levels over different points tion than rural non-migrant females. Among
of time from 1983 to 2007–2008. The figures rural females, 85 per cent of migrants and 76
of 2007–2008 reveal that 60 per cent of India’s per cent of non-migrants had low education in
rural male labour force was low educated with 2007–2008.
5 years or less of education. However, the Among urban males in 2007–2008, 32 per
share of low educated male labour force in cent of the total labour force, 29 per cent of
rural areas showed a significant reduction by migrants and 33 per cent of non-migrants had
21 percentage points from 81 per cent in 1983 low education. In urban areas too, the share of
to 60 per cent in 2007–2008. Moreover, rural female migrants in low education was higher
male labour migrants are less likely to have at 56 per cent, and for non-migrants, the share
low education than non-migrant rural males. was 45 per cent in 2007–2008.
Only 50 per cent of the workers were low edu- Migrants are less likely to have interme-
cated and the share of non-migrant labourers diate education than non-migrants do. The
was higher at 60 per cent in the same year. share of female migrants with intermediate
Labour Migration 67
Rural, Female, ST 10.83

Rural, Female, OBC 7.20
Rural, Female, SC 7.18
Rural, Female, SAG 6.19
Rural, Female, Muslim 6.09
Urban, Female, ST 5.43
Urban, Female, SAG 2.50
Urban, Female, Muslim 2.42
Urban, Male, SAG 0.24
Urban, Female, SC 0.05
Urban, Male, OBC −0.17
Urban, Male, ST −0.26
Urban, Male, SC −0.61
Urban, Female, OBC −0.80
Rural, Male, Muslim −1.49
Rural, Male, ST −2.01
Rural, Male, SC −2.11
Rural, Male, OBC −2.47
Rural, Male, SAG −2.85
Urban, Male, Muslim −2.98
−5.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00
Figure 4.3 Change in Migration Rate (in %) from 1999–2000 to 2007–2008

education grew at a slower rate, whereas there education from 1983 to 2007–2008 is
was a faster growth of male migrants with presented in Figure 4.4 for rural areas and
intermediate education than those of non- Figure 4.5 for urban areas. Educational gap
migrants over the course of time. However, is positive if the distribution of migrants is
male migrants on an average have a higher higher than non-migrants in certain levels
proportion of higher education than non-mi- of education and vice versa, where the gap
grant males, more so in urban areas than in is negative. The figures show that there is
rural areas. In 2007–2008, 9 per cent of rural a wide gap in education between migrants
male migrants had completed 15 years of and non- migrant workers in both rural
schooling or more, while the share of interme- and urban areas. Further, the gap is posi-
diates among rural non-migrants was lower by tive and increasing for rural males, but for
less than half (4%). Although 22 per cent of females, the gap is negative and is declining
the urban male migrant labour force had com- over the course of time. However, in urban
pleted higher education in 2007–2008, only areas, the educational gap between migrants
17 per cent urban non-migrant labourers had and non-migrants is reducing over the course
completed the same. The share of higher edu- of time. The share of middle education of
cation among female migrants is lower than migrant workers is lower than non-migrant
their non-migrant counterparts. workers among both urban and rural males.
The gap between migrant and non- Similar is the case with urban females where
migrant workers in different levels of the gap is increasing further.
Table 4.8 Percentage Distribution of Different Levels of Education by Migrant Status
1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Levels of education M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total
Rural male
Primary and below 73.85 82.68 81.83 69.33 79.9 78.86 66.79 74.77 74.1 56.28 67.51 66.52 50.2 60.24 59.6
Middle 11.37 10.53 10.61 12.41 11.1 11.23 12.3 13.54 13.44 16.29 16.15 16.16 19.17 19.72 19.68
Secondary 11.05 5.68 6.19 13.34 7.41 7.99 15.81 9.87 10.36 19.63 13.26 13.82 21.85 16.4 16.75
Graduate and above 3.73 1.11 1.37 4.92 1.59 1.92 5.10 1.83 2.10 7.8 3.08 3.5 8.78 3.65 3.97
Rural female
Primary and below 96.8 95.23 96.09 95.31 92.98 94.43 94.73 91 93.3 90.5 85.54 88.83 85.38 75.98 82.9
Middle 2.06 3.07 2.52 2.74 4.07 3.24 3.11 5.56 4.05 5.35 8.17 6.3 8.27 13.57 9.67
Secondary 0.95 1.46 1.18 1.59 2.57 1.96 1.81 2.98 2.26 3.37 5.29 4.02 5.16 8.43 6.02
Graduate and above 0.19 0.24 0.22 0.36 0.38 0.37 0.35 0.46 0.39 0.78 1 0.85 1.19 2.02 1.41
Urban male
Middle 17.53 18.21 17.96 14.53 17.14 16.2 17.04 18.13 17.78 16.81 19.56 18.65 18.03 20.22 19.52
Secondary 23.13 17.48 19.55 24.52 19.58 21.35 25.47 22.18 23.24 28.56 25.5 26.51 30.81 29.16 29.69
Urban female
Middle 5.65 8.35 6.98 5.98 8.65 7.24 6.14 9.03 7.57 9.1 11.98 10.42 11.6 14.04 12.69
Secondary 9.09 10.82 9.95 10.66 12.98 11.76 12.02 13.45 12.73 12.51 17.45 14.78 15.19 19.77 17.24

Labour Migration 69
6
Middle
4
Education Gap (%)
Secondary
2 Graduate and above
−2
−4 1999–2000
2007–2008
1999–2000
2007–2008
−6
1987–88
1987–88
1983
1993
1983
1993
Rural Male Rural Female
Figure 4.4 Education Gap between Migrants and Non-Migrants in Rural Areas
4 Middle
Education Gap (%)
2 Secondary
Graduate and Above
0
−2
−4
1999–2000
2007–2008
1999–2000
2007–2008
1987–88
1987–88
−6
1983
1993
1983
1993
Urban Male Urban Female
Figure 4.5 Education Gap between Migrants and Non-migrants in Urban Areas
This indicates that there is high-skilled MIGRATION AND LABOUR MARKET

labour migration to both rural and urban OUTCOMES
areas, and the skill gap between migrants and
non-migrants seems to be reducing wherein This section performs a comparative analysis
non-migrants have been gaining skills over the of the characteristics of migrants and non-
course of time much faster in urban areas than migrants in labour force in terms of type and
in rural areas. nature of employment. Before we go into the
details of employment of workers, we shall and 35 per cent of female migrants in urban
look at the employment and unemployment areas were employed as regular wage salaried
trends of migrants and non-migrant workers workers. The figures for non-migrants show
in the working age group of 15–60 years. that 8 per cent of rural non-migrant males, 6
A few interesting results emerge from per cent of rural non-migrant females, 35 per
Table 4.9. The workforce participation rate cent of urban non-migrant males and 40.96
(WPR) of migrants is higher than those of per cent of urban non-migrant females were
non-migrant workers and is more prominent in employed as regular workers.
urban than in rural areas. Unemployment rates The rate of regular employment overall
of migrants have been consistently lower than has remained more or less stable at 9 per cent
those of non-migrant workers over the course for rural males over the course of time from
of time from 1983 to 2007–2008, indicating 1983 onwards, and for urban males, the share
a higher demand for migrants than for non- of regular workers declined by 2 percentage
migrants at the destination. Moreover, even the points from 44 per cent in 1987–1988 to 42
pre-migration employment rates are lower than per cent in 2007–2008. Similar is the case
the current rates as reported in several stud- with non-migrant male workers; the share
ies for both men and women (Shanthi, 2006; of migrant workers in regular work declined
Srivastava, 2011). Over the course of time, from 1983 to 2007–2008, but the rates showed
WPR has been declining for both migrants and an increase from 1999–2000 to 2007–2008 in
non-migrants, especially for female migrants rural areas. In urban areas, the share of regular
in rural areas. The declining female WPR has workers among male migrants declined from
been discussed in earlier studies (Abraham, 59 per cent in 1983 to 56 per cent in 2007–
2013; Kannan & Raveendran, 2012; 2008, and for urban non-migrants, the share
Rangarajan, Kaul & Seema, 2011). However, remained more or less stable. On the other
it is interesting to note that there is a sharper hand, migrants are less likely to be employed
decline for rural non-migrant females than for in unpaid family work or in casual employ-
migrant rural females. ment than non-migrant workers.
Table 4.10 presents the distribution of type For female workers, the story is different
of employment of migrants and non-migrants from that of male migrants. Female migrants’
from 1983 to 2007–2008. Different types of share in regular employment is lower than their
employment are broadly divided into non-wage non-migrant counterparts. After migration,
workers and wage workers. Wage workers they are more likely to participate in unpaid
consist of regular wage salaried employment family work than non-migrant workers in both
and casual wage workers. Non-wage workers rural and urban areas. Even though the share
consist of employers, own account workers of females in regular employment is lower
and unpaid family workers, which come under than males, their share in regular employment
the self-employment category. has been increasing over the course of time.
Male migrants are more likely to be employed In 2007–2008, among rural female
in regular salaried work and less likely to be migrants, 4 per cent were in regular employ-
employed in all other categories of work, such ment, while the share among non-migrants
as casual employment or self- employment was 6 per cent in the same year. In urban
workers, than non-migrant workers, in both areas, 36 per cent of migrant females and 41
rural and urban areas, whereas female migrants per cent of non-migrant female workers were
in both rural and urban areas are less likely to in regular employment, which increased from
have regular wage salaried employment. For 1983 for both groups. In 2007–2008, 45 per
instance, in 2007–2008, 24 per cent of male cent of rural females were in unpaid work,
migrants and 4 per cent of female migrants in which has increased over the course of time.
rural areas, and 56 per cent of male migrants However, for non-migrant females, the share
Table 4.9 Employment and Unemployment Rates (%) of Migrants and Non-migrants in the Age Group 15–60 Years
1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total
Rural male
LFPR 92.49 91.4 91.5 90.9 90.25 90.32 89.36 88.94 88.97 88.32 87.99 88.02 84.3 87.68 87.46
WPR 90.13 89.7 89.74 86.89 88.76 88.57 88.14 87.46 87.52 86.26 86.39 86.38 82.77 85.95 85.74
UR 1.78 1.42 1.45 4.42 1.66 1.94 1.36 1.66 1.64 2.34 1.82 1.86 1.82 1.98 1.97
Rural female
LFPR 57.94 49.33 54.15 55.46 46.82 52.22 52.1 45.6 49.62 50.68 42.96 47.98 48.58 36.63 44.86
WPR 57.73 48.65 53.73 53.98 45.89 50.95 51.96 44.76 49.21 50.4 41.95 47.44 48.29 35.58 44.34
UR 0.28 1.29 0.69 2.67 1.98 2.44 0.28 1.82 0.82 0.55 2.35 1.12 0.59 2.84 1.16
Urban male
LFPR 87.61 83.54 85.01 86.78 81.85 83.58 86.47 80.35 82.25 85.54 80.35 82.01 85.61 81.61 82.87
WPR 84.34 78.4 80.54 83.61 76.8 79.19 84.18 75.89 78.47 83.28 75.72 78.14 83.76 77.81 79.68
UR 3.65 6.02 5.13 3.65 6.17 5.26 2.64 5.54 4.59 2.65 5.76 4.72 2.17 4.66 3.85
Urban female
LFPR 24.99 24.44 24.73 24.64 25.32 24.94 20.04 20.98 20.48 21.7 22.4 22.01 19.88 21.91 20.73
WPR 24.17 22.58 23.41 23.67 22.96 23.36 19.59 19.52 19.56 20.9 20.44 20.7 19.36 19.94 19.6
UR 3.21 7.48 5.22 3.91 9.32 6.36 2.23 6.85 4.46 3.65 8.72 5.93 2.61 8.98 5.43

Note: NM = Non-Migrant, M = Migrant, LFPR = Labour Force Participation Rate, WPR = Workforce Participation Rate and UR = Unemployment Rate.
Table 4.10 Nature and Type of Employment of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workers (in %)
1983 1987–1988 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural male M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total
Employers and own account worker 38.37 46.75 45.94 42.62 49.88 49.18 34.96 39.68 39.26 35.85 40.89 40.57
Unpaid family work 7.53 15.61 14.84 6.54 9.75 9.44 8.43 16.10 15.42 7.54 15.30 14.80
Regular wage salaried work 25.46 8.18 9.84 23.79 8.48 9.96 23.10 7.51 8.88 24.31 8.11 9.14
Casual worker 28.65 29.46 29.38 27.05 31.88 31.42 33.51 36.71 36.43 32.30 35.70 35.48
Rural female
Casual worker 33.59 37.40 35.31 33.54 38.84 35.56 37.14 44.68 39.65 36.08 42.03 37.62
Urban male
Casual worker 11.51 17.76 15.44 11.78 16.39 14.70 13.48 19.08 17.19 11.85 17.10 15.38
Urban female
Casual worker 26.65 30.37 28.45 25.95 24.76 25.40 22.91 19.91 21.57 19.91 19.81 19.86
Source: Author’s calculation from Different NSS unit-level data.

Note: NM = Non-Migrant, M = Migrant.
Labour Migration 73
of unpaid family work remained more or less of employment in rural areas during the same
stable at 38 per cent from 1983 to 2007–2008, period was owed to non-farm employment
except for a decrease to 23 per cent in the year (Dev, 2017).
1987–1988. Rural females have not diversified much
to non-farm jobs. The share of rural females
in non-farm employment in 1983 was 12 per
cent and it increased to 16 per cent in 2007–
INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION OF 2008. Moreover, the share of migrant females
MIGRANT AND NON-MIGRANT in non-farm employment is lower than that of
WORKERS non-migrant females, which implies that fem-
inization of agriculture has been happening
Table 4.11 presents the share of migrant and through migrant women workers.
non-migrant labour in different industries in Among urban male workers, 7 per cent of
rural and urban areas for male and female non-migrants and 3 per cent of migrants were
workers from 1983 to 2007–2008. The major employed in the agriculture sector in 2007–
employer of both migrant and non-migrant 2008. The data reveals that manufacturing
workers in rural areas is agriculture, followed (27%) constitutes the major share in employ-
by the manufacturing sector. There is a dif- ment for migrant workers, followed by trade
ference between male and female workers (18%), construction (9%) and transport and
in rural areas. In 2007–2008, among male storage and communication (12%). A similar
workers as a whole in rural areas, 66 per distribution of workers is seen among non-
cent were employed in agriculture wherein migrant workers but their share of employ-
migrants constituted a lower proportion (40%) ment in manufacturing (22%) is lower than
than non-migrant workers (68%). However, that of migrant workers. On the other hand, the
for female workers, a higher proportion of share of non-migrant workers in trade (28%)
migrant workers (86%) were in agriculture is higher than that of migrant workers. Their
than non-migrant workers (78%). share of employment in the manufacturing
In general, our data suggests that most sector decreased over the course of time from
migrants prefer to work in a non-agricul- 27 per cent in 1983 to 22 per cent in 1999–
ture sector in rural areas for a decent job and 2000 but increased to 24 per cent in 2007–
enhanced earning. It also implies that the rural 2008. The increase in share of employment in
to rural migration of males can not only be the manufacturing sector from 1999–2000 to
seen as migration within the agriculture sector 2007–2008 was due to hiring of more migrant
but also from the agriculture to non-agriculture workers than non-migrant workers. The share
sector which provided jobs to a large part of of migrant workers in trade increased from
migrant labour force in the rural economy. A 16 per cent in 1983 to 20 per cent in 1999–
majority of rural male migrant workers are 2000 and declined to 18 per cent in 2007–
migrating to non-agriculture sectors, mainly 2008. However, for non-migrant urban male
to manufacturing (16%), trade (11%) and con- workers, the share of employment in trade
struction (9%) sectors, which have shown a increased from 23 per cent in 1983 to 28 per
robust growth in the recent decades. The total cent in 2007–2008. Likewise, the construction
share of employment in the non-agriculture sector also showed a consistent increase in the
sector for rural males increased from 22 per share of employment from 5 per cent in 1983
cent in 1983 and 33 per cent in 2007–2008 to 10 per cent in 2007–2008, with a similar
to 38 per cent in 2011–2012. The highest increase for both migrants and non-migrants.
growth in the share of employment in the rural The analysis suggests that the construction
non-agriculture sector was observed in 2004– sector is not the leading sector in employing
2005 and 2011–2012 when the entire growth migrant workers as is generally perceived. It
Table 4.11 Industrial Distribution of Migrants and Non-Migrants (in %)
1983 1987–1988 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural male M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total M NM Total
Agriculture 57.45 79.87 77.71 52.16 76.72 74.35 49.07 73.45 71.3 40.03 68.24 66.45
Mining 1.08 0.52 0.57 1.06 0.69 0.73 1.13 0.57 0.62 1.25 0.59 0.63
Manufacturing 12.1 6.46 7.00 12.71 6.97 7.52 12.31 6.81 7.29 15.87 7.17 7.72
Electricity, gas and water 0.85 0.16 0.23 0.81 0.2 0.26 0.75 0.2 0.25 0.68 0.19 0.22
Construction 3.28 2.13 2.24 5.31 3.51 3.68 6.14 4.33 4.49 9.29 7.58 7.69
Trade 6.56 4.09 4.32 8.17 4.81 5.14 8.7 5.78 6.03 10.59 6.35 6.62
Hotels and restaurants 1.38 0.48 0.56 1.73 0.46 0.59 2.00 0.59 0.71 2.45 0.89 0.99
Transport, storage and communication 3.13 1.54 1.7 3.56 1.87 2.03 5.63 2.93 3.17 5.83 3.92 4.04
Banking and finance 0.53 0.13 0.17 0.65 0.13 0.18 0.58 0.21 0.25 0.9 0.28 0.32
Real estate and business services 0.14 0.07 0.07 0.22 0.08 0.1 0.45 0.24 0.26 0.94 0.39 0.43
Public administration and defence 5.05 1.39 1.74 5.85 1.62 2.03 3.96 1.43 1.66 2.81 0.95 1.07
Education 3.94 1.08 1.35 3.5 0.96 1.2 4.2 1.27 1.52 5.01 1.5 1.73
Health and social work 1.88 0.44 0.58 1.87 0.46 0.59 2.16 0.45 0.6 1.89 0.58 0.66
Other community, social and personal services 2.55 1.6 1.69 2.31 1.5 1.58 2.93 1.75 1.85 2.44 1.36 1.43
Rural female
Agriculture 88.18 87.17 87.72 84.55 83.6 84.19 87.4 83.02 85.94 85.51 77.82 83.51
Mining 0.35 0.28 0.32 0.33 0.49 0.39 0.27 0.3 0.28 0.31 0.27 0.3
Manufacturing 5.7 7.2 6.38 6.43 8.54 7.22 5.88 9.58 7.12 6.06 11.34 7.44
Electricity, gas and water 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0 0.01 0.01 0 0.01
Construction 0.82 0.58 0.71 3.2 1.86 2.7 0.93 1.18 1.02 1.97 2.09 2
Trade 1.69 1.71 1.7 1.91 1.79 1.86 1.57 1.59 1.58 1.64 2.28 1.81
Real estate and business services 0 0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.14 0.07
Education 0.56 0.55 0.55 0.71 0.66 0.69 1.04 1.22 1.1 1.75 2.2 1.87
Urban male
Agriculture 4.65 13.78 10.39 4.13 11.37 8.72 3.26 8.23 6.55 3.15 7.15 5.84
Mining 1.93 0.71 1.16 2.35 0.73 1.32 0.92 0.84 0.86 0.77 0.57 0.63
Manufacturing 29.46 25.44 26.93 26.74 25.75 26.11 25.71 20.56 22.3 27.1 21.96 23.64
Construction 4.95 5.15 5.08 5.82 5.8 5.81 8.49 9.09 8.89 9.22 9.71 9.55
Trade 16.38 23.21 20.67 16.85 24.91 21.96 20.25 29.28 26.23 18.0 27.65 24.49
Education 4.12 2.4 3.04 3.55 2.16 2.67 4.11 2.41 2.99 3.67 3.04 3.25
Urban female
Agriculture 32.99 29.23 31.17 32.81 20.78 27.32 21.48 13.94 18.12 18.05 11.64 15.28
Mining 0.76 0.58 0.68 0.89 0.84 0.86 0.23 0.52 0.36 0.28 0.25 0.27
Manufacturing 24.35 29.45 26.82 22.68 34.15 27.92 21.23 26.81 23.72 25.37 30.32 27.51
Construction 3.58 2.73 3.17 4.23 3.34 3.82 5.4 4.05 4.8 5.06 3.24 4.27
Trade 7.99 8.65 8.31 8.5 8.86 8.66 14.42 14.63 14.51 9.39 9.66 9.51
Education 6.79 7.05 6.92 7.58 7.45 7.52 11.81 10.65 11.29 10.78 13.69 12.04
Other community, social and personal services 12.43 11.87 12.16 11.01 11.71 11.33 12.34 13 12.64 14.46 13.97 14.25

Note: NM = Non-migrant; M = Migrant.
is the manufacturing sector which is the major gender, except for female wage workers who
employer, employing 27 per cent of the urban were earning less than non-migrant females
male migrant workers. For urban females, in 1983. The 2007–2008 data shows male
the manufacturing sector was also the major migrants in regular salaried employment
employer of both migrant and non-migrant earning `209 per day, which is a 40 per cent
workers employing 25 per cent and 30 per cent higher daily wage than non-migrants (`149).
respectively in 2007–2008. Other community Similarly, the data shows that male migrant
and social services and personal services are casual wage employees earned 30 per cent
the second major employers of urban female higher wages than male non-migrant casual
workers (14%), followed by education, which workers in 2007–2008. Over the course of
employs 12 per cent of workers. In 2007–2008, time, wage gap between male migrants and
migrant females in urban areas were more non-migrants has decreased. Female migrants
likely to be engaged in the agriculture sector, in regular wage work earned 6 per cent higher
employing 18 per cent of the workforce, and daily wages than non-migrant females in
a smaller proportion (12%) of non-migrant 2007–2008, and wage levels for both groups
workers was dependent on agriculture. were similar in casual wage work. However, in
1983, rural female migrant workers earned 11
per cent lower wages in regular employment,
which later became positive in 1999–2000,
MIGRANT WAGE EARNINGS only to decline in 2007–2008, and they earned
14 per cent lower wages in casual wage work
The current section takes a look at the daily than their non-migrant counterparts, which
wage earnings of migrants and non-mi- increased and took a positive trend thereafter.
grants from 1983 to 2007–2008. The wage The data shows that migrants in both rural
data by migration status is only available for and urban areas have a wage advantage which
three NSS rounds, namely 38th (1983), 55th is higher in rural areas than it is in urban areas.
(1999–2000) and 64th (2007–2008) rounds. The wage gap over the course of time shows
The weekly wage data is available only for a mixed trend as is seen in the case of male
regular wage/salaried and casual workers.4 regular wage employment where wage gaps
We analysed only the wage workers because are increasing, and among male casual work-
the earnings of self-employed workers are ers, where the wage gap between migrants
not reported in NSSO surveys. The reported and non-migrants is decreasing. In case of
weekly wages are deflated at 1999–2000 females, the results are mixed.
prices using the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
for Industrial Worker for urban wage work-
ers and CPI for Agricultural Labour for rural
wage workers. We converted weekly wages CONCLUSION
into daily wages by dividing them by the
number of days worked in a week. Table 4.12 The phenomenon of labour migration is an
reports the results of the mean daily wages integral part of the process of development
of both migrants and non-migrants in rural and has been central to the theories of long-run
and urban areas. Migrants, on an average, economic growth and structural transforma-
have higher daily wages than non-migrants tion. It is one of the central issues in the devel-
do in both rural and urban areas and across opment debate in developing countries. This
4
The casual and regular workers are defined in terms of work contracts they sign with the employer. Regular
workers receive wage on a regular basis while casual workers receive wage according to daily or periodic work
contracts.
Labour Migration 77
Table 4.12 Real Daily Wages in Rupees (1999–2000 Constant Prices)

Total Rural Urban
1983 1999–2000 2007–2008 1983 1999–2000 2007–2008 1983 1999–2000 2007–2008
Male regular wage salaried

Non-migrant 69.9 140.7 148.7 52.1 123.8 123.7 89.8 155.2 170.4
Migrant 100.8 178.9 208.5 71.0 151.5 170.1 111.8 187.3 217.3
Total 82.0 154.7 168.9 56.8 130.1 131.5 100.8 169.7 190.9
Wage gap (%) 44.3 27.1 40.3 36.3 22.4 37.6 24.4 20.7 27.5
Male casual wage workers
Non-migrant 25.7 46.6 57.6 23.8 44.6 55.8 40.7 60.6 71.3
Migrant 34.8 61.8 74.9 27.8 55.8 71.8 49.7 72.1 79.0
Total 26.8 48.2 59.1 24.2 45.5 56.7 43.2 63.7 73.3
Wage gap (%) 35.2 32.7 30.1 16.7 25.2 28.8 22.0 18.9 10.8
Female regular wage salaried
Non-migrant 56.7 108.0 114.9 40.5 66.9 66.8 69.5 129.2 138.4
Migrant 56.1 124.0 125.2 36.0 90.7 88.8 70.8 146.4 153.0
Total 56.4 116.3 120.8 38.1 80.2 80.9 70.2 137.7 146.2
Wage gap (%) –1.2 14.8 9.0 –11.0 35.5 33.0 1.8 13.3 10.5
Female casual wage workers
Non-migrant 16.9 29.7 38.2 16.4 29.1 37.8 20.8 35.9 41.1
Migrant 14.9 30.1 38.4 14.1 29.2 38.2 22.2 40.2 41.4
Total 15.9 30.0 38.4 15.2 29.2 38.1 21.4 38.3 41.3
Wage gap (%) –11.8 1.4 0.6 –13.9 0.4 1.1 6.8 12.0 0.7
chapter gives an important insight into one of 73 per cent of the total female labour force.
the factors of production, that is, labour, as a Besides, there is a high incidence of female
major component of structural transformation, labour migrants in rural areas and male labour
its magnitude and size and characteristics of migrants in urban areas.
labour migrants in the last three decades. Despite the increase in female labour
We deviated from the current literature migration in rural and urban areas, irrespective
which defines labour migration only as male of socio-economic groups, migrant labour, on
migrants or depends on their initial reasons the whole, has remained more or less stable
for migration which under-represents female over time, constituting one-third of the labour
labour migrants in rural areas who predom- force. This is at the aggregate level, but when
inantly migrate for marriage. We redefined disaggregated along different streams of
labour migrants as those who are currently migration in terms of distance, it is observed
employed or searching for jobs and have that there is a shift in labour migration from
changed their last place of residence. By short-distance to long-distance migration
redefining labour migration, it is thus found among both male and female labour migrants.
that in rural areas in 2007–2008, women who The decline in short-distance migration is not
initially migrated for economic as well as seen in the rural-to-rural migration but in the
non-economic reasons and were participating rural-to-urban migration stream. Moreover,
in labour market at the destination constituted migrants, particularly male migrants, have
higher employment rates as they are better Sachar Committee Report). Retrieved from http://
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5
Internal Migration:
Emerging Patterns*
Sandhya R. Mahapatro
INTRODUCTION 2001 Census. The information on migration

collected through National Sample Survey
Migration is considered to be an essential Office (NSSO) also reveals a similar trend,
component of economic development and also that is, an increase in migration rate to 29 per
plays a significant role in bringing social trans- cent in 2007–2008 from 25 per cent in 1993.
formation. Population mobility was almost All these suggest that, in recent years, migra-
stagnant over a period till the early 1990s in tion in India has been continuously increasing
India (Bhagat, 2010; Kundu & Gupta, 1996; and the pace of increase is also high.
Singh & Aggarwal, 1998; Srivastava, 1998). The forces that cause internal mobility of
The post-economic reform period and the people in recent years could be attributed to
resultant socio-economic changes, however, several reasons and in many instances, these
have significant implications on migration causes are contrasting in nature. Affected by
patterns as they affect the spatial allocation factors such as poverty, stagnancy in agricul-
of resources. The latest estimates from the ture, limiting livelihood opportunities in rural
2011 Census indicate that internal migration areas and environmental degradation, many
in India accounts for 37.4 per cent of the total rural poor are pushed out from their places of
population, which was 31 per cent as per the origin in search of economic opportunities.
* The earlier version of the chapter was presented at the European Population Conference,
13–16 June 2012, Stockholm, Sweden; KNOMAD Conference on Internal Migration and
Urbanisation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 30 April–1 May 2014, and published as a discussion paper
in the Indian Economic Journal (2013). The present chapter is a slightly revised version of the
earlier one and has not been published.
Internal Migration 81
Contrary to this, urbanization, industriali- short-term fluctuations in the migration trends.

zation, increasing educational levels, social Thus, in order to have a better picture of the
development and better transport and com- contemporary migration trends, a cut-off point
munication encourage people across socio- of <5 years duration, that is, only the migrants
economic classes to move to urban areas. All with a 0–4 years duration, has been considered
these suggest that migration not only provides for analysis in the present study.
wage opportunities for the poor, but also leads
to movement of better-off groups for improv-
ing the standard of life in many instances.
Thus, with the interplay of push and pull fac- TRENDS OF MIGRATION
tors in the course of development, the pace of
migration speeds up and also results in new As per the 2011 Census, there were 453.6
migration patterns. In this context, it is impor- million migrants comprising 312.7 million
tant to understand whether it is the poor and female and 140.9 million male migrants. This
marginalized contributing to the current trend is nearly double the number of migrants (both
or whether the attributes of the better-off group male and female) as recorded in 1971. The
result in such increasing trends in migration. data presented in Figure 5.1 reveals a steady
To address this, it is crucial to critically inves- increase in internal migration from 30.6 per
tigate the trends and patterns of migration and cent in 2001 to 37.4 per cent in 2011.
the correlates associated with it. While the overall migration trend has
Much of the information on migrants is been increasing, a considerable gender differ-
available with the census documents up to 2001 ence in the rate of migration is noticed, with
and information on certain indicators was avail- a steady increase in women relative to men.
able from the 2011 Census. To fulfil the objec- The data shows that while the percentage of
tive, therefore, the study utilized extensively the male migration increased from 19 per cent in
NSSO data as it is quite useful in understanding 1971 to 22.6 per cent in 2011, with a slight
the recent changes taking place in the migra- fall in the trend in between, female migration
tion process. Most of the studies analysing the increased by 10 per cent between these two
trends and patterns of migration in India have time points. A similar pattern was also noticed
so far focused on lifetime migrants (Kundu & from NSSO estimates.
Saraswati, 2012). It has been realized, how- The estimate from NSSO figures reveals
ever, that the information on lifetime migrants a steady increase in internal migration from
is not ideal for comparison across periods as it 24.8 per cent in 1992–1993 to 28.5 per cent
is cumulative in nature and it does not capture in 2007–2008. NSSO estimates also reveal
60
50 53.2
43.1 43.9 44.6
40 41.2
37.4
30 30.6 30.3 27.4 30.6
20 22.6
19 17.6 17.5
14.6
10
0
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Total Male Female
Figure 5.1 Trends of Internal Migration in India, 1971–2011 (%)

Source: Census of India.
Table 5.1 Migration Rates by Sex and Place of Residence, NSS, 1983–2008 (%)
Rural Urban Total
NSS rounds Male Female Male Female Male Female
38th (1983) 7.2 35.1 27 36.6 12 35.4

43rd (1987–2088) 7.4 39.8 26.8 39.6 11.9 39.8
49th (1993) 6.5 40.1 23.9 38.2 10.8 39.6
55th (1999–2000) 6.9 42.6 25.8 41.8 11.7 42.4
64th (2007–2008) 5.4 47.3 25.9 45.6 10.9 47.16
Source: Calculated from National Sample Survey.
stagnancy in male migration rate with a of migration patterns is required, particularly

decline from 11.7 per cent in 1999–2000 to in the context of the ongoing socio-economic
10.9 per cent in 2007–2008. development process, where male migration
A quick look at the trend of migration rate remains stagnant and female migration
(Table 5.1) by rural–urban status according rate shows a substantial increase. Given this,
to NSSO estimates shows that the percentage it is important to understand the specific rea-
share of male migrants is declining, espe- sons of migration to understand the changing
cially in the rural area (6.9% in 1999–2000 to migration pattern.
5.4% in 2007–2008); while in the urban area As has been highlighted, most of the data
it remains the same. Perhaps, the National on migration was not available from the latest
Rural Employment Guarantee Programme census, the discussions in the following sec-
plays a significant role in this direction as the tion are limited to NSSO data.
provision of wage employment to the rural dis-
tressed reduces the outflow from these areas.
With the structural transformation of Indian
economy, employment growth is slowed down REASONS FOR MIGRATION
in recent years which also acts as an impend-
ing factor in migration flow and hence leads to Data presented in Table 5.2 shows that although
a fall in rural mobility (de Haan, 2011). Apart various factors influence migration, it is
from that, underestimation of seasonal migra- employment among men and marriage among
tion, as has been widely cited in many studies, women that constitutes the significant reason.
could be one of the likely causes that influence However, a comparison of data over the
the overall growth of male migration (Kundu, course of time shows significant discrepan-
2003; National Commission on Rural Labour, cies in the reasons for migration. Of all the
1991; Shylendra & Thomas, 1995; Srivastava, reasons, an increasing percentage of migrants
1998). seeking education is observed for both male
On the contrary, female migration increases and female migrants. In the urban areas, an
continuously irrespective of place of residence. increase in the percentage of males report-
Although predominance of women in the pro- ing economic reasons is prominent, while in
cess of migration is largely explained in terms the rural areas, it is education. The increased
of marriage, the emerging studies on female mobility of male migrants in the urban areas in
migration (Arya & Roy, 2006; Mahapatro & pursuit of employment indicates that migration
James, 2015; Shanti, 1991; Sundari, 2005) is increasingly used as a livelihood strategy. In
show that over the course of time, economic the case of female migrants, employment as
reasons for migration significantly explain a reason are found to have declined in rural
female migration. Thus, a closer examination areas from 2.06 per cent to 1.78 per cent in
Table 5.2 Reasons for Migration by Sex, Place of Residence (Duration of Residence < 5 Years),
1999–2000 and 2007–2008
Total (%) Rural (%) Urban (%)
Reason Male Female Male Female Male Female
2007–2008
Employment 43.02 2.78 29.67 1.78 51.81 4.76
Education 17.34 4.42 23.12 2.78 13.54 7.67
Marriage 1.79 64.58 3.59 78.14 0.6 37.82
Family moved 22.07 21.03 20.03 10.32 23.42 42.17
Others 15.78 7.19 23.6 6.99 10.63 7.58
1999–2000
Employment 39.19 2.91 30.92 2.06 46.05 4.78
Education 11.83 2.19 11.42 1.49 12.16 3.73
Marriage 2.75 64.62 4.8 76.53 1.04 38.4
Family moved 25.33 21.91 25.76 12.71 24.97 42.15
Others 20.90 8.37 27.10 7.21 15.78 10.94
2007–2008, and this is supported by NSS 66th SPATIAL PATTERN OF INTERNAL

round data on female labour force participa- MIGRATION IN INDIA
tion, which shows a falling trend. Sluggish
growth in employment in the development The spatial variation in migration can be
process or increasing enrolment of younger looked at from two aspects, that is, distance
cohorts towards education might temporarily and migration streams (rural–rural, rural–
reduce their share in employment. The increas- urban, urban–rural and urban–urban). As per
ing mobility in recent years for education is an distance, four categories of migration pattern
encouraging trend as it reflects a fair degree of exist in India, such as intradistrict, interdis-
social development and is also an indication of trict, interstate and international. Generally,
the supply of future skilled workers. the share of short-distance migration is pre-
As per data from the 2011 Census, over the dominant among all types and the preponder-
last five years, employment among men (28%) ance is higher for female migrants and that is
and marriage among women (52%) remain mainly identified with marriage. Of late, this
the major reasons for migration, but decline pattern has been undergoing changes, at least
in relation to the 2001 Census (59%). This among urban migrants.
suggests female migration pattern is slowly An inter-temporal analysis of migrants
changing towards economic reasons, although based on distance shows a number of changes
marriage as the reason for migration consti- in the patterns of migration (Table 5.3). Over
tutes a significant share. However, the prevail- the course of time, the share of intradistrict
ing socio-cultural practices and certain caveats migration declines for both the genders irre-
at data collection level concealed their actual spective of place of residence and interdistrict
motive behind their migration. Therefore, migration increases. For instance, in 1999–
to explore the reasons for current trends in 2000, the share of intradistrict male migration
migration and the type of people involved, it was 47.7 per cent, while it declined to 37.5
is crucial to investigate the spatial and socio- per cent in 2007–2008. A similar pattern was
economic characteristics of migration. observed among female migrants as well.
Table 5.3 Distance-Wise Distribution of Migrants (Duration of Residence < 5 Years)

Total Rural Urban
Types of migration Male Female Male Female Male Female
2007–2008
Intradistrict 37.59 59.05 52.5 69.57 27.71 38.32
Interdistrict 34.71 30.33 27.77 24.15 39.31 42.51
Interstate 26.27 10.33 17.77 6.07 31.9 18.72
International 1.43 0.29 1.95 0.21 1.08 0.45
1999–2000
Intradistrict 47.78 63.09 59.84 71.98 37.77 43.47
Interdistrict 30.94 26.64 23.06 21.18 37.47 38.67
Interstate 19.72 9.94 15.08 6.53 23.57 17.46
International 1.56 0.34 2.01 0.31 1.19 0.4
The key observations drawn from the states in pursuit of employment. However,
table are as follows: (a) An increase in inter- increasing interstate mobility may be the man-
district migration among women and the ifestation of mobility of better-off sections for
increase in both interdistrict and interstate higher education and better job opportunities
migration among men over two NSS rounds as well. To understand the nexus, in the fol-
was observed. (b) The pattern of migration lowing section, the streamwise and regional
is different for rural and urban areas. For pattern of migration is presented.
instance, the share of interdistrict migration
is higher for women in urban areas while in
rural areas, intradistrict migration is higher.
From the above, it can be said that women are CHANGES IN STREAMWISE
more prone to move to medium distances than DISTRIBUTION OF MIGRATION
short distances, in recent years. An increase in
the level of education, improvement in wom- An analysis of migration based on distance
en’s status, changing agricultural practices, clearly shows that there is a spurt in the
urbanization and provision of employment number of migrants at the interdistrict and
opportunities owing to opening up of the interstate levels. To understand which stream
gender-segregated labour market attributes to of migration attributes to this increase, the
changing patterns of female migration (Garcia, change in streamwise distribution of migrants
2000; Sundari, 2005). Like female migration, between 1999–2000 and 2007–2008 for inter-
the share of interdistrict migration is also district and interstate migration are presented
higher among men in urban areas followed by in Figure 5.2. An analysis of this aspect of
interstate migrants. (c) A significant increase migration will throw light on the correlates
in male migration to urban areas among inter- of migration along with the type of people
state migrants from 23.6 per cent to 31.9 per involved in migration.
cent is noted. This implies male migratory Rural–urban distribution of migrants over
flow to long distance was mostly due to eco- the NSS rounds shows that migration flow was
nomic reasons (Singh, 2009; Srivastava & directed more towards urban to urban areas for
Sasikumar, 2003). Forced by extreme poverty, male and female migrants irrespective of the
inequality of opportunities and environmental distance category. For instance, there is a 2.5
vulnerabilities, perhaps poor people in under- per cent increase in migration from urban to
developed states tend to migrate to developed urban areas for both male and female migrants
6
4.09
3.62 3.22
4 2.96
2.54 2.56
1.55
2
0
Male Female Male Female
−2 −0.63 −0.69
−2.1
Interdistrict Interstate
−4
−6
−6.54 −5.75
R–R R–U U–R U–U
−8
Figure 5.2 Percentage Change in Streamwise of Migrants by Sex, 1999–2000 and 2007–2008
in case of interdistrict migration. Likewise, in 2009; Singh & Agarwal, 1998). From this, it
case of interstate migration, urban-to-urban can be argued that the push and pull factors
migration increased by 4 per cent and 3 per that explain migration flow in the present day
cent for male and female migrants, respec- are not mutually exclusive but rather are a mix
tively. Similarly, the rural-to-urban flow in of these factors influencing the migration flow.
case of interstate migration shows a sub-
stantial increase for both male and female
migrants. While the increase was 3.6 per cent
among male migrants, it was 3.2 per cent in REGIONAL VARIATION IN
the case of the female migrants between two MIGRATION FLOW
NSS rounds. Contrarily, the rural to rural flow
followed by urban-to-rural flow declined for The spatial characteristics of migration show
both the interdistrict and interstate migrations. that interstate migration in urban India has
Only an increase in urban-to-rural flow in case increased, but does not reveal a clear picture
of male migrants (1.5%) moving between dis- of the factors that are correlated with this. It
tricts was observed, which could be attributed was argued that interstate mobility is gener-
to return migrants. ally low in states with high levels of poverty
An increase in migration to the urban and illiteracy (Kadi & Sivamurthy, 1988). Of
areas was attributed to increased availabil- late, however, due to inequalities in regional
ity of employment opportunities, especially development, there is an increasing outflow
in the expanding informal sector (de Haan, of unskilled and less educated people from
1997; Shylendra & Thomas, 1995; Srivastava backward states to developed states in search
& Bhattacharya, 2002). On the other hand, of livelihood options. At the same time, the
it was also argued that agricultural crisis, increasing mobility also could be owing to
poverty, unemployment and environmental movement of better-off groups for higher
crisis have led to a large-scale migration of education and better employment. An analy-
labour to urban areas (Kundu, 1997; Mitra sis of the regional patterns of migration may
& Murayama, 2008; National Commission throw light in this direction. Accordingly, net
on Rural Labour, 1991). Besides, for higher migration rate for major states was presented
education, changes in administrative bounda- in Table 5.4. States were classified into three
ries and non-economic factors also influence categories as low, middle and high developed
rural-to-urban migration (James, 2002; Singh, states based on Per Capita Net State Domestic
Table 5.4 Interstate Net Migration Rate the economically better-off states. Among the
(Duration of Residence < 5 Years), 1999–2008 out-migrating states, Bihar stands high with
Net differ- 23.25 per cent net out-migration followed by
ence between Uttar Pradesh (12%), Jharkhand (10%) and
(1999–2000 and Odisha (6%). On the contrary, among the
2007–2008 2007–2008) economically high developed states, Gujarat
State Male Female Male Female (14%) followed by Maharastra (13.5%) is the
Low developed largest recipient state for in-migrants. Among
Bihar −23.25 −12.3 −9.48 −1.66
the middle developed states, Karnataka occu-
Uttar Pradesh −11.59 −5.52 −8.9 −3.34
pies the highest in terms of the recipient of a
Madhya −0.87 −1.65 −3.28 −4.54
significant flow of migrants to the state (13%)
Pradesh like Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Jharkhand −9.63 −5.98 Significant changes in the net migration
Rajasthan −2.46 −0.16 0.94 0.19 rate with respect to some of the major states
Odisha −6.71 −1.87 −7.01 −0.94 was observed between two NSS rounds. First,
Middle developed 0 0 the differences in net migration rates between
Chhattisgarh 2.43 4.59 1999 and 2007 show that among in-migration
West Bengal −2.55 1.6 −3.95 −1.85
prone states, Karnataka followed by Gujarat
Andhra −2.31 −1.59 −3.22 −1.56
ranks highest. Second, flow of in-migration to
Karnataka 12.84 5.73 15.82 7.15
states like Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra
Uttaranchal 33.75 18.67 18.67
declined. For example, in Haryana, there was
13.8 per cent decline in male in-migration and
Kerala −2.44 1.1 −3.13 1.56
17 per cent decline in female in-migration to
High developed 0 0
the state indicating these states lost the inter-
Tamil Nadu 1.55 0 1.08 −0.77
est of migrants as the favourite destination.
Punjab 7.92 1.29 −6.04 −2.02
Third, the volume of out-migration increased
Gujarat 13.77 5.19 10.89 1.72
substantially for states with low level of
Haryana 5.08 7.73 −13.86 −17.34
development.
Maharashtra 13.51 6.1 0.95 −4.34
These findings fall in line with the observa-
Source: Calculated from National Sample Survey. tions made by various micro-level studies that
there is higher out-migration from backward
Product. The volume of interstate net migra- states to developed states that offer various
tion for both male and female migrants was employment opportunities in the informal
presented from two consecutive NSS rounds. sector (Deshingkar & Start, 2003; Karan,
2003).
Net migration rate is calculated These findings support the neoclassical
as = (In-migration  Out-migration)/P × 100
model of migration that economic inequal-
The degree of net migration reveals that in- ities across regions act as the predominant
migration was more towards developed states reason for interstate mobility. A direct relation
while out-migration was mostly from under- of migration rate with the level of develop-
developed states followed by states in the ment has also been discussed in some studies
middle level of development. The results show (Bhagat, 2010; Kundu & Ray, 2012; Oberoi &
net migration rate is positive for states like Singh, 1983; Skeldon, 2002). The figures dis-
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana cussed in Table 5.3 also show that net migra-
and Punjab, while states like Uttar Pradesh, tion is high from middle developed states as
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan well. For example, Karnataka is increasingly
supply a large number of migrants to some of considered as a hub for in-migrants, owing to
a significant increase in migrant population
Table 5.5 Economic Characteristics of Migrants by MPCE Class (Duration < 5 Years), 1999–2000
and 2007–2008
Total Rural Urban
MPCE Male Female Male Female Male Female
2007–2008
Q1 4.88 8.53 2.79 7.97 22.47 14.27
Q2 2.72 6.93 1.52 6.24 10.12 11.23
Q3 2.87 7.34 1.60 6.55 7.88 10.45
Q4 3.98 8.58 2.45 7.99 7.09 9.81
Q5 5.75 10.39 2.98 9.87 8.03 10.80
N 16,425 26,165 7,171 15,639 9,254 10,526
1999–2000
Q1 1.81 5.98 1.66 6.00 3.30 5.81
Q2 2.03 7.32 1.74 7.29 3.94 7.51
Q3 2.68 8.19 2.02 8.01 5.53 8.96
Q4 4.08 9.49 2.83 9.04 6.98 10.52
Q5 9.80 12.31 6.19 11.18 12.62 13.24
N 14,130 23,893 5,008 13,546 9,122 10,347
in the state. Moreover, the interstate net in 1999–2000, male and female migration in
migration rate provides a mixed picture of the richest economic class was 10 per cent and
the relationship between the socio-economic 12.3 per cent, respectively, while it was 1.8
conditions of a state and its influence on per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, for the
the migration flow. Thus, it is imperative to lowest economic class. This shows that there
understand who are the people involved in the was a linear relation between migration rate
migration process to argue whether the recent and economic class for the period 1999–2000.
migration pattern is poverty induced. However, the pattern was not as similar in
2007–2008 when the share of migration was
higher in case of the higher MPCE (monthly
per capita consumption expenditure) group
MIGRATION–POVERTY NEXUS: followed by the lowest economic class exhib-
CHARACTERISTICS OF MIGRATION iting a non-linear relation between economic
class and migration rate.
To explore the nexus between poverty and The rural–urban difference in migration
migration, the economic characteristics of across economic classes reveals a significant
migrants in terms of their economic status and difference in the patterns of migration. In
the types of employment have been analysed. the rural areas, the percentage of migrants is
highest in the richest class followed by the
poorest class. On the other hand, in the urban
areas, the share of migrants is prominent for
ECONOMIC STATUS OF MIGRANTS the lowest economic class. The figures for
the urban areas show that with an increase in
The data presented in Table 5.5 shows that for the level of economic class, the proportion of
both rounds of NSS, the proportion of migrants migrants declines with a slight increase at the
is high in higher economic classes irrespective highest end. The percentage of male migrants
of sex and place of residence. For example, in the case of urban areas is higher (22.47%)
37.7
40
24.84
19.37 17.1 18.59 17.82 16.29 19.38 17.13
20 11.78
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
1999/2000 2007/2008
Figure 5.3 Rural–Urban Interstate Male Migration across Economic Class, 1999–2008
for the poorest quintile followed by the poorer The concentration of interstate male migra-
class (10.12%), and so on. A similar pattern tion was higher in the lowest economic class
is found in the case of female migrants with for both rounds of NSS (Figure 5.3). The rate
a higher proportion of women found in the of change in migration rate across the eco-
poorest quintile (14.27%) followed by poorer nomic class for the period suggests a substan-
(11.2%), and so on. tial increase in male migration in the lowest
A substantial increase in migrants from economic quintile only. In 1999–2000, the
the poorest class was noticed between two proportion of male migrants was higher in the
NSS rounds, whereas the same declined Q1 class (24.8%), which increased substan-
for other economic classes. For example, in tially to 37.7 per cent in 2007–2008. On the
1999–2000, the percentage of male migrants other hand, there was a decline in the share of
in urban areas was 3.3 per cent (Q1 economic migrants in other economic classes in 2007–
class); it increased to 22.5 per cent in 2007– 2008 compared with 1999–2000.
2008 for the same economic class. Likewise, The analysis so far shows that migration
among female migrants, it increased from among men in the recent years, especially in
5.8 per cent in 1999–2000 to 14.3 per cent urban India, is mostly from the poorest class
in 2007–2008 for Q1 economic class. These and from backward states of the country as
findings run against the arguments put forth compared with that in 1999–2000. It implies
by studies (Bhagat, 2010; de Haan, 1997; that economic deprivation perhaps became
Deshingkar & Start, 2003; Skeledon, 2002) a major reason for urban male migrants in
that underprivileged people are less likely to recent years, indicating migration is more out
migrate. The limited and shrinking livelihood of poverty. The nexus between migration and
options in rural areas force the poor to move to poverty is further substantiated by examining
urban areas that provide unskilled and semi- the employment pattern of migrants.
skilled employment in the modern industrial
sector. As a result, people from lower and
lower economic classes are driven out of their
home places to get absorbed in the advanced EMPLOYMENT PATTERN OF
urban areas for employment reasons. MIGRANTS
Because there is a substantial increase in
migration among men in the interstate cate- Distribution of employment pattern based on
gory and they are mostly driven out from rural before and after migration presented in Table
areas, it is important to understand whether 5.6 shows that except in agriculture, manu-
the increase in migration of individuals is facturing and education, there was no signif-
from the richer or the poorer class. icant change in employment patterns in rural
Table 5.6 Industrial Classifications of Migrant Workers (UPS) (Duration of Residence < 5 Years),
2007–2008 (%)
Rural Urban
Male Female Male Female
Activity status of
migrant before Before After Before After Before After Before After
and after migration migration migration migration migration migration migration migration migration
Agriculture and allied 31.82 30.37 82.14 77.1 26.27 2.53 35.3 6.08
Manufacturing 15.89 21.04 7.42 8.58 13.91 28.53 18.69 26.28
Construction 14.39 10.59 2.45 3.06 9.47 10.13 5.87 7.75
Transport and 6.47 6.65 0.2 0.13 8.15 10.89 1.38 1.62
communication
Trade and commerce 18.52 16.32 1.73 2.95 21.47 28.69 12.57 21.08
Public administration 4.03 3.35 0.62 0.76 11 8.25 3.66 3.50
Education 4.81 6.7 2.88 4.67 4.24 4.13 11.83 15.37
Health 1.25 1.42 1.25 1.08 1.54 1.90 6.4 6.91
Workers in private 0.31 0.39 0.25 0.8 0.53 1.37 1.29 7.91
households
Others 2.51 3.17 1.08 0.86 3.43 3.58 3.02 3.48
Total 3,798 4,392 2,725 3,418 4,246 5,642 950 1,228

Note: UPS, usual principal status.
areas noticed pre- and post-migration stages. at low incomes in such categories of employ-
At post-migration stage, the share of female ment, it can be argued that the increment is
migrants in agriculture declined with a corre- perhaps mostly from the poorest class.
sponding increase in the education sector. On Women’s participation as employed in pri-
the other hand, a significant increase among vate households increases after migration indi-
male migrants in the manufacturing sector was cates those who were not in the labour force in
noticed in rural areas from 15.8 to 21.4 per the pre-migration stage and joined as domestic
cent with a decline in the construction sector. workers after migration. The share is signif-
However, in the urban areas, the changes in icant in urban areas, increasing from 1.3 per
pre- and post-migration stages are more appar- cent before migration to 8 per cent after migra-
ent in many employment categories. In urban tion. Increasing urbanization, the emergence
areas, a substantial increase of migrants in of nuclear families, engagement of women in
manufacturing, trade and commerce, w orkers employment especially in urban areas increases
in private households (especially women) have the demand for domestic servants to reduce the
been observed. The higher concentration of double burden of work and taking care of chil-
migrants in such occupations implies engage- dren and the elderly. Poor women from rural
ment of migrants in salaried/wage employment areas migrate to urban areas to work as domes-
at post-migration stage. However, the salaried tic servants and provide economic support for
occupation itself combines many informal their families (Ghosh, 1996; Neetha, 2004).
employment categories and there exist infor- This indicates women are no longer passive
malities within the formal sector. It is estimated movers, rather their economic responsibility of
that informal employment in India constitutes family motivates them to migrate in pursuance
93 per cent of total employment and the growth of employment opportunities.
of formal employment is relatively slow in The pattern of migration during the last five
these times. As the majority of migrants work years shows that the urban migration pattern
Table 5.7 Factors Associated with Migration pattern of migration towards urban areas. To
to Urban Areas (Duration < 5 Years), 2007–2008 understand the factors that are attributed to
Independent variables Male Female migration, a regression analysis has been car-
ried out for both male and female migrants.
Age 0.98*** 0.93***
From Table 5.7, it is found that economic
Marital status (not married/others)
factors play a significant role in male migra-
Currently married 1.75*** 13.27***
tion. The association of economic status with
Hhsize 0.49*** 0.69***
migration rate shows that the likelihood of
Hhsize square 1.02*** 1.01***
migration increases for the richest economic
Caste (others)
class among male. However, for other eco-
ST 1.24*** 1.38***
nomic classes, the likelihood to migrate is
SC 0.84*** 1.06
lower than the poorest.
OBC 0.97*** 1.04
This signifies that among males, mobility
Education (illiterate) is low in the middle-income category. The
Primary 0.92 0.69*** findings further show that illiterate men are
Sec/High school 0.90** 0.96 more likely to migrate than those with higher
Graduate+ 0.93 1.14** secondary education are. Compared to the
Economic status (poorest) general category, migrants from the ST cat-
Poor 0.75*** 0.94 egory have the highest odds of migrating to
Middle 0.73*** 0.94 urban areas. These findings suggest that pov-
Rich 0.87*** 1.13** erty is one of the most important determinants
Richest 1.23*** 1.35*** for male migration to urban areas.
Employment (not in LF) Women with higher education and b etter-off
Self 0.95 0.74*** groups have higher odds of migration. After
Wage/salary 2.63*** 1.32*** adjusting for socio-economic factors, the odds
Casual 1.42*** 1.06 of migration increase with the increase in the
Unemployed 1.12 1.11 economic class of a woman. Compared to
R2 0.2 0.2 women who are not in the labour force, those
N 76868 55877 engaged in salary/wage earning classes show
Source: Estimated by the author from the National Sample
higher odds of migration, suggesting women
Survey, 2007–2008. are motivated by economic reason. This fur-
Note: ***P ≤ 1 per cent level of significance; **P ≤ 5 per ther confirms the positive association between
cent level of significance. HHSIZE: household size; LF: education and female migration.
labour force.
was different from rural migration, especially

for men. Though recent NSS data shows CONCLUSION
migration for education has fairly increased,
the spatial and economic characteristics The socio-economic changes underway during
of migrants makes it clear that individuals the process of development have significant spa-
migrating to urban areas are largely the poor. tial and socio-economic implications and con-
sequently affecting migration patterns. Given
this, an attempt has been made in this paper to
understand the current migration patterns and
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CORRELATES OF identify the correlates that influence migration.
MIGRATION IN URBAN INDIA The major observations from the study
are: first, widening regional inequality in eco-
As can be observed from the above analy- nomic opportunities with rural–urban eco-
sis, there has been a significant change in the nomic gap brought about a significant increase
in migration in the urban wards and inter- Chowdhury, S. (2011). Employment in India: What does
state migration from underdeveloped states. the latest data show. Economic and Political Weekely,
Second, there was a substantial increase in XLVI (32), 23–26.
migration to urban areas from the poorest eco- de Haan, A. (1997). Rural-urban migration and poverty:
The case of India. IDS Bulletin, 28(2), 35–47.
nomic classes. This scenario appears to be a
———. (2011). Inclusive growth? Labour migration
conundrum, especially in a situation where the and poverty in India (Working Paper No. 513). Hague,
country is attaining unprecedented economic Netherland: International Institute of Social Studies.
growth. Perhaps the inequitable distribution Deshingkar, P. & Start, D. (2003). Seasonal migration
of benefits of economic growth and labour for livelihoods, coping, accumulation and exclusion.
market reforms with increasing informaliza- Working Paper No. 220. London: Overseas Develop-
tion of the labour market triggered up migra- ment Institute.
tion of the poor. Third, changing patterns of Garcia, B. (2000). Women, poverty and demographic
female migration, that is, for better education change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
and income-earning opportunities, reflect the James, K. S. (2002). Migration dynamics in Andhra
preponderance of marriage migration slowly Pradesh: Evidence from decadal census. Paper pre-
sented at a seminar on Labour Mobility in a Globalis-
transforming towards economic migration.
ing World: Conceptual and Empirical Issues, V.V. Giri
Appropriate policy measures are needed National Labour Institute, Noida, India, September
to provide a decent standard of living to 18–19.
poor urban migrants through economically Kadi, A. S. & Sivamurthy, M. (1988). Interstate migration
sustainable employment opportunities and in India: 1971–81. Canadian Studies in Population,
social security measures because majority of 15(1), 37–50.
them do not have access to appropriate hous- Kundu, A. (1997). Trends and structure of employment in
ing, sanitation and health and also face wage the 1990s: Implication for urban growth. Economic
discrimination at the workplace. Census or and Political Weekly, 32(4), 1399–1405.
NSS data allows individuals to state only one ———. (2003). Urbanisation and urban governance,
reason for migration and invariably it is iden- search for a perspective beyond neo-liberalism. Eco-
nomic and Political Weekly, XXXVIII(29), 3079–3098.
tified with marriage for women. However, in
Kundu, A. & Gupta, S. (1996). Migration, urbanisa-
a patriarchal setup where women’s position is tion and regional inequality. Economic and Political
low, it is difficult to divulge the actual reasons Weekly, 31(52), 3391–3398.
for migration. Thus, questions with multiple Kundu, A. & Saraswati, L. R. (2012). Migration and exclu-
responses need to be asked while eliciting rea- sionary urbanisation in India. Economic and Political
sons for migration, especially among women. Weekly, XLVII(26/27), 212–227.
Besides, the data has a limitation in terms of Mahapatro, S. R. & James, K. S. (2015). Understanding
covering seasonal and short-term migrants, female migration pattern in India: Exploring the driv-
whose numbers are continually increasing in ing forces. In India Migration Report 2015. Gender
recent years. To design effective migration and Migration, S. Irudaya Rajan (ed.) (pp. 206–220).
policies, certainly a comprehensive informa- New Delhi: Routledge.
Mitra, A. & Murayama, M. (2008). Rural to urban migra-
tion on short-term migration is required.
tion: A district level analysis for India (IDE Discussion
Paper No. 137). Jetro, Japan: Institute of Developing
Economies (IDE).
National Commission on Rural Labour. (1991). Reports of
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6
Domestic Remittances
Bhaswati Das
Rajni Singh
INTRODUCTION In most developing countries, the domestic

remittances are mostly directed to rural house-
Remittances are defined as economic transfers, holds in response to rural-to-urban migration at
and they remain a primary source of external the micro level and further at the macro level
flow of resources and funds to the receiving from developed areas to undeveloped areas.
areas, especially to developing countries like Recent studies on migration performed in this
India. While much of the attention in prior regard have acknowledged the domestic cash
studies was seen to be given to understanding flows in India to be double of that of interna-
the interplay of international remittances on tional cash flows (Tumbe, 2011). Thus, the need
the country’s economy, relatively less atten- to study both the dynamics and determinants of
tion was paid to the importance of domestic domestic remittances flow in the country at both
or internal remittances on the same. Domestic the aggregate and household levels has grabbed
migration has been of much importance in much interest in recent times. The present study
sustaining local economies across the globe, is an attempt to understand the dynamics of
and in case of India, it is currently estimated remittances at the intrastate and interstate levels
at around 453 million, or nearly 37 per cent of using unit-level data from the 64th round of the
the total population, as per the 2011 Census. National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO)
In a recent nationally representative survey (2007–2008) on migration.
in Ghana (Adams, 2007), it was found that
while the average value of internal remittances
was 30 per cent of the value of international
remittances, the number of households receiv- BACKGROUND
ing internal remittances was five times that of
those receiving international remittances, back- Remittances have always occupied much rel-
ing its higher prevalence at the household level. evance when migration and development are
linked. Moreover, the flow of remittances has in most households was primarily on human
witnessed a striking increase in the recent and social capital formation and on overall
years, thus giving impetus to the rise in liter- well-being.
ature on remittances over the previous years. Studies on determinants cover socio-
Remittance is an outcome of migration; hence, economic and demographic variables to
most available literature link remittances to capture the influence of these on remitting
related aspects of migration. behaviour including factors such as gender,
A study by Chami, Fullenkamp and Jahjah age, education, income, household size and
(2003) contended that income transfers or marital status. On analysing for gender, contri-
remittances have a non-unitary or multiplier bution for remittances was found to be high for
effect. A significant portion of the remit- males than for females. In a study on Bulgaria,
tances was not spent on income-generating it was found that, other things held constant,
goods, instead it was spent on consumption on average generally male migrants, especially
goods, that is, it was consumed instead of married male migrants remitted more than
saving and investing, especially in conditions female migrants (Markova & Reilly, 2006).
where access to capital is limited and risk is This is mostly true when women are mostly
involved in household decisions for produc- associational migrants. But, in a study con-
tion. According to Taylor (1999), develop- ducted by the International Organization for
ment impact of remittances dwells between Migration in 2007, it was found that female
two extremes: one end leads to reduction of migrants send approximately the same amount
production constraints of the poor in develop- of remittances as male migrants. Remittances
ing countries, and on the other side it provides have been found to be higher for married
opportunities at the destined areas, which males and unmarried females (Markova &
gives way to labour depletion in the sending Reilly, 2006; McDonald & Valenzuela, 2009).
areas, mostly that of skilled migrants (brain Age as a factor that influences remittances
drain). At the macro level, remittances have did not provide any conclusive evidence. On
significant influence on increasing foreign the one hand, a study found that the amount
reserves and on filling in the deficit related of remittances seems to increase with age
to trade in developing countries (Rapoport & (Merkle & Zimmermann, 1992), and on the
Docquier, 2005). At the micro level, remit- other hand, other studies showed that higher
tances boost investment opportunities and cir- levels of remittances are sent by individuals
culation of savings at the country level, and of younger age than those of older age (De la
this happens to be consistent with the fact that Brière, de Janvry, Lambert & Sadoulet, 1997).
consequentially they lead to poverty reduction Land possession seems to have an influ-
and distribution of benefits among the difference where a household is concerned, as when
ent sections of society. a household owns large landholdings, it has
On the other hand, the micro level aspect less probability of receiving remittances. But
of remittances was categorized into studies the amount is high when the received amount
based on the sending side and receiving side. is for farming purpose, that is, as an invest-
Sending-side studies are majorly based on the ment, in the household with more farmlands
altruistic behaviour of the sending migrants (Ranathunga, 2011). Household size is also
(Bouhga-Hagbe, 2006; Hoddinott, 1994). an important determinant of remitting behav-
Likewise, Samal (2006), in a study, found iour of the out-migrant as found in studies
that remittances from migrants rendered the by Amuedo-Dorantes and Pozo (2006) and
much-needed financial support to house- Banerjee (1984), thereby affecting the likeli-
holds located in areas with persistent suffer- hood of sending remittances and the fraction
ing conditions. The end use of remittances of earnings sent back home.
Domestic Remittances 95
ROLE OF DOMESTIC REMITTANCES was presented in a recent report on domestic

IN INDIA migrant labour in Kerala by Narayana and
Venkiteswaran (2013), where they have esti-
As mentioned in the previous section, internal mated that the earnings of approximately 2.5
remittances are less in magnitude compared to million out-of-state workers who are working
international remittances, but they play a more in Kerala in different sectors like construction,
important role in overall or balanced growth hospitality, household services and agriculture
of all parts of a country, by reducing disparity amounted to about `175 billion in 2013, which
between undeveloped or underdeveloped and was one-third of the external remittances
developed areas and further between rural and received by the state. With this background,
urban areas. the present chapter attempts to understand the
Remittances, as studied by different schol- spatial distribution of remittances received
ars (Afsar, 2003; Chellaraj & Mohapatra, 2014; and determinants of the amount of remittance.
Dayal & Karan, 2003; Mueller & Shariff,
2011), have also been seen as an encourage-
ment to human capital formation by way of
improving one’s expenditure on consumption DATA SOURCE AND CONCEPTUAL
levels, which is evident in increasing expendi- ISSUES TO ESTIMATES
tures on maintenance of health and then on
educational attainment. There is immense The role of remittances in determining eco-
literature available to study the returns from nomic development at the source region has
migration and investment of remittances been acknowledged for long, particularly in
received (Oberai & Singh, 1980). In a study on developing countries. Despite this, not many
remittances in Pakistan conducted by Adams significant efforts have been made for the pro-
(1998), the researcher established that exter- vision of research and informative knowledge
nal remittances received by households were on domestic remittances in India, especially
treated as temporary shocks to income, which those transactions which are made within the
should be invested, while internal remittances domestic territory.
are taken as both permanent and fugacious With this backdrop, the NSSO survey on
income, which should be used for both invest- employment, unemployment and migration
ment and consumption. A study conducted by in its 64th round (2007–2008) acquires great
Binci and Giannelli (2013) in Vietnam found significance because it is the first survey to
that domestic remittances proved to be more collect information on remittances at the
significant than international remittances in household level.1 Before this, it had collected
maintaining the well-being of children in the data on remittance status at the regional level
families left behind. The importance of inter- in its 49th round (1993). The latest round
nal remittances is captured by the fact that gives us additional information on the amount
internal remittances flow to a larger number of remittances and use of remittances by the
of households and majorly to the poorer rural recipient households.
households, and a larger bulk of poverty Even though the survey report titled
reduction comes from internal remittances ‘Migration in India: 2007–08’ published in
(Castaldo, Deshingkar & McKay, 2012; June 2010 provided immense information on
Housen, Hopkins & Earnest, 2013). The remittances across socio-economic catego-
importance of internal remittances in India ries, it offered lopsided conclusions, because
1
NSSO defines remittances as ‘transfers, either in cash or in kind, to the households by their former members
who had migrated out’ (NSSO, 2010, p. 14).
through the information provided, one can To capture various determinants of remit-
only know the source or the remittance- ting behaviour of out-migrants in India, mul-
receiving states. No information on the desti- tiple classification analysis (MCA) has been
nation states or remittance-sending states can performed in this study. MCA is a quantita-
be gathered as the destination location of the tive analysis that examines the relationship
out-migrants is not covered in the survey. Lack between the predictor and dependent vari-
of this information has made the estimation of ables and determines the effect of each pre-
domestic remittances balance unworkable. It dictor variable before and after adjustment for
is worthwhile to mention here that the infor- its intercorrelations with other predictors in
mation about the migrants’ characteristics and the analysis.3 Unadjusted means are the gross
the amount of remittances are collected from means, while adjusted means are controlled
the left-behind heads of the households. for other predictor variables. MCA also com-
putes a multiple correlation coefficient, R,
which when squared gives an estimate of the
total variance in the basis explainable by all
METHODOLOGY predictors together. The factor summary table
has the correlation ratio (eta) square, which
The methodology used to perform the pres- indicates the proportion of variance explained
ent study includes bivariate analysis like by all categories of the predictor variable, and
cross-tabulations. For the analysis, both formal beta values are values of each predictor with
and informal channels of sending remittances other predictors ‘statistically controlled’.
were considered for those out-migrants2 who
had migrated out of the state, but within the
country. The reasons are categorized as eco-
nomic and non-economic reasons. Economic MAGNITUDE OF DOMESTIC
reasons are also termed as employment- REMITTANCE IN INDIA
related reasons.
Six employment-related reasons for leav- According to the 2011 Census of India, the
ing the last usual place of residence are iden- volume of internal migration in India is 453
tified: (a) in search of employment, (b) in million, which is 37.8 per cent of the total pop-
search of better employment, (c) to take up ulation. Although the last census in 2001 had
a business, (d) to take up employment/better figures segregated for internal migration, the
employment, (e) transfer of service/contract information in the provisional table of 2011 is
and proximity to the place of work and (f) for restricted to the total population classified as
things related to employment. migrants with no separate figures for internal
In order to calculate the aggregate volume migrants to get a comparison.
of remittances, the amount of remittances was The total percentage share of migrants
multiplied with the number of migrants in the combined for work/employment and busi-
state, as is done by the NSSO in its report. ness purposes together for the duration of 1–4
Further, it was classified for the migrants years was 12.3 per cent in 2011, which in 2001
depending on those belonging to various was about 16 per cent. Having the knowledge
socio-economic categories. that internal migrants composed the largest
share of it, their related figures are assumed
2
Out-migrant: Any former member of a household who left the household, any time in the past, to stay outside
the village/town was considered as an out-migrant provided he/she was alive on the date of survey.
3
Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal/idams/html/english/E1mca.htm
to decline in the same proportion. This decline remittances of the state GDP, it was found that
is accredited to the stupendous increase in remittances to Bihar contributed to 3.6 per
migrants who moved after birth followed cent of its GDP, which was largest among all
by those who moved with households as the states, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
background reason for migration. and Himachal Pradesh, with around 2 per cent
Remittances as a consequence of migra- share of state GDP transmitted in terms of
tion are a key source of alternative income domestic remittances.
in the families left behind, and because it is Table 6A.1 shows the contribution of
more prevalent at the domestic level, it has domestic remittances in the Indian economy,
a greater impact on reducing poverty at the which is estimated to be `127 billion and `198
household level. On the other side, literature billion at intrastate and interstate levels, respec-
also validates the financial dependency factor tively, and these are brought into transaction by
that comes in with the flow of remittances and around 22 million migrants across the country.
gives way to disincentives to work and further The total share of interstate transfers is about
investments to income among the members of 61 per cent, and the highest recipient states are
the remittance-receiving households (Chami Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. The large
et al., 2003). amount of interstate transfers in these states is
National Council for Applied Economic a reflection of significant out-migration from
Research (NCAER)4 in its recent survey on these states to other states, with Maharashtra,
‘National Survey of Household Income and Delhi and Gujarat as the major source regions
Expenditure’ dedicated a section on domes- of these remittances (Tumbe, 2011, 2013).
tic remittance flows for the year 2010–2011 Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and
covering 97,555 households. It estimated that West Bengal accounted for about 41 per cent
11.5 million households received around `495 of intrastate transfers. The large number of
billion as remittance, and the major corridors intrastate out-migrants in Maharashtra and
of the bulk of remittance flows both for sent Uttar Pradesh is a manifestation of the bulk of
and received were to the states of Bihar and rural-to-urban migration which is taking place
Uttar Pradesh, with Maharashtra accounting within these states. It is true that the volume
for 12 per cent of the total remittances sent. of remittances drawn by Bihar, Rajasthan and
The report also highlighted the point of poor Uttar Pradesh is noticeably high, and a larger
penetration of the banking system in these share of the same has been contributed by
low-income states as a hindrance to financial interstate migration, but per capita remittance
inclusion, which is needed for overall inclu- in all these states is low, suggesting a large
sive growth. The domestic remittance market number of low-skilled migrants from these
in India has been observed to be growing at a states.
cumulative annual growth rate of 10.3 per cent On considering the per capita remittances,
during 2008–2013.5 the highest recipient was Chandigarh with
The NSSO unit-level data of 2007–2008 `81,250 on an average, and at the interstate
estimates total domestic remittance to be level, Goa, with `114,651 per capita remit-
`325.4 billion. Domestic remittances’ share in tances, topped the chart in 2007–2008. It has
the national gross domestic product (GDP) for also been observed in the study that Goa,
India is around 0.51 per cent (Table 6.1). On Chandigarh and Daman and Diu received the
calculating the percentage share of interstate highest per capita remittance among all states
4
http://demo.ncaer.org/downloads/Reports/Report_National_Remote_Payments_Survey_March_2014.pdf
(accessed on 16 October 2016).
5
India Domestic Remittance, M-Wallet and Bill Payment Market Future Outlook to 2018 ‘Driven by Government
Support and Rising Banked Population’ by Ken Research, 2014.
Table 6.1 State-wise (interstate) Amount of Remittances as a Percentage Share of Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) at Constant (2004–2005) Prices for 2007–2008
Amount of GDP at Constant (2004–2005) Percentage
States Remittances (billion) in Rupees (billion) Share of GDP
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 0.02 24.79 0.09

Andhra Pradesh 3.48 3,066.45 0.11
Arunachal Pradesh 0.05 42.27 0.11
Assam 1.91 605.67 0.32
Bihar 34.29 937.74 3.66
Chandigarh 0.16 115.81 0.14
Chhattisgarh 0.59 636.44 0.09
Delhi 0.20 1,379.61 0.01
Goa 0.69 158.75 0.44
Gujarat 1.12 2,812.73 0.04
Haryana 5.94 1,261.71 0.47
Himachal Pradesh 4.40 309.17 1.42
Jammu and Kashmir 3.65 325.61 1.12
Jharkhand 7.11 713.77 1.00
Karnataka 2.58 2,282.02 0.11
Kerala 9.96 1,540.93 0.65
Madhya Pradesh 2.48 1,359.86 0.18
Maharashtra 3.91 5,948.32 0.07
Manipur 0.49 58.99 0.83
Meghalaya 0.11 79.70 0.14
Mizoram 0.14 33.36 0.41
Nagaland 0.06 74.45 0.08
Odisha 10.88 1,028.46 1.06
Puducherry 0.31 80.93 0.38
Punjab 3.62 1,232.23 0.29
Rajasthan 23.85 1,600.17 1.49
Sikkim 0.06 21.78 0.27
Tamil Nadu 8.74 2,875.30 0.30
Tripura 0.32 109.88 0.29
Uttar Pradesh 48.16 3,002.25 1.60
Uttarakhand 4.59 380.22 1.21
West Bengal 14.02 2,390.77 0.59
India 198.01 38,966.36 0.51
Source: GDP prices–Central Statistics Office, CSO (31 October 2014).

Note: Gross state domestic product at constant (2004–2005) prices not available for Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu and Lakshadweep.
and union territories (UTs). Among the major Figure 6.1 shows that the share of remit-
states, per capita domestic remittance is also tances sent by intrastate migrants is high for
very high in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and all the northeastern states, suggesting large-
Haryana. Though the volume of remittance scale rural-to-urban migration within the
is very high in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, per states. The large-scale regional imbalances
capita remittances are low in these two states. in economic opportunity within the states are
70°00˝E 80°00˝E 90°00˝E 70°00˝E 80°00˝E 90°00˝E
Volume of Inter-State Total Remittances in India Statewise Domestic Remittances in India

2007–2008 2007–2008
40°00˝N 40°00˝N 40°00˝N 40°00˝N
N N
30°00˝N 30°00˝N 30°00˝N 30°00˝N
20°00˝N 20°00˝N 20°00˝N 20°00˝N
Per-capital Total Remittances

(in `)
Interstate Remittances
(in million `) 39883 - 93195
25115 - 39883
23853 - 48156 12714 - 25115
10878 - 23853 10°00˝N 10°00˝N 7597 - 12714 10°00˝N
10°00˝N
2580 - 10878
8 - 2580 Total Domestic
Remittance
Interstate Remittance
Interstate Remittance
70°00˝E 80°00˝E 90°00˝E 70°00˝E 80°00˝E 90°00˝E
Figure 6.1 Pattern and Magnitude of Domestic Remittances in India (2007–2008)

Source: Constructed using unit level data of NSS, 64th round (2007–2008).
Disclaimer: This figure is not to scale. It does not represent any authentic national or international boundaries and is used for illustrative purposes only.
the driving factors for major intrastate move- The top states receiving remittance against
ments. A similar situation prevails in Andhra employment-related or economically moti-
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka and vated migration were Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
Maharashtra, where a limited number of large and Rajasthan at the interstate level, while
growth centres attract people from neighbour- at the intrastate level, Uttar Pradesh and
ing districts. Maharashtra were the highest recipients
An important aspect while studying remit- (Figure 6.2). In case of remittances against
tances is the dynamism brought in by factors reasons for migration other than employ-
working in the background. One of these is ment-related, Bihar received around 50 per
the primary reason or motivation for migra- cent of interstate transfers, and on the other
tion. Remittance as transfer of money by a hand, Maharashtra, Kerala and West Bengal
migrant to his or her origin is generally occur- accounted for about 60 per cent of intrastate
ring as a response to economically motivated ‘other than employment related remittances’
or employment-related migration. However, (Figure 6.3). Among other than economic
there are cases where although the reasons for reasons, marriage is a major reason for migra-
migration could be other than those related to tion and women overwhelmingly dominate
employment, people manage to send money this category—the marriage migration—and
back home. thus, women are designated as associational
The volume of remittances estimated migrants notwithstanding their contribution in
across the reasons for migration other than sending money back home for the maintenance
employment-related reasons attributes to of their left-behind family. Contribution of
around 2 per cent of the total transactions students is also included in this non-economic
amounting to `5.3 billion. These amounts category. Thus, the reason for migration may
when segregated for intrastate and interstate not necessarily explain the migrant’s current
remittances were `3.9 billion and `1.3 bil- engagement at the destination. However, since
lion, respectively. economic migrants dominate the scenario of
50,000 Interstate
45,000
Intrastate
Remittances (in millions)
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5000
0
A & N Is.
Pondicherry
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Goa
Karnataka
Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra
D & N Haveli
Daman & Diu
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
Odisha
Jharkhand
West Bengal
Assam
Meghalaya
Tripura
Mizoram
Manipur
Nagaland
Arunachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Delhi
Haryana
Uttarakhand
Chandigarh
Punjab
Himachal Pradesh
J&K
Chhattisgarh
States/UTs
Figure 6.2 Volume of Remittances Against Employment-related Reasons for Migration

Source: Computed from unit level data of NSS, 64th round data.
1,000
Interstate Intrastate
900
800
Remittances (in millions)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
J&K
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
Chandigarh
Uttarakhand
Haryana
Delhi
Rajasthan
Uttra Pradesh
Bihar
Sikkim
Arunachal Pradesh
Nagaland
Manipur
Mizoram
Tripura
Meghalaya
Assam
West Bengal
Jharkhand
Odisha
Chhattisgarh
Madhya Pradesh
Gujarat
Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Lakshadeep
Kerala
Tamil Nadu
Pondicherry
A & N Is.
State/UTs
Figure 6.3 Volume of Remittances Against ‘Other than Employment’ Reasons for Migration
Source: Computed from unit-level data of NSS, 64th round data.
remittances, Figure 6.1 matches with the find- Madheswaran, 2011). The linkage between
ings of Figure 6.2. age and remitting behaviour of a migrant has
long been studied and has come out to be
inconclusive as it is positive in some studies
(Durand, Kandel, Parrado & Massey, 1996)
CHARACTERISTICS OF MIGRANTS and negative in others (Chipeta & Kachaka,
2005). Menjivar, DaVanza, Greenwell and
The characteristics of migrants’ work form Valdez (1998) found a U-shaped relationship
the backdrop towards the decision of migra- between age and incidence of remitting and an
tion are considered as the parameters for inverted U-shaped relationship between age
understanding the probability of migrants’ and the average amount sent, with migrants in
moving out of their native places. They are their late 30s remitting the largest amount.
also required to know the characteristics of the Figure 6.4 shows the mean amount of
migrant population which has led to their indi- remittance against mean age and the scatter
rect selectivity to the destination areas and the plot establishes a positive relation between the
implications of their migration on the place two variables because when one progresses
of origin. Socio-economic and demographic towards a higher age, the mean or per capita
characteristics such as sex, age, education remittance increases.
status, marital status, altruism and other fac- As shown in Table 6B.1, it was found in
tors play an integral role in determining the our study that the maximum percentage (55%)
remitting behaviour of migrants. of those sending remittances were in the age
Considering the determinants of remit- group of 15–30 years, and they also contrib-
tance sending behaviour, the age factor is uted to the largest share of total amount of
discussed the most. Age is taken as a proxy remittances sent. However, the per capita
for work experience because it denotes the remittance was highest for the middle adult
earning potential of an individual (Parida & age group of 45–64 years. When observing
mean_remit
Linear
(mean_remit)
100,000
90,000 GOA
80,000 CHN
Mean Amount of remittances in `
70,000
D&D
60,000 y = 2973 × −59654
R² = 0.1346
50,000
PUN
40,000 PO J&K
DEL
MNP HRY
30,000 MIZ MEG LKD
D&N SK RAJ TRI
A&N
20,000 JHK WB UK
HP KE
NAG ORS TN
ARN BHR ASS
ANP UP MAH
10,000 GUJ MP
KNT CHH
0
20 25 30 35
Age
Figure 6.4 Scatter Plot of Mean Amount of Remittances Sent Against Mean Age of Out-
migrants across States in India
Source: Calculated by the authors.
Note: As there were no values between 0 and 20 on the X-axis, the graph has been expanded to understand the relation
better. J&K, Jammu and Kashmir; HP, Himachal Pradesh; PUN, Punjab; CHN, Chandigarh; UK, Uttarakhand; HRY,
Haryana; DEL, Delhi; RAJ, Rajasthan; UP, Uttar Pradesh; BHR, Bihar; SK, Sikkim; ARP, Arunachal Pradesh; NAG,
Nagaland; MNP, Manipur; MIZ, Mizoram; TRI, Tripura; MEG, Meghalaya; ASM, Assam; WB, West Bengal; JHK,
Jharkhand; ORS, Odisha; CHH, Chhattisgarh; MP, Madhya Pradesh; GUJ, Gujarat; D&D, Daman and Diu; D&N, Dadra
and Nagar Haveli; MAH, Maharashtra; ANP, Andhra Pradesh; KNT, Karnataka; GOA, Goa; LKD, Lakshadweep; KE,
Kerala; TN, Tamil Nadu; PO, Puducherry and A&N, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
the pattern of share of remittances by age relationship found ground only in the states of
groups across the states, considering for those Goa and Chandigarh where the mean amount
in the working population age group, it was of remittances was higher for the 30–45 years
found that in the three states of Nagaland, age group with depressed mean amount for the
Puducherry and Mizoram more than 60 per age groups 15–30 and 45–60 years. In all other
cent of the remittances were sent by migrants states, an upward trending curve was seen with
in the 15–30 years age group. Out-migrants in average remittances highest in the 45–64 age
the age group of 15–45 years sent a large share group.
of the total remittances (between 25 per cent
and 60 per cent) to the regions where there was
as less than 25 per cent of the total remittances
Gender Perspective of Remittances
contributed by the age group of 45–64 years.
Considering the age and amount of the remit- With the women’s rising contour in remittance
tance nexus, Menjavir’s inverted ‘u’-shaped flows, there has been growing involvement
in understanding the role that gender plays Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Daman and Diu,
in defining the whole nexus between migra- Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Among inter-
tion and remittances. There have been stud- state migrants, difference between male and
ies emphasizing that female migrants remit a female per capita remittances is significantly
higher proportion of their income than male high in Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya
migrants do, although the total amount of remit- Pradesh and Mizoram. However, among the
tances may be lower because of lower wages intrastate migrants, difference between male
that they get (Osaki, 1999). Table 6.2 shows the and female per capita remittances is noticeably
differences between male and female per capita high for Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
remittances across the states for those that are Irrespective of the type of migration, it can be
economically motivated, and the results for few said that women in these states bear consider-
of the states found deviation from the national able financial burden of their parental homes.
average which follows a pattern of higher per To get a more holistic view of the influence
capita remittances sent by male migrants at of the various socio-economic background
both intrastate and interstate levels. characteristics of the out-migrants and their
The states and UTs with a negative dif- remitting behaviour, MCA was attempted.
ference are the ones where female migrants In the analysis, the amount of remittances
remit more per capita than male migrants do, was taken as the dependent variable and the
and those states and UTs are Goa, Assam, predictor variables used were gender of the
out-migrant, place of residence, household
Table 6.2 States and UTs with Difference in
Male and Female per Capita Remittances Sent size, caste, religion, age, period since leav-
in 2007–2008 ing the household (years), land possessed and
monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of the
State Intrastate Interstate Total
household. MPCE was estimated by excluding
Jammu and −1,273 7,254 4,105 remittance amount received by the household.
Kashmir Table 6.3 displays the MCA output of
Punjab −7,167 −585 922 total amount of remittances sent by the
Rajasthan −1,942 15,012 8,973 out-migrants in the year 2007–2008. The
Uttar Pradesh −2,031 1,946 703 grand mean for the amount of remittances
Mizoram 7,608 −11,331 1,515 sent is `18,662, and all the co-variates are
Tripura −3,267 10,477 6,765 highly significant in influencing the amount
Assam −20,106 −2,669 −16,064 of remittances sent. The unadjusted mean
Chhattisgarh −6,299 4,796 1,782 indicates significantly higher contribution
Madhya Pradesh 4,266 −10,954 −266 remittances by male migrants than by female
Gujarat −6,766 −14,069 −6,169 migrants. When adjusted for main effect of
Daman and Diu 30,000 −7,726 −7,942 other socio-economic covariates, it was fur-
Andhra Pradesh −10,031 −746 −7,951 ther noticed that male migrants have a higher
Karnataka 4,097 −47,765 3,157 propensity of sending remittances than female
Goa 13,259 −100,084 −108,382 migrants and that they are statistically signif-
Kerala −10,426 16,115 2,868 icant at 1 per cent level of significance. The
Tamil Nadu 163 −664 1,112 literature on characteristics of migrants who
Puducherry 854 −9,021 −12,923 sent remittances displays that gender has two
Total 2,730 2,266 2,534 stereotypes; when considering the volume of
remittances, male migrants send more money
Source: Computed from unit-level data of NSS, 64th
round data.
than female migrants do because they earn
Note: (−) indicates that female migrants’ share is more more, as found by Semyonov and Gorodzeisky
than that of male migrants in that particular state or UT. (2005) in a household survey done on Filipina
Table 6.3 Multiple Classification Analysis of Total Amount of Remittances Sent by the Out-
migrants by Background Characteristics of the Migrants, 2007–2008
Predicted mean Deviation
Beta
Characteristics N Unadjusted Adjusted Unadjusted Adjusted Eta adjusted
Grand mean 30,632 18,662

Sex 0.057 0.022***
Male 28,870 19,263 19,044 358 139
Female 1,762 13,044 16,628 −5,861 −2,277
Place of residence 0.232 0.240***
Rural 21,597 15,122 14,982 −3,783 −3,923
Urban 9,035 27,948 28,282 9,043 9,377
Household size 0.029 0.077***
Less than 4 12,804 18,421 16,615 −484 −2,289
Four to six 12,730 19,754 20,452 849 1,547
More than 6 5,098 17,999 20,793 −905 1,888
Caste 0.121 0.114***
SC and ST 8,816 16,351 15,963 −2,554 −2,942
OBC 11,602 17,058 17,659 −1,847 −1,246
Others 10,214 23,207 22,859 4,303 3,954
Religion 0.07 0.103***
Hindu 24,567 18,388 18,542 −517 −363
Muslim 3,147 17,887 14,953 −1,018 −3,952
Others 2,918 24,352 26,221 5,447 7,317
Age 0.252 0.169***
15–30 years 16,786 14,219 16,078 −4,686 −2,827
30–45 years 10,696 21,584 19,983 2,679 1,078
45–64 years 3,150 34,777 30,308 15,872 11,404
Duration of stay (years) 0.101 0.025***
Less than 1 5,372 14,652 17,748 −4,253 −1,157
1 to 4 12,249 17,966 19,542 −939 637
More than 4 13,011 21,545 18,783 2,640 −122
Land possessed 0.061 0.068***
Small 4,562 18,397 15,254 −508 −3,651
Medium 15,983 20,317 18,894 1,412 −11
Large 10,087 16,898 20,574 −2,007 1,669
Monthly per capita expenditure (`) 0.408 0.403***
Less than 160 6,745 38,007 37,552 19,102 18,647
160–400 7,101 15,487 17,488 −3,418 −1,417
400–570 5,620 11,398 13,139 −7,507 −5,766
570–900 5,883 11,553 11,677 −7,352 −7,228
More than 900 5,283 15,283 11,185 −3,622 −7,720
Reason for migration 0.076 0.067***
Economic reasons 29,605 19,262 19,218 357 313
Other reasons 1,027 8,611 9,874 −10,294 −9,031
Source: Computed from unit-level data of NSS, 64th round data.

Note: *** p ≤ 0.01; Multiple R = 0.535, R2 = 0.286.
and Filipino migrant workers. But, there are a positive impact and suggests that individu-
studies substantiating female migrants send- als with a longer stay remit a higher amount
ing a larger share of their income as remit- owing to a more stable job and income (Cohen,
tances than male migrants (IOM, 2007). 2011). However, studies have also found that
The other factor that seems to be of those who have stayed longer tend to reveal
influence is the place of residence that the weaker ties with family in the home and thus
out-migrant belongs to. It is observed that tend to remit less (Connell, 1991; Forsyth,
migration is favoured by both urban and rural 1991). This found some ground in our anal-
workers. However, it is observed that most ysis also where although the unadjusted mean
remittances are directed to rural households indicated higher remittances having stayed
(Tumbe, 2011; Zarate-Hoyos, 2004). In our longer at the destination, the adjusted values
study also, we found that around 79 per cent for those with more than 4 years of stay were
of remittances were sent to rural households. seen declining. Higher unadjusted mean for
The unadjusted figure for place of residence longer stay at the destination and in the later
shows that per capita remittance to urban years of age of the migrants can be treated as
areas (`27,948) was nearly double the amount a proxy for participation in a more stable and
received by rural areas (`15,122). higher level of economic activity.
Likewise, household size has an impor- On analysing remittances in the back-
tant role to play in deciding the amount of ground of landholdings possessed by the
remittance sent by out-migrants. Nishat and household, it was found that households
Bilgrami (1993) found that remittances in with medium-sized landholdings received
Pakistan were significantly influenced by the largest share of remittances. It has also
family size because with the addition of an been seen in studies that labourers and farm-
additional dependent member, remittance ers with little or no land have high propensity
increased by 0.007 per cent. The MCA results to migrate as seasonal migrants (National
in this respect revealed that the unadjusted Commission on Rural Labour report, 1991),
mean for a household size of four–six was which can be inferred for less income and thus
higher by `1,755 (19,754–17,999) against less remittance sent to the household. On the
more than a household size of six. After being other hand, Nishat and Bilgrami (1993) found
adjusted, the predicted mean shows signif- that the value of property accumulation has a
icant rise in the remittances for households negative impact, as after reaching a level, the
with larger size. Adjusted mean becomes remittances might decline. These cases can
nearly equal for families with four or more be taken as support of high remittances in the
members. With reference to social groups, the medium-sized landholding group, although
caste and religion of out-migrants are consid- when adjusted for other covariates, the mean
ered. Adjusted mean for the categories show amount of remittances increased with the
that people belonging to ‘others’ in the caste rising size of landholding possessed.
category send more remittances than those Likewise, it has been observed that MPCE
belonging to the other categories of ST, SC taken as a proxy to one’s income status and the
and OBC. Similar is the case with religion amount of remittances showed an inverse rela-
because the mean amount of remittances tion with those in the higher MPCE classes
when controlled for other variable indicates receiving lesser mean amount of remittances.
higher contribution by ‘other’ religious groups Further, considering the primary reason for
than by Hindus and Muslims. migration, chances to remit were higher for
The other important variable that reflects those who migrated for economic reasons
the amount of remittances is related to the but the unadjusted estimates for other than
period of stay in the destination. This shows employment migration gave a significant value
of `8,611 as the mean amount of remittances states. Although the remittances have always
sent. Interestingly, those in the labour market been studied in concordance with the econom-
are not the only remitters, those migrating for ically motivated migration, it is noticed that
other reasons also remit substantially. there are cases where remittances are sent by
Though all the covariates were highly sig- those not directly driven by economic incen-
nificant at 99 per cent level of confidence, tives. It was observed that those who migrated
the model could explain only 29 per cent related to employment or economic gains
of the variation in remittance through R2. remitted more than twice the mean remit-
The explanations behind low R2 mostly lie tances to their families compared to those who
with data inadequacy. Many of the variables were driven by other reasons. Grossly, for all
used by different scholars across the globe states, it was noticed that the per capita remit-
observed inconclusive as well as contrasting tances were higher for male migrants, but
relationship of the variable with remitting there was evidence of female migrants remit-
behaviour. These are true for age, duration ting larger shares of their income in few states.
of stay or family size. This study has limited Further, the net effect of the remitting behav-
scope to dig into the household or individ- iour of male migrants was found to be higher
ual dynamism. The stage of life and family than that of female migrants when controlled
responsibilities at the origin and destination for other socio-economic and demographic
are inextricably related to remittance sending covariates. The age of the migrant was a major
behaviour. Although NSSO attempted to col- factor influencing the remitting behaviour of
lect information about remittances received the out-migrants. Grossly, it was found that
from the heads of left-behind households, it around 25–60 per cent of the remittances were
hardly obtain any detailed information about sent by those in the age group of 15–45 years,
the out-migrants’ characteristics. It could not but the net effect of the age and amount of
even obtain information on out-migrants’ level remittance indicated significantly rising share
of education, details about occupation, which of remittances by the increasing age of the
sector of economy they joined after migration out-migrant. Migrants from well-settled back-
and marital status, which are significant deter- grounds remitted more amount of money than
minants of the remitting behaviour. Enough migrants of lower strata. Duration of stay in
thought was not put into collecting detailed a destination and amount of remittances went
information about the out-migrants which has hand in hand over the past decade because
made any deeper analysis hard to achieve. those who stayed for longer duration at the
destination remitted more, grossly, compared
with the new entrants into the area.
The data is limited because information
CONCLUSION on the destination was not collected when
collecting information from the households
The study on domestic remittances in India left behind. Again, the schedule where the
has gained substantial attention in the recent detailed information about the out-migrant’s
decade. The obvious reason for such a trend is characteristics is collected is discordant with
the increasing share of the remittances and their the schedule where information pertaining to
significantly rising contribution in the transac- household characteristics is collected. This
tion flows in the country. Our study illustrates has limited the scope to estimate the amount
that the highest recipients of interstate remit- of remittance drained out from the host state.
tances are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, Thus, there is scope for further elaborate study
whereas intrastate transfers are mostly associ- about remitting behaviour.
ated with rural-to-urban migration within the
APPENDIX 6A
Table 6A.1 State-wise Volume of Out-migrants Sending Remittances and the Total Amount of
Remittances Sent by Them during the Last 365 Days at Intra- and Interstate Level (2007–2008)
Intrastate Interstate Total
Amount of Amount of Amount of Percentage
remittances remittances remittances share
State Migrants (million) Migrants (million) Migrants (million) of remittances
Jammu and Kashmir 87,436 3,303 92,464 3,652 179,901 6,956 2.1
Himachal Pradesh 158,149 3,076 225,218 4,397 383,367 7,474 2.3
Punjab 69,668 3,414 98,330 3,624 167,998 7,038 2.2
Chandigarh 142 12 2,071 164 2,213 176 0.1
Uttarakhand 121,529 2,201 290,271 4,587 411,799 6,789 2.1
Haryana 91,392 2,697 160,713 5,940 252,105 8,638 2.7
Delhi - - 5,606 204 5,606 204 0.1
Rajasthan 535,114 11,727 1,011,089 23,853 1,546,203 35,580 10.9
Uttar Pradesh 1,113,503 15,749 4,413,691 48,156 5,527,194 63,905 19.6
Bihar 363,112 6,177 2,872,620 34,293 3,235,733 40,470 12.4
Sikkim 4,382 85 1,909 60 6,291 145 0.0
Arunachal Pradesh 10,132 147 3,621 47 13,753 194 0.1
Nagaland 15,424 170 3,193 60 18,617 230 0.1
Manipur 13,569 423 14,210 488 27,778 911 0.3
Mizoram 6,465 146 3,704 138 10,169 284 0.1
Tripura 32,265 846 18,642 316 50,907 1,162 0.4
Meghalaya 20,680 541 3,236 113 23,916 654 0.2
Assam 275,645 3,675 138,016 1,913 413,661 5,588 1.7
West Bengal 826,267 11,702 1,000,270 14,019 1,826,536 25,721 7.9
Jharkhand 122,091 3,302 383,115 7,115 505,206 10,416 3.2
Odisha 484,538 6,427 876,529 10,878 1,361,067 17,305 5.3
Chhattisgarh 150,001 1,334 103,203 589 253,205 1,923 0.6
Madhya Pradesh 275,705 2,793 177,058 2,479 452,763 5,272 1.6
Gujarat 349,435 3,596 53,518 1,118 402,953 4,714 1.4
Daman and Diu 5 0 805 50 811 51 0.0
Dadra and Nagar 33 1 306 8 339 9 0.0
Haveli
Maharashtra 1,358,686 12,737 183,591 3,911 1,542,277 16,648 5.1
Andhra Pradesh 567,493 6,213 198,017 3,483 765,510 9,696 3.0
Karnataka 575,717 6,483 165,408 2,580 741,125 9,064 2.8
Goa 1,898 42 6,028 691 7,926 733 0.2
Lakshadweep 1,282 28 1,640 54 2,921 82 0.0
Kerala 470,035 6,821 399,628 9,960 869,664 16,781 5.2
Tamil Nadu 855,046 11,392 387,457 8,739 1,242,502 20,132 6.2
Puducherry 1,777 21 6,661 305 8,438 326 0.1
Andaman and 5,180 110 751 22 5,931 131 0.0
Nicobar Islands
Total 8,963,795 127,390 13,302,590 198,009 22,266,385 325,399 100
Source: Calculated from unit-level data of NSS, 64th round data.

APPENDIX 6B
Table 6B.1 Percentage Share of Remittances Sent by Age Group among the States (2007–2008)
Percentage Share
Age Group (Years) 0–25 25–40 40–60 60+
15–30 LKD, D&N HP, KE, PUN, J&K, MEG, SK, MAH, GOA, HRY, A&N, MP, BHR, ASM, NAG, PO, MIZ
CHH, UK, UP, WB, DEL, TRI, D&D, MNP, RAJ, ORS, AP, GUJ, TN, CHN,
JHK ANP, KNT
30–45 PO, MIZ, CHN D&D, KNT, NAG, A&N, TN, ANP, MNP, PUN, HRY, CHH, ARP, KE, D&N
MAH, ORS, GUJ, RAJ, DEL, TRI, MP, BHR, SK, UP, HP, WB, GOA, MEG,
JHK, ASM UK, LKD, J&K
45–60 D&H, NAG, ARP, J&K, ANP, GUJ, PO, LKD, A&N, MAH, HP, D&D
TN, MNP, BHR, GOA, UK, KNT, RAJ,
ASM, MIZ, ORS, WB, HRY, UP, MP,
CHN, SK, JHK, CHH, KE, TRI, DEL,
PUN
Source: Computed from unit level data of NSS, 64th round data.
Note: J&K, Jammu and Kashmir; HP, Himachal Pradesh; PUN, Punjab; CHN, Chandigarh; UK, Uttarakhand; HRY, Haryana; DEL, Delhi; RAJ, Rajasthan; UP, Uttar Pradesh;
BHR, Bihar; SK, Sikkim; ARP, Arunachal Pradesh; NAG, Nagaland; MNP, Manipur; MIZ, Mizoram; TRI, Tripura; MEG, Meghalaya; ASM, Assam; WB, West Bengal; JHK,
Jharkhand, ORS, Odisha; CHH, Chhattisgarh; MP, Madhya Pradesh; GUJ, Gujarat; D&H, Dadra and Nagar Haveli; D&D, Daman and Diu; D&N, Dadra and Nagar Haveli; MAH,
Maharashtra; ANP, Andhra Pradesh; KNT, Karnataka; GOA, Goa; LKD, Lakshadweep; KE, Kerala; TN, Tamil Nadu; PO, Puducherry and A&N, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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7
Associated Gains from Migration
Pinak Sarkar
INTRODUCTION between remittances from internal migrants

and human capital investment in rural areas.
Migration is always seen as a livelihood strat- Given the importance of remittances and its
egy which brings economic well-being to effect on economic gain, this study is particu-
migrant-sending households. In India, inter- larly focused on the origin/location of migrant
nal migration as a phenomenon is witnessed households, such as rural and urban areas, and
in all sections of society and across all com- the households belonging to various economic
munities and economic groups, that is, both groups in rural and urban areas. However,
the poor and rich as well as the deprived and the extent of benefits reaped across migrant
privileged migrate. Migration as a phenome- households cannot be considered the same as
non is assumed to bring economic benefits or each migrant household varies in terms of the
prosperity to the migrant-sending households economic well-being of the household, social
at the origin through the inflow of remittances. class, level of education of the household
A study by Tumbe (2011) showed that India’s members, level of endowments and origin
domestic remittance market was around $10 of the household—rural or urban. As these
billion in 2007–2008, of which 60 per cent characteristics vary across households, the
was received through interstate transfers. gains from migration also vary across various
It was also observed that 80 per cent of the migrant-sending households.
total remittances were directed towards rural
households. Domestic remittance depend-
ency has grown since 1990 and is found to
be high in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Rajasthan and Odisha. A similar study by A. An assessment of out-migration across Indian
Mueller and Shariff (2009) using the 2004– states and its relevance across economic groups.
2005 ‘Human Development Profile of India • A comparison between rural and urban
survey’ showed that a strong correlation exists households.
B. An evaluation of gains from migration at origin. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK OF

• First, at the macro level, gains from migration THE STUDY
are measured across Indian states in terms of
the proportion of remittance-receiving migrant
households. The analytical framework (Figure 7.1) of
• Second, again at the macro level, gains are this study is based on the theory of New
evaluated as the difference in consumption Economics of Labour Migration (NELM).
expenditure between the remittance-receiving According to NELM, migration is a house-
households and the non-remittance-receiving hold decision taken by members of the
households across states. household to send one or more members
• Third, gains from migration are evaluated of the family/household to migrate with
across economic groups in terms of remit- the primary objective of improving the
tance utilization on consumption and saving/ economic welfare of the household. Such
investment.
a decision also stems with the objective
of maximizing the expected income and
improving the position of the household in
the community in terms of accruing higher
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
relative income in the household through
the flow of remittances. As already dis-
This study is solely carried out using sec-
cussed, the decision/choice to migrate can
ondary sources of migrant information in
be well-linked with the household decision.
India. The data used is from the 64th round
Such a decision can largely be influenced
of National Sample Survey Organization
by risk-diversifying motives and to improve
(NSSO) conducted in 2007–2008 on migra-
the relative income and expected benefits
tion. This is also the latest available data to
associated with migration. NELM, devel-
study internal migration in India.
oped by Oded Stark in cooperation with
For the purpose of analysis, we used very
others during the 1980s, is useful for under-
basic statistical tools such as percentages
standing such a complex phenomenon.
and shares and tools such as odds ratio anal-
NELM is supposedly the only theory on
ysis and the relative weightage share. Odds
migration which explicitly links migration
ratios are widely used in descriptive statis-
decision to the economic outcomes/impacts
tics to indicate the measure of the effect size
of migration, with remittances being this
relation. In simple words, the term ‘odds’
link at the origin. However, as the capabil-
is the ratio of probability of happening to
ity of each individual migrant varies along
that of not happening. However, here, it is
with the differences in each migrant house-
considered as the ratio of occurrence to that
hold’s characteristics, or in other words, as
of non-occurrence. On the other hand, the
the migrant household differs in terms of
‘relative weightage share’ is an experimen-
the level of endowments such as education,
tal method to identify the state with the best
skill, socio-economic background and place
outcome, which is given a value of 1, and
of origin (rural/urban), the returns from
then other states are compared to this state.
migration in terms of inflow of remittances
Here, the result not only shows the usual
also varies across various groups at the
ranking of the states but also captures the
origin. At the origin, the gains from migra-
actual position/distance of each state from
tion can also be understood by the remit-
the state which represents the best outcome.
tance utilization patterns of the migrant
The methodology and formulation are dis-
household which also vary from household
cussed in detail in the subsequent concerned
to household.
sections.
Associated Gains from Migration 113
Internal Economic/ Welfare

Migration in India Strategy for
Households
Household Decision
Relative Income/Expected
Income
Gains at
Origin New Economics of Labour
(Remittances) Migration (Nelm)
Remittance Utilization across

Economic Groups
Figure 7.1 Analytical Framework

Source: Author’s own compilation.
AN ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLDS where positive (+ve) difference means that

ACROSS VARIOUS ECONOMIC the percentage shares of rural households with
GROUPS IN RURAL AND URBAN out-migrating members are higher than those
AREAS REPORTING OUT-MIGRATION of the urban areas and vice versa. For exam-
ple, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the share
ACROSS INDIAN STATES
of households reporting out-migration in the
rural areas is 9 per cent more than the share in
The share of households reporting out-
the urban areas.
migration across Indian states provides two
The importance of migration as a phe-
sets of information; first, it shows the states
nomenon is not confined to any particular
which are more prone to out-migration (inter-
economic class/group. Here, the monthly
nal migration in India), and second, it pro-
per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE)
vides a comparison across rural and urban
wealth decile classes are referred to as eco-
areas in its dependence on migration. In
nomic groups. Table 7.2 shows that out-
Table 7.1, it is observed that across the Indian
migration in India is observed across all
states, except for a few exceptions such as
the economic groups and is not confined or
Chhattisgarh (−3), Mizoram (−4) and Sikkim
concentrated to any particular group, which
(−6), the percentage share of rural households
also means that migration takes place as an
with out-migrant members is much higher
economic well-being strategy by all groups
than that of urban households. This is shown
of the community but at different intensities,
in detail in the ‘Difference’ column (R − U)
Table 7.1 Share of Households Reporting Table 7.2 Share of Households Reporting
Out-migration in Rural and Urban Areas across Out-migration across Economic Classes
Indian States
MPCE
Rural Urban Difference Decile Rural Urban Difference
Indian States (R) (%) (U) (%) (R − U) Classes (R) (%) (U) (%) (R − U)
Andhra Pradesh 27 17 9 0–10 21 19 2

Arunachal Pradesh 15 9 5 10–20 24 19 4
Assam 16 12 4 20–30 27 18 8
Bihar 26 17 9 30–40 27 19 9
Chhattisgarh 16 19 −3 40–50 28 19 9
Delhi 12 7 6 50–60 29 18 11
Goa 11 11 0 60–70 30 18 12
Gujarat 30 19 11 70–80 33 19 14
Haryana 41 32 9 80–90 35 20 15
Himachal Pradesh 50 27 23 90–100 42 22 20
Jammu and Kashmir 24 16 8 All Classes 30 19 11
Jharkhand 14 13 1 Source: Compiled from NSSO 64th round 2007–2008
Karnataka 28 13 14 data on migration.
Kerala 51 44 7
Madhya Pradesh 24 16 8 households belonging to the higher quin-
Maharashtra 35 20 15 tile groups or wealth quintile. However, it
Manipur 14 11 4 is interesting to observe that the share of
Meghalaya 10 6 4 households reporting out-migration among
Mizoram 18 22 −4 the total number of households is much
Nagaland 21 15 6 higher in the case of rural areas compared to
Odisha 29 19 10 urban areas. In case of rural areas, the share
Punjab 27 15 12 of households reporting out-migration of
Rajasthan 37 29 9 its household members in the lowest decile
Sikkim 19 25 −6 group of MPCE classes (0–10% decile) is
Tamil Nadu 23 15 8 21 per cent, which is almost similar to the
Tripura 10 10 0 top two deciles of urban areas, that is, 20
Uttarakhand 41 21 20 per cent for 80–90 per cent decile and 22 per
Uttar Pradesh 39 24 16 cent for 90–100 per cent decile. Also, the
West Bengal 31 23 8 all-class comparison shows that the intensity
India 30 19 11 of out-migration among rural households is
very high, that is, around 30 per cent of rural
Source: Compiled from NSSO 64th round 2007–2008
data on migration. households report out-migration for some
of its household members compared to only
19 per cent in the urban areas. Such a com-
which also reflects the importance of this
parison shows that intensity or willingness
phenomenon. As migration requires certain
among a rural household to send its members
level of capital and involves a cost to it, that
as migrants is quite overwhelming, compared
is, the cost of migration, it is observed that
to the urban areas. This can be attributed to
for both the rural and urban households,
the lack of economic opportunities in rural
out-migration is relatively higher for the
areas, which initiates migration decision as EMPIRICAL RESULTS USING RELATIVE

an alternate welfare strategy. WEIGHTAGE SHARES
The relative weightage share or relative

AN EVALUATION OF GAINS FROM weight is useful for measuring the relative
achievement for particular characteristics
MIGRATION AT ORIGIN
across states. The actual formulation is given
in Table 7.3.
Gains from migration at the origin can be eval-
For illustration of the empirical analysis,
uated through a number of ways as follows.
first, a particular characteristic is consid-
First, at the macro level, gains from migra-
ered, for example, rural. Then, the share of
tion can be measured across Indian states in
rural household receiving remittances among
terms of the proportion of households receiv-
out-migration-reporting households is con-
ing remittances among the households that
sidered for each of the states. Here, y1, y2,
have sent its members as migrants.
… are the common characteristics in paren-
Second, again at the macro-level, gains
thesis (e.g., rural household) across states A,
can be evaluated as the change in or the dif-
B…, and X1, X2, … are the corresponding
ference between the consumption expenditure
dominance/percentage shares for each state.
between the remittance-receiving households
Then, from the group of states, the best out-
and the non-remittance-receiving households
come/percentage share is taken as the refer-
across Indian states.
ence category or the state of reference. For
Third, gains from migration can be eval-
example, state C is considered as the state
uated across economic groups in terms of
with the best outcome (highest percentage
remittance utilization on consumption and
share for a particular category). Therefore, in
saving/investment.
the third column of the illustration table, a
weightage of 1 is assigned to state C. Given
that the best outcome has a weightage of
REMITTANCE-RECEIVING 1.00, the relative weightage is calculated for
HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL AND URBAN the remaining states. Here, the result does not
AREAS ACROSS INDIAN STATES only show the usual ranking of the states but
also captures the actual position/distance of
This section in particular provides the extent of
remittance dependence in the migrant-reporting Table 7.3 Methodological Illustration
households across Indian states. In doing so, an
attempt is made to arrange the states accord- States Dominance (%) Relative Weightage
ing to remittance dependence, where the state State A X1 . (y1)A X 1 ⋅ ( y1) A
= bW
that amounts for the best share or the highest X 3 ⋅ ( y3)C
share of remittance dependence across migrant State B X2 . (y2)B X 2 ⋅ ( y 2) B
households is given a weightage of 1 (best = aW
X 3 ⋅ ( y3)C
outcome) and the other states are arranged in
State C X3 . (y3)C X 3 ⋅ ( y3)C
terms of their relative positions to the state = 1(W )
X 3 ⋅ ( y3)C
witnessing best results. The purpose is to high-
light remittance dependence in a rank, where State D X4 . (y4)D X 4 ⋅ ( y 4) D
= cW
the ranks are not just ranks in the general sense X 3 ⋅ ( y3) D
but are the relative ranks which actually cap- Source: Author’s own compilation.
ture the distance or actual position of the state.
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
Relative Weightage
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Chhattisgarh
Uttarakhand
Bihar
Tripura
Meghalaya
Assam
Himachal Pradesh
Kerala
Manipur
Arunachal Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Nagaland
Goa
Rajasthan
Mizoram
Sikkim
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh
Haryana
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
Delhi
Punjab
Jharkhand
Jammu and Kashmir
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
Odisha
Figure 7.2 Relative Weighted Position of the Indian States Capturing Remittance Dependence
across Migration-reporting Households in Rural Areas
Source: NSSO 64th round 2007–2008 data on migration.
each state from the state which represents the states that closely follow Bihar are Jharkhand
best outcome. (0.90), Tripura (0.79) and Uttarakhand (0.70),
Figure 7.2 pictorially represents the relative which are also EAG states. On the other hand,
weighted position of the Indian states in terms the states which witness lowest remittance
of remittance dependence in rural areas. It is dependence in the urban areas among the
observed that in case of remittance depend- migrant-sending households in the reverse
ence in migrant-sending households, the state order are Delhi (0.03), Sikkim (0.35) and
of Bihar tops the list, so it acquires the best Gujarat (0.19). The reason for low remittance
position and thus a weightage of 1. The reason dependence in these states can be the fact
for such a situation can be associated with that these states have better job opportunities,
the fact that Bihar is one of the poorest states and in fact, these are the states which actu-
in India with the lowest per capita income ally attract internal migrants. Therefore, it is
and is also one of the ‘Empowered Action also found that states with better job oppor-
Group’ (EAG) states. An empirical study by tunities such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat
Joe, Samaiyar and Mishra (2009), using the and Karnataka are gainers of human capital
NSSO 1999–2000 data, found that the lower (Chandrasekhar & Sharma, 2014).
income states such as Bihar are characterized Figure 7.3 gives a pictorial view of the rel-
by low levels of intrastate migration, indicat- ative weighted position of the Indian states
ing that migration is linked with disparity in in terms of remittance dependence in urban
regional development. This can be linked with areas. It is observed that in case of remittance
higher remittance dependence in Bihar. The dependence in migrant-sending households in
1.00
0.80
Relative Weightage
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
Odisha
Chhattisgarh
Nagaland
Meghalaya
Bihar
Goa
Tripura
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Uttarakhand
Mizoram
Rajasthan
Himachal Pradesh
Karnataka
Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Haryana
Gujarat
Sikkim
Delhi
Manipur
Punjab
Jharkhand
Jammu and Kashmir
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
Figure 7.3 Relative Weighted Position of the Indian States Capturing Remittance Dependence
across Migration-reporting Households in Urban Areas
the urban areas, the state of Meghalaya tops and non-remittance-receiving households
the list and acquires the best position and for both rural and urban areas across Indian
thus a weightage of 1. The reason for such a states provides a macro picture of the eco-
situation can be associated with the fact that nomic gains from migration and its well-be-
Meghalaya is one of the very backward north- ing attributes. Here, a positive (+ve) amount
eastern peripheral states of India with very indicates higher consumption expenditure for
limited economic opportunity. The states that the remittance-receiving households and a
closely follow Meghalaya are Bihar (0.98), negative (−ve) amount represents higher con-
Goa (0.95), Jharkhand (0.93) and Tripura sumption expenditure for the non-remittance-
(0.91). On the other hand, the states that wit- receiving households.
ness lowest remittance dependence in the rural Table 7.4 shows the gap (difference) in
areas among the migrant-sending households consumption expenditure (in rupees) between
in the reverse order are Delhi (0.05), Sikkim remittance-receiving and non-remittance-
(0.06) and Gujarat (0.15). receiving households in rural areas across
Indian states. It is found that in the case of con-
sumption expenditure in rural areas, except for
the states of Andhra Pradesh (−927), Gujarat
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF (−5,121), Maharashtra (−369), Tamil Nadu
THE CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE (−813) and Uttarakhand (−3,092), all other
BETWEEN REMITTANCE-RECEIVING states witness higher consumption expendi-
HOUSEHOLDS AND NON-REMITTANCE- ture for the remittance-receiving households.
RECEIVING HOUSEHOLDS ACROSS Table 7.5 shows the gap (difference) in
INDIAN STATES consumption expenditure (in rupees) between
remittance-receiving and non-remittance-
receiving households in urban areas across
A comparison of the consumption expendi-
Indian states. Here, it is observed that in the
ture between remittance-receiving households
Table 7.4 Gap in Consumption Expenditure between Remittance-receiving and Non-

Remittance-receiving Households in Rural Areas across Indian States (in Rupees)
I II I II
Andhra Pradesh −927 Maharashtra −369

Arunachal Pradesh 9,617 Manipur 5,947
Assam 488 Meghalaya 5,672
Bihar 2,030 Mizoram 7,451
Chhattisgarh 1,477 Nagaland 4,677
Delhi 43,312 Odisha 5,251
Goa 38,861 Punjab 22,332
Gujarat −5,121 Rajasthan 5,271
Haryana 9,884 Sikkim 3,099
Himachal Pradesh 4,608 Tamil Nadu −813
Jammu and Kashmir 15,386 Tripura 9,187
Jharkhand 5,095 Uttarakhand −3,092
Karnataka 2,327 Uttar Pradesh 2,688
Kerala 6,900 West Bengal 1,676
Madhya Pradesh 1,360 India 3,731

Notes: I: Indian states; II: Difference between consumption expenditure of remittance-receiving households and other
households in rural areas. Here, difference is the amount of consumption expenditure (in rupees) of the remittance-
receiving households minus (−) the non-remittance-receiving households, where the difference actually represents the
‘gap’ between the two.
case of urban areas, without any exception, GAINS FROM MIGRATION IN TERMS
all Indian states witness a positive (+ve) gap OF REMITTANCE UTILIZATION AND
in consumption expenditure, which means SAVING/INVESTMENT
that the consumption expenditure of the
remittance-receiving households in urban Another way of evaluating the gains from
areas across the country surpasses the con- migration for households at the origin is by
sumption expenditure of the non-remittance- analysing the remittance utilization pattern of
receiving households by a huge margin. the remittance-receiving households across the
Overall, it can be argued that for both rural various economic groups in the MPCE wealth
and urban areas, remittance plays an important decile groups. Here, an attempt is made to ana-
role in shaping the economic prosperity and lyse the utilization pattern of remittances on
well-being of the migrant households because two broad categories of ‘consumption expend-
the consumption expenditure of the remit- iture’ and ‘saving/investment’ both in rural
tance-receiving migrant households is much and urban households. The analysis of utiliza-
higher than that of non-remittance-receiving tion pattern of migrant households shows the
households. This also clearly reflects the propensity to consume and save/invest across
importance of migration and its most impor- various economic groups in the wealth distri-
tant linkage, ‘remittance’, for achieving pos- bution and also enhances the understanding
itive gains and a livelihood strategy for both through the comparison between rural and
rural and urban households in India. urban households in India.
Table 7.5 Gap in Consumption Expenditure between Remittance-receiving and Non-

Remittance-receiving Households in Urban Areas across Indian States (in Rupees)
I II I II
Andhra Pradesh 24,843 Maharashtra 8,342

Arunachal Pradesh 15,664 Manipur 4,939
Assam 7,570 Meghalaya 27,546
Bihar 8,715 Mizoram 7,142
Chhattisgarh 6,889 Nagaland 11,293
Delhi 28,881 Odisha 15,458
Goa 10,244 Punjab 28,901
Gujarat 3,446 Rajasthan 4,022
Haryana 16,332 Sikkim 8,717
Himachal Pradesh 7,845 Tamil Nadu 10,067
Jammu and Kashmir 15,063 Tripura 10,908
Jharkhand 22,927 Uttarakhand 80,614
Karnataka 12,480 Uttar Pradesh 5,170
Kerala 5,806 West Bengal 73,385
Madhya Pradesh 12,805 India 14,151
Source: Compiled and calculated from NSSO 64th round 2007–2008 data on migration.
Notes: I: Indian states; II: Difference between the consumption expenditure of the remittance-receiving household and
other households in the urban areas.
EMPIRICAL RESULTS USING ODDS category, which is always 1. This shows the
RATIO possibility of occurrence of each indicator in
relation to the reference category.
Here, odds ratio analysis is used to highlight The odds are calculated by using the fol-
the propensity to consume and save/invest lowing formula:
among the remittance-receiving households
across the MPCE wealth distribution. The Probability
Odds = Or
values/results show a comparative outcome 1 − Probability
across the wealth quintile where the outcome Occurrence
is studied in terms of the reference category. Odds =
1 − Occurrence
For the analysis, we have two indicators, that
is, the rural and urban households for which
Oxi / (1 − Oxi)
the calculations are done separately. For each OddsRatio,ORxi =
of the mentioned indicators, first, the ‘odds’ Oxr / (1 − Oxr )
values are calculated for each wealth distri-
bution group, that is, bottom ‘0–10 per cent’, where ORxi: Odds ratio of each data point I,
‘10 –20 per cent’, …, top ‘80–90 per cent’ and Oxi/(1 − Oxi): Occurrence of each data point i
‘90–100 per cent’ using the formula mentioned to that of non-occurrence of I, Oxr/(1 − Oxr):
below. Then, to find the odds ratio, each odds Occurrence of the reference point to that of
value is divided with the odds value of the non-occurrence.
reference category (odds value of all groups The empirical result shows that there
combined). The odds ratios are, therefore, the exists a very unique pattern when it comes
ratios of the odds in relation to the reference to consumption expenditure using migration
Expenditure Incurred on Consumption

3.00
2.50
Odds Ratio
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
0−10 10−20 20−30 30−40 40−50 50−60 60−70 70−80 80−90 90−100 All
Rural 1.16 1.28 1.29 1.20 1.09 1.07 1.05 0.97 0.90 0.78 1.00
Urban 2.60 1.90 2.18 1.67 1.70 1.12 1.11 1.09 0.76 0.50 1.00
Figure 7.4 Odds Ratio for Expenditure Incurred on Consumption for Rural and Urban
Households across MPCE Wealth Distribution
Source: Prepared by the author using NSSO 64th round 2007–2008 data on migration.
remittances both in the rural and urban areas 0.50 (90–100%). This means that among
of India. In case of rural areas, it is observed migrant-sending households in rural India,
that there exists a very slight variation across there is huge dependence on remittance across
MPCE wealth classes in expenditure incurred all economic groups for taking care of con-
on consumption. To be more precise, such sumption expenditure, which also reflects
marginally higher variation is observed in the the dependence on out-migration as a wel-
case of lower wealth classes where the odds fare maximizing strategy among rural house-
ratios are relatively higher than the reference holds. Whereas in case of urban areas, the
category, which is 1.00 as seen in Figure 7.4. dependence on remittance for taking care of
It shows that in lower MPCE wealth classes, consumption expenditure is mainly observed
the odds ratios are 1.16 (0–10%), 1.28 (10– in the lower economic classes, which means
20%), 1.29 (20–30%) and 1.20 (30–40%). that for higher economic classes, remittance is
On the other hand, in case of higher wealth used for other important activities and is not
classes, the odds ratios are <1.00, that is, confined to basic consumption expenditure.
0.97 (70–80%), 0.90 (80–90%) and 0.78 (90– In case of remittance utilization or usage
100%). In case of urban areas, it is observed of remittances on saving and investment, the
that the dependence or usage of remittance empirical result shows that there exists a very
for consumption expenditure is more con- similar pattern in both rural and urban areas
centrated in the lower wealth quintiles unlike across India. In case of rural areas, it is observed
in rural areas, where the variation was much that the upper economic classes are the ones that
lesser and looked more distributed across the attempt to save and invest, whereas in case of
economic groups. In case of urban areas, the lower economic classes, savings/investments
odds ratios in the lower MPCE wealth classes are negligible. Figure 7.5 shows that in the lower
are very high compared to that in rural areas; MPCE wealth classes of rural areas, the odds
the odds ratios in the lowest three MPCE ratios are 0.32 (0–10%), 0.81 (10–20%), 0.62
classes are 2.60 (0–10%), 1.90 (10–20%) and (20–30%), 0.47 (30–40%) and 0.42 (40–50%).
2.18 (20–30%). On the other hand, in case of On the other hand, in case of higher wealth
the top two MPCE wealth classes, the odds classes, the odds ratios are >1.00, that is, 1.14
ratios are <1.00, that is, 0.76 (80–90%) and (70–80%), 1.30 (80–90%) and 1.88 (90–100%).
Saving/Investment
2.50
2.00
Odds Ratio
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
0−10 10−20 20−30 30−40 40−50 50−60 60−70 70−80 80−90 90−100 All
Rural 0.32 0.81 0.62 0.47 0.41 0.69 0.88 1.14 1.30 1.88 1.00
Urban 0.13 0.27 0.60 0.36 0.37 0.57 0.71 1.24 1.41 2.13 1.00
Figure 7.5 Odds Ratios for Saving/Investment for Rural and Urban Households across MPCE
Wealth Distribution
Source: Prepared by the author using NSSO 64th round 2007–08 data on migration.
Similarly, in case of urban areas too, it is witnesses a substantial share of households

observed that the usage of remittance for saving which have out-migrants. Interestingly, it is
and investment is more concentrated in the also observed that across all Indian states, the
upper MPCE wealth classes. In urban India, the share of households reporting out-migration
odds ratios in the lower MPCE wealth classes is considerably higher for rural areas. This
are very low; the odds ratios in the lowest three reflects the backwardness and persistent
MPCE classes are 0.13 (0–10%), 0.27 (10– inadequate economic opportunities in rural
20%) and 0.60 (20–30%). On the other hand, in areas that motivate out-migration, which then
case of top three MPCE wealth classes, the odds remains as the sole livelihood strategy. One of
ratios are much higher than 1.00, that is, 1.24 the most important observations of this study
(70–80%), 1.41 (80–90%) and 2.13 (90–100%). is that the flow of remittances across sectors—
This shows that in case of remittance utiliza- rural/urban and economic communities—has
tion on saving and investment, both rural and drastically improved the economic well-being
urban areas reflect a very similar pattern where as the consumption expenditure of the remit-
the higher quintile classes are more inclined tance-receiving households are much higher
towards saving and investment and vice versa. than that of the non-remittance- receiving
Another important observation is that, though households. Overall, it can be argued that
both possess a similar pattern, higher economic internal migration has a direct positive impact
classes in the urban areas are relatively more on migrant-sending households as the remit-
inclined towards saving/investment compared tances determine not only the well-being of the
with their rural counterparts. households in terms of increase in consump-
tion expenditure but also the remittance utili-
zation pattern of various households in terms
of using remittances for saving and investment.
CONCLUSION
Internal migration in India is emerging as an

important economic phenomenon that brings REFERENCES
financial well-being to migrant households.
Importance of internal migration can be well Chandrasekhar, S. & Sharma, A. (2014). Internal migra-
realized, given the fact that each and every tion for education and employment among youth in
economic group in both rural and urban areas India (IGIDR WP-2014-004). Mumbai: IGIDR.
Joe, W., Samaiyar, P., & Mishra, U. S. (2009). Migration & ington, DC: IFPRI (International Food Policy Research
urban poverty in India: Some preliminary observations Institute).
(Working Paper 414). Trivandrum: Centre for Devel- Tumbe, C. (2011). Remittances in India: Facts & issues
opment Studies. (Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore Working
Mueller, V. & Shariff, A. (2009). Preliminary evidence on Paper No. 331). Bangalore: Indian Institute of Man-
internal migration, remittances and teen schooling agement.
in India. (IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00858). Wash-
PART III
State-Level
Perspectives
8
Labour Casualization and Spatial
Mobility
Floriane Bolazzi
INTRODUCTION feasible to rarely desirable (Landy & Racine,

1997): higher costs of living, hazardous and
Mobility—spatial and occupational—has insalubrious settlements, difficult access to
become the hallmark of Indian labour dynam- schools for children, linguistic and cultural
ics over the last three decades, with a remark- discrimination, lack of social protection and
able increase of rural-to-urban streams of issues of reputation for women migrants. As
labourers (Denis & Zérah, 2014) and a signifi- a result, the modernization of Indian economy
cant shift of the rural working population from has not led to a proper rural exodus (Banerjee,
agriculture to secondary and tertiary sectors 1984; Landy & Racine, 1997; Munshi &
of the economy (Lerche, Guérin & Srivastava, Rosenzweig, 2009): the rate of migration
2012; Srivastava & Bhattacharya, 2002). for work to urban areas has remained low
Construction and services—the main sectors compared with other developing countries
that absorb the unskilled rural labour force despite the restructuring of the Indian econ-
that exits agriculture totally or partially—are omy (Kundu, 2007). The emerging predom-
mostly concentrated in urban and peri-urban inant component of human flows connecting
areas, and thus, it implies leaving the village villages and urban centres for labour is not
to work outside. However, the nature of the residential migration (implying a change of
employment offered, almost totally infor- residence) but temporary, seasonal or circular
mal in those sectors, is generally not attrac- mobility (Chandrasekhar & Sharma, 2014),
tive enough in terms of job security, contract including ‘short-term’ migrants and com-
duration and wage to induce irreversible muters. This phenomenon has been observed
movements of the rural population (Breman, by some—‘les mobiles du travail’ (Dupont,
1996, 2013; Mohanan, 2008). Moreover, the 1991), ‘the footloose labourers’ (Breman,
conditions of life endured by the household 1996), ‘the floating population’ (Mohanan,
of the uprooted workers shift from barely 2008)—but, because of the absence of
standard definitions, these forms of migration from rural areas to urban centres is strongly
are not fully captured in larger surveys, lead- related to the diffusion of irregular and non-
ing to erroneous conclusions about mobility contractual forms of non-farm jobs. In our
levels in India. Estimates based on official case study, we put in a parallel perspective,
statistics from the National Sample Survey the evolution of both the employment status
(NSS) showed a magnitude of 14–15 million of the villagers and their behaviours towards
seasonal and temporary migrants in the period the outside labour markets. We found a dual
from 1999 to 2008; the National Commission expansion of casual work and commuting in
for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector Palanpur. In the first section of the chapter,
found 30 million migrants in the early 2000s, we look at the employment structure over the
while according to some scholars, the size of last half-century in Palanpur, with continuous
the phenomenon would be of the order of 100 reminders to the macro context and the trends
million (Corbridge, Harriss & Jeffrey, 2013). at the national level. Then, we analyse more
Further, it is not possible to provide robust esti- specifically the proportions and features of
mations of the evolution of the phenomenon casual labour in the village. The second sec-
over time because the category of short-term tion focuses on spatial mobility in Palanpur
migration as such has been only introduced over time: the trends and patterns, the determi-
in recent years in the NSS. Precisely, this nants of outside jobs, the spatial distribution
contribution provides evidence on emerging and connectivity and the ties to the village.
patterns of labour mobility since the 1980s
to the present from a field-level case study:
Palanpur, a village of about 1,500 inhabitants
that is located in Moradabad district in Uttar CASE STUDY AND DATA
Pradesh. The village has been extensively
studied over the last seven decades and consti- Palanpur is a village located in the Moradabad
tutes a very rare case of longitudinal study to district of Uttar Pradesh. The village was home
observe socio-economic dynamics of change to approximately 1,600 inhabitants in 2015.
and continuity over a period encompass- Palanpur constitutes, nowadays, a unique
ing the Green Revolution and the neoliberal site in India where one can conduct a longi-
watershed. The village presents a moderate tudinal analysis of institutional changes and
connectivity with the busy urban centres of the socio-economic processes over a long span of
district facilitated by the presence of a railway time; in fact, a wide range of data and notes
line in the village. Nevertheless, an analysis are available from the seven waves of inten-
of the spatial mobility that we have conducted sive field-level data collection (1958, 1962,
in Palanpur confirms the national trend of a 1974, 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2015) that con-
relatively low level of migration, with only 17 tribute to a very rich and detailed data set.
per cent migrants among the active male pop- The site was chosen as a sample village for
ulation in the period 2008–2014. However, the first time by the Agricultural Economic
in 2008, two-thirds of the households had Research Center in 1958 for its Continuous
two or more different types of occupations Village Surveys programme, and it replicated
(Himanshu, Bhavna & Lanjouw, 2016) that the survey 5 years later. In 1975, Bliss and
required them to ‘step out’ of the village. In Stern selected Palanpur to observe the effects
fact, non-agricultural jobs in Palanpur formed of the Green Revolution on employment and
the main source of occupation in the same wealth distribution. The main criteria for their
period and these jobs are largely located out- selection were the availability of previous
side the village (Mukhopadhyay, 2011). detailed surveys, the proximity to New Delhi
We know from available literature that (around 100 km), the composition of crops
the spread of temporary forms of mobility and the variety of tenancy arrangements. But
Labour Casualization and Spatial Mobility 127
more importantly, the village did not pres- characterized by the dramatic growth of the
ent anything particularly unusual in terms of tertiary sector followed by construction, a very
socio-demographic and economic characteris- slow rise of manufacturing and inversely a
tics; so, it was quite a representative case study. sharp decline of agriculture in terms of growth
Since that time, every 10 years, a survey was rate of gross domestic product (GDP). The
conducted covering the full population; the last reallocation of economic activity across the
survey was conducted in 2015. For this reason, three broad sectors and the whole process of
we chose Palanpur to observe the phenomenon economic modernization—from the initial
of labour mobility over time. This longitudinal inputs given during the Nehruvian state capital-
perspective is of great value to our contribu- ism to the recent adoption of the new economic
tion; in fact, it is quite rare to find informa- policy in 1991—coupled with the demographic
tion on it in the literature on the topic. This expansion and increasing urbanization had
chapter draws upon a cross-sectional analysis far-reaching impacts on all aspects of the econ-
of occupational and spatial mobilities from the omy and the society of Indian villages.
data set and a preliminary longitudinal analy- Kishan, an inhabitant of Palanpur, currently
sis based on the first version of the individual working as a regular employee for an electric-
panel we are developing1 (as of now, it only ity company based in Moradabad, the capital
includes male population). To complement, of the district, and previously worked as a
we discuss qualitative elements resulting from teacher in a private school in a close village,
the first fieldwork we conducted in March complains about the distress of cultivation in
2013 in Palanpur, Chandausi and Bilari, and the village and the shrinking of cultivable land
a second fieldwork conducted in December available per head: ‘Cut rahi hai, bat rahi hai,
2015 with Gajanand Ahirwal in Palanpur. The ghat rahi hai’.2
goal of the fieldwork was to collect contextual In Palanpur, the share of agriculture as
information, subjective perceptions and bio- a primary occupation3 has been gradually
graphic narratives on labour mobility among declining, with around 26 per cent of the total
the villagers. We carried out semi-structured adult male population active as self-employed
interviews on a sample of 12 migrants and in cultivation and livestock or as agricultural
23 commuters and adopted a combination of labourer in 2015 (Figure 8.1).
snowball and purposive sampling methods to This trend is not specific to Palanpur:
target the population pertaining to our goal. according to the Census of India, farming was
All the names we use in this chapter to identify the main occupation for 110 million cultiva-
the respondents have been anonymized. tors in 1991, 103 in 2001 and 96 in 2011, the
NSS office indicates that 23 million agricul-
tural full-time jobs were lost between 2005
and 2010. Nevertheless, the net total work-
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS force expanded to about 79 million since
AND CASUALIZATION OF NON-FARM 2001 and reached almost 482 million in 2011:
LABOUR the shift is towards non-farm jobs (Denis &
Zérah, 2014), but it is partial and slow.
The structural transformation of the Indian Dorin and Aubron (2016) pointed out
economy over the last half-century is the paradoxical situation of Indian ‘jobless
1
Thanks to Chloé Leclère for her help in the database cleaning.
2
Verbatim from the fieldwork of March 2015: ‘it has been dividing, it has been cutting, it has been reducing’.
3
We rank the occupations—primary, secondary and tertiary—per time-spending criterion during the reference
period of 365 days preceding the date of the survey.
Agriculture as primary occupation in time
1
0.8
0.6
0.2 0.4
1960 1980 2000 2020

year
AGRICULTURE (Cultivation & Livestock and Agricultural labour)
Figure 8.1 Percentage of Agriculture as a Primary Occupation in Palanpur in 1958–2014 (Male

Population Aged 15+ Years)
growth’4 (Raveendran & Kannan, 2009; Zerah it is unequally distributed: 80 per cent was
& Denis, 2014) that tends to affect the rural concentrated in rural areas in 2012, according
labour force more deeply. If the structural to the Reserve Bank of India.
transformation, as observed by the develop- Diversification of livelihoods is a com-
ment and neoclassical theories, is character- monly applied strategy to cope with the dis-
ized by a fall of the share of agriculture in tress of agriculture and the scarcity of regular
the GDP and in the employment structure sources of income among rural households
with convergence in the long term of the pro- (Ellis, 1998; Lanjouw & Lanjouw, 2001). In
ductivity level of agriculture with the other Palanpur, two-thirds of the households have
sectors, Dorin (2017) disputes the unicity of with average three different occupations, and
this path in the case of India. The mismatch some of them hold up to as many as seven
between the demand for high-skilled workers different occupations where agriculture tends
in the organized sector and services and the to become a subsidiary source of income. In
growing offer of unqualified workforce from 2015, almost 60 per cent of the adult male
rural areas generates a disequilibrium in the population held two occupations. Until 1993,
labour market. The surplus of rural labour only a few had a secondary occupation, and it
supply is undervalued and easily replace- was mainly as agricultural labourers; in 1993,
able; in these conditions, agriculture still 20 per cent of the population was involved
constitutes a source of livelihood at least for with a second occupation and almost all were
self-subsistence, and hence, it is hardly com- in non-farm jobs outside Palanpur. Between
pletely substituted. According to the 2011 1993 and 2009, the proportion of individuals
Census, 55 per cent of the working popula- doubling their occupations increased dramat-
tion is still active for more than 6 months per ically, and they shifted from non-farm occu-
year in agriculture (263 million individuals) pations to cultivation and livestock, which
putting increased pressure on the size of the accounted for more than 80 per cent of total
cultivable land and an increasing wage gap secondary occupations in 2015. This evo-
compared with other sectors. Indeed, extreme lution shows how after 1993 farming—on
poverty is actually reducing all over India but ownership or tenancy basis—has become an
4
Zerah and Denis (2014) show that India actually needs at least 11 million additional jobs per year—twice the
job addition between 2005 and 2010—only to maintain the current ratio of employed people to the total pop-
ulation of 39 per cent.
auxiliary economic activity. However, cultiva- sector fell gradually in recent times, while the
tion constitutes an important value of reserve share of informal workers in the organized
in the context of economic uncertainty and sector (i.e., workers without access to social
fluctuations of the labour demand aggravated security and employment benefits) increased
by the flexibility of the labour market and the significantly because of the greater use of
informal framework in which the non-farm short-term contracts and other forms of casual
activities take place. In fact, expansion of the labour. According to several national sources,
rural non-farm sector needs to be considered after the late 1990s, there was a substantial
together with strong precariousness character- shift in the structure of the labour force which
izing the jobs accessible for the less-educated, can be broadly divided into self-employed,
unskilled and untrained workforce from regular and casual workers.6 The share of
rural areas (Breman, 2013; Himanshu, 2007; casual employment for both male and female
Himanshu, Murgai & Stern, 2013; Sahu, workers has constantly been increasing to a
2003). There is some evidence that the overall greater extent. NSSO data shows that between
quality of rural non-farm employment, driven 2004–2005 and 2009–2010, the number of
by distress factors, has deteriorated since the casual workers grew by 21.9 million, while
early 2000s (Jatav & Sen, 2013). the growth in the number of regular work-
Despite the loosening of the labour reg- ers nearly halved (compared with the period
ulation with the new policy reforms of the between 1999–2000 and 2004–2005) to 5.8
early 1990s, modernization of the economy million, the number of the self-employed,
and steady growth of the GDP, India is still a dominated by agricultural workers, declined
vastly informal economy5 (Chandrasekhar & by 25.1 million. The Ministry of Labour and
Ghosh, 2013). According to the International Employment estimates the proportion of total
Labour Organization’s (ILO) estimations, the casual labour in India at 37 per cent7 for the
overall proportion of informal workers in total period 2015–2016, its biggest share is concen-
employment has remained relatively stable trated in the rural non-farm sector. It is worth
in time at around 92 per cent (July 2016); noting that the standard definition given to
the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) casual labour (footnote 14) makes the bounda-
survey reports that close to 70 per cent of the ries between one economic status and another
employment in the non-agricultural sector fell not always clearly discernible as we are going
under the informal category in 2011–2012. to see in the following section in the specific
Interestingly, ILO’s India Labour Market example of Palanpur. For this reason, it is
Update for 2016 underlies two diverging important to observe more closely the nature
trends: the share of workers in the unorganized
5
The National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) defines unorganized sector as ‘all
unincorporated private enterprises owned by individuals or households engaged in the sale and production of
goods and services operated on a proprietary or partnership basis with less than ten workers’, whereas informal
workers are defined as ‘those working in the unorganized sector or households, excluding regular workers with
social security benefit provided by the employers, and the workers in the organized sector without any employ-
ment and social security benefits provided by the employers’.
6
In the 68th NSS round, a casual labourer is defined as ‘a person casually engaged in other’s farm or non-farm
enterprises (both household and non-household) and getting in return wage according to the terms of the daily
or periodic work contract’. In opposition, employment is considered as regular when the worker is salaried on
the basis of long-term contract, and self-employment implies a complete autonomy and economic independence
for managing the enterprise.
7
The source is the report on Fifth Annual Employment—Unemployment Survey for 2015–2016; the 37 per cent
indicated here includes both the categories used in the report of casual labour (32.8%) and contract workers
(3.7%) since the definitions overlap.
Table 8.1 Occupational Structure in Palanpur, 1958–2014 (Primary Occupation, Adult Male 15+)
1958 1963 1975 1984 1993 2008 2015
% % % % % % %
Cultivation and livestock 76 73 62 49 54 33 24

Self-employment (non-farm) 3 3 2 8 6 17 15
Regular employment 4 7 20 21 11 12 12
Casual labour (agriculture + non-agriculture) 12 3 3 12 11 23 28
Othersa 5 14 12 10 18 15 21
Total (FREQ) 172 185 220 289 349 395 430
Note: aJajmani, student, vocational training, retired, unemployed and none.
of these jobs, not only in their proportions but In Palanpur, around 30 individuals had
also in their features. casual jobs in the sector of marble polishing
in 2015. This sector has been expanding in the
village after it was first introduced in the early
1990s by Udaiveer, a man belonging to the
Casual Labour in Palanpur:
original dominant caste group of the village.
Proportions and Features
He got the opportunity to receive vocational
In Palanpur, the expansion of casual employ- training from a childhood friend living in the
ment is particularly significant, with an next village. Udaiveer migrated to Delhi and
increase of 17 points in the proportion of worked first as an apprentice. He later became
casual labour among adult males between a casual waged worker and after several years
1993 and 2015. As we can see in Table 8.1, of experience, capital accumulation and net-
casual labour has become the prevailing usual work development, he came back to Palanpur
employment status in the village among the definitely. He is now considered as one of
adult male population. the biggest contractors in the village. His job
Casual jobs are mostly concentrated in the consists of connecting the labour force to the
non-farm sectors: 94 per cent of casual activi- employers outside.
ties were non-farm in 2008 and almost 100 per In the sector of marble polishing, contracts
cent in 2015. Casual jobs are mostly available are generally short-term daily contracts and
in the construction sector than in the services the work is organized in teams. One has to
and manufacturing sectors. start as an apprentice working for a tikedar
Casual contracts are generally granted (master) and is paid around `100 per day. To
directly through personal contacts, alterna- become tikedar, the manager of the team, it is
tively through the mazdoor mandi (labour necessary to own a polishing machine among
market) in the nearest cities where workers the two types currently used, the most expen-
from all over the district come to find a job on sive one costs around `30,000.8 The tikedar
construction sites and in manufacturing units, himself has to get contracts from higher con-
through contractors (intermediaries or mid- tractors, along a complex chain of subcon-
dlemen) who also attend the mandi. The wage tracting, where he is responsible for his team
rates for daily workers generally vary between to provide the service for which he receives
`250 and `300, depending on the type of work part of the payment in advance.
and the level of qualification. Amil, who worked in this sector, first as
a casual helper and then as a contractor for
8
Only a dozen of people own this machine in Palanpur nowadays.
several years, was able to buy two machines Another important sector employing sea-
but finally decided in 2013 to sell them and sonal and casual workers is brick-kilns. In
quit the sector for good. He did not want to Palanpur, brick-kilns are the primary liveli-
face the uncertainty of the demand anymore, hood for approximately 40 households exclu-
which according to him, is the major diffi- sively belonging to the SC category. Working
culty in marble polishing. Thanks to a capital in brick-kilns means commuting every day
investment for buying his own auto rickshaw, from the village to nearby kilns or migrat-
he could leave the sector. He is now a driver ing seasonally (generally from October to
and part-time farmer. June)9 and living in a temporary camp close
Similarly, Satvir complained about low to the kiln site. Brick-makers work in teams
wages and uncertainty in marble polishing. He and each team counts two or three members
worked as a casual labourer for several months depending on the task, and they are generally
in Moradabad and Chandausi (towns in the from the same family.
district) with his father, before getting an offer This work does not require specific skills,
for regular employment in a manufacturing but it is physically very hard. Ram and his
company in New Delhi where he now lives. sons explain that they were hired directly
We also found a sizeable share of casual by the owner of the brick-kiln in Samaspur
workers (15–30 individuals) working as where they work every season10: ‘it is better
porters (palledari) in the railway yard in paid when there is no contractor in between’.
Moradabad and Chandausi. This work is hard They are paid by a pack of 1,000 bricks (`170
and dangerous. ‘We can die by doing this approximately),11 one team making about
job,’ says Rajpal, the tikedar, but it has the 1,500–2,000 bricks daily. The commuters
advantage of gaining ‘fast money’. It is paid receive the salary once a week, while the
on piece-rate: ‘If we carry a lot of charge we migrants get paid at the end of the season.
can make 200 or 300 ` per day,’ confirms Raju Making bricks has the advantage to be less
who works time to time as a palledar in the uncertain than other jobs because the contracts
team of his uncle, Rajpal. Raju says com- are generally renewed every season. In fact,
pared with marble polishing, this job enables contractors allocate advances to the workers
faster gains. It does not require the workers to who commit to cover their debt by working
go through the long process of skills capital- for him the next season. However, this system
ization from apprenticeship, which is poorly of advances, commonly called ‘pesghi’ by the
paid, to the tikedari position which requires villagers and defined by some scholars as ‘debt
achieving the technical qualifications. Raju bondage’ (Guérin et al., 2009), participates in
was a farmer before; he worked with his maintaining the workers in a vicious cycle of
father, but he decided to become a palledar earning from casual jobs to repay debts.
immediately after his marriage, pushed by the Non-farm self-employment is the second
need for money to repay debts. occupational type that has shown a sharp
Here again, the work is organized in teams, rise between 1993 and 2008 in Palanpur
and the wage is equally shared by the members (Table 8.1), partly in response to the dis-
of the team. For this reason, familiar or closer tress in the agricultural sector (Himanshu,
ties are generally preferred to form the teams: Mukhopadhyay & Murgai, 2011). The spread
trust and solidarity are fundamentals to com- of self-employment coincides principally
pensate for the absence of formal contracts. with the expansion of marble polishing units,
9
The raining season is the off season for brick-kilns.
10
At the time of the interview (December 2015), they both were doing cultivation in Palanpur.
11
Gajanand Ahirwal notes on brick-kilns (2008).
the opening of motorbike repairing shops in labour as casual need to be reassessed in line
nearby towns and with some rickshaw drivers with the transformation of the labour markets
working in Delhi and Gurgaon. Some of the and more generally with the flexibilization of
stories we collected among self-employed vil- labour regulations and that of the vague infor-
lagers highlight the process of skills and cap- mal framework in which work takes place.
ital accumulation that has led a few of them Considering that 65 per cent of the regular
to develop their own businesses and conse- workers and 95 per cent of the casual work-
quently to train and recruit additional workers ers all over India had no written contract in
from their networks. However, almost all of 2015,13 de jure the casual nature of labour is
them fall in the unorganized sectors because not confined to a specific employment status
they do not declare paid domestic work, do but it encompasses all the rigid categories
not register their employees and, in general, used to define the workforce structure in the
their collection or data are not regulated under country. Casualization of labour is a global
any legal provisions and they do not main- phenomenon resulting from a complex chain
tain any regular accounts.12 For this reason, it of subcontracting and the possibility to con-
is not always clear whether a worker is self- tract out of the juridical constraints for the
employed or casual. According to the NSS security of employment, the number of work-
definition, self-employment implicates coming hours and the minimum wage.
plete autonomy and economic independence to Casualization of employment also has
carry the enterprise. In the example of marble important implications in terms of spatial
polishing in Palanpur, the contractor has an mobility for the rural population. In the next
unclear position swinging between casual section, we enquire the relation between
contracts and self-employment. A contractor commuting—the emergent prevailing mode of
might be at the same time a self-employer connection between the labour force from the
hiring workers for a superior contractor and a village and the labour markets outside—and the
casual worker hired by an employer who out- spread of non-farm casual labour in Palanpur.
sources to him/her a contract.
The boundaries between casual labour
and the other employment status as formal-
ized by the NSSO are actually questionable. WORKING OUTSIDE: TRENDS AND
The problem of the definition already arose PATTERNS OVER TIME
in 1983, at the time of Jean Dreze’s survey in
Palanpur: ‘The distinction between “casual Non-farm jobs are mainly located outside the
labour” and “regular or seasonal labour”’ is village and require people to ‘step out’, rang-
not a rigid one, but in many cases, it is intu- ing from daily commuting to long-term migra-
itively clear, and therefore, we have applied tion. According to our data, 26 per cent of
it informally’. The confusion persists in these the population in Palanpur migrated for work
very same terms in the case of brick-kiln sea- between 1993 and 2008, while only 16 per cent
sonal workers. Himanshu et al. (2011) gave a moved out for the same reason between 2008
useful nuance defining a job as regular if based and 2015. We define a migrant as a person who
on a monthly or weekly contract, as opposed resides outside Palanpur for a minimal period
to daily wage payments in the casual sector of 3 consecutive months. Simultaneously, the
and as offering basic employment security proportion of individuals living in Palanpur
over casual sector jobs. The criteria to qualify but working outside has increased from 33
12
Self-employment is the largest group, overall the informal workers in India according to ILO.
13
The source is the Report on Fifth Annual Employment–Unemployment Survey for 2015–2016 (Ministry of
Labour & Employment).
Table 8.2 Occupational Status of Commuters, Table 8.3 Primary and Secondary Occupa
1983–2015 (Adult Male 15+) tions of Migrants and Commuters in 2015
(Adult Male 15+)
1983 1993 2008 2015
Migrants Commuters
% % % %
% %
Self-employment 8 7 22 21
Regular 45 28 19 23 Cultivation and livestock 8 .
Casual 45 66 53 56 Casual labour 34 45
Total (FREQ) 95 84 122 154 Regular employment 22 23
Self-employment (non-farm) 17 21
Student and trainee 10 2
per cent in 1993 to 44 per cent, we identify None 9 .
this population with the category of commut- Total (FREQ) 95 154
ers which covers daily commuting to short-
term migrations up to 3 months. Lanjouw and
Stern (1999) showed that until the mid-1980s, the opportunities of getting a regular employ-
a large proportion of jobs undertaken outside ment as it was until the late 1980s according
Palanpur were regular jobs, and hence, they to previous studies in Palanpur (Lanjouw &
induced residential migration. The results Stern, 1999).
from past surveys suggest that there has been These elements lead to the conclusion that
a shift from migrating for regular jobs and the overall outward orientation of the rural
commuting for casual labour: the increase of labour force and the patterns of labour mobil-
commuters in the village is parallel and pro- ity are affected by the changing structure of
portional to the casualization of labour. In fact, opportunities of non-farm labour. The chances
we can see in Table 8.2 that a large majority to get a regular employment are very little and
of commuters have always had a tendency to are constantly reducing with the flexibiliza-
have casual jobs. Over the years, we observe tion of the labour market.
a general decline in regular employment and We can speculate that commuting is the
the emergence of self-employment and casual prevailing mode of conversion from agricul-
work among the adult male population work- ture to non-farm occupations for the majority
ing outside. In 2015, 56 per cent of the com- of the rural population: an increasing share
muters had a casual job, while only 23 per cent of ‘mobile labourers’ (Dupont, 1991), alias
had regular employment. ‘footloose workers’ (Breman, 1996), who
However, we should keep in mind that depend on short-term and irregular contracts,
between 1993 and 2008 people who had regu- is forced to move in a circular fashion from
lar jobs disappeared because they out-migrated one place to another at the mercy of the fluc-
in the previous years, and thus, the signifi- tuations in labour demand. Mohanan (2008)
cant rise in the recent surveys of commuters talks about the ‘floating population’ phenome-
working outside as casual labourers might be non which could be of the order of 100 million
partly the result of selection bias. If we com- (Corbridge et al., 2013), but as of now, there is
pare the occupational status of migrants and no consistent statistic that permits estimating
commuters in 2015 in Table 8.3, we observe its real magnitude. Only recently in the 64th
that having a regular employment remains an round did the NSSO introduce for the first
important pulling factor for labour mobility time the typology of short-term migration,
in 2015 in both cases, but casual labour is the but the estimates are ridiculously low. Sharma
most recurrent occupational status with 45 per and Chandrasekhar (2015) attempted to esti-
cent of the commuters and 34 per cent of the mate from the NSSO survey of Employment
migrants participating in it. Indeed, nowadays, and Unemployment (data on living place and
migration is no more strongly associated with working place of the workforce involved in
non-farm sectors) the size of commuters from village Bilari to other states, Chandausi is the
the rural area at the national level. According closest town, Moradabad is the capital of the
to them, in 2009–2010, rural–urban commut- district and ‘Others into the district’ mostly
ers were possibly about 8.05 million and, in indicates the kiln sites located in the district).
1993–1994, they were only 5.3 million. In Migrants mostly move interstate (accord-
addition, 12.2 million workers without a fixed ing to the narratives collected in Uttarakhand,
place were identified. However, the authors Bihar and Punjab), almost 22 per cent of them
pointed towards the lack of robustness of their live at the worksites close to the kilns where
calculations as the reason why the accuracy of
these indicators is not perfectly reliable.
Table 8.4 Workplace of Migrants and
Commuters in 2015 (Adult Male 15+)
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND Commuters Migrants
CONNECTIVITY % %
Bilari 8 6
The spatial distribution of workplaces in
Chandausi 56 4
Palanpur lets very different streams emerge
Moradabad 17 9
in case of migration and commuting (we con-
Others into the district 17 22
sider the place of living equal to the place of
Delhi . 15
work for migrants).
Other districts 1 13
In Table 8.4, we can see the places of work
Other states 1 30
for migrants and commuters from Palanpur in
NA 47 50.54
2015 (see Figure 8.2). The locations in the col-
umns are ordered by distance (from the closest Total (FREQ) 156 93
Population
(millions)
17
Border
State
Disrtict
Subdistrict
Figure 8.2 Palanpur and Towns in Moradabad District

Source: Census of India 2011.
Note: Map by Alex Lecabellec (November 2017).
Table 8.5 Fares and Time Taken for Travel to Main Towns by Different Means of Transport
Available from Palanpur in 2014
Public Bus(From
Means Rail Closest Bus Stand) Tempo Tempo and Busa
Distance Cost Time Cost Time Cost Time Cost Time
Towns (km) (`) (Minutes) (`) (Minutes) (`) (Minutes) (`) (Minutes)
Bilari 11 – – – – 15 20 – –
Chandausi 14 10 30–60 15 30 25 35 30 50
Moradabad 32 10 60–90 40 70 – – 60 100
Note: aThere are no buses starting from Palanpur, the villagers have to walk or take a tempo to the closest bus stand.
they work for the duration of the season and places may be more expensive and far away
15 per cent of them live in Delhi. from Palanpur.’
For the commuters from Palanpur, intra- Finally, 14 per cent of the commuters work
district is the major stream of mobility. More in kilns located in villages and small towns
than half of them work in Chandausi, a town within a six-kilometre radius of Palanpur.
with a population of 114,383 (Census, 2011), If Bilari, the nearest town, is not big enough
located 13 km from Palanpur and connected to to be attractive in terms of employment
the village by train. Chandausi is an important (37,567 inhabitants [ibid.]), then Chandausi,
market for stone polishing which is a sector compared with Moradabad, has the advan-
that absorbs most of the casual labourers from tages of connectivity, proximity and intensity
Palanpur. A well-established network of con- of already existing interactions that make it
tractors has developed in Chandausi, and most easier to access the labour market. Indeed, the
workers are introduced to them through other greatest number of interactions (work, market,
workers within the village. Moradabad, the health and education services, and credit inter-
capital of the district, and Sambhal, a small action) takes place in Chandausi, followed by
town in the same district, are two other recur- Bilari and then Moradabad. This statement
rent destinations where stone polishers from confirms the arguments by Zerah and Denis
Palanpur go to seek jobs. Moradabad has the (2014) showing the important role that small
advantage of being connected by rail to the towns play within the centrifugal dynamic of
village, which makes it possible for people in non-farm jobs creation and the rural-to-urban
Palanpur to commute daily, while working in spatial mobility. We argue that Chandausi and
Sambhal implies necessary migration. nearby areas are also commonly preferred as
Moradabad is located 30 km from Palanpur, places to search for a job because they reduce
and it accounts for 887,871 inhabitants (ibid.). the costs of transportation and enable bene-
Almost 17 per cent of the commuters from fitting from the proximity to the village, as it
Palanpur work there. In fact, there is a big shows in the information reported in Table 8.5
mazdoor mandi where workers from all over on fares and time to the main towns in the dis-
the district can come and seek employment in trict by different means of transport available
construction and brass manufacturing. Several from Palanpur.
commuters from Palanpur have regular Finally, but very importantly, commuting
employment in the public sector or in private to Chandausi may be preferred over migration
companies in Moradabad but prefer to com- to avoid living far from the family in very poor
mute instead of migrating. and insecure conditions: migration can be
Pramod, working as a security guard in risky and it has high costs, especially when the
Moradabad says, ‘From Moradabad it is easy opportunities to get a regular job are scarce.
to come to Palanpur in case of need. Any other
TIES TO THE VILLAGE AND RETURN choice motivated by social and familial rea-
MIGRATIONS sons, health issues and preferences related to
the conditions of life and work.
High costs of living and the unfamiliar and Ramesh, 25 years old, a seasonal migrant
sometimes hazardous urban milieu force the agricultural labourer complains about the
migrant workers to keep themselves tied to very poor living conditions on the working
the village economy. The importance of main- camps: ‘Living facility is not good! Eight to
taining village ties while being economically nine persons live in a room like cattle.’ Also,
connected to the outside world emerges not Harichandra, 42 years old, experimented sea-
only from the insecurities of the urban infor- sonal work on a construction site but after one
mal labour market but also from the social and and a half months, decided to come back to cul-
cultural ties with the whole household and tivation in Palanpur: ‘I got tired of doing fire,
the village society. The village is the locus of cooking, and all the housework after returning
strong ties; these ties constitute a support and from work’. He says that if his wife could have
a security valve in case of failure. Attachment come with him to assure this duty, he proba-
to the original rural life sometimes becomes bly would have stayed longer but his wife did
more vivid with the experience of migration: not want to follow him because of tent-life
‘Motherland is more satisfactory than outside: in the camps. Harichandra now sometimes
new places, new people, this is not peaceful!’ works in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
says 40-year-old Ramphal after having run his Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
small business of street snacks for 7 months He considers his income enough for his needs
in Punjab. and he does not regret to have decided to stay
Our survey of the 41 households that in Palanpur. He wishes to never migrate again:
migrated earlier but have returned to the vil- ‘In Palanpur I have a mental satisfaction living
lage has permitted us to highlight the stories with my family and performing cultivation in
of migration as they have been perceived by peace.’
the subjects themselves thanks to a series of It is almost impossible to get integrated
open questions that have been designed into into the urban and peri-urban areas where
the questionnaire.14 These qualitative elements most migrants work on construction sites and
contribute to better comprehension of migra- in manufacturing camps close to the work-
tion as a phenomenon of social and spatial flu- sites or the mazdoor mandi. Lakhpat, 55 years
idity partly determined and shaped by the ties old, referring to his life in Haryana where he
with the place of birth, personal ambitions, worked for 2 years to pay back the debt for
preferences and perceptions of life conditions. his daughter’s marriage, complains: ‘It was
Hence, the patterns of migration, the reasons too much work, long working hours. Cultural
of return and the desire to move again in and religious activity could not be performed
search of, or in response to, new opportunities there because I was all the time busy in my
have an important subjective dimension that work. No time for any social activities in that
can be grasped only by a qualitative in-depth society.’ The village remains the place where
investigation. the social functions within the community are
Although the main reasons to come back the most accomplished: marriages take place
to Palanpur are reported to be employment in the village as well as the celebrations of
related—lack of new job opportunities, end religious festivals.
of the contract or failure of the business. The The village is also the place to spend
reverse migration is also seen as a personal old-age days when they are tired of working
14
That is, Annexe I—selected parts of the questionnaire for migrants that returned to Palanpur.
outside. Dorilal, 42 years old, spent 5 years in in India. The case study of Palanpur offers
Haryana with his wife, son and daughter. He an insightful picture of the changes occur-
had regular agricultural employment before ring over the past decades in Indian economy
deciding to come back to Palanpur where he and their effects on labour, occupational and
dedicates himself to cultivation. He says, ‘I spatial mobilities. The evidence resulting
became too old for regular long hours work- from the analysis we conducted in Palanpur
ing, here I am performing my cultivation. is representative of the country-level dynam-
Sometimes I work in MGNREGA15 which is ics: they confirm the decrease of agriculture
not such heavy work. My son is working in as the main occupation, the partial reconver-
Delhi and earning money; debt is already paid sion of the rural workforce in the non-farm
now. I don’t feel any need to go anywhere for economic sectors as substitutive or comple-
work. Income from cultivation is sufficient mentary livelihoods and the marginal propor-
now.’ tion of residential migration for work. More
Banney, 44 years old, is used to getting interestingly, our case study adds an original
short-term contracts in different places such contribution to the analysis of some impor-
as Delhi, Lucknow, Ambala and Aligarh. He tant emerging trends: from the early 1990s
earns a certain amount of money sufficient to till today, we observed in Palanpur the pro-
cover his expenses in Palanpur (`2,000–3,000 gressive casualization of labour and the diffu-
for 5–6 months in Palanpur), where he spends sion of commuting as the prevailing form of
his time between each contract doing labour spatial mobility for work. These two features
in cultivation. He says, ‘It is better to live here of labour mobility are interrelated and they
comfortably than work hard outside (…) when account for the predominant mode of conver-
I work there (he refers to Lucknow) my life sion of the rural labour force in sectors other
is just hard-working days and short sleeping than agriculture.
nights.’ We found that regular jobs were a large
These examples give only a partial vision chunk of outside jobs in the 1980s, and they
of what it could mean to experience migration, induced residential migrations, but since the
they are based on cases of return migration, early 1990s, they have not been able to regain
motivated by a shortage of employment or their importance in the village. However, res-
personal preferences. For some others, work- idents of Palanpur are increasingly going out
ing outside might be an opportunity to access of the village to work and they are mostly
better positions and migration could mean an engaged in casual non-farm jobs located in the
upgraded standard of life. medium-sized towns in the vicinity. Migration
has reduced in the past decades, and commut-
ing, which includes other forms of short-term
migration, has become the prevalent spatial
CONCLUSION pattern. The prevalence of commuting over
migration is partly the result of the fluctuations
The spread of casual and non-contractual jobs of the labour markets and the difficult access
in a more flexible labour framework and par- to regular employments but it might also be
tial conversion of the labour force in the sec- preferred in order to benefit from being in the
ondary and tertiary sectors of the economy is vicinity of the village which is the locus of
a peculiar trait of the structural transformation strong ties.
15
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, that guarantees 100 days of employment
to one adult male in rural households at minimum wage, is also another source of casual labour in Palanpur since
2008 (Himanshu et al., 2016).
Ultimately, further research is in progress Chandrasekhar, S. & Sharma, A. (2014). Urbanization and
to evaluate the impacts of these trends in terms spatial patterns of internal migration in India (Work-
of social mobility and economic returns at the ing Papers 2014–2016). Mumbai: Indira Gandhi
individual level and collectively across differ- Institute of Development Research.
Corbridge, S., Harriss, J., & Jeffrey, C. (2013). India today:
ent social groups. This is the next object of our
Economy, politics and society. Cambridge: Polity Press.
project in Palanpur. Denis, E. & Zerah, M. H. (2014). Rural-urban linkages:
India case study (Working paper series, No. 124). Ter-
ritorial cohesion for development program. Santiago:
Rimisp.
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9
Temporary Labour Migration*
Kunal Keshri
INTRODUCTION there is a change in the economic activity of a

person but the usual residence is generally the
International migration dominates the con- same (Bilsborrow, Oberai & Standing, 1984).
temporary discourse of migration research In his eminent mobility transition theory,
despite the fact that globally, the number Zelinsky (1971) tried to explain temporary
of internal migrants is four times the inter- or circular migration and stated that all short-
national migrants (de Haan, 2011; Human term movements, repetitive or cyclic, having
Development Report, 2009). The foremost the common motive of a temporary change of
motive behind migration since times imme- residence, are circular in nature. Generally,
morial is livelihood. Therefore, employment it is a short-term move with the intention to
or work is the dominant reason for migration. return to the place of usual residence.
Labour migration is the most suitable term for Economists, geographers and sociologists
this kind of migration. Researchers have cate- have strived to explain the basic question: why
gorized labour migration into two forms: one is do people move? Several theories have been
permanent labour migration and other is short- formulated to understand this phenomenon.
term or temporary labour migration. In perma- Among these, neoclassical economics theory
nent migration, the usual residence of a person and New Economics of Labour Migration
is changed and his/her chances to return home (NELM) explicate internal migration quite
are very little. On the contrary, temporary well. Neoclassical economics focuses on
labour migration is a sort of mobility where the differentials in wages and employment
* An earlier version of the chapter was presented at an international seminar on ‘Population, Health and
Development: Global and National Policy Perspective’ held at Delhi during 15–17 February 2018, which was
organized by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. The author is thankful to Prof. S.
Irudaya Rajan, Prof. R. B. Bhagat and other participants for their comments and suggestions. The author is also
thankful to Gulshan Kumar for providing technical assistance in preparing GIS maps and to Dr Kirti Gaur for
inputs in improving this chapter.
Temporary Labour Migration 141
conditions between regions (also between LABOUR MIGRATION IN UTTAR

rural and urban areas) and migration costs. PRADESH
According to this theory, individuals them-
selves are responsible for their migration Uttar Pradesh is historically an out-migrating
decision (Harris & Todaro, 1970; Massey et region (Chaudhury, 1992). There is evidence
al., 1993; Todaro, 1976). On the other hand, of out-migration of indentured labour during
the school of NELM considers conditions in a the mid-19th century to Mauritius, Fiji,
variety of markets and not just labour markets Suriname, South Africa and the Caribbean
(Stark, 1991; Stark & Bloom, 1985). It views countries from many Eastern districts of the
migration as a household decision taken to erstwhile United Province, now Uttar Pradesh
minimize risks by diversifying sources of (Tinker, 1974; Tumbe, 2018). This trend
family income or to overcome capital con- of labour out-migration (temporary as well
straints on the family’s production activi- as permanent) has not changed and is still
ties. Temporary labour migration is more observed in this region, especially in the dis-
attuned in the framework of NELM because tricts of Siddarthnagar, Faizabad and Ballia.
in agriculture-based economies like India, it Destinations, however, have changed to
is found to be an important strategy that not Mumbai, Surat and Delhi (Dutta, 2012; Paris,
only helps in income diversification but also Singh, Luis & Mahabub, 2005).
facilitates in averting risk (Deshingkar & According to the 2001 Census, Uttar
Farrington, 2009). Pradesh is the state with the largest number of
It has been established empirically that net migrants (−2.6 million) migrating out of
temporary labour migration is one of the most the state (Office of the Registrar General, India
significant livelihood strategies adopted by [ORGI], 2001). Srivastava (1999) has found
the poorest sections in rural India (Breman, that the workforce is significantly mobile in
1978; Deshingkar & Start, 2003; Haberfeld, this state and that migrants go to both nearby
Menaria, Sahoo, & Vyas, 1999; Keshri & and distant destinations, permanently as well
Bhagat, 2013; Mosse, Gupta & Shah, 2005; as seasonally. Seasonal migration is prevalent
Rogaly, 1998; Rogaly et al., 2001; Srivastava among people with no assets, and they are
& Sasikumar, 2003). Micro-level studies generally employed in brick-kilns and in the
provide ample evidence of large volumes construction industry. Short-term migration
of intra-state and inter-state movements of or temporary labour migration is prevalent
people in order to find jobs in construction or in poorer regions like Central, Eastern and
unorganized informal sectors and sometimes Southern Uttar Pradesh (Srivastava, 2004). It
their destinations are high-growth areas such has brought changes in the life of people in
as irrigated agriculture and industrial centres these poor regions as Dutta (2012) in his study
(Breman, 1994; Deshingkar & Farrington, highlighted the transformation brought by
2009; Haberfeld et al., 1999; Vijay, 2005). circular migration and commuting among the
It is also observed that regional inequalities low castes in Central Uttar Pradesh.
and uneven economic development in differ- Nevertheless, very few studies have pro-
ent states of the country are the main driv- vided a regional picture of temporary labour
ing forces which propel temporary internal migration in the state. Uttar Pradesh is the
labour migration from economically back- largest state of India in terms of population,
ward rural areas. Exceptionally, some pockets even larger than some medium-sized countries
of poverty do exist in prosperous areas from of the world, concealing large-scale regional
where people from socially disadvantaged disparities in terms of socio-economic devel-
groups migrate in large numbers (Deshingkar opment. Therefore, it is imperative to study
& Farrington, 2009; Keshri & Bhagat, 2013) the pattern of temporary labour migration and
(Figure 9.1). examine the determinants of temporary labour
N
W E
S
Temporary Labour
Migration Rate (per 1,000)
0–4.9
5–9.9
10–14.9
15–34.9
Map Not to Scale 35–49.9
Figure 9.1 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (Migrants per 1,000) across the States in India,
NSS, 2007–2008
Source: Keshri and Bhagat (2013).
Disclaimer: This figure is not to scale. It does not represent any authentic national or international boundaries and is
used for illustrative purposes only.
migration in the state at the regional level MATERIALS AND METHODS

through the National Sample Survey (NSS).
Given this background, the data of the 64th The present study utilized the unit-level data
round of NSS (2007–2008) allows to analyse of the 64th round (2007–2008) of the NSS.
the phenomenon at the regional level. In this This large-scale nationally representative
round, ample information related to tempo- household survey was conducted in all states
rary labour migration was collected with a and union territories of India in 2007–2008.
relatively larger sample size and better qual- For the state of Uttar Pradesh, the survey cov-
ity of data than in earlier rounds. The present ered a sample of 12,603 households (9,022
study, therefore, aims to explore the pattern in rural areas and 3,581 in urban areas) and
and intensity of temporary labour migration in a sample of 69,883 persons (51,202 in rural
Uttar Pradesh. Further, it endeavours to assess areas and 18,681 in urban areas). Information
the socio-economic determinants, namely, on various facets of migration was collected
poverty/economic status, social status and through ‘Employment & Unemployment and
educational attainment, of temporary labour Migration Particulars’ Schedule (NSS Office,
migration after controlling other confounding 2010).
variables.
Information regarding temporary labour In the first section, estimates of temporary

migration was collected by asking the heads and permanent migration of Uttar Pradesh
of households whether household mem- with all other states were compared. Further,
bers had stayed away from the village/town estimates of the number of out-migrants orig-
during the last 365 days for employment or inating from Uttar Pradesh any time in the
in search of employment for a period of 30 past and currently residing out of state were
days to 6 months. Different streams of tem- provided. Temporary labour migration rates
porary labour migration (rural to rural, rural were estimated for the NSS regions separately
to urban, urban to urban and urban to rural) for rural and urban areas to study the regional
to the destination were identified using infor- variation in the prevalence of migration. These
mation regarding destination for the long- rates are the estimates that show how many
est spell (a period of staying away from the persons make any move, either temporary or
village/town for a period of 15 days or more circulatory, from a particular area out of 1,000
was termed as a spell). Destination may be people. In order to study the pattern of tem-
the same district (rural or urban), same state porary labour migration, streams of migra-
but another district (rural or urban) or another tion were analysed. Finally, a multivariate
state (rural or urban). To comprehend the pat- analysis was conducted to assess the adjusted
tern of migration, I have done analysis on the effects of socio-economic factors on the like-
NSS regions. There are 88 NSS regions delim- lihood of a person being a temporary labour
ited in the country which may be assumed as migrant. There are several demographic and
geographical regions. An NSS region, essen- socio-economic factors, such as age, sex, edu-
tially an intermediate unit between the district cational attainment, caste or social groups,
and state, typically consists of several dis- religion, size of land possession and poverty,
tricts within a state with similar agro-climatic which affect temporary labour migration
conditions and socio-economic features. In (Brauw, 2007; Deshingkar, 2006; Deshingkar
Uttar Pradesh, there are five NSS regions: (a) & Grimm, 2005; Ha et al., 2009; Lam, John,
Northern Upper Ganga Plain, (b) Southern Chamratrithirong & Sawangdee, 2007; Pham
Upper Ganga Plain, (c) Central, (d) Eastern & Hill, 2008).
and (e) Southern. Binary logistic regression was applied for
As income data is absent in the Indian sur- the analysis because our dependent variable
veys, household consumer expenditure data of temporary labour migration is dichotomous;
the NSS provides a good proxy of economic this was coded as ‘1’ if a person was a tem-
conditions of the households. Therefore, con- porary labour migrant and ‘0’ otherwise. The
sumer expenditure was taken as a proxy of results are presented in the form of odds ratios
economic condition of the households follow- (ORs) (relative risk ratios), which are the sim-
ing earlier migration studies (Czaika, 2012; plified linear form of probability coefficients,
Keshri & Bhagat, 2010, 2012, 2013). Variable with corresponding significance levels. These
monthly per capita consumer expenditure ORs are used to interpret the expected risk of a
(MPCE) tertiles were constructed by dividing person to migrate temporarily associated with
total household expenditure from correspond- a unit change in an explanatory variable, given
ing household size and then distributing house- that other correlates in the model are held
holds into three equal percentile groups: low, constant (Cameron & Trivedi, 2005). I have
medium and high. The sample was restricted considered MPCE tertiles, educational attain-
to the working age population (15–64 years) ment and caste or social group as the main
for all the bivariate and multivariate analyses independent variables for this analysis, while
because temporary labour migration is mainly controlling for a range of aforementioned
considered for employment (Keshri & Bhagat, covariates in order to comprehend their asso-
2010; Yang & Guo, 1999). ciation with temporary labour migration. The
variable MPCE tertile is categorized into low of migration: temporary and permanent out-
(reference), medium and high. Educational migration. Results suggest that Uttar Pradesh
attainment was classified into three broad cat- has the second highest number of temporary
egories, namely below primary (reference), labour migrants (1.9 million) in the country
primary or middle and secondary or higher after Bihar (2.0 million); also, it leads in the
educated. The social groups of scheduled estimated number of permanent out-migrants
tribes (STs) and scheduled castes (SCs) were with 28.3 million out-migrants. Estimates also
combined in one category because the sample suggest that the state has 1.2 million tempo-
of ST population is less in the state. This cate-rary labour migrants who migrate annually
gory was treated as a reference in the threefold out of the state compared with 8.3 million
classification of caste. For Model I, in which permanent out-migrants. Further, Table 9.2
regression was run on the sample of working shows the overall permanent migration sce-
age population of rural areas along with the nario of Uttar Pradesh by estimating the
aforementioned variables, religion, land pos- number of lifetime migrants who are currently
session, size of household, type of household residing in different states of the country.
(economic activity of the household), sex, Interestingly, the largest number of migrants
marital status and age were included. While from Uttar Pradesh are in Delhi (2.2 mil-
in Model II, I have also included the varia- lion) followed by Maharashtra (1.5 million),
ble of the NSS region to control geographi- Uttaranchal (0.73 million), Gujarat (0.71 mil-
cal factors. Using the same set of variables, lion), Haryana (0.56 million) and Punjab (0.49
a regression was run for the urban sample in million). It is important to note that the first
Models III and IV except for land possession, preference of permanent migrants is Delhi—
which is only important in rural areas (Keshri it being the closest neighbouring state and
& Bhagat, 2012). owing to the availability of a large number of
The NSS uses stratified multistage sam- employment opportunities in the megacity. It
pling design. Therefore, to generate correct is followed by Maharashtra, whose capital is
estimates, appropriate multipliers/weights Mumbai, the largest megacity of India, which
were used. The details of multipliers and sam- also provides similar pull factors. As it is not
pling weights can be found in the NSS report possible to identify the destination state of
pertaining to migration (NSS Office, 2010). temporary labour migrants from the available
All the analyses were conducted in the STATA information, I could not produce state-wise
software version 12 (Stata Corporation, 2012). estimates of temporary labour migrants from
For geographic information system (GIS) Uttar Pradesh who had stayed out of the state
maps, the QGIS 2.18 software has been used. in the last 365 days.
Figure 9.2 provides an overview of tem-
porary labour migration in Uttar Pradesh
across the NSS regions. Results suggest
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION broad variations at the regional level. For
instance, Southern region has a very high
Bivariate Analysis level of temporary labour migration rate of
45 migrants per 1,000, which is more than
Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest out- twice of the state average of 20 migrants per
migrating states in India as per the 2001 100 (Table 9.3). Notably, as one moves west-
Census (ORGI, 2001). In Table 9.1, I have ward from Eastern regions (25), the migration
tried to compare the out-migration pattern rate decreases gradually. The Northern Upper
(overall and out of state) of Uttar Pradesh with Ganga Plain (9.3) has the lowest temporary
other Indian states using two basic criteria labour migration rate. The stark differentials
Table 9.1 Comparison of Estimated Number of Temporary and Permanent Migrants from
Different States of India (in 1,000), NSS, 2007–2008
Overall Out of State
Estimated Number Estimated Number Estimated Number Estimated Number
of Temporary of Permanent of Temporary of Permanent
States Labour Migrants Out-Migrants Labour Migrants Out-Migrants
Andhra Pradesh 726 9,849 175 944

Arunachal Pradesh 18 51 3 7
Assam 287 1,508 52 185
Bihar 2,086 9,197 1,737 3,927
Chhattisgarh 263 1,776 200 310
Delhi 52 310 30 177
Goa 8 77 5 15
Gujarat 1,108 5,680 36 322
Haryana 69 3,936 32 1,201
Himachal Pradesh 29 1,933 9 465
Jammu and Kashmir 102 818 42 120
Jharkhand 531 1,521 402 587
Karnataka 420 5,286 102 636
Kerala 127 9,350 35 1,148
Madhya Pradesh 1,237 5,400 503 3
Maharashtra 682 13,730 126 611
Manipur 7 101 1 944
Meghalaya 26 82 2 26
Mizoram 4 49 0 13
Nagaland 33 81 4 6
Odisha 430 4,996 195 9
Punjab 90 2,697 2 1,368
Rajasthan 724 10,743 69 360
Sikkim 1 51 349 2,138
Tamil Nadu 542 6,883 0 10
Tripura 11 168 164 742
Uttar Pradesh 1,896 28,330 1,201 8,316
Uttaranchal 31 1,714 5 31
West Bengal 1,528 10,707 20 630
India 13,077 137,197
Source: 64th NSS 2007–2008; unit-level data.
in the temporary labour migration rate of rural times compared with urban migration (4) and
and urban areas are noticeable; overall, it is is lowest in the Upper Ganga Plain region.
almost five times more in rural (24) than in Caste-wise temporary labour migration
urban areas (5). Rural–urban differentials are rates are presented in Table 9.4. Results sug-
also prominent in the NSS regions and the gap gest that temporary labour migration rates are
is highest in the Eastern region where rural highest (28) in the lowest social strata, that
temporary migration rate (28) is more than six is, among people belonging to ST and SC
Table 9.2 Estimated Number of Permanent six times higher than others (16). A moderate
Migrants (Lifetime) from Uttar Pradesh to the level of variation is observed in the Central
Different States of India, NSS, 2007–2008 region where SC and ST categories lead the
Current State Origin State (Uttar Pradesh) temporary labour migration with a migration
rate of 37 migrants per 1,000. Interestingly, in
Andhra Pradesh 27,645
the Eastern region, there is no significant vari-
Arunachal Pradesh 0
ation with respect to caste, suggesting a secu-
Assam 361
lar prevalence of temporary labour migration.
Bihar 121,383
Overall, among the SC and ST categories,
Chhattisgarh 135,141
which are socially and economically margin-
Delhi 2,204,596
alized groups in Uttar Pradesh as well as in
Goa 1,078
India, temporary labour migration is high-
Gujarat 712,193
est while among the others or affluent social
Haryana 560,279
groups, it is the least, irrespective of regions.
Himachal Pradesh 47,390
Table 9.5 reports the percentage distribu-
Jammu & Kashmir 21,858
tion of migrants according to the streams of
Jharkhand 11,421 temporary labour migration. Rural to urban
Karnataka 23,566 migration is the most favoured stream for
Kerala 7,859 temporary labour migrants because 81 per
Madhya Pradesh 637,326 cent of them follow the rural-to-urban stream.
Maharashtra 1,584,399 Among temporary labour migrants, the
Manipur 0 second largest share is of rural to rural stream
Meghalaya 1,126 (13%). At the regional level, a varied pattern
Mizoram 0 is observed. In the regions of the Southern,
Nagaland 200 the Eastern and the Southern Upper Ganga
Odisha 29,444 Plain, the share of rural-to-urban migration
Punjab 497,519 stream is more than 80 per cent and Southern
Rajasthan 430,437 region leads with 88 per cent. Interestingly,
Sikkim 834 in the Northern Upper Ganga Plain region,
Tamil Nadu 3,283 the rural to rural stream of temporary labour
Tripura 1,508 migration is comparatively higher (30%) than
Uttar Pradesh 42,385,941 the state average (13%).
Uttaranchal 738,765 The regional patterns of intrastate and
West Bengal 183,906 interstate streams of temporary labour migra-
Total 50,534,250 tion are presented in Table 9.6. The proportion
of temporary labour migrants who migrate
Source: 64th NSS 2007–2008; unit-level data.
within the state is the highest in the Central
region (55%) followed by the Southern Upper
categories, followed by the other backward Ganga Plain (45%), the Northern Upper Ganga
classes (OBCs) (19) while others have the Plain (44%) and the Eastern region (36%). It
least migration rate (13). Expectedly, large- is lowest in the Southern region (15%) where
scale variation is observed at the regional the remaining 85 per cent of temporary labour
level, for example, in the Southern region, migrants move out of the state (possibly to the
among people belonging to the ST and SC nearest state Madhya Pradesh), which sug-
categories, temporary labour migration rate gests poor and backward economic conditions
is almost three times (97) higher than that of of the region.
the people belonging to OBC (37) and almost
N
W E
Northern Upper
Ganga Plain S
Southern Upper
Ganga Plain
Central
Eastern
Southern
Temporary Labour
Migration Rate (per 1,000)
Below 15
15–25
25–35
Above 35
Figure 9.2 Temporary Labour Migration Rate (Migrants per 1,000) across the NSS Regions in
Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008
Note: This map is not to scale.
Table 9.3 Temporary Labour Migration Rate Table 9.4 Temporary Labour Migration Rate
(%) (Migrants per 1,000) by Place of Residence (%) (Migrants per 1,000) by Caste across the
across the NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008
2007–2008
NSS Regions SC/ST OBC Others Total
NSS
Northern Upper 14.9 8.5 6.0 9.3
Regions Rural Urban Total
Ganga Plain
Northern Upper 12.2 4.3 9.3 Southern Upper 15.0 14.1 7.2 12.6
Ganga Plain Ganga Plain
Southern Upper 15.3 4.2 12.6 Central 36.6 17.4 7.2 19.6
Ganga Plain Eastern 26.8 25.1 23.7 25.3
Central 25.5 6.1 19.6 Southern 97.4 37.0 15.6 45.2
Eastern 28.3 4.4 25.3 Uttar Pradesh 27.6 19.2 12.6 19.6
Southern 57.3 9.9 45.2
Source: 64th National Sample Survey 2007–2008; unit-
Uttar Pradesh 24.0 5.0 19.6
level data.
Source: 64th National Sample Survey 2007–2008; unit-
level data.
Table 9.5 Streams of Temporary Labour Migration across the NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh,
NSS, 2007–2008
Temporary Labour Migration Streams
NSS Regions Rural to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Rural Urban to Urban Total
Northern Upper Ganga Plain 30.2 52.9 4.5 12.5 100

Southern Upper Ganga Plain 10.4 81.5 0.2 7.9 100
Central 14.6 76.3 0.3 8.9 100
Eastern 11.4 86.4 0.1 2.1 100
Southern 6.6 87.8 0.7 4.9 100
Uttar Pradesh 12.7 81.4 0.5 5.3 100
Source: 64th National Sample Survey 2007–2008; unit-level data.
Table 9.6 Intrastate and Interstate Streams (Model I). I also noticed a negative relation-
of Temporary Labour Migration across the ship between educational attainment and tem-
NSS Regions in Uttar Pradesh, NSS, 2007–2008 porary labour migration. It showed that people
Same Other State with less educational attainment are most
State or Out of Country Total likely to migrate as far as temporary labour
NSS Regions (%) (%) (%) migration is concerned. The ST and SC social
Northern Upper 44.0 56.0 100 groups were more likely to migrate temporar-
Ganga Plain ily compared with the OBCs and other caste
Southern Upper 44.9 55.1 100 groups. Muslims were significantly more
Ganga Plain likely to migrate than Hindus. The results also
Central 55.0 45.0 100 showed that males had extremely higher odds
Eastern 36.2 63.8 100 of migrating than females. It can be inferred
Southern 15.3 84.7 100 from this that in rural areas, males have higher
Uttar Pradesh 39.0 61.0 100 chances of migrating temporarily when other
Source: 64th National Sample Survey 2007–2008; unit- factors are controlled. The households where
level data. the economic activity of the heads of the
households is agricultural or other labour, the
Socio-economic Determinants of household member is more prone to migrate
Temporary Labour Migration in temporarily than other types of households in
rural areas.
Uttar Pradesh
These relationships did not distort much
Multivariate Analysis when I controlled the geographical variable
of the NSS regions (Model II). The results
To examine the association of socio-economic suggested that people from the Southern
factors, namely MPCE, educational attain- region are seven times more likely to migrate
ment and caste, with temporary labour migra- temporarily compared with those from the
tion, binary logistic regression models were Northern Upper Ganga Plain. Rural inhab-
fitted (Table 9.7). Other household and geo- itants of the Eastern and Central regions
graphical variables are also controlled in the are 3 and 2.5 times more likely to migrate
regression. Results suggest that for the rural compared with those of the Northern Upper
areas a statistically significant negative asso- Ganga Plain. I found that those belonging
ciation between MPCE tertiles and temporary to economically backward and low-growth
labour migration is observed, which implies regions, namely Eastern and Southern
that persons belonging to lower income regions, had a higher likelihood of migrating
groups are more likely to migrate temporarily temporarily.
Table 9.7 Results of Logistic Regression Analysis for Determinants of Temporary Labour
Migration of Uttar Pradesh (Age Group 15–64 Years), NSS, 2007–2008
Covariates Rural (N = 28,892) Urban (N = 11,783)
MPCE tertile Model I Model II Model III Model IV
Low® 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Medium 0.78** 0.86 0.48* 0.49*
High 0.66*** 0.81* 0.31* 0.30*
Educational attainment
Below primary® 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Primary or middle 0.79* 0.76** 0.64 0.6
Secondary or higher 0.44*** 0.42*** 0.71 0.66
Land possession
Less than 1 hectare 1.00 1.00
1–4 hectare 1.06 0.92
More than 4 hectare 0.15* 0.08*
Caste
Scheduled tribes and caste® 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Other backward classes 0.80* 0.77** 0.37** 0.37**
Others 0.81 0.77* 0.33** 0.32*
Religion
Hindu® 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Muslima 1.30* 1.65*** 2.15* 2.33*
Size of the household
Less than 5 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
5 or more 0.87 0.94 1.42 1.43
Economic activity of the household
Self-employed in non-agriculture 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
(rural) and self-employed (urban)
Self-employed in agriculture (rural) and 1.05 1.16 0.38 0.38*
regular wage/salary earnings (urban)
Othersb 1.26* 1.30* 0.89 0.88
Sex
Male® 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Female 0.03*** 0.03*** 0.02*** 0.02***
Marital status
Single 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Currently married 2.01*** 1.96*** 1.25 1.23
NSS regions
Northern Upper Ganga Plain 1.00 1.00
Southern Upper Ganga Plain 1.50* 1.02
Central 2.52*** 1.58
Eastern 3.10*** 1.16
Southern 7.21*** 3.91*
Agea 0.97*** 0.95*** 0.98 0.98
Log-likelihood −2,777.0116 −2,704.67 −310.91 −308.09
Pseudo-R2 0.1525 0.1746 0.1665 0.1768
Source: 64th National Sample Survey 2007–2008; unit-level data.

Note: *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01, ®Reference category, aMuslims include other religions also, as proportion of
any other religion except Hindu and Muslim is less than 1 per cent of the population of the state. bOthers consists of
agricultural labour and other labours in rural areas and casual labour and others in urban areas.
The logistic regression results for the urban of migrating temporarily. Also, rural-to-urban
sample were more or less similar to that of migration is the most dominant stream of
rural areas with an exception of factors such migration irrespective of the region, suggest-
as educational attainment, caste and the NSS ing a decline in the agro-economy in the rural
regions (Model III). It was observed that edu- areas. One important finding of the study is
cational attainment was not a significant pre- that more than 60 per cent of temporary labour
dictor in urban areas. Further, in contrast to migration is out of state. It points to the poor
the results of rural areas, caste showed strong economic and employment generation condi-
association with temporary migration in urban tion of the state.
areas and people belonging to ST and SC cat- In addition, multivariate results for rural
egories were almost three times more likely areas show that the poorest of the poor (lowest
to migrate than those belonging to OBC and MPCE tertile) are more likely to migrate tem-
other caste groups, suggesting a huge influ- porarily than the better-off (medium and high
ence of caste in this state. I found that the NSS MPCE tertile) even after controlling for the
regions were not statistically significant except geographical variability of the region. This
that the Southern region and urban dwellers of may lead to an inference that the temporary
this region were almost four times more likely labour migration phenomenon is prevalent
to migrate compared with the habitants of the among the poorest of the poor. It seems that
Northern Upper Ganga Plain. in the state, the condition of the poor people
is dismal, and they are bound to adopt tem-
porary labour migration as a livelihood strat-
egy. It is well established in the previous
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION studies (Deshingkar & Grimm, 2005; Keshri
& Bhagat, 2010) that educational attainment
Temporary labour migration is considered has a significant and negative association with
an important income diversification and risk- temporary labour migration. We observe a
coping strategy in many developing countries. similar association from our results in rural
It is widely prevalent in the Indian subconti- areas in the state. The likelihood of tempo-
nent. However, it has not been studied at the rary labour migration is lesser among people
macro-level in Uttar Pradesh. In the present with an educational attainment of primary
study, therefore, the focus was to study the or middle and secondary or higher educa-
regional pattern of temporary labour m igration tion compared with people with a below pri-
and examine its socio-economic determinants mary level of education. Thus, the maximum
in Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populous propensity of temporary labour migration
state in India with obvious regional socio- is among persons with lowest educational
economic variations. I have also compared attainment (below primary level). Social fac-
the basic differentials in the characteristics of tors play a critical role in migration decision.
temporary and permanent migrations in the People belonging to the SC and ST categories
state at the aggregate level. Estimates show have higher chances to migrate temporarily
that there were 1,896,000 temporary migrants than other social groups, which is most notice-
in 2007–2008 (the reference period of survey) able in urban areas. However, the Eastern
while the number of permanent migrants was region might be an exception as there is a sec-
28,330,000. ular trend with respect to caste.
It is found that those belonging to the On the whole, the propensity of tempo-
Southern and Eastern regions, which are eco- rary labour migration is most prevalent in the
nomically backward and low-growth regions Southern region (Bundelkhand) and it declines
(World Bank, 2008), had a higher likelihood with the increase in economic well-being and
educational status in both rural and urban Deshingkar, P. (2006). Internal migration, poverty and
areas. However, social factors play an impor- development in Asia (Briefing Paper). London: Over-
tant role in urban and rural areas. Results seas Development Institute.
are in accordance with earlier studies which Deshingkar, P. & Farrington, J. (2009). A framework of
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2005; Rao, 2005; Rao & Rana, 1997; Rogaly for International Organization for Migration (IOM),
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the state. opment Institute.
Dutta, S. (2012). Domination and circular migration: A
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10
Student Migration*
S. Irudaya Rajan
K.C. Zachariah
S. Sunitha
INTRODUCTION who are living outside Kerala but within India,

at the time of the survey. The Kerala Migration
Since the Second World War, people from Survey (KMS) 2018 collected the information
Kerala have moved out of the state in search on out-migration. Since 1998, the study has
of livelihood. Demographic expansion in the been conducted every 5 years and through it a
state, public sector undertakings and private proper estimation of out-migrants from Kerala
sector establishments elsewhere in the country has been monitored. This chapter explores the
fuelled this tendency (Zachariah, Mathew & trends and determinants of out-migrants from
Rajan, 2001a, 2001b, 2002, 2003; Zachariah Kerala using the KMSs since 1998 (Rajan and
& Rajan, 2012a). The educated youth made Zachariah, 2019; Zachariah & Rajan, 2009,
use of these opportunities. Until the magnif- 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2014, 2016, 2018).
icent role of international migration, people
were motivated to go to industrial and com-
mercial areas of other states in India. There
was considerable mobility of people from TRENDS IN INTERSTATE MIGRATION
Kerala to cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, FROM KERALA
Chennai, Delhi and other states of India.
The term internal migration is used for The number of out-migrants in 2018 was
migration within India. In this chapter, internal estimated to be 0.524 million and it has
migration is renamed as out-migration which declined gradually over the years since 2003
is defined as members in households of Kerala (Table 10.1). The highest decline was seen
* In this chapter, tables and figures have been developed by the authors based on the various rounds of Kerala
Migration Surveys done at the Centre for Development Studies.
Table 10.1 Estimated Number of Out-Migrants by Districts, Kerala, 1998–2018
Number Increase/Decrease Per Cent Per HH
2018 2013 2008 2003 1998 2013–2018 2008–2013 2003–2008 1998–2003 2018 2013 2008 2003 1998 2018 2013 2008 2003 1998
Thiruvananthapuram 11,470 69,965 80,565 51,949 58,282 −58,495 −10,600 28,616 −6,333 2.2 10.0 8.8 4.7 8.4 1.3 8.1 9.3 6.6 8.9
Kollam 30,082 66,461 57,869 50,957 71,300 −36,379 8,592 6,912 −20,343 5.7 9.5 6.3 4.6 10.3 4.1 9.6 8.6 8.4 12.7
Pathanamthitta 34,552 87,798 93,230 94,147 86,485 −53,246 −5,432 −917 7,662 6.6 12.5 10.2 8.4 12.5 10.0 26.6 28.8 31.2 29.3
Alappuzha 66,670 33,580 99,308 83,538 89,523 33,090 −65,728 15,770 −5,985 12.7 4.8 10.9 7.5 12.9 11.5 6.1 18.2 16.9 18.7
Kottayam 31,931 64,898 58,908 149,836 37,722 −32,967 5,990 −90,928 112,114 6.1 9.3 6.4 13.4 5.5 6.0 12.9 12.0 33.7 9.6
Idukki 16,578 29,718 1,006 4,138 9,128 −13,140 28,712 −3,132 −4,990 3.2 4.2 0.1 0.4 1.3 5.7 10.5 0.3 1.5 3.6
Ernakulam 10,973 62,481 59,586 45,457 34,205 −51,508 2,895 14,129 11,252 2.1 8.9 6.5 4.1 4.9 1.2 7.3 7.4 6.4 5.6
Thrissur 45,738 31,513 60,085 78,305 85,663 14,225 −28,572 −18,220 −7,358 8.7 4.5 6.6 7.0 12.4 5.3 4.0 8.2 11.9 16.2
Palakkad 50,455 31,759 217,294 252,617 73,220 18,696 −185,535 −35,323 179,397 9.6 4.5 23.8 22.6 10.6 6.9 4.7 36.8 46.2 11.6
Malappuram 37,216 36,202 43,339 50,330 23,823 1,014 −7,137 −6,991 26,507 7.1 5.2 4.7 4.5 3.4 3.9 4.3 6.9 8.3 3.9
Kozhikode 78,536 31,596 46,133 66,466 28,340 46,940 −14,537 −20,333 38,126 15.0 4.5 5.0 6.0 4.1 9.6 4.3 7.0 11.4 5.4
Wayanad 4,573 17,856 12,427 3,626 2,618 −13,283 5,429 8,801 1,008 0.9 2.5 1.4 0.3 0.4 2.2 9.0 6.6 2.1 1.7
Kannur 80,591 103,383 47,410 135,161 46,015 −22,792 55,973 −87,751 89,146 15.4 14.8 5.2 12.1 6.7 12.5 17.7 9.0 28.9 9.9
Kasaragod 24,722 33,130 37,226 49,074 45,371 −8,408 −4,096 −11,848 3,703 4.7 4.7 4.1 4.4 6.6 7.8 11.5 14.4 21.0 22.4
Kerala 524,088 700,342 914,387 1,115,601 691,695 −176,254 −214,045 −201,214 423,906 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 5.9 8.5 12.1 16.2 10.9
Student Migration 155
18.0 16.2 12
16.0 11
10
14.0 12.1 9
10.9
Population in Lakh
12.0 8
Per 100 HH
10.0 8.5 7
6
8.0 5.9 5
6.0 4
4.0 3
2
2.0 1
0.0 0
2018 2013 2008 2003 1998
Year
Figure 10.1 Trends in Estimated Number of Out-Migrants, 1998–2018
in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and DISTRICT-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF

Ernakulam districts in 2013–2018. Internal INTERSTATE MIGRANTS
migration from Kerala was partly replaced by
external migration owing to the oil boom in After independence, out-migrants from the
the Middle East countries during the 1970s state went to industrialized areas of other states
and more and more out-migrants from Kerala in India. But, the mushrooming of IT com-
tended to move to other countries. However, panies led to concentration of out-migrants
the largest number of out-migrants from Kerala in metro cities, especially in the neighbour-
went from the Kannur district in 2013 and 2018. ing states. It is evident from Table 10.2 that
While considering the type of households majority of out-migrants were attracted by
of these out-migrants, about 16.8 per cent the three states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
have at least one emigrant and 8.6 per cent and Maharashtra. Among the out-migrants,
have at least one return emigrant. As migration
is a chain process, these out-migrants have a Table 10.2 Percentage of Out-Migrants by
chance or tend to emigrate abroad. Compared Gender and Place of Origin, 2018
to male out-migrants, female out-migrants
Total
have more number of emigrants in their family.
About 58.8 per cent of the total out-migrant Male Female 2018 2013
households have at least one elderly. Karnataka 37.0 40.9 38.3 33.1
The trends in the proportion of out-migrants Tamil Nadu 19.2 19.1 19.2 17.3
have remained the same in Alappuzha district Maharashtra 11.8 10.7 11.4 14.4
over 20 years. In Kozhikode and Kannur dis- New Delhi 6.0 6.4 6.1 8.1
tricts, this proportion increased over the years, Andhra Pradesh 3.4 6.4 4.4 4.2
whereas in Thrissur, Alappuzha, Palakkad Madhya Pradesh 2.1 3.4 2.5 1.8
and Pathanamthitta, the proportion of out- Gujarat 2.3 2.7 2.4 3.4
migrants decreased. One out of 10 households Rajasthan 1.9 2.3 2.1 0.9
in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kannur Jammu & Kashmir 2.3 0.0 1.5 –
was out-migrant household in 2018. Overall,
Others 14.2 8.1 12.2 16.8
since 2003, Kerala shows a decreasing trend
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
in migrating to other states (Figure 10.1).
Table 10.3 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Educational Level and Place of Origin, 2018
Less than Primary to Degree Technical
Primary Secondary Secondary and Above Courses Others Total
Karnataka 3.7 8.0 27.3 56.1 4.9 0.0 100.0

Tamil Nadu 7.1 11.8 29.4 46.5 3.5 1.8 100.0
Maharashtra 4.8 3.8 26.7 42.9 21.9 0.0 100.0
New Delhi 0.0 11.1 20.4 48.1 20.4 0.0 100.0
Andhra Pradesh 7.7 10.3 30.8 46.2 5.1 0.0 100.0
Madhya Pradesh 4.3 4.3 43.5 39.1 8.7 0.0 100.0
Gujarat 4.8 4.8 19.0 57.1 14.3 0.0 100.0
Rajasthan 11.1 0.0 44.4 27.8 16.7 0.0 100.0
Jammu and Kashmir 0.0 7.1 64.3 21.4 7.1 0.0 100.0
Others 4.7 4.7 41.1 35.5 12.1 1.9 100.0
Total 4.7 7.8 30.2 47.7 9.1 0.6 100.0
females outnumbered males in Karnataka. Table 10.4 Percentage of Out-Migrants by

The share of Karnataka (5.2% increase) and Marital Status and Place of Origin, 2018
Tamil Nadu (1.9% increase) increased from Widowed/
2013 to 2018, but there was a decrease in the Divorced/
share of out-migrants in Maharashtra, New Unmarried Married Separated Total
Delhi and Gujarat during these years. Karnataka 58.0 41.5 0.6 100.0
Educated people of the state are always Tamil Nadu 50.6 48.3 1.1 100.0
migrating to other parts of the country. It is Maharashtra 46.7 53.3 0.0 100.0
evident from Table 10.3 that about half of the New Delhi 41.1 58.9 0.0 100.0
out-migrants have a degree and above level Andhra 50.0 50.0 0.0 100.0
of education. State-wise distribution also Pradesh
shows the same level of education, except Madhya 34.8 65.2 0.0 100.0
some states such as Rajasthan, Jammu and Pradesh
Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh. In Karnataka Gujarat 36.4 59.1 4.5 100.0
and Tamil Nadu, unmarried people migrated Rajasthan 31.6 63.2 5.3 100.0
more compared with married people. Most of Jammu & 50.0 50.0 0.0 100.0
them work in different IT companies and other Kashmir
institutions. Others 37.5 62.5 0.0 100.0
But, more than half of the out-migrants in Total 49.6 49.7 0.7 100.0
Jammu and Kashmir have secondary-level
education and all of them were males. More
than 85 per cent of these migrants work in the non-agricultural sector, most of them migrated
government sector and in defence to serve to Tamil Nadu followed by Karnataka and
the country. In total, about 63 per cent out- Gujarat (Tables 10.4 and 10.5).
migrants work in the private sector and 20 per The taluk-wise analysis has some differ-
cent work in the government sector. ence between the two periods 2013 and 2018.
In all, 8 out of 10 out-migrants in Rajasthan In 2013, the Thalassery taluk ranked first in
and Karnataka work in the private sector while the number of out-migrants from the state,
the same number of out-migrants work in the whereas in 2018, the Kozhikode taluk ranked
government sector of Jammu and Kashmir. first. The taluks of origin of out-migrants were
Among the out-migrants working in the concentrated in three taluks of the Kannur
Table 10.5 Percentage of Out-Migrants by Economic Activity and Place of Origin, 2018
Employed Employed in Semi-Govt. Labourers
in State/ Aided School/College, Employed Unpaid in Non-
Central Cooperative/Local in Private Self- Family Agricultural
Govt. Administrative Bodies Sector employment Work Sector Total
Karnataka 5.7 2.1 76.6 4.2 0.0 11.5 100.0

Tamil Nadu 16.7 5.6 53.3 7.8 1.1 15.6 100.0
Maharashtra 16.2 0.0 70.3 4.1 0.0 9.5 100.0
New Delhi 20.0 2.2 64.4 8.9 0.0 4.4 100.0
Andhra 25.0 0.0 70.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 100.0
Pradesh
Madhya 30.8 0.0 61.5 7.7 0.0 0.0 100.0
Pradesh
Gujarat 16.7 5.6 61.1 5.6 0.0 11.1 100.0
Rajasthan 18.2 0.0 81.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0
Jammu & 85.7 0.0 0.0 7.1 0.0 7.1 100.0
Kashmir
Others 48.3 2.3 42.5 1.1 0.0 5.7 100.0
Total 20.4 2.3 62.9 4.8 0.2 9.4 100.0
Table 10.6 Ten Taluks with the Highest Table 10.7 Ten Taluks with the Lowest
Number of Out-Migrants (OMI), 2018 Number of Out-Migrants (OMI), 2018
Taluk OMI Taluk OMI
Kozhikode 49,247 Mannarkad 1,227

Thalassery 31,965 Neyyattinkara 1,195
Taliparamba 24,614 Muvattupuzha 1,161
Kannur 24,011 Perinthalmanna 974
Chittur 20,733 Paravur 964
Karthikappally 20,223 Thiruvananthapuram 896
Chengannur 18,014 Mananthavady 620
Thrissur 17,540 Kanjirappally 0
Vadakara 17,254 Devikulam 0
Hosdurg 14,317 Kothamangalam 0
district. The taluks with the highest number of SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND

out-migrants in 2013 were replaced with new DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF
taluks in 2018 (Table 10.6). Only Thalassery, OUT-MIGRANTS FROM KERALA
Taliparamba and Kannur stood as the highest
out-migrant supply taluks in both surveys, Out of the total out-migrants, 19.1 per cent
2013 and 2018. Out of 10 taluks with high- were females which was a 10 per cent decrease
est number of out-migrants, 7 are from the from KMS 2013. The highest proportion of
northern part of Kerala. Hilly areas such as male and female out-migrants was in the age
Idukki and Wayanad have less number of out- group of 25–29 years. The average age of male
migrants (Table 10.7). out-migrants is 31.7 years and that of females
25.0
20.0
Male Female
15.0
Percent
10.0
5.0
0.0
10—14
15—19
20—24
25—29
30—34
35—39
40—44
45—49
50—54
55—59
5—9
0—4
60+
Age
Figure 10.2 Out-Migrants by Age and Sex, 2018
is 24.7 years. Figure 10.2 shows the flow of degree or above level of education, whereas
out-migration in each age. Migration is bulg- this figure was 40.9 per cent among male
ing upward at the prime youth ages of 20–34 out-migrants. Thus, it is evident from the
years for both males and females. The average survey that people in this period with a higher
age at the first migration of male out-migrants qualification migrated to other states and had
is 21.7 years and that of females is 18.2 years good employment and most of them migrated
(see Figure 10.3). Most of these women accom- to techno-cities of other states and are profes-
panied their spouse after marriage. The mean sionals than the people from earlier periods.
duration of stay outside Kerala for males was 10 Table 10.10 establishes this possibility that
years and for females was 6 years (Table 10.3). about 60 per cent out-migrants are working in
More than 60 per cent of out-migrants the private sector. More than three-fourths of
are Hindus followed by Muslims (22.6 per them are females.
cent) and Christians (16.5 per cent), whereas Among those who work in the government
in international migration, Muslims have sector, males outnumber females. Most of
the highest proportion. Among Hindus, the these males work in defence and the majority
highest out-migration is from Palakkad, are in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kannur and Alappuzha (Table 10.8). Among Thus, the glamour that out-migration had
Christians, the highest out-migration is from in the olden days is now gone and people are
Alappuzha and Kannur districts, and among now attracted to migrating outside the country.
Muslims, the highest out-migration is from
Kannur and Kottayam districts.
About one-fifth of the employed out-
migrants have higher educational qualifica- STUDENT MIGRATION
tions at a professional level, and among them,
female out-migrants are more in number than Out-migration of students is increasing over
their male counterparts. Males who have the years but that of job seekers is decreasing
higher secondary-level or degree-level edu- (Table 10.11). Most of them are migrating to
cation migrated outside Kerala (Table 10.9). attain a professional degree such as engineer-
About 48.5 per cent female out-migrants had ing or medicine. One-fourth of the students
14.0
12.0
10.0
Male Female
8.0
6.0
Out-migrants
4.0
2.0
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 44 46 49 53 58
Age
Figure 10.3 Age at Migration of Out-Migrants, 2018

Table 10.8 Out-Migrants by Religion and Districts, 2018
Number Per Cent to District Per Cent to Total
H C M T H C M T H C M T
Thiruvananthapuram 15,968 2,101 3,602 21,671 73.7 9.7 16.6 100.0 5.0 2.4 3.0 4.1
Kollam 20,530 7,332.2 4,073 31,936 64.3 23.0 12.8 100.0 6.4 8.5 3.4 6.1
Pathanamthitta 12,546 7,138.3 13,392 33,076 37.9 21.6 40.5 100.0 3.9 8.2 11.3 6.3
Alappuzha 43,341 14,818 8,564 66,723 65.0 22.2 12.8 100.0 13.6 17.1 7.2 12.7
Kottayam 9,695 6,803.3 16,008 32,506 29.8 20.9 49.2 100.0 3.0 7.9 13.5 6.2
Idukki 4,562 3,041.5 6,083 13,687 33.3 22.2 44.4 100.0 1.4 3.5 5.1 2.6
Ernakulam 2,281 1,710.8 7,414 11,406 20.0 15.0 65.0 100.0 0.7 2.0 6.3 2.2
Thrissur 39,920 6,882.7 2,812 49,614 80.5 13.9 5.7 100.0 12.5 8.0 2.4 9.5
Palakkad 53,036 535.72 2,886 56,458 93.9 0.9 5.1 100.0 16.6 0.6 2.4 10.8
Malappuram 15,398 1,310.4 10,095 26,803 57.4 4.9 37.7 100.0 4.8 1.5 8.5 5.1
Kozhikode 47,904 1,651.8 16,597 66,153 72.4 2.5 25.1 100.0 15.0 1.9 14.0 12.6
Wayanad 570 213.86 3,778 4,562 12.5 4.7 82.8 100.0 0.2 0.2 3.2 0.9
Kannur 43,912 12,719 26,060 82,691 53.1 15.4 31.5 100.0 13.8 14.7 22.0 15.8
Kasaragod 9,695 2,269 14,839 26,803 36.2 8.5 55.4 100.0 3.0 2.6 12.6 5.1
Kerala 319,357 86,529 118,202 524,088 60.9 16.5 22.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Note: H: Hindu, C: Christian, M: Muslim and T: Total.

Table 10.9 Educational Level of Out-Migrants by Sex, 2018

Education Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
Below 10th standard 11.9 13.6 12.4

10th and 11th standards 14.7 9.6 13.1
12th standard 17.7 15.8 17.1
IT certificate 4.6 0.7 3.4
Diploma 6.3 4.4 5.7
Degree 15.2 14.3 14.9
Professional degree 18.3 22.1 19.5
Professional PG 7.4 12.1 8.9
All others 3.8 7.4 4.9
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Table 10.10 Economic Activity of Out-Migrants by Sex, 2018

Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
Employed in state/central govt. 24.2 12.5 22.4

Employed in semi govt. aided school/ 1.3 5.4 1.9
college, cooperative/local admin bodies
Employed in private sector 57.1 76.8 60.1
Self-employment 6.1 1.8 5.5
Unpaid family work 0.3 0.0 0.3
Labourers in non-agricultural sector 11.0 3.6 9.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Table 10.11 Students and Job Seekers among Among the religious groups, students
Out-Migrants, 2018 belonging to the Hindu religion are 60.6 per
Year Students (%) Job Seekers (%) cent, Christian religion are 27.9 per cent and
Muslim religion are 11.5 per cent. Male stu-
1998 14.3 44.9
dents are out-numbered in all religions except
2003 20.4 47.7
in Christianity. About 35 per cent female stu-
2008 26.4 25.1
dents are Christians and 21.8 per cent are male
2013 28.7 30.6
students. The charming nature and demand
2018 33.1 25.4
of the nursing field increased the number of
students pursuing this degree. Still, Muslim
are pursuing a professional degree. Students students, especially female, have less pos-
who have education less than 10th standard are sibility of out-migration. Among Hindus,
accompanied by their parents and are studying Nair (40.9%) and Ezhava (34.3%) commu-
in other states of India (Table 10.12). Among nities seem to have the highest out-migration
these students, 55 per cent are males. Their among students. Among Christians, the Syrian
age distribution indicates that the largest num- Malabar Catholic community (50%) seems
bers are in the age group 20–24 years (52.4% to have the highest out-migration among stu-
of males and 36.3% of females are in this age dents followed by Orthodox Syrians (12.9%),
group). Latin Catholics (9.7%) and Marthoma Syrians
(9.7%).
Table 10.12 Education Level of Student Out-Migrants, 2018

Education Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
Below 10th standard 26.6 44.2 37.6

10th and 11th standards 4.0 6.5 4.5
12th standard 17.7 1.3 1.1
IT certificate 1.6 0.0 1.1
Diploma 1.6 0.0 1.1
Degree 16.9 9.1 15.7
Professional PG 6.5 14.3 10.7
All others 0.8 3.9 2.2
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
Table 10.13 Reason for Migration of Out-Migrants, 2018

Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
Better job opportunity 42.5 16.8 34.2

Employment 18.5 4.0 13.8
Seeking jobs 6.4 3.4 5.4
Marriage 0.0 4.0 1.3
Education 14.5 21.5 16.8
Family migration 9.7 47.0 21.8
Financial problem 6.6 3.0 5.4
Family pressure 0.6 0.3 0.5
Others 1.1 0.0 0.8
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
REASON FOR MIGRATION CONCLUSION WITH FUTURE

PERSPECTIVE
It is interesting to note that family migra-
tion is high among females. In other words, Overall, migration from Kerala is decreas-
most of the male out-migrants have gone out ing now irrespective of destinations. Internal
in search of better jobs, whereas female out- migration has more drastically declined than
migrants are accompanied by their spouse international migration. However, due to the
(Table 10.13). Some of them are employed demographic transition, population in its
in other states, may be as central government prime youth is decreasing and this has resulted
employees, and so they migrated outside their in the end of a demographic dividend. Only
state. Another reason is higher education. student out-migration is increasing to some
Students choose institutions in other states for extent. Employment opportunities in other
their higher studies. Self-financing institutions states are not very attractive as in earlier days.
in neighbouring states attract the students to Kerala is also likely to witness a large inflow
move out of the state and study by giving cap- of migrants from other states of India.
itation fees and other costs.
REFERENCES ———. (2014). Researching international migration:

Lessons from the Kerala experience. New Delhi, India:
Mishra, U. S. & Rajan, S. I. (2018). Internal migration. Routledge.
Thematic Paper 2 for International Labour Organiza- ———. 2016. Kerala Migration Study 2014. Economic
tion. Thiruvananthapuram, India: Centre for Develop- and Political Weekly LI (6): 66–71.
ment Studies. ———. (2017). Kerala migration survey 2016: New
Rajan, S. I. (2013). Internal migration and youth in India: evidences. In S. I. Rajan (Ed.), India migration report
Main features, trends and emerging challenges (Dis- 2017: Forced migration (pp. 289–305). New Delhi,
cussion Paper). New Delhi, India: UNESCO. India: Routledge.
Rajan, S. I. & Zachariah, K. C. (2009). Migration and ———. (2018). Emigration from Kerala: End of an era.
development: The Kerala experience. New Delhi, Kochi, India: RedInk an Imprint of Nalanda Books.
India: Daanish Publishers. Zachariah, K. C., Mathew, E. T., & Rajan, S. I. 2001a.
———. 2019. The Future of Kerala Emigration: New Impact of Migration on Kerala’s Economy and Society.
Evidences from the Kerala Migration Survey, 2018. International Migration 39 (1): 63–88.
Economic and Political Weekly (forthcoming). ———. 2001b. Social, Economic and Demographic
Zachariah, K. C., & S. Irudaya Rajan. (2012a). Diasporas Consequences of Migration in Kerala. International
in Kerala’s development. New Delhi, India: Daanish Migration 39 (2): 43–72.
Publishers. ———. 2002. Migration Patterns and Their Socio-
———. (2012b). A decade of Kerala’s Gulf connection. economics (Chapter 2), Pp.13–45. In K. C. Zachariah,
New Delhi, India: Orient Blackswan. K. P. Kannan and S. Irudaya Rajan (eds). Kerala’s Gulf
———. 2012c. Inflexion in Kerala’s Gulf Connection: Connection: CDS Studies on International Labour
Report on the Kerala Migration Survey 2011. Centre Migration from Kerala State in India (pp. 13–45).
for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram) Thiruvananthapuram: Centre for Development Mon-
Working Paper No.450. ograph Series.
———. (2003). Dynamics of migration in Kerala: Deter-
minants, differentials and consequences. Hyderabad,
India: Orient Longman Private Limited.
11
Building Resilience:
Compulsions and Challenges
Rukmini Thapa
INTRODUCTION of 2007–2008.1 Along with existing regional

disparities, there has been a misbalanced tra-
Labour migration among the rural poor jectory of growth as the secondary sector’s
requires to be linked to the upsurge of uneven share in gross domestic product (GDP) and
development (Veltmeyer & Wise, 2016). employment has stagnated over a long period.
While in the pre-reforms period, the govern- With nearly half of the country’s workforce
ment intervened to balance regional disparity, engaged in agriculture and a prematurely
this role has been lost since neoliberaliza- growing service sector, the growing dissoci-
tion. Trade policies rather facilitate export- ation between sectors that generate GDP and
orientation that vests far-reaching autonomy sectors that generate employment is unprec-
on industries to choose cost-effective loca- edented (Banerjee, 2010; Chandrasekhar &
tions (Chakraborty, 2005). The western and Ghosh, 2015; Nagaraj, 2011; Unni, 2015).
southern regions and coastal areas in India Workers have been shifting from agriculture
have disproportionately benefitted in this to non-agricultural work but the manufactur-
regard compared with the backward east. ing sector, contrary to the experience of other
Mirroring the economic backwardness of the comparable Asian countries, has played only
east are Bihar and West Bengal that witnessed a marginal role in generating work to absorb
the highest percentage of short-term migration workers (Ghose, 2016; Thomas, 2012). The
among major states in India according to the broader implications of changing labour
64th round of National Sample Survey data demand in agriculture and the constrained
1
West Bengal and Bihar were the eastern forerunners of industrialization in India, but their lagging performance
has become starkly visible in comparison with Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka and new indus-
trial leaders like Haryana and Punjab (Thomas, 2015).
Building Resilience 165
capacity of the non-farm sector in absorbing illustrate how diversification strategies differ
vast surpluses of labour directly affect migrant subject to the capacity of the poor to access
workers exiting agriculture either temporarily assets, undertake activities and invest. It shows
or permanently. Narrowing down of employ- how multicited pluriactivity is becoming nec-
ment choices has also led to undermining of essary to enhance outcomes from migration
the migrants’ agency in challenging power under existing resource constraints in migrant
relations and blatant flouting of labour laws in households. Summarizing the key findings,
the unorganized sector where the migrants are the last section discusses the implications of
invariably absorbed. a migration-dependent livelihood route on the
Different regions, villages, communities and long-term sustainability of rural economies
individuals experience migration differently and offers concluding remarks.
and bring forth not one but many stories (Datta,
2016). This study situates the ubiquity of
migration in the backdrop of policies under the
structural reforms that seem to have bypassed BACKGROUND AND SELECTION OF
the need to strengthen the agrarian founda- STUDY AREA
tions of the economy. It examines migration
as a process emerging out of diminishing work In West Bengal, agriculture engages an over-
opportunities at the local level and also in the whelming volume of 68 per cent main work-
light of the peculiar nature of labour demand ers (Census 2011) where over 70 per cent of
proliferating beyond the villages (Mishra, cultivators own only up to one hectare land.
2016). The principal objective is to link migra- This poses profound challenges to the viability
tion with regional economic backwardness and of a purely agrarian livelihood (Thapa, 2015).
declining viability of agriculture at an oppor- Compounded with a sluggish pace of industrial
tune moment when global capital is making growth in the state, its ramifications on employ-
inroads in remote areas to absorb cheap labour. ment and earnings are serious and crippling
Empirically, the findings are drawn from a (Khasnabis, 2008). In the secondary sector,
household survey conducted by the author in West Bengal has not only lost its position as
2013 in two districts of West Bengal. one of the leading giants in industrial growth
The next section of the chapter begins with but also its share in manufacturing GDP fell
an overview of the state of primary and sec- compared with states such as Gujarat, Tamil
ondary sectors in West Bengal. It lays down Nadu and Maharashtra which were in the same
the rationale to explore out-migration in two league after independence (D'Costa, 2005;
villages that mirror regional disparity and the Thomas, 2015). With major organized manu-
larger crisis of employment in the state. The facturing industries and information technol-
third section describes livelihood options in the ogy projects concentrated in Kolkata and in the
village emphasizing the factors behind declin- neighbouring districts of Howrah and Hugli,
ing earnings and labour demand in agriculture. the state is characterized by stark regional dis-
The fourth section forms the core of qualita- parity in economic and infrastructural devel-
tive findings that illustrate the experiences opment that limits livelihood opportunities in
and outcomes of migration through a thematic the remaining districts.2 In particular, the North
presentation of selected case studies. It aims to Bengal3 region remains visibly backward with
2
Livelihood crisis is also faced by workers of the tea industry in Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts due to paltry
daily wages below the minimum as per legislation and factory lockouts. This study focuses only on agriculture
and does not cover the tea industry workers and the affected regions.
3
The districts of Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur collectively
comprise the North Bengal region. Kalimpong and Alipurduar districts have been recently carved out from
Darjeeling and Cooch Behar, respectively.
an underdeveloped non-farm economy and a which was the first stage of data collection, all
chronic livelihood crisis further exacerbated by households in both villages were visited to col-
the vagaries of natural calamities such as floods lect data on selected variables. There was a total
and land degradation. Thousands of farmers in of 390 households in the Cooch Behar village
these regions are known to migrate for work and 838 households in the Malda village which
and serve as labour reserves for the rest of the were classified into migrant and non-migrant
economy (Basu, 2011; Human Development households. A total sample of 410 households
Report, Malda, 2007). was then drawn in the second stage for detailed
Two districts (Cooch Behar and Malda) interviews through stratified random sampling
were purposively selected from back- taking one-third of total households from each
ward districts in the North Bengal region. village.4 Structured and semi-structured inter-
Geographically, the selected districts lie far-off view schedules were used to record quantitative
from each other, and thus, they represent two and qualitative data from the sample house-
different agro-climatic regions (Cooch Behar holds. The samples taken in Cooch Behar and
in the foothills of Darjeeling and Malda in the Malda had 86 (out of 130) and 180 (out of 280)
Gangetic plains) where the nature and factors migrant households, respectively. For conven-
behind labour out-migration can be examined. ience, we shall call the village in Cooch Behar
A primary household survey was conducted in as Cooch Behar and that in Malda as Malda.
2013 taking one village each from the Cooch Evidence from quantitative and qualitative
Behar and Malda districts. The study villages methods corroborate the existence of manifold
in both districts were purposively selected challenges which migrants face when trying to
using block-wise data on the average yield find work to eke out a living. Explaining these
levels of food grains for a period of 10 years challenges in greater detail, the next section
(Government of West Bengal, 1994–2013a, discusses the existing limitations of livelihood
1994–2013b). The Coochbehar village was spectrum in the study villages.
selected from Mathabhanga-II block which had
a relatively low yield in the production of food
grains compared to other blocks in the district.
Malda was selected from Ratua-I block which AGRARIAN AND LIVELIHOOD
was intensively cultivated with good aver- BACKGROUND OF STUDY VILLAGES
age yield levels of food grains in the district.
However, the block faced peculiar constraints Table 11.1 presents data on a few character-
to cultivation due to low land-to-man ratio, loss istic features of households in the two villages
of crops due to impoundment of water during collected during house-listing. Not only was
monsoon and shrinking crop land due to exten- landlessness overwhelmingly high in Malda but
sion of mango orchards. During the survey, a also ownership holdings were more unequally
census-like house-listing in both villages was distributed and average area of operational
done to classify all households into migrant holdings was also about half of that in Cooch
and non-migrant types. Migrant households Behar. Even though the average yields of food
were those that had at least one member who crops such as rice, maize and wheat were
had stayed away from the village for employ- better in Malda due to favourable soil condi-
ment or in search of employment for a period tions, the preponderance of marginal holdings
of at least 30 days during the 365 days preced- of less than one acre severely limited the scope
ing the date of survey. During house-listing, of gainful wage employment in agriculture.
4
Wherever available, the data collected on selected indicators such as ownership of agricultural land and
migration patterns from all households during house-listing shall be used to supplement data from sampled
households.
Table 11.1 Characteristics of Households in cultivation continued despite loss to avoid reli-
Study Villages ance on the market for food security. Increasing
Variables Cooch Behar Malda redundancy of hired labour due to diminishing
farm size and declining economic viability in
% Landless households 36.2 61.45
cultivation of most crops (mainly paddy which
% Households with opera- 20 3.6
tional holdings more than 1
was the principal crop) caused scarcity of sus-
acre tainable livelihood options within the village.
Average size of operational 1.13 0.6 As mechanization in agricultural operations
holdings (in acres) was limited to use of tractor for land prepa-
Gini coefficient of ownership ration and threshing machines, the cultivation
of agricultural land of food crops helped labouring households to
All households 0.64 0.80 sustain at least in the sowing and harvesting
Landed households 0.44 0.38 periods. In Malda, the increasing conversion
Percentage of households with 41.30 52.6 of cropland into mango orchards profoundly
at least one migrant reduced labour absorption in the village.
Source: Field Survey (village census of all households). Seasonal absorption of hired labour for mango
Note: Village Cooch Behar: 390 households; village plucking in summer was much lower than the
Malda 838 households. labour otherwise displaced.
A large number of households in both vil-
In Cooch Behar, although the average size lages were found to be relying on complex
of operational holdings was larger than it combinations of short-term and small-scale sur-
was in Malda, the gross cropped area (GCA) vivalist strategies apart from migration. There
in the rabi season was half than what it was were evidence of transformation of livelihoods
in the kharif season, mainly due to the high from farm to a combination of farm and non-
cost of irrigation from privately-owned shal- farm work or from traditional caste-based self-
low tube wells.5 Cultivation and demand for employment in non-farm work, such as petty
hired labour were higher in the kharif season artisans, barbers and carpenters, to wage labour
for paddy, while in the rabi season, much of in non-farm work. Pluriactivity had become
the land was kept fallow and resulted in very necessary to maximize earnings and diversify
low income for farmers as well as for agricultural risks. Out-migration was the most prominent
labourers. feature of livelihood diversification strategies
Apart from land size, the high cost of fer- in both villages.6 Flexibility for migration was
tilizers and hired labour dissuaded farmers in facilitated by transport and communication
both villages from growing labour-intensive development, while social networking had eased
crops like jute and vegetables as they require information exchange and increased access to
large doses of fertilizers and pesticides. Despite fellow migrants and prospective employers.
high costs and low net returns, food crops like The compulsion to migrate was masked
paddy and wheat comprised the principal crops behind the apparent voluntariness to respond
that were cultivated in both villages. Although to newer opportunities emerging outside the
net returns from paddy fell abysmally low to village. When multipronged interventions tar-
cover even paid-out costs in most households, geted towards expanding sustainable livelihood
5
Kharif falls in the monsoon season. The principal kharif crops are paddy and jute. Rabi crops are grown after
harvesting the monsoon paddy. Boro rice, wheat, potato, mustard and maize were the chief rabi crops. GCA is
the total area sown once and/or more than once in a particular year. The area is counted as many times as there
are sowings in a year. We have considered GCA as it is suitable to indicate the capacity of employment creation
in agriculture.
6
For a list of major migration streams in the study villages, please see Table 11A.1 in Appendix 11A.
options in the immediate vicinity were either remunerative activities. These terminologies
missing or not successful, it was the bargaining called coping and accumulative outcomes are
power of the poorest households over choice similar to the ones commonly used in migra-
of work, destination, remuneration and migration literature. The differences in diversifica-
tion decisions that was severely compromised. tion strategies show diversity in the capacity
As meeting the essential needs of reproduction of the poor to access assets, undertake activ-
through insecure work contracts and repeated ities and invest. A similar typology is used in
cycles of out-migration had become necessary this section to discuss migration as an activity
to eke out a livelihood, it left labour with little of livelihood diversification and its potential in
choice other than to be mobile and willing to becoming an agent of change in the household.
adapt to time bound contracts of temporary The three themes are as follows:
work in far-off places that offered little or no
social security. The structure of employment 1. Hanging in
generation in distant locales demands the 2. Stepping up
migrants’ willingness to accept risks, separa- 3. Sliding down
tion from family members as well as economic
and emotional setbacks. Inculcating these The first two themes have been borrowed from
attributes increased the resilience of migrants Dorward et al. (2009) and the third case of
and their families. Although women did not ‘sliding down’ discusses cases where migra-
migrate for reasons that will be discussed later, tion was reported to have brought further
many among them reported that the greatest immiseration in the household.
risk to the household was in not migrating.
In order to illustrate varied aspects of work
insecurity and related negotiations to combat Hanging In
livelihood distress through migration; the next
section discusses selected case studies. Biren Chowdhury (name changed) from
Malda was 53 years old. His household did
not own any agricultural land. Up to the age
of 35 years, he had never migrated from the
EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES village for employment. Before he began
OF MIGRATION: A THEMATIC migrating, he supported his household by sell-
PRESENTATION OF CASE STUDIES ing fish caught from rivers and lakes in the
village. Such natural lakes, commonly found
An analysis by Dorward et al. (2009) used in Malda, were freely accessible that time and
a schema to distinguish three strategies that sustained fishermen’s households for at least 9
emanate from peoples’ aspirations to achieve months in a year. Gradually, the water bodies
certain welfare outcomes in their livelihoods. were auctioned away on lease by the block
The first strategy called ‘hanging in’ involves development office of the village. Fishermen
holding on to assets and activities to just like Biren went from being self-employed
manage maintaining the existing level of live- to being hired by leaseholders to catch fish
lihood often under adverse socio-economic seasonally. He was allowed to keep a small
circumstances. The second strategy called share of the catch while the rest belonged to
‘stepping up’ involves help from current activ- the lake’s leaseholder. During the spawning
ities and investments in assets to accumulate season in June–August, he was employed to
and improve livelihoods. The third and last guard the lake and prevent others from fish-
strategy called ‘stepping out’ defines strate- ing. After Biren married and had children, he
gies that enable accumulating sufficiently and found it very difficult to sustain his family of
acquiring a ‘launch pad’ to move into other five children. He joined the group of men in
the village who had begun to migrate to Nepal been migrating for over 10 years to construc-
and Bihar to sell juvenile fish for farming. tion sites, Biren replied that he was neither
For every migration spell, each member of physically strong nor rich enough to wield
the group invested about `5,000 to buy fish dominance over labourers and bargain with
and pay for transport and food. A single spell employers above him. He had accepted the
lasted at least up to 2 months and two such limitations imposed by resource constraints at
trips were made in a year. Biren continued home and his position in the lowest rung of the
to migrate for 4 years with other men from work hierarchy. Although Biren’s wife supple-
his village. During the journey with large mented the household income by commuting
aluminium vessels carrying fish, they faced to Katihar (a neighbouring town in Bihar) four
harassment from the police and the customs times a week to sell seasonal vegetables and
office. Losses were common as many fish fruits, they had not saved enough to make even
died during the journey because of heat and a ‘semi-pucca’ house or a toilet.10 Two of his
infection. In the year 2004, Biren quit migrat- daughters dropped out from school before
ing to sell fish because of lack of capital and completing class eight. The family heard that
recurrent losses. He then began migrating several young girls from poor households in
for work to construction sites. As he was not the village married older men from faraway
physically strong he was recruited as a cook states where dowry was not demanded. As
in a ‘dadan’ contract.7 Since then, till the date Biren had miniscule assets and no savings
of survey, Biren migrated every year under the to finance the costs of marriage, he often
‘dadan’ contract twice a year. So far he had thought about the possibility of getting simi-
migrated to Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Haryana lar proposals for his daughters and wondered
and Punjab where most of the sites he worked whether it would be right for them. Although
in constructed mobile towers. He remitted his earnings were not sufficient to make the
home `3,500–4,000 every month through household economically secure, he hoped to
informal networks such as friends or relatives continue migrating as he had not found any
and cash couriers.8 On being asked whether other options for regular work in the village.
he too could become a ‘dafadar’,9 as he had
7
‘Dadan’, which means advance in Persian, were work contracts where migrants were given some advance
money which was to be repaid by working for the employer. It was a form of bonded labour contract that was
present in both villages but is more common in Malda. The wage rates prevalent during field work for labourers
was between `8,000–10,000 for 50 days and those with higher skills in construction work such masons were
paid about `13,000–15,000 for 50 days. An advance payment of `3000–4000 was given. Workers could ask
for higher advances if they felt capable of repaying through work. However, most migrants took about half of
the contract money as advance to avoid non-payment due to unforeseen contingencies. A day’s work extended
for over 11 hours. Free food and accommodation was included in the contract but its quality was reported to be
poor. During the contract period, labourers were not allowed to return home at least until the advance money
was repaid. Labourers were subject to strict control and monitoring and space for assertion of agency and nego-
tiation were subject to the availability of alternative works.
8
Such informal modes of cash transfers were easily available for an extra commission of `50 per thousand of
money transferred. Biren did not have a bank account. The money was transferred to a friend’s account in the
village who in turn gave it to his wife.
9
Recruitment agents were referred to as ‘dafadars’, ‘sardars’ and ‘thekedars’. These agents most often worked
at the same construction site. In Malda, there were recruitment agents for agricultural work as well who supplied
labourers for harvesting operations at a fixed commission.
10
Female workers in both villages were few due to cultural restrictions to work outside home. Biren’s wife was
among the few exceptions who commuted to neighbouring towns for work.
Stepping Up were high as small and traditional workers

were driven out of the market due to high com-
Case (a). Debu Sarkar (name changed) was petition from large mechanized firms that were
10 years old when he migrated with his father entering small towns in Assam. Debu was able
to Cooch Behar from Bangladesh in the mid- to retain his employment but his remittances
1980s. His father purchased two acres of agri- had vastly decreased. He, however, continued
cultural land and began cultivating a single to work and improve his designs to retain cus-
crop of rain-fed paddy because irrigation tomers. Ruma hoped to have sufficient savings
was absent in the village at that time. With a in the future and open a rice mill so that he
single crop, his father earned just sufficient could return to the village permanently and
income for a family of six members where ease her household burden.
Debu was the eldest son. In order to supple-
ment household income, Debu dropped out Case (b). Sk Khurshid (name changed) was
from school after completing class six. With 60 years old. He was a cultivator who had
paucity of employment opportunities in non- inherited 0.4 acres of cropland in Malda. He
farm work in the district and underdeveloped had three sons and one daughter who was
agriculture, many from his village migrated married. Khurshid had never migrated from
as manual labourers to Rajasthan. His father, the village for employment. For the past 14
however, thought that Debu was too young to years, he leased 1.7 acres of crop land from
be sent for strenuous work. Therefore, at 15 a landlord (for whom he had worked) under
years of age, Debu migrated as an apprentice a fixed rent contract. He paid one quintal of
to a goldsmith in a neighbouring town. After his output per season as rent. In 2001, he
three and a half years, his employer sent him received information from friends about
to Guwahati to work at a friend’s shop. At the employment in home-based nickel plating
time of the survey, Debu was 43 years of age units in Delhi. Khurshid’s eldest son, 28 years
and had been working in the same shop for 25 of age, who had dropped out of school in class
years. In the village, he cultivated paddy in the six migrated to Delhi with some friends the
kharif season and was also able to cultivate same year. They were hired in a small man-
potato which required an expenditure of about ufacturing unit that employed six to eight
`25,000 per acre. He returned to the village workers. When his younger son (26 years of
in every peak agricultural season to purchase age during survey) completed high school, he
inputs and supervise the sowing and harvest- too went to Delhi to join his brother. Initially,
ing operations. In the other seasons, his wife both were paid `2,500 per month for 8 hours
Ruma looked after the field and used hired work. It took them around 7 months to acquire
labour for all other operations. Ruma remarked the skill. As the monthly salary was low at
that she would have wanted Debu to return to `4,000 per month, they also worked overtime
the village and live with their growing children to increase earnings. Their regular remittances
but that would put their livelihoods in great helped Khurshid buy agricultural inputs and to
insecurity if they solely depended on agricul- pay for hired labour during the peak working
ture. Commenting on the rapidly escalating seasons. In 2005, the owner closed the unit in
prices of agricultural inputs, Debu said that he Delhi and reopened it in Jamnagar in Gujarat
had been incurring losses in paddy cultivation due to compliance problems with pollution
due to high cost of inputs and unremunerative norms in Delhi. After working for 2 years,
prices in the grain market. He was interested in in 2007, his sons entered into a partnership
selling his crop to the government at Minimum with the owners. They also recruited five other
Support Prices but said that farmers were not men from the village. Khurshid mortgaged
given prior information about procurement his own land for `35,000 to provide capital
procedures and dates. In the gold ornament for the deal. He continued cultivating only
market too, the stakes of losing employment on the leased land and in 2010, he was able
to reclaim his mortgaged land. He felt it was dropped out of school and worked as a helper
important to make alternative investments out- at a tea stall for `2,000 per month. Mamata
side agriculture as his prospects from cultiva- also worked as a wage labourer in the village to
tion were limited in future. There were mango unload trucks carrying materials used for con-
trees planted by the owner on his leased land struction. In 2012, Nakul completed his course
which would not allow cultivation after 7–8 of DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment) and
years. Once the trees matured, he would have was tested negative for tuberculosis. However,
to give up the leased land. He too had planted he never regained his health completely so as
16 trees on his own land 4 years ago. With to be able to migrate again or work for a full
an average remittance of around `15,000 per day in the village. Unable to use his rickshaw,
month, Khurshid had enough capital to culti- he hired it out to others for `30 per day. When
vate paddy, wheat and jute on his leased land he worked for wages, he was paid only `150
and high-value vegetables such as tomato and per day due to his feeble health, whereas other
brinjal on his own land. He was able to build a men received `180–250 per day. His house was
good pucca house in which he used one room still kutcha, with no tube well and no toilet. He
as a shop to sell hardware such as nuts, bolts hoped his son would migrate after a few years
and door handles. Some of the merchandise but he would not allow him to work as a rick-
was from his sons’ factory. Khurshid planned shaw puller. Nakul held the strenuous nature of
to extend his business so that his sons could work in rickshaw pulling as the reason for his
return and stay in the family. ill health.
Sliding Down DISCUSSION AND CONCLUDING

Nakul Mahar (name changed), aged 42 years, REMARKS
was a landless labourer in Malda. His wife
Mamata was an agricultural labourer and they The cases not only illustrate characteristic fea-
had three children. Nakul started migrating to tures unique to each household but are also
Delhi about 15 years ago. He migrated three representative of many others whose experi-
times every year to work as a rickshaw puller in ences fit the typology. It offers a window to
Jamianagar. After 4 years of migrating, he pur- explore what Dorward (2009) calls ‘aspira-
chased a rickshaw in the village. During Delhi’s tions, opportunities, constraints and strivings
sweltering heat in May–June, he used the rick- of poor people’ in which the experiences and
shaw in the village. Throughout the monsoon, outcomes of migration are found to be depend-
July onwards, he worked in Delhi and returned ent to a profound extent on the economic
home for Durga puja. In the village, he and resources owned by households. The typology
Mamata harvested paddy at piece-rate wages and does not mean to obliterate inter-household
also carried the crops to the market in his rick- differences but only intends to treat them as
shaw for additional earnings. After Saraswati study groups where livelihoods were being
puja in February, he returned to Delhi. He found negotiated at varying degrees of vulnerabil-
his work strenuous but was able to balance both ity. Overall evaluation of the survey findings,
agricultural and non-agricultural work. In 2010, including the case studies, arrives at three main
Nakul fell ill in Delhi and returned to the village. conclusive arguments.
He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was First, migration was found to be driven
advised to take complete rest. During this time, by livelihood crisis that had been intensify-
Mamata ran the household with great difficulty ing in the study villages due to many factors.
and borrowed money repeatedly from relatives. While the landless were faced with diminish-
Their eldest son (15 years of age at the time) ing prospects to depend on local livelihoods,
proletarianization of small landholding agri- As reliance on a single source of income

cultural producers was also occurring in var- was impossible to meet the basic and expanded
ious degrees and diverse ways (Veltmeyer needs for reproduction in both villages, oppor-
& Wise, 2016). It was commonly argued by tunities for self- and wage employment need
farmers in both villages that escalating labour to expand and allow migrants to combine
shortages and high wages had reduced net survival strategies in ways that suit the needs
earnings from agriculture. In response to the and abilities of each household. However, in
labour crisis and low returns from cultivation, Malda, the government had restricted access
the conversion of cropland into orchards and to common property resources for fishing.
brick fields was accelerating. The area under Poor credit facilities were eroding away the
cultivation of labour-intensive crops like jute last remnants of petty commodity production
had drastically fallen. With very limited non- in traditional handicrafts and pottery. The
farm work options in the villages, male work- scope of opening mango processing and ‘bidi’
ers had little reason to remain available for rolling units in the village periphery to absorb
intermittent off-season farm operations. While female workers had not been explored. Many
male workers migrated out, the female work- of these activities were concentrated in towns
ers filled in these gaps to supplement house- away from the village. The inability of eco-
hold earnings from agriculture but remained nomic growth in generating adequate, produc-
trapped in low-wage work between the peak tive and sustained employment to its labour
seasons of sowing and harvesting. While some force to counter the disappearing of traditional
of these factors, such as declining size of oper- forms of livelihoods has been known to make
ational holdings, were inevitable due to demo- the poor imbibe a ‘spirit of enterprise’ through
graphic pressure, other initiatives required to adoption of risky, low-paid yet creative diversi-
prioritize employment creation within the rural fication of self-employment activities (Kannan
periphery had been compromised. For exam- & Raveendran, 2012). Even so, fishermen
ple, despite widely debated declining viability and potters migrate for wage employment at
of agriculture which is known to have wide construction sites under debt bondage. The
ramifications on farmers and landless house- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
holds (Bhalla, 2008), there was no visible ini- Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was pro-
tiative to open up new opportunities or revamp pounded to stem distress-driven migration.
the existing ones. The Cooch Behar village, in Cases of success have been reported in other
this case, was more backward than Malda in states (Ministry of Rural Development,
terms of work opportunities in the non-farm Government of India (MoRD), 2012a, 2012b)
labour market. Except for petty trading oppor- but in both the study villages its impact was
tunities in seasonal food crops and betel nuts inconsequential in terms of work genera-
(that required capital investment) and demand tion. During the reference year of the study,
for labour in minor house repair and allied 8 and 6 days of work had been generated in
activities, there was no other enterprises like the Malda and Cooch Behar villages, respec-
small manufacturing units or household indus- tively. Delay in wage payments further added
tries. The dearth of employment in the village to the mistrust of the workers in public work
is also reflected in the migration patterns of programmes.11 Evidence, therefore, strongly
male workers in Cooch Behar village which supports the case of distress-driven migration
were dominantly for long durations. for a majority of asset-poor households.
11
The performance of MGNREGS in the study villages reflects the case in the rest of the state as well. Records
in West Bengal show that 14, 25 and 21 average person days of work per household were generated in 2011–
2012, 2012 and 2013–2014, respectively (MoRD, 2012, 2013–2014).
Secondly, the barriers to migration had to adverse forms of incorporation that lim-
declined but so had social and work security. ited the possibilities for accumulation and
Global capital through its recruitment inter- achievement of long-term security (Hickey
mediaries had, to a large extent, removed & Du Toit, 2007; Phillips, 2011). Gooptu
the initial barriers to migrate for the poor by (2011) called this the adverse incorporation
offering work under debt bondage or even or the ‘paradox of inclusion’ where modes of
debt-free contracts. Work contracts that inclusion deepen the vulnerability and sub-
offered advance payments were easy modes ordination of the rural populace in the urban
of getting respite from unemployment for economy as they explore new-found pathways
respondents like Nakul from Malda and many of survival opened by global capital. Olsen
others in both villages because they lacked and Ramana Murthy’s (2000) study of the
resources other than their own labour power. Palamur labourers from the Mahbubnagar dis-
For households unable to access institutional trict in Andhra Pradesh discussed how wider
credit markets, the advance payments facil- structures have perpetuated the exploitation
itated mobility as well as petty investments. of migrants by capitalists and intermediaries.
Migrants preferred advance payments as it In both Cooch Behar and Malda, a number of
also carried an assurance that work would migrant households had been sliding down
be provided (Lerche, 2009). Because recruit- from already insecure financial positions as a
ment intermediaries and fellow migrants fallout of accidents at worksites and deterio-
in the labour gangs usually belonged to the rating health. Male members returning home
same and/or neighbouring villages, it reduced in feeble health, debt accumulation due to cost
the fear and hesitation to migrate to distant of health care and income losses exponen-
locales. Social reciprocity is known to be high tially exacerbated the vulnerability of women
in households that are involved in precarious and children in the households. Even in cases
livelihoods under ‘heightened vulnerability to where households managed to cope and sur-
downward plunges’ (Neves & du Toit, 2013; vive, the vulnerability to economic shocks
Vijay, 2005). Contracts such as ‘dadan’ had, continued due to the indispensability of a male
therefore, manipulatively capitalized on the member to regularly migrate for work.
insecurities of the poor in both villages, more Evidence from India as well as sub-
so in Malda. Such risky avenues were consid- Saharan Africa indicate that although the
ered to be more attractive because payment poor have higher migration propensities,
through manual labour appeared easier than the poorest lacking in the minimum thresh-
further dispossession and risk of accumulat- old capital often cannot afford the material
ing debt (Breman, Guerin & Prakash, 2009). costs of migrating (de Haan, 2002; de Haan
Advance payments also helped migrants to & Rogaly, 2002). In this regard, although the
avoid the pressures of searching for work, barriers to migrate had generally reduced in
fixing and bargaining wages with employers the villages, especially through the prevalence
and paying for travel, food and accommoda- of ‘dadan’ contracts, the absence of migrants
tion. As these migrants were drawn into the in households belonging to the lowest asset
fold of capital, it helped them overcome the group in the reference year initially appeared
initial costs but only at the expense of larger puzzling.12 The reasons for not migrating
risks that were unforeseen and inevitable. were reported as ill health of adult male mem-
Such contracts exposed vulnerable workers bers (where some of them had discontinued
12
Assets reflect the long-term economic condition of a household in a better way as it is accumulated over time
and its ownership does not change frequently in response to short-term income crisis (Filmer & Pritchett, 2001;
Moser & Felton, 2007). Data on household amenities, consumer durables and income-generating assets was
collected during the survey and a principal component analysis was used to create an index of low, medium
and high asset groups. Of all households in each village, 21 per cent in Cooch Behar and 39 per cent in Malda
migration after falling ill), absence of mem- higher remittances enabled them to invest in
bers that were free to migrate due to a high high value cash crops as well. As migration
dependency ratio and also the presence of along with agriculture complemented their
female-headed households with no adult income portfolios, consequences of withdraw-
males. As migration for work in both villages ing from either activity was considered to be
was predominantly male, female-headed potentially detrimental.
households with high dependency ratios had The case of landless migrants was even
been entirely bypassed from migration. This more critical as work contracts were short-
calls for the state and local governments to be term and fixed in tenure with the impossibil-
more sensitive towards intra-household bottle- ity of gaining a niche to settle permanently
necks that are difficult to overcome through in urban areas or take family members, espe-
the openness of migration corridors alone. cially women and children as workers or
According to Bryceson (2000) and Lerche non-workers. Even so, the nature of low-end
(2010), rural households do not have sufficient jobs that demanded extreme physical strain
resources to survive outside of agriculture. and willingness to work in adverse conditions
Why are livelihoods being suspended along in faraway places caused migrants to make
the rural–urban continuum rather than making short but repeated spells of migration. Skilled
clean exits from agriculture to non-agriculture? workers like Debu and Khurshid’s son, on the
Why are even the rural asset-less households other hand, were able to stay away from the
or ‘proletarians’ not able to relocate them- village for longer periods as their work and
selves permanently out of agriculture through accommodation was secured, unlike for those
migration? This brings us to the third argu- who worked as rickshaw pullers and/or con-
ment that underscores the continued relevance struction labourers, like Nakul. In the inter-
of agriculture in the livelihoods of farmers and mittent periods that appeared like ‘rest’, the
labourers despite the high rate of out-migra- landless and resource-poor migrants chased
tion from the villages. In the introductory sec- an array of seasonal employment opportuni-
tion of this chapter, the macroeconomic state ties in the village. Whether it was the sowing
of the secondary sector in absorbing workers and harvesting operations, loading potatoes in
exiting agriculture was highlighted. Field cold storages, mango plucking, pulling rick-
evidence conclude that slow proliferation of shaw and cycle vans in the village or com-
non-farm activities in the village, the tempo- muting to neighbouring towns as hawkers, the
rary nature of labour contracts and inadequate short break allowed migrants to return home.
absorption of workers in productive jobs in Any form of work in this period helped to
urban locales has reasserted the position of minimize the costs of not migrating and more
agriculture as an indispensable sector for the importantly to leave behind a small share of
toiling masses. Not only did landless house- earnings before embarking on another migra-
holds who were coping but also households tion spell. The interlinkage is thus between the
that were accumulating from migration (like resilience that migration provides to survive
Khurshid from Malda and Debu from Cooch during agriculturally-lean seasons and the
Behar) relied on agriculture and could not temporary window that agriculture in turn pro-
withdraw from either of the income sources. vides to escape the drudgery and return home
The ownership of agricultural land cushioned to work with family members. Livelihood in
the household from setbacks in migration and the absence of migration was feared to exacer-
gave migrants the ability to venture into risky bate economic vulnerability and the exit from
but better rewarding occupations. In return, agriculture (either as farmer or labourer) was
belonged to the lowest asset index group. Of these, 30 per cent households did not have a migrant member in
Malda and for Cooch Behar it was 50 per cent.
expected to increase the social costs of migra- to human feelings of fear, dignity and shame.
tion. By shuffling between worksites and Not surprisingly, resilience to such risks and
types of work multiple times over a lifetime, costs was not demonstrated by all households
an overwhelming majority of households were equally. With benefits of out-migration heav-
found to just manage ‘hanging in’ and reduce ily tilted towards the already better-off house-
the impact of a missing adult member in the holds, the distribution of resources whether
family to tolerable limits. Such strategic deci- private, such as land and livestock, and/or
sions made migrant families more resilient to public, such as access to common property
economic shocks but nevertheless, a vulnera- resources and beneficial employment drives,
ble class. Through migration and pluriactivity, demand the urgent attention of local govern-
the efforts of these households were directed ments. Multipronged interventions in the field
at building resilience to resist further dispos- of reviving traditional industries, promoting
session (Bernstein, 2006). self-employment through microenterprises,
To conclude, the low route to development supporting public investment in agriculture,
offers resilience to the swelling reserves of especially for cheap irrigation and cold stor-
cheap migrant labour under varying degrees of ages, are a few sectors that could expand the
‘unfreedom’ at work and adjustments at home. choice of work as well as strengthen workers’
Not all migrants viewed themselves as unfree agency vis-à-vis the dominance of capital in
workers but agreed that the prevailing eco- neo-bondage work structures.13 As migration
nomic circumstances and dearth of local alter- is a well-identified pathway to avail opportu-
natives in the village had subjected them to an nities that are otherwise absent in the village,
inferior position in the power relations where its potential in ushering social and economic
resistance at the individual level was easily change in the village is contingent on the pro-
crushed and scope of collective action was active role of the state so that the sum of all
weak. The terms of contracts were inflexible micro-efforts at individual household levels
to accommodate genuine absence from work can be collectively used for the realization of
without loss of earnings and were insensitive larger development goals.
13
The time-bound contract that ties the labourer with his employer but which is devoid of patronage relation-
ships is termed as ‘neo-bondage’ by Bremen et al. (2009).
APPENDIX 11A
Table 11A.1 Major Migration Streams in Study Villages

Occupation and Duration of a Average Number of
Village Season of migration Major Destinations Spell (in Months) Spells in a Year
Malda Casual wage labour in NCR/Punjab/ 2–3 2–3

construction (Jan–Mar, Chennai/Gujarat
Aug–Oct)
Rickshaw pulling (July–Oct, Delhi/Siliguri 0.5–2 2–4
Feb–April)
Paddy/Wheat Harvesting Uttar Dinajpur/ 0.5–1.5 1–2
(Nov–Dec and Mar–Apr) Malda (West Bengal)
Selling Fish for Farming Nepal/Chhattisgarh/ 1.5–2 1–2
(July–Sep, Nov–Jan) Bihar
Cooch Casual wage labour in Kerala/Rajasthan/ 2–4 2
Behar construction (Dec–May, Gujarat/Delhi/
July–Oct) Bhutan
Gold ornament making (not Assam 4–8 2
specific)
Source: Field Survey (2012–2013).

Note: All streams except crop harvesting in Malda village are rural to urban. Destinations were not mutually exclusive.
A migrant may have worked in one or more of the destinations in the reference year.
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12
Impact of Migration on
the Local Labour Markets
A i j a z A h m a d Tu r r e y
Tu l i k a Tr i p a t h i
INTRODUCTION of India, comprising 42.70 per cent males and

57.30 per cent females. A large proportion of
Migration of labour from one place to another these in-migrants were rural. The study covers
along with its trends, patterns and characteris- in-migrant workers in the valley who come
tics is an important indicator of development. each year from other states and union territo-
Movement of people within the country or ries of India, but will exclude local intradis-
outside the borders has a number of political, trict and interdistrict migrants within the state.
economic, cultural and social implications An overall picture of in-migration of labourers
for both source and destination places and in Kashmir Valley is based on an analysis of
people. Migrants may have either positive or the 2001 Census data, as data on in-migration
negative impacts upon the area, which may be of workers in the Valley was not available in
qualitative, quantitative or both. The present earlier censuses and the 2011 Census has not
study has been undertaken to study the high yet published its reports and data on labour
influx of in-migrants in the state of Jammu migration. However, the 2011 Census has
and Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir shown a provisional figure at the state level
Valley. Kashmir Valley comprises 10 districts, comprising 2,830,930 in-migrants based on
but the 2001 Census registered only six dis- the place of last residence. The study is quan-
tricts and the information is provided only titative in nature and is based on secondary
for those six districts. The 2001 Census data data. Relevant published reports, newspaper
reported a total of 709,004 in-migrants in the and journal articles, books and other online
Valley from other states and union territories sources were also considered during the study.
Impact of Migration on the Local Labour Markets 179
RESEARCH QUESTIONS SOCIAL PROFILE OF IN-MIGRANTS IN

KASHMIR VALLEY
The study looks at the following aspects of
migration: Migration is an important factor responsible
for changing the population growth, size and
1. What are the socio-economic characteristics of sex ratio and work availability in a region. The
in-migrant workers in Kashmir Valley? census provides a broad information about
2. What are the causes of in-migration in Kashmir different socio-economic characteristics of
Valley?
migrants such as marital status, locality, age
profile, employment status, gender, education
Kashmir Valley is a hilly area having a harsh
level, languages spoken, religion and national-
climate in winter and requires people to com-
ity. Since the Valley is a conflict zone, it has not
plete their work, especially of cultivation and
been possible for the census surveyors and the
construction, in a short period mainly from
authorities to cover all the aspects of migrants.
April to November. The labour demand during
A detailed social profile of in-migrants in the
this period remains high. This attracts a large
Valley is provided below.
number of labourers from other states of India,
especially from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab
and West Bengal (Wani, 2014). There is also a
shortage of local labourers in Kashmir Valley. Sex and Locality of In-migrants
Furthermore, the local labourers are consid- Locality, sex and gender identity play an impor-
ered lazy, disinterested and costly, having tant role in shaping the migration movement.
a leisure-seeking mentality and giving less The relationships, movements and expecta-
preference to manual work (Singh, 2013). The tions in being a rural, urban, male, female and
state also has the highest daily wage rate only transgender significantly affect the migration
after Kerala as reported by the Labour Bureau, dynamics and social networks. Usually people
Government of India. The Valley is visited by prefer to move and stay in a similar environ-
both Muslim and non-Muslim in-migrants. ment and want to follow the same rural/urban
However, Muslim in-migrants find Kashmir character. Individuals of different sexual char-
a preferable place compared with non- acteristics experience migration differently,
Muslims (Haque, 2014). The results provided with their own unique set of welfares and
by the 2001 Census show a lot of variation in complications (International Organization for
the in-migration flow across the Valley. Migration, 2015). Table 12.1 provides a brief
Table 12.1 In-migrant Workers Classified by Locality, Sex and All Durations of Residence in
Place of Enumeration
Total In-migrants
Area Name Total Rural Urban Male Female
Kashmir Valley 709,004 493,278 215,726 302,773 406,231

Kupwara 67,275 58,582 8,693 28,569 38,706
Baramulla 97,842 65,764 32,078 48,327 49,515
Srinagar 153,534 29,390 124,144 86,439 67,095
Badgam 83,088 73,847 9,241 31,497 51,591
Pulwama 122,325 109,382 12,943 36,321 86,004
Anantnag 184,940 156,313 28,627 71,620 113,320
Source: Computed by the authors based on Census 2001.

Table 12.2 Percentage Distribution of In-migrant Workers in the Valley Classified by Age and
Duration of Residence, 0–9 Years
Total Migrants (%)
Age Group Kashmir Valley Kupwara Baramulla Srinagar Badgam Pulwama Anantnag
All ages 96,148 9.63 9.33 26.78 11.99 13.91 28.36

0–9 13,665 14.91 9.89 25.29 16.38 3.61 29.92
10–19 12,432 7.58 12.79 32.87 9.65 7.29 29.82
20–29 39,633 9.74 7.38 20.76 12.82 20.38 28.92
30–39 17,461 8.59 9.00 28.87 10.85 16.68 26.01
40–49 6,758 7.27 11.14 41.02 9.22 7.59 23.76
50–59 3,029 6.31 12.18 37.64 7.43 7.72 28.72
60–69 1,569 6.95 13.32 31.99 8.92 5.93 32.89
70–79 815 5.89 16.93 27.48 7.61 10.80 31.29
80+ 361 8.31 13.57 31.02 4.99 8.87 33.24
Age not stated 425 10.59 3.76 44.71 9.88 6.35 24.71
account of masculinity and locality back- Age Structure of In-migrants

ground of in-migrants in the valley.
A district-level picture of in-migration in Age is one of the important indicators in
the valley shows that there is a lot of varia- choosing a particular work. It determines
tion across districts with regard to residence the working capacity of migrants. Generally,
and gender of in-migrants. The table clearly migrants in the age group 15–59 years are
shows that major in-migration has taken place considered active and capable of doing all
in Anantnag district, accounting for about 26 sorts of work. Moreover, they can also sur-
per cent, whereas Kupwara district shows the vive harsh conditions of work and stay. It has
least number of in-migrants (9.49%). Srinagar also been found that migrants from rural areas
is the only city in the Valley, but it ranks second are usually younger than those from urban
in terms of in-migrant workers, followed by areas (Nair, 2005). A brief age composition of
Pulwama, Baramulla and Badgam. Majority of in-migrants in Kashmir Valley along with its
the rural in-migrants were found in Pulwama districts is provided in Table 12.2.
district, comprising mostly female work- The age-wise distribution of in-migrants
ers (70.30%). Most of the urban in-migrants, in the valley highlights that the majority
especially males, have dominance in Srinagar of these in-migrants were in the age group
city due to its urbanized character, whereas in of 20–29 years, comprising almost 41 per
all other districts, rural in-migrants dominate, cent of total in-migrants, whereas the least
with a majority of female in-migrants. The dif- number of in-migrants were in the age group
ference between Srinagar city and other rural of 80 and above, almost 0.37 per cent. It
districts can easily be understood. Urban male means that a major portion of in-migrant
in-migrants prefer to migrate towards cities or workers in Kashmir Valley comprised youth,
urban areas, whereas rural in-migrants, espe- whereas a very small portion of them com-
cially women in-migrant workers, are migrating prised elderly people. It also indicates that
towards rural areas. It is clearly rural-to-rural the number of migrants tends to decline
and urban-to-urban stream of migration. with an increase in age. The second largest
Table 12.3 Percentage Distribution of In-migrant Workers in the Valley Classified by Marital
Status and Duration of Residence, 0–9 Years
Marital Status (%)
Area Name Total In-migrants Never Married Currently Married Widowed Divorced and Separated
Kashmir Valley 96,148 33.31 65.18 1.34 0.17

Kupwara 9,255 36.38 62.07 1.40 0.15
Baramulla 8,970 37.56 60.48 1.79 0.17
Srinagar 25,750 45.69 53.06 1.13 0.12
Badgam 11,525 34.06 64.80 1.00 0.14
Pulwama 13,376 9.84 88.89 1.11 0.16
Anantnag 27,272 30.39 67.78 1.63 0.20
category of in-migrants in the valley was in localities, especially those who are outsiders.
the age group of 30–39 years, which in India Sometimes due to intermarriages between
mostly includes the married population. It is in-migrant workers and local women, a lot of
immediately followed by the in-migration tension arises among the local people. Local
of children in the age group of 0–9 years, people in Kashmir feel discomfort due to such
who often migrate along with their house- actions of in-migrants (Singh, 2013).
hold/family. There is a lot of variation when Table 12.3, showing the marital status
we look at the district-wise age structure of of in-migrants across the Valley, highlights
in-migrants in the Valley. The overall picture that more than half of the total in-migrants
of the Valley reflects that Kashmir Valley, (65.18%) in the Valley are having a currently
more or less, has been visited by in-migrants married status. It is also true for the differ-
of all age groups. ent districts of the Valley. Never-married in-
migrants in the Valley constitute about 33.3
per cent, which is lower when compared at
the district level, except for Anantnag and
Marital Status of In-migrants
Pulwama districts. The least number of in-
Marital status is an important factor affect- migrants are in the category of divorced and
ing the decisions to migrate. Usually males separated for the districts and for the Valley as
migrate more than females. But after mar- a whole. The widowed in-migrants were 1–2
riage, married females migrate more often per cent in all the districts. The results of mar-
than married males. In some states like West ital status for in-migrants in the valley match
Bengal and Bihar, married migrants have the results of the total migrants in the country
been found migrating alone rather than with as per the 2001 census. The pressure to earn
their families. On the other hand, in Kerala, and support the family may fall on the male
migrants have been found migrating with partner after marriage, which results in the
their household. Similarly, migration is more increasing number of married male migrants.
common among migrants who are single than
those who are married. It is also important to
note that males are more likely singles than
females (Singh, 1986). Many a time, it is diffi- ECONOMIC PROFILE OF IN-MIGRANTS
cult for in-migrant workers to find residential IN KASHMIR VALLEY
areas to reside on account of their singleness.
Most people do not find it comfortable to keep In India, migration of people has been an
unmarried males in their houses or in their important phenomenon affecting social and
economic development. It is one of the impor- and packing of fruits, petty trade and sales,
tant livelihood strategies in India (Rajan, at construction sites and brick-kilns, and as
2013). The labour market in the Indian sce- street hawkers, painters, masons, carpenters
nario has been identified by the movement of and coolies, etc.
people mainly from the rural and backward
areas towards developed areas in search of
employment. It is especially for the unskilled
people who move from relatively destitute REASONS FOR IN-MIGRATION IN
and miserable areas in search of produc- KASHMIR VALLEY
tive employment and higher living (Connell,
1976). Kashmir Valley is a rural area attract- Movement of people in India is an important
ing a large number of labourers from both process affecting the socio-economic life of
rural and urban areas of other states especially people. People migrate for various reasons, of
from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal which livelihood generation is foremost. This
(Wani, 2014). The main attraction pulls for movement is affected by both pull and push
these migrants are higher wages and availabil- factors. The Census of India (2001) identi-
ity of work. Kashmir is called by many as the fied seven important reasons of migration.
‘Second Gulf’ for its high wages. The wages In Kashmir Valley, the important reasons of
per day usually range between `300 and `400, in-migration are found to be work/employ-
which are almost double of what one earns in ment, business, education, marriage, moved
other states of India (Singh, 2013). According at birth, moved with household and others.
to the data compiled by central government’s The most important role in this migration has
Labour Bureau, Jammu and Kashmir has the been played by education, employment and
second highest agricultural (`382.14) and marriage. Among the males, the main reason
non-agricultural (`401.58) average daily for migration has been found to be employ-
wage rates in the country. Along with wages, ment, while among females, it is marriage.
in-migrant labourers are also provided tea and In this regard, Agnihotri, Mazumdar and
food two times per working day. They are also Neetha (2012) mentioned that census is allow-
provided with better accommodation facili- ing respondents to give only one reason for
ties than in other places of India and are free migration and thus ignoring the other reasons
from communal tensions or anti-sentiment for the same respondent. Since the census
issues. A study by Haque (2014) showed that data for 2001 provided information on the
in-migration to Kashmir Valley has resulted basis of urban agglomeration (UA) for Jammu
in positive benefits for in-migrants. There is a and Kashmir Valley, it is not possible here to
positive change in their living standard. They give a separate picture for different reasons of
are now living a more satisfactory life than in-migration at the district level in the valley.
ever before. Their incomes have increased For Kashmir Valley, data has been provided
and they are sending relatively more remit- for Srinagar UA, which is a combination of
tances to their families. They have been able three districts, namely Srinagar, Badgam and
to send their children to schools, which was Pulwama. The reasons for in-migration pro-
not possible previously. Their daily consump- vided are for these three districts together. It
tion and savings have increased and they have is also important to note here that the results
become capable of building their own houses. obtained on the basis of these three districts
Many a time, they work on contracts, charging will be applicable to the entire Valley. It is
`700 per kanal (5,400 square feet land), but also helpful to understand the in-migrant pref-
they most often work on a daily wage basis. erence with regard to different reasons in the
The main areas where these in-migrants work Kashmir Valley and Jammu region. Table 12.4
include sowing and cutting of crops, picking provides a comparison of Kashmir Valley with
Table 12.4 In-migrant Workers Classified by All Durations of Residence and Reasons for
Migration
Reason for Migration
Work/ Moved after Moved with
Area Name Employment Business Education Marriage Birth Household Others
Jammu UA Total 36,402 2,589 3,206 28,383 1,827 58,696 95,953

Male 31,282 2,032 2,039 718 1,115 23,321 53,726
Female 5,120 557 1,167 27,665 712 35,375 42,227
Srinagar Total 7,757 288 1,263 4,028 373 7,059 86,167
UA Male 7,150 207 910 201 199 2,896 51,310
(District
Female 607 81 353 3,827 174 4,163 34,857
03, 04
and 05)

Note: 03, Srinagar; 04, Badgam; 05, Pulwama.
the Jammu division in terms of differences in of the reasons are similar to those of the coun-
reasons for migration. try. The main reason for migration of males
The difference in in-migrant inflows in the was work/employment, and for females, it
Jammu region and Kashmir Valley with regard was marriage after the category of moved with
to reasons for migration is mainly on account household. Thus, it can be said that economic
of the difference in people, culture, religion reasons attract males and non-economic rea-
and development. Since the Jammu region is sons attract female in-migrants in Kashmir
more developed and relatively peaceful than Valley. In a discussion with the investigators
Kashmir, there would be lot of employment in the census offices, it also became clear
opportunities and high scope for business. De that in-migrants have p rovided a number of
Hann (2011) pointed out that jobless growth reasons for migration that seem to be totally
of economy in the country is the main cause different from the divided categories such as
of male migration. As far as the reason of a good environment, nice local people and
marriage is concerned, it is very much high beautiful scenery. Even many migrants have
for female in-migrants in both Jammu and given more than one reason for migration and
Kashmir. It is due to the fact that after mar- could not focus on any particular reason due
riage, females have to go along with their hus- to the threatening and conflicting environment
bands (Chhikara & Kodan, 2012). The sex ratio of the Valley.
in the state according to the 2001 Census was
889, which is low, and thus, marriage is one of
the significant causes of female in-migrants.
The main reason for in-migration in Kashmir IMPACT OF IN-MIGRATION ON THE
Valley is that of shortage of local labour. The LOCAL LABOUR MARKET
in-migrants master all skills and also work late
hours. They are easily available in the length Migration of labour is a trans-regional pro-
and breadth of the valley and do not hesitate cess and cannot be solved by either sending
in doing any work (Farid, 2015). An analysis or receiving areas alone. It is a bilateral pro-
of reasons for in-migration in Kashmir Valley cess and upsets both areas. The impact of
shows that males dominate migration in both this movement varies from nation to nation
Jammu and Kashmir in the category of others, and from state to state within a nation.
which covers majority of the in-migrants. Rest These impacts in different regions depend
on the composition, extent and character- labour and beggars in the Valley. They are
istics of immigration flows. The outcomes also responsible for reducing wages and the
of this movement can be both beneficial work space to a large extent (Wani, 2014).
and undesirable, resulting from age, skill
level, geographical location, social back-
ground and gender of migrants (International
Organization for Migration, 2004). The CONCLUSION
in-migrant labour market in Kashmir Valley
is rooted and still growing. This rapid flow Kashmir Valley is receiving seasonal and
has an effective impact on the local labour- short-term in-migrants in large numbers
ers and economy of the Valley. A lot of pres- from different parts of the country like Uttar
sure has increased on the basic amenities. Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and West Bengal
These in-migrants are available everywhere despite having worse political and geograph-
in the Valley as local people demand them ical conditions. These in-migrants have not
and feel it economically profitable. The been covered in earlier studies, and state sta-
dependence on in-migrants is increasing day tistics is also silent about these in-migrants.
by day. There is no proper estimate of these This makes Kashmir Valley a peculiar area to
in-migrant workers. Studies have suggested stay. These in-migrant workers are seasonal
that it may become a threat for the economy in character as most of them stay for sum-
in the long run (Hussain, 2012). It will also mers only and leave the valley in the winter
create problems for the authorities in fram- season. This process of in-migration in the
ing proper developmental policies as there is Valley shows that rural in-migrants prefer to
no registration record of these in-migrants. stay in rural areas, whereas urban in-migrants
There is also a loss of finance from the state, prefer cities. Thus, the in-migration process in
which in-migrants are sending to their native the Valley is rural to rural and urban to urban.
states in the form of remittances. A journalist It is also evident that the entire in-migration
expressed fear that Kashmiris will soon lose in the Valley has been dominated by female
hold over their economy, as migrants might in-migrant workers. The main reason for the
be soon found working even on handlooms in-migrant pull in the Valley is shortage of
and shawls (Singh, 2013). There is a conflict local labour, higher wages and more demand
between local labourers and in-migrants at and employment opportunities. The data also
many places. The local labourers are also not reflects that Kashmir Valley, more or less, has
comfortable with these migrants and often been visited by in-migrants of all age groups.
indulge in quarrels. The in-migrants are As far as the marital status of the in-migrants
believed to be responsible for bringing down is concerned, more than half of them have a
the wage rate. As such, the local labourers recently-married status indicating that the
often threaten them and do not permit them Valley is visited mostly by young in-migrants.
to work at many places (Hussain, 2012).
The huge number of in-migrants compelled
local labourers to move to other parts of the
country by rendering them jobless. The local REFERENCES
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13
Demographic and Social Profile*
S. Irudaya Rajan
Bernard D’Sami
S. Samuel Asir Raj
P. S i v a k u m a r
Migration is all about people crossing inter- INTERSTATE MIGRATION FROM

national borders or state borders in India. The TAMIL NADU
Tamil Nadu Migration Survey (TMS) 2015
captured both the movements from and to The number of out-migrants (OMIs) from and
Tamil Nadu. As Tamil Nadu shares borders return out-migrants (ROMs) to Tamil Nadu
with at least four states, namely, Karnataka, is estimated at 1.02 million and 0.91 mil-
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry, the lion, respectively. The total number of inter-
movement of people for work to these neigh- state OMIs (both OMIs and return emigrants
bouring states was regular. In all, 1.93 million together) is 1.93 million. On the other hand,
(close to 2 million) people from Tamil Nadu the number of emigrants, return emigrants
moved for work to these neighbouring states. and non-resident Tamils (emigrants and return
Tamil Nadu is a state which also receives emigrants together) is estimated at 2.2 mil-
migrant workers from other states (northern lion, 1.3 million and 3.5 million, respectively
and eastern states) for construction work. Also, (Rajan, Sami and Raj, 2017). In recent years,
they work in large numbers in the manufactur- emigrants have outnumbered OMIs. In order
ing sector. This chapter examines the dynamics to assess the internal migration scenario, we
of internal migration with all its complexities have estimated OMIs and return emigrants per
through the household (HH) survey conducted 100 HH for all districts of Tamil Nadu. At the
in 2015 in 20,000 HHs in Tamil Nadu (similar state level, therefore, to assess the probable
study in Kerala, please see, Zachariah, Mathew outcome of migration among the migrants,
and Rajan, 2003; Zachariah and Rajan, 2012, the distribution is measured as per 1,000 HH.
2016; Rajan and Zachariah, 2017). According to this index, Tamil Nadu reported
* This chapter is part of a larger project report submitted to the Government of Tamil Nadu by the authors. All
figures and tables have been developed by the authors based on the Tamil Nadu Migration Survey, led by the
senior author of this paper at the Centre for Development Studies.
Demographic and Social Profile 187
51 OMIs per 1,000 HH and 45 ROMs per districts among the top 10 OMI population are
1,000 HH. Coimbatore (48,346), Vellore (42,366) and
The TMS 2015 classifies districts in Tamil Dharmapuri (35,635) and the non-state border
Nadu based on OMI per HH and ROM per districts among the top 10 OMI population
HH as indicated in Figures 13.1 and 13.2. are Viluppuram (78,526), Chennai (73,107),
According to OMI per HH data, districts Salem (40,126) and Namakkal (39,636).
such as Krishnagiri, Tiruppur and Tirunelveli The ROMs population is highest in Salem
account for high internal migrants compared district (109,857). Along with Salem and
with other districts. The ROM map points out Tirunelveli, the trail of districts that recur
that Salem, Karur, Madurai and Theni have in the list of those with high ROM popula-
more ROMs. Evidently, these districts are tion include Madurai (93,940), Tirunelveli
likely to send OMIs, and it is highly likely (66,543), Vilupuram (63,897), Chennai
that these migrants will return. In this chapter, (58,936), Vellore (55,283), Krishnagiri
we will also discuss OMI and ROM at a more (45,416) and Dharmapuri (39,313). Districts
disaggregated level, including taluk-wise new to this list other than Madurai are Theni
migrant distribution and the demographic and (46,664) and Kancheepuram (38,312).
social profiles of OMIs and ROMs. Around 5.8 per cent of the total HHs
The districts of Tamil Nadu are classified have one or more OMIs. Approximately, 4.1
under four categories: per cent of the total HHs in Tamil Nadu have
one or more ROMs. These HH-level statistics
1. Districts with more than 100 migrants per 1,000 assist in analysing the distribution of migrants
HH among the HHs.
2. Districts that have 50–100 migrants per 1,000 HH
3. Districts with 20–50 migrants per 1,000 HH
4. Districts with less than 20 migrants per 1,000 HH
Taluk-level Analysis
The ranges are kept open as some numbers are
The taluk-level distribution of both OMIs
skewed for easy representation in the map. For
and ROMs indicates that Chennai is the taluk
example, Krishnagiri district has 229 OMIs out
with the most migrants in both categories,
of 1,000 HH and around three districts have no
estimated at 73,107 OMI and 58,936 ROM,
ROMs in 1,000 HH. Figure 8.1 is a representation
respectively (Table 13.2). After Chennai
of the likelihood of the district to send migrants,
comes Tiruppur taluk (and district head-
and the skewness is ignored to make it inclusive.
quarters) of Tiruppur district with 57,428
migrants in the list, based on the estimated
number of OMIs. Four taluks—Radhapuram
(49,900), Tenkasi (44,429), Alangulam
OUT-MIGRANTS IN TAMIL NADU
(31,976) and Ambasamudram (26,503)—
from Tirunelveli district are among the
District-Level Analysis 10 taluks with the most OMIs. Other than
Among the districts in Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli these, two taluks—Krishnagiri (46,570) and
(158,964), Krishnagiri (114,665) and Tiruppur Denkanikottai (31,480)—from Krishnagiri
(83,654) record the highest OMI popula- district, Namakkal taluk (31,024) from
tions (Table 13.1). Tiruppur and Tirunelveli Namakkal district and Vilavancode (31,229)
districts share their borders with Kerala, and from Kanyakumari district are among the 10
Krishnagiri district shares its border with ranking on the list with the most OMIs. Most
Karnataka and is located close to Bengaluru taluks are in close proximity with the border
city (capital of Karnataka). Other state border of one of the three states.
Tamil Nadu OMI Per 1,000 HH = 51 Thiruvallur
Chennai
Vellore
Kancheepuram
Tiruvannamalai
Krishnagiri
Dharmapuri
Viluppuram
Salem
Erode Cuddalore
The Nilgiris
Namakkal
Perambalur
Ariyalur Nagapattinam
Coimbatore Tiruppur Tiruchirappalli

Karur
Thanjavur
Thiruvaur
Pudukkottai
Dindigul
Sivaganga
Madurai
Theni
Virudhunagar
Ramanathapuram
Thoothukudi
Tirunelveli
OMI Per 1,000 HH
>100
50−100
20−50
Kanyakumari < 20
Figure 13.1 Distribution of Out–Migrants per 1,000 HH across Districts in Tamil Nadu, 2015
In the number of ROMs, Madurai south as well. The Salem taluk (38,322) and other
(54,292) is the taluk that comes second to three taluks—Kallakurichi (28,143), Attur
Chennai with most ROMs, whereas Tenkasi (18,693) and Ulundurpettai (16,746)—which
(39,223) and Vilavancode (17,042) are among are in close proximity to Salem are among
the top 10 taluks based on the number of ROMs the top 10 ROMs. It is imperative to note that
Thiruvallur
Tamil Nadu ROM Per 1,000 HH = 45
Chennai
Vellore
Kancheepuram
Krishnagiri
Tiruvannamalai
Dharmapuri
Viluppuram
Salem
Erode Cuddalore
The Nilgiris
Namakkal
Perambalur
Ariyalur Nagapattinam
Coimbatore Tiruchirappalli
Tiruppur Karur
Thanjavur
Thiruvaur
Pudukkottai
Dindigul
Sivaganga
Madurai
Theni
Virudhunagar Ramanathapuram
Thoothukudi
ROM Per 1,000 HH

Tirunelveli
>100
50−100
20−50
Kanyakumari <20
Figure 13.2 Distribution of Return Out–Migrants per 1,000 HH across Districts in Tamil Nadu,
2015
Ulundurpettai and Kallakurichi taluks belong Theni taluk and Vellore taluk (district head-
to the Viluppuram district, though they are quarters) from Vellore district are other taluks
near Salem and Attur taluks which are in the in the list.
Salem district. Uthampalayam (30,163) from
Table 13.1 Districts with Most Number of Table 13.2 Taluks with Most Number of OMIs
OMIs and ROMs and ROMs
S. S.
No. District OMI District ROM No. Taluk OMI Taluk ROM
1 Tirunelveli 158,964 Salem 109,857 1 Chennai 73,107 Chennai 58,936

2 Krishnagiri 114,665 Madurai 93,940 2 Tiruppur 57,428 Madurai South 54,292
3 Tiruppur 83,654 Tirunelveli 66,543 3 Radhapuram 49,900 Tenkasi 39,223
4 Viluppuram 78,526 Viluppuram 63,897 4 Krishnagiri 46,570 Salem 38,322
5 Chennai 73,107 Chennai 58,936 5 Tenkasi 44,429 Uthamapalayam 30,163
6 Coimbatore 48,346 Vellore 55,283 6 Alangulam 31,976 Kallakurichi 28,143
7 Vellore 42,366 Theni 46,664 7 Denkanikottai 31,480 Vellore 21,046
8 Salem 40,126 Krishnagiri 45,416 8 Vilavancode 31,229 Attur 18,693
9 Namakkal 39,636 Dharmapuri 39,313 9 Namakkal 31,024 Vilavancode 17,042
10 Dharmapuri 35,635 Kancheepuram 38,312 10 Ambasamudram 26,503 Ulundurpettai 16,746
The list of taluks classified by most migrants STATES RECEIVING INTERNAL

per HH is also provided for better understand- MIGRANTS FROM TAMIL NADU
ing of the likelihood of migration among the
taluks. Alangulam (62 OMIs from 100 HH), Karnataka receives the most OMIs from Tamil
Radhapuram (58 OMIs from 100 HH) and Nadu (Table 13.4, see also Table 13A.1). It
Denkanikottai (36 OMIs from 100 HH) are had 43.1 per cent of total OMIs in 2015 and
among the top taluks with the most OMI per shared 38.8 per cent of the total ROMs. This
100 HH. Among the taluks with the most difference in the share of the OMIs from
ROM per 100 HH, Alangulam has 28 ROMs Karnataka shows that the state has always
per 100 HH which is the highest, followed been the favourite settlement of Tamil OMIs.
by the Tenkasi (25 per 100 HH) and Edapadi The destination which has the second high-
taluks (24 per 100 HH) (from Salem district). est number of OMI (17.8% share) and ROM
Other top taluks are shown in Table 13.3. (22.8% share) population is Kerala. Both
Karnataka and Kerala are neighbouring states
of Tamil Nadu.
Table 13.3 Taluks with Most Number of OMIs per 100 HH and ROMs per 100 HH
S. No. Taluk Name OMI per 100 HH Taluk Name ROM per 100 HH
1 Alangulam 61.8 Alangulam 27.3

2 Radhapuram 58.0 Tenkasi 25.5
3 Denkanikottai 36.3 Edappadi 24.0
4 Krishnagiri 29.9 Uthamapalayam 23.3
5 Tenkasi 28.9 Kallakurichi 22.4
6 Aravakurichi 23.4 Pennagaram 22.0
7 Vilavancode 18.8 Thuraiyur 20.0
8 Sankarapuram 17.1 Aravakurichi 20.0
9 Hosur 16.2 Ulundurpettai 18.0
10 Harur 16.0 Melur 16.0
Another alluring settlement for Tamil marriage of siblings/children, and student

Nadu OMIs is Maharashtra, which has the migration makes up 1.5 per cent of the
third highest OMI population and is the only ROM population and 2 per cent of the OMI
non-neighbour of Tamil Nadu which shares population.
over 5 per cent of both OMI and ROM popu- It can be observed from Table 13.5 that
lation. It comes fourth in the list of states with accumulating savings is not a popular reason
the most ROM population. Andhra Pradesh, among the OMIs as against the EMIs. It
with 8.1 per cent of total OMI and 12.2 per shows that migration for financial incentives
cent of total ROM, is another state which is not observed in the case of internal OMIs.
receives over 5 per cent of the total ROM pop- From the study, it also emerged that ‘Family
ulation but shares borders with Tamil Nadu. Accompanied’ migration has 21.7 per cent
share in case of OMIs, and it is only 3 per cent
of the total share in the case of ROMs. This
REASONS FOR MIGRATION AMONG clearly shows that those migrating out of the
OMIs AND ROMs FROM TAMIL NADU state are more likely to return if they migrate
alone than if they moved with their family.
Most OMI population from the state has
migrated to ‘Get Employment’ as with any
other migrant population. In case of internal
migration, this is a natural phenomenon as DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL PROFILE
shortage of opportunities in one job market OF OMIs
automatically triggers the search for a job in
the next nearest job market. Age and Sex Composition
Up to 68.4 per cent of the total OMI pop-
ulation has migrated to ‘Get Employment’, It is common for people of all age groups to
whereas 21.7 per cent has accompanied their migrate, while the reasons to migrate differ
family in their migration. This is one of the across different age groups. In case of the
prime reasons for female OMI and migrating OMI population of Tamil Nadu, the age group
to get employment comes next. As much as 20–24 years represents the maximum number
86.5 per cent of the ROM population migrated of total migrants across all ages, that is, 26.9
to get employment. Around 4 per cent of both per cent of the total OMI population migrates
ROM and OMI population migrated after at this age. The age group 25–29 years also
shares 22.4 per cent of the total OMIs. Both
Table 13.4 States Receiving OMIs and ROMs from Tamil Nadu
OMI (% Share) ROM (% Share)
S. No. State Male Female Total State Male Female Total
1 Karnataka 43.4 42.0 43.1 Karnataka 38.2 45.7 38.8

2 Kerala 18.5 15.3 17.8 Kerala 22.6 25.7 22.8
3 Maharashtra 11.0 19.1 12.8 Andhra Pradesh 13.0 2.9 12.2
4 Andhra Pradesh 8.8 5.7 8.1 Maharashtra 8.7 17.1 9.3
5 Pondicherry 2.9 6.9 3.8 New Delhi 3.0 5.7 3.3
6 Gujarat 3.0 1.5 2.7 Gujarat 2.3 1.4 2.2
7 New Delhi 2.3 2.7 2.4 Pondicherry 1.7 0.0 1.6
8 Jammu & Kashmir 1.7 0.4 1.4 Rajasthan 1.2 0.0 1.1
9 West Bengal 1.3 0.8 1.2 Odisha 1.1 0.0 1.0
10 Madhya Pradesh 0.9 1.1 0.9 Jammu & Kashmir 1.0 0.0 0.9
Table 13.5 Reasons for Migration among OMIs and ROMs, 2015
OMI ROM
Reason for Migration Male Female Total Male Female Total
Get employment 81.5 22.9 68.4 87.2 78.6 86.5

Accumulate savings 2.2 0.8 1.9 2.3 0.0 2.1
Marriage of siblings/children 4.3 3.8 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.3
Construction/purchase of house 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.2
Repay debts 0.1 0.0 0.1 1.0 0.0 0.9
Education 1.5 3.4 2.0 1.1 5.7 1.5
Family accompanied 9.0 65.6 21.7 2.4 10.0 3.0
Others 1.2 3.4 1.7 1.5 1.4 1.5
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
these age groups typically represent the age years, which represents 26 per cent of the total
when people migrate for employment and ROM (Table 13.7). It decreases from there,
settle down with their family after marriage. with the age group 25–29 years representing
The age group 30–39 years also represents 19.6 per cent of the total population and the
18.4 per cent of the total migrants. This age group 30–34 years representing 16.5 per
appears common across both male and female cent of the total ROMs. The volume of migra-
OMI population as observed in Table 13.6. tion is higher in the ROM population until the
One peculiar phenomenon is the considerable age of 54 years, after which it diminishes.
amount of migration (11.7 per cent of total Average age of first migration among the
OMI) happening from 0 to 4 years, and this is OMI population is 24 years as against the
represented equally among male and female ROM population, for whom it is 29 years.
population (see female share of 49.3 per cent These numbers do not reveal much except the
in the age group 0–4 years). One plausible fact that the migrants who migrated in their
explanation is that migration with family is late 20s are more likely to return than the
becoming an increasing trend among the OMI ones in the older age groups. This is a prim-
population in Tamil Nadu. This could be the itive observation and one that needs further
only reason for migration of children between research and observation of data at disaggre-
the ages 0 and 4 years as they are accompa- gate levels.
nied by their family, and this category has a
higher share in the OMI population than in the
ROM population (around 1.1%).
Religion-wise Distribution of
Observation of female migration across age
Migrants
groups shows that the migration of male and
female population is equal up to early teenage, Not unexpectedly, Hindus are the dominant
and from the age of 15 years, the male popu- OMI population in Tamil Nadu with 88.2 per
lation is dominant in migration. In fact, in the cent share of the OMI and 91.9 per cent of the
age groups of 20–24 and 25–29 years, when ROM population (Table 13.8). Christians share
migration was at its peak, the female popula- 7.6 per cent of the OMI population and 4.2
tion constituted only around 8 per cent of the per cent of the ROM population, and Muslims
total migrants. share around 4 per cent of both ROM and OMI
The ROM population shows similar num- population. Number of migrants per 100 HHs
bers as that of OMI, migration increasing in indicates that all the three religions—Hindus,
the early ages and peaking at the age of 20–24 Muslims and Christians—in Tamil Nadu are
Table 13.6 Age Composition of Out-Migrants, Table 13.7 Age Composition of Return Out-
2015 Migrants, 2015
Age at OMI Age at ROM
First Percentage First Percentage
Migration Male Female Total of Female Migration Males Females Total of Females
0–4 7.6 25.6 11.7 49.3 0–4 0.7 5.7 1.1 40.0
5–9 1.2 3.4 1.7 45.0 5–9 0.4 1.4 0.4 25.0
10–14 1.3 3.1 1.7 40.0 10–14 2.4 2.9 2.5 9.1
15–19 10.2 8.8 9.9 20.0 15–19 8.9 11.4 9.1 9.9
20–24 26.8 27.5 26.9 22.9 20–24 26.0 25.7 26.0 7.8
25–29 23.6 18.3 22.4 18.4 25–29 19.4 21.4 19.6 8.6
30–34 12.5 5.7 11.0 11.7 30–34 17.1 10.0 16.5 4.8
35–39 8.5 3.4 7.4 10.5 35–39 9.5 8.6 9.4 7.1
40–44 3.0 1.9 2.7 15.6 40–44 5.6 5.7 5.6 8.0
45–49 2.9 1.5 2.6 13.3 45–49 4.1 5.7 4.3 10.5
50–54 1.2 0.4 1.0 8.3 50–54 3.3 0.0 3.0 0.0
55–59 0.8 0.4 0.7 12.5 55–59 1.5 1.4 1.5 7.7
60–64 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 60–64 1.0 0.0 0.9 0.0
65–69 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 65–69 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 22.5 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 7.9
at the level of 5.1 OMI per 100 HHs. In the There are more illiterate women among the
case of ROM, Hindus reported the highest total migrant women, and the female popula-
OMI per HH at 4.7, followed by Muslims at tion that has completed secondary schooling
3.8 and Christians reported the lowest at 2.9. is 20.6 per cent of the total. This proportion is
A significant observation is that Muslims are 32.1 per cent among males.
not as likely to migrate within India as much
as they are to migrating overseas (as observed
from Muslims OMI per HH and REM (return
Employment Status of Interstate
emigrant) per HH).
Migrants
Increased gainful employment is one of the
Education Attainment results of migration. Overall unemployment
rate among OMIs is 11.3 and around 7.5
Considering educational attainment, people per cent of all OMIs are unemployed before
who have completed up to secondary school migration (Table 13.10). This leaves only
form 29.5 per cent of the total OMIs and around 0.1 per cent of the total OMIs unem-
those who have completed higher secondary ployed, and in fact, the reduction in inactive
school are around 9 per cent of the total OMIs labour (not in labour force) shows that migra-
(Table 13.9). Around 27 per cent of the OMI tion has encouraged inactive labour to join the
population has completed a degree or more. labour force by incentivizing working. Among
This is a healthy percentage as it shows that women, the unemployment rate, which was
internal migration is not only a phenomenon 26.8 per cent before migration, dropped
typical of low-level labour but also prevalent to zero after migration and this proves the
among skilled workers. point concerning reduction in unemployment
through migration.
Table 13.8 Distribution of Out-Migrants Table 13.9 Educational Status of Out-

across Religions in Tamil Nadu Migrants, 2015
OMI ROM Educational Status Males Females Total
Per Per Illiterate 13.4 32.8 17.8
100 100 Literate without 0.2 0.4 0.3
Religion Per cent HHs Religion Per cent HHs school education
Hindus 88.2 5.1 Hindus 91.9 4.7 Primary 8.5 8.0 8.4
Christians 7.6 5.9 Christians 4.2 2.9 Secondary 32.1 20.6 29.5
Muslims 3.9 4.2 Muslims 3.9 3.8 Higher secondary 9.4 9.2 9.3
Others 0.3 13.4 Others 0.0 0.0 Technical 9.0 1.1 7.2
Tamil Nadu 100.0 5.1 Tamil Nadu 100.0 4.5 education (or diploma)
Degree 11.8 13.4 12.2
A glance at the ROM numbers shows that Postgraduate 7.4 6.1 7.1
the unemployment rate is 5.0 per cent, and MPhil, PhD 0.2 0.8 0.3
only 4.6 per cent of the migrant population Others 0.1 0.4 0.2
was unemployed. Post-migration unemploy- Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
ment rates are close to 0 even in this case.
However, the low employment rate before
migration among ROMs shows that migrants Other preferred occupations of out-migrants
who already had a job locally are more likely are manufacturing labourers (5.5%), business
to return as they can continue with the job/ (5.4%) and defence (4.9%). Motor vehicle
business after coming back to the state. This driver (9.6%), agricultural/animal husbandry
might be an interesting scenario as it could labourer (7.2%) and business (6.1%) are
be one of the reasons for migrants to decide among the top occupations of the ROM popu-
whether to return or not, and further results lation in the destination state.
can be obtained through an extensive study. Occupations such as agricultural/animal
husbandry labourer, heavy truck and lorry
driver, fishermen/fishing industry-related
work and painter are occupations that are less
Occupation of OMIs inviting, and they pave way for occupations
It is essential to know about the occupations of such as peon/office assistant, computer pro-
the OMIs at the destinations. According to the grammer and Storekeeper among the OMIs.
OMI occupation data, the most sought-after
occupation is engineering, which is the occu-
pation of 13.2 per cent of the total migrants
(Table 13.11). This is in sync with the pre- INTERSTATE MIGRANTS IN TAMIL
diction about migration of skilled labour—27 NADU (FROM OTHER STATES TO TAMIL
per cent of the migrants, in this study, are NADU)
degree holders. This is a leap from 2.8 per
cent of the ROMs, showing that the number Interstate migrants have been more visible in
of migrants landing engineering jobs has Tamil Nadu in the last decade and a half. It
recently increased among OMIs. Next to this, was Tamils who went out in large numbers to
11 per cent of the OMIs migrate as construc- Mumbai (when it was Bombay) to work in the
tion labourers, which is the top occupation informal sector. They created the largest slum
of ROMs with an 18.2 per cent share of the settlement in Mumbai at Dharavi. Several
total ROM population in the destination state. films are made about and stories have been
Table 13.10 Rates of Employment Before and After Migration among ROMs and OMIs, 2015
Before Migration After Migration
Status of Employment Males Females Total Males Females Total
OMI
Unemployment rate 10.1 26.8 11.3 0.1 0.0 0.1
Employment rate 71.9 15.6 59.3 88.6 21.8 73.6
Per cent unemployed 8.1 5.7 7.5 0.1 0.0 0.1
Per cent not in LF 20.0 78.6 33.2 11.3 78.2 26.3
ROM
Unemployment rate 5.3 0.0 5.0 1.0 0.0 0.9
Employment rate 90.1 64.3 88.1 97.2 71.4 95.2
Per cent unemployed 5.0 0.0 4.6 1.0 0.0 0.9
Per cent not in LF 4.9 35.7 7.3 1.8 28.6 3.9
Note: LF, labour force.
Table 13.11 Occupations of Out-Migrants After Migration, 2015

OMI ROM
S. No. Occupation Type Male Female Total Occupation Type Male Female Total
1 Engineer 12.4 23.7 13.2 Construction worker/labourer 17.3 32.0 18.2

2 Construction worker 11.4 5.1 11.0 Motor vehicle driver 9.9 4.0 9.6
/Labourer
3 Manufacturing labourer 5.8 1.7 5.5 Agriculture, animal husbandry 6.8 14.0 7.2
labourers
4 Business 5.5 5.1 5.4 Business 6.4 2.0 6.1
5 Defence 5.6 0.0 5.2 Manufacturing labourer 5.5 2.0 5.3
6 Motor vehicle driver 5.2 0.0 4.9 Engineer 2.8 4.0 2.8
7 Peon/office assistant/ 3.2 1.7 3.1 Heavy truck and lorry 2.9 2.0 2.8
sweeper/cleaner driver
8 Agriculture/animal 2.6 6.8 2.9 Fishermen/fish-related work 2.4 4.0 2.5
Husbandry/labourers
9 Computer programmer 2.7 5.1 2.9 Painter 2.1 2.0 2.1
10 Storekeeper 3.1 0.0 2.9 Defence 2.1 0.0 2.0
written on Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum. The from other states died, the Tamil Nadu govern-
Tamils also went to work in Surat, Gujarat ment through its labour department conducted
and to many other states in India. The reality a study on interstate migrants in Tamil Nadu.
changed by the turn of the 21st century when The findings of the study revealed the fol-
Tamil Nadu started receiving migrant labour- lowing points:
ers from other states.
The Tamil Nadu government conducted • Tamil Nadu is home to more than a million migrant
a study on the aftermath of the collapse of a workers.
multistorey building at Moulivakkam after • The survey, conducted by a private consultation
heavy rains on 28 June 2014. Many construc- on behalf of the labour department, shows that a
majority of the 1.067 million migrant workers in
tion workers were trapped in the debris. After
the state are unskilled workers.
the accident, in which several migrant workers
• About 27 per cent are employed in the manufac- in Greater Chennai. Migrant families are
turing sector, 14 per cent in textile industries and located in Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur
11.41 per cent in the construction sector. districts. Interstate migrants are work-
• Though the numbers may be under-reported, ing in large numbers in Kelambakkam,
the data will help migrants to get healthcare.
Semmenchery, Mahindra City—Anumandai
Relatively better wages and employment oppor-
tunities in Tamil Nadu draw workers from West
Colony, Egattuthangal and Tirupporur.
Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. Nearly 0.2 million migrants live in 47 vil-
• The demographic change to special economic lages in Kancheepuram district, including
zones (SEZs) was noticed. Migration has been at SEZs, and work in the construction sector.
such a scale that Hindi and Bengali have become Telugu and Odisha families live and work in
languages of communication in urban areas. Kelambakkam, which is in Chengalpattu dis-
• Workers from West Bengal have proved their skill in trict of Tamil Nadu.
laying granite floors, while those from northern states
are sought after for security and hospitality services.
• Of the migrant workers in Tamil Nadu, 20.9 per
cent live in the Kancheepuram district. Most of CONCLUSION
them work in manufacturing companies located in
Kancheepuram because it has units, including Ford,
Hyundai, BMW and Nissan, where migrant workers
Internal migration (1.93 million) in Tamil
are employed. Nadu is close to the international migration
• The top three districts—Kancheepuram, Chennai (2.2 million). Many from Tamil Nadu leave
and Tiruvallur—house 51.3 per cent of the migrant their homes for work in the neighbouring
worker population. Real estate projects and the states. One can also see the trend of family
metro rail work have attracted migrant labourers. migration in internal migration. Job opportu-
• The textile and allied industries offer the second nities for the skilled and unskilled are more
maximum number of jobs, where they employ 0.15 in the neighbouring state of Karnataka as the
million workers. Clearly, Coimbatore has 12.1 per capital city of this state has developed as the
cent and Tiruppur has 9 per cent of the state’s ‘Indian Silicon Valley’ and because of plenty
migrant population.
of unskilled work in the booming construction
• There have been several complaints from migrant
labourers on delay and non-payment of wages. ‘It’s
sector. The service sector also offers jobs to
unfortunate that most children of migrant workers many workers who are semi-skilled. In order
do not get formal education’. to study migration in all its dimensions, it is
necessary to see it from the perspective of
Some studies conducted by other agen- internal migration.
cies found intrastate migrant labourers
APPENDIX 13A
Table 13A.1 Destination between OMIs and ROMs in Tamil Nadu, 2015
OMI ROM
1 Karnataka 43.4 42.0 43.1 Karnataka 38.2 45.7 38.8

2 Kerala 18.5 15.3 17.8 Kerala 22.6 25.7 22.8
3 Maharashtra 11.0 19.1 12.8 Andhra Pradesh 13.0 2.9 12.2
4 Andhra Pradesh 8.8 5.7 8.1 Maharashtra 8.7 17.1 9.3
5 Pondicherry 2.9 6.9 3.8 New Delhi 3.0 5.7 3.3
6 Gujarat 3.0 1.5 2.7 Gujarat 2.3 1.4 2.2
7 New Delhi 2.3 2.7 2.4 Pondicherry 1.7 0.0 1.6
OMI ROM
8 Jammu & Kashmir 1.7 0.4 1.4 Rajasthan 1.2 0.0 1.1
9 West Bengal 1.3 0.8 1.2 Odisha 1.1 0.0 1.0
10 Madhya Pradesh 0.9 1.1 0.9 Jammu & Kashmir 1.0 0.0 0.9
11 Uttar Pradesh 0.9 0.8 0.9 Punjab 1.0 0.0 0.9
12 Punjab 0.9 0.0 0.7 Dadra& Nagar Haveli 0.9 0.0 0.8
13 Bihar 0.4 1.1 0.6 Assam 0.7 0.0 0.7
14 Jharkhand 0.3 1.5 0.6 Goa 0.7 0.0 0.7
15 Odisha 0.6 0.0 0.4 Andaman Nicobar 0.5 0.0 0.4
16 Assam 0.4 0.0 0.3 Madhya Pradesh 0.5 0.0 0.4
17 Goa 0.3 0.4 0.3 Arunachal Pradesh 0.4 0.0 0.3
18 Rajasthan 0.4 0.0 0.3 Chandigarh 0.4 0.0 0.3
19 Andaman Nicobar 0.3 0.0 0.3 Haryana 0.4 0.0 0.3
20 Uttaranchal 0.1 0.8 0.3 Jharkhand 0.4 0.0 0.3
21 Chandigarh 0.2 0.0 0.2 West Bengal 0.4 0.0 0.3
22 Chhattisgarh 0.2 0.0 0.2 Bihar 0.2 0.0 0.2
23 Dadra & Nagar 0.2 0.0 0.2 Himachal Pradesh 0.2 0.0 0.2
Haveli
24 Manipur 0.2 0.0 0.2 Meghalaya 0.2 0.0 0.2
25 Meghalaya 0.2 0.0 0.2 Lakshadweep 0.1 0.0 0.1
26 Arunachal Pradesh 0.1 0.0 0.1 Sikkim 0.1 0.0 0.1
27 Haryana 0.1 0.0 0.1 Tripura 0.1 0.0 0.1
28 Himachal Pradesh 0.1 0.0 0.1 Uttar Pradesh 0.0 1.4 0.1
29 Mizoram 0.1 0.0 0.1 Chhattisgarh 0.0 0.0 0.0
30 Daman & Diu 0.0 0.0 0.0 Daman & Diu 0.0 0.0 0.0
31 Lakshadweep 0.0 0.0 0.0 Manipur 0.0 0.0 0.0
32 Nagaland 0.0 0.0 0.0 Mizoram 0.0 0.0 0.0
33 Sikkim 0.0 0.0 0.0 Nagaland 0.0 0.0 0.0
34 Tripura 0.0 0.0 0.0 Uttaranchal 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0
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14
Impact of Rural Out-Migration
S. Amuthan
INTRODUCTION cent (Census of India). This changing trend

of rural and urban populations is reflected on
The processes of industrialization and urban- structural transformation and occupational
ization are associated with structural trans- changes from traditional to modern sectors.
formation of economies. In the long-term The study examined structural economic
perspective, the most important element of change and rural out-migration, their impact
such transformation is a structural change in on migrants and migrants’ income contribu-
the composition of output and employment tion to household assets in TN.
over time. To begin with, the share of the agri- This study is based on both primary and
culture sector in both output and employment secondary sources of data. Secondary sources
is overwhelming. As industrialization proof data were Department of Evaluation and
ceeds, the share of manufacturing and service Applied Research, Government of Tamil Nadu,
sectors in output and employment increases, Census of India B-series from 1901 to 2011,
while that of the agriculture sector decreases. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Ministry
The absorption of surplus labour is reflected of Statistics and Programme Implementation
in the migration of unemployed or underem- (MOSPI). Primary data about migration infor-
ployed workers from rural hinterlands to urban mation was collected from eight villages
settlements (Nayyar, 2008). It is evident that in the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu by
on the percentage of rural and urban popula- using a semi-structured interview sched-
tion of the total population in Tamil Nadu was ule. The study used multistage random sam-
an inverse relation. The rural population has pling for sample data collection. In the first
declined to 51.5 per cent in 2011 from 85.8 stage, selection of the taluk was done and the
per cent in 1901; at the same time, the urban Ambasamudram taluk was selected for this
population rose to 48.4 per cent from 14.1 per study on a purposeful random basis. In the
Impact of Rural Out-Migration 199
second stage, the union blocks were selected STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF

from the Ambasamudram taluk. There are STATE ECONOMICS
four union blocks in this region, two villages
were chosen from each of the four blocks. The trend of changing state economy as con-
The sample households were identified in sidered in terms of gross state domestic prod-
the third stage. First, the household list (pro- uct (GSDP) has been shifting from traditional
forma) survey was conducted in 6,880 house- agriculture sector to modern industrial and
holds in the eight villages to identify migrant service sectors. Table 14.1 shows that share
households by the nature and location of the of primary sector in GSDP was tremendous at
workforce. A total of 960 migrant households about 43.5 per cent in 1960–1961 measured at
were identified by using the household list constant price and it declined to 11.9 per cent
survey in the eight villages of the Tirunelveli in 2004–2005. There was a sharp decline in
district. The total sample size of the migrant 1990–1991 and it further fell to 7.8 per cent
households for the study is 275 with 5 per cent in 2013–2014. The growth of secondary sector
confidence interval by these 960 total migrant in GSDP was registered consistently at 30 per
households. cent in the corresponding period. The share of
The study was conducted using paired the tertiary sector in GSDP was 36.2 per cent
t-test for before and after migration by using and it was registered next to the agriculture
the variables of work per day, working days sector. But this share of total GSDP went up
per month, savings, consumption and monthly to 43.5 per cent in 1990–1991 and it continu-
income of migrants. The multiple regression ously increased to 57.2 per cent and 63.7 per
analysis was carried out by using the varia- cent in 2004–2005 and 2013–2014, respec-
ble of value of the migrant household’s assets tively. Economic transformation particularly
after migration because it is considered as an occurred in 1990–1991 and drastic changes
outcome variable, and predictor variables are occurred in both primary and tertiary sectors.
income of migrants before migration, income The primary and secondary sectors have
of migrants after migration and remittances. shown negative growth rate while there was
This chapter is divided into four sections. growth in the tertiary sector. The government
The first section is Introduction. The second policies favour the tertiary sector over agricul-
section provides the sectoral changes in the ture sector as it provides regular employment
state, economic and occupational changes in opportunities and standard income. Therefore,
TN. The third section discusses ground reality the tertiary sector has grown faster than pri-
and details of out-migration based on primary mary and secondary sectors.
survey and the fourth section has discussion Industry-wise GSDP is presented in
and conclusions. Table 14.2. In the total GSDP, the primary
Table 14.1 Structural Changes of Economy in Tamil Nadu

Sectors 1960–1961 1970–1971 1980–1981 1990–1991 1999–2000 2004–2005 2010–2011 2013–2014
Primary 43.5 34.8 25.9 23.4 17.4 11.9 8.8 7.8

(%)
Secondary 20.3 26.9 33.5 33.1 29.6 30.9 30.6 28.5
(%)
Tertiary 36.2 38.3 40.6 43.5 53.0 57.2 60.6 63.7
(%)
Total (%) 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Tamil Nadu Economic Appraisal 2009–2010, 2010–2011.

Note: The sectoral contribution in GSDP.
sector accounted for 49.2 per cent in 1980– agriculture towards the non-agriculture sec-
1981 and it declined to 7.6 per cent in 2014– tors, particularly to service sectors (Srivastava
2015. Secondary and industry sectors also & Shanmugam, 2012). It impacts the large
decreased over the period. But service sectors flow of labour market to manufacturing and
increased from 1980–1981 to 2014–2015. service sectors.
Table 14.2 shows that post 2000, the agricul- The agriculture sector had the most poten-
ture sector has drastically declined and manu- tial to provide productive employment to TN
facturing sector has consistently been sharing at one time. However, the impact of structural
around 20 per cent over the period. The per- changes of state economy and the rapid growth
centage share of GSDP was predicted for of employment in the non-agricultural sectors
2019–2020 using curve estimation of growth led to labour being pulled out of agriculture at
except the service sector. a speed that depended on the labour intensity
The growth prediction shows that in pri- of manufacturing, industry and services sec-
mary and secondary industries and manufac- tors (Binswanger-Mkhize, 2013). Table 14.3
turing sectors, there has been a decline for indicates that there is a clear shift in the main
throughout of prediction. The exponential workforce of TN from agriculture to non-
growth rate analysed for the service sector agricultural sectors. The percentage of cultiva-
indicated that it contributed immensely to tors registered in the 1981 Census was 29.2 per
GSDP and increased at 5 per cent from 2014– cent and it declined sharply to 13.8 per cent in
2015 to 2019–2020. Over the 40 years, share 2011 and percentage of agricultural labourers
of the primary sector in GSDP continued to has decreased to a mere 5.8 per cent over the
decline. Although secondary and industry period because all over India, the agriculture
shares also fell, they will recover by changing sector wage rate is low compared with non-
economic policy in future. In TN, service and agriculture sector. In 2011–2012, wage rate for
manufacturing sectors consistently contribute per day of ploughing was `170 and for harvest-
significantly to total GSDP of the state. The ing it was `148, which were low compared with
structure of GSDP all over India, particularly non-agriculture sectors `262, and this caused
in TN, has drastically been shifting away from the labourers to shift away from agriculture.
Table 14.2 Percentage Share of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at Factor Cost by Industry
of Origin in Tamil Nadu, 1980–1981 to 2014–2015 (Prediction through 2019–2020)
Year I. Primary Sector Agriculture II. Secondary Sector Manufacturing III. Industry IV. Service Sector
1980–1981 49.2 23.4 61.7 27.2 62.2 47.9

1984–1985 53.2 25.6 61.9 27.8 62.5 46.3
1989–1990 45.2 21.2 56.8 24.6 57.4 52.9
1994–1995 24.5 22.2 34.6 27.0 35.3 48.2
1999–2000 18.3 16.5 33.5 24.0 34.0 56.7
2004–2005 11.9 9.6 30.9 19.8 31.7 66.5
2009–2010 9.2 7.5 30.4 21.4 30.9 70.8
2014–2015 7.6 6.1 27.6 18.3 28.0 75.3
2019–2020* 4.9 5.3 21.0 17.5 21.4 81.0
Source: Central Statistical Office (CSO) and Department of Evaluation and Applied Research.
Note: The primary sector was measured using agriculture and allied activities and mining and quarrying; the secondary
sector was measured using registered and unregistered manufacturing, construction and electricity and gas and water
supply. Industry was considered as secondary sector in addition to mining and quarrying. Construction, hotel industry,
water and supply and other services are subjected to services sectors.
*Growth prediction through 2019–2020.
Table 14.3 Total Main Workforces in TN, workforce. There was a change when male
1981–2011 cultivators went down to 31.0 per cent from
Industry group 1981 1991 2001 2011 37.4 per cent between 1991 and 2001 and non-
agriculture labour, both male and female, went
Cultivators (%) 29.2 24.8 20.0 13.8
up at 10 per cent, particularly noteworthy is
Agriculture labours (%) 31.7 34.6 25.6 25.9
that female agricultural labour slipped down
Non-agriculture (%) 34.1 40.5 54.4 60.3
14 per cent while male agricultural labour
Source: Computed from various census reports from 1981 slightly declined by only 5 per cent because
to 2001. large-scale rural-to-urban migration began in
Note: Non-agriculture sector includes manufacturing
TN. In 2011, the number of both male and
household industries, livestock, forestry, mining and
quarrying, manufacturing (other than household indus- female agricultural labour increased margin-
tries), construction, trade and commerce, transport, stor- ally. The main reason for an increase in agri-
age and communication, other workers. cultural labour from 1981 to 1991 in TN was
the use of new technology, which led to crop-
However, agricultural labour has seen meagre ping intensification, involving changing the
changes over the past four decades. The pro- cropping pattern in favour of labour-intensive
portion of workforce in non-agricultural labour crops, such as cereals and (in particular) rice
has gone up significantly from 34.0 per cent in and even cash crops such as sugarcane, cotton
1981 to 60.3 per cent in 2011. and plantation crops. The change in land
The structure of rural economy in TN has relationships contributed to employment by
been changing over the past few decades making tenancies more secure, by shifting the
largely because public policy favours industri- land ownerships to the landless and by con-
alization and urbanization. It is associated with tinuously increasing the proportion of small
the proportion of rural population declining and marginal landholders and their falling per
from 85.8 per cent to 51.5 per cent—a fall of capita land holdings. Overall, the trends’ share
over 34.2 per cent—between 1901 and 2011. of agricultural workforce is high compared
By contrast, the proportion of urban population with non-farm agricultural workforce in rural
increased from 14.1 per cent in 1901 to 48.4 TN, while the bit of non-agricultural work-
per cent in 2011 (Census of India). Changing force has been increasing in rural TN.
economic structure and demography both have The rural labour market is undergoing sig-
negatively impacted the agrarian sector. In TN, nificant changes mainly because of rising
total main workforce has also decreased in employment opportunities in sectors other than
rural areas because fertility rate has declined agriculture sector (Chand & Srivastava, 2014).
by about 1.7 per cent in 2011. Therefore, over the past two decades the labour
Table 14.4 indicates that because of rivalry force in agriculture has declined, while the
between agriculture and non-agriculture work participation rates grew rapidly in non-
labour, agrarian sector as usual fell against agriculture sectors. The labour market has pulled
high-paid formal sectors. In the trends of main out of agriculture at a rapidity that depends
workforce by sex in rural TN, the female agri- on the labour intensity of industry and service
culture labour dominated over male ones. In sectors. It has happened owing to rural people
contrast, more men registered as cultivators migrating to urban areas for their survival.
than women. Between 1981 and 1991 female
cultivators came down around 10 per cent but
increased marginally in 2001 and declined
sharply in 2011. Male cultivators continu- MIGRATION THEORY
ously descended over the period. Among
the trends, between 1991 and 2001 a certain Migration is a significant factor in economic
coincident moment happened among the development and the mainstream of migration
Table 14.4 Trends of Main Workforce by Sex in TN (Rural)

1981 1991 2001 2011
Industry Group Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
Cultivators (%) 43.8 34.2 37.4 24.3 32.0 29.2 23.8 21.6
Agriculture labours (%) 31.0 60.1 36.0 60.9 30.7 46.3 33.9 52.1
Non-agricultural labour (%) 25.2 12.7 26.7 14.8 37.4 24.5 42.2 26.3
Source: Computed from various census reports from 1981 to 2001.

Note: Non-agricultural group includes manufacturing household industries, livestock, forestry, mining and quarrying,
manufacturing (other than household industries), construction, trade and commerce, transport, storage and communi-
cation, other workers.
has been from rural to urban areas in recent export-oriented growth, removed government
years. Rural migration is the phenomenon control and licensing and encouraged private
that describes the movement of people from participation. It supported that new impetus
low opportunity regions to high opportunity would boost economy and increase job oppor-
regions. It was first proposed by Ravenstein tunities leading to increase of internal migra-
in the 1880s. It was followed by some spe- tion (Bhagat, 2011).
cific theories to explain migration. Lee (1966) TN is one of the prominent states in India
divided the forces influencing migrant’s per- with a potentially high degree of migration
ception into ‘pluses’, ‘minuses’ and ‘zero’. owing to locational factors of development of
The pluses pull an individual, whereas minuses infrastructure leading to increasing economic
tend to push them. Further, zeros balance both activities; therefore, migration is more specifi-
the competing attractions. The main themes of cally attributed to provide job opportunities. In
Lee’s theory described push and pull factors. TN, total migration was 13,430,472 in 1991. It
Labour transformation is an important ele- has increased to 31,332,870 in 2011. The migra-
ment to determine migration. This perception tion of the total population rose at 19.39 per cent
is successfully explained through the theory of between 1991 and 2011. This increasing trend
unlimited supplies of labour by Lewis (1954). of migration also appeared to spill over to all the
Capital accumulation increased as a result of districts in TN and also to rural areas.
the withdrawal of surplus labour from subsist-
ence sector to the capital sector. Later, Johan
Fei and Gustav Ranis (1961) proposed the BACKGROUND AND CHARACTERISTIC
theory of dual economy which is described
OF MIGRANTS
as the subsistence agriculture sector amidst
widespread unemployment and modern indus-
The primary survey provides demographic
trial sector character by full employment. The
profile of migrants, as presented in Table
Lewis-Fei-Ranis (L.F.R) model considers
14.5. First, it discusses the gender of
migration of people from a stagnant agrarian
migrants in which male out-migrants out-
sector to a modern labour-deficit sector.
number female out-migrants in the regions
Most migration research covered the
this study was conducted. It was registered
rural–urban migration. In 1991, a new eco-
to be 79.1 per cent. The age is an important
nomic policy was implemented to change
factor for migration. People belonging to
the economic structure. The intention of the
the age group of 26–35 years out-migrated
new economic policy is to reduce govern-
massively and it accounted for 38.3 per
mental expenditure in order to reduce fiscal
cent, it was followed by people of the age
deficit and the economy has opened up
group 16–25 years. In educational status, the
migrants had better educational qualifica- happened in the Kadayam block, it accounts
tions and most migrants had secondary and for 20.5 per cent. Poverty is an important
higher secondary levels of education. About cause for out-migration and it was registered
18.9 per cent of the migrants had attained at a sizeable number. The blocks Pappakudi
degree level and the number of migrants and Cheranmahadevi contained the high-
who had accomplished diploma and certif- est proportion of out-migration by poverty.
icate courses was sizeable. Overall, this study found that out-migration
According to the Ministry of Skill taking place because of inadequate income,
Development and Entrepreneurship, there are unemployment, poverty and better opportu-
256.72 million non-farm workers in India, of nities is more significant in this study region.
which a maximum of 5.4 per cent would be
formally trained in skilled labour. The remain-
ing 241.86 million would be either unskilled Table 14.5 Background Information of
or skilled through non-formal channels, on the Migrants
basis of which the skill level was considered Number of
by the migrant’s occupation and educational Gender Respondents Percentage
level for this study. Most of the migrants
Gender Male 378 79.1
are low- and medium-skilled, each of which
Female 100 20.9
accounts for 42.1 per cent and 32.7 per cent.
Age Below 15 14 2.9
The large flow of out-migration occurred after
16–25 169 35.4
2005 in rural TN because the economic con-
26–35 183 38.3
dition slowly recovered after a severe drought
36–45 55 11.5
in 2002–2004. It is evident that the index
Above 46 57 11.9
number of industrial production (IIP) in Tamil
Total 478 100
Nadu was 130.3 in 2002–2003 and 132.9 in
Educational Illiterate 10 2.1
2003–2004, while IIP growth registered at just
status Primary 27 5.7
2 per cent in that period. The IIP increased to
156.0 in 2005–2006, when the approximate Secondary 148 31
IIP growth was 8.5 per cent (DE&S, Govt. TN, Higher 96 20.1
secondary
2013–2014). Impressive growth in industrial
Degree 90 18.9
production and rapid economic growth has
Technical 38 8
accelerated out-migration from rural TN. The
education
present study found that between the years of
Diploma and 56 11.7
2004 and 2016 migration was recorded at 88.3 certificate
per cent. Professional 13 2.7
Inadequate income and unemployment is a Total 478 100.2
prominent motivation of out-migration from Type of High-skilled 61 12.8
this study region. The block Ambasamudram skills Medium-skilled 156 32.7
recorded the highest proportion of out- Low-skilled 201 42.1
migration by inadequate income; it was fol- Not skilled 60 12.6
lowed by Cheranmahadevi which registered
Total 478 100
at 34.9 per cent and Kadayam at 31.8 per
Year of 1975–1985 3 0.7
cent. The second most prominent motiva- migration 1985–1995 6 1.3
tion of out-migration was unemployment,
1995–2005 45 9.8
for which the block Pappakudi registered at
2005–2016 406 88.3
28.7 per cent, it was followed by the blocks
Total 460 100
of Cheranmahadevi and Kadayam. Out-
migration for better opportunities has most Source: Primary survey.
The inadequate income and unemployment is persons who migrated worked 28 days per
prominent motivation of out-migration from month versus at origin where there were no
this study region (Table 14.6). jobs for more than a week. Moreover, the
increase in mean value after migration accord-
ing to savings, consumption and monthly
income was substantially high.
WORKING AND FINANCIAL Output 2 in Table 14.8 gives the t-value,
CONDITION OF MIGRANTS BEFORE degrees of freedom, significant level and con-
AND AFTER MIGRATION fidence interval for the mean difference. The
t-value for work per day was −0.5 for 336
Working conditions could be considered degree of freedom (df), which is highly sig-
as hours of work per day and work days nificant as significant value for two-tailed test
per month while savings, consumption and is 0.000. It indicates that migrants work 8 or
monthly income consists of financial condi- 10 hours after migration but not more than
tion (Table 14.7). As regards the working con- 10 hours, but before migration they worked
ditions, the mean value of working hours per 12 hours in agriculture and local small-scale
day before migration was much higher than industries. The mean difference was 0.3 for
after migration, which indicates that migrants working days per month with positive t-values
worked on an hourly basis after migration at 4.4, which is also significant and reveals that
because most of them engaged in eight-hour the days of employment after migration have
work at destination. Before departure, the per- increased. As regards the financial condition,
sons engaged in agriculture and casual labour the mean difference of savings after migration
at origin where the working hours per day increased to about `2,784.7 because the aver-
were high. Working days per month are quite age monthly income after migration increased
different, the mean value of working days per to `11,055.2, both savings and income
month after migration was significantly high after migration were significant. Moreover,
compared with before migration because the the average amount of consumption after
Table 14.6 Motivation and Causes of Out-Migration from Rural Tamil Nadu
Name of the Block
Block Block Block Block
Motivation and causes for migration
from native place (P) (K) (A) (C) Total
Inadequate income 24.1 31.8 49.1 34.9 33.5

Unemployment 28.7 27.3 19.3 27.9 26.2
Natural calamities 1.1 0.0 1.8 2.3 1.1
Better opportunities than native place 17.2 20.5 12.3 11.6 16.4
For higher income 10.3 4.5 3.5 0.0 5.5
Follows primary migrants 1.1 5.7 8.8 11.6 5.8
Poverty 13.8 8.0 3.5 9.3 9.1
Others 3.4 2.3 1.8 2.3 2.5
Total 31.6 32.0 20.7 15.6 100.0
Source: Primary data.

Note: The blocks mentioned are Pappakudi (P), Kadayam (K), Ambasamudram (A) and Cheranmahadevi (C).
Table 14.7 Mean Difference in Working and Financial Condition of First Migrants During,
Before and After Migration
Before Migration After Migration
Working and financial condition Mean Standard Deviation Mean Standard Deviation
Working hours per day 2.21 0.757 1.72 0.894

Working days per month 2.36 1.085 2.69 0.942
Savings 683.29 1,128.52 3,467.95 7,777.72
Consumption 472.42 3,366.80 1,193.89 1,254.93
Monthly income 4,792.58 3,457.15 15,847.77 16,237.20
Source: Primary data.
Table 14.8 Paired Samples t-Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Std. Std. Error
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Pair 1 Work per day after −0.5 1.1 0.1 −0.6 −0.4 −8.6 336 0.000
migration −
before migration
Pair 2 Working days per month 0.3 1.4 0.1 0.2 0.5 4.4 336 0.000
after migration − before
migration
Pair 3 Savings after migra- 2,784.7 7,504.5 408.8 1,980.5 3,588.8 6.8 336 0.000
tion − savings before
migration
Pair 4 Consumption after 721.5 1,031.3 56.2 611.0 832.0 12.8 336 0.000
migration − consump-
tion before migration
Pair 5 Monthly income after 11,055.2 14,821.3 807.4 9,467.1 12,643.3 13.7 336 0.000
migration − monthly
income before migration
migration was `721.5, which is highly signifi- a multiple regression analysis was carried out.
cant with t-value 12.8. The dependent variable was migrants’ house-
hold assets after migration and independent
variables along with other variables such as
income of migrants before migration, income
THE INFLUENCE ON MIGRANTS’ of migrants after migration and remittance of
HOUSEHOLD ASSETS AFTER migrants. Regression analysis was carried out
MIGRATION for all migrants sample households.
The R value of 0.560 indicates that mul-
In order to assess the selected characteristics tiple correlation coefficients and these three
on migrants’ household assets after migration, variables are significantly correlated and R2
value is 0.313, which means there is 31.3 per DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
cent level of variation in these variables. This
includes income of migrants before migration, Over the past 20 years between 1991–2001
income of migrants after migration and remit- and 2001–2011, the rural labour market has
tance of migrants which constitute approx- shifted drastically from the agrarian sector
imately 31.3 per cent of fit. From Output 3 to non-farm activities in TN. Obviously, the
in Table 14.9, we can see that before migra- total main workforce significantly increased
tion income is not significant, the t-value is by about 60.3 per cent in non-agriculture
(t = 1.931, p > 0.05), income of migrants after activities in 2011 from 34.0 per cent in 1981.
migration the t value is 5.832 and p value is Particularly, the figure for male workers was
0.000, that is, p < 0.05 which shows it is highly substantially high at about 42.2 per cent,
significant. The volume of migrant remittance which indicates that youth leaving agriculture
is negative but it has significance, the t-value or moving away from rural economy is caused
is −3.479 and p value is 0.001 (t = −3.479, by their migrating to urban destinations. The
p < 0.05) is less than 0.05 among the three study found that male out-migration was pre-
variables, income of migrants after migration dominant particularly in the age group from
and remittance of migrants has more contribu- 16 to 35 years. Most out-migrants attained
tion towards the increase of household assets secondary and higher secondary levels of
after migration. The regression results pro- education and along with this they also pos-
vide information that the migrants’ household sessed low and medium levels of skills. The
assets depend on income of migrants after study observed that major outflow of migra-
migration and remittance of migrants, the beta tion in 2005–2016 was because of inadequate
value of after migration migrants’ income is income, unemployment, better opportunities
0.848, which shows that 84.8 per cent level and poverty. Moreover, the study found the
of migrants’ income contributes to household working and financial conditions effectively
assets. Migrants’ remittance contributes 46.6 change after migration, especially the average
per cent level to influence of migrants’ house- income of migrants increased after migration
hold assets. The F value is 34.66 which is to about `11,000 per month. The regression
highly significant with p < 0.05 and the income outcome articulates that migrants’ income has
of before migration migrants’ income was a significant impact on raising the household
insignificant, the beta value is −0.138, which assets comparing the income level of migrants
shows that −13.8 per cent is very less contri- before migration.
bution to household assets. Hence, migration is an important accel-
erator to improve household conditions and
Table 14.9 Dependent Variable: Migrants’ a salient factor to eradicating poverty. It is
Household Assets like this, the percentage of population below
poverty line was 28.9 per cent in 2004–2005
R = 0.560 R2 = 0.313
and it declined to 8.2 per cent in 2011–2012
Variable B Beta t Sig t (based on Tendulkar Methodology) in TN.
Constant 24,4849.986 10.540 0.000 It was recorded next only to Kerala (7.05%)
Income of 5.873 0.138 1.931 0.055 followed by Punjab at 8.3 per cent (RBI,
migrants 2015). Interestingly, TN registered the highest
before migration number of out-migration (5.3%) among South
Income of 8.002 .848 5.832 0.000 Indian states such as Kerala, and Punjab, pre-
migrants dominant in international migration (NSS
after migration
64th round, 2007–2008). It clearly reveals that
Remittance of −10.847 −0.466 −3.479 0.001
migrants
when flow of out-migration was emerging in
TN after 2002–2003 and 2004–2005 after a Migration Report 2011: Migration, identity and con-
severe drought, the percentage of population flict (pp. 7–25). New Delhi, India: Routledge Taylor &
below poverty line showed a downward trend Francis Group.
at the same time and structural transformation Binswanger-Mkhize, H. P. (2013). The stunted structural
transformation of the Indian economy. Economic and
occurred more from traditional to modern sec-
Political Weekly, XLVII(26/27), 5–13.
tors. Consequently, the growth rate of GSDP in Census of India. (1991). Tamil Nadu Census Report,
TN has increased to 11.4 per cent and 13.4 per General Population (1901–1999) (Table-A Series).
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out-migration does not only improve average labour market and their implications for agriculture.
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development in the state economy. However, Delhi, India. Retrieved from https://eands.dacnet.nic.
in/AWIS.htm
the policies regarding internal migration in
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desirable option for poor people as a survival tic product 1991–2000 and 2004–05 price. Retrieved
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tives that the Government of India and state Nayyar, D. (2008). Trade and globalization. New Delhi,
governments should undertake to monitor out- India: Oxford University Press.
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15
Migration and Widening
Labour Divide
M. S. Raunaq*
INTRODUCTION of Malayali workers towards blue-collar jobs,

resulted in a shortage of workers within the
The region that constitutes present-day Kerala state. This gap was duly filled by migrant
has a long and rich history of migration dating workers from the nearby states who were
back several centuries. Many communities mostly engaged in activities which required
from the Middle East and Europe came, set- high manual labour (Gopikuttan, 1990;
tled and assimilated with the local popula- Remesh & Sajikumar, 2014).
tion and yet were able to maintain a distinct The second phase, which started in the
identity of their own. The local population of 1990s, saw a decline in the inflow of Tamil
Kerala has always welcomed diversity and migrants into the state, although they still
allowed migrants to integrate with the host constituted the single largest migrant group
society. Kerala, after its formation in 1956, in Kerala. Subsequently, there was a short-
witnessed continued in-migration. Post 1956 age of workers in Kerala, which was met
in-migration in the state can be divided into by long-distance migrant workers from the
two phases. Till the 1990s, the migrants came northern, eastern and north-eastern states of
in search of employment from the neighbour- India (Remesh & Sajikumar, 2014). Initially,
ing states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (Peter the presence of long-distance migrant work-
& Narendran, 2017). During this period, mul- ers was limited to the plywood industry of
tiple reasons, including migration of Malayali Perumbavoor and the iron and steel industry of
workers to the Gulf countries, the construc- Kanjikode (Peter & Narendran, 2017). Around
tion boom in Kerala and a general aversion the late 1990s, with an increase in the use of
* The author would like to thank Professor Babu P. Remesh for providing valuable insights and comments which
greatly improved the chapter.
Migration and Widening Labour Divide 209
marble and granite for construction activities century (Government of Kerala, 2012). As a
in Kerala, the contractors started giving sub- consequence of this, residential and nonresi-
contracts to agents from the states of Rajasthan dential construction activities increased in the
and Gujarat who were proficient with marble district which attracted a lot of migrant work-
work. These agents brought skilled workforce ers (Raunaq, 2016). The major source of data
from the northern and eastern parts of India for this study is a field survey conducted by
to Kerala (Raunaq, 2016), and over the course the author from September to December 2015
of time, these migrants made headway into at worksites, labour chowks and residential
all the sectors of Kerala’s economy. Though places of migrants in Thrissur district. The
there is no official data available regarding the survey covered 60 migrant workers from West
number of long-distance migrants in Kerala, Bengal, Odisha, and Assam. Given the absence
it is estimated that Kerala is home to over of reliable data on the total number and spread
2.5 million long-distance migrant workers of migrant workers, a non-probabilistic sam-
(Narayana, Venkiteswaran & Joseph, 2013). pling procedure was followed giving equal
During the short-distance in-migration weightage to skilled and unskilled workers.
phase, the social, cultural and physical attrib- Among the migrant workers, three subcatego-
utes of the migrants were similar to those of ries were identified—masons, carpenters and
native Malayalis. Many migrants even came helpers. Masons and carpenters were grouped
and settled in Kerala with their families. There under skilled workers and helpers were cate-
was smooth assimilation of migrants into gorized as unskilled workers.
Kerala’s society. But long-distance in-migrants
are socially and culturally very different from
native Malayalis. There is also a signifi-
cant language barrier between migrants and PROFILE OF MIGRANTS
natives. The long-distance migrants belonging
to different climatic regions and having dif- The migrants interviewed during the field survey
ferent food habits find it hard to adjust to the belonged to Assam, Odisha and West Bengal.
conditions in Kerala. Most migrants prefer to The presence of migrants from these three
work for a few years in Kerala and then return states was found to be the highest in Thrissur’s
to their home states. This temporary nature construction sector. The migrants in the study
of migration coupled with various social and belonged to Baksa and Kokrajhar districts of
cultural differences makes assimilation of Assam, Koraput, Nabrangpur and Rayagada
long-distance migrants to Kerala’s society dif- districts of Odisha and Nadia, Murshidabad and
ficult and hence, they are perceived as ‘outsid- Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal. High pov-
ers’ by the people of Kerala. erty rate, low literacy rates, natural calamities,
Given the above context, it is important to and hate crimes are some of the many problems
understand to what extent the new working faced by people living in these districts, which
class (i.e., the long-distance migrants) are dis- forced them to migrate to other states.
criminated in the labour market and alienated Social characteristics of the sample sug-
in Kerala society. With this view, the present gested that the long-distance migrant workers
chapter explores the working and living con- coming to Kerala are heterogeneous in terms
ditions of long-distance in-migrant workers of their religion and caste. In the present study,
in the construction sector of Thrissur district 50 per cent of the migrants were Hindus,
in Kerala. The construction sector currently 40 per cent were Muslims and the rest were
employs about 60 per cent of long-distance Christians and Buddhists. The percentage of
migrants in the state (Narayana et al., 2013). workers belonging to the Scheduled Castes
There has been rapid urbanization in Thrissur was 18 per cent and that of Scheduled Tribes
district in the first decade of the present was 30 per cent, while 47 per cent belonged
to Other Backward Classes. For most of them, search of better employment opportunities.
unlike their hometowns and other major cities Before coming to Thrissur, some migrants had
in India where they have worked before, in worked in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode,
Kerala, the religious and caste identities of the Malappuram, and Thiruvananthapuram. This
migrants did not hamper the prospects of their movement is possible due to strong social
employment. networks formed with other workers at their
All migrants interviewed were male places of origin. The migrants who had worked
migrants. Absence of schools near their vil- in Thrissur for longer periods were found to
lage coupled with the financial constraints of be developing good relationships with their
the family compelled them to join the work- contractors. Over the years, the trust between
force at a very young age. Of the migrants, them had strengthened and this helped the
53 per cent were under the age of 25 years, migrants to renegotiate their wages. The con-
33 per cent were between the ages of 25 and tractors also employed relatives or friends of
30 years and only 13 per cent were 30 years the existing workers if there was labour short-
or above. Among them, 13 per cent did not age at the worksites (Raunaq, 2016).
have any formal schooling, 80 per cent had
primary schooling and only 7 per cent had
secondary schooling. All the interviewed
migrants started migrating outside their vil- EMPLOYMENT AVAILABILITY AND
lages between the ages of 14 and 17 years. Of SYSTEMS FOR ACCESSING WORK
all the migrants, 80 per cent came to work in
Kerala before attaining the age of 21 years. In the present study, 50 per cent of the migrant
A migrant from Nadia said, ‘I want to work workers got at least 24 days of employment in
hard at this age and earn as much as I can, so a month and 25 per cent received employment
that after my marriage I do not have to travel for 19–23 days and only 8 per cent of the work-
this far and leave my family behind.’ Similar ers found work for less than 14 days a month.
sentiments towards their respective homes Least number of days a migrant worker got
and families were repeated by most migrants. work in Kerala was 12 days in a month. The
Only two migrants had thought of moving to migrants who were not able to find work for
and settling in Kerala. Most of the migrants even two weeks in a month either were new
regarded Kerala as a mini-Gulf where they to Thrissur or could not establish networks
could earn a lot of money in a short period and with contractors. Although there is abundant
then go back to their home towns to be with availability of work for migrants in Kerala,
their families. accessing work is difficult. After migrating to
Kerala was not the first destination where Kerala, the worker has mainly three systems
these workers had migrated. Most workers for accessing work, namely, the agent contract
had migrated to multiple major urban cen- system, long-term contract system, and daily
tres in India before they travelled to Kerala. or temporary contract system.
Before migrating to Kerala in search of better Under the agent contract system, the migrant
employment opportunities, 58 per cent of workers depend on an agent to find work for
the workers migrated to Kolkata, 48 per cent them. The terms of work are negotiated with
migrated to Bengaluru, 38 per cent migrated the employer by the agent. The agent then
to Coimbatore and 32 per cent migrated to charges the workers a certain proportion of the
Mumbai. They chose Kerala as their desti- daily wages for the services that he provides.
nation because of relatively higher wages, The survey found that the charges range from
its migrant-friendly status, and abundant `50 to `100 per day. In most cases, the agent
employment opportunities. Migrants do move himself was a migrant worker when he first
between districts after coming to Kerala in came to Kerala. Subsequently, he developed
certain social networks with native contractors employment make them vulnerable and pow-
and employers. These agents bring workers erless before agents and employers.
from villages in their home state. The workers Among the respondents, 63 per cent
do have the option of breaking away from the were employed under the long-term con-
agent’s contract and finding work on their own. tract system, 30 per cent relied on the daily
In the long-term contract system, the or temporary contract system and only 7 per
migrants are tied to a main contractor or cent were employed under the agent contract
employer who has multiple projects with system. Agent contract system was prominent
him. Migrant workers do not have to look for among the migrant newcomers. New migrants
employment opportunities on their own as the to the state felt safe with such agents, as they
responsibility of finding work belongs to the were from their native regions or were previ-
contractor. The workers are provided housing ously known to them. As the agent negotiated
near the worksites. Working under the con- with the employers and decided the nature of
tractor shields them from being targeted by work, days of work, working hours and wages
the police and local people. The wages paid on behalf of the workers, the workers had no
by the employer are usually lower than the flexibility in the jobs that they did. Migrants
existing market wages for migrants. after gaining some familiarity with the condi-
In the case of daily or temporary contract tions in Kerala, preferred to break away from
system, the migrant workers gather near a the agent contract system. Under the daily or
major labour centre or chowk from where temporary contract system, workers can nego-
individual contractors come and pick the tiate wages with the employers on their own
migrants for the day’s work. The contractor but work is hard to find. Only by building con-
explains a rough estimate of the total work tacts with various employers are they able to
to the migrant workers before negotiating the find work on a regular basis. Most migrants
number of days of work and daily wages with preferred to work under the long-term contract
them. The migrant workers agree to work even system as it ensured job security. The migrants
if they realize that the whole work cannot be said that they were able to renegotiate their
completed in the negotiated number of days. wages and days of work after they had worked
The workers then have to work overtime to a few years for a particular employer.
finish the assigned work in the prescribed
number of days without being paid for the
overtime. Prima facie, it seems like a time-rate
system of wage payment because the negotia- WAGES AND QUALITY OF WORK
tion is made on the number of days with pre-
scribed hours of work and daily wages. But, The wage data collected for this study shows
as the workers are forced to work beyond the that the migrants earn higher wages in Kerala
working hours, this system takes the character than what they could earn in their home states.
of piece-rate wage payment. Hence, the whole The average daily wages of migrants belong-
system becomes a combination of piece-rate ing to each of the three states were higher
and time-rate systems of wage payment. than the wage rates in their respective states.
Such type of wage system is common Table 15.1 shows the actual wage rate of con-
among migrant workers in Kerala and goes struction workers in their respective states,
down without any protest from the migrants. the average wages they receive in Kerala, and
‘At a time when finding work is difficult, if I the ratio of actual wage rates to the average
ask for wages for overtime then the contractor wages. The reason for taking the actual wages
would not employ me the next time,’ says a and not the minimum wage rates of the states
migrant from West Bengal. An abundance of is that the prevalence of actual wages is lower
migrant workers and the fear of uncertainty of than the statutory minimum wages in some
Table 15.1 Actual Wages and Relative Wages The wage payment of the migrants was also
across States (in `) not prompt. The Malayali workers demand
Actual Wages of Migrant Workers daily wage payment, and with the backing of
the Workers’ Union, are able to ensure this.
State Mason Carpenter Helper
On the other hand, only 68 per cent of all the
Assam 250 280 200 migrants were paid their wages daily. If the
Odisha 200 200 160 projects were of comparatively larger scale,
West Bengal 250 NA* 180 then the workers were paid on a weekly or
Kerala 600 700 500 monthly basis. Of all the migrants, 13 per cent
Relative Wages were paid wages weekly and 19 per cent were
Mason Carpenter Helper paid wages after a month. Small contractors
and subcontractors usually paid wages to their
Assam: Kerala 2.4 2.5 2.5
workers when they were paid the instalments
Odisha: Kerala 3.0 3.5 3.1
by the employers. Money is transferred to the
West Bengal: Kerala 2.4 NA* 2.8
contractor at different stages of the project
Source: Field Survey, 2015. depending on the contract. In most cases, the
Note: Actual wages are the wages reported by the migrant contractors paid wages to the workers at the
workers in their respective states.
same frequency with which they got the pay-
*The study did not find any carpenters from West Bengal.
ments. In case of monthly wage payment, the
contractors give a small sum (usually `500 a
of the states. The actual wages in some of the
week) to the workers so that they can sustain
states were lower than even the average daily
themselves during the period. Subsequently,
wage rates calculated by the National Sample
after each month, the remaining payments are
Survey of Office (NSSO). For example, the
calculated and settled.
actual wages of masons in Assam, Odisha and
The other way to look at Table 15.2 is to
West Bengal in 2015 were `250, `200 and
see how much labour cost can be reduced by
`250, respectively, whereas the average daily
contractors by employing migrant workers.
wage rate collected by NSSO was `363.97,
The wage ratio of a migrant worker to a non-
`342.42 and `319.04, respectively. Table
migrant worker is 0.71 for masons, 0.70 for
15.1 also shows the relative wages of migrant
carpenters and 0.67 for helpers. This means
masons, carpenters and helpers in Kerala
that the contractor saves around 30 per cent of
compared with the actual wages they received
the labour cost by employing migrant work-
in their respective states. On an average, the
ers instead of native Malayali workers. Given
migrants received more than twice the wages
in Kerala than they did in their home states.
There is a considerable difference between Table 15.2 Average Wages of Migrant and
Malayali Workers in Kerala
the wages and working conditions of migrant
workers and those of Malayali workers. Table Wages of
15.2 shows the average wages of 60 inter- Average Wages Malayali
of Migrant Workers
viewed migrants and the existing wage rate of
Occupation Workers (`) (`) Wage Ratios
Malayali workers according to different occu-
pations. The wages of a migrant mason are Mason 600 850 0.71
`250 less than what a Malayali worker would Carpenter 700 1,000 0.70
receive. Even the wages of Malayali helpers, Helper 500 750 0.67
whose work is considered as unskilled, are Source: Field Survey, 2015.
more than wages of skilled migrant workers. Note: The wages of the Malayali workers is the
Construction Workers’ Union wage rate in Thrissur
district.
this, it is logical to believe that if all work is during the day. The Union protects them from
taken up by the migrants, the Malayali work- any kind of exploitation by the contractors.
ers will find no avenues of employment unless On the other hand, the migrant workers are
they decide to work at lower wages. However, exploited a lot by the contractors. The survey
there is still an active Malayali workforce with found that 80 per cent of the migrant work-
relatively higher wages. How can one explain ers worked more than eight hours a day and
this continued employment of Malayali work- 28 per cent of them worked over nine hours a
ers at higher wages? day. An eight-hour working day enforced by
A contractor in Thrissur district says that the Union does not apply to migrant workers
Malayali workers are usually skilled and know who are not registered with the Union. Only
the work very well. This is because before 20 per cent of migrant workers reported work-
becoming a mason, they worked for a long ing for eight hours a day, and for these workers
time under a senior mason. That is why there too, the duration of breaks during the day was
is hardly any wastage of raw materials during different compared to the Malayali workers.
construction. On the other hand, the migrants ‘Malayali workers are allowed to take longer
who work as masons are not professional lunch and tea breaks during the working hours.
enough and waste a lot of cement. They are They are also allowed frequent beedi smoking
able to follow whatever is told to them but they breaks. If we ask for longer breaks, the con-
lack creativity. Another contractor agrees that tractor threatens to fire us from the job,’ says
Malayali workers are more efficient but says a migrant worker from Nadia in West Bengal.
that Malayali masons do not prefer to work The migrant workers are also not provided
under a contractor. Rather, a mason or a group any safety gears like chains and harness,
of Malayali masons take contracts themselves hard hats, safety gloves, boots, and safety
and engage migrant unskilled workers along vests. During monsoon, when the scaffold-
with them. So, what we are witnessing is a shift ings at the construction sites are slippery, the
in the employment structure in Kerala wherein migrant workers are forced to work without
the high-paying skilled jobs are being taken up any safety measures. In case of accidents
by the Malayali workers and the low-paying or illness, the contractors do not pay for the
unskilled work which requires high manual medical expenditure of the migrant workers,
labour is being filled up with migrant workers. whereas in case of Malayali workers, the con-
The demographic profile of Malayali tractors take care of medical cost of on-site
workers is drastically different from that of accidents. Migrant workers are also not enti-
the migrant workers. The Malayali workers tled to paid leave, sick leave or leave during
on an average are literate with more years of public holidays.
schooling, have better aesthetic sense, and are On the whole, field insights suggest that
conversant with modern construction designs, the recent trend of long-distance migration
processes, and tools. In addition to all of this, has resulted in a widening of the labour divide
they are socially and culturally similar to the in Kerala. On the one hand are the Malayali
employers. All these aspects make a Malayali workers who are protected by the labour laws
worker more ‘efficient’. Another important and welfare measures. They are part of labour
aspect is the existence of strong labour unions unions and are able to negotiate their terms of
in Kerala. These unions also ensure employ- work with the employers. On the other hand
ment of Malayali workers at various work- are the long-distance migrant workers who
sites. In Thrissur city, it is mandatory that are not part of labour unions, are paid lower
out of total workers in a project, 20 per cent wages, made to work for longer hours, work
should be Malayali workers belonging to the in dangerous conditions and are not provided
Union. These workers have fixed eight hours any social security benefits. This divide has
of work in a day and can take longer breaks helped the agents and contractors to exploit
the migrants and to reduce the labour cost of his family saying that he has maligned their
production. For a state which has championed religious norms. He was directed by the vil-
the cause of workers in the past, this divide is lagers to stop working in the slaughterhouse
a blot of shame. immediately and was threatened with further
consequences if he did not comply. He had
to leave the job after that and had to work
in the construction sector at lower wages.
MIGRATION AND NEW OCCUPATIONAL So the occupational choices of the migrants
CHOICES depended not only on higher wages, physi-
cal labour requirement, social networks, and
Most first-time migrants to Kerala travel with language skills but also on social and cultural
a more experienced migrant from their village. norms followed back in their native places.
This experienced migrant is either a friend,
relative or an agent. Not all workers, before
migrating to Kerala, are assured of employ-
ment in Kerala. After their arrival, the initial PLACES OF ACCOMMODATION AND
few days are spent hunting for jobs. At times, LIVING CONDITIONS
they find employment in sectors in which they
have no prior experience of working and are In the mainstream media of Kerala, there have
forced to change their occupation. The study been reports on the poor living conditions of
found that some migrant construction workers migrants in Kerala. This is mainly to justify the
before migrating to Kerala worked in agricul- argument that many diseases, which were once
ture, mining, fisheries, and copper/brass hand- eradicated from the state, are brought back
icrafts. As migrant workers are prepared to by the migrants causing serious health issues
shoulder extremely heavy burdens of work for among the Keralites. The unhygienic lifestyle
higher wage earnings, they change their occu- followed by migrants in Kerala is found to be
pation if an employer offers higher wages. leading to many problems for themselves as
But not all workers are willing to work well as to the native Malayalis. Unable to iden-
by exerting high physical labour, and hence tify and understand why the migrants resort to
change their occupation. Some of such live in deplorable living conditions, this false
switchovers of work also depend on the flu- narrative has led to some tensions between the
ency of migrant workers in Malayalam lan- migrants and the native people.
guage. A worker can find work in bakeries, The study found that 35 per cent of the
restaurants and hotels, provisional stores and workers lives in makeshift houses near the
supermarkets if he/she is able to interact with workplaces. These houses are generally con-
the customers in Malayalam. Advantages of structed with sun-dried bricks and mud. The
working at these places include reduced phys- roof is made up of steel or asbestos sheets.
ical burden of work, regular wage payment, Such houses usually do not have the facili-
and relatively better job security. More impor- ties of potable drinking water and electricity.
tantly, it opens up a space for regular interac- Most of the residences visited by the author
tion between migrants and the native people. had electricity connections but not many had
Some workers find work at places which a municipal water connection. They relied on
conflicts with their social, cultural or religious wells and public taps for water. Of the migrant
norms. A migrant worker from Jalpaiguri in workers, 53 per cent lived in single room hos-
West Bengal who follows Buddhism had to tels. The size of the room and the number of
work in a slaughterhouse. When news of his residents in a room varied.
new occupation reached his home town, the All the respondents said that they had elec-
villagers who practise Buddhism ostracized tricity at their place of residence. But many
respondents said that the drinking water facil- toilet cum bathroom attached to it. The aver-
ity was absent. The sources of drinking water age proportion is one toilet for three to four
included piped-water supply at the place of smaller rooms (which accommodate four or
residence, public taps where municipal water fewer migrants).
comes at specific times of the day and wells Many local shop owners also rent the
near the place of accommodation. Of the vacant terrace area of their shops. The terrace
migrant workers, 58 per cent had the facility area is covered with asbestos or steel sheets.
of piped water for drinking, 25 per cent had to Electricity is provided but not a water connec-
go to the nearest public taps to collect drink- tion. The present study found that 9 per cent
ing water and 12 per cent collected drinking of the total respondents lived in such facilities.
water from wells. As a lot of local people in Of the workers, 2 per cent stayed at a rented
Kerala too use wells in their homes for drink- house which had all the basic facilities like
ing water, prima facie it cannot be viewed as a electricity and a potable water connection.
discriminatory practice. Usually, a house is rented by a group of 10
Many migrants, due to unavailability of a or more migrants from the same region/village
water connection at their place of residence, back in their home state.
are forced to take a bath near the public taps. The migrants are willing to live at these
The public taps are a source of drinking water places in order to save and remit a major pro-
and having a puddle of dirty water nearby can portion of their earnings in Kerala. The study
cause a lot of waterborne diseases. Living found that 70 per cent of migrants are able to
in small spaces, there is no proper drainage remit `7,000 or more a month to their homes.
system for water used for bathing, cooking and This is possible by cutting down on their
washing clothes. The dirty water gets accumu- spending on food and accommodation. These
lated in nearby plots which causes outbreaks migrants spent only up to 15 per cent of their
of epidemics like malaria, dengue, chikun- earnings on rent and about `2,000– 3,000 on
gunya, amoebiasis, and cholera. Discussions food per month.
with local medical practitioners during this But to put the entire blame on migrants
survey also support this argument. for their willingness to stay at such places is
With the coming of migrant workers, a new a bit far-fetched. We cannot overlook the fact
business opportunity has sprung up. Many that the state has no alternate accommodation
people away from the local people’s place to provide the migrants at the same rent. The
of residence have constructed a lot of single- attitude of the local people also forces them
room lodges. Most lodges or hostels, in order to stay at these places. Many native Malayali
to attract migrants, are constructed near major residents living near the residences of migrant
labour chowks. Each lodge has a minimum of workers reported that they have not faced any
10 and a maximum of 20 rooms. They are usu- serious inconveniences with the migrants’
ally owned by the return migrants from Gulf presence. Most residents keep a distance from
countries or established shop owners near the the migrants and try to avoid any conversation
labour chowks. The size of the room is in the with them. Some of them said that they are
range of 100–250 square feet and accommo- a bit sceptical about the migrants because of
dates two to six migrants in a room. Electricity the multiple cases of crime including murder,
is provided by the owner along with a CFL theft, and burglary that have recently occurred
bulb, a fan, and potable water. On an average, in different parts of Kerala. When there are no
a room for two people fetches a rent of `2,000 alternative accommodation choices available
per month, rent for a room that can accommo- to the migrants and when the local residents
date four people is `3,000 per month and rent have developed certain prejudices against the
for a room that can accommodate six people migrants and have made a conscious choice
costs `4,000 per month. The big rooms have a of alienating the migrants, what choice do the
migrants have other than to live in such inhu- One slightly positive aspect of this ghet-
man conditions? toization is that it creates an environment for
migrants from different socio-cultural back-
grounds to mingle with each other and pro-
vides them an opportunity to unite and stand
ASSIMILATION OF MIGRANTS together against any exploitation (Remesh,
2012; Remesh & Sajikumar, 2014). The study
The migrants feel disconnected from the local found that the migrants practising different
population on many levels. One major barrier religions or/and belonging to different castes
is the language. Of all the migrant workers, 80 stayed together in a single room. Most of them
per cent could understand Malayalam and 55 who belonged to the same region normally did
per cent could speak Malayalam. The migrant not frequently interact back in their native
workers learn Malayalam by interacting places. The relationship developed between
with contractors, Malayali co-workers at the the migrants in Kerala is influencing and
worksites and through interactions with the reshaping the social norms in the migrants’
local people at public spaces. However, the home towns.
migrants’ knowledge of the language is mostly Migrant workers coming from a completely
confined to the common instructions used at different climate zone face a lot of difficulty
the worksite, few sentences to negotiate wages in Kerala. The water and food change in itself
with the contractor, to buy commodities from causes a lot of minor health problems. Other
the market and to interact with bus conductors than that, they face many respiratory diseases
and houseowners. This language barrier often and discomforts in the workplace which may
creates communication gaps leading to mis- lead to asthma. When faced with minor health
understandings between migrants and local problems like cold, cough, fever, headache
people. The instructions given by the contrac- and stomach ache, the migrants prefer going
tors to the migrants are not easily understood to the local medical shop and buying medicine
if they are different from commonly used as per the pharmacists’ instruction. The prob-
instructions. Public places like parks, buses lem is that in case the migrant suffers from a
and shops are other places where interaction major disease, it does not get diagnosed in the
with the local people becomes difficult. initial stages. It is only when it gets serious
The migrants at public spaces are met by that the migrants consult a doctor.
the local people with an unwelcome eye. There One major reason why the migrants do
exist strong socio-cultural barriers which not consult a doctor when they fall ill is due
often hinder the assimilation of migrants into to the high consultation fees that the doctors
Kerala’s society and even force them to live charge in Kerala. Some of the interviewed
in ‘migrants-only neighbourhoods’ (Remesh migrants belonged to the Below Poverty Line
& Sajikumar, 2014). The alienation of the households and were eligible beneficiaries
migrants by the natives causes unquantifia- of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, but
ble emotional distress. This, in the long term, were unaware of the provision that they could
affects their health and productivity. Alienation benefit with this scheme outside their home
disallows the migrants to identify the social state. The other reason why migrants do not
and cultural norms of the host society and consult a doctor is because most doctors’
further damages the relationship between the consultation hours coincide with their work-
two. The divide between the migrants and ing hours. Therefore, to consult a doctor, the
the natives allows the space for the creation migrants will have to forgo a day’s work. It
of false narratives about the migrants which also takes a lot of days to get an appointment
are used to blame the migrants for everything in government hospitals for skin and respira-
going wrong in the society. tory diseases.
A doctor who runs a clinic in Anthikad Board in 2010. Under this scheme, registered
says that a lot of the migrants face respiratory migrant workers could avail healthcare ben-
diseases. She said, ‘The problem is that they efits, compensation for worksite accidents
consult a doctor very late when the illness or death, grants for children’s education and
is already severe. And after that, it becomes retirement benefits (Government of Kerala,
very difficult to treat the patient, as most of 2010; Kumar, 2011). In 2013, the govern-
them don’t take proper rest’. The consultation ment financed a study conducted by the Gulati
hours are from 9 am to 6 pm. She added, ‘Most Institute of Finance and Taxation to quantify
of the workers are from a really poor back- the number of migrant workers and to under-
ground. Coming from as far as West Bengal stand their socio-economic conditions in
to work in Kerala, they try to earn as much as Kerala. After the present government came
they can and forget to take care of health. To to power, they continued the welfare meas-
encourage them to consult the doctors, some ures for the migrants. In 2016, under the 13th
of us (other doctors) decided to increase the Finance Commission of Kerala, a working
consultation hours for them and charge less group was constituted to formulate welfare
consultation fees. The consultation hour for measures required for uplifting the socio-
the migrants was extended from 6 pm to 9 pm. economic conditions of the migrant workers.
This step was successful as more and more In 2017, the government launched a scheme
migrants started to visit before the disease named Aawaz, to provide health insurance to
got severe.’ all migrant workers in the state. All migrant
Over the years, efforts are being made workers in the age group 18–60 years are
from both sides to break the socio-cultural covered under this scheme (Government of
barriers between them. Migrants are learn- Kerala, 2016). The government also started a
ing and adjusting to the socio-cultural norms project named Apna Ghar, which will provide
of Kerala. They celebrate religious festi- economical and hygienic rental accommoda-
vals of Kerala and participate in temple (and tion for migrant workers, thus improving the
church) festivals with equal zest as natives. living standards of the migrants (Government
The migrants are also learning Malayalam of Kerala, 2017). Such proactive and progres-
whereas the local people are familiarizing sive steps by the Government of Kerala give
themselves with Hindi, a language that is hope of smoother assimilation of the migrants
spoken by most migrants. Contractors are in the host society.
employing those people as supervisors at the
worksites who can speak Hindi and interact
with the migrants efficiently. Many shopkeep-
ers are also learning Hindi to understand the CONCLUSION
needs of the migrant workers and provide ser-
vices henceforth. Many shops, bus stands, and This chapter explored the working and living
private clinics have put up boards in Hindi. conditions of 60 migrant workers employed in
Efforts like these by the host society help the the construction sector in Thrissur district of
assimilation of migrants into society. Kerala. The study showed that labour market in
The government too has realized the Kerala is segmented between Malayali work-
importance of migrant workers in Kerala’s ers who are well organized and are protected
economy. The first step towards ensuring the under labour regulations and migrant workers
welfare of migrant workers was by intro- who are not organized and are not effectively
ducing the Kerala Migrant Workers’ Welfare covered under labour regulations. This seg-
Programme under the Kerala Building and mentation in labour market works to the dis-
other Construction Workers’ Welfare Fund advantage of both the local Malayali workers
as well as migrant workers. While local work- REFERENCES

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16
Diversification of
Household Labour*
Nandan Kumar
INTRODUCTION production chain, which plays an important

role in lowering the cost of production (Ness,
With the advent of globalization, it is com- 2016). It has been found that currently a huge
monly believed that the volume, diversity proportion of labour migration that is taking
and geographical scope of migration have place is circular in nature. Single young male
increased (Czaika & de Haas, 2014). The migrants keep moving between the origin and
volume of labour migration varies from survey destinations, while the rest of the family stays
to survey and their methods of counting back or is engaged in locally available work.
migrants also vary. Usually, it has been found Circular migration is seen as the deployment
that in small-scale surveys, a much higher of household labour force at distant loca-
propensity of migration has been captured tions or pooling income from varied sources.
(Deshingkar & Akter, 2009; Srivastava, 2003). In the literature of development studies, this
There is hardly any segment of the workforce phenomenon is considered akin to livelihood
without the presence of migrants, but mostly diversification (Barrett, Reardon & Webb,
they are found at the lower end of the labour 2001; Ellis, 1998, 2003; Scoones, 1998).
market, such as unskilled casual labourers or The main objective of the present study is to
those who own or hire small means of live- understand the nature and extent of household
lihood, such as carts or rickshaws, and are livelihood diversification concomitant to the
self-employed (Srivastava, 2003). In the glo- process of out-migration in India.
balized production system, migrant labour Before discussing migration as part of
has become an important part of the global household livelihood diversification, it is
*All tables and figures of this chapter have been prepared by the author from the India Human Development
Survey II.
Diversification of Household Labour 221
necessary to describe the concept of livelihood been considered as a desperate attempt for
and livelihood diversification. Livelihood survival caused by a push factor rather than a
comprises people, their capabilities and their pull factor (Bryceson, 1998). However, it may
means of living (Chambers & Conway, 1992). take place when the condition of the economy
Clearly, the objective of bringing the term into is dynamic and households aspire for a better
the literature of development studies was to lifestyle (Ellis, 1998).
understand the mechanism of survival of the In the recent years, the popularity of the
people by using their assets or capabilities in concept of livelihood and livelihood diversifi-
an increasingly unequal and environmentally cation has increased in the literature on migra-
vulnerable world. The term employment, tion. For a long time, migration literature has
which is a more popular concept, deals merely been dominated by the scholarly argument
with the work status or job of the people, between development optimists and develop-
not the entire survival strategy. According to ment pessimists. Development optimists con-
Chambers (1995), employment means having sidered migration a shift of excess labour force
a job with an employer who provides remu- from sending areas, whereas development
neration (usually a wage or salary) for work pessimists considered migration as a shift of
done, which is close to the reality of the life critical human resources. In the 1980s, with
of the global north. Employment can provide the advent of the pluralist approach in social
a livelihood but most livelihoods of the poor sciences, the studies on migration received a
of the global south are based on precarious new set of ideas (de Haas, 2010). The recent
resources, agricultural, seasonal or casual theoretical endeavours in the field of migra-
activities and claims to the society or the tion recognize the fact that migration is not a
government which are hard to be recognized monolithic process of changing work profile
appropriately in the categories of employ- and area of residence in a singular form (de
ment. The reality of life and the livelihood of Haan, 1999). It unfolds differently in different
the poor of the global south is local, diverse, areas. Thus, any simplistic conclusion about
often complex and dynamic, whereas the con- migration and development relations must
cept and categories of employment are uni- be avoided (de Haas, 2010). The livelihood
versal, reductionist, standardized and stable framework which is concomitant to the plural-
(Chambers, 1995; Jodha, 1988). ist approach to understand the ways of survival
Family or household is considered as the of the human society is open to capture the
unit to understand the livelihood strategy. In a diversity in the migration process (ibid.). The
family, the survival of each individual member recently developed theory of New Economics
is a shared responsibility (Schmink, 1984). of Labour Migration (NELM) begs certain
Diversification of livelihood is a norm rather similarity with the livelihood framework in
than an exception in the developing world (Ellis, explaining migration. NELM also shares
1998). Very few people collect all their income the view that migration is a household strat-
from any one source, hold all their wealth in the egy rather than the strategy of an individual
form of any single asset or use their assets in (ibid.). Akin to the motive of livelihood diver-
the most gainful activity (Barrett et al., 2001). sification, it views migration as the familial
People often survive on precarious resources, arrangement of ‘co-insurance’ of sources of
their income is insufficient and unstable, often income of the household. Further, it is argued
affected by seasonal cycles, and their labour that migration is a good strategy of livelihood
market is not developed enough so that a house- diversification and co-insurance of the income
hold may transfer their entire human resources of a household, as the income earned at dis-
into a single activity (Barrett et al., 2001; Ellis, tinct locations may be uncorrelated (de Haas,
1998). Livelihood diversification has often 2010; Ellis, 2003).
In India, the concept of livelihood and to non-agricultural has not only an economic
livelihood diversification has gained popular- significance but also socio-cultural signifi-
ity among those who try to understand rural cance. It means that land and agriculture have
life and the survival of people in detailed and lost their previous importance in determining
qualitative terms. However, in many other social relations and cultural life, which has
developing countries, the phenomenon was been termed as ‘new rurality’, first used in the
studied with quantitative methods, large-scale context of Latin America, where agriculture
sample surveys and macroeconomic expla- lost its importance much earlier compared
nations. It has been proven that although with other developing countries of global
exploring local and diverse reality is impor- south (Key, 2008).
tant, the need for theorization and general- Although the Census, large-scale sample
ization remains important in its own right. surveys like the National Sample Survey
Such efforts have been lacking in the Indian (NSS) and research based on them do not
context. Simultaneously, the understanding of discuss the process of livelihood diversifica-
migration as a livelihood diversification pro- tion in India, they give the impression of a
cess also remains lacking. deepening agrarian crisis, widespread casu-
On the basis of a multi-country surveys con- alization and informalization and increasing
ducted in Asia, Africa and Latin America with mobility of the workforce. In India, 80.8 per
Rural Income Generating Activities (RIGA) cent of landholdings were less than 1 hectare
database, Davis et al. (2007) and Winters et and around 64.8 per cent of holdings were less
al. (2009) gave a clear picture of diversifica- than 0.4 hectares in 2009–2010 (Ministry of
tion of livelihood across the rural areas in the Rural Development, Government of India).
countries of the global south. Some scholars The 70th round of NSS conducted in 2013
argued that the process of livelihood diversifi- shows that an average household of cultiva-
cation is closely associated with the process of tors receives merely `3,081 from cultivation
shrinking agriculture in the rural areas in the and `763 from animal husbandry in a month.
‘era of Globalization’, which was termed as The household which possesses landholdings
‘deagrarianization’ by Bryceson (1996). She ranging from 0.41 to 1 hectare earned merely
explained further that with the receding public `2,145 per month from agriculture and `629
sector enterprise and growing casualization from animal husbandry and those who pos-
of employment and decline of urban area in sess landholdings ranging from 0.01 to 0.41
Africa, people are not able to find an appro- hectare earned merely `687 per month from
priate alternative to agricultural activities to agriculture and `621 from animal husbandry
secure their livelihood; thus, they are adopt- (NSS, 2015). In the 1981 Census, the propor-
ing livelihood options which are irregular in tion of farmers in the workforce was 37.8 per
nature. Switching over to economic activities cent, which dropped to 24.6 per cent in 2011.
and casual labour migration are common- For the first time in the history of Census
place among the poor. Rigg (2006) noted of India, an absolute decline of the popu-
that occupational multiplicity is becoming lation of cultivators was recorded in 2011.
more common and pronounced, the balance The National Commission for Enterprises in
of household income is shifting from farm to the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) suggests
non-farm (including remittances), livelihoods around 93 per cent of India’s workforce cur-
and poverty are becoming delinked from land rently being in ‘informal employment’, which
(and from farming), importance of education indicates that the process of globalization has
in determining economic mobility is increas- failed to provide any gainful employment or
ing and youths are getting aspired to engage stable livelihood to the poor (NCEUS, 2012).
in non-agricultural activities. The fact of veer- The data from 2011 Census again shows that
ing away of rural livelihood from agricultural the migrant population has increased from
30.58 per cent to 37.47 per cent and proportion different from the method of Census which
of male migrants has increased from 17.54 captures ‘migrants’ at the area of destina-
per cent to 22.60 per cent in the intercensal tion, but similar to capturing ‘out-migrants’
period of 2001–2011. The data on reasons of from a household in the 64th round of NSS in
migration shows that migration due to work 2006–2007.
or employment-related reasons has increased At first, the study attempts to understand
from 9.51 per cent in 2001 to 10.22 per cent from which state out-migration is higher and
in 2011, which confirms that overall mobility which socio-economic group is more migra-
has drastically increased in Indian society and tory, where they are going and what they are
mobility of workforce is also increasing at a doing at their destination. Thereafter, this study
faster pace in the era when livelihood from shifts its focus on the migrants who are a part
agriculture is on the decline. of the ‘labour-force’ at the area of destina-
tion. The labour force consists of the migrants
who are currently engaged in any occupation
(for some of the migrants, the occupation is
OBJECTIVES not reported) and the migrants who are cur-
rently not working but looking for work, rest
The first objective of the chapter is to assess are categories such as ‘non-worker’ and have
the level of out-migration in recent times and been dropped from the analysis of ‘livelihood
the migrants’ work status, understanding the diversification’.
process of deployment of the household work- In the previous studies about livelihood
force at different places as part of livelihood diversification based upon large-scale sample
diversification and understanding the impor- survey data, it has been simplified as ‘diversifi-
tance of out-migration compared with other cation of income in various sources’, although,
sources of income in the rural and urban areas. as discussed in the previous section, the scope
of livelihood goes much beyond income (Ellis,
1998). However, the identification, classifi-
cation and calculation of income remains a
SOURCES OF DATA AND METHODS problem despite the simplification (ibid.). The
study takes a different approach to understand
In India, large-scale sample surveys like NSS the process of livelihood diversification. It
have not conducted any survey on migration considers the deployment of working mem-
after 2006–2007. Also, the Census of India bers in distinct activities as diversification,
is yet to release the required data to capture rather than income diversification. Thus, in
the figure of out-migration from states from the study, the scope of livelihood diversifica-
the latest round of 2011. Thus, to understand tion has been reduced to ‘activity diversifica-
the phenomenon of out-migration in India, tion’. To understand the diversification across
the study has used the second round of India sectors, the economic activities are clubbed as
Human Development Survey (IHDS-II) data agricultural, non-agricultural and transferring
of 2011–2012. The other advantage of the the workforce at distinct places (as migrant
IHDS survey is that it is a multi-topic survey workers). It provides a broader picture of sec-
which collects data on work status and sources toral transformation. For further elaboration
of income along with the data of migration. of the process of diversification, agricultural
Thus, it makes it possible to understand the activities have been categorized into ‘culti-
phenomenon of livelihood diversification. vation’, ‘animal husbandry’ and ‘agricultural
In this survey, ‘out-migrants’ have been wage labour’, and non-agricultural activities
captured at the area of origin defined as have been categorized into ‘self-employment’,
non-resident members of the household. It is ‘non-agricultural wage labour’ and ‘salaried
employment’. It makes an exhaustive list of In the case of male out-migrants, the highest
‘locally available or local activities’. share comes from Uttar Pradesh (23.7%), the
To compare out-migration with other other major representation comes from Bihar
sources of income, decomposition of the Gini (12.4%), Madhya Pradesh (8.4%), Rajasthan
index has been done separately for rural and (7%), West Bengal (7%), Karnataka (5%),
urban areas. It shows the share of income from Andhra Pradesh (4.6%) and Chhattisgarh
each source, the pattern of income distribution (4%). In the case of female out-migrants,
from each source and how a possible incre- Uttar Pradesh (11.8%) again outnumbers
ment in one source of income can affect the
total income, positively or negatively.
Table 16.1 Socio-economic Background of
Out-Migrant Households
Out-Migration (%)
OUT-MIGRATION IN INDIA
No Yes Total
According to 2011–2012 data of the IHDS-II, Area of residence

out-migration is taking place from 23.3 per Rural 65.22 77.75 68.14
cent of households. Table 16.1 shows the Urban 34.78 22.25 31.86
socio-economic background of the households Total 100 100 100
participating in the process of out-migration Social categories
by sending out at least one of their mem- Brahmins 4.33 6.68 4.88
bers. It also provides an understanding about Forward caste 15.62 15.08 15.5
over-representation or under-representation of Other backward caste 35.09 37.92 35.75
different socio-economic segments compared (OBC)
with their actual population. It reveals that the Schedule caste (SC) 22.87 19.47 22.08
phenomenon of out-migration is prevalent in Schedule tribe (ST) 8.58 7.35 8.29
every socio-economic group without excep- Muslims 11.29 11.52 11.34
tion varying only in its intensity and that too Christians, Sikhs and 2.22 2 2.17
not very dramatically. In the case of area of Jains
residence, the participation of households in Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
the migration process is high in rural areas. Main source of livelihood
In case of social groups, Dalits and Adivasis Agriculture and allied 23.4 30.42 25.03
are under-represented in the stream of migra- activities
tion and Muslims and Other Backward Agricultural wage labour 12.04 8.93 11.32
Castes (OBCs) are over-represented. Among Non-agricultural wage 25.23 17.73 23.48
labour
the better-off groups, Brahmins are over-
represented and under-representation comes Artisan 1.91 1.2 1.75
from Forward Castes (except Brahmins) Petty shop 11.37 8.37 10.67
and other small religious minority groups Organized business 1.28 0.87 1.18
(Christians, Sikhs and Jains). As far as the Salaried 18.15 16.66 17.8
main source of household livelihood is con- Profession 0.55 0.46 0.52
cerned, the households which depend on agri- Pension/rent etc. 3.98 8.23 4.97
culture, pension or rent and other sources have Others 2.11 7.14 3.28
more migrant members. In case of economic Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
status (by consumption measures), non-poor Consumption poverty
households have more migrant members. Non-poor 81.8 85.2 82.59
Table 16.2 shows the state-wise distribu- Poor 18.2 14.8 17.41
tion of the out-migrant population in India. Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 16.2 Share of States/Union Territories the highest contributor state of Uttar Pradesh
in Out-Migrant Population in India (%) (1.5 times). The lowest propensity is from the
Proportional Share (%) states of Maharashtra and Goa combined and
also from Assam (0.3 times each), followed by
State Male Female Total
Haryana and Delhi (0.4 times each), Gujarat,
Jammu & Kashmir 1.4 2.0 1.5 Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Himachal Pradesh 1.2 1.0 1.2 combined and Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
Punjab and Chandigarh 2.3 3.3 2.5 combined (0.5 times each). In the case of
Uttarakhand 2.9 2.5 2.8 female out-migration, the highest propensity is
Haryana 0.7 0.7 0.7 in seven North Eastern states (except Assam)
Delhi 0.7 2.5 1.0 (2.5 times), followed by Karnataka (2.2 times),
Rajasthan 7.0 6.2 6.8 central Indian states like Madhya Pradesh (1.9
Uttar Pradesh 23.7 11.8 21.6 times), Chhattisgarh (1.6 times) and western
Bihar 12.4 4.9 11.1 Himalayan states such as Jammu and Kashmir
North East (except Assam) 0.9 3.0 1.2 and Himachal Pradesh (1.6 times each).
Assam 0.8 0.2 0.7 Table 16.3 suggests that males are out-
West Bengal 7.0 5.9 6.8 migrating to much longer distances compared
Jharkhand 2.5 2.3 2.5 with females, yet more than half of the males
Odisha 2.5 2.2 2.4 (51%) are migrating within the boundary of
Chhattisgarh 4.0 4.9 4.1 the state, whereas 42.3 per cent are migrat-
Madhya Pradesh 8.4 10.0 8.7 ing out of the state and 6.2 per cent are going
Gujarat and Daman & Diu 2.7 5.2 3.2 abroad. Whereas among females, 78.5 per cent
and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are staying within the state, 19.1 per cent are
Maharashtra and Goa 2.8 3.9 3.0 out of state and merely 2.4 per cent are abroad.
Andhra Pradesh 4.6 8.4 5.3 Table 16.4 suggests that 17.9 per cent of
Karnataka 5.0 11.6 6.2 males and 23.4 per cent of females stayed
Kerala 3.6 3.8 3.6 within the boundary of the same village or
Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry 3.1 3.8 3.2 town of their origin, 16.9 per cent of males and
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 36.4 per cent of females migrated to another
rural area, 40.9 per cent of males and 29.4 per
cent of females migrated to another city and
other states but with a smaller margin, 24.4 per cent of males and 10.9 per cent of
closely followed by the south Indian state of females migrated to a metro city.
Karnataka (11.6%). Other major contributors Table 16.5 shows the labour force participa-
are Madhya Pradesh (10%), Andhra Pradesh tion among out-migrants. It suggests that 21.4
(8.4%), Rajasthan (6.2%), West Bengal per cent of male out-migrants and 72.3 per
(5.9%), Gujarat, Daman and Diu and Dadra cent of female out-migrants were not a part of
and Nagar Haveli combined (5.2%) and Bihar the labour force and 1.8 per cent of male and
and Chhattisgarh (4.9% each). female out-migrants did not have any occupa-
Figure 16.1 suggests that the smaller tion at the time of the survey. Remaining men
states are showing higher propensity of out- and women were a part of the workforce in
migration, although their share is much lower which the occupations of 3.9 per cent of men
due to their overall demographic strength. In and 1.4 per cent of women were not identified
case of male migrants, the highest propensity and 72.6 per cent of men and 24.6 per cent of
of out-migration is in Himachal Pradesh (2.3 women stated their occupation.
times than the national average), followed by Table 16.6 shows the type of occupation of
Uttarakhand (1.9 times), followed by Bihar the out-migrants who stated their occupation.
(1.7 times), Madhya Pradesh (1.6 times) and Among male out-migrants, 48.8 per cent are
2
Himachal Pradesh 1.6
2.3
1.8
Uttarakhand 1.5
1.9
1.6
Madhya Pradesh 1.9
1.6
1.5
Bihar 0.7
1.7
1.4
Chhattisgarh 1.7
1.4
1.4
Uttar Pradesh 0.7
1.5
1.3
Kerala 1.3
1.3
1.2
Karnataka 2.2
1
1.2
Rajasthan 1.1
1.2
1.2
Jammu & Kashmir 1.6
1.1
1.1
Punjab and Chandigarh 1.5
1
1
India 1
1
1
North-East (except Assam) 2.5
0.7
0.9
West Bengal 0.8
0.9
0.7
Andhra Pradesh 1.2
0.7
0.7
Odisha 0.6
0.7
Gujarat and Daman & 0.6
1.1
Diu and Dadar & 0.5
0.6
Jharkhand 0.6
0.6
0.6
Delhi 1.6
0.4
0.5
Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry 0.6
0.5
0.4
Haryana 0.4
0.4
0.3
Maharashtra and Goa 0.4
0.3
0.3
Assam 0.1
0.3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
All Female Male
Figure 16.1 Out-Migration Propensity from States Compared with the National Average
Table 16.3 Types of Destination by States Table 16.4 Types of Destination by Area
Males (%) Females (%) Total (%) Males (%) Females (%) Total (%)
Same state 51.02 78.54 55.86 Same village 17.85 23.36 18.85
Another state 42.75 19.09 38.59 or town
Abroad 6.23 2.37 5.55 Another 16.92 36.43 20.46
village
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
Another city 40.88 29.37 38.79
Metro city 24.35 10.84 21.9
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 16.5 Employment Status of Out-Migrants which is the higher end of the emerging urban
Males (%) Females (%) Total (%) labour market.
Figure 16.1 depicts the sex ratio of workers
Occupation 72.56 24.57 64.17
in different activities, including the migrant
reported
in the survey workforce. It shows that participation of
Occupation not 3.91 1.35 3.46
women is higher in the work which is agri-
reported cultural in nature. It is highest in the occu-
No occupation 1.79 1.75 1.78 pation of animal husbandry where there are
Non-workers 21.74 72.32 30.58 1,070 female participants per 1,000 men. In
and other agricultural labour, 817 female participate
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 per 1,000 male and in cultivation, 730 female
participate per 1,000 males. Agricultural work
is seasonal in nature with less remuneration,
engaged in production and related activities, requires a lesser level of skill and many works
13.5 per cent are engaged in professional and associated to it are home-based activities
technical jobs, 11.3 per cent are engaged in (such as animal husbandry and post-harvest
service-related occupations, 9.8 per cent are work); thus, it attracts female labour force
in agriculture and other allied activities, 7.6 who carry lesser abilities and expectations
per cent are engaged in sales work, 7.4 per of earning. In non-agricultural work, partici-
cent are in clerical jobs and the remaining pation of female workforce is highest in the
1.7 per cent are in administrative or execu- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
tive jobs. On the other hand, in case of female Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) works which
out-migrants, 48.5 per cent are in professional also provide short-term employment with
and technical jobs, followed by production lower wages and irregular payment. Among
and related activities (16.3%), service jobs all non-migrant labourers, the male–female
(14.6%) and agriculture and allied activities sex ratio is lowest in salary-earning activi-
(11.6%). It shows that in the era of globaliza- ties (294 females per 1,000 males). Contrary
tion, migrant workers have become an impor- to agriculture, such activities provide regu-
tant contributor in production-related works. lar work and higher payment but also need a
A substantial proportion of migrants are par- higher level of skills or education. However,
ticipating in professional and technical jobs the participation of females in migrant labour
Table 16.6 Occupational Status of Employed Out-Migrants (Whose Occupation Is Known)

Males (%) Females (%) Total (%)
Professional, technical and related workers 13.47 48.46 15.81

Administrative, executive and managerial workers 1.68 1.11 1.64
Clerical and related workers 7.41 5.5 7.28
Sales workers 7.58 2.5 7.24
Service workers 11.28 14.58 11.5
Farmers, fisherman, hunters, loggers and related 9.79 11.59 9.91
workers
Production and related workers, transport equipment 48.79 16.25 46.62
operators and labourers
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
force is merely 77 females per 1,000 males. non-migrant workforce. The table suggests
It indicates that the female workforce in India that illiteracy and educational achievement
is much less mobile than the male workforce. is much lower in both male and female non-
Male workforce contributes to the family with migrant workers. Among male migrants, as
more remunerative work while less remuner- much as 42.6 per cent have completed 10th
ative works are assigned to the females. In a standard and 13.7 per cent are graduates, and
familial arrangement of ‘co-insurance’, when among female migrants, 38.1 per cent have
able-bodied male migrate, agricultural work completed 10th standard and 19.5 per cent
may be assigned to females. are graduates. On the other hand, among male
Figure 16.2 depicts the sex ratio of work- non-migrant workers, merely 31.7 per cent
ers in different activities. Table 16.7 shows the have completed 10th standard and 8.7 per
age distribution of male and female migrant cent are graduates, and among female non-
and non-migrant workforce. The table sug- migrants merely 14.2 per cent have completed
gests that among males, around 81 per cent of 10th standard and 3.4 per cent are graduates.
total workers are from the age group of 15–44
years in the migrant category, whereas among
non-migrants the share of this group is just
60 per cent, which goes further down in case HOUSEHOLD WORKFORCE
of those engaged in agriculture and animal DIVERSIFICATION AND MIGRATION
husbandry (54%). This shows that while the
young adult workforce is shifting out of agri- Table 16.9 shows the extent of workforce
culture, the gap is being filled by children and diversification in different activities in rural
elderly, and a substantial number of young and urban households. The table shows that in
adults may be joining migrant workforce. rural areas, merely 3.2 per cent households are
Table 16.8 shows the educational achieve- not engaged in any specific activity, whereas
ment of male and female migrant and in urban areas, around 6.5 per cent households
1,200
1,000 1070
800
817
774
Sex ratio
600 730
658
400
369
200 315 294
77
0
re
ur
ur
ry
r
ou
ou
ou
dr
la
tu
bo
bo
ne
an
ab
ab
Sa
ul
la
la
la
si
ric
sb
l
Bu
re
re
nt
nt
Ag
hu
G
tu
tu
ra
ra
RE
ul
ul
ig
ig
al
ric
ic
M
im
N
gr
-
G
Ag
An
on
-A
ln
on
Al
N
Occupation
Figure 16.2 Structure of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workforce

Table 16.7 Age Structure of Migrant and Non-Migrant Workers

Agriculture and
Age Group Animal Husbandry (%) Wage Worker (%) All Workers at the Origin (%) Migration (%)
Males
0–14 9.24 0.77 5.43 1.48
15–29 28.79 32.47 30.43 44.92
30–44 24.88 34.52 29.93 35.99
45–59 21.9 23.71 22.72 13.41
60–99 15.19 8.53 11.5 4.21
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Females
0–14 9.09 1.21 7.18 7.41
15–29 28.07 24.69 27.98 42.64
30–44 29.99 39.5 32.26 30.4
45–59 23.02 26.19 23.08 10.39
60–99 9.83 8.42 9.5 9.16
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 16.8 Educational Status of Migrant Table 16.9 Number of Activities Taken Up by
and Non-Migrant Workers the Households
Males (%) Females (%) Rural (%) Urban (%) All (%)
Local Migrant Local Migrant No activity 3.2 6.51 4.26
None 20.59 13.73 47.43 29.59 One 24.12 62.72 36.42
Below primary 10.36 6.55 9.92 8.35 Two 34.73 24.34 31.42
Below 18.26 17.43 16.33 12.13 Three 26.43 5.43 19.74
middle (8th) Four 9.72 0.92 6.91
Below 19.05 19.7 12.16 11.82 Five 1.74 0.09 1.21
secondary (10th) Six 0.06 0 0.04
Below high 13.75 15.94 6.5 7.79 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
secondary
Below bachelor 9.26 12.99 4.3 10.81
Bachelor and 8.73 13.68 3.37 19.52 Table 16.10 shows how three major activ-
above ity portfolios (agricultural, non-agricultural
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 and migration) are combined together in the
livelihood basket of rural and urban house-
holds. The table shows that in rural areas, as
are not engaged in any activity. In rural areas, much as 26.2 per cent households are engaged
merely 24.1 per cent households are engaged in in only agriculture, 14.8 per cent are engaged
one type of activity, whereas in urban areas, the in only non-agricultural activity and 2.5 per
proportion of such households is 62.7 per cent. cent only in out-migration, whereas agri-
As a result, as much as 72.7 per cent households cultural and non-agricultural activities are
in rural areas have a diverse activity portfolio, combined in 36.2 per cent households, agri-
which means that they combine more than one culture and migration are combined in 8.2 per
activity in their livelihood basket, whereas in cent households and 7.1 per cent households
urban areas, merely 30.8 per cent households combine all three type of activities. In urban
combine two or more activities. areas, as much as 70.7 per cent households
Table 16.10 Diversification of Household per cent in agriculture, 33 per cent in agricul-
Livelihood in Different Sectors tural labour, 38 per cent in non-agricultural
Rural (%) Urban (%) All (%) labour, 17.7 per cent are salaried, 12.7 per cent
are engaged in business or self-employment
No occupation 3.2 6.51 4.26
and 19.6 per cent have at least one family
Only agriculture 26.19 2.83 18.74
member who is part of the labour force at
Only 14.78 70.65 32.58
non-agriculture
the destination. Within that, in 8.7 per cent
Only migration 2.51 2.55 2.52
of cases, agriculture and migration are com-
Type mono 43.48 76.03 53.84
bined, in 12.5 per cent of cases, animal hus-
activity bandry and migration are combined, in 5 per
Agriculture and 36.23 9.21 27.62 cent of cases, agricultural labour and migra-
non-agriculture tion are combined, in 5.5 per cent of cases,
Agriculture and 8.19 0.66 5.79 migration is combined with non-agricultural
migration activities, in 2.5 per cent households, migra-
Non-agriculture 1.81 6.38 3.27 tion and salary earning are combined and in
and migration 2.2 per cent of cases, self-employment or
Agriculture, 7.08 1.2 5.21 business are combined with migration.
non-agriculture
Figure 16.3 shows the average income in
and migration
rural and urban areas earned from each income
Diversification 53.31 17.45 41.89
across sectors
portfolio, where mean shows the arithmetic
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00
average and median shows the income of the
individual who lies in the middle of the distri-
bution. If mean is much higher than median,
depend only on non-agricultural activity, 9.2 income distribution is skewed. In rural areas,
per cent households combine agricultural and mean income of a family is around `86,600 per
non-agricultural activities and the remaining annum and median income is around `51,650
merely 1.2 per cent households combine all per annum, while in urban areas, mean income
three types of activities in urban areas. Thus, is `170,200 per annum and median income is
diversification across sectors is found in 53.3 `109,000 per annum. Income from agriculture
per cent of rural households and 17.5 per cent is low and that too is concentrated in a few
of urban households. hands. In rural areas, mean agricultural income
Table 16.11 shows the matrix of household (agriculture, animal husbandry and land rent) is
portfolio of activities in rural areas. The table just `36,400 per annum, which means around
shows that in rural areas 56.3 per cent house- `3,000 per month, while median income is as
holds are engaged in animal husbandry, 43.4 low as `7,700, which means almost half of the
Table 16.11 Matrix of Combination of Activities Taken Up by the Household

Agriculture Animal Agricultural Non-agriculture Salary Business Migration
(%) Husbandry (%) Labour (%) Labour (%) (%) (%) (%)
Agriculture 43.4 34.0 12.8 14.4 6.2 4.5 8.7

Animal husbandry 56.3 17.7 21.5 8.8 6.7 12.5
Agricultural labour 33.0 13.6 3.2 2.0 5.0
Non-agriculture labour 38.0 4.2 3.1 5.5
Salary 17.7 1.6 2.5
Business 12.7 2.2
Migration 19.6
Agriculture Business Non-Agricultural wage

Agricultural wage Salary Government schemes
Remittance Others Total Income
1,70,199
1,66,225
1,29,376
1,10,500
1,09,000
88,731
86,578
72,504
72,750
72,000
64,635
64,159
61,687
60,000
60,000
51,650
50,500
48,000
38,733
36,421
37,572
36,000
31,083
30,669
30,000
27,000
25,617
24,000
18,600
17,500
7,660
5,616
4,705
2,400
2,000
3300
MEAN MEDIAN MEAN MEDIAN

RURAL URBAN
Figure 16.3 Mean and Median Income of Households by Occupation Categories
farmers earn less than `640 in a month from per annum which is much higher compared
agricultural activities. The mean income from with rural areas.
agricultural wage activity is `25,600 while Table 16.12 shows that in rural areas, the
median income is `7,500. Thus, the income contribution of agriculture (cultivation and
from agricultural wage is not very less com- animal husbandry) is 33 per cent in total house-
pared with agriculture and is more equally dis- hold income, which is the highest. However,
tributed. Income from non-agricultural wage agricultural wage contributes merely 10 per
is slightly higher compared with agricultural cent in total household income. Thus, the
wage (around `30,700 per annum) and dis- combined contribution of agriculture sector is
tributed in a similar fashion (median income merely 43 per cent. The role of salaried income
is around `18,600 per annum). Mean income comes next which is about 19 per cent. Again
from remittances is slightly higher compared non-agricultural wage employment contrib-
with agriculture (around `37,600 per annum) utes as much as 15 per cent of rural household
while median income is around `24,000 income, self-employment contributes 11 per
per annum. Mean income from business or cent, remittances contribute 6 per cent, other
self-employment is around `64,200 per annum, sources contribute 5 per cent and government
from salary it is as high as around `88,700 per schemes (including MGNREGA) contribute
annum and from other sources such as pension 1 per cent. In urban areas, the contribution
and rents, it is around `64,600 per annum. of salaried employment is as much as 49 per
In case of urban areas, higher income is cent, followed by business or self-employment
attained from salary, other sources, business (24%), the contribution of non-agricultural
or self-employment, whereas income from wage employment is lower than that in rural
non-agricultural wages is also quite high com- areas (11%), remittances contribute just 3 per
pared with the standard in rural areas. Mean cent in total urban income.
income from remittances is around `61,600
Table 16.12 Inequality by Occupation Column C shows the correlation between

Categories total income and each source. In rural areas,
A B C D agriculture, salary, self-employment and
others show a very strong relationship with
Rural
the variation in total income. On the other
Agriculture 33 0.72 0.78 0.09
hand, agricultural and non-agricultural wages
Self-employment 11 0.59 0.67 0.02
show no or a very weak relationship with
Non-agricultural wage 15 0.56 0.33 −0.08
total income. Remittances show a moderately
Agricultural wage 10 0.50 0.17 −0.07
strong relationship with the variation in total
Salary 19 0.56 0.77 0.05
income, which again indicates that the effect
Government schemes 1 0.58 0.11 −0.01
of remittance in increasing or decreasing ine-
Remittances 6 0.55 0.51 −0.01 quality may not be considerable. In urban
Others 5 0.50 0.76 0.02 areas, the relationship between total income
Total income 0.53 and salary is very strong, but at the same time,
Urban self-employment, agriculture and others show
Agriculture 3 0.74 0.56 0.01 a strong relationship, remittance shows a mod-
Self-employment 24 0.57 0.61 0.02 erate relationship, while non-agricultural wage
Non-agricultural wage 11 0.39 0.06 −0.1 shows no relationship with the total income.
Agricultural wage 1 0.48 −0.15 −0.01 Column D shows the effect of each source
Salary 49 0.49 0.8 0.09 in increasing or decreasing inequality. If 1 per
Government schemes 1 0.62 0.12 0 cent of income from agriculture increases, it
Remittances 3 0.60 0.46 0 increases inequality by 0.09 per cent and at the
Others 9 0.54 0.59 0.01 same time 1 per cent increment in income from
Total income 0.49 agricultural or non-agricultural wage decreases
Notes: inequality in the distribution of total income by
A: Share of each source in total income (in percentage). 0.08 or 0.07 per cent. The effect of salary is
B: Distribution of income of each source among partici- 0.05 per cent, while effect of self-employment
pant households (Gini coefficient). is very low (0.02%) and effect of remittance
C: Correlation of each source with total income.
is very low but negative (0.01%). In urban
D: Effect of 1 per cent increase in income from each
source in total income. areas, 1 per cent increase in salary increases
income inequality by 0.09 per cent, while 1 per
cent increase in income from non-agricultural
It is interesting to note that the most une-
wages decreases the inequality of income by
qual distribution of income in rural (Gini coef-
0.1 per cent. Remittances have no effect on
ficient 0.72) and urban areas (Gini coefficient
income inequality in urban areas.
0.74) comes from agriculture. The most equal
distribution in rural areas comes from agricul-
tural wage and other sources (Gini coefficient
0.5). In urban areas, the income distribution DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
comes from non-agricultural wages (Gini coef-
ficient 0.39) and salary (Gini coefficient 0.49).
The data from IHDS-II confirms that in
Overall, rural household income is more une-
2011–2012, out-migration in India took place
qually distributed in the rural areas (Gini coeffi-
in 23 per cent households out of which mem-
cient 0.53) than in urban areas (Gini coefficient
bers of 17 per cent households are a part of
0.49). Income distribution from remittances in
the labour force at the destination, and in the
urban areas (Gini coefficient 0.6) is more une-
rural areas, the proportion reaches around 20
qual than in rural areas (Gini coefficient 0.55);
per cent. These figures show the prevalence
however, it is high in both the areas.
of out-migration in the livelihood system of
the country, especially in the rural areas. In high, so that the outcome of migration can be
the process of migration, people of differ- rationalized in these areas.
ent socio-economic groups participate with At the destination, while more than three-
different intensities. It proves that migration fourths of male out-migrants are engaged in
provides some alternative opportunities to an occupation, almost three-fourths of female
people of different socio-economic catego- out-migrants are out of labour force. The
ries. Different classes of people may out- sex ratio among migrant workers is much
migrate with different objectives. Thus, the lower compared with non-migrant work-
meaning of out-migrating may not be same ers. Similarly, the workforce participating in
for all. Currently, farmers’ households are migration belongs to a younger cohort and has
taking the lead in the process of migration, better educational endowment. It depicts the
which indicates that the ongoing agrarian selectivity of the workforce for out-migrating
stress may have some relation to the process as well as selectivity for staying back for
of migration. The discussion on the pattern of locally available activities. The household
out-migration will remain incomplete without strategy of out-migration must be seen in
the discussion about its geographical distribu- combination of both.
tion. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh Like other studies on livelihood diversifica-
and Rajasthan contribute more than half of all tion in a different context, this study also con-
out-migrants in the country out of which Uttar firms that diversification remains a norm in the
Pradesh alone contributes more than one-fifth. rural areas as around three-fourths of house-
It is argued that the process of globalization has holds deploy their workforce in more than two
resulted in more integration and more mobil- activities. In the rural areas, more than half of
ity between the regions (Czaika & de Haas, the households are engaged in intersectoral
2014), yet the pattern of migration is clus- diversification which means combining agri-
tered. Even in states with high out-migration, cultural activities, non-agricultural activities
there are pockets where out-migration is or migration, such households are less than
much higher (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). The one-fifth in urban areas. The findings again
trends in smaller states like Himachal Pradesh show that in very few circumstances migra-
and Uttarakhand depict it well as they have a tion is taken up in isolation. In most cases, it
smaller share but much higher propensity of is combined with other activities. Migration
out-migration than the national average. The and remittance earnings should be seen as a
propensity of female out-migration is highest dynamic trade-off between these activities.
in the North East (except Assam), Karnataka The income from remittance is higher than the
and Madhya Pradesh, which is not parallel income from agriculture but much equally dis-
to that for male out-migration, which shows tributed. It shows that at a macro level at least,
that in India, female out-migration is clustered remittance does not induce inequality in the
differently than male out-migration. Findings society and migration remains an opportunity
on the pattern of migration further reveal that for all.
long-distance migration is gaining ground and
most of the moves are concentrated towards
cities. It draws a parallel with the ongoing pro-
cess of regional development in India. While REFERENCES
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17
Distress Migration
Manasi Mahanty
INTRODUCTION investment in mining and mineral-process-

ing industries in the name of development.
Distress migration occurs every year from This has led to the displacement of a large
different parts of Odisha, especially from the number of people from their habitats and tra-
KBK region (undivided districts of Koraput, ditional livelihoods. This has emerged as a
Balangir and Kalahandi). Over the last few dec- push factor for migration. Attempts to mine
ades, people from these areas mostly migrated huge bauxite deposits in the Niyamgiri hills
to the southern states of India in search of and Kashipur area of this district have led to
employment. Rayagada, a significant part of development-conflict debates. In a study on the
the erstwhile undivided Koraput district, is one decade-long struggle of the Dongria Kondh in
of the backward districts in the KBK region. the Niyamgiri hill range, the scholars analysed
It has a tribal population of 57.52 per cent an organic and grassroots resistance against a
(Wikipedia, ‘Rayagada District’). The district model of exploitative development in the form
has the highest incidence of poverty where of a major multinational extractive corpo-
more than 70 per cent of the population lives ration (Tatpati, Kothari & Mishra, 2016). In
below poverty line (DSE, Odisha, 2017). Now, this study, the scholars visited Serkapadi vil-
migration has become a routine livelihood lage under Sibapadar panchayat of Muniguda
strategy for the rural people of this district. block in the Niyamgiri hill range of Odisha’s
Most tribal communities of the district migrate Rayagada district, which is known for its
as a consequence of distress, chronic poverty resistance against the multinational Vedanta
and extreme vulnerability. Uneven distribution Aluminium project. The Kondh tribals of
of natural resources among social groups and Serkapadi rejected the proposal for bauxite
increasing regional inequalities make such mining in the Niyamgiri hills. In more such
migration an inevitable regular phenomenon. studies, the scholars also mentioned some other
Significantly, Rayagada district is endowed villages such as Sanodenguni, Dhamonponga
with rich mineral resources and is covered and Gorota under Munikhol panchayat of
by dense forests and hills. It has attracted Rayagada district in the Niyamgiri hill range.
While interviewing the tribal communities of brick-kiln sites (Daniel, 2011; Guru, 2011;
study villages, the scholars highlighted the Sahu, 2011; The Hindu, 2011a, 2011b). It
process of labour movement in the district. describes the entire matter in order to draw
During interactions with the village commu- attention to the exploitative practice of labour
nities, the tribal people stated that ‘young servitude in the brick-kiln sector. In the month
men have started to migrate in search of jobs’ of April 2011, 495 migrant labourers, includ-
(ibid., p. 20). ing women and children from Odisha, were
rescued from a brick-kiln site in the Tiruvallur
district of Tamil Nadu in a joint operation by
the Tamil Nadu revenue officials, International
BRICK-KILNS Justice Mission and Aide et Action. They were
brought to Odisha in a special coach of the
Thousands of migrant workers, especially from Alleppey–Dhanbad Express. The migrant
the poverty-stricken KBK region of Odisha, labourers were held captive by the owner of the
migrate to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, brick-kiln for more than six months. All res-
Karnataka and Kerala every year to work in cued labourers were from the poverty-stricken
brick-kilns (Labour Directorate, Government of KBK region. Majority of them belonged to
Odisha, n.d.). Evidence further shows that these marginalized groups such as Dalits, tribals and
workers are mainly from Balangir, Kalahandi, other backward classes. According to sources,
Nuapada, Bargarh, Koraput, Nabarangpur around 135 families, including 74 from the
and Rayagada districts of Odisha. Most of the Balangir district, 45 from the Nuapada dis-
labourers migrate with their families due to trict, 9 from the Nabarangpur district, 5
acute shortage of sustainable livelihood options from Rayagada district and one each from
in their native villages after the monsoons. This Kalahandi and Koraput districts, had gone to
is further compounded because of exploitative work at the SLG brick-kiln at Bonthawakkam
practices by moneylenders who take advantage village of the Ponneri Taluk, 45 km from
of the vulnerable situation of the rural poor and Chennai. In Rayagada district, the rescued
charge exorbitant interest rates. This never- migrant workers from five families belonged
ending vicious cycle of debt forces the labourers to the Chandrapur block.
to accept the meagre advances given by the sar- The untimely rain in Chennai that contin-
dars (middlemen) in connivance with the brick- ued for 15 days in a particular period in the
kiln owners operating in different parts of India. middle of 2011 hampered brick-making at
Rayagada district has witnessed massive the worksite. As work had stopped, the kiln
seasonal migration of labour force from rural owner refused to provide food allowance to the
to urban areas. Mostly people of this district migrant workers for those days. Daya Herna, a
are migrating to other states after a lean har- 40-year-old migrant worker from Piplikata vil-
vesting season to earn higher wages (Labour, lage in Sinapali block in Nuapada district said,
Rayagada District, Government of Odisha). ‘Whenever we asked for food, the kiln owner
Many migrant labourers are absorbed in the used to beat us by hired goons’ (Guru, 2011).
brick-kiln industry with their work unit (com- Many workers were sick and the children were
prising women and children) in the south- the worst affected, being underfed and mal-
ern states. This labour force remains largely nourished. More than 100 children were in the
‘invisible’ as the worksites are located in age group of 0–14 years and above 50 children
remote areas, distant from the general public. were in the age group of 15–18 years.
This chapter highlights an incident which According to reports, the rescued families
was reported about the release of Odia bonded had gotten advances ranging from `3,000 to
labourers in Tamil Nadu where labourers `7,000 through a middleman from the owner
from Rayagada district were kept captive at of the SLG Brick Chamber for starting work
Distress Migration 237
in June 2010. The labour hiring process took activities are widely prevalent while engag-
place between the migrant families and the ing poor migrant workers. Their dependency
labour agent in Kantabanji in Balangir. The on moneylenders and employers for loans
migrant labourers were made to work for long and advances makes them more vulnerable.
hours in the brick-kiln from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. The middlemen and the kiln owners have
During the day time, they worked hard to make a free hand to extract cheap labour through
and dry the bricks under the sun before plac- unscrupulous practices. Migrant labourers in
ing them in the chamber to burn. Although the the brick-kiln industries are vulnerable due to
labour agents had promised good wages and non-recognition of their rights as workers at
food, the migrant workers were not paid as the source as well as at the destination areas.
per the promises. They were paid on a weekly
basis, amounts ranging from `100 to `150 per
person. They were physically tortured when
any brick-kiln worker dared to go out. ‘They CONSTRUCTION
had been promised good food and pay. But
they were not given food for days, made to Vasudevan (2016) describes the movement
work for late hours and tortured if they com- of the tribal people of Rayagada to Andhra
plained’, said Daya Sagar, who teaches at a Pradesh’s construction sector. A majority
school for the children of migrant workers at of the tribal people from Rayagada district
Tiruvallur (Sahu, 2011). At last, one of the migrated to Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh in
workers from Uttar Pradesh, named Bhola, search of employment. They hailed from
managed to escape and called his brother Rayagada and the surrounding areas where
about how he and his father were suffering at they used to engage in collecting non-timber
the unit. He reported the plight to the local sar- forest produce, like honey and herbs, apart
panch who immediately drew the attention of from cultivating pineapples, jackfruits and
the Tiruvallur district collector. It was owing berries. These forest collectors and cultivators
to the initiative of the local administration that arrived in Amaravati where large construction
all the bonded workers were rescued. works had been initiated.
In the process of distress seasonal migration, The Dongria Kondhs, a particularly vul-
poor rural households are forced to migrate in nerable tribal group, living in Bissamcuttack,
search of livelihoods. Children accompany Kalyansinghpur and Muniguda blocks of
their families during such movements and Rayagada district are in constant search for
spend their time at worksites, where they are new means to earn a living. Now, almost 70
at best neglected or at worst made to work per cent of these tribals have migrated to
hard and are often subjected to exploitation. Amaravati in search of work. The Rayagada
Migration leads to the increased dropout rate passenger, which introduced these workers to
of children from schools owing to movement Amaravati, has in fact shown them a new life
of the family in search of work. Accordingly, with promising earnings. Shubhendu Pradhan,
the minor children become a part of the migra- a group leader of construction workers from
tion process as both paid and unpaid labour. the Bissamcuttack block, said that more than
In bonded labour practice, the children accom- 50,000 construction workers accompanied
pany their parents to provide a helping hand at by their families had reached Vijayawada in
brick-kiln sites as unpaid workers. search of work in Amaravati in the last six
Exploitative labour practices, including months.1 According to him, a majority of
bondage situations, in brick manufacturing women family members were concentrated
1
According to the news report, more than 50,000 construction labourers along with their families reached
Vijayawada in search of work in Amaravati from January to June 2016.
in supplementary works at the construction shrimp trade. The intensive management

places, while their men were engaged in the of vannamei shrimp ponds provides a lot of
building construction works. While asking employment opportunities for migrant work-
questions about the selection of Amaravati, ers. According to reports, the forest dweller
another group leader Mr Ashok Pandoi said tribes Savara and Kondh of Rayagada district
that they had no other alternative. They got are engaged in feeding and farming the van-
the right price for their produce as they did not namei shrimp in the Krishna and Guntur dis-
have direct links in the market. In fact, these tricts. A Savara tribal named Balaji Nimmala
tribal people carry their produce to Chatikona belonging to Padmapur village of Rayagada
and Muniguda railway stations to sell it to district said that they work here for three
agents and middlemen from Andhra Pradesh, months continuously, leave their villages and
Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra at throwaway come back after a few days of break. Suresh
rates. He said that this is how they came to Kondh is one of the colleagues of Mr Balaji at
know about the large-scale construction taking an aqua pond in the Repalle area of the Guntur
place in Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh. district. While sharing the personal experi-
During the 18 hours journey from Rayagada ences with The Hindu, he said that the migrant
to Vijayawada, the Rayagada passenger train workers are paid `6,000 per month excluding
carries more than 1,200 construction workers accommodation and food. They earn a fair
on an average per day. A majority of them are package of `18,000 in three months.
tribals and some of them are non-tribals from These tribal communities revealed that
Sompeta, Saluru and Neelakanthapuram areas they normally work in the paddy fields and
of the Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts. brick-kiln sites in their native places but prefer
Migrants from Rayagada district in Odisha to migrate to the neighbouring states for better
can be found working in the minor construc- earning. Many Savara and Kondh tribes were
tion sector of Kochi (Peter & Narendran, 2017, trained by the locals in vannamei shrimp
p. 111). It is important to note that workers farming and they migrate here along with their
on the minor construction sites are either family members every year. Many Savara
recruited from the local labour junctions or tribal youth preferred travelling to Andhra
have been working with the local contractors Pradesh which is close to Rayagada district.
as informal employees. The migrant labour- Accordingly, it became one of the prominent
ers in small construction sites receive higher destinations among them. Vannamei shrimp
daily wages compared with those in the larger cultivation is a round-the-year affair and they
construction sites, ranging between `400 and are assured of work whenever they come in
`650 and sometimes, even more, for unskilled any season of the year.
work. There was a news aired in the Odia media
channels and newspapers about the imprison-
ment of migrants from Rayagada district of
Odisha inside the industrial sites in the state
FISHING AND SEAFOOD of Kerala by the locals in November 2018.
The 34 migrant labourers of Rayagada district
Naidu (2017) reported how thriving aqua- of Odisha are stranded in Kerala; they have
culture attracts tribal people from Rayagada appealed to Rayagada district administration
district. A significant number of tribal people to rescue them from Kerala (The New India
from Rayagada district migrated in search of Express, 2018). According to sources, labour-
employment to the Krishna and Guntur dis- ers had gone to the Alappuzha (formerly named
tricts of Odisha. It must be noted that the flour- Alleppey) district of Kerala in search of work.
ishing aquaculture along the coastline and the However, the workers were allegedly held
riverbeds of Krishna thrived on vannamei captive by locals in Parayil Food Products Pvt
Ltd, a top exporter of seafood products, where send a team for inspection and ensure safe
they were engaged by a labour intermediary return of the labourers.’
six months back.2 The company is located in While referring to the news about migrant
village Cherthala Tehsil under the Alappuzha labourers from Rayagada working in a sea-
district. The captive labourers were natives food processing company in Aroor town of the
of Dimirigudain Arr, Indirapada, Puruna Alappuzha district (Odishatv Bureau, 2018), I
Ambadala, Raghubari and other villages reviewed some literature about labour migra-
under Muniguda Tehsil of Rayagada district. tion in Kerala (Peter & Narendran, 2017).
During Diwali celebrations, the Odia workers The state has gradually developed as one of
burst crackers, which some locals living near the major destinations for migrant labourers
the plant protested against. The native people from other states in India. Fish processing
accused the labourers of creating problems units in the Alappuzha district are clustered
in the area and held them captive inside the in the Aroor–Eramalloor stretch with around
plant. One of the migrant workers managed 50 seafood processing and export units oper-
to call up his family and informed them about ating in the area. Although local workers are
the incident. The Labour Commission of engaged in the seafood sector of Alappuzha,
Odisha inquired into the matter and sought the it also depends on both male and female
intervention of Alleppey Police to rescue the migrant labourers. There are intermediaries
workers. According to the reports, a case was in the entire recruitment process to hire work-
filed against the Odia labourers by the locals ers. A significant number of single migrant
and vice versa. Alleppey Police informed the women and girls work in the seafood industry.
District Labour Officer (DLO) that they were Most of the migrants in the seafood industry
trying to broker a compromise between the in Alappuzha are from Assam, Karnataka,
two groups. Odisha and Jharkhand. According to the
According to reports (Odishatv Bureau, study, there are also workers from Rayagada,
2018), the stranded migrants complained that Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts of Odisha
they had a squabble with some locals follow- found working in the seafood industry. They
ing which their clothes and other belongings stay in the hostels and/or dormitories provided
were burnt. After learning about the inci- by their employers.
dent from a video released by the abandoned
migrant workers, their families approached
the district collector and the Superintendent of
Police of Rayagada to help them for the return TEXTILE AND APPAREL SECTOR
of these labourers. Dalimba Bag, a relative of
one of the stranded labourers, said that the site The textile and apparel sector is concentrated
manager has also warned them that if they did in the Apparel Park at the Kerala Industrial
not continue with the work, they would not be Infrastructure Development Corporation at
given their belongings back. Mr Pradip Kumar Menamkulam in Thiruvananthapuram dis-
Bhoi, Rayagada DLO, said the administration trict, at Kizhakkambalam and at Kalamassery
contacted authorities of the Allapuzha district in Ernakulam district. The industrial units
for safe repatriation of the stranded labourers. employ migrant workers, predominantly
At the same time, Mr Sushant Singh, Odisha women and girls from Odisha, Jharkhand,
Labour Minister said, ‘I have spoken with the Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and northeast-
Kerala Police DG and their Labour depart- ern states. As reported, the migrant workers
ment and have instructed our authorities to come through an initiative of the National
Skill Development Corporation under which
2
The labourers went to the Allaphuza district in the month of May.
various skill development agencies, like belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and
the IL&FS Institute of Skills (IIS), provide Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories, to operate
training to the rural youth. According to the sewing machines. Here, the chapter presents
study, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri, a brief summary on sewing machine operation
Balangir, Sundargarh, Kandhamal and batches of IIS, Rayagada.3 As per the records
Ganjam are some of the districts of Odisha collected from IIS, Rayagada (Tables 17.1
from where mostly women and girls arrive to and 17.2), 143 female trainees were enrolled.
work in the textile manufacturing industries Among the 143 female trainees, 41 from the
(Peter & Narendran, 2017, p. 34). Evidence Odisha State Employment Mission (OSEM)
further suggests that the women and girls are in 2013–2014 and 102 from the Odisha Skill
from some districts with a large proportion of Development Authority (OSDA) in 2017–
tribal people. For instance, Rayagada district 2018 were enrolled in IIS, Rayagada. In the
has 56 per cent the of Scheduled Tribes (ST) 2013–2014 batch, 41 females, 10 males and 23
population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 2013). trainees belonging to the ST category passed
Accordingly, it became the target source area under OSEM. In the 2017–2018 batch, 58
for the textile sector from where tribal girls females, 26 males and 51 trainees belonging
were absorbed in the sewing machine oper- to the ST category got placed under OSEM.
ation and in the assembly line of Kerala and Tables 17.1 and 17.2 show that people belong-
Tamil Nadu. ing to the ST and female categories of trainees
While reviewing the textile training centres have hugely benefitted from the training insti-
in Odisha, the study revealed that eight SEAM tute. It is important to highlight that the pur-
training centres under the IIS have been work- pose of the project, supported by the Ministry
ing in districts like Balangir, Sundargarh, of Rural Development, is to target the poor
Gajapati, Kandhamal and Malkangiri in the rural youth who belong to BPL families, are
last one decade (Das, n.d.). In Rayagada in the age group of 18–35 years and belong
district, there are two IISs located in to socially and economically backward castes
Bissamcuttack and Rayagada. The first skills such as SC or ST. So the IIS built training cen-
training institute of the district was estab- tres in Rayagada district for the betterment of
lished at Rayagada in 2014 and the second poor tribal youth, especially young women.
one at Bissamcuttack in 2015. The institutes Table 17.3 shows that in 55 batches, 1,399
train the rural youth, mainly women and girls trainees were enrolled, 1,167 passed and 689
Table 17.1 Trade: Sewing Machine Operation, Batch Summary, IIS, Rayagada
Dropout Passed
Financial
S. No. Year(FY) Mandate Male Female SC ST Others Male Female SC ST Others Male Female
1 2013–2014 OSEM 12 44 1 2 2 2 3 17 23 11 10 41
2 2017–2018 OSDA 44 116 7 16 7 16 14 21 90 19 28 102
Total 56 160 8 18 9 18 17 38 113 30 38 143
Source: IIS, Rayagada.

Note: Odisha State Employment (OSEM), Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA).
3
The data was collected from the Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) Training status of IL&FS, Rayagada.
I am thankful to my colleague Mr Udaya Naik, Lecturer in English, Rayagada Autonomous College in association
with collection of data from IL&FS Skill Institute, Rayagada.
Table 17.2 Sewing Machine Operations, Batch Summary, IIS, Rayagada

Enrolled
Financial Number of
S. No. Year (FY) Mandate Batches Enrolled Dropped Passed Continue Placed SC ST Others
1 2013–2014 OSEM 2 56 5 51 0 51 18 25 13
2 2017–2018 OSDA 6 160 30 130 0 84 28 106 26
Total 8 216 35 181 0 135 46 131 39

Note: Odisha State Employment (OSEM), Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA).
Table 17.3 Sewing Machine Operations, Trade-wise Report, IIS, Rayagada

Financial Year (FY) Mandate Number of Batches Enrolled Dropped Passed Continue Placed
2013–2014 OSEM 2 56 5 51 0 51
2014–2015 MORD 7 113 25 88 0 77
2014–2015 MOT 6 137 40 97 0 65
2015–2016 MOT 9 255 53 202 0 156
2015–2016 MORD 7 189 29 160 0 110
2016–2017 MOT 18 489 50 439 0 146
2017–2018 OSDA 6 160 30 130 0 84
Total 55 1,399 232 1,167 0 689
Source: IL&FS Skills Institute, Rayagada.

Notes: OSEM: Odisha State Employment Mission.
MOT: Ministry of Textiles.
MORD: Ministry of Rural Development.
OSDA: Odisha Skill Development Authority.
were placed, starting from the financial year (Table 17.4). As per records of the financial
2013–2014 to 2018–2019, in different man- year 2018–2019, out of 120 enrolled can-
dates of skill training programmes. Trainees didates, 71 were placed in Anand Tapes and
who have completed training from the IIS Viking Knitters of Tiruppur and in Natchi
Rayagada are particularly placed in southern Apparels Pvt Ltd of Dindigul, all based in
areas, such as in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur and in Tamil Nadu (Table 17.5). While reviewing
Kerala. In the initial year of 2013–2014, train- literature, certain facts are highlighted regard-
ees from IIS Rayagada, were mainly placed in ing the recruitment of young women in textile
Texport Pvt Ltd, Bombay Fashion and Kitex manufacturing units of some of the reported
Garments in Kerala.4 As per the records of districts of Tamil Nadu. Tiruppur, a small
2017–2018 collected from IIS Rayagada, out town near the old textile city of Coimbatore
of 160 enrolled trainees, 84 were placed in in Tamil Nadu, has developed into a lead-
textile industries, namely SPK International, ing southern cluster for knitted garments in
Victus Dyeing, Sapphire Clothing Company the country with export volume surpassing
India Pvt Ltd, Best Corporation Pvt Ltd all other individual centres in terms of quan-
and Sowmika Garments, in Tamil Nadu tity. Agnihotri et al. (2018) describe that the
4
The information is collected from one of the trainees who worked in Kerala’s textile industries after the training
from IL&FS Skills Institute, Rayagada.
Table 17.4 OSDA Training Status of IIS, Rayagada, for Financial Year (FY) 2017–2018
Centre Qualify for Appeared in
Batch No. Start Date End Date Enrolled Dropout Assessment Date of Assessment Assessment Passed Placed Company Name
1 9 August 2017 25 September 2017 28 1 27 12 October 2017 27 26 18 SPK International Avinashi,

Tamil Nadu
2 21 September 2017 3 November 2017 27 5 22 6 November 2017 22 22 17 SPK International Avinashi,
Tamil Nadu
3 30 October 2017 8 December 2017 25 6 19 12 December 2017 19 19 11 Victus Dyeing, Tiruppur,
Tamil Nadu
4 8 December 2017 18 January 2018 25 6 19 19 January 2018 19 19 15 Sapphire Clothing Company
Pvt, Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu
5 8 January 2018 20 February 2018 26 5 21 22 February 2018 21 21 20 Best Corporation Pvt Ltd,
Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu
6 25 January 2018 9 March 2018 29 7 22 24 March 2018 22 22 03 Sowmika Garments,
Perundurai, Tamil Nadu
Total 160 30 130 130 129 84

Table 17.5 OSDA Training Status of IIS, Rayagada, for Financial Year (FY) 2018–2019
Number of Trainees
Centre Qualify for Appeared in
Batch No. Start Date End Date Enrolled Dropout Assessment Date of Assessment Assessment Passed Placed Company Name
7 12 June 2018 24 July 2018 30 0 30 24 August 2018 30 23 27 Anand Tapes, Tiruppur

8 30 June 2018 9 August 2018 30 3 27 10 August 2018 27 20 21 Natchi Apparels Pvt Ltd,
Dindigul
9 28 July 2018 10 September 2018 30 4 26 17 September 2018 26 23 Viking Kniters, Tiruppur
10 16 August 2018 26 September 2018 30 3 27
Total 120 10 110 83 43 71

migrants, generally young and unmarried agro-based industry, a booming construction

girls, are recruited in the production work sector, growing informal sector and trade and
in spinning mills in the districts of Erode, commercial activities are preferred destina-
Dindigul, Tiruppur and Coimbatore. tions for child labour and trafficking.
Rayagada district is known for its acute
poverty and distress. Being a tribal region, the
tribal women and children from the remote
CHILD MIGRANT TRAFFICKING AND areas of the district become easy targets
LABOUR RESCUE for labour brokers, employers and traffick-
ers. They take advantage of the deprivation
Trafficking of children often involves both and illiteracy of the tribal people and hire
labour and migration. Child migrants are at them in low-paid or unpaid informal jobs.
a high risk of exploitation and are vulnerable Subsequently, Rayagada has emerged as one
to child labour. In the process, many of them of the major source areas for child migration
become victims of trafficking. They often and trafficking. This section explains several
experience ill treatment, including suffering cases of migration and child trafficking and
from isolation, violence and abuse, bonded labour rescue operations in Rayagada district.5
labour and debt bondage, poor working con- A preliminary study based on secondary data
ditions, non-payment of wages and the threat shows that Bangalore, New Delhi, Andhra
of being reported to the authorities. According Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the most promi-
to International Labour Organization (ILO) nent destinations from where employers send
reports, amongst child labourers it is migrant their recruiting agents far and wide to lure
children who receive less pay, work longer child labour. The paper has already pointed
hours, less often attend school and face higher out one incident about the rescue of more than
death rates at work in comparison to local 400 Odia workers, including women and chil-
children (ILO, 2013). dren, from a brick-kiln site in the Tiruvallur
Absolute poverty, hunger, underdevelop- district of Tamil Nadu. The bonded labour-
ment, deep inequalities, unemployment, land- ers of five families from Chandrapur block
lessness, debt bondage, illiteracy, repeated in Rayagada district were kept captive at the
natural calamities (e.g., drought and flood) brick-kiln site.
and sudden shocks increase the vulnerability
of the household. These factors have a deadly 1. In February 2010, five minor tribal boys in the age
impact on the poor. Accordingly, certain group of 10–13 years were rescued by the Railway
regions have emerged as migrant-sending and Police from the railway station at Bangalore
trafficked child labour areas. Along with social (Daniel, 2010; The Hindu, 2010). These child labour-
ers were from Hikiriguda and Mardijhola villages of
discrimination, particularly discrimination
Dumurinelli panchayat under Bissamcuttack block
against women and girls is one of the crucial of Rayagada district and spoke the Kui language. In
factors that lead to migrant child labour and this rescue operation, Mr Kamakhi Prasad Panda,
child trafficking. The destinations of children a native of Koraput living in Bangalore, helped
migrating or trafficked for work vary consid- to facilitate as the interpreter on behalf of the
erably within the country. In particular, areas children.
with high growth in the agricultural sector,
5
This section is a dissemination of information on several child migrant trafficking stories and labour rescue
operations collected from news media websites, print news, videos including labour department and CHILDLINE,
a voluntary organization.
While referring to the statement made by chil- the rescue operation. The Rayagada district admin-
dren to the police, Mr Panda revealed that a labour istration took immediate action to facilitate the
broker named Madhav allured them for migration safe return of the children to their homes.
to the south in order to earn better wages and 2. In September 2010 (Satapathy, 2010),6 58 labour-
have a better lifestyle. He carried all of them in a ers, including 33 women, were rescued from
truck from Bissamcuttack to Rayagada and later Rayagada railway station by the district adminis-
they boarded the train to Balugaon in Odisha. tration while they were being taken to Chennai.
The children were handed over to another person However, the labour broker fled the scene. The
named Gandhi at Balugaon who got the children migrant workers were natives of Lamtaput block
boarded in the Prashanti Express to Bangalore. in the adjoining Koraput district. Two months back
While the children were waiting at the railway in the month of July, 24 labourers, including 8
platform, the police got suspicious and detained women, were rescued in a similar operation. The
and questioned them to know the reason behind administration had brought back home 20 children
their arrival in Bangalore. The City and Railway all of whom were below 15 years of age and were
Police of Bangalore could see that they were vic- illegally engaged in Bangalore.
tims of child trafficking. None of the boys had any 3. In May 2014 (DNA India, 2014), 15 minor children,
idea as to what they were headed towards. including 5 girls, who arrived safely by train, were
According to the reports, it was difficult for rescued from the Childrens’ Home in New Delhi.
the rescue team to learn the whereabouts of the They were brought back to their native villages of
child workers as they could neither speak nor Rayagada district in Odisha. The rescued children
understand any language other than their mother narrated their experiences as to how they were
tongue. Later, the police handed them over to the subjected to ill-treatment and made to do rigorous
Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Government of household chores and manual work.
Karnataka. The children stayed in Bala Mandir, According to reports, a woman named Sarala
a children’s home at Madiwala in Bangalore. Sethi who worked at an NGO had tricked the
Based on this information from The Hindu, which parents of 18 minor children of several villages
reported on 13 February 2010, Concern for of Muniguda and Chandrapur blocks into letting
Working Children, a Bangalore-based NGO visited them go with her to New Delhi under the false
Bala Mandir to interact with the children. However, promises of providing them with good care and
it failed to communicate with them because of quality education. The reality, however, turned
the language problem. Consequently, the CWC out to be completely contrary as the missionary
informed Migration Information Resource Centre organization where the children ultimately landed
(MiRC) Aide et Action, Bhubaneswar, to help estab- in found out. They were abused and allegedly
lishing communication with the children to know engaged in domestic work and hard manual jobs.
their details. A parent of a rescued child described what Sethi
Afterwards, Umi Daniel of MiRC circulated the had promised them.
information in all e-discussion forums in Odisha. ‘Madam Sarala had told us that since we are
In this manner, Mr Kamakhi Panda came in touch poor, we can’t send our children to school. She told
with Mr Daniel, extended his support to an activist us that she had opened an English medium hostel.
named Manjunath from CWC in Bangalore in trans- So she offered that she could get our children
lating the message of the children. CWC collected enrolled in her school and took the children with
all details about the children and communicated her. After three children returned, we got to know
to MiRC. Thereafter, the information was immedi- that she had actually got them engaged in child
ately conveyed to the local press and the District labour and were not being provided with educa-
Collector of Rayagada for appropriate action. Mr tion,’ said Anam Nag, father of a rescued child
Daniel of the MiRC explained that parents of the (DNA India, 2014).
children reached Bangalore after learning about
6
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/The-Rayagada-district-administration-on-Thursday-rescued-58-laborers-
including-33-women-from-the-Rayagada-railway-station-
The families of the children soon filed a com- the construction site. He brought the children to
plaint with the Muniguda police in the month of Kalyansinghpur in Rayagada district and waited
April. On the basis of the complaint, the CWC of for a bus to Balugaon from where they were sched-
Rayagada immediately launched a rescue oper- uled to board a train to Andhra Pradesh. Based
ation. Child protection officer Mr Ramesh Nayak on information from a tip-off, the labour officials
described the massive rescue operation of the traf- reached the bus stand and rescued the children.
ficked children. After getting complaints from the These children were in the 15–16 age group. Out
parents of child labourers, the Rayagada (CWC) of the 13, 9 were girls and 4 were boys. The district
contacted the Delhi government through the administration of Rayagada rescued them from
Department of Women and Child Development, a Bhubaneswar-bound bus following a tip-off by
Bhubaneswar. The district administration of CHILDLINE, a voluntary organization. The labour
Rayagada also tried to contact CWC Delhi and officials put these children at a small stay home
finally received a message that all the 18 chil- and handed them over to their family members.
dren have been rescued at Delhi. Based on this 5 More than 200 migrant labourers were rescued
information, the Women and Child Development from Rayagada railway station by the district
Department of Odisha government sent a team administration in December 2015 (Odishatv
from Rayagada in consultation with the District Bureau, 2015). A team of senior district officials
Collector. The government formed a team of four and labour officials rushed to the station and
members and brought back all the children from checked the Puri–Ahmedabad Express train and
the CWC Delhi. Based on the complaint, the rescued these migrant workers, including women
alleged NGO worker who trafficked the children and minor children, coming from the Balangir dis-
was detained by the police in April. Based on the trict. Based on the preliminary investigation, the
information gathered, the remaining 15 children rescued migrants were on their way to Berhampur
were rescued from the custody of the organization. from where they were scheduled to go to some
It is important to note that Muniguda and other states for work. Later, the administration
Chandrapur are among the poorest regions of sent all workers to their native district in another
Rayagada and are also Maoist inflicted. Poverty train. However, the broker who accompanied the
has proven to be a bane for the vulnerable villag- migrant labourers managed to escape.
ers of remote and tribal areas as they often get 6 In June 2017, nine minor girls were rescued from
entrapped under fake pretexts and are made to the Rayagada railway station with the help of the
hand over their children. The unscrupulous brokers Railway Police Force and the local Child Helpline
engage in child trafficking for domestic servitude. (Kalinga tv, 2017). They were about to board a
4 A total of 13 minor children were rescued by train to go to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh to
a team of labour officials from the bus stand in work as bonded labourers in a fishing company.7
Rayagada town in November 2014 (Rath, 2014). These girls hailed from Kolnara and Ramanaguda
They were reportedly being taken to Balugaon blocks in Rayagada district. The broker who was
of the Khordha district through an agent to be taking them to Andhra Pradesh, however, man-
engaged as labourers. Efforts were made to aged to flee from the spot.
nab the agent. However, the labour agent had 7 A girl from Jhinjilibadi village under Kolnara block
absconded. According to Chaitanya Prasad Majhi, in Rayagada district was allegedly trafficked by a
District Labour Inspector, a broker was taking middleman on the pretext of providing a job and
these minor children from Bijayapur village of was sold in Rajasthan for `0.1 million by a conman
Khajuriguda panchayat in the Kalahandi district to (Orissa Post, 2018). She was rescued in October
neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Kerala to work 2018. The rescue team brought the girl back to
as migrant workers. Mr Narendra Raika, the DLO Rayagada. The accused was identified as a Harian
said that the broker had promised them jobs at Mehta. According to reports, Mehta took the girl
7
Based on a video from YouTube, it documented trafficking of nine minor girls to work as labourers in a fishing
company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urppmUdvPv0
from Rayagada after promising her a job. However, a tip-off, the Government Railway Police (GRP)
he held her captive in Rajasthan and later sold her. and CHILDLINE officials conducted a joint opera-
According to sources (Dailyhunt, 2018), Sunita, tion and rescued all the children from the railway
daughter of Geramani, a resident of Jhinjilibadi vil- station. Later, these rescued children were handed
lage under Chandili police limits in the district was over to the Rayagada CHILDLINE officials. The
lured by a couple—Mita Mahanandia and Sanu labour officials informed that after ascertaining the
Mahanandia—to Rajasthan with the prospect of exact identities of the children, they would hand
attractive wages as a migrant worker. The family over custody to their respective families.
sent Sunita on 9 September for earning purposes. 9 In September 2018, a total of 15 minor children
However, the couple took her to their house at including 11 girls were rescued from Rayagada
Badasahimar under Muribahal police limits in the railway station (Sharma, 2018). All the minor
Balangir district and forced her to work in their children were natives of Kanchamuhin village of
house for a few days. Later, the couple took her to Kashipur block under Seikhkhal police limits of the
Baunsakela in the Baran district of Rajasthan and district. According to sources, GRP personnel grew
sold her for `0.1 million to a person identified as suspicious when they spotted the children roaming
Harian Mehta on 22 September. in the station. On being interrogated, the children
As the matter came to the fore, the girl’s rel- revealed that they were being taken to Nellore in
atives went to Rajasthan and tried to rescue her Andhra Pradesh where they would be engaged as
from Mehta’s clutches. However, Mehta allegedly labourers in a prawn processing unit (Pragativadi,
demanded `0.1 million back to let the girl off. 2018). It is pertinent to mention that various agen-
Her mother, Himirika Gorimani, filed a complaint cies engage children as labourers as they take low
at Chandili Police station. Later, she approached wages compared to adults. After getting informa-
Rayagada Collector and DLO to intervene in the tion, the railway officials rescued the children from
matter. The District Collector, Guha Poonam Tapas the railway station, handed over their custody to
Kumar, directed the additional labour commis- CHILDLINE and conducted further investigation in
sioner to form a three-member team to rescue the connection with the incident.
girl at the earliest. On the direction of the Collector,
a special team comprising two police officials and Migration leading to trafficking of chil-
a labour officer was formed. The three-member dren and women is an emerging issue in
team, along with the victim’s mother, visited the the state of Odisha requiring stringent legal
Baran district of Rajasthan. With the help of Baran action, social campaigning and awareness.
district administration, they rescued the girl from The tribal regions of Odisha are said to be
Baunsakela village in the district where she was
among the main sources for unsafe migration
kept captive by Mehta at his house. However,
Mehta managed to give a slip to the cops.
and human trafficking. Victims are basically
8 In November 2017, six minors were rescued from young women and girls from tribal areas who
Rayagada railway station (Odishatv Bureau, 2017). are illiterate and impoverished. In addition,
According to reports, these children were being extreme poverty, the state’s failure to avail
allegedly trafficked to Tamil Nadu where they entitlements and rights for locals, systematic
would have been engaged as workers at a thread alienation of indigenous communities from
mill (Odishatv Bureau, 2017). As many as 18 chil- their own natural resources and deep-rooted
dren were trafficked but they were able to escape gender conditioning force them to become a
from the railway station.8 Out of the six minors, part of the unsafe migration process in search
five were girls and one was a boy. The children of livelihood. Women from the tribal regions
were identified as residents of Andirakancha and
are compelled to unsafe migration primarily
Bhitaramuchkuni under Dongasil Gram Panchayat
of Kashipur Tehsil in Rayagada district. Acting on
for domestic servitude. Besides, young adult
women, young girls and school dropouts (who
8
Based on a video from YouTube, it documented a child labourer rescue operation and trafficking issue of
Kashipur block of the district. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03TaMprFwGs
are less informed about their rights and regu- against migrant workers (Patnaik, 2015).
lar migration channels) are also put in unsafe Jagabandhu Karkaria, 24 years old, from
environments for the purpose of forced mar- Sansarasateli village under Bissamcuttack
riages where they are sexually exploited and police limits was allegedly killed in Kerala.
trafficked. The labourer was murdered by a bakery owner
While analysing all the facts, the study in Thrissur on 22 December 2015. Reportedly,
revealed that children are deprived of their he had gone to Thrissur in Kerala to eke out
basic human rights to education, health, a living.
safety, protection and care. The issue of chil- On 24 December, the family of the deceased
dren migration with or without their families labourer approached the district labour depart-
and trafficking for labour exploitation should ment officials and urged them to facilitate
be deeply examined in order to develop par- bringing his body to the village. Kalpana
ticular strategies to combat child trafficking Karkaria, Jagabandhu’s mother, said that the
and migrant child labour. financial condition dragged us down to travel
to Trissur to bring back the body. Therefore,
the family approached the administration for
help. According to his mother, Jagabandhu
CONFLICT BETWEEN MIGRANTS AND left for Thrissur in September 2015. After
LOCALS three months, her son made a mobile call and
said that his fellow worker from Koraput at
Conflict between locals and migrants is a the bakery was murdered by the owner on 20
common phenomenon. In most cases, there December. Jagabandhu feared for his life as he
is erosion caused by the fear that migrants had witnessed the incident. He felt unsafe and
steal jobs from locals. However, the situation decided to leave the place. Kalpana explained
is different in Kerala. Here, the state heavily that her son had called her on his way to the
depends on the migrant workforce who fills a railway station. While they were talking, she
vacuum due to the exodus of Keralites to the heard him being attacked by some people. At
Gulf countries. Kerala has an estimated 25 the time, she felt that her son was murdered.
million workers from West Bengal, Odisha, It is to be noted that the migrants come to
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh Kerala in huge numbers not only because of
and other northeastern states, which is 7 per higher wages and unavailability of locals but
cent of the state’s population (Narayana, also because of the reluctance of locals to do
Venkiteswaran & Joseph, 2013, p. 11). Odisha hard and physical labour, even if available.
is one of the first states after south India where Therefore, it is important for the destination
migrant workers came to Kerala in signifi- states to take care of human and labour rights
cant numbers. Interestingly, of the numerous of migrant workers who contribute to the
workers hailing from Rayagada, Malkangiri, economy of other states.
Gajapati, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati
and Sundargarh districts in Odisha, more than
half of them belong to tribal communities
(Peter & Narendran, 2016, p. 34). CONCLUSION
At the same time, there have been sev-
eral incidents that have brought into focus There is no end to the plight of migrant work-
the growing xenophobia against migrants in ers from Rayagada district. The district came
Kerala in the past few years. Migrant work- to the limelight for the horrible cases on labour
ers are being targeted in Kerala. The story of migration, trafficking, murder, missing, under-
a migrant labourer from Rayagada district has payment, abuses and exploitation. The data
drawn attention to the increasing violence shows that a major chunk of migrant workers
of Rayagada belong to marginalized groups Retrieved from http://www.ilfsskills.com/IMPACT/

and communities, especially tribal, Dalits, FILES/5XIMB_V1.pdf
women and children. Though there is a lot DNA (n.d.). Minors tricked into child labour in Delhi
of labour legislation, like Inter-State Migrant return home to Odisha. Retrieved from
https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/report-minors-
Workmen (Regulation of Employment and
tricked-into-child-labour-in-delhi-return-home-to-od-
Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, the number isha-1984939
of distressed migrant workers from Rayagada DSE, Odisha (2017). Depth & severity of poverty in rural
district has been increasing at an alarming Odisha: A district level estimation. Directorate of
rate. The structural inequalities, underdevel- Economics & Statistics (DES) Odisha. Retrieved from
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PART IV
Migration and Caste

18
Migration and Caste
K a l y a n i Va r t a k
C h i n m a y Tu m b e
INTRODUCTION MACRO-LEVEL EVIDENCE
The Collins dictionary of sociology defines The caste system is said to have originated in
caste as a ‘a form of social stratification which India at least over 2,000 years ago, specifying
involves a system of hierarchically ranked, social stratification into four principal groups
closed, endogamous strata, the membership to or varnas. These four groups are Brahmins
which is ascribed, and between which contact (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas
is restricted and mobility theoretically impos- (traders), Shudras (labourers) and an addi-
sible’ (Jary & Jary, 2000, p. 59). The mobility tional group of outcastes, among whom the
referred to in this definition is across castes, most populous segment has at various times
whereas in this chapter, we look at the rela- been referred to as the Harijans, Scheduled
tionship between caste and another type of Castes (SCs) or Dalits and earlier in the
mobility, one that is spatial in nature and com- English language as the Untouchables. The
monly referred to as migration. How is caste four-fold stratification appears in numerous
related with migration? More importantly, texts in Indian history. It has evolved into a
can migration challenge aspects of the caste system that forms the basis for ritual practices
system? with Brahmins at the top and the outcastes
In this chapter, we address these questions at the bottom. ‘Purity’ and ‘pollution’ have
by reviewing evidence at the macro and micro been noted to be two important elements of
levels, including our own in-depth village the caste system (Dumont, 1980), and while
re-study, and provide a general framework in untouchability has reduced substantially, it
which the relationships can be situated. still exists in practice in direct and indirect
ways, as documented in extensive surveys education and employment. Two groups are
(Shah et al., 2006; Thorat & Joshi, 2015). fairly distinct—SCs and Scheduled Tribes
Similarly, despite the weakening of the link (STs), also known as the Adivasis or the
between caste and occupation in contempo- indigenous populations. A third group, called
rary India, the caste system continues to be the ‘Other Backward Class’ (OBC), refers to
characterized by inequality of opportunity and a variety of castes and communities across
outcome (Thorat & Newman, 2009; Desai & religious boundaries that have been identified
Dubey, 2011). to be ‘backward’ by numerous government
Indian society operates at the level of jatis, commissions and fall outside the definitions
which may be considered as subdivisions of of SC and ST. The residual category, called
the varna order. Officially, more than 3,000 ‘General’, refers to most of the upper castes,
castes are listed in the bureaucratic lexicon, usually Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and
and endogamy continues to be extremely other religions that are not OBC, SC or ST.
high, with only 5 per cent of the Indian Due to religious conversion and other factors,
women marrying across caste boundaries as caste in India is also not solely confined to
per the nationally representative large-sample the Hindu religion. Buddhism in particular is
India Human Development Survey (IHDS) closely related with the Dalits due to the con-
of 2004–2005 (Desai & Dubey, 2011, p. 47). version of many Dalits in the 20th century fol-
Detailed information on jatis and migration lowing the exhortations of Dr B. R. Ambedkar
is not available in macro-level statistics, and (1891–1956).
researchers usually rely on a four-fold social Table 18.1 shows that according to the 64th
group classification that has arisen in the round of the National Sample Survey (NSS)
vocabulary of reservations and quotas for held in 2007–2008, around 30 per cent of the
Table 18.1 Out-Migration for Work in India by Social Group and Religion, 2007–2008
Percentage of HH
UrbanHH SSMigHH RemHH RemDomHH RemForHH NRemHH OEconHH
All India 100 28.4 4.5 9.2 8.1 1.2 3.0 16.0
Social group
General 30.1 42.9 3.1 9.4 8.2 1.3 3.4 15.1
Other Backward class 41.3 25.5 4.5 10.6 9.1 1.6 3.0 17.3
Scheduled castes 19.7 21.0 5.3 8.0 7.6 0.5 2.6 15.3
Scheduled tribes 8.9 9.7 7.7 4.8 4.7 0.1 2.3 14.1
Religion
Hinduism 83.5 27.2 4.4 8.9 8.2 0.7 3.0 15.6
Islam 11.3 34.6 6.2 12.1 8.8 3.5 2.3 19.5
Christianity 2.5 36.9 3.5 11.5 7.0 4.9 4.8 18.3
Sikhism 1.6 26.5 1.0 7.3 3.2 4.2 2.6 10.6
Jainism 0.2 79.6 0.1 5.7 5.5 0.1 5.7 12.1
Buddhism 0.6 32.5 2.1 3.8 3.7 0.0 5.0 10.3
Zoroastrianism 0.1 98.7 1.3 7.3 0.0 7.3 13.8 22.4
Others 0.2 18.9 11.2 9.5 9.4 0.0 1.2 19.9
Source: Authors’ estimates based on NSS 2007–2008 64th round unit-level data, with sampling weights.
Notes: HH, households, UrbanHH, % HH in urban areas, SSMigHH, % HH reporting short-term or seasonal migrants,
RemHH, % HH receiving remittances, RemDomHH, % HH receiving domestic remittances, RemForHH, % HH
receiving foreign remittances, NRemHH, % HH with out-migrants for economic reasons not receiving remittances,
OEconHH, % HH with out-migrants for economic reasons.
Migration and Caste 255
households at the all-India level belong to the short-term seasonal migrations and under-
General category, and the rest belong to the represented in longer-term migrations that
OBC (41%), SC (20%) and ST (9%). The yield remittances and which are more likely
demographic distribution of these four catego- to lead to permanent settlements. They are
ries varies across India, with the STs clustered also under-represented in international emi-
in the hilly and forest-covered regions of cen- gration streams. At the other end of the spec-
tral India and the northeast. The geographic trum, interestingly, the OBCs appear to be
distribution of the SCs is relatively uniform more mobile than the ‘General’ category in
across the subcontinent. short- and long-duration migration categories
The first piece of evidence on caste selec- though this is likely to be a more recent devel-
tivity and migration can be gleaned from the opment. Overall, it is clear that the SCs and
urbanization rates of the four social groups STs have been locked out of rural-to-urban
listed in Table 18.1. While the all-India migration streams compared with other social
urbanization rate as per NSS 2007–2008 was groups. This is also evident in the data on
around 28 per cent, it was nearly 43 per cent religion as the Buddhists (mostly recent con-
for the General category, 26 per cent for the verts) exhibit similar features in terms of out-
OBCs, 21 per cent for the SCs and 9 per cent migration for economic reasons. One reason
for the STs. A virtually identical distribution for this caste selectivity in out-migration could
is obtained from the IHDS 2004–2005 data, be related with physical capital or assets,
where additional information is obtained for as social groups with limited stocks cannot
Brahmins, among whom the urbanization rate migrate far and for long because of signifi-
was noted to be 46 per cent (Desai & Dubey, cant costs associated with migration in transit
2011, p. 49). Because of strong endogamy, and at the destination. Another theory pro-
social group-wise urbanization rates serve as poses that caste serves as a measure of rural
good proxies of historic rural-to-urban migra- insurance, constraining the out-migration of
tions of those social groups. What these fig- the lowest castes as they face higher income
ures suggest is that the STs have been the least risks (Munshi & Rosenzweig, 2016). A third
mobile from rural to urban areas followed explanation argues that it is shaped by historic
by the SCs and then the OBCs and General factors that governed mobility, for instance,
category. While the concentration of indig- norms stipulated in ancient religious texts and
enous populations (STs) in rural areas is not treatises like the Arthashastra. They provided
surprising, it is the gap between the General initial leads lasting till date as ‘the migration
category and the SCs—as large as 20 percent- networks fostered by priests, warriors and
age points—that shows how selective internal merchants over centuries gave their descend-
migration has been so far in terms of caste. ants a major informational advantage over the
The urbanization statistics strongly indicate SCs and STs that is as important as the eco-
that the upper castes were the most likely to nomic advantages in grabbing new opportuni-
be the first movers from villages to towns and ties’ (Tumbe, 2018, p. 209). The emphasis in
cities. this explanation is on informational networks,
Table 18.1 also shows the relationship as also ascertained by survey data, which
between caste selectivity and out-migration show that the ‘Forward castes also have more
for economic reasons at the household level, as social network connections than OBCs, Dalits
per different types of out-migration.1 It shows and Adivasis’ (Desai & Dubey, 2011, p. 44).
that the SCs and STs are over-represented in This advantage is also evident for two highly
1
See Tumbe (2015, Table 1) for the relationship between consumption class and household types with
out-migration.
urbanized religious groups, namely, the Jains one of the villages, two-thirds of all SC house-
and Parsees (Zoroastrianism), as reflected in holds migrated to work in brick-kilns. Rogaly
Table 18.1. Muslims also exhibited relatively et al. (2001) studied seasonal migration for
higher levels of short- and long-duration rice cultivation to the Bardhaman district in
migrations than the SCs. West Bengal, documenting around half a mil-
Finally, the largest component of out- lion seasonal migrants from other districts in
migration in India occurs on account of female West Bengal and Jharkhand. They mention
migration for marriage. As village exogamy that seasonal migrants were mainly SCs, STs
norms are applied in most parts of India, there and Muslims (ibid., p. 4551). The majority of
is no discernible link between caste selectiv- the migrant groups were single-caste-based
ity and out-migration propensities of women and not mixed-caste (ibid., p. 4552).
in the NSS data that is different from what is Haberfeld et al. (1999) found that 89 per
observed at the household level. cent of the seasonal migrants from Dungarpur
district in Rajasthan were ST, working in the
urban construction sector. In another instance,
of the total SC migrants who migrated to
MICRO-LEVEL EVIDENCE Kothur, an industrial town in Andhra Pradesh,
81 per cent were found to be working in
Most studies that have dealt with caste and precarious employment (Vijay, 2005). The
migration focus on the migration of a single socio-economic background of the migrants
caste (Tumbe, 2012). However, they confirm played a role in determining the quality of
the broad patterns identified at the macro employment and in turn the quality of life of
level. The micro-level studies show that short- the workers in both these studies. On the other
term seasonal migrations are dominated by SC hand, de Haan (1999, pp. 17–18), in his crit-
and ST groups, whereas semi-permanent and ical literature review on the role of migration
permanent migrations are dominated by upper in livelihoods and poverty, noted caste to be
castes. The former migrations have been char- one of the central ‘migrants’ characteristics’
acterized as being ‘coping’ in nature, whereas but not as a structural force shaping migration.
the latter are considered as being ‘accumula- Observing historical migration from Bihar, de
tive’ (Deshingkar & Farrington, 2009). Haan (2002, pp. 119–131) noted that while
The ‘coping’ aspects of short-term migra- there was segmentation in migration, migrants
tion include working in informal, vulnerable came from all castes, as with other zones of
and precarious employment terms and condi- the Great Indian Migration Wave (Tumbe,
tions, with little prospects of upward mobility. 2018, p. 73).
The sectors of work include brick-kilns, rice A comprehensive picture is portrayed
harvesting, sugarcane cutting, quarries, con- in the work of the sociologist Jan Breman
struction and rickshaw pulling among many through field-based research in Gujarat over
others. Each of these sectors requires hard five decades. In Bardoligam village in Gujarat,
manual labour that has been documented to Breman (2007) observed that the Halapatis,
be exploitative (Jain & Sharma, 2019). The the lower castes of the village, were unable
majority of the seasonal circular migrants are to become a part of the urban industrial force
from SC and ST groups (Deshingkar & Akter, and had no option apart from seasonal migra-
2009; UNICEF, 2012). SCs and STs form the tion. Yet, to some extent, seasonal migration
majority of the poor in India and have the high- prevented the marginalized Dhodias, a tribal
est propensity to migrate seasonally (Keshri & community, from becoming complete pau-
Bhagat, 2012). Srivastava (1999, p. 286) stud- pers. Migration to Mumbai allowed the inter-
ied seasonal employment of migrants from mediate castes of Dheds and Garudas to retain
six villages in Uttar Pradesh and found that in their independence. Upward mobility was
observed for the Patidars, a landholding caste, they may have a strong emotional attachment,
achieved through migration to East and South and more likely to sell only if their farms are small
and unprofitable. Particularly compared with
Africa at the turn of the 20th century and to non-Brahman peasant cultivators, therefore, the
Britain and the USA in the late 20th century. Brahmans’ detached or even disdainful outlook
Patidar migration has been the subject of enabled them to quit their lands and rural life
numerous studies. One study observed how relatively easily. (p. 181)
emigration, return migration and the accom-
panying wealth brought from East Africa Many Brahmins regarded villages as ‘unre-
in the early 20th century led to a change in fined places inhabited by less educated, less
caste identity and hierarchy by changing the intelligent people’ (ibid., p. 182) and there-
caste name from ‘Kanbi’ to ‘Patidar’ to ‘cel- fore, a place not suitable for them. In a simi-
ebrate their collective movement to a higher lar vein, Breman (2007) noted that the Anavil
caste status’ (Chandra, 1997, p. 169). This is Brahmins in Gujarat cherished an urban iden-
a remarkable case where migration and return tity with a keenness to migrate abroad.
migration itself led to a change in caste iden- The Vaishyas and business communities
tity and hierarchy. Similarly, the Mochis in of India, especially the Chettiars, Marwaris,
South Africa began to assert Kshatriya caste Sindhis, Gujaratis and Punjabis, have had a
status over their ascribed low-caste cobbler distinguished history of mercantile migra-
position when they began to accumulate tion since at least the 17th century, which
wealth (Yengde, 2015). In this case, migration has contributed to them maintaining the lead
and distance from the homeland led to a shift in the world of big business (Tumbe, 2018,
in caste identity and hierarchy. Ch. 3). Migration has also affected the landed
At the other end of the caste spectrum, peasantry in more recent times. For instance,
the Brahmins have the highest propensity to Tilche (2016) studied the migration of the
migrate within and outside India. Patterson Patidar caste from Sundaran village in Gujarat
(1988) noted the historic migration of and noted that Patidars who own more than
Chitpavan Brahmins from Ratnagiri, a pre- half of the land were stepping away from
dominantly rural district, to urban areas in agriculture towards a ‘culture of migration’.
Maharashtra as some of the first migrations Migration has become a new marker of status
from that region. In their ethnographic study for the community and extremely important to
of Tamil Brahmins, Fuller and Narasimhan find brides. The Saurashtra Patels of Gujarat
(2008) showed how Brahmins dominate the show a similar pattern of wealth accumula-
expanding IT industry and have migrated to tion by migrating to Surat’s diamond indus-
urban areas as well as abroad. Their entry try (Engelshoven, 2002). A similar narrative
and success into different fields, especially is observed in coastal Andhra Pradesh where
those requiring skills and training since the the landholding Kammas first migrated to
19th century, turning themselves into ‘service nearby towns and Hyderabad before creating
nomads’, are a sign of their caste tradition of a transnational network, extending to the USA
learning. The study revealed that Brahmins (Roohi, 2019).
used their caste identity as capital to make Vartak (2016) noted that migration is
their way ahead. Education and employment a strategy used differently by different
were both cause and effect of migration and castes. Presenting data from one village in
urbanization among the Tamil Brahmins. Marathwada, she observed that migration was
Fuller and Narasimhan (2008) note in the case used as a strategy by upper castes to perma-
of Tamil Nadu: nently leave the village. The Brahmins and
Marwaris were the first to migrate outside
They [Non-Brahmans] are generally more likely the village, and they were followed by other
than Brahmans to keep family land, to which castes who engaged in short-term migration,
unlike the first migrants. The few remaining such outcomes could be strong caste-based
upper-caste households were also planning a networks during job recruitment. Historically,
permanent exit. For the Marathas, the domi- even during the indenture system, the recruiter
nant caste, migration was a way of consolidat- would bring people from his own village,
ing their position in the village, whereas for and often from the same caste, to the work-
the Dalits and the nomadic tribes living on the site, leading to chain migration over time
fringes of the city, migration was for survival and the clustering of particular castes in
and coping. non- traditional occupations (Carter, 1995;
Evidence of migration across castes is de Haan, 1994; Chandavarkar, 1994). Caste
also available in a few village re-studies. continues to be an important way in which
Palanpur village in the Moradabad district in referral-based recruitment takes place in

Uttar Pradesh has been studied at different urban India (Banerjee, 1986; de Haan, 2003;
times by multiple researchers (Dreze, 2002; Iversen et al., 2009). Separately, Kundu and
Himanshu & Stern, 2016). Himanshu, Joshi & Banerjee (2018) looked at caste, migration
Lanjouw (2016, p. 49) noted that dependency and access to basic amenities in urban India
on agriculture had fallen because of increas- using NSS and Census data. They found that
ing non-farm employment outside the vil- poverty largely determined the accessibility to
lage. Increased mobility for the lower castes, basic services rather than caste affiliations.
particularly the Jatabs, meant increased Caste-based residential segregation con-
income but also increased in-group inequali- tinues to exist in Indian cities (Bharathi et al.,
ties. Caste-based networks seem to influence 2018) though not as stark as it is in the vil-
access to non-farm jobs, though research also lages. Similarly, there is a large difference in
shows that the availability of non-farm occu- reported measures of untouchability between
pations frees labour from traditional hierar- rural and urban India as such practices are
chies (Datta, 2016a, 2016b; Jodkha & Kumar, difficult to maintain in dense settings (Thorat
2017). & Joshi, 2015). Assimilation into the city can
Migration for non-work-related reasons also be mediated by the strength of the caste
also has potential caste dimensions. The network with smaller contacts and friendships
growth of caste-based reservations in higher outside one’s caste noted among the Brahmins
education and employment has stimulated (Gore, 1965; Inbanathan & Gopalappa, 1988).
migration of particular castes from both rural Migrant experiences of urban India can thus
and urban areas. Similarly, involuntary migra- be influenced by their caste identities.
tion, especially in the form of ‘displacement’,
has traditionally had a disproportionate impact
on the marginalized castes and communities
Migration, Caste and Gender
(Mathur, 2013).
Caste inequalities exist in urban areas as Caste colludes with gender identities to affect
well (Deshpande, 2003), though considera- migration. Most migration streams for work
bly lesser in metropolitan cities than in other in India have been and are male-dominated.
places (Desai & Dubey, 2011). A recent survey Generally, there have been restrictions on
of migrants in slums of four Indian cities women’s labour migration and labour work
found that ‘migrants of higher caste status are among the upper castes. There is a cultural
absorbed in relatively better jobs compared to as well as material basis for this restriction
the lower castes’ and noted the difficulties of (de Haan, 1997). In the case of Gounders, a
navigating the urban labour market for the his- dominant caste in Tamil Nadu, Heyer (2016)
torically disadvantaged castes (Chandrasekhar observed that women migrated only in cases
& Mitra, 2018). An important reason for of households who had quit agriculture. In
the Konkan region in western India, Yamin re-established in the diaspora. The early immi-
(1991) noted that historically the lowest castes grants, who were mainly indentured labour,
and artisans had higher rates of female out- came from different parts of India and were
migration than other castes. The lower castes able to transcend caste and build social rela-
were more likely to cultivate tiny plots or be tionships on the basis of coming in the same
landless. In the case of higher castes, who were ship and belonging to the same village or dis-
mostly landholders, women stayed behind to trict in India. These immigrants did not iden-
look after the house and the fields. Historically, tify themselves or others on the basis of caste.
women’s migration among the upper castes In the context of Fiji, Grieco argues that the
may have been low, but in contemporary nature of the recruitment process of the inden-
times, it has increased for education. In 2017, tured migrants barred the continuation of the
20 per cent of the migrants who migrated for formation of the caste system. In Trinidad, it
work or education from the Kunkeri village in has been argued that caste should not be seen
Konkan were women (Vartak et al., 2019). Of within the framework of change or continuity
these women migrants, 75 per cent belonged but through the lens of ‘metamorphosis’ and
to the Maratha caste, the dominant caste in the where ‘the survival of Hinduism is much more
village and in the Konkan region. important than the persistence of the caste
However, more generally, the basic rela- system’ for the local Hindus (Jayaram, 2006,
tionship between caste and out-migration p. 169). In another continent, Suraj Yengde
holds true across gender. The data from 20 notes that ‘although the rigid caste practices in
states in India on women’s migration showed India are not duplicated in Africa, the essence
that 75 per cent of upper-caste women and spirit of caste persists’ (Yengde, 2015, p.
migrants were long-term and medium-term 68). Ganesh (2011) studied Brahminism and
migrants, whereas the majority of the SC and Brahmins in the more recently created Indian
ST women were engaged in circular migration diaspora of North America where Brahmins
(Mazumdar et al., 2013, pp. 56–57). occupy prominent places. The study found a
widespread belief that emigration of Brahmins
to North America was and still is because of
their marginalization in Indian society. This
Migration, Caste and Diasporas
conforms to the hypothesis put forward by
Historically, caste played an important role Kapur (2010) that the possibility of ‘exit’ by
in restricting overseas mobility through the the upper castes enabled the rise of the lower
notion of ‘loss of caste upon return’ and kaal- castes in Indian politics in the 1990s, which
apaani (the dark waters). In the 19th century, otherwise could have witnessed far more diffi-
the first batches of organized emigration began cult intercaste confrontations.
towards Mauritius, the Caribbean Islands, Conversion as a means to escape the caste
Fiji and other parts of the world, leading to system has also been noted in the international
the creation of a diverse and complex Indian diaspora. In the UK, Taylor (2014) documented
diaspora (Tumbe, 2018, Ch. 4). In this dias- cases of conversion of Dalits from Sikhism to
pora, caste has been studied to understand the Buddhism or Christianity after migration and
response of this uniquely Indian social struc- noted this as Dalit assertion and a process of
ture in non-Indian settings (Jayaram, 2011; change. A similar study documented this for
Schwartz, 1967). This scholarship has docu- the low-caste Punjabi Ravidassias in Spain
mented different responses of the caste system (Lum, 2010). Agencies such as Caste Watch in
in different regions. Grieco (1998) argued the UK and Equality Labs in the USA are also
that the nature of migration determined which documenting caste-based discrimination in the
aspects of caste were lost and which were UK and USA. Caste is therefore increasingly
gaining recognition as an issue to be studied out-migration. Caste hierarchies of the village

among recent overseas Indian emigrants and also tended to be reproduced in the city. The
needs to be studied further in the emerging field migrants’ association which has its own devel-
of ‘internal diasporas’ within India (Tumbe, opmental agenda for the village is overwhelm-
2018, Ch. 4). ingly Maratha. However, migration did lead to
significant changes in caste practices through
resistances and remittances as elaborated on
in the next section.
Migration and Caste—A Konkan
Case Study
Through a village re-study spanning five
decades, Vartak, Tumbe and Bhide (2019) RESISTANCES AND REMITTANCES
document a rapid increase in out-migration
propensities across castes, especially lower James Scott, recognized for his work on every-
castes, in Kunkeri village, located in the day resistances, sees migration as a covert form
Konkan region of Maharashtra, a coastal belt of resistance. Everyday resistances are the
with a rich history of out-migration towards ‘weapons’ of subordinate classes. The every-
Mumbai for over a hundred years. A com- day reality and lives of subordinate classes are
parison across years shows that while the very different and not aimed towards big revo-
Marathas, the dominant caste in the village, lutions or open protests. Everyday resistances
had the most out-migrants, over time other are subtle rather than outright defiant. Scott
castes have caught up. The percentage of calls these the ‘ordinary weapons of relatively
out-migrants to total population ratio went up powerless groups: (gossip), foot dragging,
from 7 per cent in 1961 to 25 per cent in 2017. dissimulation, desertion, false compliance,
For Marathas, this percentage increased from pilfering, feigned ignorance, slander, arson,
7.5 per cent to 27.6 per cent. A rather drastic sabotage and so on’ (Scott, 1985, p. xvi). Scott
increase was seen in the case of OBCs, such argues that ‘the constant grinding over work,
as Bhandaris, for whom the percentage went food, autonomy, ritual—should be seen as
up from 4.5 per cent to 41.4 per cent, and for everyday forms of resistance’ (ibid., p. xvi).
SCs for whom the percentage went up from Resistance does not necessarily have to be
1.7 per cent to 21.2 per cent. Migration from collective resistance, nor does it necessarily
Kunkeri was no longer a prerogative of the have to be an open challenge to basic struc-
Marathas as all castes were sending migrants. tures of ownership or subordination (Scott,
While there was a concentration of Marathas 1985, p. 290). Everyday forms of resistance
in Mumbai, there were no migrants from the are covert rather than overt. They are masked
Notified Tribes (NTs) in Mumbai. The link of in conformity. Covert resistances do not or
Marathas with the destination has strength- will not provoke responses as harsh as overt
ened over generations. This shows that high resistances (ibid., p. 33). Covert resistances
out-migration rates across castes do not reflect thus provide some safety valve for the subor-
similar histories and trajectories. dinate classes; they ensure little or no back-
Migration and the accompanying remit- lash from powerful classes. These resistances
tances led to a considerable rise in living thus allow the poor to survive and yet not fully
standards across castes, denting absolute conform to set societal structures and patterns
poverty. However, the study also showed that of exploitation but resist in some way or the
caste composition, land ownership and resi- other. People tend to avoid direct confronta-
dential segregation along caste lines remained tions with authority and devise other ways and
unchanged in spite of persistent mass means to defy or get their way. The poor resist
subjugation and marginalization by devising (p. 127). A study on successful Dalit entrepre-
and using their own means. neurs also noted the benefits of anonymity in
Migration as a way of covert resistance to the city to experiment, fail and not be shunned
the caste system has received less attention in by other family members for eventual success
academic literature on caste or migration. The in their enterprises (Kapur et al., 2014).
dominant castes are not challenged outright. In Vartak (2016) in her study found that resist-
the destination, migrants have a chance to act ance was not premediated. It was a by-product
according to their wishes, away from the con- of migration, which was mainly undertaken
trol of the dominant castes. Deshingkar and for survival. Contrary to the idea of ‘migration
Akter (2009) term migration as ‘exit choice’. as resistance’, the People’s Archive of India
Deshingkar et al. (2006) in the case of Bihar (PARI), an initiative by P. Sainath, has doc-
note that lower castes use migration as a strat- umented several instances of Dalit migration
egy to break away from the caste oppression from rural areas who found employment in the
in the village. Gidwani and Sivaramakrishnan same caste-based work that they did in the vil-
(2003, p. 348) mention cases of migrant ‘cos- lage for centuries. As a part of the PARI pro-
mopolitanism’ actively used to oppose caste- ject, Singh (2018) documents how Haryanvi
based subordination. Dalit migrants prefer to migrants belonging to the Valmiki caste
work in cities as it gives them more freedom cannot escape the work they did in the village
and autonomy but also bring about changes even in Mumbai. Continuance of caste-based
in attire, which they find liberating and are a work in the destination is not limited to lower
challenge to the established caste practices. castes alone. In our fieldwork in Kunkeri, we
Migration experience was used by some came across several migrants who did their
Dalits to enhance their qualifications to find traditional caste work in Mumbai as carpen-
better work, whereas some began taking active ters, barbers and cleaners. While for the lower
interest in Dalit politics. Shah (2006) argues castes, lack of other options is mainly because
that migration to brick-kilns allows the youth of discrimination, for others, it is a mix of
a temporary getaway from social restrictions knowledge of a particular skill, demand for it
and obligations in the village. Carswell and in the destination and presence of caste-based
De Neve (2014) note that migration allows networks that limit information and other
Dalits to get away from restrictions and options.
humiliations. They say ‘the anonymity of the Remittances, both economic and social, are
city is very attractive to Dalits for whom being powerful ways that challenge caste practices
unknown in town has the advantage of being in the source regions. Out-migration and eco-
able to escape stigma and discrimination’ nomic remittances have been noted to enhance
(ibid., p. 118). In contexts where Dalits are the bargaining power of Dalit households in
no longer dependent on the dominant caste in Uttar Pradesh and weaken ‘traditional clien-
the village for their livelihoods, ‘caste is rap- telist political structures’ (Kapur et al., 2010, p.
idly losing its relevance’ (ibid., p. 123). As the 47). Dalit emigration from Kerala and Punjab,
Dalits migrate, they are becoming ‘economi- mainly to Gulf countries, and the attendant
cally independent’ and ‘they are rapidly losing remittances have led to a rise in ‘income,
their interest in the Gounders [dominant caste] resources, land ownership, educational
and have begun to distance themselves from opportunities and consumption for migrants
those who once had a strong grip on them’ and their families’ but has also benefited the
(ibid.). They note that ‘access to new jobs in better-off Dalit groups compared with others
Tiruppur not only offers economic autonomy (Rajan, Taylor & Kumar, 2016, pp. 25–26).
but also boosts Dalits’ self-esteem and opens Alongside economic remittances, social remit-
the door to participation in modern, urban life’ tances, individual or collective, have also been
important instruments for bringing change. came back with ideas of change (Vartak,
They are defined as ‘the ideas, behaviours, 2018). Shrikant Kamble who was in his 70s
identities and social capital that flow from reminisced:
receiving to sending country communities’
This occurred thirty, forty years ago. My brother,
(Levitt, 1998, p. 927). Migration experiences
Vasudev, was a graduate and an officer at
influence people’s general attitude, vision and Mazgaon dock. He came one day, and the
what they want for themselves and their com- Mahars were waiting near the well outside
munity (Levitt & Lamba-Nieves, 2011). Bhavai’s temple for someone to come draw water
Our research in Kunkeri village showed and give them. My brother said, what is this non-
sense? And he went and drew water and gave
that social remittances, individual or collec-
it to them … And there was a huge ruckus over
tive, play an important role in shaping ideas this in the entire village. Arey, that Mahar boy
of development in the village, similar to evi- did this! ... The people of the wadi (Harijanwadi)
dence provided in the literature on interna- were angry with him … The Marathas stopped
tional migration, diasporic philanthropy and giving water … Later on they started it (giving
water) again but then they used to taunt. See
regional development in India (Upadhya &
what that boy did. Mumbai la jaun jastich akkal
Rutten, 2012; Rajan, Taylor & Kumar, 2016). ali [He has become over-smart after going to
Ideas regarding development were transmit- Mumbai!]
ted through both Kunkeri migrants and the
migrants’ association in Mumbai. Over the A simple act of drawing water, an idea gener-
years, the migrant’s association supported ated through social remittances, escalated con-
infrastructural developments such as taps, flict in the short term but allowed the Dalits the
roads, telephone lines and schools among right to draw water in the long term. Exposure
others. Our research shows that social remit- to urban life, new ideas, freedom, anonym-
tances were not uniform across castes. Ideas ity, possibility of education and employment
of development and progress differed across made Kamble’s brother challenge established
castes. These ideas at times conflicted with caste practices. The above vignette shows that
each other. social remittances differ across castes and can
For the Marathas and migrants’ associations be conflicting. They can be supporting the
whose active members were all Marathas, the status quo or challenging it.
dominant caste in the village, the development For the OBCs and NTs in Kunkeri, migra-
of the village meant infrastructural develop- tion presented an opportunity for upward
ment. They did not see the transformation mobility. Development for them meant noth-
of social relations of caste structures as cru- ing but progress for themselves. They were
cial to development. In fact, they were keen not interested in the development of their vil-
on perpetuating existing inequalities. This lage unlike the Marathas.
was seen through their efforts at constructing
places of worship and maintaining practice
of unequal ritualistic practices. They blamed
caste tensions on the lower castes. New ideas CONCLUSION
came to the SC community through migrants.
One of the changes that occurred through Caste is an important social structure affecting
social remittances was the change in name all aspects of social life in India. The presence
of their hamlet—from Maharwadi in 1961 to of caste is felt even in the Indian diaspora. All
Harijanwadi to a proposed name change of aspects of social structure influence and in turn
Mata Ramai Nagar in 2017. Dalit migrants are influenced by migration. Whether migra-
gained caste consciousness in Mumbai and tion leads to social change or not is an ongoing
debate in international migration studies. The rural life and though he himself travelled
same questions can be asked in the Indian extensively, his cosmopolitanism came with
context regarding caste. Does out-migration an advocacy of fixity (Tumbe, 2018, Ch. 6).
lead to fundamental social transformation By contrast, for Ambedkar, who also travelled
of the caste system or does it strengthen the extensively, cities had the power to liberate
caste system? Are changes superficial or fun- the oppressed from the caste system. The ano-
damental? Studying migration and caste can nymity that they offered and the heterogeneity
help us understand the role of social identities that they accommodated made him encour-
in migration, how they mutually impact each age people to move out of villages and into
other and contribute not only to academic cities. Migration had enabled him to educate
debates but also to transformative social himself, think independently, come out of
projects. poverty and gain a respectable position in the
The theme of migration and caste also lies Indian freedom struggle. For him, Indian vil-
unrecognized at the bottom of several public lages were a ‘sink of localism, a den of igno-
debates and policies in India, starting with rance, narrow mindedness and communalism’
the freedom fighters. For Mohandas Gandhi (Ambedkar, 1948). These two positions on the
(1869–1948), born in a traditional business benefits of rural and urban life have had deep
community, cities were an ‘evil thing, unfor- implications on developmental planning, and
tunate for mankind and the world’ (Gandhi, the evidence provided in this chapter suggests
1999, p. 56). He celebrated the village and that greater urbanization of the lowest castes
• Place in caste hierarchy

• History of migration
• Traditional occupations
• Networks and social capital
• Caste-based obligations and
restrictions Enablers or barriers
• Land ownership, education
and gender
CASTE MIGRATION
Patterns/Streams of migration
• Change in caste identity/
hierarchy • Short-term, semi-
• Conversion permanent, permanent
• Resistance: ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ • Voluntary/Involuntry
• Freedom and anonymity in • Reasons
cities • Internal/International
• Economic remittances • Short distance/Long
• Social remittances distance
• Diasporas • Coping/accumulation
Figure 18.1 Framework to Understand the Relationship between Migration and Caste
through migration is an important route to the caste system as a means of resistance, as a

challenge caste practices. way of earning anonymity and as a generator
Migration to cities has offered many a res- of economic and social remittances.
pite from traditional oppressive structures.
Migration as a way of upward mobility and
escaping caste is a theme in the writings of
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19
Migration Trends and
Vulnerable Populations
Amitabh Kundu
INTRODUCTION Mobility of people can be analysed from

different perspectives, such as the place of
At the macro level, mobility is articulated by origin and of destination, duration of stay,
the share of migrants in the total population. reasons and mode for movement, economic
The percentage of internal migrants among background of the migrants, etc. These
the populations in India has been at a low level dimensions are examined often to assess
historically. This low share of migrants in the how the change in residence, occurring due
population is attributed to various factors, to mobility, affects the population balance
like social and linguistic diversity, low levels across regions and labour market conditions,
of awareness and access to information and focusing on the regions of origin and desti-
costs associated with shifting. Significantly, nation. There are major research questions
national-level data sources such as Population about whether mobility enables the migrants,
Census and National Sample Surveys (NSSs) generally shifting from less developed regions
suggest a declining trend in migration. The to access economic and social opportuni-
data available after the 1990s, however, ties at the destinations, improve their socio-
appears to indicate that this has been arrested. economic conditions and how the populations
The most recent data from the 2011 Census of in the receiving regions get impacted and react
India show a dramatic change in the migration to this. Concerns are voiced with regard to the
scenario, particularly for women, although low share of women in rural–urban and inter-
one has yet to analyse the statistical reasons state migration; their low and falling work
for the break from the past trend and identify participation rate has also been posited as
the socio-economic factors behind this. an issue requiring policy intervention. Also,
the declining share of vulnerable sections of
Migration Trends and Vulnerable Populations 269
population in the migration stream, due to the certain recommendations with regard to data
labour market in developed regions and large compilation and research method in the areas
urban centres requiring certain skills that they of migration in India.
do not possess, is an important empirical
issue. It has been argued that certain vulner-
able sections of the population are not able to
avail the benefits of economic opportunities MIGRATION TRENDS THROUGH DATA
through migration. FROM POPULATION CENSUS AND
The basic objective of the chapter is to dis- NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY
cuss the broad trends and pattern of migration
in India and enquire if there has been a signif- Data from population census indicates a
icant departure in the last census decade from decline in migration rates for males and
the past trends, highlighting certain method- females in both rural and urban areas during
ological and data-related issues. The chapter 1981–1991. The proportion of migrants in the
is composed of five sections. After the intro- total population declined from 31.2 per cent
ductory section, the second section analyses in 1981 to 27.7 per cent in 1991. For males, it
the trend and pattern of internal migration in came down from 18.2 per cent to 14.8 per cent;
India over the past four decades, considering the corresponding figures for the females are
the patterns for men and women, both in rural 45.2 per cent and 41.6 per cent. The migration
and urban areas, separately. The next section rates, however, went up in all the categories in
focuses on the census decade 2001–2011, 2001, the figures for the total, male and female
bringing out the significant difference in the population being 30.6 per cent, 17.5 per cent
migration trends of women from that of men. and 44.6 per cent, respectively. It may be
The migration patterns of vulnerable sections noted that if we consider the entire period of
of the population, namely Scheduled Caste two decades from 1981 to 2001, the migration
(SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Muslims, rates have gone down in all categories except
are presented in the fourth section in the con- for rural females (Table 19.1),1 suggesting a
text of their access to urban and metropolitan declining migration trend.
space and of their exclusion. The last section NSS surveys confirm the declining trend
presents the key results and puts forward in migration till the mid-1990s. The migration
Table 19.1 Percentage of Migrants in the Population as per Decennial Censuses

Place of 1981 1991 2001 2011
residence
of Migrants Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
Total 31.2 18.2 45.2 27.7 14.8 41.6 30.6 17.5 44.6 37.5 22.6 53.2
Rural 28.9 12.6 45.9 26.1 10.2 43.0 28.3 11.5 46.1 32.5 13.5 52.6
Urban 38.8 35.3 42.8 32.3 27.6 37.5 36.4 32.9 40.3 48.4 42.6 54.6
Source: Computed from various decadal census tables on migration.

Notes: ‘Persons’ include both males and females.
1. Migration figures for 1981 exclude Assam and the 1991 figures exclude Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Percentages are based on all migrants including those from outside the country.
1
To analyse mobility of labour due to economic reasons, one may like to focus attention on the pattern of male
migration, as it responds to labour market stimuli even in the short run, whereas a large part of female migration
in India is due to marriage and other social factors that change over a long time.
rates declined to their lowest levels in 1993 (49th The number of migrants by place of last res-
round) for men, in both rural and urban areas. idence in the country was 314.5 million in
This was followed by a slight recovery. The 2001. The figure has gone up to 453.6 mil-
percentages of migrants in 1999–2000 (55th lion in 2011, showing an increase of 139 mil-
round) is higher than in 1993–1994. However, lion. This is against the figure of 82 million
considering the period from 1983 to 2007– migrants added during 1991–2001, implying
2008, the latest year for which migration data that the decadal increase in migration has
is available from the NSS (64th round), we note gone up from 35.5 per cent during 1991–2001
a decline in the percentage of male migrants in to 44.2 per cent in 2001–2011. On an average,
both rural and urban areas. The data from the about 14 million migrated every year during
55th and 64th rounds indicates that the percent- 2001–2011 against the figure of 8 million in
age of male migrants in rural areas has declined the previous decade.
from 6.9 per cent to 5.4 per cent (Table 19.2). It is important to note that the percentages
In urban areas, there has been a slight increase of decadal migrants to total migrants have
in the figure and that is because of increased gone up for males, in both rural and urban
family migration, reflected in larger number of areas, during 2001–2011 (Table 19.3). In case
children in the migration stream. The percent- of rural males, the increase is from 34.7 per
age of adult male migrants (to adult population) cent in 2001 to 39.8 per cent in 2011. The
in urban areas, however, has gone down from corresponding figures for urban males are
32 per cent to 31 per cent during the period. All 35.7 per cent and 40.6 per cent. Increase can
these undermine the thesis of massive migra- be noted also for the women migrants. The
tion to the existing urban centres, leading to increase in the case of rural areas is from 28.0
their demographic growth and of labour market per cent to 30.6 per cent, the corresponding
integration in the country. figures for urban areas being 34.4 per cent and
39.7 per cent. There is, however, a caveat in
the reasoning. It must be noted that the per-
centage of migrants not reporting the duration
MIGRATION PATTERN DURING 2001– was very high in 2001, the figures being 13.1
2011: THE GENDER DIMENSION per cent and 17.3 per cent in rural and urban
areas, respectively. These decreased signifi-
Migration data released recently from the cantly to 0.2 per cent, both in rural and urban
recent population Census of 2011 indicates areas, in 2001. This possibly is due to defini-
that the rates of migration have increased for tional or conceptual problems which may lead
both males and females during 2001–2011. to anomalies in temporal comparison.
Table 19.2 Percentage of Total Migrants in Different NSS Rounds in Rural and Urban India
Round (year)
Rural Urban
Males Females Males Females
64 (2007–2008) 5.4 (6.5) 47.7 (68.6) 25.9 (31.4) 45.6 (57.9)

55 (July 1999–June 2000) 6.9 (9.0) 42.6 (64.5) 25.7 (32.0) 41.8 (55.4)
49 (January–June 1993) 6.5 40.1 23.9 38.2
43 (July 1987–June 1988) 7.4 39.8 26.8 39.6
38 (January–December 1983) 7.2 35.1 27.0 36.6
Source: Various NSS reports.

Note: The figures in brackets are for the population in the 15–59 years age group.
Table 19.3 Percentage of Decadal Migrants and Those Not Reporting Duration to Total
Migrants
2001 2011
Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
Decadal, rural 29.4 34.7 28.0 32.6 39.8 30.6

Duration not stated, rural 13.1 32.6 8.0 0.2 0.4 0.1
Decadal, urban 35.0 35.7 34.4 40.1 40.6 39.7
Duration not stated, urban 17.3 19.3 15.5 0.2 0.2 0.2
Source: Estimated by the authors.
Table 19.4 Percentage of Decadal Migrants with Different Durations of Stay to the Total
Migrants Reporting Duration
2001 2011
Rural 33.8 51.5 30.4 32.6 40.0 30.6

Urban 42.3 44.3 40.7 40.1 40.6 39.7
While no one disagrees with this propo- This evidently suggests that the number of
sition of temporal non-comparability of the migrants in the last decade as a proportion of
data, no attempt has been made by any official total migrants has gone down in this decade,
or non-official agency to resolve this. Without compared with the preceding decade, refuting
a satisfactory explanation on this, drawing any the thesis of a recent spurt in migration. In
inference, particularly with regard to tempo- case of women migrants, however, there is no
ral variation in migration rates for different such decline.
durations of stay, would be extremely hazard- Information on net rural-to-urban migrants
ous. It is difficult to accept the proposition of (rural-to-urban migrants minus urban-to-
a dramatic hike in the migration rate without rural migrants) during the past two census
resolving the anomalies in the data and iden- decades too questions the thesis of accelera-
tifying and understanding the factors respon- tion in migration as a factor in urban growth
sible for this. during 2001–2011. The growth rate of dec-
One can argue that the decadal migrants adal migrants during 1991–2001 was 34 per
were grossly under-reported in 2001 as many cent, which went up to 44 per cent in the
of them chose not to record their duration of following decade (Table 19.5). The growth
migration to avail certain amenities linked to rates for migrants with more than 10 years
the date of arrival at the destination and avoid duration were even higher—61 per cent and
social discomfort. It is interesting to observe 70 per cent. Further, while the growth rate of
that when the migrants not reporting their decadal women migration has gone up over
duration of stay at the place of enumeration the decades, the same for male migration
are excluded, the picture changes completely. has declined. More importantly, the growth
The proportion of decadal migrants to total rate of persons migrating for economic rea-
male migrants (reporting their duration) has sons has gone down from 70 per cent to 31
gone down from 51.5 per cent to 40.0 per cent per cent. For males, the fall is even more
in rural and from 44.3 per cent to 40.6 per cent dramatic, from 74 per cent to 27 per cent. It
in urban areas during 2001–2011 (Table 19.4). is only for females that the growth rate for
Table 19.5 Decadal Growth of Net Rural Urban Migrants with Less and More Than 10 Years of
Stay at the Place of Enumeration
Net Rural to Urban Migrants for all Net Rural to Urban Migrants for
Reasons (%) Employment Reasons (%)
1991–2001
<10 years 34.15 36.78 31.19 69.80 74.27 30.16
≥10 years 61.09 59.57 62.66 77.14 80.06 40.86
2001–2011
<10 years 44.48 33.60 57.22 31.30 26.91 83.45
≥10 years 70.27 64.90 75.70 55.74 50.43 140.27
migration for economic reasons has gone up, migration must be attributed to economic fac-
confirming the argument made above that tors. Growth in the number of women migrants
their labour market-related mobility has gone for employment reasons during 2001–2011 is
up. There is, however, no evidence that there phenomenally high—much higher than that of
has been in general higher population mobil- men. They are generally travelling with their
ity or labour mobility during 2001–2011 com- families, although single-person migration
pared with the previous decade. In any case, has also gone up. All these reflect significant
one can argue that there is no reason to panic changes in social and economic conditions
about any phenomenal increase in population in the country, affecting labour market for
mobility or labour mobility or get excited that women positively.
India is ‘on the move and churning’ without Undoubtedly, urban labour market offers
answering the complex data-related questions, employment opportunities to women, but
as discussed earlier. unfortunately, it comes only at the bottom of
Clearly, the argument indicating an increase the economic ladder. A large percentage of
in the mobility of men is tenuous, as discussed them work as domestic help whose demand
earlier as per the NSS. The percentage of has gone up with the increase in work-
migrants among rural men declined, whereas participation rate among the middle and upper
that for urban men remained constant at 26 class women and the need to take care of the
per cent during the period from 2000 to 2008 household chores. Also, there is an increase in
(Table 19.2). Single-male migration driven by family migration at higher levels of income
poverty and other push factors has also gone and skills, which improves the gender ratio
down. And yet, the fact that Indian women are among the migrants.
travelling much more than in the past emerges There are other macro-level indicators
very strongly, notwithstanding the anomalies that too confirm the above proposition. The
in the data. In fact, the migration of women National Health and Family Survey-IV, for
has gone up over the past three decades, both example, shows that the percentage of women
in rural and urban areas (Kundu, 2018). In aged 20–24 years, married before the age of
1983, female migration in rural areas was 18 years, has gone down from 47 per cent in
35.1 per cent, which went up to 47.7 per cent 2005–2006 to only 27 per cent in 2015–2016.
in 2008. The corresponding figures in urban Furthermore, the number of women aged
areas are 36.6 per cent and 45.6 per cent. 15–19 years, who were mothers or pregnant
Marriage mobility of women is determined at the time of the survey, as a percentage of
by socio-cultural factors that change slowly all women in the age group, has reduced by
over time, and hence, the recent spurt in their half from the alarming figure of 16 per cent in
2005–2006. It would, therefore, be no surprise A similar pattern is reported by the NSS as

if women work participation shows a happy well. The 68th round of the NSS reports the
rising trend. The proposition of a declining percentage of Muslims to the total population
trend in women workforce participation rate, in urban and rural areas as 17.3 per cent and
which is of major concern for manpower/ 12.5 per cent respectively, in 2011–2012. In
women power planners in the country, needs case of the SC and ST population, the urban
to be re-examined in the context of the recent figure—20.6 per cent—is significantly below
empirical evidence. This conclusion can also the rural figure of 34.6 per cent (Table 19.7).
be derived from the 2011 Census data on The pattern is similar for the Other Backward
migration, although it would be a bit haz- Castes (OBCs), the figure being 20.6 per cent
ardous to do that until the anomalies in the for urban areas, significantly below the rural
temporal comparability of the data, as dis- figure of 34.6 per cent. The pattern holds good
cussed in the following section, are dealt with for Hindus as well, the proportion in urban and
appropriately. rural areas being 77 per cent and 83 per cent,
respectively, almost the same as reported by
the census. It is thus evident that Muslims are
more urbanized than the SCs, STs and OBCs
MIGRATION OF SOCIO- as also the Hindu population.
ECONOMICALLY VULNERABLE This can also be inferred from the fact that
POPULATION 39.9 per cent of the total Muslim population
live in urban areas against the national urban-
The percentage share of Muslims in the total ization level of less than 32 per cent in 2011
population in urban areas is as high as 18.2 as per the Population Census (Table 19.8). A
per cent compared with a much lower figure similar picture emerges from the 68th round
of 12.4 per cent in rural areas as per the of the NSS which identifies 35.1 per cent
Population Census (Table 19.6). By contrast, of the Muslim population as urban (urban
the combined share for SC and ST population Muslims in relation to total Muslims) against
in urban areas is low, 15.4 per cent, against the figure of 28.6 per cent for the overall popu-
the rural figure of 29.8 per cent. Similarly, the lation in 2011–2012 (Table 19.9a). The corre-
percentage of Hindu population in urban areas sponding figures for Hindu SC and Hindu ST
is less than that in rural areas, the two figures population were 21.1 per cent and 10 per cent,
being 75 per cent and 83 per cent. respectively. Clearly, a much larger segment
Table 19.6 Percentage of Population for Different Socio-Religious Groups in Rural and Urban
Areas
1991 2001 2011
Socio-religious Groups Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban
SC 17.9 11.9 17.9 11.8 18.5 12.6

ST 10.1 2.3 10.4 2.4 11.3 2.8
Muslims 11.1 17.1 12.0 17.3 12.4 18.2
Others 60.9 68.6 59.7 68.5 57.8 66.4
Total 74.3 25.7 72.2 27.8 68.9 31.2

Notes:
1. Others are residuals of SCs, STs and Muslims.
2. Estimated figures of Jammu and Kashmir for 1991 were calculated and adjusted based on the growth rate of SC, ST,
Muslim and others of 2001–2011 as census was not held in Jammu and Kashmir during 1991.
Table 19.7 Percentage of Population for Different Socio-religious Groups in Rural and Urban
Areas in Various NSS Rounds
43rd 50th 55th 64th
38th (1983) (1987–1988) (1993–1994) (1999–2000) (2007–2008)
Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban
SC 18.4 12.4 18.9 11.7 20.2 12.7 21.4 14.5 21.1 14.9
ST 10.0 3.2 10.4 3.6 10.3 2.9 10.7 3.9 11.0 2.9
Muslims 9.5 16.1 10.4 16.3 9.9 15.5 11.1 16.3 11.6 17.1
Others 62.1 68.3 60.3 68.4 59.6 68.9 56.8 65.3 56.3 65.1
Total 76.3 23.7 77.4 22.6 75.2 24.8 74.6 25.4 73.7 26.3
Table 19.8 Percentage of Total Muslim are in an advantageous position in accessing

Population to Total Population in Urban Areas livelihood opportunities and basic amenities
1981 1991 2001 2011 as a large segment of their population lives in
towns and cities.
All 23.7 25.7 27.8 31.2
An increase in the share of urban popula-
Muslims 34.0 35.5 35.7 39.9
tion is generally viewed as a positive phenom-
Source: Estimated by the authors. enon for any socio-religious group in a country
characterized by a high degree of rural–urban
of the Muslim population lives in urban areas inequality in socio-economic spheres. As per
than the SC, ST or Hindu population. A higher the Population Census, the total population
percentage of the Muslim population residing living in urban areas has increased from 23.7
in urban areas, compared with other religious per cent in 1981 to 31.20 per cent in 2011
groups, can be attributed to the history of the (Table 19.8). Correspondingly, the percentage
Sultanate and Mogul Empire, resulting in share of the Muslim population in urban areas
the concentration of Muslims in their seats to the total Muslim population has gone up
of governance. One would hypothesize that, from 34.0 per cent to 39.9 per cent. While the
other things remaining the same, Muslims increase in the case of the general population
Table 19.9a Distribution of Population by Sectors of Residence across Different Socio-religious

Groups in 2011–2012 (%)
Socio-religious Groups Rural Urban Million Plus Cities Other Urban Areas Urban Total
Hindu ST 90.0 2.5 7.5 10.0 100.0

Hindu SC 78.9 6.6 14.5 21.1 100.0
Hindu OBC 74.9 6.0 19.1 25.1 100.0
Hindu others (UCH) 57.2 16.2 26.6 42.8 100.0
All Hindus 72.9 8.3 18.8 27.1 100.0
Muslim OBC 64.9 8.5 26.6 35.1 100.0
Muslim others (Non-OBC) 64.8 12.3 22.8 35.2 100.0
All Muslims 64.9 10.4 24.7 35.1 100.0
Other religions 65.1 9.6 25.2 34.9 100.0
All religions/total population 71.4 8.6 19.9 28.6 100.0

Note: Computed from NSS 68th round unit level data on employment and unemployment.
Table 19.9b Distribution of Population by Sectors of Residence across Different Socio-religious

Groups in 2004–2005 (%)
Rural Urban million plus cities Other urban areas Urban Total
Hindu ST 92.2 1.8 6.0 7.8 100.0

Hindu SC 80.3 5.4 14.3 19.7 100.0
Hindu OBC 79.6 3.9 16.5 20.4 100.0
Hindu others (Upper Class Hindus, UCH) 61.0 13.8 25.2 39.0 100.0
All Hindus 76.1 6.6 17.3 23.9 100.0
Muslim OBC 67.9 3.7 28.4 32.1 100.0
Muslim others (non-OBC) 66.7 11.0 22.3 33.3 100.0
All Muslims 67.2 8.1 24.7 32.8 100.0
Other religions 70.8 9.1 20.1 29.2 100.0
All religions/total population 74.7 6.9 18.4 25.3 100.0

Note: Computed from NSS 61st round unit level data on employment and unemployment.
is as high as 7.50 percentage points, for the and Hindu SC are even less: 2.2 per cent and
Muslims, it is only 5.9 points. The increase 1.4 per cent only, the highest figure being 3.8
has been less for the Muslims in every decade per cent for the Upper Caste Hindu (UCH)
from 1981 to 2001, compared with that of the population. One can, therefore, argue using
general population. The slower pace of urban- data from both the census and NSS that the
ization of Muslims, despite their higher level percentages of Muslims and that of SC popu-
of urbanization, compared with other religious lations in urban areas have increased at a lower
groups during the past several decades, sug- rate than the general population in recent
gests a process of exclusion, which is coming years. Furthermore, the urban–rural growth
in the way of this disadvantaged minority ben- differential (URGD), which is often taken to
efiting from urban development. The period reflect the pace of urbanization for a region or
2001–2011 must, however, be considered a community—because it adjusts for the dif-
exceptional in this regard because here the ferences in population growth—is as low as
pattern has been reversed. The increase in the 0.42 per cent for the Muslims during 1991–
percentage of urban Muslims has been higher 2001. The figures for all other communities
than the increase in that of the total urban pop- and that for the total population are much
ulation in the country. Its implications have higher than that (Table 19.10). This is a matter
been discussed later in this section. of concern, given the growing socio-economic
The slower pace of urbanization for disparities between rural and urban areas.
Muslims when compared with the SC, ST or The above pattern has, however, been
general population is confirmed by the data reversed during 2001–2011. The sharp
from NSS during the period from 2004–2005 increase in the share of urban Muslims and
to 2011–2012 (Tables 19.9a and 19.9b). The their high URGD can be explained in terms
percentage of Muslims living in urban areas of inclusion of a large number of new Census
has gone up by only 2.3 percentage points, Towns (CTs) in Kerala and West Bengal
against the increase of 3.3 percentage points that have a large share of Muslim popula-
for the general population, during this period. tion in their small towns and large villages.2
The corresponding increases for the Hindu ST As the percentage of Muslims engaged in
2
The shares of Muslims in the total urban population (including the CTs of 2011) in Kerala and West Bengal were
as high as 53 per cent and 19.3 per cent in 2011.
Table 19.10 Growth Rates of Population for Different Socio-religious Groups in Rural and
Urban Areas and the Urban-to-Rural Growth Differential (%)
URGD 1991–2001 2001–2011
Socio-religious
Groups 1991–2001 2001–2011 Rural Urban Rural Urban
SC 0.94 2.00 1.64 2.58 1.46 3.46

ST 1.30 2.08 1.97 3.27 1.96 4.04
Muslims 0.42 1.77 2.41 2.83 1.53 3.30
Others 1.27 1.60 1.45 2.72 0.84 2.44
Total 1.09 1.50 1.65 2.74 1.16 2.76

Notes: 1. Others are residuals of SC, ST and Muslims.
2. Estimated figures of Jammu and Kashmir for 1991 are calculated and adjusted based on the growth rate of SC, ST,
Muslim and others in 2001–2011 as census was not held in Jammu and Kashmir during 1991.
non-agricultural activities is higher than the a high incidence of Muslims was very low
general population, the probability of their in 2001. Besides, the people in these new
settlements being classified as urban would CTs had to travel a great distance to access
be very high. It can easily be shown that the these infrastructures. Consequently, it would
increase in the share of urban Muslims is not be erroneous to believe that the faster pace
due to a higher rate of rural-to-urban migra- of urbanization among the Muslims during
tion but because the percentage of Muslims 2001–2011 would act as an instrument to sus-
residing in the new urban centres of 2011 is tain their overall development in the coming
very high. The percentage of Muslims in the decades.
urban centres, existing since 2001, on the The distribution of population across size
other hand, has gone down from 25.4 per cent class of urban centres varies significantly for
to 23.6 per cent in Kerala and from 12.8 per the SC, ST, Muslim and Hindu populations.
cent to 12.7 per cent in West Bengal during A much larger segment of UCH and Muslim
2001–2011. This is despite the fertility rate population resides in metro cities (with pop-
among Muslims being higher than that of ulation over a million) than the general pop-
other communities, confirming the proposi- ulation owing to historical reasons, as noted
tion that the rate of Muslim immigration in above. As high as 16.2 per cent of UCH and
these towns has been low. The slower pace of 10.4 per cent of all Muslims live in metro cities
urbanization of Muslims on the whole, com- against the figure of 8.6 per cent for the gen-
pared with other religious groups, during the eral population in 2011–2012 (Table 19.9a).
past three decades, suggests a strong process The corresponding figures for Hindu SC and
of exclusionary urbanization, which is coming Hindu ST are 6.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent
in the way of this disadvantaged minority ben- only. In case of non-million plus urban cen-
efitting from urban development. tres, low percentages are recorded in case of
It is important to note that in Kerala as in SC and ST—14.5 and 7.5 only—against 20
West Bengal, the rapid pace of urbanization per cent for the total population. Muslims here
for Muslims during 2001–2011 was due to too report a higher figure of 25 per cent.
the identification of a large number of CTs, It is important to note that there has been
the latter accounting for 54 per cent and 34 modest increase in the share of SC and
per cent of the urban Muslim population, Muslim population in metro cities during
respectively. Unfortunately, the availability 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. This unfortu-
of basic infrastructure in these new CTs with nately is not the case in other urban centres
(Tables 19.9a and 19.9b). Maximum increase areas at the two points of time, 1999–2000
in metro cities is recorded in case of the UCH. and 2007–2008. During this period, the per-
One may argue that migration of relatively centage of migrants among rural males in the
deprived sections of population from rural country declined at the national level (for all
to urban areas—particularly to smaller urban socio-religious groups except Jains), but this
centres—has been less than the average for the has remained constant for urban males. The
UCH in recent years. These confirm the thesis percentages of migrants among both rural and
of exclusionary urbanization, implying that urban females have shown an increase for all
the persons of lower socio-economic status categories (except the Jains in rural areas),
have lesser access to the benefits of urbaniza- leading to an overall increase in the share
tion. The small towns have become less wel- of migrant population. The percentages of
coming for weaker and more vulnerable social migrants among Muslim males have, however,
groups—Hindu SC and Muslim population. gone down both in rural as well as urban areas,
This can partly be attributed to the urban along with that of Christians, which is not the
labour market becoming more demanding in case for other communities. This is a matter of
terms of skills that these sections of the pop- serious concern for the Muslims because their
ulation do not possess. This could also reflect share of migrants is the lowest across the com-
socio-cultural prejudices against these groups munities, as noted above.
at the destination, constraining their mobility.
Among major religious groups, the
Muslims generally have the lowest percent-
age of migrants in their population, in both SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
rural and urban areas, for men as well as
women (Table 19.11). The highest percent- The chapter analysed the trend and pattern of
age is reported among the Buddhists in urban internal migration in India over the past four
Table 19.11 Migration Rates (Migrants per 1,000 Population) for Major Religious Groups
Rural Urban
Males Females Persons Males Females Persons
55th round (1999–2000)

Hindus 69 439 250 277 442 356
Muslims 49 331 189 159 301 227
Christians 128 332 231 296 402 349
Sikhs 84 533 298 186 468 320
Jains 37 588 288 212 474 340
Buddhists 111 468 285 314 431 369
All 69 427 244 257 418 334
64th round (2007–2008)
Hindus 55 490 267 285 483 380
Muslims 40 390 211 143 333 234
Christians 98 364 230 257 401 334
Sikhs 52 577 303 196 565 365
Jains 131 554 314 273 527 395
Buddhists 109 524 309 369 538 453
All 54 477 261 259 456 354
Source: Computed from unit level data, ‘ALL’ includes other religions, religion not reported, etc.
decades and explored the hypothesis that the economic ladder. A large percentage of them
rate of migration has accelerated during 2001– work as domestic help whose demand has gone
2011, as posited also by the Economic Survey up with the increase in work participation rate
2017 and also inferred from the data released among the middle and upper class women.
by the Population Census so far. An in-depth Also, persons at higher levels of income and
analysis of the population and migration data skills are now migrating along with their fam-
raises more questions than it answers. A dra- ilies, which improves gender ratio among the
matic and inexplicable decline in the number migrants. All these reflect significant changes
of migrants not reporting duration of stay as in socio-economic conditions in the country,
per the provisional estimates raise questions affecting labour market for women positively.
on the methodology of data compilation in The migration trends for the socio-
the 2011 Census. Also, the growth rates of economically vulnerable sections of the
migrants with more than 10-year duration population reveal their diminishing access,
being higher than that for those with shorter particularly that of Muslims, to urban and
duration question the proposition that migra- metropolitan space. The sluggish pace of
tion rate has gone up in recent years. Clearly, urbanization of Muslims and Hindu SC popu-
the argument indicating an increase in the lation over time, in particular, must be a cause
mobility of men is tenuous. of concern and policy intervention. That calls
The sudden increase in the rate of migra- for focused empirical studies to identify fac-
tion as inferred from the Population Census tors behind their low and declining access to
data of 2011, which purports to reverse the urban and metropolitan space, resulting in
trend of the previous decades, needs to be what may be called urban exclusion.
analysed with empirical rigour. Also, any
temporal comparison made in the shares of
short-
duration migrants—with less than 1
year, 1–5 years and 5–10 years of stay at the REFERENCES
destination— without taking into consider-
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yield erroneous conclusions. Attempts must the rural and urban: Estimates from NSSO data. Eco-
be made to resolve and reconcile these before nomic and Political Weekly, 46(46), 22–25.
Kundu, A. & Saraswati, L. R. (2012). Migration and exclu-
inferences are drawn and carried into the
sionary urbanization in India. Economic and Political
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Weekly, 47(26/27), 219–227.
One important fact, however, emerges Kundu, A. & Mohanan, P. C. (2017, April 11). Internal migra-
clearly, notwithstanding the anomalies in the tion in India: A very moving story, The Economic Times.
data that Indian women are travelling much Kundu, A. & Varghese, K. (2018). Migration, urbanisation
more than they did in the past. Marriage mobil- and interstate inequality in India. In T. Haque (Ed.),
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factors that change slowly over time. The spurt Oxford University Press.
in their migration must, therefore, be attrib- Ministry of Finance. (2017). Economic survey, Govern-
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Wealth, 30(1), 59–67.
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Sivaramakrishna, K. C., Kundu, A., & Singh, B. N. (2005).
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Urban labour market is offering employment Nations (2000). New Delhi, India: Oxford University
opportunities to women at the bottom of the Press.
20
Labour Process in Migration*
Sumeetha M.
INTRODUCTION was substantially hiked. The new production

needs were met largely by the workshops that
The gold jewellery industry has become a depended on an increasing supply of migrant
crucial part of the economic and social milieu workers. If deregulation allowed for more
of Kerala. The massive surge in the demand employment opportunities, it also saw the
for gold jewellery is perceived as a direct growth of a new and powerful group of inves-
consequence of Kerala’s emigration pattern, tors who began to control the industry. The
especially to the Middle East, since the late traditional goldsmith became a rare entity.
1970s. With the economic reforms and dereg- Gold retail houses have mushroomed within
ulation of the gold industry in the early 1990s, the state and have pursued an active expansion
this sector has become a lucrative investment path outside the country, catering primarily to
opportunity for investors. Government policy, emigrants from India. The place of the artisan
therefore, altered the nature and organization has been redefined as he shifted from home-
of the industry. The policy shift abolished the based work to workshops.
system of certified goldsmiths and licensed
gold dealers, and imports were liberalized.
This arrested illegal gold import into the coun-
try, facilitated more import of gold through INDIA IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD
government-authorized sources and nomi-
nated commercial banks. Job opportunities Globalization involves a composite set of
increased as investment in the gold industry economic and financial developments that
* This chapter is based on my PhD thesis ‘Labour in a Globalized World: In-migration to the Gold Jewellery Making
Industry in Kerala, India’ awarded by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, at the CDS, Thiruvananthapuram,
2015. I am thankful to my supervisors, Dr S. Irudaya Rajan and Dr K. N. Harilal, for their critical comments. I am
also indebted to the workers, union leaders and other stakeholders in the industry who have immensely helped
in this work. However, all errors are mine alone.
make economies more dependent on each 1960s, gold work was home-based and an
other.1 India initiated economic reforms exclusive preserve of master craftsmen who
because of a serious economic crisis in the were assisted by apprentices. The easing
early 1990s.2 The sudden economic upheaval of caste-based restrictions saw the entry
had a profound effect on the workplace and of diverse communities into the industry.
the nature of work. The changes on the eco- Restrictions on gold import made smuggling
nomic front included liberalization of trade rampant and drove away traditional gold-
barriers and the consequent opening up of the smiths from the vocation.4
economy, large-scale privatization of public Three important policy changes since the
sector units, deregulation of industries and 1990s had a direct bearing on the gold indus-
opening up of the economy for foreign direct try.5 The expansion of the market towards
investment. These changes at the aggregate other parts of the world and a booming
level were transmitted into the sphere of pro- domestic gold industry propelled by remit-
duction in the form of shifts in capital–labour tances from the Middle East to Kerala trans-
relations in general and in the shop–floor formed the organization and structure of the
arrangements in particular. The technological industry. The production, distribution and
changes, division of labour, increasing spe- marketing links in the industry have boosted
cialization and use of different kinds of pro- the presence of intermediaries and multiple
duction arrangements marked the transition stakeholders.
phase. The force of transition was relatively The two main segments of the gems
more profound in the traditional industries, and jewellery business in India are gold
which had a long way to go from their arti- and diamond jewellery. A major portion of
sanal moorings to the pressures of global gold jewellery manufactured in India is for
competition. domestic consumption. India continues to be
India is the world’s largest gold market and the world’s largest gold market. The demand
has been an important consumption centre side for gold in India has no authentic esti-
since liberalization.3 Kerala, Tamil Nadu, mates. However, indications are that about
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka account for 80 per cent of the demand is for jewellery
over 40 per cent of the country’s gold demand fabrication (mainly of over 22 carat purity)
(World Gold Council, 2010). Prior to the for domestic use, 15 per cent for investor
1
Globalization as a historical process exhibits rising international trade, hypermobility of capital and restructuring
of domestic economies. For the developing countries, globalization necessarily implies a greater reliance on mar-
kets, integration with the world economy and redefining the State’s role. For a detailed discussion, see Scholte
(2000) and Guttal (2007).
2
The reform strategy involved liberalization, privatization and globalization of the Indian economy.
3
India’s jewellery demand was 552 tonnes in 2012, which grew to 662 tonnes in 2014. India continued to be
the world’s largest consumer of gold jewellery in 2014 at 662 tonnes. China is the second largest consumer,
with a demand of 623.5 tonnes of jewellery in 2014. The combined demand volume for gold jewellery in India
and China has grown by 71 per cent over the last 10 years. These two markets accounted for 54 per cent of the
consumer gold demand in 2014.
4
While gold jewellery marketing prospered in the early 1980s, control of production and marketing was concen-
trated in the hands of a few retailers in the state. Escalating gold prices led to stringent controls in the workplace
that resulted in cutting labour costs and introducing mechanization in the industry.
5
This included a repeal of the Gold Control Act (1968), the introduction of new provisions related to gold in
the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the grant of permission to NRIs to bring in up to 5 kg (sub-
sequently raised to 10 kg) of gold on the payment of a small duty (`220 per 10 g) in foreign exchange. NRI is a
citizen of India who holds an Indian passport and has temporarily emigrated to another country for six months
or more for employment, education or other purposes.
Labour Process in Migration 281
demand (which is relatively flexible based on of operations in the industry is another inter-
gold prices, real estate prices, financial mar- esting development.
kets and tax policies) and barely 5 per cent
for industrial use (Reddy, 1996). The demand
pattern for gold has changed according to
changing lifestyles and individual consumer GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND GOLD
preferences. JEWELLERY INDUSTRY
The reorientation of production regimes
has dismantled traditional industries with Government policies with regard to the gold
increasing division of labour and minute spe- industry in India have altered over the years.
cialization of tasks. This has created the need This has directly affected the organization
for a labour force that is trained to suit the of labour market in this industry. The gov-
volatility of market conditions. The repeal of ernment regards the investment in gold as
the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 stopped licences unproductive, and therefore, tries to restrict its
being issued to goldsmiths for work. It, there- consumption. During the British rule, restric-
fore, permitted all communities to venture as tions on the inflow and outflow of gold were
workers into the industry. A sudden spurt in absent as it was used as a metallic standard.
investment following deregulation policies Soon after independence, the state intro-
expanded production frontiers and demanded duced a restrictive gold policy. The first step
a steady supply of workers. Sourcing in- in this regard was the initiation of the Foreign
migrant workers for different tasks met the Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1947. The
growing labour demand in the industry. Gold act placed a total ban on import and export
jewellery-making units, once a cottage indus- of gold. Because gold was considered as an
try, now became appendages to huge retail- important form of foreign exchange, controls
ers. Subcontracting became prevalent in the were necessary to conserve it. The next step
industry, thereby transferring the risks of was in 1956 with the nationalization of the
production to people lower down the labour Kolar gold mine that enabled state control on
hierarchy. the production of gold. The control regime
Macro changes in the industry, therefore, was consolidated with the introduction of
resulted in a complete overhaul of produc- the Gold Control Act. The Gold Control Act,
tion, consumption and distribution networks. 1968,6 stipulated licences to be provided to
These changes transformed the capital–labour refiners and dealers and made it mandatory
dynamics in the industry. The two marked for certified goldsmiths alone to possess gold.
changes are the spread of workshops as pro- Ornaments of 9 carat purity could be made,
duction centres and the increasing dominance which was raised to 14 carats in the follow-
of intermediaries in organizing production. ing years. Licensed dealers could not hold
These changes in the capital–labour organ- more than 2 kg of gold. Goldsmiths could
ization also posed a number of challenges. possess only 500 g of gold. Only a few gold-
Traditional goldsmiths opting out of their smiths were successful in obtaining licences
hereditary occupation is not a distress-driven for production. They had to maintain stock
phenomenon alone, but is also a spin-off effect registers that were checked by officials from
of the socio-economic reforms in Kerala. The time to time. The regulations under the Gold
emergence of wholesalers controlling the bulk Control Act, 1968, made production as well
6
The Gold Control Act, 1968, provides licensing to refiners and dealers, certification of goldsmiths, prohibits
the possession of primary gold, restricts the manufacture and acquisition of articles of gold and provides for a
declaration of ornaments above specified limits.
as supply for the domestic and export market import licences for export of gold jewellery
highly restrictive. However, as a direct con- was another step to augment supply through
sequence of a restrictive policy on gold, an official channels (Bhattacharya, 2002). The
unofficial market for gold sprang up. This Tarapore Committee on Capital Account
made it extremely difficult for traditional Convertibility recommended free import of
goldsmiths to survive in the vocation. Soon gold as a precondition for further reforms
production arrangements altered. Jewellery in the external sector. This was followed by
manufacturing moved away from household allowing commercial banks and authorized
units to workshops. Traditional goldsmiths agents to sell or extend loans to jewellers and
started quitting their work and took up alter- exporters (Kannan & Dhal, 2008, pp. 110–
native jobs. Some of them joined as workers 111). All these initiatives on the policy front
in workshops that sprang up in Kerala. The had far-reaching implications on the produc-
control regime also prevented transactions in tion and marketing of jewellery. Import liber-
gold between residents and non-residents. The alization allowed import of gold by nominated
entire group of artisans was facing a precari- agencies and selected commercial banks in
ous situation. After much pressurization, the the country. This ensured an increasing avail-
government decided that the goldsmith could ability of gold within the country. Many new
work on making 14-carat jewellery and those investors from all parts of the country ven-
goldsmiths above the age of 18 years should tured into the gold industry in Kerala.
obtain a licence to continue working as gold- In the early 1990s, retail outlets relied on
smiths. This required the maintenance of strict agents to procure machine-made jewellery
stock registers which were subject to timely from Agra and Mumbai. Some of the retail-
checking by the authorities. ers flooded the domestic market with ready-
Gold came under policy focus and much made jewellery from other states. These were
media attention in the fall of 1991 when gold on a large scale bought in by agents who
stocks of around 65 tonnes were taken out of actively evaded the law. Interstate movement
the country to raise short-term foreign cur- of jewellery warranted tax to be paid to the
rency sources to tide over the external pay- government. This evasion was a major loss to
ment difficulties (Bhattacharya, 2002). Prior the government exchequer. The government
to the 1990s, almost all gold jewellery manu- mandates a stipulated minimum amount of `5
facturing depended on recycled gold or scrap million gold purchase. Home-based units that
gold. In the 1990s, with economic reforms and could no longer operate independently started
the liberalization of the Indian economy, the supplying finished jewellery as per orders to
gold industry was also subject to deregula- the retailers. Even when ready-made jewellery
tion. The three major policy changes included was bought through legal channels, a heavy
repeal of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, replac- commission had to be paid to the agents and
ing FERA by Foreign Exchange Management this delayed the supply of ornaments. This in
Act and allowing non-resident Indians (NRIs) turn began to affect business adversely. Thus,
to bring gold as part of their baggage on pay- workshops began to engage migrant workers
ment of a nominal duty. These three meas- in large numbers to meet their needs. The
ures increased availability of gold. The entire main point that retailers harped on was that
industry was flooded with new investors they could supply ready-made jewellery to the
which fuelled intense competition. The repeal customer as and when required. Though there
of the Gold Control Act gave an impetus to were migrant workers in the industry prior to
investment. As NRIs were given permis- the 1990s, they increased in magnitude in the
sion to bring 5 kg of gold every six months post-1990s period.
as part of their baggage on payment of duty, The removal of restrictions on the import
smuggling was soon curbed. Issue of special of gold led to large-scale investment into the
sector. In Kerala, majority of the investors who India, RBI Circular 30, 2015). This scheme
ventured into the gold industry were NRIs. made it compulsory that 20 per cent of the
They opened large retail outlets offering a wide gold imported should be exported as finished
array of designs and variety to the customers. jewellery. The rest would be made available
The Malabar Gold group, Alukkas and Kalyan for domestic consumption. The 20:80 scheme
group, all of which had modest beginnings in proved detrimental to small units and house-
the early 1990s, have now grown into enor- hold production units as it restricted avail-
mous business conglomerates. In the early ability of raw material, and therefore, the
1990s, retail houses largely depended on inde- government discontinued the rule with effect
pendent workshops to meet their production from November 2014.
needs. Work orders were urgent and demand- The power in the form of control of capi-
ing. By the mid-1990s, workshops which pro- tal shifted to large retailers in the state. These
duced exclusively machine-made jewellery investors, constantly on the lookout for a
began operations in Kerala. These units facili- steady supply of labour, find it convenient
tated bulk production that minimized wastage to employ migrant workers. The state here
of gold and saved production time. Machine- organizes ‘the dependence of the productive
made units that use sophisticated machinery worker over the reproductive worker’, while
for stonesetting have become popular recently. the ‘economy organises the dependence of
The scale and spread of different kinds of pro- the reproductive worker over the produc-
duction units have been rapid due to policy tive worker’ (Burawoy, 1976, p. 1052). The
changes. In the first decade of liberalization, state in this context grants no legal or politi-
there were numerous independent workshops cal rights to the migrant worker and remains
supplying a variety of designs to the retail out- nonchalant about their conditions. The gold
lets. This was an opportunity for goldsmiths jewellery worker had to depend on his family
to revive their traditional work. However, after back home at times of illness, regain his health
10 years of liberalization, there was unabated and then come back. The kin left behind sur-
supply of labour, which was often more than vives on remittances sent by the productive
the actual requirement of the industry. From worker. The link between the state and capital
the early 2000s, most of the small workshops in the labour process thus becomes evident.
became appendages to large retail houses. The increasing importance assigned to quality
Thus, retail houses successfully managed to control in the industry, although considered
extend an indirect control mechanism to reg- primarily to protect consumer interests, acts
ulate production structures and arrangements. as a boon to the large retailers in the state.
Workshops increasingly relied on division Hallmarking and quality assurance of 9167
of labour and streamlining workers into nar- gold have aided large retailers to create a
rower specializations. The retail gold market strong consumer base.
became highly competitive, and this changed Figure 20.1 shows the broad structure of
the nature of production in the industry. the gold jewellery-making industry in Kerala.
In order to arrest the rising current account Imported gold reaches the industry through
deficit (CAD) in the country due to high legal and illegal channels. Legal channels
gold imports, the government introduced the include nominated commercial banks and other
20:80 scheme. All nominated agencies, from government-authorized agencies. During the
July 2013 onwards, had to ensure that at least period 1968–1995, smuggled gold into India
one-fifth of the gold imported is exclusively ranged from 10 tonnes to 217 tonnes annually,
made available for export (Reserve Bank of with the sole exception of 1980, when 9 metric
7
916 Gold stands for 91.6 per cent pure gold as per the hallmark standards in India. This is 22 karat gold in India.
Gold (Raw
material)
Illegal Authorized Retailers

Sources Sources
Own
Workshop
Independent
Wholesalers
Workshops
Sub-
Home-
contraction
based units
units
Figure 20.1 Structure of the Gold Jewellery-Making Industry

Source: Compiled from the author’s fieldwork, 2010–2013.
tonnes were smuggled out of the country due jewellery. The retailers directly assign work to
to soaring world gold prices (Reddy, 1997). their subcontracting units by supplying gold
In the post 1990s, though restrictions were along with the design. These units are append-
eased, smuggling was not eliminated. The ages to the large retail houses, and thus, have
stepping-up of import restrictions recently multiple associations with them. There are
has led to gold being brought into the country separate subcontracting units for enamelling,
through illegal channels. It is estimated that plating and stonesetting work. Independent
roughly 175–180 tonnes of gold are brought workshops specialize in a variety of designs
into India in illegal ways. Wholesalers pro- and supply finished jewellery to retailers of
cure gold bars from both legal and illegal their own choice. At times, these workshops
sources and make them available to produc- supply jewellery directly to retailers. The pur-
tion units. Some of the large retailers procure chasing division attached to each retail house
gold directly through these two channels. In makes decisions on procuring jewellery from
order to meet their jewellery demand, retailers different sources. However, direct contact
rely on subcontracting to units and independ- with retailers is difficult for such workshops.
ent workshops. Few retailers have their own It is here that the wholesaler steps in, acting
workshops that largely produce machine-made as an intermediary between the retailer and
the workshops. The wholesaler, who offers artisan directly marketing finished jewellery to
advance payment to these workshops, pro- customers is, at present, a rarity in Kerala. The
cures the finished jewellery. The retailer also erosion of trustworthiness of the local that-
finds it convenient to allocate orders to the tan (goldsmith) and the demand for a much
wholesalers. The wholesaler at times organ- wider set of designs at short notice prompted
izes production units, which supply finished the industry to rechannelize its marketing.
products to retailers, under his control. Direct Some consumers even now depend on the
purchases from authorized sources stipulate direct service of the goldsmith, especially for
purchase of a minimum `5 million worth of traditional ornaments. Access to the market is
gold. This makes it virtually impossible for beset with difficulties. Majority of the inde-
small units to make direct purchases. Home- pendent units and subcontracting units depend
based units that have dwindled in number, rely on wholesalers to market finished jewellery. A
on wholesalers for both supply of raw mate- variety of ornaments made by these produc-
rial and for marketing their finished jewellery. tion units are supplied to the wholesaler. The
Very rarely do retailers directly give orders to wholesaler finds sets of retailers who demand
these production units. various kinds of jewellery. Independent small
By the mid-1990s, there was an effort to retailers, who have their own production
expand these operations outside the coun- units, also engage in marketing. Their market
try. Retailers, who had their bases in Kerala, share has dwindled over the years and most
adopted the policy of opening new and of these retailers have now completely shifted
sophisticated retail outlets in the Middle East. their role from being independent produc-
Because the estimated number of emigrants in ers to becoming wholesalers in the industry
the Middle East was around 2.363 million in (Field Notes, 2011). The increasingly popular
2014 (Zachariah and Rajan, 2016), this move method of large retailers controlling the entire
was seen as a step to cater to the demands of market chain and winning over consumers has
the expatriate population in the Middle East.8 become more prevalent since the mid-1990s.
The consumer’s purchasing of gold jewellery
was manipulated by the utilization of elo-
quent space, by attributing gold jewellery an
ethereal charm and by offering a wide array DATA AND METHODOLOGY
of designs. The erosion of trust in the neigh-
bourhood goldsmith and the manipulation of Data available on labour in the gold jewellery-
consumer choices by large retailers substan- making industry is negligible. There has been a
tially increased the universal demand for gold growth in the number of units, an expansion of
jewellery. Kerala’s lightweight jewellery was retail outlets and changes in workplace struc-
also in demand in global markets, with con- ture in recent times. However, there is negligi-
sumers preferring lightweight ornaments due ble information available on the labour force
to the increasing price of gold. in the industry. Micro, Small and Medium
The marketing of gold jewellery up to the Enterprises (MSME) reports and National
mid-1960s was direct and involved a simple Skill Development Council (NSDC) data give
transaction between the artisan and the cus- a broad idea of the number of artisans engaged
tomer. The artisan would directly take orders in the industry as well as the profiles of this
from the customer and complete the work. It workforce. NSDC estimates (2011) show
was a long and time-consuming process. The that the bulk of gems and jewellery industry
8
The Kerala Migration Survey (KMS), conducted by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), estimates number
of emigrants to the Middle East to be 2.281 million, 2.193 million, 1.835 million, 1.365 million in 2011, 2008,
2003 and 1998, respectively.
is concentrated in the unorganized sector and by himself. A single worker did casting, pol-
employs an estimated 3.2–3.4 million people ishing, cutting and all the processes involved
directly. The existing data finds that the lack in making of jewellery, including setting the
of a skilled workforce acts as an impediment mould and designing the piece. Sometimes, an
to the growth of the industry (Export Import apprentice who was trained in all these pro-
Bank, 2010; MSME, 2008). cesses assisted the goldsmith. His father or a
The empirical data of this chapter is based close kin taught him and the home itself was
on the findings and observations gathered the workshop. Presently, new workers in this
through an intensive fieldwork conducted industry are trained only in a particular task,
over a course of three years from 2010 to and therefore, their knowledge is limited to
2013 in the gold jewellery-making industry a single process in jewellery making. Labour
in Thrissur and Kozhikode (erstwhile Calicut) intake in the units has changed in recent years.
districts in Kerala. This involved workplace Mr Deepu, an entrepreneur who has an inde-
observations and in-depth interviews with dif- pendent production unit (Unit A), observes—
ferent stakeholders in the industry. This work
also relies on a larger data set. The Survey of ... we grew up seeing gold jewellery making
everywhere. In Thrissur it was a cottage indus-
Inter-State Migrants conducted by the Centre try ... new workers (locals) are showing extreme
for Development Studies (CDS) in 2012 col- reluctance to enter the industry. For the last 8–9
lected data on migrant workers in the gold months, no new local workers have ventured
jewellery-making industry from four districts into this unit ... I have raised wages for the skilled
of Kerala (Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, section of workforce is even up to `11,000 per
Ernakulam and Kozhikode) (Moses and Rajan, month ... still there are no workers available.
2012; Rajan and Sumeetha, 2015). Subsequent
The number of local workers in small units
information on the industry was obtained
has drastically reduced. Units that began
through secondary sources that included reports
operations with 40–45 workers now have
of the World Gold Council (WGC), NSDC,
less than 12 employees. The employability of
Export Import Bank (EXIM Bank, 2010),
migrants is an alliance of convenience for the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and MSME.9
employers because they rarely articulate spe-
cific demands. Wage flexibility and numerical
flexibility are realized in employing migrant
CHANGES IN LABOUR RECRUITMENT, workers. Large workshops have about 40–45
migrant workers. Home-based units barely
ORGANIZATION AND INTAKE:
have three to four workers.
INSIGHTS FROM THE FIELD Suran, a worker in a home-based unit in
Alangad (Unit C), has been in gold jewellery-
The thattan would engage in a painstakingly making for the last 18 years. He says that for
long process of creating a piece of jewellery
9
The education level of workers in the gold industry is very low, where the bulk of the employees only gets edu-
cated up to high school level. This again limits their upward mobility. The structure of the industry, organization
of workers, gender dimension, presence of child workers and changing position of traditional workers cannot
be analysed from the existing data. The World Gold Council data gives us a broad picture of the demand/supply
analysis of the gold industry in India, completely marginalizing the labour involved in the industry. Moreover,
mechanization of the industry and improving working conditions in these workshops have not featured in any
of the studies. The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS, 2009) finds artisans
to be the poorest among employed categories in India. The report attempts to look at the working conditions of
diamond workers in Surat, pointing out the low wages and insecurity of the job. Secondary data thus makes no
in-depth analysis of the labour in the gold industry, even when there are certain studies to provide information
on the Indian diamond industry.
the last four years, there has been no new local introduced by experienced workers in the
workers’ entry into this industry. He is from industry. Appointment is based on kinship. A
Kodakara in Thrissur where he says 95 per complete stranger is not permitted to work in
cent of the families were in gold ornament the unit. Mr Rajesh asserts: ‘Workers are like
making. At present, only three to four families my own kin ..., there is no difficulty in man-
pursue gold work. He says: ‘Huge retailers aging them’.
are bringing in migrant workers because it is Traditional management practices of close
easier for them ... to make them work for long supervision of workers, strict rule enforce-
hours and also pay them less. Work is stren- ment and paternalism are combined with new
uous and puts tremendous physical strain on methods. These include piece-rate wages,
the worker.’ incentive schemes and profit-sharing ventures.
Akash, the only graduate worker whom Deepu, who is the owner of a family business
I met during the fieldwork, recalls how the unit at Poochinnipadam, Thrissur (Unit A),
industry created jobs in the early 1990s for a notes marked changes in the industry: ‘... I
number of young workers: continue with this venture because my father
already had set up this unit ... now. Who will
It was easy then to start a small venture ... only venture into this industry? .... the risk involved
100 grams of gold and two workers were essen-
tial to start a unit. Gold prices were compara-
in starting a gold business is pretty high ... I
tively low, so everyone enthusiastically ventured had a retail outlet which we have now shut
into the industry ... the increasing gold prices down. I know my workers and treat them as
changed the gold jewellery making sector in part of the family.’
Thrissur. Increasing costs have led to a demand The same unit has a building adjacent to
for lightweight ornaments. These are often
machine-made, as it makes work easier and less
the main building where migrants are engaged
time consuming. in machine-made chain production. These
migrants are closely monitored and trained
Akash says it is easy to maintain migrant by an old traditional local goldsmith known
workers because they just have to be paid to Deepu for more than 30 years. The unit is in
wages. ‘Accommodation is usually at the close proximity to the residence of the entre-
workshop itself and food is also provided ... preneur. This gives him access to the workers
they are not like us [local workers] ... they are as well as permits him to check their work
easily pleased with whatever payment they repeatedly. Moreover, the employer organizes
get.’ surprise visits to the workshop, which keep
Shajan is a veteran in the industry who the workers vigilant.
was trained by a thattan. As a worker in the
industry for 22 years, he is now engaged in
working on the rolling machine at a unit in
Palayamparambu, Thrissur (Unit B), and POLICY CHANGES AND IMPLICATIONS
plays a major role in recruiting local workers FOR THE INDUSTRY
(Sumeetha, 2012). He says: ‘... it surprises me
to see a new worker proclaiming himself as a The recent policy changes with regard to gold
“worker” after barely 7–8 months of training. clearly demonstrate that it has been ultimately
Such a quick learning process has led to ero- beneficial for large players rather than small
sion of skills ... this training allows them to do independent artisans in the industry. Smaller
only a part of the work’. workshops and family units will find it more
All workers in a unit managed by a migrant difficult to survive in the market. In recent
are from the same village. Recruitment in the years, large retailers and manufacturers have
industry is through informal channels, either gained market share in the gold industry. The
by word of mouth, or through new workers industry shows that the shift to Goods and
Services Tax (GST) will aid larger players medical treatment worth up to `15,000 and
and increase their market share. Firms that insurance coverage of `200,000 for accidental
currently outsource manufacturing services death. Medical treatment is available from all
from artisans and incur the 18 per cent GST government and private hospitals empanelled
rate may look to develop in-house capabili- with the scheme. The benefits are expected
ties. Small jewellery shops which may have to be made available by 1 January 2018.
illegally benefitted by not paying tax will lose Kerala State Labour Policy 2018 guarantees
that advantage and large retailers can com- socio-economic security for interstate migrant
pete on a level playing field (WGC, 2017). workers in Kerala, now being recognized as an
The newly proposed labour reforms will also important part of the labour force in Kerala.
have an impact on the industry. Because most The ‘Apna Ghar’ project launched as a part of
of the workshops that manufacture gold do the Kerala government’s initiative to provide
not register themselves, the proposed labour free and clean housing to migrant workers
reform which allows firms employing less has been seen with scepticism by locals. The
than 49 workers not to register themselves, lack of data on number of migrants in Kerala
will further increase exploitation in the indus- has led to the difficulty of framing plans for
try. Thus, though the state proclaims minimal them. Informal workshops like gold jewellery
intervention in the market, the increasing making have a number of migrants who are
role of the state as a facilitator alone has far- not yet registered as part of the Kerala gov-
reaching implications for the labour in the ernment’s Migrant Worker’s Welfare Scheme,
gold industry. 2010.
Despite being a state known for its welfare Most of the schemes associated with these
and pro-labour policies, the society has not workers have not attained the desired results
accepted into its fold, the migrant workers because workers in unregistered workshops
in the industry. Most of the workers in gold are invisible labour outside the purview of the
jewellery-making industry live in the work- state. Despite the state being lauded for labour
shop itself and do not have contact with other initiatives, the government has adopted a
local workers in the same workplace. The lukewarm approach to the problems and con-
migrants in the industry use social networks to cerns of migrant workers. This, therefore, has
get employment in the workshops and are also increased the precariousness of employment
supported by migrant families at times when for migrant workers in Kerala.
they are sick. Most of the workers do not even
access public health facilities as they find it
less daunting to go to smaller private clinics.
Also, workers with serious health problems REFERENCES
in the industry are sent back to their villages,
often without any worker benefits. Bhattacharya, H. (2002). Deregulation of gold in India
In Kerala, the state government has (No. 27). London: World. Gold Council Research Study.
launched some initiatives for migrant workers. Burawoy, M. (1976). The functions and reproduction of
migrant labor: Comparative material from Southern
In 2016, the Kerala government constituted a
Africa and the United States. American Journal of
committee of experts to study the working
Sociology, 81(5), 1050–1087.
and living conditions of migrant workers. EXIM Bank. (2010, January). A research brief: Indian
The state launched a free healthcare-cum- gems and jewellery: A sector study (No. 53).Mumbai:
insurance scheme for migrant workers. Under Quest Publications.
the Aawaz health insurance scheme, any Field Notes. (2011). Gold Jewellery Industry, Trissur and
migrant worker employed in Kerala, between Kozhikode.
the ages of 18 and 60 years, is eligible for free
Guttal, S. (2007). Globalisation. Development in Practice, India: NSCDC. Retrieved from http//www.nsdc.india.
17(4), 523–531. org/pdf/organised retail. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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Some issues for economic development and macroe- In Gold economic conference. New Delhi, India: World
conomic policy. Indian Journal of Economics and Busi- Gold Council.
ness, 7(1), 107–128. Rajan, S. I. & Sumeetha, M. (2015). Survival, struggle
Kerala Migration Survey. (2014). Thiruvananthapuram: and the promise of a new future: Living and working
Centre for Development Studies. Retrieved from conditions of migrant workers in Kerala. In S. I. Rajan
http://cds.edu/research/ru/union-ministry-of-over- (Ed.), India migration report 2015: Gender and migra-
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al-migration/kerala-migration-survey-data/ Routledge.
Moses, W. J. & Rajan, S. I. (2012). Labour migration and Reddy, Y.V. (1996). Gold in the Indian Economic System,
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ment, 19(1), 1–18. nomic Conference organised by World Gold Council
MSME. Diagnostic Study of Gold Ornaments Jewellery at New Delhi on 28 November 1996
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org (accesssed on 10 November 2011). grave.
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sumeetha, M. (2012). Strategies for managing labour in
Sector (NCEUS). (2007). Report on the conditions of the gold jewellery-making industry in Kerala, India.
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21
Nasrani Family Histories
and Migration
Nidhin Donald
INTRODUCTION work trying to mitigate projected threats to

one’s identity (Breakwell, 1986). They often
This chapter is an outcome of my ongo- double up as gendered training manuals and
ing sociological engagement with Syrian directories for family members and prospec-
Christian identity formation and social repro- tive, desirable endogamous marital alliances.
duction, especially through printed, published Family histories try to underline the impor-
and archived family histories or kudumba tance of family-jaati markers not through
charitrams.1 I would argue that migration has coercion or force but through a discursive
been a critical process which has both spon- invocation of pride, belonging, care and sense
sored family history projects and informed of history, anchored in hegemonic notions of
their content. As an ongoing dynamic social vamshashuddhi and rakthashuddhi (racial/
process, migration has led to numerous jaati ethnic/jaati and blood purity), irrespective
anxieties among Syrian Christians. The fear of migration, which apparently challenges
of trailing endogamous networks, increasing ‘static’ identities (Benmayor & Skotnes,
anonymity, lack of social ‘distinctions’, espe- 1994, p. 8). Transnational migration, new eco-
cially in migration destinations, are forms of nomic opportunities post-liberalization and
anxieties expressed in family histories. These the emergent ‘crisis’ of endogamous networks
concerns are addressed through a variety have pushed families to take up new roles.
of textual strategies often aimed at younger In other words, families try to diversify their
members of the family. Thus, family histo- functions to protect their core obligations.
ries are transformed into manuals of identity Such diversification materializes with the help
1
For the purpose of this chapter, family histories are defined as essentially family projects which try to retell the
patrinormative beginnings of the concerned family inscribed within endogamous networks.
Nasrani Family Histories and Migration 291
of pre-existing communal resources, newly histories form a significant part of these iden-
accumulated resources accessed through colo- tity works. The Kerala Council of Historical
nial modernity and lately, with the help of a Research (KCHR), Thiruvananthapuram, has
neoliberal political economy. Refashioning of collected more than 200 family histories as
endogamy is an ongoing process, although a a part of its ‘people’s archive’.4 A significant
proper investigation into this refashioning is majority of these histories were authored by
beyond the purview of this chapter.2 Syrian Christians. Printed family histories uti-
Preserving notions of an irreducible kudum- lized in this chapter were collected from the
bam or family is central to such projects. This KCHR in 2016.
‘irreducible core’ is defined as bharatiyam, Before moving ahead, it would be help-
apostolikam and pauranikam or ‘Indian, ful to arrive at an operational understanding
Apostolic and Ancient’ (Alexander, 2012, pp. of the term ‘identity’ and its connections to
32–33), with the help of origin myths, contri- migration. Koczan in her paper ‘Does Identity
butions to regional development, local church Matter?’ provides a comprehensive descrip-
or parish, affectionate relationships with tion of the term:
savarna Hindus and master–patron relation-
ships with avarnas both inside and outside the Identity is generally interpreted as a self-
definition, a ‘narrative’ that people tell them-
church. Some of these strategies are discussed selves and others, as the answer that they give
with examples in the following sections. It to the question ‘Who am I?’ As such, it is a well-
needs to be underlined that family history defined concept in the psychology literature that
projects are often spearheaded by economi- can be measured using survey questions of the
cally prosperous, educated, white-collar men type ‘To what extent do you feel …?’ The liter-
ature suggests that identity is formed in child-
(including clergymen) who have often been hood and is likely to be shaped by various events
migrants themselves. Their economic prowess in a person’s life, hence does evolve over time.
is crucial for the operationalization of family (Koczan, 2016, p. 117)
history research—a capital-intensive process.
Furthermore, printed family histories are Self-definitions or self-narratives do not
consumed at multiple spatial scales—local/ emerge or get reproduced in a social or histori-
regional, national and international in digi- cal vacuum. La Barbera, in her introduction to
tal and nondigital forms. One finds an array Identity and Migration, argues that individual
of identity works produced and reproduced and collective identities are manifested at the
by Syrian Christians in both print and digital crossroads of self-representation and social
media—memoirs, diary entries, family bulle- categorization. Individuals develop a sense of
tins, annual family meeting reports, coffee- belonging to commonly held group standards.
table books, ringtones, videos, websites and When others or outsiders recognize this ‘sense
DNA group chats.3 Printed or digital family of belonging’, collective identities are formed
2
A recent, lively example of such refashioning of endogamy can be seen in the Syro-Malabar Diocese—the
Knanaya Catholic Navikarana Samithi (KCNS). KCNS describes itself as a ‘prophetic’ movement against ‘kna-
endogamy’. They view the presence of endogamy among their community (which traces its origin from a trader
named Thomas of Cana, who settled in Kerala in 345 AD) as ‘unchristian’. The movement is spearheaded by
non-endogamous Knanaya families (Bose, 2016).
3
The use of genetic science to ascertain the purity of one’s lineage is already being realized. For example, one
finds a specific project on Syrian Christians with over 150 members in the ‘Family Tree DNA’, a testing partner of
National Geographic’s Genographic project. Retrieved from https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/syrian-chris-
tians-of-india/about. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
4
The website of KCHR mentions that ‘the Archives of Malayali Family Histories and Biographies is an ongoing
local history research initiative’ with a unique collection of Malayali family histories, biographies, ‘grantavari’ and
‘nalvazhi’. Retrieved from http://kchr.ac.in/pages/87/KCHR-Archives.html. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
(La Barbera, 2015, pp. 2–3). Sociological lit- ‘Western Christianity’ (Joseph, 2003, pp.
erature on ‘self’ majorly draw from the works 25–26). Such identity predicaments among
of Cooley (2006, pp. 255–256) and Mead Syrian Christians, and upper-caste Christians
(1934). Cooley argued that our sense of self is elsewhere, have been explored by the author
informed by how others see us. He coined the in some detail in a different paper (Donald,
concept of ‘looking glass self’ to explain this 2017). Fuller argues that the ‘preponderant
point. Thus, an appraisal of what people around attitude’ of high-caste Indians to Christianity
us think about us can reinforce and under- varies from disinterest to contempt and oppo-
mine our self-image. In any self-evaluation, sition (Fuller, 1976). Quoting from O’Malley,
we do include what others think about us in he writes that Indian Christianity was and con-
varying degrees (Cooley, 2006). Oyserman et tinues to be popularly viewed as the ‘religion
al. (2012) point out that self and identity are of the pariahs’ (O’Malley in Fuller, 1976, pp.
social products (pp. 69–104). They make such 53–70). Syrian Christians try to overcome
an assertion for precisely three reasons. First, this burden of being formally associated with
our explanations of self and identity emerge a predominantly dalit-bahujan religion by
from social contexts. Thus, self-definitions are building a discursive sphere of jaati-varna,
based on time and place. Membership in a par- as often exemplified by the family histo-
ticular group or family matters to individuals ries. In other words, moving beyond one’s
based on its social value and one’s own loca- naturalized geographies, or as in the above
tion within the social hierarchy. Second, one’s instance, coming in contact with the ‘nation’,
self and identity do not stand alone. They throws open many new challenges to carefully
often require the endorsement or hegemonic curated identities. These challenges are mit-
acceptance of others around us. In the absence igated through a variety of strategies, family
of endorsement or hegemonic acceptance of histories being one of them. Effectiveness of
one’s identity, it becomes difficult to attain one’s mitigation work, especially in the face
expected goals congruent to one’s projected of changes such as migration, depends upon
identity. Third, the aspects of one’s self and many factors. Van Dijk, building his argu-
identity that matter in the moment are context ment in the context of white racism, points out
sensitive and change with time. that groups who are in control of ‘means of
Drawing from Oyserman and Cooley, one communication’ and ‘public opinion’ through
may argue that migration as a process which pre-existing capacities are capable of socially
disrupts permanent notions of place and reproducing their identities with greater effec-
contexts can have a major impact on one’s tiveness (van Dijk, 1993, pp. 25–26). Writing
self-definitions. For example, the migration family histories and genealogies are not an
destination may not value or even understand exclusive Syrian Christian domain in India.
your self-definitions, which may then lead However, one needs to broadly differenti-
to creative constructions of new identities ate genealogical projects in terms of history,
and belonging (Benmayor & Skotnes, 1994) socio-cultural and economic standing of the
or even a long-term identity crisis. George jaati involved in the discursive practice of
Joseph in a biography titled George Joseph, writing, and thereby, the ensuing social conse-
the Life and Times of a Kerala Christian quences of such an exercise.
Nationalist points out how his grandfather felt Syrian Christians form a powerful savarna
like an ‘outsider’ in North India due to his reli- minority with the highest per capita land
gion. Apparently, Joseph’s grandfather who ownership in Kerala (Kappicadu, 2011,
goes by the same name was highly disturbed pp. 464–473). They distinguish themselves
by the fact that his ‘North Indian Compatriots’ from ‘lower-caste’ Christians and others in
could not distinguish his Christianity from their everyday life, social interactions and
theological conceptions. If a powerful group book cum family history, captivatingly titled
decides to write and distribute stories of Incredible Manjoorans, Jaison is a writer, fluent
self-veneration and admiration, the impact in both English and Hindi. The book (which
could be different from a historically subju- was accessed digitally from the Manjooran
gated group trying to find voice within the family website) is remarkable because it
protocols of the caste system. Though this brings together short features, biographies,
chapter primarily deals with ‘texts’, borrowing local histories or desha charitrams, family
from Fairclough, I would argue that discourse anecdotes, priestly genealogies, community
analysis is a process ‘oscillating’ between the histories, poems and achievements authored
structures and strategies of language on one in English by family members who are spread
hand and social practices on the other hand across India and the globe. In other words, the
(Fairclough, 2001, 2013). Thus, I would try book is a compilation of writings produced
to understand the ‘text’ of family histories primarily by migrants about their family. All
by placing them in a socio-economic context of them are bound together by a common
informed by persistent migration. The follow- ancestry, legitimized through both history
ing sections discuss a selection of family his- and caste-community endorsed legends. In
tory themes which directly converse with the fact, the preceding lines from the poem tell us
problem of ‘savarna’ identity assertion in the how myths, legends and histories are tailored
context of migration. For the purpose of this to forge a cohesive story of pure blood. The
chapter, one needs to ask—how are identity mythical migration and consequent settlement
assertions textualized and reproduced? What of Namboothiri Brahmins in Kerala is marked
role does migration play in these discursive as a genealogical watershed, followed by con-
practices? tested Apostolic baptism and colonial conver-
sion to Catholicism. Except for the latter, the
Brahmanyam as master narrative other two watershed events largely operate
Settled in Kerala by Parashurama
within a mythical realm. This ahistoricity does
not render them unimportant or irrelevant. On
And baptized by the great Mar Thoma
the other hand, they are elemental to Syrian
Troops who are under the Pope of Roma Christian family history projects.
Lost we are all in pride’s coma! It is important to underline the fact that
Our veins do carry Brahmin blood
Syrian Christian family histories are care-
fully typed, digitally designed, mechanically
And brains do have self-confidence’s flood
printed, ecclesiastically blessed books. They
In the society with pomp do we tread have a long shelf life. We can hold them in our
Oh! What a thunderbolt of blue blood! hands. They can be preserved forever through
(The Incredible Manjoorans, p. 143)5 digitization, which many families have already
started doing, making them digitally tangible
The aforementioned lines belong to Jaison (e.g., Manjoorans) and a considerable number
D. Manjooran’s poem Kallikavu Illam of them are archived in public libraries. Thus,
Manjoorans. Jaison, the family historian family histories are not simply ideational. On
and English poet of the Manjoorans, was a the contrary, they are printed, published and
white-collar migrant, like many of his family archived. They can be mass produced and
members. According to the coffee-table distributed. This materiality lends a sense of
5
This self-described coffee-table book is unique as it marks a departure from the format of a typical family
history. Apart from being written in English (which is rare), this book was authored by several family members
who are predominantly successful migrants (both men and women). Retrieved from http://manjooranfamily.com/
PopUp/Images/2.pdf (accessed on 19 February 2018.
permanence to the entire project of family his- a master narrative for these families. This
tory writing. Family histories once printed, do master narrative, eloquently captured in the
not wither away with human mortality. They poem, informs the spirit/blood/essence/genes
stay much longer, waiting for somebody to of the family. Throughout the Manjooran
revise or reprint them. They do not die; they coffee-table book, one finds repeated mentions
are only reproduced. This permanence plays of phrases such as ‘true to Manjooran genes’,
a very important role in maintaining the integ- ‘altruistic Manjooran genes’ or ‘adventurous
rity of ideas in a family history, irrespective Manjooran genes’ to explain the success of
of defining socio-economic processes such as migrants or their progeny. In fact, the invoca-
migrations. tion of ‘Brahminic genes’ is a commonplace
Joseph Amato, in his scholarly attempt to strategy in family histories (more about it in
write about his own family, argues that ‘family the next section). It is largely irrelevant or
history’ is a project of self-knowledge. They ‘out-of-context’ to evaluate family histories
make the author and his family members on the basis of modern historiography. Family
actors in their immediate lived history which histories operate in an emotional space where
is worthy of reflection. Analysing family at a the primary endogamous audience largely
critical scale brings out unfamiliar insights seeks a rearrangement of already known facts,
on processes such as migrations, settlements, myths and legends. However, this is not to say
shifts in population, material conditions, lei- that written family histories have an existence
sure and choice. He argues that ‘change’ is beyond modernity. They can be termed as
the primary character of cross-generational exercises in reinventing or constructing tra-
migrant families. Families may not be ‘pre- dition (Deshpande, 2003). Borrowing from
cise’ or ‘pure’ in their lineage or racial com- G. Aloysius, one can call them an activity in
bination. They do not have their meanings reorganizing the ‘self-same’ (Aloysius, 2010).
fixed in origins but in the ‘democratic and George Varghese in his essay explains the
progressive advance over time’. Making a his- economic backdrop which accelerated the
torical case for North American poor families process of family history writing and printing
who experienced multiple migrations, Joseph among Syrian Christians. He argues that the
points out that such families are incompre- ‘oil-boom’ of the 1970s and the income gen-
hensibly mixed. According to him, an exer- erated from the plantation sector financially
cise in critical family history writing cannot supported such projects. He observes that
be ‘reduced to’ simply pursuing ‘last names’, many accounts were written in the decades
bloodlines or DNA identification (Amato, that followed the oil-boom driven migration.
2007, pp. 326–333). However, in the case of This observation is convincing as a sizea-
Syrian Christians, the focus is not on mixed ble number of the family histories found in
ancestries and imperfect genealogies. In them, the KCHR archives were written during the
one finds a single-minded focus on proving aforementioned period. Varghese further
pure ancestral roots and direct Apostolic and argues that attaining a certain economic level
Brahmanic lineage. Rakthashuddhi and vam- may create a sense of loss in terms of ‘sym-
shashuddhi (blood and racial purity) of the bolic capital’. This sense of loss may lead to
family are underlined and maintained using a concoction of family histories which claim
variety of strategies. Changing times have only high lineage (Varghese, 2004, pp. 897–900).
provided new ways of claiming Brahminical However, this linear explanation of economic
purity for the Syrian Christians. Thus, brah- prowess followed by symbolic concoction
manyam or purva-brahmanyam, as mentioned of high birth does not fully explain the phe-
in an interesting biography by a deceased nomenon of family history writing. A broader
Communist leader (Varghese, 2011) provide vision of history would help us explain the
an unchanging context, a way of knowing, phenomenon better. Successful emigration or
out-migration was not limited to the Syrian buttressed the process of identity assertion in
Christians alone (Zachariah, Mathew & family histories.
Rajan, 2001, pp. 63–87). In fact, education- The significance of migration as a
ally backward Muslims formed the backbone socio-economic process cannot be limited to
of the ‘oil-boom’ emigration (ibid.). However, how they sponsor or economically facilitate
we do not find many printed family histories family history writing. Migration has cultural
among Muslims. Economic prosperity may meanings which influence and drive these pro-
be an essential factor in mobilizing the writ- jects. As mentioned above, family histories are
ing of a ‘family history’ but it cannot be the identity projects. They are attempts to hold on
only factor. Factors such as pre-existing jaati- to the ‘essentials’ in the face of rapid changes.
conferrals, educational status and historical Migration is a process which can bring about
access to print culture through colonial collab- rapid changes, pushing the migrant into a per-
orations play a significant part in mobilizing sistent cultural flux. How does one fight this
legitimate family histories (Kurien, 2002, pp. state of flux?
52–58).
Furthermore, social distinctions in family
histories are also claimed based on already
existing notions of Syrian Christians being REINSCRIBING THE ESSENTIAL
‘good and successful’ migrants. V. I. Varghese KUDUMBAM
in his paper on the literary representation of
the Syrian Christian migrant provides an Family is a slippery naturalized concept,
engaging reading of how he was conceptual- often taken for granted (Ball, 1972). Syrian
ized as a ‘national asset’ who tirelessly brings Christian family histories are no exception
unhospitable geographies (and its people) to this tendency. They conceive family as
under capitalist cultivation. The Travancore natural and fundamental to the maintenance
migrant who travelled to the ‘wastelands and of their imagined community. They under-
woods’ of Malabar was perceived as a modern stand that protecting and perpetuating one’s
torchbearer legitimizing state developmental- family is a universal goal of all mankind.
ism. As an extension, the original people of Thus, their attempts to strengthen emotional
Malabar, especially the Adivasis, were con- ties through a unified seamless narration of
ceptualized as antimodern objects that need to the family’s history are justified and univer-
be civilized. This ontological image of being a sally acceptable. After all, everyone invests in
productive and superior migrant was produced one’s family. A universal trust on family, as an
through multiple processes, Varghese argues. essential unchanging core, is an oft-repeated
The colonial enterprise found in Syrian theme in the introductions and forewords of
Christians a co-religionist partner who shared family histories. Metropolitan Archbishop
and cultured similar values of colonizing land of Changanassery, Joseph Powathil in his
and resources. In the late 19th century, unlike Ashamsa or ‘Wishes’ to the Mohamma
other savarna collaborators, Syrian Christians Yogyaveedu family history, qualifies kudum-
found themselves in a better legal and social bam and kudumbayogam (family meetings) as
position to buy land. Similarly, they were not spiritual mechanisms to save and strengthen
hassled by the idea of Malabar migration for human ties and a sense of unity. Kudumba
agriculture. In fact, as Varghese points out, charitrams, as products of families and family
through community-controlled newspapers, meetings, help unite scattered and fragmented
Syrian Christians were encouraged to migrate families with a common thread of history
(Varghese, 2006, pp. 227–255). Being histori- (Yogyaveedu, 2002, p. 10). This function is
cally debuted as hard-working useful migrants also pointed out in the Golden Jubilee Memoir
(Smaranika) of the Pulikunnel family, which Prof. Mathew Matheikal, in the aforemen-
exclusively reflects on the virtues of family tioned introduction, appeals to the young
histories (Pulikunnel, 2013, pp. 21–22). men and women of the family to stay true to
Similarly, Mar Joseph Powathil in another their ‘spiritual DNA’ in the face of a changing
message, this time to the Srampickal Kudumba world. Changing times, often traced through
Charitram, argues that the ‘world’ tries to changes in material resources and techno-
distance ‘man’ from ‘God’ (and thereby the logical innovations/acquisitions, should be
church) by decimating families (Srampickal, embraced without losing one’s self. The pro-
1998). Clearly, families are an unconditional logue of this English Family Journal has a fic-
positive for the charitrams. They are glorified tional quality to it. It tries to emotionally press
as the source of all happiness and the medi- for the need to journey back to one’s family
cine for all sorrows. This glory is not without roots from the standpoint of a ‘migrant’.
reasons or functions. Family history projects Consider the following paragraphs:
repeat and underline how families form the
As he slumped into a deep slumber, flashes of
basis of the sabha or church and samuham or
childhood memories flooded his mind; he slowly
society. Family histories are written against drifted into deep sleep. Days later, while he had
the big bad externalized world which ‘alien- settled down, he saw an old dusty book lying in
ates’ and ‘decimates’ the scattered branches the corner of the bookshelf. It was his family his-
of the family and its individuals. The experi- tory in the native dialect. He never gave much
thought to it earlier except for a cursive glance
ence of migration graphically illustrates this
when he got it some 18 years ago. He lived in
encounter with the unknown ‘world’. Hyderabad now with his family—the city where
The introductory articles of Matheckal his children grew up. Suddenly it came across his
Family Journal, another online source used mind he was in an alien land of obscurity and
in this chapter,6 communicates the world/ he could wander without being recognized. Yet
the thoughts came flashing in his mind that he
self-duality on one hand and family as an ulti-
had once belonged to a world of people, places
mate sanctuary on the other hand, in a variety and the corporate—did he really belong there?
of ways: his inner voice murmured. He picked up the
family history glanced across the pages. An idea
The young Matheckans today—boys and girls— popped up—why don’t you translate this?
are contemporary with the times—educated,
knowledgeable, with cherished values—the Slowly even without realizing it, he began to
new Matheckan generation like smart phones, read the family history written in Malayalam and
iPods, music, adventure, travel; clad in jeans, over a period of time he began to write them in
they dance and romance with happy living—very English. Suddenly he felt transposed into a dif-
much like what Holy Father Pope Francis would ferent world and era—into the past beyond cen-
like the youth to be—live in the world to make turies as if led by a guide—a benign smiling old
much needed social change and not be afraid man with a husky voice speaking in a tone not
of living in the world by their presence with a more than a whisper—telling, this way please,
spirituality appropriate to our new time, who put the old man began to tell. Don’t think you are
God in the first place, ahead of succeeding in any in the land of nobody. You are not alone; let me
career, who look for time to pray every day and take you to the world of a thousand people.
who know how to be in love with purity, charity, Visit their homes. Go and meet them; you will
and all good things. They are here to interpret be amazed at what you see. You will love them
the spiritual DNA with their lives and script new and admire them. You will find that you belong
stories of excellence in living very much like their to them and that they love you. This is what the
illustrious ancestors (Mathew M. in Matheckal old man told sometimes in the book; sometimes
Family, 2014, p. xiii). [Italics Mine] in dreams or in thoughts. The old man narrated
6
Matheckal Family Journal: A Reference Manual (AD 1788–2013) is a rare genre of family history for it moves
beyond the methodological conventions of Syrian Christian family history writing. It is written in English with
statistical accounts on the occupational patterns and changes in the family across generations. Retrieved from
http://matheckalfamily.org/books/fj_eng_1788-2013.pdf (accessed on 20 February 2018).
sometimes; he prompted questions at other party affiliation, family, house name, occu-
times; sometimes he didn’t answer either; he pation, gender, age and locality’ (Osella &
would smile or turn away leaving one to under-
stand what he wished to convey and/or what
Osella, 2000, p. 10). Jaati or caste emerges
he did not wish to convey. Nevertheless, the old as a signature feature of ascriptive identifi-
man would be there beside him unseen to any cation in the South Asian diaspora—a fea-
one; he could sense the old man’s presence. It ture not found in other post-colonial or late
seemed to him that he was ghost writing for the modern societies. In the above example of
old man. (Matheckal Family, 2014, pp. xv–xvi)
the Matheckal prologue, the neat separation
The above passages from the fictionalized proof jaati from family, house name, gender, age
logue of the Matheckal family journal are very and locality seems to be a challenging task.
instructive. The author was a migrant settled The ontological being of the nasrani migrant
in Hyderabad, who, according to the prologue, in the fictional account is not fully separable
found himself in the thick of the corporate from the communal/jaati-driven social identi-
world until he finally decided to quit his job. fications. Family emerges as a space to anchor
During his break or ‘deep slumber’, he turned these meanings of identity. Family histories,
his attention to the ‘old dusty’ Malayalam as a result, emerged as pedagogical inter-
family history. The book reminded him of how ventions to reach out to one’s patrinormative
he leads a life bereft of recognition or distinc- family and renew jaati ties. The fact that this
tion in an ‘alien land of obscurity’. In order ‘Family Journal’ is available online for free
to reinvent himself and connect to his roots, access proves its pedagogical impulse. The
he decides to translate the family history to economically resourceful corporate-employed
English. For him, the voice in the family his- male migrant must find his way back home.
tory is that of a ‘benign smiling old man’. He This unchanging home is like a benign old
takes the author through a journey of identity; man, who takes the historian beyond centuries
this imaginary old man is so persuasive that and connects him to thousands ‘like him’.
the translator feels that he is ‘ghost-writing’ for Family histories try to mitigate loosening
the wise old man. The metaphors and contexts of endogamous ties and the increasing chal-
which emerge from the prologue explain cer- lenges to patriarchal control, perceived as
tain fundamental aspects of how family is con- a threat to the essential kudumbam. Often,
ceived by Syrian Christian family historians. migration serves as a context for these dis-
Jaati recognitions, which are forthcom- cussions. Dwindling population of Syrian
ing within the social hierarchy of Kerala, Christians, described by K. C. Zachariah as
are absent in places like Hyderabad. The the ‘Parsi-Syndrome’, majorly owing to low-
male internal migrant’s angst against ‘non- ered fertility rates and increased migration, is
recognition’ in the context of family and jaati a major underlying concern for family histo-
identity is an oft-repeated theme in Syrian ries (Zachariah, 2001). A displacement from
Christian texts. This communal angst is exac- and a spatial transformation of familiar land-
erbated when the Syrian Christian is socially scapes of jaati-driven social worth in South
classified simply as a ‘Christian’ without any Kerala has proved to be a perceived threat
distinction, as mentioned previously. Osella to endogamous networks. Thus, the attempt
and Osella, in their engaging ethnographic in family histories is to imagine kudumbam
study on Kerala’s social mobility, point out as something that would help the individ-
that ‘identity’ can have at least four levels ual (irrespective of his place of residence) to
of meanings—personal-ontological, social- self-regulate. In other words, family histories
identification based on ‘other’s perception’, are aimed at path correction and path depend-
‘one’s own communal grouping’ and ‘analyt- ency in matters of social intercourse. Thus,
ical’. They argue that within these meanings, family histories advise the reader about the
identity is a mixture of ‘caste, class, religion, meanings of appropriate marriage within the
essential kudumbam. Look at the following family to be a site of economic welfare and
‘warning’ from the Kulathakal family history: conceives family members as responsible,
well-resourced subjects who are ready to help
Reckless marital alliances have undoubtedly led the kudumbam. The process of migration in
to many conflicts. We need to introspect whether
‘money’ alone can be the yardstick for an alli-
search of jobs is primarily facilitated through
ance. (Kulathakkal Kudumbayogam Committee, absorptive social networks (Banerjee, 1983,
1974) pp. 185–196). Thus, it is not surprising to find
such an appeal in the family history.
The Kulathakal historian, writing in the 1970s,
warns readers of reckless marriages which are
just based on economic criteria. This observa-
tion is highly instructive, as C. J. Fuller in his CURATING THE KUDUMBINI
1976 ethnographic essay underlines the dis-
tress of aristocratic Christians to learn about The challenge of migration, as already men-
how some of the economically mobile ‘New tioned, is a challenge of trailing endogamous
Christians’ are buying Syrian Christianhood networks. Ensuring one’s control over women
by marrying their daughters to poor men from is an essential way to maintain endogamy.
their jaati (Fuller, 1976). The appeal to look Family histories are replete with advices on
beyond money can be contextualized in the how one should not betray the glory of one’s
perceived threat to the integrity of the essen- bloodline. The directory and genealogy that
tial kudumbam. The essential kudumbam in accompanies family histories are panoptical in
a family history is also imagined as a collec- nature as they contain tools and mechanisms
tive or corporate body which can resolve the to cast surveillance over individuals, espe-
problems faced by its members. For example, cially women of the family, across geography.
the Kulathakal historian underlines the need What is a ‘Panoptic’ family? Ellen Feder bor-
for family members to act like a ‘government’ rows from Foucault’s explanation of panopti-
which helps find employment: cism to put forth the concept of the ‘Panoptic
Family’ (Feder, 2007, pp. 25–44). She care-
For the future glory of our family it is important
that well-resourced family members help out
fully points out that the ‘panopticon prison’
with employment requirements of the family. We places the warden or headkeeper’s family at
consider the government to be one big family the centre of the design. Family as a ‘disci-
which provides directories, career write-ups and plinary institution’ ensures the panoptic oper-
employment exchanges, so that we find jobs. ation of surveillance on the prisoners. In fact,
Similarly, we, who claim the same paternal legacy
should try to figure out and how can we con-
family members get involved in the ‘unpaid’
tribute to this goal. Let us enthusiastically fulfil work of enforcing discipline on themselves
our responsibility. (Kulathakkal Kudumbayogam and the prisoners. They ensure the ‘omnipres-
Committee, 1974, p. 50) ence’ of the headkeeper. Thus, she argues that
power circulates through the family. Beyond
The family historian is trying to maximize ideal notions of family as a space of nurtur-
the economic possibilities of a family his- ance and development, she underlines its sur-
tory through his appeal. One needs to under- veillance aspects. The normative ideal of the
line the fact that all members ‘united’ by the family helps cushion and sustain its discipli-
family name are perceived as constituents of nary power. She substantiates her perspective
an economic network which helps and cares in the context of emerging suburban areas in
for each other. The functions of the essential post-war America of the 1950s. Suburbs pro-
family, bonded by a common paternal legacy, duced a panoptic operation with the help of
are compared to the functions of a modern state, market and the family. They ensured
welfarist government. The historian imagines the exclusion of black or people of colour and
subordination of white women to the ideal of the family history. This is crucial because
the white, middle class family. The concept of daughters and daughters-in-law act as
the panoptic family, which protects and pro- bridges between prominent Syrian Christian
duces differences of race and gender, informs families in a given region. One of their gen-
our discussion on Syrian Christian families. dered functions to is help build alliances with
Family discipline sustains and reproduces powerful families through matrimony. Thus,
long-standing investments in social hierar- the genealogies which accompany family
chy. Family histories provide ‘yardsticks’ and histories are replete with proud mentions
‘standards’ of the essential kudumbam. They of alliances through marriage (Matheckal
are sometimes a training manual, a list of do’s Family, 2014; Pulikunnel, 2000). The
and don’ts, a self-help book for kudumbinis kudumbanatha of the Pullipadavil family
(housewives) and newly-wed daughters-in- was a mid-17th century member of the
law of the family. Look at the following stand- Cheriyadu Nakolakkal family, according to
ard set by the Kulathakal family history: the family historian. This mention is also
significant as it at least partially explains
Any family’s sustenance and prosperity quite her spiritual and behavioural qualities to the
obviously depend on its ‘women’. Only a moth-
er’s training can ensure God’s blessings and
historian. The Syrian Christian Mathavu is
love in the coming generations. (Kulathakkal seen as a repository of spiritual merit who
Kudumbayogam Committee, 1974, p. 51) guides the family through thick and thin. In
the Chemparathy family history, they men-
Family histories are primarily male-driven tion a female family member who stood up
projects, where women largely play gender- to the lower caste ‘thivettikal’ with her sheer
ordained roles—in both its content and intelligence when the latter were planning
making. Most of the content that directly to loot her home (Chemparathy, 2009). The
addresses the daughters-in-law or kudumbi- preconditions of peace and prosperity in
nis of the family is advisory in nature. These the family are fully based on women time-
advices are aimed at making them good lessly pursuing their gendered spiritual,
Syrian Christian mothers/wives/daughters- emotional and domestic chores without
in-law. Thus, family histories, to push their any doubts. Interestingly, family histories
concepts of the essential kudumbam, double discuss the household space largely in the
up as gender- training manuals for women. context of women alone. Introductory chap-
Examples of ideal women are often quoted ters of family histories often discuss about
from among the past or old kudumbinis of the the crisis faced by family as an institution.
family. Consider the following lines from Strategies to overcome this crisis has almost
the Pullipadavil family history: always been a reassertion of patriarchal con-
trol. Consider the following passage from
A family’s welfare and spiritual standard are
dependent primarily on its kudumbanatha or
the Chemparathy family history. This pas-
mother. Our mother worked in tandem with her sage is significant as it uses the usual troupes
husband in good deeds, hospitality and spiritual- of everyday Christian familism to explain
ity of daiva bhakti. As a result, there was lasting the crises of families in both mythical and
peace and blessings in the family. (Pullipadavil, historical times:
1986, p. 19)
Look at the story of the first family or adi-
The above-mentioned lines in the family kudumbam which began in heaven. Eve’s
history describe the kudumbanatha of the (Hauva) action without consulting her husband
Pullipadavils. Though her name has not Adam led to the fall of the great human family
been mentioned, her paternal tharavatuperu (Manavamahakudumbam). She might have
thought that she is not a slave to her husband.
or family name finds prominent mention in
However, this line of thinking finally ended up in only through family histories but also through
her son betraying his own brother. (Chemparathy, internet-
enabled services, translates into a
2009)
system of passive coercion. Ellen points out
The Chemparathy historian tried to draw a that beyond the rosy ideas of ‘white families’,
direct explanation for the crisis of families they are spaces which provide the correct
from biblical sources. In fact, he went ahead racial and gendered training to their members.
to legitimize the project of family histories by Similar is the conception of kudumbam in
pointing out that the Bible is essentially a col- family histories, they are perceived as grounds
lection of family histories which move through of gendered training with the larger aim of
the tenacious path of daivakopam or god- maintaining power and hierarchy in the face
ly-wrath and rakshavagdanam or the promise of evident change.
of salvation. He described the Bible as a col-
lection of stories where God ultimately saves
and protects ‘families’. Drawing from the
CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS
everyday praxis of biblical explanations, the
historian attributed the fall of human family
to Eve’s decision without consulting her hus- This chapter provided a limited glimpse into
band. This morally weighty story suggests the textual strategies of a highly mobile com-
that kudumbinis should always consult their munity like Syrian Christians by analysing
husbands and should never act independently. select themes from their family histories.
The ordering of gendered relations within the Brahmanyam operates as a master narrative
essential family draws heavily from religious of social distinction housing within its prem-
familism (Waters, 2007). Household, the place ises the essential kudumbam and kudumbini.
of the kudumbini, operates as a physical link Family histories are often written from the
between the family and the society. Kinship standpoint of the migrant who is threatened by
is not simply a mechanism to trace a line of non-distinction or anonymity in the migration
genetic descent, but it also includes integration destination or the ‘big, bad world’. In such a
into the history of a lineage. It is interesting situation, charitrams operate as a manual of
to note that male-authored, family-endorsed identity work, providing the necessary where-
family histories reinscribe a regime of dis- withal to revive social distinction. It should be
cipline for women in a context when female noted that in doing so, caste–community affil-
migration in Kerala has shown an upward iations are reproduced as a positive emotional
trend in the past few decades (Zachariah et al., good. Thus, beyond coercion, jaati-conferrals,
2001). Such migrations have also led to new myths and legends are engraved within notions
gendered experiences and identity formations of pride and belonging. Endogamous net-
(Osella & Osella, 2008). Notwithstanding works are protected by combining universal
these changes or responding to these changes, and particular notions of the essential family
family histories work hard to curate the and family-woman.
kudumbini for the essential kudumbam. One realizes that with successful out-
Family history writing, as is evident from migration, groups appropriate with new
the content, is a collective effort of fam- labels which only reshuffle their ‘core’ with-
ilies. It involves numerous meetings and out destroying their essential characteristics.
pre-planning. It is a project which requires For example, entry of lower castes, gradual
institutional and economic support. It tries reforms in Syrian Christian denominations,
to cast a net of surveillance which is appar- politico-economic changes, creation of an
ently omnipresent. The need felt to connect Indian nation state, increased intrastate, intra-
with fragmented branches of the family, not national and transnational migration, spread
of literacy and new technologies of printing, Fairclough, N. (2001). Critical discourse analysis as a
publishing and communication shaped the method in social scientific research. In R. Wodak &
process of modern family history produc- M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis
tion among this savarna group. Saving one’s (pp. 121–138). London: SAGE Publications.
———. (2013).Critical discourse analysis: The critical
family and socializing them within the endog-
study of language. New York, NY: Routledge.
amous network by utilizing new emerging Feder, E. K. (2007). Family bonds: Genealogies of race
technologies of communication (increasingly and gender (pp. 25–44). New York: Oxford University
internet-enabled platforms) is crucial for the Press.
‘self-preservation’ of Nasranihood. A more Fuller, C. J. (1976). Kerala Christians and the caste
detailed paper on these aspects would clear system. Man, 11, 53–70.
some more ground. Joseph, G. G. (2003). George Joseph, the life and times of
a Kerala Christian nationalist (pp. 25–43). New Delhi,
India: Orient Blackswan.
Kappicadu, M. Sunny. (2011). Kerala model: A Dalit cri-
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22
Tribal Migration*
Bhagyoday Khandare
Himanshu Chaurasia
Sunil Sarode
INTRODUCTION highest percentage of tribal population of the

total ST population in the country (10.2%)
India is a home to a large assortment of indig- after Madhya Pradesh (14.5%). As per the
enous people. The Scheduled Tribe (ST) pop- 2001 Census, Maharashtra received the larger
ulation represents one of the most financially number of migrants (7.9 million) by place of
ruined and marginalized groups in India. As the birth than other states, and the most impor-
per the 2001 Census, India has the largest tant reason for migration was ‘work/employ-
tribal population in the world of over 102 mil- ment’. Apart from women migrating due to
lion, constituting 8.6 per cent of the total pop- marriage, employment was the biggest reason
ulation of the country (Census of India, 2001). for migration (Planning Commission, 2005).
The term tribe here means a group of people
who have lived at a particular place since times
immemorial. There are about 654 ST commu-
nities across the states in India, known by dif- LITERATURE REVIEW
ferent names such as the Adivasis (the original
inhabitants), Vanya Jati (live in the forest) and It is believed that population segregation with
Adim Jati (primitive people). About 92 per the concentration of the industrial sector offers
cent of the ST population live in rural areas, more job opportunities to people in big cities.
with only 8 per cent living in urban areas. (Todaro, 1969). According to Kulkarni et al.,
According to the National Census of 2001, 30 the study of tribal mobility in Gadiguda shows
per cent of the population were migrants, with that women migrate in large proportions in
65.4 million female migrants and 32.8 million groups accompanying few men and children.
male migrants. Maharashtra has the second It is predominantly due to seasonal migration
* The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publica-
tion of this chapter. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial
or non-profit sectors.
that women migrate to other places for work. development phenomen are still understudied,
The primary push factor for migration is lack despite its extent and social impact. It is essen-
of employment opportunities in the locality tial to know what happened to tribal migration
(Kulkarni, Das & Pardeshi, 2013). Deshingkar in Maharashtra. Tribes are spread all over in
and Start (2003) show why some groups of large areas, mainly in hilly areas and forests of
people have succeeded in entering accumu- Maharashtra. For these very reasons, there is a
lative migration pathways while others have need to make concerted efforts towards their
been excluded. This helps us understand that development. Given this background, the pri-
migration patterns are determined by people’s mary purpose of this chapter is to understand
access to resources, the (institutional, market migration and development among the tribal
and policy) environment, intrahousehold rela- population in Maharashtra.
tions, wider social relations and not just the
productivity and demand for labour in an area.
Smita (2008) noted in her study that there still
are many categories of children in India for DATA AND METHODS
whom adequate and appropriate strategies are
not in place for effective education. Drought In 1881, the Census has collected the informa-
and lack of work in villages force entire fam- tion on place of birth, place of last residence
ilies to migrate for several months every year (POLR), duration of residence in the place
in search of work merely to survive. Children at the time of enumeration in 1971 and rea-
accompany their parents, and as a result, drop- sons for migration (marriage, education and/
out rates go up. Migrants comprise the most or employment) in 1981 were introduced and
vulnerable sections of society, and especially added to the Census questionnaire. Thus, the
those that also belong to the Scheduled Caste migration table provides information on the
and ST groups (Smita, 2008). According to spatial aspects of movement of migration
Bokil (2002), the denotified and nomadic within the country (Census of India, 2011).
tribes continue to remain poor, marginalized The answers to these questions shed light on
and powerless communities (Bokil, 2002). the patterns, interdistrict flow and socio-demo-
Kokate et al. said that tribal development is an graphics of Maharashtra. In this study, 2001
extremely entangled task and needs more care- Census data has been used (as data was not
ful consideration than has been paid to it until available for the year 2011) for computation
now. Majority of the tribal workers are cultiva- using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software.
tors and agricultural labourers, as reported in Migration matrix was constructed based on
some of the studies (Kokate & Solunke, 2011; the POLR. In this analysis, two rates namely
Kulkarni, 1980). The issues of the tribal pop- in-migration rate and out-migration rate were
ulation in Maharashtra vary across tribes and computed separately for both male and female
regions as they wander in search of livelihood migrants. Linear regression method was used
and lack education, which makes their survival to quantify the relationship between tribal
difficult. So, they are forced to continue the population and tribal literary rate.
tradition of moving from one place to another
and thousands of families belonging to these
wandering tribes stay in temporary structures. Findings
Unfortunately, their case has not been suffi-
ciently attended to by democratic polity and Maharashtra has a total tribal population of
civil society. Their closed, inward-looking 8.577 million which is 9 per cent of the total
cultures have also been found to be an obsta- population of India, as per the Census of
cle to change and development. Migration and 2001. About 7.486 million of Maharashtra’s
Tribal Migration 305
tribal population lives in the rural areas while Total Scheduled Tribes’ Migrant
only 1.090 million lives in urban areas. There Within the State
were 9.10 per cent females and 8.63 per cent
males, respectively. The urban area has only Based on the distance covered by the tribal
2.66 per cent ST population with 2.74 per cent migrants, Maharashtra has experienced
females and only 2.57 per cent males, but rural both in-migration as well as out-migration.
Maharashtra has 13.42 per cent ST population Table 22.2 shows the volume and percentage
with 13.56 per cent female and 13.29 per cent of in-migrants. As much as 0.23 per cent of the
males, as shown in Table 22.1. total ST population are migrants. The rural area
receives 0.20 per cent of total ST migrants and
the urban area receives 0.34 per cent of total
ST migrants from other states of the country.
District-wise Tribal Population of In Maharashtra, male STs have a higher rate of
Maharashtra migration compared with female STs.
Maharashtra has 35 districts and 353 talukas.
According to the 2001 Census, the percentage
of total population to the tribal population was Duration of Migration
found to be highest in the district of Nandurbar
(65.53%), followed by the Gadchiroli Table 22.3 shows duration of last residence for
(38.31%), Dhule (25.97%), Nashik (23.91%), total tribal migrants within the state. In 2001,
Yavatmal (19.26%), Chandrapur (18.12%) and most of the tribal migrants are enumerated as
Thane (14.75%), respectively. About 58 per 20 years and above (38%) with a higher per-
cent of the total of Maharashtra’s tribal popula- centage (7.9%) of male migrants than female
tion lives in these seven districts (Figure 22.1). migrants. The percentage of female migrants
is 2.35 whereas that of male migrants is 2.13,
for those whose duration of last residence is
less than 1 year.
Division-wise Tribal Population of
Maharashtra
According to the 2001 Census, more than Reason for Migration
half of the ST population is concentrated in
the Khandesh division (37.73%) followed Table 22.4 shows the reasons for migration
by Nagpur division (19.12%), Konkan divi- based on the last residence. The reasons for
sion (18.47%), Vidarbha division (13.01%), migration in case of male and female migrants
Marathwada division (7.09%) and Pune divi- vary significantly. Employment was the most
sion (4.57%), respectively (Figure 22.2). important reason for migration among male
Table 22.1 Maharashtra Scheduled Tribe Population in 2001

Total Rural Urban
Persons 8,577,276 (8.85) 7,486,537 (13.42) 1,090,739 (2.66)

Males 4,347,754 (8.63) 3,782,848 (13.29) 564,906 (2.57)
Females 4,229,522 (9.10) 3,703,689 (13.56) 525,833 (2.74)
Source: Census of India (2001).

Note: The figures in brackets show the percent.
70 66
60
50
T r i b a l P op u l a t i on i n %
40 38
30 26 24
20 14 16 1819 15
12 1211 9 12
9 9 8
10 5 6 7 3 4
2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
0
Nanded
Sangli
Osmanabad
Wardha
Aurangabad
Sindhudurg
Nandurbar
Dhule
Buldana
Akola
Amravati
Nagpur
Gondiya
Chandrapur
Yavatmal
Hingoli
Parbhani
Jalna
Nashik
Thane
Mumbai (Sub)
Mumbai
Raigarh
Pune
Ahmadnagar
Bid
Latur
Solapur
Ratnagiri
Kolhapur
Satara
Washim
Bhandara
Gadchiroli
Jalgaon
Districts of Maharashtra
Figure 22.1 District-wise Percentage of Tribal Population of Maharashtra
40 38
Population in %
30
20 18 19
Tribal
13
10 5 7
0
KONKAN KHANDESH PUNE MARATHWADA VIDARBHA NAGPUR
Division of Maharashtra
Figure 22.2 Division-wise Tribal Population of Maharashtra
Table 22.2 Scheduled Tribe Migrants within Literacy and Educational Level
the State
Currently, the state lags behind in terms of
Persons Males Females
Last literacy and educational attainment which are
Residence No. % No. % No. % powerful indicators of socio-economic devel-
Total 19,888 0.23 10,275 0.24 9,613 0.23 opment among the backward groups in India.
Rural 15,325 0.20 8,023 0.21 7,302 0.20 According to the 2001 Census, the percentage
Urban 3,683 0.34 1,817 0.32 1,866 0.35 of literate persons among the ST population of
Maharashtra is 55.2 per cent, which is lower
than 76.9 per cent reported for the state popu-
lation as a whole. Though the literacy rate has
migrants (58.81%) in a rural area and 48.65 improved substantially among ST population,
per cent in an urban area, marriage was the it is still much below the literacy rate of the
most important reason among female migrants state population. The percentage of the tribal
(50.75%) in a rural area and 46.62 per cent in literate is found to be highest in the district
an urban area. The other important reasons for of Mumbai (80.81%). The female literacy rate
migration are moved after birth and moved with of 43.8 per cent among the ST population is
the household. Migration primarily occurs due lower compared with 67.02 per cent among
to disparities in regional development. the total male literate population of the state.
Table 22.3 Percentage Distribution of Duration-wise Tribal Migration in Maharashtra

Duration Persons Males Females
Duration of residence less than one year 02.24 02.13 02.35

Duration of residence 1–4 years 14.43 13.00 15.95
Duration of residence 20 years and above 38.55 42.36 34.47
Unclassified 05.62 05.63 05.62
Table 22.4 Percentage Distribution of Reasons for Scheduled Tribes’ Migration by the Last
Residence
Rural Urban
Reason for Migration Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
Work or employment 33.15 58.81 04.97 26.42 48.65 04.77

Business 00.19 00.19 00.19 00.19 00.33 00.05
Education 02.23 03.42 00.92 03.39 05.01 01.82
Marriage 24.40 00.42 50.75 23.78 00.33 46.62
Move after birth 12.86 14.23 11.35 15.29 17.23 13.40
Move with household 14.81 11.17 18.82 18.22 14.53 21.81
Other 12.35 11.77 13.00 12.71 13.92 11.52
The highest and lowest female literacy rates of with the sex ratio of Maharashtra being 973
73.62 per cent and 32.17 per cent are recorded females per 1,000 males.
among Buldhana and Mumbai, respectively Table 22.5 provides necessary information
(Figure 22.3). on the socio-economic background of dis-
The result of linear regression between tricts of Maharashtra. The contribution of the
tribal literacy rate and tribal population shows tribal population to the total urban population,
a negative relationship between them in district-wise, has been presented here. Within
Maharashtra. A unit increase in the percentage Maharashtra, there is great variation across
of tribal population decreases the tribal liter- districts in the percentage of urban population,
acy rate by 0.41 units (Figure 22.4). that is, Nandurbar and Gadchiroli districts
have the highest urban population of about
15 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, and
Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts have the
Sex Ratio in Districts of Maharashtra
lowest with about less than 1 per cent each.
among Tribal Population
Among the personal characteristics which
Figure 22.5 shows the district-wise sex ratio are likely to influence a person to migrate,
among the ST population as per the 2001 education plays a perfect indicator to show
Census. Gondiya and Nandurbar districts’ ST socio-economic development. Findings indi-
sex ratios are 1,020 and 1,009 females per cate that about 55 per cent male migrants and
1,000 males, respectively, followed by Thane 35 per cent female migrants belong to the liter-
(996), Bhandara (992), Gadchiroli (987), ate tribal population in Maharashtra. Here, we
100
90 Males Females Persons
80
Percentage
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Parbhani
Kolhapur
Wardha
Ahmadnagar
Akola
Aurangabad
Buldana
Dhule
Gadchiroli
Gondiya
Jalgaon
Jalna
Latur
Mumbai (suburban)
Nanded
Nandurbar
Nashik
Ratnagiri
Sangli
Washim
Yavatmal
Amravati
Bid
Hingoli
Maharashtra
Nagpur
Raigarh
Satara
Sindhudurg
Thane
Solapur
Bhandara
Chandrapur
Pune
Osmanabad
Mumbai
Districts
Figure 22.3 Literacy and Educational Level
90 PERCENTAGE OF TRIBAL LITERACY RATE

80
Tribal literacy (%)
70
y = 65.47 − 0.41x
60 R2  .25
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00
Tribal population (%)
Figure 22.4 Regression Analysis of Tribal Literacy Rate of Maharashtra
also see that Nandurbar (26%) indicates very district (29%) followed by Mumbai (24.03%),
low levels of female literacy, while Mumbai Ratnagiri (21.46%), Mumbai suburban
(65%) indicates higher female literacy. It has (20.93%), Satara (18.72%) and Bid (18.60%).
been found that Sindhudurg district received On the other hand, in-migration is high in
highest in-migrants (about 29%). On the other Mumbai (50.30%), Sindhudurg (32.77%), Bid
hand, there was higher rate of out-migration (22.49%), Jalna (20.04%), Bhandara (19.41%)
from Mumbai district at about 50 per cent. The and Parbhani (18.83%), respectively.
volume of in-migrants is highest for Jalgaon Sex ratio (number of females per 1,000
district compared with other districts of males) has been a matter of concern for the
Maharashtra. Overall, the proportion of tribal population, the same has been seen in the
out-migration is 5.49 per cent and net migra- case of tribal population. According to the
tion is 24 per cent. Furthermore, out-migration 2001 Census, the sex ratio of in-migration
rate in Maharashtra is high in Sindhudurg is highly male-dominated in the Ratnagiri
1200
Sex ratio
1000
800
Number
600
400
200
0
Sangli
Kolhapur
Wardha
Aurangabad
Buldana
Dhule
Gadchiroli
Hingoli
Jalgaon
Latur
Mumbai
Nandurbar
Raigarh
Solapur
Washim
Akola
Amravati
Bid
Gondiya
Jalna
Nagpur
Nanded
Nashik
Osmanabad
Ratnagiri
Thane
Yavatmal
Ahmadnagar
Bhandara
Satara
Pune
Chandrapur
Parbhani
Mahrashtra
Sindhudurg
Mumbai (suburban)
Districts
Figure 22.5 District-wise Sex Ratio among the ST Population in Maharashtra
and Sindhdurg districts, on the other hand, migrate to search for work/employment and
out-migration is highly female-dominated. the tribal females migrate for marriage. These
Table 22.5 shows sex ratio of the migrants for are the main two reasons found. Decidedly,
the districts of Maharashtra, India. less number of tribal population migrate for
business and education and due to this, liter-
acy is low and they are unable to get proper
employment. As a result, there are serious
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION implications on the economic conditions of
the tribal population. As the cultural reason,
Maharashtra is also one of the significant con- we found that the tribal female goes to her
tributing states of tribal population and migra- mother’s house to deliver children and after
tion is the major component of population childbirth she comes back to her husband’s
studies in India. From the above discussion, house, which means that after birth, more
it has been found that the tribal population in tribal people move from one place to another.
Maharashtra is 8,577,276 and they contrib- In a tribal family, the old male takes all the
ute 8.85 per cent of the total state population responsibility of the family, so if the head of
and around 87.28 per cent of the total tribal the household moves in search of work, then
population lives in rural areas. It can also be the whole family moves with him. This is also
concluded that a high proportion of the tribal one of the reasons behind substantial tribal
population is concentrated in the northeastern migration.
and northwestern parts of the state. The cen- In tribal regions of Maharashtra, displace-
tral part shows a scant tribal population but a ment and deforestation also have played a
high growth rate is recorded in districts, such significant role in tribal migration and reha-
as Kolhapur, Sangli and Solapur, where their bilitation. To sum up, forest and land have
proportion is deficient. According to the above been the two major assets of the tribal pop-
results, the tribal population now most of the ulation. The deterioration of both has had a
time migrate for a long duration. However, direct impact on tribal migration. One of the
from the gender perspective, the tribal males characteristics of the tribal population is the
Table 22.5 Socio-economic and Migration Variables for Districts of Maharashtra, India
Literacy Rate Volume of In- and Out- Sex Ratio of In- and Out-
Population (%) (%) Migration Rate (%) migration (%) migration (%)
District Total Urban Male Female In-migration Out-migration Net Migration In-migration Out-migration In-migration Out-migration
Nandurbar 65.53 15.30 42.25 25.94 1.95 1.53 0.42 13,161 16,765 96.62 158.84
Dhule 25.97 5.25 45.49 28.27 4.88 8.14 −3.26 36,098 21,636 92.42 169.31
Jalgaon 11.84 4.20 52.96 31.47 3.46 7.54 −4.07 32,855 15,093 91.55 181.27
Buldana 5.16 1.95 57.47 34.31 11.28 9.09 2.19 10,468 12,986 84.59 209.04
Akola 6.14 2.32 68.39 49.17 15.52 17.09 −1.57 17,104 15,534 80.77 220.02
Washim 6.96 1.79 61.09 36.70 12.95 12.97 −0.01 9,204 9,195 81.14 297.19
Amravati 13.68 3.77 60.88 42.34 4.60 5.60 −1.00 19,951 16,389 88.24 218.23
Wardha 12.49 6.66 67.76 51.08 15.45 14.47 0.98 22,346 23,864 83.42 178.30
Nagpur 10.93 8.67 73.11 57.61 7.89 5.26 2.63 23,388 35,075 91.02 142.13
Bhandara 8.60 7.39 74.36 52.58 9.03 19.41 −10.38 18,968 8,821 89.49 234.38
Gondiya 16.36 4.25 70.47 47.55 4.62 5.65 −1.03 11,090 9,068 93.60 274.09
Gadchiroli 38.31 10.63 49.74 30.49 3.90 2.28 1.62 8,487 14,495 94.90 181.95
Chandrapur 18.12 8.46 65.11 44.97 6.35 6.49 −0.14 24,358 23,842 93.40 165.32
Yavatmal 19.26 6.99 62.04 41.43 4.69 7.27 −2.57 34,396 22,221 92.23 219.96
Nanded 8.82 4.46 60.97 37.59 3.70 4.65 −0.95 11,799 9,383 89.20 267.67
Hingoli 8.80 3.15 58.95 32.74 6.92 6.29 0.62 5,467 6,010 87.05 298.54
Parbhani 2.30 1.70 60.03 35.16 14.76 18.83 −4.07 6,629 5,196 83.84 224.55
Jalna 1.99 1.79 56.29 33.76 14.64 20.04 −5.40 6,435 4,700 84.72 201.86
Aurangabad 3.47 1.31 54.38 32.52 13.75 14.60 −0.86 14,664 13,803 86.40 183.60
Nashik 23.92 5.58 50.33 31.20 3.46 2.57 0.89 30,712 41,312 95.69 143.60
Thane 14.75 2.57 47.69 27.84 3.88 1.12 2.76 13,490 46,579 99.66 102.76
Mumbai 0.82 0.82 74.94 57.73 20.93 0.39 20.54 278 14,748 94.59 94.18
(Suburban)
Mumbai 0.62 0.62 78.09 65.11 24.03 50.33 −26.30 10,401 4,966 92.50 91.29
Raigarh 12.19 4.65 45.76 28.49 3.37 4.56 −1.20 12,281 9,057 97.36 131.28
Pune 3.62 1.38 61.95 40.84 12.03 5.66 6.36 14,823 31,473 94.77 105.53
Ahmadnagar 7.51 1.82 53.77 32.29 7.81 9.40 −1.60 28,513 23,671 93.93 151.34
Bid 1.12 1.32 58.22 37.74 18.60 22.49 −3.89 5,442 4,500 81.80 157.88
Latur 2.30 1.46 64.73 42.69 6.50 9.97 −3.47 4,769 3,107 85.07 189.56
Osmanabad 1.87 1.89 57.79 36.11 11.93 12.32 −0.38 3,431 3,324 80.74 220.54
Solapur 1.79 2.12 63.84 41.42 4.87 11.62 −6.74 8,014 3,363 88.91 132.73
Satara 0.78 0.81 61.26 45.63 18.72 12.19 6.53 2,670 4,100 91.68 112.33
Ratnagiri 1.18 0.66 51.16 31.88 21.46 16.77 4.69 3,371 4,314 100.00 79.90
Sindhudurg 0.57 0.43 67.63 54.08 29.00 32.77 −3.78 1,623 1,436 101.50 83.63
Kolhapur 0.61 0.48 72.49 55.00 14.71 7.50 7.21 1,605 3,147 83.09 114.37
Sangli 0.69 0.63 71.65 54.02 13.48 15.84 −2.36 2,828 2,406 84.10 141.81
Maharashtra 8.85 2.66 54.93 35.37 29.00 5.49 23.51 471,119 485,579 100.14 156.48
absence of script of their dialects. Their tradi- Laws to re-establish lands alienated in negoti-
tional knowledge is transmitted from one gen- ation of legal provisions need to be executed.
eration to another by word of mouth. There is However, laws to re-establish lands distanced
an urgent need to document this vanishing tra- under legitimate arrangements have not been
dition not only in Maharashtra but throughout actualized. The government should also
the country. publish socio-economic surveys that it has
Human migration is as old as human his- financed.
tory, and the pattern of human development is
integrally linked to the pattern of migration.
Migration encompasses different streams and
has very different causes and consequences REFERENCES
for different groups of people and different
regions. Most migration is internal to coun- Bokil, M. (2002). De-notified and nomadic tribes: A per-
tries. In India, the 2001 Census estimated that spective. Economic and Political Weekly, 37, 148–154.
there were 314.5 million migrants. However, Census of India. (2001). Office of the registrar general,
India, Maharashtra data highlights: The scheduled
a large percentage of these were women who
tribes.
had moved after marriage. According to esti-
Deshingkar, P. & Start, D. (2003). Seasonal migration
mates, seasonally, migrant labour could very for livelihoods in India: Coping, accumulation and
well constitute 10–15 per cent of India’s exclusion (Vol. 111). London: Overseas Development
present estimated workforce of 480 million. Institute.
They belong to the most impoverished and Kokate, C. & Solunke, R. (2011). The tribal development
deprived sections of the society. Living in dis- in Maharashtra—A case study. Research, Analysis
crete settlements on the outskirts of the main and Evaluation, 1(17), 9–71.
village, STs occupy the lowest rung in the Kulkarni, P., Das, K., & Pardeshi, V. (2013). Understand-
hierarchy of the caste system and are treated ing mobility among tribal population: A study in
as social outcasts and untouchables. Even in Andhra Pradesh, India. Retrieved from https://www.
researchgate.net/publication/236940351_Under-
post-independence India, atrocities like sexual
standing_mobility_among_tribal_population_A_
abuse, murder and arson against STs continue
study_in_Andhra_Pradesh_India (accessed on 10
unabated September 2012.
Kulkarni, S. (1980). Problems of tribal development in
Maharashtra. Economic and Political Weekly, 15,
1598–1600.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS Planning Commission. (2005). Report of the task group
on development of scheduled castes and scheduled
The issue of tribal development is a perplex- tribes. Retrieved from http://planningcommission.gov.
ing one. Plans for advancement of farming in/aboutus/taskforce/inter/inter_sts.pdf
ought to be embraced, essentially in the zones Smita, S. (2008). Distress seasonal migration and its
where cultivators with innate abilities are in a impact on children’s education (CREATE Pathways
to access Research Monograph No. 28). Falmer, UK:
higher part. Care must be taken not to embrace
Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Tran-
schemes that for the most part benefit the sitions and Equity (CREATE).
non-tribal populace in these regions. Lawful Todaro, M. P. (1969). A model of labor migration and
arrangements to prevent alienation of lands urban unemployment in less developed countries. The
held by the tribal population are satisfactory. American Economic Review, 59(1), 138–148.
23
The Saga of Tribal
Livelihood Migration*
Anjali Borhade
Milind Babar
Isha Jain
V i s h i k a Ya d a v
Pallavi Joshi
Karthik Prabhu
Ajay Shekhawat
Subhojit Dey
INTRODUCTION these movements were interprovincial from

underdeveloped parts of the country to the
Over half of the world’s population lives in the East coast, the rest were intraprovincial rural–
Asia-Pacific region. As home to 57.7 per cent urban movements within the eastern provinces
of the current world population, Asia must (Ping, 2003). Similarly, in Indonesia the census
loom large in any discussion on global migra- data for the last 30 years shows an increase in
tion. Migration has a significant influence on interprovincial migration, especially among
the economic, social and demographic devel- women. Nearly one-fifth of the movement
opment of all Asian nations (Hugo, 2005). was return migration (back from destination
The age, profile and education levels of to original source). In Vietnam, there has been
migrants vary significantly by country. In an increase in permanent migration, especially
China, there has been a continuous outflow to large cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and
of labourers from more populous agricul- Hanoi as well as the industrial areas surround-
tural areas to industrial regions, while half of ing these cities (Deshingkar, 2006).
* All figures in this chapter are based on the survey conducted by the authors for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India and Ministry of Tribal Development, Maharashtra State. The funding sources of the research
are Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India; Ministry of Tribal Development, Government of Maharashtra.
Internal migration has greater potential for population) short-term migrants in India. ST
poverty reduction, achieving social equity and and SC groups are the dominant groups in
contributing to economic growth in develop- the migrant population. Most of this move-
ing countries than international migration. ment has been from the most populous and
There are many factors that drive migration. lesser-developed poorest states to the more
While some of these factors are common to developed states, for example, workers from
several Asian countries, such as regional ine- backward states such as Bihar, Jharkhand,
quality, underemployment in rural areas and Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan routinely
the spread of labour-intensive industries, travel to the developed ‘green revolution’
other factors differ depending on the history, states of Maharashtra, NCR Delhi, Punjab and
culture, policy environment and social struc- Gujarat to earn livelihood. Such migration
ture of the country (Deshingkar & Grimm, is also observed within the districts of every
2004). state (Deshingkar & Grimm, 2004).
Figure 23.1 shows migrant households in
different social groups and changes over time
by number of migrant households per 1,000
INTERNAL MIGRATION IN INDIA households in each social group during NSS
49th round (1993) and 64th round (2007–
In recent years, seasonal migration for liveli- 2008). It clearly shows that in both the rounds
hood has become a growing phenomenon in of NSS, migration rate of STs is higher than
India, especially among the Scheduled Caste that of other social groups, in both rural and
(SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) population. urban settings (23 for STs compared with 14
There is limited official data available on for SCs and 17 for Other Backward Castes). In
internal migration; labour-related migrants addition, urban migration of STs has increased
are estimated to be over 10 million, including by almost three times in the 64th round (64)
approximately 4.5 million interstate migrants compared with that in the 49th round of NSS
and 6 million intrastate migrants (National (29). Migration is mainly for the purpose of
Commission on Rural Labour, 1991). The 55th better employment opportunities and liveli-
round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) hood (NSSO, 2010).
indicates that there are 10 million (1% of the
Round (2007–2008)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
49th round 64th round 49th round 64th round 49th round 64th round
Rural Urban Rural and Urban
ST SC OBC Others All
Figure 23.1 Number of Migrant Households per 1,000 Households in Each Social Group during
NSS 49th (1993) and 64th (2007–2008) Rounds
The Saga of Tribal Livelihood Migration 315
ABOUT THE STUDY Trimbakeshwar, were selected. Selection

was based upon proneness to migration. The
A pioneer NGO, Disha Foundation, work- survey team did a sensitization session with
ing with labour migration issues since leaders and community members to introduce
2002, conducted this study. The study is the survey objectives. All questionnaires were
supported by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, pretested and validated.
Government of India, and Ministry of
Tribal Development, Maharashtra state, to
develop an evidence-based, integrated and Questionnaire
convergence-based approach to facilitate

tribal migration and mitigate distress migra- The household questionnaire was designed
tion. This study examines the determinants of to capture different dimensions of socio-
out-migration that work as push factors for economic and household variables, that
the tribal population to move to urban cities. is, employment, migration and occupation
It is hypothesized that socio-economic fac- details, land ownership, housing status, family
tors at the source region have an effect on income and educational status.
migration decisions. In addition, the con- The first section collected demographic,
ditions and benefits of migration are also economic and cultural data directly from the
examined. residents. The second section collected data
on the migration profile and conditions at
destination regions. Both the sections though
aimed to capture migrant status, collected
Study Area
data at the source region among the potential
The survey covered about 20 tribal villages in migrant cohort.
Peint and Trimbakeshwar blocks (Talukas) of
Nashik district of northern Maharashtra, which
is a migrant-prone region of the state. The vil- Key Findings
lages were selected on the basis of the extent
of migration from them. Villages with large These results outline the demographic,
numbers of migrating families were selected socio-economic and general migration profiles
for the survey. Nashik, being the district head- for 20 panchayats in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
quarters, largely industrialized, an important blocks. The survey was conducted by inter-
pilgrimage destination and the capital of viewing the heads of 7,004 families in villages
vineyards (major producer of wine) attracted with a total population of 35,302.
majority of tribal migrants for livelihood.
Demographic Characteristics
Survey Design
As seen in Figure 23.2, most households are
located in the Trimbakeshwar block panchayats
The Tribal Development Authorities and the of Thanapada (n = 527), BhootMokhada
study team of Disha Foundation reviewed (n = 127), Adgaon (n = 273), Goldhari (n = 309),
and approved the baseline household level Nandgaon Kohali (n = 367), Kharval (n = 442),
survey tools and methodology. Further, per- Gaddhavane (n = 174), Shirasgaon (n = 322),
mission was sought from the respective dis- Ozarkhed (n = 476) and Murambi (n = 470).
trict and village leadership before beginning The age–sex representation provides a
data collection. A total of 20 gram panchayats, more detailed insight on the relation between
10 from two talukas, namely Peint and age, gender and population (Figure 23.3). The
Household Distribution %
9 8 8
8 7 6 7 7
7 6 6
6 5 5 5
4 5
5 4 3
4 3 3 3
2
3 2
2
1
0
Ka le
Kh re
m i
Ko al
G okh n
an ari
Ka e
i
ap t
al le
Ko i
hu hed
M on
H on
Sh o n
a
ira ari
G ne
Ku rl
nd
dh da
n mb
an he
O hal
o
rn
a
ad
v
pu
M ba
ya
H ldh
tm ga
Sh hib
ga
a
ar
a
ad a
ru
Th ivs
pu
a
eg
Pa ark
sg
av
oo Ad
r
at
o
dg u
c
z
ar
ao
Bh
an
N
Migrant’s Village
Figure 23.2 Distribution of Households in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
26 27
Age–Sex Distribution %
30 25 28
Female Male
12 13
20 12 10
13 6
10 9 5
6 1
0 5
1
0–5 6–17 18–30 31–40 41–50 51–60 61–70 71–98
Age Group
Figure 23.3 Age–Sex Distribution of Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
demographic profiles of the individuals who still studying or in some cases, were working in
participated in this study show slightly more the education sector. A smaller but noticeable
men (51%, n = 18,083) than women (49%, proportion was employed in non-agricultural
n = 17,221). The age profiles suggest that a labour and service sectors. The unemployed
younger age group (30 years and under) is category also constituted 4 per cent (n = 782)
predominant in the surveyed panchayats. of the population of the panchayats.
With regard to ethnicity, Marathi is the Figure 23.6 shows the current educa-
dominant language and majority of respond- tion status of the surveyed sample of those
ents belong to the ST categories. As illustrated in the age group of 6–30 years. The figure
in Figure 23.4, most individuals belonged to shows low literacy levels with 16 per cent
the Hindu-Kokana (60%, n = 4,219) sub-caste, (n = 3,006) considered illiterate, 49 per cent
followed by Hindu-Mahadev-Koli (16%, (n = 9,104) had some education (Standard
n = 1,150) and Hindu-Varli (20%, n = 1,409). 1–7) and 21 per cent (n = 4,022) educated up
The economic profiles of the villages show to matriculation. The percentage of people
that most of the available workforce earn a with education beyond matriculation was
living through agriculture (47%, n = 10,401) minimal, and there was no one who had a
as agriculture work labour and 32 per cent professional and technical education among
(n = 7,050) in farming, as seen in Figure 23.5. those surveyed.
Of those surveyed, 7 per cent (n = 1,618) were
70
60.2
Caste Distribution %
60
50
40
30
20.1
20 16.4
10 2.8
0.3 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0
0
Hindu Hindu Hindu Hindu Hindu Maratha Muslim Nav Vanjari
Holkari Katkari Kokana Mahadev Varli Baudha
Koli
Caste of Migrant
Figure 23.4 Caste Profile of Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
50 47.2
Distribution %
40
Occupation
32.0
30
20
10 7.3 5.9
3.0 0.9 0.1 3.6
0
Agriculture Education Farming House Work Labour Work Service/Job Small Scale Unemployed
Work Business
Occupation of Migrants
Figure 23.5 Occupation of Individuals Aged 18 Years and Above in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
block Panchayats
60
Education Level %
48.6
50
40
30 21.5
20 16.0
9.0
10 3.7
0.1 0.2 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.0 0.1
0
ee
Ba
ee
e
th
th
h
ci
IT
de
re
at
at
7t
10
12
/S
gr
gr
eg
er
ol
du
To
o
De
De
om
H
llit
to
to
tt
.D
ra
Fy
a
1s
/C
a
al
-g
h
th
gg
om
om
8t
ic
11
st
rts
En
ed
pl
Po
pl
(A
Di
M
Di
a te
du
ra
G
Education Levels
Figure 23.6 Education Levels of Individuals between 6 and 30 Years in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
block Panchayats
Note: ‘FY to BA’ indicates above 12th to below graduate.
60
49.1
Family Occupations %
50 44.0
40
30
20
10 4.5
1.2 0.1 0.1 0.9 0.2
0
Dairy Farming Farming Forest Other Service Small Wages
Labour Labour Scale
Family Occupation
Figure 23.7 Family Occupations in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
80 71.8
70
Family Annual Income %
60
50
40
27.4
30
20
10
0.4 0.3
0
` 10,000 to ` 20,000 to ` 30,000 to >` 40,000
` 20,000 ` 30,000 ` 40,000
Family Annual Income
Figure 23.8 Family Annual Incomes in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
Occupation at the source region is impor-

Family Land-ownership Distribution %
tant to identify who are more likely to quit
their current primary job and look for better
opportunities through migration. Figure 23.7
shows that 93 per cent (n = 7,377) of the sur- No
43%
veyed population in migration-prone areas are Yes
either from the farming community as owners 53%
or as labour. Only 4 per cent of the wage
labourers constituted those surveyed. Other
occupations like dairy farming, services and
forest labour were minimal.
Annual family income is taken as the eco-
Figure 23.9 Family Landownership in Peint
nomic variable to determine the financial status and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
of the households in migration-prone zones.
Figure 23.8 shows 72 per cent (n = 2,882)
Size of Land holdings % 70 63.2

60
50
40 35.4
30
20
10
0.6 0.1 0.3 0.5
0
No Land <10 Hectare 11 to 20 21 to 30 31 to 40 >50 Hectare
Hectare Hectare Hectare
Size of Land Holding
Figure 23.10 Size of Landholdings among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
Source of water Distribution %
60
48.9
50
42.7
40
30
20
10 3.8
0.2 0.9 2.4 0.7
0.3 0.1
0
Artificial Bore Lake None Own Public Rain River Stream
Lake Well Well Well Water
Source of Water for Farming
Figure 23.11 Source of Water for Farming among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
Block Panchayats
households earn between `10,000 and Farming is predominantly rain-dependent in

`20,000 per annum, 27 per cent (n = 1,101) the region as 49 per cent (n = 3,426) households
earn between `20,000 and `30,000 per annum. depend on rain water for irrigation. As seen in
Only a very small proportion earn between Figure 23.11, other sources of water are public
`30,000 and `40,000 per annum. wells 4 per cent (n = 264), while 1 per cent
Of the households surveyed, 57 per cent (n = 170) use river water for agriculture. A minor-
(n = 4,014) were landholders (Figure 23.9), ity of the farming households use other water
and Figure 23.10 shows the size of the land- sources such as bore well, streams and lakes.
holdings, that is, 35 per cent (n = 2,450) hold A majority of landowners (Figure 23.12)
less than 10 hectares of land. The sizes of responded that there is lack of sufficient cap-
landholdings are small and marginal and ital for farming. When faced with this prob-
underline the fact that farming is not econom- lem, 45 per cent (n = 2,095) of the respondents
ically viable and majority of the migrants for considered migrating for better wages, while
livelihood are farmers (Figure 23.10). a smaller proportion took out loans (23%,
In Case of Insufficient Capital %

50 45.1
45
40
35
30 25.4
23.2
25
20
15
10
3.1 3.3
5
0
Mortage Things Take Loan Take on Credit Wages through Other
Migration
Measures Taken in Case of Insufficient Capital
Figure 23.12 Measures Taken by Population in Case of Insufficient Capital in Peint and
Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
Method of Cultivation Distribution % Ownership of Livestock Distribution %
Modern
11%
No
47% Yes
53%
Traditional
89%
Figure 23.13 Methods of Cultivation among Figure 23.14 Ownership of Livestock among
Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats Panchayats
n = 1,076) or used other available credit sources Distance of Primary Healthcare Centre
(25%, n = 1,178), 3 per cent (n = 372) went
down the risky mortgaging route and remain-
ing 3 per cent (n = 154) used other sources.
Of the total households that are engaged in >5 km 0–1 km
cultivation, majority of the respondents (89%, 36% 31%
n = 3,560) rely on traditional methods of farm-
ing and 11 per cent (n = 454) adopt advanced
farming methods (Figure 23.13). 2–5 km
Figure 23.14 shows that 53 per cent 33%
(n = 3,740) of the households own livestock.
Livestock ownership is usually the only source
of income in times of crop failure and drought. Figure 23.15 Distance of Primary Healthcare
Hence, 47 per cent (n = 3,260) of the farming Centre from Villages for Population in Peint
population are at risk of financial problems and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
when crops fail.
Source of medical care % 50 45.5

45
40 35.9
35
30
25
20
15
8.3
10 5.8 4.5
5
0
Govt Home Private Traditional Voodoo
Dispensary Remedies Dispensary Doctor
Regular source of medical care
Figure 23.16 Regular Source of Medical Care Availed among Population in Peint and
Type of residence Distribution
70 65.0
60
50
40
%
30
20 12.8 9.8
6.2 4.2
10 0.6 1.5
0
ng
ut
...
of
s
er
et
de
le
H
Ro
ofi
cr
th
Ti
oo
Ro
on
O
n
or
W
Ti
tC
e
k-
k
an
ic
ic
en
Br
C
Br
em
or
e-
C
on
ne
St
o
St
Type of Residence
Figure 23.17 Types of Residences among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
Figure 23.15 shows that for 36 per cent and 6 per cent (n = 852) go to quacks (voodoo
(n = 2,535) of the households, distance to the in Marathi) and use home remedies, respec-
nearest primary healthcare centre is more than tively (Figure 23.16). Only 4 per cent (n = 657)
5 km, for 32 per cent (n = 2,272) households go to a traditional doctor (Ayurvedic).
this distance is between 2 km and 5 km and 31 Looking at housing conditions, 65 per
per cent (n = 2,197) have a healthcare centre cent (n = 4,552) of the households have a
within 1 km. In response to their regular source stone and brick or tile roof houses while 13
of medical care, 46 per cent (n = 6,673) use gov- per cent (n = 897) have cane roofing, 10 per
ernment dispensaries, 36 per cent (n = 5,267) cent (n = 685) families live in stone and brick
use private dispensaries, 8 per cent (n = 1,211) houses with tin roofs whereas 1 per cent
Awareness about Navsanjeevani Yojana Nutritional Diet Programme
No
8%
School
Nutritional
Diet
Programme
43% Ekatmik Bal
Vikas Yojana
Yes
57%
92%
Figure 23.18 Awareness about Navsanjeevani Figure 23.19 Availed Nutritional Diet

Yojana among Population in Peint and Programme among Population in Peint and
Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
60
52.8
Ration Benefit Utilization %
50
40 37.3
30
20
10 7.6
1.7 0.6
0
Always Never Never Trade Over Price Sometimes
Frequency of Ration-Benefit Utilization
Figure 23.20 Frequency of Ration Benefit Utilization among Population in Peint and
Note: ‘Never Trade’ indicates never bought from ration cards. ‘Over Price’ indicates that ratio price is high.
(n = 102) have wooden type houses. Only, Figure 23.19 shows that 57 per cent (n = 5,972) of
4 per cent (n = 294) of households use other the households benefitted from the Ekatmik Bal
materials (Figure 23.17). Vikas Yojana (Integrated Child Development
The Navsanjeevani Yojana is a health Scheme) and 43 per cent (n = 4,550) from
initiative of the Maharashtra State Health School Nutrition Diet Programme.
Department specifically for the tribal areas of Figure 23.20 shows that a majority of the
the state. The scheme covers 15 tribal districts beneficiaries use their ration cards. Frequency
of the state to reduce infant and child mortality of availing benefits varies from 53 per cent
rates. In the study, as in Figure 23.18, it was (n = 3,699) households always availing of the
found that 92 per cent (n = 6,473) of the house- benefits to 8 per cent (n = 531) that only avail
holds knew about the scheme, highlighting them sometimes and 37 per cent (n = 2,613)
good awareness about this particular scheme. who never avail of the benefits available on
In a similar scheme with a focus on nutrition, the ration cards.
hence are unable to benefit from them, 27 per

Awareness about MGNREGA scheme
cent (n = 2,563) blamed the administration’s
lack of information and 23 per cent (n = 2,229)
stated reason of incomplete documentation.
No Yes
53% 47% MIGRATION PROFILE AND
CHARACTERISTICS
These results show that more than two-thirds

of the households (5,591 out of 7,004) move
out of panchayat temporarily. The magnitude
Figure 23.21 Awareness about MGNREGA of migration varies widely depending on the
Scheme among population in Peint and season. Our survey, as shown in Figure 23.23,
Trimbakeshwar block panchayats
Season‐wise migration rate

The Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Rainy
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) has been 5%
a game changer in reducing migration from
migration-prone areas. Hence, a question
on awareness about this wage scheme was
included, 53 per cent, (n = 3,687) were not Winter
45%
aware of this scheme (Figure 23.21). Summer
To get a picture of social protection ques- 50%
tions about barriers to access basic social-
security schemes were included. Figure 23.22
shows that the biggest hindrance to access was
the lack of awareness about the scheme. Of the Figure 23.23 Season-wise migration rate
respondents, 34 per cent (n = 3,220) said they among the population in Peint and
do not know about the various schemes and Trimbakeshwar block panchayats
40
33.5
35
No Benefits Availed %
30 26.7
23.2
25
20
13.3
15
10
3.3
5
0
Don’t Know Incomplete Officers′ Lack of Unable to Deposit Unfit
Schemes Documentation Attention Premiary Fee for
Training
Reasons for No Benefits Availed from Social Scheme
Figure 23.22 Reasons for No Benefits Availed from Social Schemes among Population in Peint
and Trimbakeshwar Block Panchayats
Reasons for Migration
50 38.9
40 28.7
30 16.8
%
20 7.6
10 7.0 0.6 0.3 0.0
0
nd
rty
er
ss
om
iv
io
th
La
ve
rv
le
at
co
O
nc
nd
Se
Po
up
In
t
en
lI
La
cc
e
ca
ci
or
O
ffi
Lo
M
su
o
In
N Reasons for Migration
Figure 23.24 Reasons for Migration among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
Migration Destinations %
70 66.0
60
50
40
30 20.6
20
10 0.2
4.5 4.5
0.1 0.4 0.1 0.8 0.1 0.6 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.7 0.2
0
ad
G ori
G e
t
lg i
M on
N di
N hik
d
O a
Pa har
d
pa th
np n
am r
r
Si i
le r
Th n
Tr ne
k
sa or
ird
ra
ng lne
ne
Ta nne
ar
ba
dh
Pi ao
o
ha
he
a
m Pe
a
w
nd
La Jan
ga
uj
as
oh
Sh
irn
Sa a
im
lg
ip
O
lk
nd
Di
ha
C
Pi
Migration Destination of out‐migrants
Figure 23.25 Migration Destinations of Out-migrants from Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
indicates that 5 per cent (n = 516) move away due to poverty, 17 per cent (n = 1,972) landless
during the monsoon season. The panchayats people migrated in search of livelihood for
experience a greater exodus during winter better wages and 7 per cent (n = 817) farmers
and summer, with relocation of 45 per cent migrated due to insufficient land for agricul-
(n = 4,984) and 50 per cent (n = 5,541) people, ture mainly due to joint-family set-ups. Nearly
respectively. 39 per cent (n = 4,559) family heads said that
Figure 23.24 depicts an important variable, their family members migrate because of no
that is, the reasons for out-migration among local income.
the migration-prone population. The need for Almost 80 per cent families migrate
more income is clearly the predominant driver from 20 panchayats of the Peint and
behind migration in these panchayats. It is Trimbakeshwar talukas in the Nashik District,
important here to clarify that a person may as shown in Figure 23.25. Most families
migrate due to more than one reason. Such as migrate to Nashik (66%, n = 3,946), Dindori
29 per cent (n = 3,364) respondents migrated (21%, n = 1,233), Girnare (5%, n = 272) and
Problems Faced Destination 25 22.6
20 17.9
16.7 16.1
14.2
15
11.4
%
10
5
1.0
0
Financial Late Accomodation Local More Work Other All Above
Shortage Wages Facility Disturbance Less Wages
Problems Faced by Migrants at Destination
Figure 23.26 Problems Faced by Migrants at Destination Regions in Peint and Trimbakeshwar
Block Panchayats
70
58.6
60
Income Distribution %
50
40
28.4
30
20
8.2
10 4.6
0.2
0
≤`100 `150 `200 `300 `400
Income from Migration (per day)
Figure 23.27 Income from Migration among Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
Niphad (5%, n = 270) and only a small per- local goons (17%, n = 1,698), delayed wages
centage migrate to places like Thane, Sinner, (11%, n = 1,155), financial hardships (14%,
Trimbakeshwar, Mohadi, Peint, Ozar, Janori n = 1,446) and 16 per cent (n = 1,633) said that
and Pimpalgaon. it was a combination of all the above issues.
All migrants have faced one or more prob- Majority of the respondents (59%,
lems at their destinations, as summarized in n = 3,348) earned around `150 per day
Figure 23.26. Most report issues with inad- when they migrated, 28 per cent (n = 1,624)
equate wages (18%, n = 1,818) and accom- earned more than `200 per day and 5 per
modation (23%, n = 2,298), which implies cent (n = 265) earned more than `300 per
that they sleep in hazardous locations such day (Figure 23.27). This shows that migra-
as slums or the streets. There are other sig- tion only gives marginal monetary benefits.
nificant problems such as disturbances from However, all the respondents were of the
Remittance Unilization 60 53.8
50
Distribution%
40
30
19.0
20
11.2 9.7
5.6
10
0.8
0
Expense on Farming Livelihood Pay-Off Loan Sibling Other
Illness Tools Marriages
Remittance Utilization Pattern
Figure 23.28 Remittance Utilization Pattern in Population in Peint and Trimbakeshwar Block
Panchayats
opinion that migration is contributing to their The results show that in the Peint and
financial growth in some way. Trimbakeshwar block panchayats, the popula-
Migrants used the income earned during tion is largely illiterate, landless and depends
migration to strengthen agriculture, housing on subsistence farming. This results in high
and other welfare necessities in their native unemployment with jobs mainly available
place. As seen in Figure 23.28, 54 per cent only in the agricultural sector. This sector
(n = 4,799) households used the income to is subject to dependency on the rains, small
fulfil basic necessities (food, clothing and landholdings, ineffective traditional farming
shelter), 19 per cent (n = 1,698) migrated to methods and low wages. The area is drought-
cover expenses related to family members’ prone and subject to extreme climate varia-
illnesses and 10 per cent (n = 863) to pay off tions. In addition, livestock ownership, which
loans. Of the respondent families, 11 per cent usually bolsters income when crops fail, una-
(n = 995) said they use their wages to improve vailability of appropriate and regulated loan
their agricultural livelihood by buying live- schemes and risky credit facilities are all
stock and tools, whereas 6 per cent (n = 496) factors that result in young people migrating
used the money to contribute to expenses to earn a livelihood. However, majority of
related to the marriage of their siblings. the respondents were not aware of the wage
employment guarantee scheme in their native
areas which was specifically introduced by the
government to help farmers during periods of
DISCUSSION unemployment and could provide an alterna-
tive to migration as the only possibility to earn
The study is one of the first to explore the a living.
socio-economic and demographic characteris- While migration appears to provide mar-
tics in migration-prone tribal areas and issues ginal financial benefits, there is a great deal
in the destination areas. It presents a more of social isolation and marginalization.
complete picture of the whole process and will Majority of the migrants are not aware of
help to identify areas that need to be addressed their welfare rights and are unable to access
and inform policy. social security schemes. Even basic bene-
fits from possessing a ration card are either
not known or not accessed due to a range need to be provided with better access to the
of barriers. Multiple problems and barriers schemes without mediators to avoid chances
are faced by migrants at their destinations, of corruption and lack of governance. This can
the commonest being inadequate and irreg- be achieved through the migration resource or
ular wages and unsuitable and substandard assistance centres at the panchayat levels to
accommodation. ensure better governance and accountability.
Strengthening grassroots level (both in cities
and in village panchayats) governance pro-
cesses by providing training and resources can
CONCLUSIONS AND contribute towards better and more effective
RECOMMENDATIONS implementation of the available government
schemes. In addition, coordination between
It is important to understand the needs of labour, health, education and local municipal
migrating families at source and destina- corporations is essential for better migration
tion locations to develop an integrated, management.
evidence-based policy to address distress There is an urgent need to provide a more
migration among the tribal population. This effective and coordinated services to the
study identified some of the local push factors migrant tribal population at both rural and
in tribal migration-prone areas. It also identi- urban areas to improve their development
fied that migration is the most common strat- indicators. Because migration is very much a
egy for monetary and livelihood improvement reality, the approach should be towards prag-
among the poor. matic migration management and facilitation
At the source regions, there needs to be at both the source and destination locations.
diversification of economy as the agricultural There needs to be appropriate and needs-
economy based on subsistence farming leads based interventions at both ends and coordi-
to substantial youth unemployment. There are nation among the different sectors to ensure
examples in other such agrarian areas of the the welfare of such distress migration prone
introduction of a diverse economy in the forms groups.
of allied agriculture, horticulture, tourism and
construction. Possibilities to develop skills to
take advantage of these diverse opportunities
resulting in better employment prospects and REFERENCES
enhanced wages need to be explored. It is also
important to improve and strengthen the exist- Deshingkar, P. (2006). Internal migration, poverty and
ing agricultural economy with the development development in Asia (Topic Paper 2, Asia 2015).
of irrigation for drought mitigation, conserva- Retrieved from www.asia2015conference.org
tive water management practices and the intro- Deshingkar, P. & Grimm, S. (2004). Voluntary internal
duction of more effective farming methods. migration: An update. Overseas Development Insti-
tute United Kingdom. Retrieved from https://www.
In relation to land ownership, land deeds
odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publica-
need to regularized and information about tions-opinion-files/70.pdf
MGNREGA should be available and adver- Hugo, G. (2005). Migration in the Asia-Pacific region. A
tised in the area so that people are aware of paper prepared for the Policy Analysis and Research
alternatives to migration. Tribal Department Programme of the Global Commission on Interna-
Schemes need to be simplified by making the tional Migration. National Centre for Social Applica-
process less onerous, user-friendly and modi- tions of GIS University of Adelaide. Retrieved from
fied to remove lengthy paper work to facilitate https://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/
and encourage better access. The beneficiaries shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/gcim/
rs/RS2.pdf
National Commission on Rural Labour. (1991). Report of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Govern-
the study group on migrant labour (Vol. II, Part II). ment of India.
New Delhi, India: Ministry of Labour, Government of Ping, H. (2003). China migration country study. Paper pre-
India. sented at the Regional Conference on Migration, Devel-
National Sample Survey Organization. (2010). Migration opment and Pro-Poor Policy Choices in Asia organized
in India (2007–2008). New Delhi, India: Ministry of by the Bangladesh Refugee and Migratory Movements
Research Unit, Bangladesh/DFID, UK, Dhaka.
PART V
Migration and
Gender
24
Gendered Spatialities*
Amrita Datta
INTRODUCTION for work has also substantially increased;

There has been a rapid increase in labour rural–urban commuting in India needs to
mobility in contemporary India. Large-scale be particularly located in the context of the
surveys as well as village studies across the decline of agriculture and the growing impor-
country report an upsurge in the incidence tance of non-farm economy in rural areas.
of out-migration from rural areas (Coffey, Based on National Sample Survey Office
Papp & Spears, 2017; Datta, 2016; Rai, 2018; (NSSO) data, Sharma and Chandrasekhar
Himanshu & Rodgers, 2016; Rajan, D'Sami (2014) estimate that there are 8 million rural-
& Raj, 2017; Roy, 2016; Schenk-Sandbergen, to-urban commuters in India. Therefore, rural
2018; Vartak, Tumbe & Bhide, 2019; workers access work in urban areas through
Zachariah & Rajan, 2016). These accounts both commuting and migration.
reveal that although migration streams may be In the context of this research, the migra-
differentiated based on their historical origins, tion project is essentially a family project.
regional, caste, class and gender attributes, The New Economics of Labour Migration
there has been a spatial reconfiguration of suggests that migration decisions are joint
work and employment in rural India. In par- decisions made by family members and medi-
ticular, migration has emerged as a significant ated by remittances (Stark, 1991). Livelihood
livelihood strategy among rural households. approaches emphasize migration as a house-
As these rural mobilities pave the way hold strategy of rural livelihood diversification
for new migration regimes, the discourse (Ellis, 1998). The migration project is also a
of ‘exclusionary urbanization’ suggests that gendered project. Recently released census
large cities are unable or unwilling to support data on migration shows that female migra-
poor rural migrants in urban areas (Kundu & tion for work has rapidly increased between
Saraswati, 2012). Simultaneously, commuting 2001 and 2011. At the same time, there is an
* This chapter is based on preliminary results of the study ‘Poverty, Migration and Development in Rural Bihar,
undertaken at the Institute for Human Development, and funded by the Indian Council of Social Science
Research. The author would like to thank Vikas Dubey for excellent research assistance.
endurance of masculinized migration streams and in turn, the opportunities that it may have
that remain embedded in specific social and to offer.
cultural contexts (Datta, 2016; Schenk- There are several methodological issues in
Sandbergen, 2018; Vartak et al., 2019). capturing spatialities of work. Conventional
Masculinized migration streams for work datasets do not permit a comprehensive map-
can have diverse ramifications for women who ping of the spatialities of work in rural India.
are left behind. On one hand, they can exacer- The NSS and the Census are the two main
bate the sexual division of labour—while men datasets used to study mobility, but they are
are away for work, the burden of domestic both limited in their scope as neither has a
duties and caregiving may further intensify for central focus on worker mobility. The NSS is
women. The absence of male household mem- primarily concerned with labour and employ-
bers from rural areas can also lead to women ment, while the Census data is concerned
working more in agriculture—a feminiza- about population attributes. Due to these
tion of agriculture. On the other hand, remit- conceptual constraints, these data sets inade-
tances that flow into the household can have quately capture worker mobility, and subse-
an income effect, facilitating women’s with- quently, the economic geography of work.
drawal from work. Elsewhere in India, village This chapter, based on preliminary results
studies document Dalit women ‘becoming of new data collected in 2016, maps gendered
housewives’ because of a substantial rise in spatialities of work in rural Bihar. It covers
earnings of male members of the household 12 representative villages in 7 districts and
(Heyer, 2015). Schenk-Sandbergen (2018) draws on a long-term study on socio- eco-
has argued that the intrusion of the patriar- nomic change in rural Bihar (Rodgers, Datta,
chal ‘good woman’ ideology causes dramatic Rodgers, Mishra & Sharma, 2013; Rodgers,
defeminization of agriculture wage labour. Mishra & Sharma, 2016 for details). Earlier
In the source regions, where research for this work has found that structural transforma-
chapter is based, there is evidence of both the tion in Bihar has been based on rising real
scenarios discussed above. In particular, we income and increasing agricultural produc-
find a peculiar kind of gendered sanskritiza- tivity. Yet, there has been little diversification
tion at play where lower caste women aspire to in terms of cropping pattern or occupations
and are able to transcend to domesticity from (Sharma & Rodgers, 2015). At the same
certain kinds of paid work (Datta & Mishra, time, local village-level development paths
2011; Datta & Rustagi, 2012). can be diverse. There may be wide variations
Globally, notwithstanding the decline of in the relative roles of agriculture and non-
agriculture in the rural areas, there has been a agriculture and migration and commuting
renewed interest in agricultural development. (Datta, Rodgers, Rodgers & Singh, 2014).
At the same time, a growing body of litera- Incomes from local non-agricultural work and
ture maps diverse spatialities of rural house- remittances have emerged to be very impor-
holds and focuses on how gender relations tant, signifying a decline of agricultural in the
shape and are in turn shaped by migration rural areas (Datta, 2016). Earlier work also
(Wiggins, 2016). In masculinized migration records shift of migration from rural to urban
streams, such as the one discussed in this destinations and to new destinations across
chapter, migration is viewed as a prerogative India—particularly in the southern states
of men and considered pejorative for women. (Rodgers et al., 2013).
Such normative discourses shape a gendered As with most large-scale data collection
migration regime where cultural norms dic- exercises, the surveys until now primarily
tate that women should not migrate for work. collected information on work and employ-
Thus, only men (are able to) access mobility, ment. Information on migration and residen-
tial status of individuals was of secondary
Gendered Spatialities 333
importance. For instance, earlier surveys 2. Resident II (RII): Individuals residing in the vil-
(1998–1999 and 2009–2011) recorded up to lage and engaged in both primary and secondary
three work statuses, but only one residential work. These resident workers ordinarily resided in
status of household members. In case of indi- the village for at least seven months (at least six
months for primary work and at least one month
viduals with secondary work, it was not always
for secondary work) in the 12 months preceding
clear what work was being done where. To the survey.
understand this better, it became imperative to 3. Migrant I (MI): Individual workers primarily resid-
collect multiple residential statuses of individ- ing in the village and secondarily residing outside
uals. The new data (2016) on which this chap- the village. These individuals work, both in their
ter is based does precisely this. It records two resident and migrant capacities. In the 12 months
distinct work and residential statuses of every preceding the survey, they ordinarily resided in the
individual covered in the survey. By focusing village for six months or more and outside the vil-
foremost on residential status—the space and lage for at least one month.
place where the work is done—the chapter 4. Migrant II (MII): Individual workers primarily resid-
formulates six typologies of workers to better ing outside the village and secondarily residing in
the village. These individuals work, both in their
understand the spatialities of work in rural
migrant and resident capacities. In the 12 months
Bihar. A disaggregated analysis of workers by preceding the survey, they ordinarily resided out-
space contributes to the understanding of the side the village for six months or more and in the
economic geography of work and its impli- village for at least one month.
cations on growth and development in Bihar, 5. Migrant III (MIII): Individuals residing outside the
and in turn, India. village and engaged in both primary and second-
This chapter is organized as follows. Post ary work. Each work (primary and secondary) may
this introduction, the second section introduces be at different locations. In the 12 months preced-
the six typologies of workers used to map ing the survey, these migrant workers ordinarily
spatialities. The third section discusses each resided outside the village for at least six months
worker typology in detail, with an emphasis or more while undertaking primary work, and an
additional one month or more while undertaking
on the gendered nature of space and work. The
secondary work.
fourth section concludes with implications of 6. Migrant IV (MIV): Individuals residing outside the
these spatialities for Bihar and India. village and engaged only in primary work. These
migrant workers do not undertake any secondary
work. They ordinarily resided outside the village for
a period of at least six months in the 12 months
WORKER TYPOLOGIES preceding the survey.
This section discusses the six typologies of

workers based on residential status used in Table 24.1 Distribution of Six Typologies of
this chapter (see Table 24.1 for details). These Workers by Sex (%), Age 15–64 Years
typologies are mutually exclusive and cover Males Females Total
all possibilities of work that resident and Resident I 24.2 12.9 20.6
migrant workers may undertake. The attempt Resident II 26.7 84.2 44.9
here is to capture the diverse spatialities of Migrant I 3.9 1.3 3.1
work done by men and women in rural Bihar.
Migrant II 11.5 0.6 8.1
Migrant III 0.9 0.1 0.6
1. Resident I (RI): Individuals residing in the village and
Migrant IV 32.8 0.9 22.7
engaged only in primary work. These resident work-
ers do not undertake any secondary work. They ordi- Total 100 100 100 (N = 3,865)
narily resided in the village for a period of at least Source: Household Survey (2016).
six months in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Table 24.1 presents the distribution of workers restricted within the village. For female work-
in the six aforementioned typologies, by sex. ers in particular, being in the village and work-
It is evident that male workers are more evenly ing in agriculture forms a cycle, their spatial
dispersed across the various worker typolo- immobility means that they work predomi-
gies compared to female workers, whose dis- nantly in agriculture and allied activities in
tribution is unevenly skewed towards Resident and around the village. Thus, the simultaneous
II. Overall, it is evident that Resident II is the processes of feminization of agriculture and
most common worker typology, followed by agriculturalization of the female workforce
Migrant IV. However, when the figures are are at play.
disaggregated by sex, we get a polarized pic- The next two typologies of workers are
ture, for male workers, Migrant IV is the most those of migrants whose work is interspersed
common worker typology, while for female between the local economy (in or around the
workers, it is Resident II. Overall, it is evident village) and away. For workers with more
that work undertaken by residents, particu- than one work status, a primary migrant status
larly Resident II is feminized, while that of (MII) is more common than a secondary
migrants—Migrant IV—is highly masculin- migrant status (MI). In other words, among
ized. Additionally, while a majority of female workers who combine work at home and away,
workers combine multiple work statuses, pre- far more workers rely more on (migrant) work
dominantly in agriculture and allied activities, outside the village. For these workers, spa-
to eke out a livelihood within the village, male tially, a foothold in the village complements a
workers, most commonly, participate in stable primary work status outside the village.
long-distance migration with a singular work Lastly, the least common typology is that
status and have a diversified occupational of migrants who have more than one work
profile. status (MIII). The low incidence of workers
The contrast between typology II and in this typology suggests that there are limits
typology VI is even more striking when we to worker mobility. The oft-popular image
compare the average household incomes of of a rural migrant worker—footloose and
these two worker typologies. Households hyper mobile, constantly wandering from one
where women combine multiple work sta- place to another—is not backed by empirical
tuses report substantially lower total income,
while households where men participate in Table 24.2 Distribution of Primary Work
long-distance migration with a singular work Status by Sex for RI Workers (%), Age 15–64
status have a much higher overall income. Years
These divergent outcomes, by way of income Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
for the most common work statuses for men
Employer 0.3 0 0.3
and women, are striking in their own right
Own account worker 45.2 31 42.4
and throw light on the gendered spatialities of
(self-employed)
work and income.
Regular wage private 6.9 7 6.9
The next most common worker typology is (salaried)
that of residents with no secondary work status Regular wage government 4.4 8.9 5.3
(RI). In this typology, male workers are less (salaried)
likely to report a secondary work status com- Casual wage labour 29.3 40.5 31.5
pared with female workers (see Table 24.2), Piece-rate/contractual 2.7 3.8 2.9
both as residents and as migrants (RII, MIII, Unpaid family labour 5.2 8.9 5.9
RI and MIV). Individuals reporting multiple Unemployed 6.1 0 4.9
work statuses tend to be associated with work Total 100 100 100
in agriculture, which is low-paid and remains Source: Household Survey (2016).
evidence. Instead, the data suggests that indi- status, when the figures are disaggregated by
vidual migration trajectories are relatively sex, men are more likely to be own account
long-term and stable, and migrants largely workers while women are casual labourers (see
work in secondary and tertiary sectors in Table 24.2). Similarly, females are more likely
urban areas across the country. to be unpaid family workers than men are.
These typologies are crudely demarcated Overall, a small but significant proportion
by space and time. As we move from typol- of workers are engaged in salaried work. It
ogy I to typology VI, in principle, there is a is interesting to note that the proportion of
movement away from the village. In migrant females in salaried jobs is higher than that
worker typologies MI to MIV, data reveals of men, and this is highly pronounced in
that as we move from typology III to typology the case of salaried jobs in the public sector
VI, the intensity of migration increases, that (Table 24.2). The high incidence of women in
is, the overall duration of migration increases, public employment vis-à-vis men should not
and the distance travelled from the village for come as a surprise for two reasons. First, in a
work also increases. In other words, a typol- cultural context of male mobility and female
ogy VI worker is one who has moved farthest immobility, educated women form an impor-
away from the village spatially and spends the tant part of the labour supply for local regular
maximum time away from the village, among jobs in rural Bihar. Second, it is now accept-
all worker typologies. In sum, these worker able for women from higher castes to work in
typologies throw light on the gendered and ‘respectable service professions’, particularly
spatial labour market and help us understand in education and health. Together, the cultural
better some aspects of the economic geogra- context of low female mobility and the supply
phy of rural Bihar. of jobs in gendered occupations in education
(as teachers and aanganwadi workers) and
healthcare (as ASHAs and ANMs[Accredited
Social Health Activist and Auxiliary Nurse
GENDERED SPATIALITIES OF WORK MidWife]) have culminated in a situation
where a greater proportion of women may be
Resident Workers in local public employment than men.
What about the resident workers’ place of
Resident I work? For an overwhelming majority of both
This first typology is of those resident work- resident male and female workers, the village
ers who are engaged only in primary work and is the site of work. Having said that, resident
do not report a secondary occupation. Overall, male workers are more likely to work outside
about one-fifth of all workers belong to this the village as well as in an urban location,
typology. Survey results reveal that their work vis-à-vis female resident workers. In other
is predominantly located in the village and is words, male workers are more geographically
overwhelmingly concentrated in agriculture dispersed than female workers who tend to
and allied activities.1 This is even more so for remain concentrated within the village.
women than men. What about the work status Villages that are in proximity of urban cen-
of this typology of workers? Overall, 42 per tres tend to have a higher percentage of resi-
cent workers are self-employed, followed by dents who commute for work. Simultaneously,
32 per cent casual wage labourers. However, the incidence of long-distance migration is
there is a clear gendered hierarchy in work relatively low in these villages. This suggests
1
Beyond agriculture and allied activities, construction work is an important occupation for male workers, and
tailoring, for female workers.
that work opportunities near home may deter Table 24.4 Distribution of Secondary Work
workers from undertaking long-distance Status by Sex for RII Workers (%), Age 15–64
migration for work, thus lending support to Years
the hypothesis that commuting may be a sub- Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
stitute for long-distance migration.
Employer 0.5 0.2 0.3
Own account worker 66.8 58.8 62.6
(self-employed)
Resident II Regular wage private 0.2 0.2 0.2
(salaried)
This is the most common worker typology— Regular wage government 0 0.2 0.1
residents who undertake both primary and (salaried)
secondary work—and as discussed earlier, an Casual wage labour 31.4 40.1 35.9
overwhelming majority of female workers are Piece-rate/Contractual 1.2 0.6 0.9
concentrated in this worker typology. In terms Total 100 100 100
of both primary and secondary work, men are
Source: Household Survey (2016).
more likely to be self-employed while women
are more likely to be casual labourers (see
Tables 24.3 and 24.4). Women are also more men and women. This turn towards animal
likely to be unpaid family workers and less husbandry is likely to reflect the disguised
likely to be employers. These gendered hier- unemployment and lack of other productive
archies in work status are evident in the data. employment options in the rural areas rather
While agricultural work dominates both than a major thrust in livestock cultivation
primary and secondary work statuses of men per se.
and women, it is of relatively less importance We find thus, in this worker typology, that
for men as they report a somewhat more individuals most commonly combine own
diverse occupational profile than women do. account work and wage work in agriculture and
Having said that, animal husbandry emerges allied activities. While a majority of workers
as a critical secondary occupation for both work within the village, a significant minority
of men work outside the village, in both rural
and urban areas. Men are able to commute
Table 24.3 Distribution of Primary Work for work, and thus are more likely to under-
Status by Sex for RII Workers (%), Age 15–64 take work in nearby towns and urban areas if
Years that option is available. For almost all women,
Work/Labour Status Males Females Total work remains restricted within the boundaries
Employer 1 0.3 0.7
of the village. A disaggregation of this worker
Own account worker 49.8 26.8 40.7
category by sex presents clear evidence of
(self-employed) female immobility (Tables 24.5 and 24.6).
Regular wage private 2 2 2 An important question that emerges is that
(salaried) do individuals undertake multiple livelihoods
Regular wage government 1.1 3.5 2.1 by choice or necessity? A comparison of aver-
(salaried) age income in each of these resident catego-
Casual wage labour 38.9 51.4 43.8 ries suggests that multiple works undertaken
Piece-rate/Contractual 2 2.3 2.1 by the same individual are not associated with
Unpaid family labour 5.3 13.8 8.6 higher household incomes. Conversely, a sin-
Total 100 100 100 gular work status tends to be indicative of both
stable work, and subsequently, higher income
for the household.
Migrant Workers Table 24.6 Distribution of Secondary Work

Status by Sex for MI Workers (%), Age 15–64
Among migrants, there are four worker typol- Years
ogies. As mentioned in the section ‘Worker
Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
Typologies’, two distinct work and residen-
tial statuses were collected for all individ- Employer 2 16.7 3.5
uals covered in the survey. Disaggregating Own account worker 8.8 25 10.5
(self-employed)
migrant workers’ residence by primary and
secondary status helped us better understand Regular wage private 7.8 33.3 10.5
(salaried)
what work was being done and where. These
Casual wage labour 79.4 25 73.7
hitherto unexplored spatialities helped in
Piece-rate/Contractual 2 0 1.8
better understanding the geographies of work
Total 100 100 100
of rural Bihari workers within and beyond
rural Bihar. Source: Household Survey (2016).
Migrant I and Migrant II Table 24.7 Distribution of Primary Work

Status by Sex for MII Workers (%), Age 15–64
These workers undertake work both within Years
and outside the village, and it is the Migrant II
typology that is more common than Migrant I. Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
This implies that migrant workers who com- Own account worker 2.7 0 2.6
bine work within and outside the village are (self-employed)
more likely to be migrants in their primary Regular wage private 13.3 0 13.1
residential status. The very small number of (salaried)
women in these migrant worker typologies Regular wage government 0 40 0.7
(salaried)
does not merit a gender-disaggregated discus-
Casual wage labour 77.7 40 77
sion on work status, occupation and place of
Piece-rate/Contractual 6.3 0 6.2
work.
Unpaid family labour 0 20 0.3
The distribution of primary and secondary
Total 100 100 100
work status of MI and MII workers is pre-
sented in Tables 24.5 and 24.6, and Tables 24.7 Source: Household Survey (2016).
and 24.8, respectively. A typical MI worker
combines own account work in agriculture work from a slightly more diversified occu-
(primary work status) in the village and wage pational profile outside the village (second-
ary work status). A typical MII worker, on
Table 24.5 Distribution of Primary Work the other hand, undertakes casual labour in
Status by Sex for MI Workers (%), Age 15–64 a non-agricultural occupation (primary work
Years status) outside the village as well as own
account work in agriculture (secondary work
Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
status) in the village (Tables 24.7 and 24.8).
Own account worker 22.5 18.2 22.1 Thus, both MI and MII workers differ from
(self-employed)
one another because of the distance and dura-
Casual wage labour 74.5 36.4 70.8 tion of migration. Workers from MII typol-
Piece-rate/Contractual 1 0 0.9 ogy travel farther off and are away from the
Unpaid family labour 2 45.5 6.2 village for a longer time than those from MI.
Total 100 100 100 In addition, workers from MII typology are
Source: Household Survey (2016). more likely to be engaged in work outside the
Table 24.8 Distribution of Secondary Work Table 24.9 Distribution of Primary Work
Status by Sex for MII Workers (%), Age 15–64 Status by Sex for MIII Workers (%), Age 15–64
Years Years
Work/Labour Status Males Females Total Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
Own account worker 39.3 0 39 Own account worker 9.1 0 8.7
(self-employed) (self-employed)
Casual wage labour 57.9 100 58.2 Regular wage private 31.8 100 34.8
Piece-rate/Contractual 2.8 0 2.8 (salaried)
Total 100 100 100 Casual wage labour 59.1 0 56.5
Total 100 100 100
Source: Household Survey, 2016.
agricultural sector, such as construction, and
more likely to be in urban areas than those from Table 24.10 Distribution of Secondary Work
MI. Yet, workers in both typologies typically Status by Sex for MIII Workers (%), Age 15–64
Years
belong to peasant households whose members
traverse agricultural and non-agricultural work Work/Labour Status Males Females Total
within and outside the village. It is worthwhile Employer 5.3 0 5.3
to reiterate here that the disaggregation of pri- Own account worker 36.8 0 36.8
mary and secondary work by a primary and (self-employed)
secondary residential status permits us to map Regular wage private 10.5 0 10.5
the differential migration trajectories of MI (salaried)
and MII workers—something that is not pos- Casual wage labour 47.4 0 47.4
sible with conventional survey data. Total 100 0 100
Migrant III Thus, while mobility is a key marker of

Bihar’s rural workforce, this typology shows
This third worker typology comprises migrant
that there are both spatial and temporal limits
workers who have a primary and secondary
to workers’ mobility. I have argued elsewhere
occupation outside of the village. Survey
that they are bound by both economic and
results reveal that this is the least common
emotional logic (Datta, 2018). Survey results
worker typology, and the small number of
thus suggest that migrant workers are not vag-
workers in this typology does not merit a
abonds. They have links with specific destina-
detailed discussion on their work status, occu-
tions, and their migration trajectories tend to
pation and place of work. Having said that,
be stable over time.
workers of this typology are most likely to
report casual work as their primary and sec-
ondary work status (see Tables 24.9 and 24.10).
The average household incomes of workers in Migrant IV
this typology are considerably lower than of
This final worker typology, where individual
those in the final typology (migrant workers
migrants report a single work status, is the
who do not report a secondary occupation,
predominant worker typology for rural Bihari
discussed in the next subsection). This sug-
men. The most masculine of all the six worker
gests that MIII workers are worse off than
typologies, it is characterized by long-distance
MIV workers, and livelihoods characterized
migration. Migrant IV workers travel the far-
by multiple spatialities signal work precarity.
thest distances for work and stay away for the
Table 24.11 Distribution of Primary Work village production and the local labour market
Status by Sex for MIV Workers (%), Age 15–64 in rural Bihar.2
Years MIV workers have the highest average
Work/Labour Status Males Females Total household income among all worker typolo-
gies. This migration pathway is broad-based
Own account worker 3.7 0 3.6
(self-employed) and accessed by workers across the caste
Regular wage 46.5 27.3 46.3 and class spectrum. Long-term association
private(salaried) with long-distance migration enables upward
Regular wage government 7.5 27.3 7.8 mobility, particularly for lower and backward
(salaried) castes. This has implications, not only on
Casual wage labour 37.5 45.5 37.6 individual and household decisions related to
Piece-rate/Contractual 3.9 0 3.9 questions such as whether to migrate (or not)
Unpaid family labour 0.2 0 0.2 but also where to migrate.
Unemployed 0.6 0 0.6
Total 100 100 100

CONCLUSION
longest durations among all workers. A major- This chapter used preliminary results of new
ity of this work is in urban areas, far away data from rural Bihar to explore the diverse
from the village. The time-space dynamics spatialities of work. It formulated six typol-
of Migrant IV has both gendered and cultural ogies of workers based on an individual’s
implications. Cultural norms restrict female location of work. By focusing foremost on
mobility and women are excluded, de facto, the location of work—the space and place of
from this migration stream. work—for both primary and secondary work
The most stable among all worker typol- statuses, the chapter is able to capture worker
ogies, Migrant IV is characterized by regu- mobilities that are often excluded from large-
lar wage work, closely followed by casual scale surveys. In addition, a disaggregated
work (see Table 24.11). Workers herein have analysis of worker mobility by sex contributes
a diversified occupational profile dominated an understanding of the gendered economic
by non-agricultural work. At the same time, geography of work.
almost a quarter of all MIV workers work in The findings from this study have impli-
the construction sector, which is characterized cations for both Bihar and India. It is evident
by hard, backbreaking work. The nature of that work away from the village sustains a
work undertaken by MIV workers responds to substantial number of rural households and is
the service-oriented economy in urban India associated with higher household incomes—
where occupations themselves are masculin- because of both migration and commuting.
ized and often in the informal sector (secu- Villages that are located in proximity to urban
rity guards, driver, repair mechanic, mason, towns, where workers have access to diverse
welder, textile workers and workers in res- non-agricultural work, tend to have lower
taurants and dhaba). Yet, access to this stable migration rates. This suggests that workers
work in distant urban labour markets means may substitute migration with commuting
that a considerable proportion of rural male when there is a supply of decent jobs in the
workers disengage and remain delinked from non-agricultural sector in the local economy.
2
About one-third of all male workers are migrants who report only a primary work status, indicating some sort
of work stability at destination.
This study shows access to work outside the urbanization and development projects,
of agriculture and outside the village remains while retaining strong rural ties and eventu-
restricted mostly to men. The spatial disag- ally returning to the village after spending the
gregation of work undertaken by sex shows majority of their working lives in urban areas.
that women are far less likely to commute or What implications does this have for policy?
migrate for work. This has led to feminization There is a need for synergies between rural
of agriculture and agriculturalization of the and urban programmes and policies that are
female workforce in the village. In a labour mostly designed and executed in silo. There is
market that rewards mobility, women stand a need to better address a context of high indi-
doubly disadvantaged. Their spatial immobil- vidual mobility that is accompanied by house-
ity means that they remain stuck in low-paid hold immobility, as detailed in this chapter.
agricultural jobs and are unable to access Thus, interventions that provide an impetus
work outside the village. Often, they combine to the local non-farm sector in the rural econ-
a variety of work in agriculture to make ends omy as well as those that improve migrants’
meet, but overall, they work less and earn less conditions of work and life in urban areas are
than men do. both critical in addressing the diverse rural and
On the other hand, male mobility facilitated urban spatialities of workers in contemporary
by long-distance migration and short-distance India.
commuting allows men to access a diversified
occupational profile in non-agricultural work.
Thus, the labour market is clearly segmented
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25
Unexplored Facets of
Female Migration
Jajati K. Parida
S. Madheswaran
INTRODUCTION normally perform a wide range of household

and other activities to optimize their family
Studies on female migration in India, by income, expenditure and overall welfare
and large, conclude that women migra- over the years. It is therefore expected that
tion is driven by marriage and associated the role and importance of women within the
reasons (Kundu & Gupta, 1996; Mitra & family increase with their increasing duration
Murayama, 2009; Parida & Madheswaran, of migration (or marriage). The increasing
2011; Premi, 1980; Singh, 1986; Srivastava, importance and role has direct implications
1998, 2011; Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). on their decision to participate in the labour
Recently, a few other studies (Banerjee & market.
Raju, 2009; Mahapatro, 2010; Mazumdar, The major objectives of this chapter are to
Neetha & Agnihotri, 2013; Shanthi, 2006; examine the post-marriage employment status
Sundari, 2005) have highlighted the issue of migrant women and to explore the fac-
of employment- driven female migration. tors determining their post-migration (during
Although these studies raised the issue of post-marriage periods) labour force partici-
growing importance of employment-related pation (LFP) decision in India. Since female
migration in the cities and towns, they mostly migrants constitute about 70 per cent (Census,
concluded that marriage-migration still con- 2011) of total internal migration in India and
stitutes a major share. Hitherto, there is a in a context where the overall female LFP
dearth of studies examining the post-marriage rate (LFPR) has been declining to a very
employment status of migrant women in India. low level (Mehrotra & Parida, 2017), this
In a complex, socio-economically diverse study is very important. As social status and
and multicultural society like India, women households’ standards of living have negative
Unexplored Facets of Female Migration 343
implications on the work participation behav- representative. Apart from migration infor-
iour of women in India (Mehrotra & Parida, mation, data on employment, unemployment
2017), we hypothesize that migrant women and various other socio-economic and demo-
belonging to economically lower and socially graphic characteristics of household members
backward classes are more likely to partic- are collected in the NSS rounds.
ipate in the labour market to optimize their A similar definition of migration is used
family income. Furthermore, we expect that in both the census and NSS data. A woman,
their workforce participation rate rises with whose usual place of residence (normally, last
their increasing duration of migration as the place of residence within a duration of six
duration of migration can be an indicator of months and more) is different from her cur-
their changing importance within family, and rent place of enumeration, is considered as
hence, their household responsibility. a migrant. The information on employment
This chapter is organized into five sections.status of migrant women is taken from NSS
In the second section, we explain the data and data, which is based on both the usual2 princi-
methodology. In the third section, we look pal and subsidiary status of their employment.
at the trends, patterns of women migration Information on various demographic and
and their LFP scenario in India. In the fourth socio-economic characteristics, including age,
section, we explain the factors determin- sex, marital status, family size, social groups,
ing migrant women’s LFP decision in India. religion, households’ monthly per capita
Finally, in the last section, we conclude the expenditure (MPCE) and earning/wages, is
chapter with a discussion on policy measures. taken from NSS unit data to estimate the LFP
decision.
To find the individual and household level
factors that determine migrant women’s LFP
ON DATA AND METHODS decision, we estimated the female LFP func-
tion. Because the dependent variable is dichot-
This chapter is based on secondary data. The omous, that is it assumes value one for LFP
major sources of secondary data include the and zero otherwise, and we have a very large
population Census of India and the migration- sample, probit regression was an appropri-
specific surveys of the National Sample Survey ate choice. The estimated results and related
Organization (NSSO). Migration data from discussions are presented in section four (see
the 1971 Census onwards have been used. Table 25.8).
Because population census provides only
aggregate-level migration data, the micro-
level investigation on the LFP behaviour of
migrant women was done using data from FACTS OF FEMALE MIGRATION IN
various rounds of National Sample Survey INDIA
(NSS).1 The sampling design used in the NSS
rounds is a multistage stratified random sam- The overall migration trend in India is on the
pling, and hence, is considered scientific. The rise, mostly driven by female migration. While
sample sizes of the NSS rounds are also quite total internal migration increased from about
1
NSS unit level data for the years 1983 (38th round), 1987–1988 (43rd round), 1993 (49th round), 1990–2000
(55th round), 2007–2008 (64th round) are used.
2
Principal status of a person is that in which a person is engaged during most of the time in a given year (nor-
mally, it is more than 180 days). Whereas, the subsidiary status refers to the activity status in which a person is
engaged during a negligible period (normally, more than 30 days) apart from his or her principal activity status.
Normally, employment status is determined by considering both principal and subsidiary status together.
Panel A: Absolute Number of Migrants (million)

Male+Female Male Female
500 453.6
Migrants (Million)
400
309.4
300 312.7
201.6 225.9
200 159.6 218.7
142.4 140.9
164.8
100 110
49.6 59.2 61.1 90.7
0
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Year
Panel B: Migrants as a Percentage of Total Population

Male+Female Male Female
60.0 53.2
50.0 41.7 43.2 44.0
40.5 37.5
Migrants (%)
40.0 29.5 30.1

29.1 26.7
30.0 22.6
17.5 16.8 13.9 17.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Year
Panel C: Share of Migrants by Sex (%)

Male Female
70.6 73.0 70.7

80.0 68.9 68.9
Share of Migrants (%)
60.0
40.0 31.1 29.4 27.0 29.3 31.1
20.0
0.0
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Year
Figure 25.1 Migration Trends in India, 1983–2008

Source: Authors’ estimation based on population census and migration data, 1971–2011.
157 million in 1971 to about 454 million in C). Moreover, the percentage of migrants in
2011, female migration alone increased from the total population also increased from 29.1
110 million to 312.7 million during the same per cent to 37.5 per cent from 1971 to 2011
period (see Figure 25.1, Panel A). Females (see Figure 25.1, Panel B). In case of women
constitute about 70 per cent of the total inter- migration, it rose from about 42 per cent to
nal migration in India (see Figure 25.1, Panel 53.2 per cent, while in case of male migration,
it increased from 17.5 per cent to 22.6 per cent they migrated to take up gainful employment.
(see Figure 25.1, Panel B). Although there is a slight difference in the per-
Although growth rate of male migra- centage of female-reported employment-led
tion has surpassed the annual growth rate of migration in rural and urban areas, the fact
female migration in recent years, in term of remains alike.
absolute numbers, female migration still holds However, it is important to note that even
a major share in India. The overall annual though a number of women participate in the
growth of total migration increased from a low labour market and contribute to their family
2.6 per cent (during 1971 and 1981) to very income, they tend to report marriage as their
high levels of 3.7 per cent and 4.7 per cent reason for migration. This is due to the exist-
per annum, respectively, during 1991–2001 ing social norms in India. Females normally
and 2001–2011. The annual growth rate of migrate to their in-laws’ house after marriage,
female migration during these periods (1971 and hence, they tend to report marriage migra-
and 2011) increased from 2.9 per cent to 4.3 tion even though they immediately take up
per cent, whereas the growth rate of male jobs and live with their spouse during their
migration increased from 1.9 per cent to 5.5 post-marriage periods.
per cent. Moreover, it is important to note that a large
Indian economy is in a transition phase and percentage of women who report marriage
it is experiencing structural transformation, migration are found to be engaged in various
with growing mechanization in agriculture, gainful occupations (see Table 25.1). Hence, it
and thereby, falling agricultural employ- can be stated that the reason ‘marriage’ often
ment (Mehrotra, Parida, Sinha & Gandhi, suppresses employment related migration in
2014). The growth of demand for non-farm India. As a result, the share of females who
sector workers (Mehrotra & Parida, 2017), report ‘employment’ as the reason for their
on the other hand, could be responsible for migration is quite low in India.
enhancing rural-to-urban migration in India, To explore this phenomenon further, we
particularly male migration. This increased examined the employment status of women
male out-migration has positive implications who reported marriage as their reason for
on women’s work participation behaviour in migration. We found that most of these women
India (Jetley, 1987). are in the labour force (see Table 25.1). We
found that about half of the female migrants,
who reported marriage as their reason for
migration, were in the labour force during
Reasons for Female Migration and
2007–2008.3 We also observed that female
Their Employment Status in India
migrants’ LFPR has gradually increased since
Following the traditional and cultural norms, 1983 from a low (about 36%) to a very high
women in India normally shift their residence (about 50%) level.
at the time of their marriage. A large share of Moreover, a sectorwise comparison of
females in the migration stream reflect this employment status of migrant women (those
(see Figure 25.2). The next major reason for who reported marriage as the reason) revealed
female migration in India is associational. that the LFPR of rural women was higher
This is because they often migrate with the (55% during 2007–2008) than that of their
breadwinner of their family. Only about 2 urban counterparts (only about 22% during
per cent of the female migrants report that 2007–2008). Nevertheless, in both rural and
3
2007–2008 Migration-specific survey data is the most recent employment data available for migrant workers
in India.
Rural Area 1983

100 92 1987–88
88 89
84 86 1993
80 1999–00
2007–08
60
40
20
9 8 7 6 4 5 5 3 3 3
2 1 2 1 1 0.3 0.3 0 0 0
0
Employment Education Marriage With family Others
Urban Area
1983
80
1987–88
58 59 61 1993
60 1999–00
50 53
2007–08
40 37
33 33 31
29
20
5 7 8 6
4 3 3 3 5 4
1 2 2 1 2
0
Rural + Urban Area

1983
100
1987–88
81 81 85 1993
80 76 79
1999–00
2007–08
60
40
20 15 13 13 12
10
3 2 2 2 2 6 5 3 4 3
1 1 1 1 1
0
Figure 25.2 Reasons for Female Migration in India (Figures in %)

Source: Authors’ estimation based on NSS unit data various rounds.
urban areas, the LFPR of married migrant of them are engaged as regular salaried workers
women rose from 1983 to 2007–2008 (see (1.7% during 2007–2008). Although in urban
Table 25.1). areas, the share of regular employment (about
A comparison of types of employment of 4.5% during 2007–2008) was higher than that
the migrant women (those who reported mar- in rural areas (about 1.1% during 2007–2008),
riage migration) revealed that most of them are it was still quite low (see Table 25.1). This high
either self-employed (30% during 2007–2008) share of casual labour and self-employment
or engaged in casual labour (about 18% during partly show the poor quality of employment
2007–2008), and quite a negligible percentage that they are engaged in.
Table 25.1 Employment Status of Women Migrants Who Reported Marriage Migration,
1983–2008
Years
Employment Status (UPSS) 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
Self-employed 22.8 24.54 30.5 29.8 33.6
Regular salaried job 0.9 1.2 1.2 0.9 1.1
Casual labour 15.6 14.75 18.1 17.4 20.4
Seeking for work 0.2 1.22 0.1 0.2 0.2
Subtotal (labour force) 39.5 41.71 49.8 48.3 55.3
Attending domestic duties 54.1 52.93 46.1 45.7 41
Others 6.4 5.35 4.1 6.1 3.8
Urban areas
Self-employed 8.3 7.7 9.2 10.6 12.1
Casual labour 5.3 4.5 5.5 4.5 5.1
Seeking for work 0.5 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.3
Subtotal (labour force) 18.3 16.7 18.4 19.7 22
Attending domestic duties 76.7 78.7 78.0 74.4 73.8
Others 5.1 4.7 3.6 6 4.2
Rural + Urban areas
Self-employed 20.5 22.0 26.9 26.4 30
Casual labour 13.9 13.2 16.0 15.1 17.9
Seeking for work 0.3 1.1 0.1 0.2 0.2
Subtotal (labour force) 36.2 38.0 44.6 43.2 49.8
Attending domestic duties 57.7 56.8 51.4 50.8 46.4
Others 6.2 5.2 4.0 6 3.9

Note: In employment status, ‘others’ includes those who do not work due to disability, rentiers, pensioners and other
reasons.
Duration of Female Migration and imperative to study the LFP behaviour of

Their Labour Force Participation migrant women who report marriage as the
reason of their migration.
During the post-marriage periods, women in It is important to note that as the duration
India often play various roles in their house- of migration increases, the LFPRs of female
holds. They not only do their household migrants also increase. About 30 per cent
responsibilities, such as cooking, taking care of the female migrants (out of those who
of domesticated animals, child rearing and reported marriage as the reason for migration)
elderly care, but also go out for productive, in India report that they joined the labour force
gainful and wage employment to shoulder within the first year of their migration (see
their spouse to increase the family income. Table 25.2). This low participation rate might
Particularly, survival in the lower rungs of the be due to the social constraints that female
income group is unimaginable without the migrants often face during the early periods
contribution of women. Therefore, it becomes in their in-laws’ house. In most Indian states,
Table 25.2 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Duration of Migration,
1983–2008
Labour Force Participation Rate (UPSS)
Duration of Migration 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
Less than 1 year 40.7 29.3 38.2 30.4 32.5
1–2 years 29.4 32.3 34.3 34.1 30.3
2–5 years 38.8 34.5 40.3 37.9 40.5
5 years and more 43.1 42.6 50.8 49.4 56.7
Total 38.4 40.8 48.5 46.9 53.9
Urban areas
Less than 1 year 0.0 13.1 12.3 12.2 16.2
1–2 years 14.2 11.3 13.1 14.4 15.9
2–5 years 17.6 12.3 12.7 14.3 15.9
5 years and more 14.1 18.3 19.7 20.9 22.7
Total 17.4 16.6 17.9 19.1 21.2
Rural + Urban areas
Less than 1 year 38.7 23.6 30.3 24.5 25.5
1–2 years 24.1 26.0 28.3 28.1 26.3
2–5 years 33.8 28.3 32.4 30.6 32.8
5 years and more 37.6 37.7 44.1 42.9 49.6
Total 33.4 35.4 41.4 40.0 46.4
Source: Authors’ estimation based on NSS unit data, various rounds.
females are normally not allowed to work the labour force or not, that is, they take time
immediately after their marriage due to either to be selected in to the labour market. Second,
cultural norms or social constraints. This is they are forced by the socio-economic con-
clearly reflected in Table 25.2. ditions of their households/family to join the
As the duration of migration increased from labour force, but they take time to breakdown
1 year to 2 years, the LFPR also increased from the socio-cultural barriers.
30 per cent to 36 per cent. The LFPRs among The type or nature of employment in
female migrants who reported 2–5 years dura- which female migrants are engaged in
tion was 39 per cent (see Table 25.2). About 48 clearly reveals this (see Table 25.3). During
per cent of the female migrants who reported 1999–2000, among women migrants with
5–20 years duration of migration participated a duration of migration less than one year,
in the labour force. About 53 per cent of the 19 per cent were self-employed, 0.8 per
female migrants who reported more than 10 cent worked as regular salaried workers, 10
years duration of migration participated in per cent worked as casual workers, 1.0 per
the labour force (see Table 25.2). Increasing cent remained unemployed but seeking for
LFPRs with increasing duration of migration jobs, 1.5 per cent were students and 66 per
partly imply women’s role and importance cent only attended domestic duties (or were
within their family. housewives). Similarly, in 2007–2008, 18 per
There can be two major reasons behind cent of the female migrants whose duration
the growing LFPR among married women of migration was one year and less, were
in India. First, female migrants take time to self-employed, 1.6 per cent worked as regular
decide and choose whether to participate in salaried workers, 9 per cent worked as casual
Table 25.3 Females Reporting Marriage-Migration by Their Duration of Migration and Employment Status, 1999–2008
Duration of Migration
1999–2000 2007–2008
Less than 10 years Less than 10 years
Employment Status (PS + SSa) 1 year 1–2 years 2–5 years 5–10 years and more 1 year 1–2 years 2–5 years 5–10 years and more
Self-employed 19.4 17.8 22.8 25.7 28.2 17.9 21.4 22.7 28.5 32.2
Regular salaried job 0.8 0.87 1.09 1.55 1.58 1.65 1.35 1.27 1.64 1.72
Casual labour 9.8 12.3 12.4 16.4 15.8 8.5 12.2 14.3 17.4 19.2
Subtotal (worker) 29.9 31.0 36.3 43.6 45.6 28.0 35.0 38.2 47.5 53.2
Seeking for work 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.1 1.3 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.04
Subtotal (labour force) 30.8 31.8 37 43.8 45.7 29.3 35.7 38.8 47.8 53.2
Attending education 1.4 0.9 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.7 0.8 0.4 0.2 0.1
Attending domestic duties 66.2 66.4 61.8 55.4 45.9 68.6 63.2 60.5 51.6 41.6
Others 1.7 1.0 0.9 0.6 8.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.5 5.1
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Author’s estimation based on various rounds of NSS unit data.

Note: PS, principal status; SS, subsidiary status.
workers, 1.3 per cent were unemployed, 2 per Labour Force Participation
cent were students and about 69 per cent were of Migrant Women by Their
housewives. Demographic and Socio-economic
As the duration of migration of women Groups
increased, not only did their LFPRs increase
but also the nature of their employment The age-wise distribution of female migrants’
changed. Both the percentage of self-employed LFPRs substantiates our argument fur-
and casual female workers increased with the ther. That is to say, with the increasing age
increasing duration of migration. Though the (along with increasing duration of migra-
percentage of regular salaried employment tion) of migrant women, they take up more
also increased with the increasing duration family responsibility, and hence their LFPR
of migration (or marriage), its share was increases. Moreover, the age-wise distribution
quite low (about 1.5% on the average) com- also reflects the true labour market features, as
pared with both casual employment and self- LFPR normally increases with increase in age,
employment (see Table 25.3). reaches a maximum and then starts declining
The percentage of female migrants with after a threshold age. We found that females
duration of migration less than one year, who with less than 15 years duration of migration
worked as casual labour, was about 10 per and in the age group 15–29 years had a rela-
cent during both 1999–2000 and 2007–2008 tively low LFPR. Similarly, women aged 60
(see Table 25.3). This share increased grad- years and above had a lower LFPR. However,
ually with increasing duration of migration, women in the age group 30–44 years had the
to reach the highest level when duration of highest LFPR (see Table 25.4). Furthermore,
migration increased to 10 years and more, to we observed a significant rural–urban differ-
15.8% during 1999–2000 and to 19.2% during ential in terms of migrant women’s LFPR in
2007–2008. India (see Table 25.4).
Similarly, the percentage of female migrants The social group-wise comparison of
with duration of migration less than one year, female migrants’ LFPR reveals that women
who were self-employed,4 was 19.4 per cent belonging to socially backward classes,
and about 18 per cent during 1999–2000 and including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled
2007–2008, respectively (see Table 25.3). This Tribes (STs) or Other Backward Classes
rate again increased with increasing duration (OBCs), have a relatively high LFPR com-
of migration, to reach its highest level when pared with the relatively advanced and upper
duration of migration increases to 10 years caste women (categorized as Others). We
and more, to 28.2% during 1999–2000 and to observed that women belonging to the ST cat-
32.2% during 2007–2008. egory had the highest LFPR in both rural and
This is a clear reflection of the fact that we urban India, followed by those belonging to
have already discussed at the beginning of SC and OBC categories (see Table 25.5). This
this section, that female migrants do a number is a clear reflection of the fact that women
of other activities, mostly related to wage belonging to Others category are restricted to
work and gainful employment, apart from enter the labour market by the existing com-
their household responsibilities, to maximize plex social norms and conditions in India.
their family income, and thereby, the overall Furthermore, we explored the role of stand-
welfare. ard of living on migrant women’s LFPR. It
4
As per NSS classification, self-employed consists of three major categories of employment, namely (1) employ-
ers, (2) own account workers who do not hire any workers and (3) household/family helpers or unpaid family
workers.
Table 25.4 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Their Age Group, 1983–2008
Age Group 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
Less than 15 years 35.4 9.4 6.4 5.2 3.1
15–29 years 39.4 40.4 47.2 44.0 46.4
30–44 years 42.3 49.7 57.8 58.2 64.5
45–59 years 26.1 43.9 54.4 52.5 60.9
60 years and above 12.6 19.0 26.6 22.9 30.8
Total 38.4 40.8 48.5 46.9 53.9
Urban areas
Less than 15 years 13.8 2.4 2.5 2.5 1.3
15–29 years 18.6 15.2 16.3 16.7 19.0
30–44 years 21.3 22.0 23.1 25.3 27.9
45–59 years 12.8 21.4 21.9 24.1 24.1
60 years and above 2.6 9.2 10.5 9.7 8.8
Total 17.4 16.5 17.9 19.1 21.1
Rural + Urban areas
Less than 15 years 30.0 6.3 4.7 3.9 2.2
15–29 years 35.0 35.1 40.4 37.8 40.3
30–44 years 32.7 43.6 49.5 50.0 56.5
45–59 years 19.7 39.5 47.6 46.0 52.8
60 years and above 8.1 17.1 23.3 20.0 26.0
Total 33.4 35.4 41.4 40.0 46.4
revealed that women belonging to economi- This is consistent with our findings in the
cally backward classes had a relatively high previous section (see Table 25.3) that a high
LFPR compared with women belonging to rel- share of migrant women workers are engaged
atively better-off households (see Table 25.6). as either casual labour or are self-employed
We observed a systemic decline of the LFPR but a negligible proportion of them are found
of migrant women when we moved from to be engaged as regular salaried workers. This
lower MPCE quintiles to relatively higher further signifies the role that women migrants
quintiles (see Table 25.6). This is true in both play in uplifting the standard of living of their
rural and urban areas. This reinforces the households. This aspect of female migration
fact that households’ standard of living has was often overlooked by the earlier female
a negative impact on female LFPR, which is migration studies in India, including stud-
as expected.5 Otherwise, it can be stated that ies like Premi (1980), Singh (1986), Kundu
household-level poverty plays an important and Gupta (1996), Srivastava (1998) and
role in determining migrant women’s LFPR. (2011), Srivastava and Sasikumar (2003),
5
For further details on this relationship, also see Klasen and Pieters (2012), Chaudhary and Verick (2014), Klasen
and Pieters (2015), Kapsos, Silberman and Bourmpoula (2014), Das, Chandra, Kochhar and Kumar (2015) and
Mehrotra and Parida (2017).
Table 25.5 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Their Social Group, 1983–2008
Social Group 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
ST 60.3 62.0 76.7 70.6 68.8
SC 42.8 44.9 53.2 51.1 57.6
OBC NA NA NA 47.0 55.0
Others 34.4 36.9 42.9 36.6 42.2
Total 38.4 40.8 48.5 46.6 53.9
Urban areas
ST 29.1 25.9 33.6 26.7 32.0
SC 24.4 24.1 24.1 28.1 26.4
Others 15.8 15.1 16.2 14.3 16.5
Total 17.4 16.5 17.9 19.1 21.1
Rural + Urban areas
ST 57.2 58.5 73.0 65.0 66.1
SC 39.7 41.9 48.5 47.2 52.4
Others 29.4 31.4 35.8 29.0 33.2
Total 33.4 35.4 41.4 39.8 46.4
Mitra and Murayama (2009) and Parida and with relatively high level of education and a
Madheswaran (2011). better standard of living are likely to either
Moreover, we examined the role of educa- take up high-paid regular salaried jobs or
tion level of migrant women on their LFPR mostly do their own businesses. Women with
(Table 25.7). Once again, it revealed the middle level of education are often found as
true labour market feature. Migrant women school-going young girls who normally do not
with very low level of education, includ- participate in the labour market. Many studies
ing illiterates and below primary level of (Hirway, 2012; Kannan & Raveendran, 2012;
education, had a relatively high LFPR, and Mehrotra et al., 2014; Mehrotra & Parida,
women with relatively higher level of educa- 2017; Rangarajan, Kaul & Seema, 2011)
tion, graduate and above level of education have attempted to understand why the over-
also had a relatively high LFPR. However, all female LFPR has declined to a very low
women with primary and secondary levels level in India in the recent years. These facts
(middle categories) had relatively low LFPR. together generate a ‘U-shape’ female migrant
This implies that female LFPR moves in a LFPR curve.
‘U-shape’ pattern when compared with the
level of education. This is again a true labour
market feature.
Determinants of Female Migrants’
This is because women with low level of
Labour Force Participation Decision
education and relatively high household pov-
erty normally participate in the low-wage While exploring the determinants of migrant
informal sector occupations, whereas women women’s LFP decision, we estimated a probit
Table 25.6 Trends of Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Their Economic
Group, 1983–2008
MPCE Quintiles 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
Quintile 1 47.2 48.8 52.4 50.0 56.1
Quintile 2 42.1 44.2 49.4 48.9 54.5
Quintile 3 39.5 40.1 49.7 45.9 54.6
Quintile 4 35.1 35.8 46.3 42.7 51.1
Quintile 5 30.0 33.1 39.4 37.2 48.1
Total 38.4 40.8 48.5 46.9 53.9
Urban areas
Quintile 1 27.6 29.0 26.7 19.8 33.1
Quintile 2 22.2 22.2 24.3 26.6 29.0
Quintile 3 21.6 17.6 21.2 22.6 26.5
Quintile 4 16.3 13.7 17.3 17.2 18.7
Quintile 5 14.4 14.1 14.1 15.6 16.9
Total 17.4 16.5 17.9 19.1 21.1
Rural + Urban areas
Quintile 1 45.1 47.8 50.0 43.8 54.8
Quintile 2 39.0 40.8 47.0 46.3 51.7
Quintile 3 36.4 34.9 44.7 41.6 49.7
Quintile 4 30.5 29.6 38.7 34.9 41.4
Quintile 5 23.8 26.5 24.5 25.0 29.5
Total 33.4 35.4 41.4 40.0 46.4
model (see Table 25.8). In the logarithm of significant with expected signs. Age has a pos-
MPCE, we found that it is negative and sta- itive sign, whereas its square term has a neg-
tistically significant. The negative sign of log ative sign (see Table 25.8). In other words, it
MPCE coefficient supports the theoretical can be stated that the probability that women
arguments that with increasing standard of migrants participate in the labour market
living, female migrants are less likely to par- increases with their age, but after a threshold
ticipate in the labour market to earn money or age, it is likely to decline. This might be due to
wages. It states that women migrants belong- aging and other related factors.
ing to relatively poor households are more Similarly, we found that currently married
likely to participate in the labour market to women are less likely to participate in the
support their family income. Moreover, the labour market compared with their unmarried
variable family size (as a proxy for number of counterparts. The coefficient of currently mar-
dependents in the family) has a positive influ- ried dummy variable is negative and statisti-
ence on migrant women’s decision to partici- cally significant. This is a clear reflection of
pate in the labour force. the complex social set-up of India, wherein
The most important demographic variables, currently married women are normally dis-
that is, age and its square term, are used as couraged from participating in the labour
proxy for labour market experiences. We found force due to family prestige issues and social
that both of these variables are statistically norms and traditions. However, women who
Table 25.7 Labour Force Participation Rate of Female Migrants by Their Level of Education,
1983–2008
General Education 1983 1987–1988 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
Rural areas
Illiterate 42.0 44.6 53.1 51.8 59.1
Below primary 25.0 27.1 40.2 37.9 48.8
Primary 21.6 24.9 33.5 36.0 47.8
Secondary 23.9 29.1 28.4 30.1 36.8
Graduate and above 36.1 36.9 37.5 44.5 39.8
Total 38.4 40.8 48.5 46.9 53.9
Urban areas
Illiterate 23.0 21.4 23.6 25.8 28.5
Below primary 10.1 9.6 13.8 13.2 19.3
Primary 8.6 8.6 10.8 12.9 17.4
Secondary 17.2 15.7 14.3 13.3 13.3
Total 17.4 16.5 17.9 19.1 21.1
Rural + Urban areas
Illiterate 39.1 41.4 49.0 48.0 55.1
Below primary 19.5 21.4 32.7 30.8 42.4
Primary 15.9 18.5 25.1 28.1 39.6
Secondary 19.3 20.6 20.1 20.9 25.5
Total 33.4 35.4 41.4 40.0 46.4
are either divorced or separated are more Moreover, negative coefficients of the edu-
likely to participate in the labour market com- cation dummies indicate that women with rela-
pared with the unmarried migrant women in tively higher levels of education are less likely
India. to participate in the labour market. This is con-
Although we did not get any statistically sistent with our findings in the previous sec-
significant coefficients for the duration of tion. As women migrants are mostly engaged
migration dummies, we used interaction in lower level occupations and low-paid infor-
dummy variables of marriage and duration of mal sector jobs, they do not require much
migration. All the coefficients of these inter- higher level of education. On the contrary,
action dummies were statistically significant women having higher level of education often
and had positive signs. This result is again as do not offer themselves to take up low-quality
expected. This reinforces the fact that with jobs in the informal sector. However, women
increasing duration of marriage (and migra- with technical qualifications are more likely
tion), women are more likely to participate in to participate in the labour market. This is as
wage employment, and hence they contribute expected, but their share is quite low in India,
to their family income. As women contribute as we have already observed in the section
to family income with increasing duration of ‘Facts of Female Migration in India’.
migration, it is expected that their responsibil- The social status of women migrants
ity in the family increase. belonging to socially marginalized groups
Table 25.8 Probit Estimates for Labour Force Participation Decision of Female Migrants in
India
1999–2000 2007–2008
Marginal Marginal
Variables Coefficients Z-values effects Coefficients Z-values effects
Intercept −2.0 −26.5*** — −2.35 −33.7*** —

Log of MPCE −0.09 −9.3*** −0.03 −0.03 −3.3*** −0.01
Age 0.12 52.6*** 0.04 0.13 63.2*** 0.04
Age squared −0.002 −59.2*** −0.0005 −0.002 −70.4*** −0.001
Primary (general) −0.30 −26.2*** −0.09 −0.24 −24.7*** −0.08
Secondary (general) −0.49 −37.9*** −0.15 −0.46 −42.1*** −0.15
Higher secondary (general) −0.45 −18.3*** −0.14 −0.46 −23.6*** −0.15
Graduate & above (general) −0.01 −0.4 −0.003 −0.19 −9.1*** −0.06
Below graduate (technical) 0.92 24.7*** 0.29 1.0 17.5*** 0.33
Graduate & above 0.71 7.9*** 0.22 1.06 16.9*** 0.35
(technical)
Currently married −0.19 −4.3*** −0.06 −0.27 −7.1*** −0.09
Widowed 0.13 3.6*** 0.04 0.10 3.1*** 0.03
Divorced/separated 0.69 11.2*** 0.21 0.67 12.1*** 0.22
1–2 years (duration) −0.01 −0.1 −0.003 −0.03 −0.5 −0.01
2–5 years (duration) −0.05 −1.0 −0.01 −0.10 −2.5** −0.03
5–10 years (duration) −0.03 −0.6 −0.01 −0.05 −1.2 −0.02
10 years & more (duration) −0.02 −0.4 −0.01 −0.03 −0.9 −0.01
Family size 1.72 4.4*** 0.25 1.48 4.9*** 0.36
Scheduled Tribes 0.67 40.4*** 0.21 0.48 34.9*** 0.16
Scheduled Castes 0.22 17.9*** 0.07 0.17 15.5*** 0.06
Other Backward Castes 0.19 19.2*** 0.06 0.18 20.0*** 0.06
Hindu −0.07 −4.6*** −0.02 −0.15 −10.6*** −0.05
Muslim −0.47 −21.6*** −0.14 −0.59 −30.7*** −0.19
Married & 1–2 years 0.03 0.4 0.01 0.07 1.3 0.02
(duration)
Married & 2–5 years 0.07 1.3 0.02 0.15 3.4*** 0.05
(duration)
Married & 5–10 years 0.06 1.1 0.02 0.11 2.5** 0.04
(duration)
Married & 10 years and 0.08 1.7* 0.03 0.13 3.0*** 0.04
more (duration)
Rural Areas 0.61 61.9*** 0.19 0.71 78.0*** 0.23
Pseudo-R2 0.1546 0.1576
Wald chi-square (26) 17,826.15*** 23,898.97***
Number of observations 115,701 146,168
Source: Author’s estimation based on various rounds of NSS unit data.

Note: *, ** and *** marks represent the statistical significance levels of the estimated regression coefficients at 1%,
5% and 10%.
like ST and SC. As a result, we got positive responsibilities in their family, and hence,
estimated coefficients for the ST and SC dum- they are likely to participate in wage employ-
mies. This implies that women who belong ment outside their homes. Because women
to the Others category (higher castes includ- migrants participate due to household dis-
ing Brahmin, Kayastha and Kshatriya) are tress conditions and they are mostly engaged
also less likely to enter the labour force to in low-quality jobs, it expected that they face
take up low-quality jobs due to social issues. enormous hardships and social stigma in rais-
Moreover, the coefficient of religion dummies ing the overall welfare of their family. Hence,
shows that married women migrants belong- it is necessary to implement policies that aim
ing to Hindu or Muslim families are less likely to promote both general and vocational educa-
to participate in the labour market compared tion for women and to provide a safe working
with other religions (mostly Christian and and living environment within the vicinity of
Sikh). This also reflects the religious con- migrant women’s places of residence.
straints of women to take up low-quality jobs.
To sum up, it can be stated that migrant
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26
Female Caste-based
Labour Migration
Sonia Krishna Kurup
INTRODUCTION placed on women’s associational migration by

exploring their early work-based migration
Feminist scholars have often contested the in professions such as nursing and teaching
dichotomy associated with gendered analysis (Gallo, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c; George, 2005;
of internal migration in India that identifies Joseph, 2000, p. 161). This chapter focuses
male mobility primarily within the purview on women’s work-based movement for cleri-
of labour and female migration as marriage- cal, secretarial and administrative jobs within
driven (Abbas & Varma, 2014; Joseph, 2000, the country. Specifically, it studies the expe-
pp. 163–164; Rele, 1969). Data on the pre- riences of educated middle-class women
1
dominance of women migrating as dependent from Nair and Christian communities, who
spouses indicates that a higher proportion of migrated from Kerala in the period between
women are statistically invisible and undoc- the late 1960s and the early 1980s, to work in
umented (Jolly & Reeves, 2005). Theoretical the civilian section of the defence establish-
reflections that establish these assumptions ments in Pune.
underplay the significance of other possible The chapter primarily focuses on women
enabling factors for female migration. who were young and unmarried at the time of
Many historical studies on migrant women migration. It questions the factors that enabled
from Kerala have challenged the significance single unmarried women to migrate for labour
1
In order to explain their class location, the study uses two points in time, namely their class location at the
time of migration and at present. This comparison is made with respect to changing notions of ‘class’ covering a
period from the 1960s to contemporary times. In relative terms, even though class mobility increased marginally
for some and declined for others, these women remain within the comfortable limits of what is defined as the
middle class in India.
Female Caste-based Labour Migration 359
in regular salaried jobs in pre-liberalization earlier period before the 1960s. The later dec-
India. The chapter claims that a combination ades of the 1970s and 1980s formed a water-
of factors was responsible for this. The com- shed in many Malayalis’ lives as a time of
plex interlinkages between familial support, intense migration both within India and to the
including the existence of a strong caste-based Middle East (Joseph, 2000). The respondents’
kin network at the destination, education age at the time of the interviews were between
based on regional caste/class advantage and 54 and 79 years.
individual motivations involving the influence All the respondents shared certain sets
of class-centric role models, motivated and of privileged identities. They were all able-
enabled single women’s migration for ‘white- bodied women, and barring a few Christian
collar’ employment in the pre-1990s India. respondents, came from upper caste families
Using life narratives, the research exam- with supportive kin networks. Many of the
ines the subjective experiences and agency of respondents had completed their SSLC or
female migrants to understand the subtleties 10th standard, and had usually spent about a
of gender-based ideologies. The generaliza- year learning typing and shorthand. The fam-
tions through life narratives are ‘not state- ilies of the Nair women, for instance, valued
ments about individuals and populations’ but education and employment. Although these
are ‘generalizations about cultural meanings women shared the experiences of hardship
and social processes’ (Magnusson & Marecek, and poverty characteristic of those times,
2012, p. 68). Feminist narrative research and they ultimately took advantage of their social
interdisciplinary approach are used to make and cultural capital to ensure social and class
visible and realign their historical experi- mobility for themselves.
ences of internal migration. Towards this, the Considering their historical location and
study uses gendered analysis of migration by multiple privileges, it must be stated that this
situating these women as subjects of scholar- feminist scholarship on migration does not
ship and legitimating their lived experiences unpack the concepts of heterosexuality, mas-
as sources of knowledge (Espin & Dottolo, culinity and being able-bodied. This study
2015). instead examines the combination of factors
that facilitated their migration and employ-
ment, the challenges these women faced due
to their gender and ethnic identities in the
Respondents and Self-reflexivity
destination and the advantages they had with
Of the 12 women chosen for this study, 8 respect to their class, caste and educational
belonged to the Nair community and 4 were qualifications. Due to limitations in the length
from various Christian denominations such as of the chapter, only a few of the narratives are
Syro-Malabar, Roman Catholic and Orthodox used, although migration patterns and behav-
Syrian. They held non-technical, clerical iours that were observed during the interviews
positions in the civilian section in offices inform important sections of this study.
under the Ministry of Defence. All except one As the respondents belong to my mother’s
person were retired at the time of the inter- generation, I could identify the similarities and
views which were conducted between April differences between those who found employ-
2018 (the last week) and July 2018 (the first ment and those who did not but aspired to,
week). Even after retirement, the women were such as my mother. I was aware of my moth-
mostly occupied with housework and the care er’s vulnerability as a non-employed woman.
of grandchildren. They often took interviews Perhaps this knowledge influenced the way I
in between their daily routine. perceived these women—as those privileged
The period between the 1960s and 1980s enough to have had the resources to access
was chosen as few people could speak of an well-paying jobs. Because ‘all knowledge is
contingent on the situation under which it is Accounts office in Pune, a Shaivite Brahmin
formed’ (Reinharz, 1983, p. 177 as cited by called Rao Bahadoor Vengu Iyyer, recruited a
Espin & Dottolo, 2015, p. 13), it must be stated large number of people from various districts
that this research process and its outcome has of the Madras Presidency (1978, p. 41). This
been shaped by my gender and caste/class pre- crucial stage of migration saw the emergence
dispositions and personal experiences, judge- of a community of South Indian immigrants
ments, beliefs and social identities. in Pune who belonged to the educated upper
castes of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The ear-
liest South Indian immigrants, hired at the
Military Accounts Office (MAO), eventually
CASTE-BASED MIGRATION settled down in the central part of the city due
NETWORKS: HISTORICAL AND to its proximity to their workplace and ‘easy
STRUCTURAL CONTEXTS availability of low rent housing’ (Nair, 1978b,
1978c, p. 41). They mainly comprised ‘the
In developing countries, migration as a social Brahmins, Iyyers and Iyyengars, Moodliars,
phenomenon acquires a more complex mean- Naidus and Pillais of Tamil Nadu, and Nairs,
ing due to its collective nature. The migration Menons and Pillais of Kerala’ (Gazetteer of
cycle of a region or a social group is a histor- Bombay State, 1954, pp. 157–159).
ical phenomenon that depends, at each step, The caste-based networks3 became active
as much on the structural changes in the envi- and strengthened after ‘a second office of the
ronment as on the preceding steps (Guilmoto Military Accounts’ became functional during
& Sandron, 2001). This section explores the the Second World War (Nair, 1978c, p. 42).
historical and structural contexts that led to The war and ensuing recruitments increased
the emergence of communal, caste-based net- labour demands, encouraging internal migra-
works of Malayali immigrants in Pune, par- tion within India (Joseph, 2000, p. 105).4
ticularly in the Defence establishments. Consequently, a considerable number of appli-
cants came to the city with the help of their
relatives who were already employed in the
city, to respond ‘to advertisements for recruit-
Defence Establishments and South ment in this establishment’ (Nair, 1978b, p.
Indian Migrants 42). These relatives ‘were employed in vari-
Colonial legacy established Pune as an ous military establishments, for by this time
important military centre2 for the country. the civilian jobs in these establishments had
Migration networks that formed during this become the monopoly of the south Indians’
period shaped the nature of its South Indian (Nair, 1978d, p. 42). The presence of ethnic
immigrant community. In his historical study, neighbourhoods with a certain degree of
Nair (1978a) observed that during the First ‘homogeneity’ with respect to caste and cul-
World War, the then Controller of Military tural practices and the availability of facilities,
2
Nair observed that during the years of the First World War and the Second World War, ‘there was a considerable
expansion of military establishments in Poona’ (1978, p. 41).
3
With respect to Kerala, the 1940s was the first distinct phase of migration from the state that was influenced
by events such as the Second World War and the attainment of Indian Independence in 1947 (Zachariah et al.,
2001a, 2001b). The better integration of the state with other states facilitated out-migration and Kerala became
a net-out-migrating state for the first time where earlier it was a net-in-migrating state. The main destinations
for out-migration were the metropolitan centres such as Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi (Joseph, 2000, p.
124).
4
For instance, Travancore alone sent about 0.157 million recruits to ‘the army and civilian labor force’ (Joseph,
2000, p. 105).
such as schools at Rasta Peth,5 enabled the being in areas such as ‘Ghorpuri, Kirkee and
immigrants to acquire a level of satisfaction Pimpri’ (Nair, 1978, p. 43).
with the city.
Post-independence attempts to set up
industrial complexes and development initia-
Influential Communal Networks
tives encouraged internal migration in India.
In Maharashtra, Bombay6 began experiencing Malayali migration to Pune was encouraged
increasing congestion due to growing invest- by influential communal networks that were
ment of private industrial capital (Verma, formed earlier. Some of the respondents
1985, as cited by Lele, 1995, p. 1521), particu- claimed that Malayalis holding important
larly between 1960 and 1965. This forced the positions at senior levels in government and
state government to ‘set up a number of insti- private organizations recruited many others,
tutional mechanisms to encourage dispersal including women, from the region.
of medium and large-scale industry across the In the 1970s, the Indian Defence
state’ (Lele, 1995, p. 1521). The respondents Accounts Service personnel B. M. Menon
for this study belong to this stage of migra- played a critical role—similar to that of Rao
tion that was facilitated by the emergence of Bahadoor Vengu Iyyer—in the recruitment
large-scale industries within and around the of Malayalis. Menon, an upper caste Nair
Pune Municipal Corporation in the 1960s and from Kerala, was the Controller of Defence
1970s (Khairkar, 2008; Nair, 1978a). During Accounts from October 1974 to May 1978.
this period, two important townships, Pimpri Some of the Malayali immigrants claim that
and Chinchwad, emerged on the outskirts of Menon helped many Malayalis find jobs in
the city and ensuing rapid industrialization the Defence establishments associated with
increased employment opportunities in the the Southern Command. Those who learned
city (Khairkar, 2008; Nair, 1978b, p. 42). this approached him for jobs for their close
Migrants from across the country came to relations and friends. Some of the women got
work in the city. help from Menon directly through their broth-
The presence of the headquarters of the ers or sisters who were already employed in
Southern Command and three notified and the government offices under him. An impor-
historically significant cantonments was tant aspect of his ‘helpful’ nature was that
already attracting educated migrants in search he did not discriminate between an educated
of employment to Pune. The Sino-Indian war male candidate and an educated female can-
of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 didate, or migrants from other religious back-
and 1971 led to the expansion of Defence grounds. If the Malayali female applicant
and other allied establishments in Pune, and was qualified enough and had approached
further growth of employment opportunities him through a relative who was known to
(Nair, 1978d, p. 42). Therefore, the 1960s and him or his friends, he would hire her. Tessy
1970s saw the largest wave of South Indian Sebastian, for instance, was hired to the MAO
migration to Pune (Nair, 1978). South Indian after she approached Menon for a job through
migrants from other castes also migrated to her brother.
the city for employment and many ethnic Some of the Malayalis recall that towards the
enclaves, apart from Rasta Peth, came into later part of B. M. Menon’s career, complaints
5
In both these stages of migration from the southern states, the majority of immigrants were Tamil-speaking
people who had moved from regions in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (Nair, 1978).
6
In the 1960s, industrial growth continued to remain ‘concentrated in and around Bombay with Greater Bombay
and Thane together accounting for over 598,000 industrial workers, while Pune, the next largest district, had
only 45,000 in 1967’ (Lele, 1995, p. 1521).
against him were raised by Shiv Sena support- and an entrance exam followed by interview
ers7 and a certain degree of local discontent became integral part of the hiring process.
had reached the parliament. The local people
in Pune questioned his nativist preferences in
the hiring process, as Maharashtrians were
Reputation of South Indian Migrants
not getting the jobs. When Menon was called
in for an explanation, he said that he had fol- A few respondents noted that Malayali
lowed the due process and all the recruits hired migrants held the reputation for being ‘edu-
during his tenure had their names enrolled in cated, sincere and hardworking’. The ‘notice-
the Employment Exchange and had the desired able presence of south Indians in clerical and
educational qualifications for the posts they lower management jobs’ in the industrial and
were appointed to. Prema Nambiar admits that commercial sectors of Bombay and Pune
he may have been ‘whatever for others’ but for was also attributed ‘to their command of the
Malayali migrants to Pune ‘he was god’. English language and to their willing sub-
Lethika Kurup was the first respondent to servience to authority’ (Lele, 1995, p. 1520).
speak about Menon. She stressed that although These values shaped the community’s ethnic
she was hired through staff selection in 1979, identity in the region.
she had heard that Menon had filled in ‘a lot of The emphasis on uniqueness and superi-
vacancies’ in the Defence establishments after ority of Malayali ethnic identities—as ‘more
the 1962 war. educated’ and ‘hardworking’ compared with
the local population—reflects the dominance
He (Menon) had the local powers to recruit and
of race as a social status. However, this com-
he could recruit any number of people. So, he
saw to it that the Southern Command had (rep- munal narrative of Malayali migrants was an
resentation) from the North to the South—right upper caste/class narrative. It is no surprise
from Gujarat, Rajasthan to Kanyakumari … He then that one of the prominent public figures
being a Keralite, he was from North … Aluva the Malayali migrants in Pune closely associ-
side, he saw to it that all the ladies who passed
ated with was V. K. Krishna Menon. He was
out of SSC, SSLC … from all parts of Kerala he
brought … Suppose if he saw that you came also the target of Shiv Sena’s hostile agenda
from Aluva, he saw to it that you could take an and symbolized everything that the party
interview in Bombay … like that he has recruited stood against—’an outsider, a south Indian
many people. (Lethika Kurup) and a communist sympathizer’—(Lele, 1995,
p. 1522). The immigrant population, particu-
Lethika pointed out that soon afterwards, from larly those from the Nair community, iden-
1977 onwards, recruitments happened strictly tified with Krishna Menon as a figure that
through the employment exchange.8 All govern- represented them.
ment offices including income tax, excise and
Defence, had to declare their zonal vacancies The largely favourable perception of the
community, along with caste-based personal
7
The Shiv Sena’s main agenda, when it was formed in 1966, was to seek job reservations for Maharashtrians
(Lele, 1995, p. 1520). Due to ‘the specific part of the job market’ they wanted to protect—mainly the ‘lower
echelons of white-collar employment’ (Lele, 1995, p. 1520), they shifted focus on to the South Indians (the
‘lungiwalas’) for their nativist preferences in employment in secretarial and clerical jobs. Maharashtrians were
asked to emulate those qualities that made South Indians successful at finding jobs (Lele, 1995, p. 1,520). These
sentiments did not as explicitly affect Pune as they affected Bombay, except in cases such as recruitments under
Menon.
8
Almost all the female migrants in this study had registered at the employment exchange soon after arriving
in Pune. The migrants then eagerly waited for a call from the employment exchange. Receiving more than one
call was considered a matter of pride as desirable candidates. The calls were usually accompanied by interviews.
recommendations and communal contacts, MIGRATION FROM KERALA

contributed to the hiring of educated, upper
caste South Indian migrants, including The 1970s was also an important period in
Malayali women in central government offices Kerala’s migratory trend as it witnessed pos-
under the Defence. itive changes towards mobility. Migration of
youth for education and work began to gain
acceptance as a familial strategy even among
Malayali Migrant Community in the more conservative families, in order to deal
1960s and 1970s with economic difficulties and for upward
class mobility (Gallo, 2017, p. 76). The chang-
Many migrants recall that prior to the mid- ing familial attitudes allowed re-establishing
1980s, the community was smaller, had sim- connections with ‘dispersed lineage branches
ilar class struggles and people had ‘time’ for across villages and towns’, and the return of
each other. As discussed earlier, there was remittances from urban jobs to native villages
also a certain degree of caste homogeneity. encouraged higher education and better hous-
Moreover, as early migrants to the city were ing facilities (Gallo, 2017, p. 76). Additionally,
uncertain, they formed groups to help each many women, including Nambudiri Brahmin
other. Most of the respondents claimed that women, began entering salaried occupations
people knew each other ‘in those days’ and (Gallo, 2017, pp. 76–77). In the early years
were always ready to assist. after independence, the majority of those
who migrated from Kerala to other states
There [was] no TV those days, so we met people
belonged to Hindu and Christian communi-
and we talked and we knew each other. It
wasn’t a cold city as it is today. A cold city where ties, the Muslim community showed more
everybody lives one life behind closed doors and inclination for emigration to Gulf regions
… puts on an appearance of being a very happy than out-migration (Zachariah & Rajan, 2013,
family … it was not that. The families knew 2016, p. 27). Female internal migrants from
each other … they knew the troubles. (Sarala
Kerala also belonged to these particular social
Jagan)
groups. What factors enabled the mobility of
Sarala recalls how her mother had contacted these upper caste women for work?
‘all the Malayalis’ she knew from ‘Dehru
Road to Hadapsar’ to raise money to help the
widow of a deceased Malayali man. Education and Female Migrants
She bought a machine and gave it to his wife Migrants from Kerala were observed to be
so that … his wife said that she can’t go back more educated than migrants from other states
because there were a lot of sisters in her house.
(Joseph, 2000, p. 136; Khairkar, 2008; Singh,
She said, ‘I can’t go back to my parents; I can’t
afford to go back’. And she did tailoring and 1985). In Pune, 76 per cent of the heads of
brought up her children. (Sarala Jagan) migrant families from Kerala were educated
above class 10 and 31 per cent above gradua-
The early generation of migrants had imbued tion (Khairkar, 2008).
the practice of help, which represented the Educational attainment among female
ethos of communal societies. Today, the migrants had positive effects on their employ-
elderly migrant Malayali community in ability in urban areas (Banerjee & Raju, 2009;
Pune laments the loss of this aspect of their Liang & Chen, 2004). Women with higher
imagined culture wherein class distinctions level of education were more likely to con-
and acculturation take precedence over ethnic tinue working in urban locations compared
identities. with women with lower level of education
(Banerjee & Raju, 2009, p. 117). Studies on After marriage they get security and all, and that
internal migration show that more female is why they don’t require a job. We came for the
purpose of jobs. (Radhamani Menon)
migrants from Kerala were literate compared
with female migrants from other states, and Employment and a regular salaried job were
they were also more likely to seek employ- prerequisites for single women than for mar-
ment (Joseph, 2000, p. 161). Malayali migrant ried women after migration (Banerjee & Raju,
women were visible in professions such as 2009). Additionally, unmarried women had
nursing and teaching and as clerks, stenog- higher educational attainment than married
raphers and typists (Joseph, 2000; Khairkar, women (Banerjee & Raju, 2009). As shown in
2008). the section ‘Education and Female Migrants’,
Historically, the higher caste and class higher educational qualification has pos-
women9 in Kerala have benefitted profession- itive effects on female work participation
ally from educational reforms in the state. after migration. The ‘stereotypical construc-
However, certain studies suggest that the link tions of women’s place within the domain
between educational levels and workforce of household responsibilities’ (Banerjee &
participation is ambivalent when combined Raju, 2009, p. 122) that involved child care
with caste status.10 This research explores the and care of the aged could have also factored
other factors that contributed to higher caste, in the withdrawal or lack of participation of
educated women finding and retaining regular married women in the formal labour market.
salaried jobs in urban locations, such as Pune. Therefore, marriage acted as a constraint for
educated women to continue in the workforce.
Aforementioned observations show that
Single Women and Work education was an enabling factor for wom-
en’s occupational mobility within the country
Singh (1985) observed that Kerala showed while marital status was not (Banerjee & Raju,
‘a positive selectivity of spinsters in rural 2009; Liang & Chen, 2004). Married and edu-
to urban migration’ (1985, p. 75). All the cated women were sometimes unable to trans-
respondents in this study came to Pune as late the ‘consequences of geographic mobility’
unmarried women with the help of their into ‘occupational advancement’ (Morrison &
close relations who were already employed Lichter, 1988, p. 171). The chapter also looks
in the city. Radhamani moved to Pune with at the strategies used by working women to
the help of her brother who was working at the continue in their jobs after marriage.
Headquarters of the Southern Command. She
observed that women who came to Pune after
marriage were not keen on finding employ-
ment as single women because marriage gave ENABLING FACTORS
women a form of ‘security’. Radhamani found
that marital status had a negative effect on The previous sections ‘Caste-based Migration
women’s employment. Networks: Historical and Structural Context’
9
Several factors have led to the emergence of the category of Malayali female workers. In the 1920s, Malayali
men and women, especially among Nairs and Syrian Christians, were trained as teachers, doctors and nurses
by ‘the British and the Anglican Missionary Society’ (Gallo, 2017, p. 81). These semi-skilled and skilled men and
women, from Malayali Christian and Hindu middle class families, moved for work to north India and other British
colonies (Gallo, 2017, p. 81).
10
For instance, while ‘highly educated women were least likely to withdraw from the labor market as a result of
their migration to urban locations, relatively more women from the high castes with similar educational levels
were opting out of the workforce’ (Banerjee & Raju, 2009, p. 122).
and ‘Migration from Kerala’ traced the his- In the initial years after migration, Padma
torical reasons for the presence of communal worked as a stenographer in several low-
caste-based network of Malayalis in Pune. paying private companies. She also had a
It also showed the effects of marital status, hectic schedule at home, which involved
educational attainment and membership in taking care of chitta’s children and doing other
particular caste/class and religious groups on household work. Eventually, she joined the
women’s work participation after migration. Controller of Quality Assurance (Equipment)
This section looks at the structural factors that (CQAE), Directorate General of Quality
enabled single young women to undertake Assurance, in 1988.
long-distance migration. It also shows the Working women realized the difficulties
relationship between the gendered nature of involved in managing housework, childcare
social networks and migration. and their office jobs. From an early age, young
girls are conditioned into learning that ‘what-
ever else a woman might do in her life, the
ultimate responsibility for the daily care of the
Kin Networks That Favoured Female
home and the family lay with her, and not with
Migrants
the male members of the household’ (Roberts,
Malayali kin networks in Pune, particularly 1984, pp. 22–23). This gendered division of
siblings and close relations, played a crucial housework and care work further justified the
role in female labour migration to the city. In use of other women’s labour. Some couples,
most of these cases, they extracted the labour such as Annie Joseph and N. C. Joseph, who
of the female migrants for household work, could not find this labour, paid local help—
including childcare, in exchange for helping who were mostly Dalit women—to care for
them find a job. their children, particularly infants. Caste/class
Padma Nair was compelled to accompany discriminations made most of the migrants,
her mother’s sister to Pune in the late 1970s. who could afford childcare, to reach out to
Her aunt (chitta), who had migrated to the city their female kin as a form of familial support.
after marriage in search of a job, was a central Attractive job opportunities for women in
government employee. She had two small chil- Pune became the trading point for this support.
dren. Initially, her chitta got her younger sister After migration, young girls, mostly in
to Pune. Within a few years, the latter found a their teens, assisted in the care of children
job with the Bombay Engineering Group and and did household work while they searched
married. At this time, Padma had just com- for jobs. Sometimes, they found jobs within
pleted her SSLC and aspired to join college in months, but sometimes this also stretched to
Ernakulam. She was already taking care of her years. Therefore, by the time they found secure
younger siblings at home. Her aunt convinced jobs and got married, they would have already
her reluctant parents to send the young girl with spent a few years with the host families. The
her to Pune promising to help her find a job. host families would then bring another person
who would again stay with them for a few
My father and mother were not ready to send me years, and this way the children grew up under
… even I was not ready to come but my moth-
the care of multiple women over the course
er’s sister was adamant/stubborn (orre vashi) that
she wanted to take me with her. I was the eldest of time. Annamma Chako and Mr Chako had
daughter and my father did not want to send gotten at least seven young girls from close
me anywhere. My mother had two sisters … and relations over the course of time for the same
she said that if she didn’t listen to her younger reason. According to Mr Chako, most of the
sister then later on there will be arguments/fights
girls are now well settled in their lives and
with them … so like that she sent me with her.
(Padma Nair) some of them have found good jobs in cities
such as Mumbai and Pune.
Hence, supportive kinship networks financial hardships. Mr Chako captured this

favouring female migrants emerged out of the period clearly when he said ‘Ane ellavarum
necessity to address the hardships and chal- pavazhal aayirunnu’ (in those days everyone
lenges faced by working women in the early was poor). Radhamani Menon also observed
decades after independence. Migrant familial that the financial situation of middle class
networks involving working women got more families was precarious.
women, preferably young unmarried girls,
Nobody had money in their hands in middle class
to Pune with the promise of finding them
families. So we had to earn for marriage and for
a job in exchange for their domestic labour. our own needs. (Radhamani Menon)
This household and childcare help allowed
working women to continue in the labour Radhamani had realized the importance of
force after marriage. In return, such networks being financially independent very early on.
were crucial in securing job opportunities Her mother belonged to a well-known mat-
and facilitating accommodation and security rilineal tharavad. However, after the division
for migrating woman (George, 2005), which of the ancestral property, her family moved
further strengthened the migration of single into a small share of land that was given to
women to the city. her mother. As they owned no agricultural
property and her father did kuli panni (manual
labour), the family had financial problems.
Familial Support Among her extended relations, the wealthy
families kept away from the financially poor
Families were willing to send their daughters families such as hers.
for work to another state due to three major
factors. First, encouragement from kin rela- Paisa ondengille ellavarkum etholu (only if
you have money would others keep in touch
tions who had already relocated to the city and
with you). We were paavangal (poor) and the
who required a helping hand with housework others were at high level. When everyone in the
or childcare. Second, the kin relations shared family got work, financially we became stable.
the knowledge of easy availability of ‘central (Radhamani Menon)
government jobs’ and the help they could pro-
vide, ‘joli sheriyaki kodukam’ (‘we will find Annamma Chako also wanted to work after
her a job’). Third, the girls or women were her father’s sudden death. At that time, only
eager to find jobs due to the lower economic her eldest sister was married among the
status of their families. five sisters and her brother—who worked
The fact that the girls or women would be in Pune—was the sole breadwinner for the
moving in with their own sisters or brothers family. She asked her brother to help her find
or other close relations, greatly helped them a job. Moreover, her sister was also training as
in gaining the familial support to migrate. In a nurse in Sassoon Hospital, Pune. When she
1969, Cissy Cruze joined the Armed Forces expressed her desire to migrate, her mother
Medical College (AFMC) in Pune to train as had said, ‘yes … job is important.’
a BSc nurse. Her mother’s cousin was already
living at Rasta Peth with her husband and two
children. The husband was employed at the
Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers) PERSONAL MOTIVATIONS
(CDA) and one of their children had also com-
pleted his studies at AFMC. Earlier observations on kinship networks tend
Some of the migrants came from econom- to place women’s migration within the domes-
ically poor backgrounds and experienced tic sphere or as a familial strategy. This sec-
tion shows how gendered ideologies within
dominant caste and class narratives shaped it became clear that any kind of ‘respectable’
young migrant women’s desirability towards work that enabled them to get relief from the
secure jobs, such as central government hardships of those days was sought after.
employment. Their motivations were also In the normative discourses on women’s
linked to economic and status mobility. Some employment in Kerala, if an educated woman
women from upper caste and class back- was not able to find a respectable job, her
grounds saw an opportunity to find employ- worth was ‘reduced’ to that of someone who
ment using their education and kin networks. was capable of doing only ‘menial’ tasks such
Exposure to the following ideological con- as thechu mezhakan (washing and cleaning
cepts influenced their decisions to migrate for utensils) or adukala panni (kitchen work).
labour. In other words, you are a midukki only if that
smartness translates into a ‘respectable’ pro-
fession. In addition to devaluing domestic
labour, these discourses privileged certain
Concept of miduki penne (smart girl)
higher caste/class occupations, such as teach-
The concept first became visible to me on one ing and administrative jobs, as more suitable
of my field trips, when Daisy George, the sec- for the modern working woman. They also
retary of Lt Col (Retd.) Cissy Cruze, at Ruby overlooked the double burden of housework
Hall Clinic, introduced a young nurse at the and office labour on ‘working women’ while
hospital as a midduki penne (a smart girl). hailing them as symbols of modernity.11
In popular notions, the ‘smart’ Malayali girl Popular expectations in Kerala that educa-
is one who excels in her studies and has the tion must lead to a respectable job and then
potential to get a desirable job. She is also a suitable groom through arranged marriage
someone capable of ‘successfully’ balancing contradicted the dominant construction of fem-
work and family responsibilities. I tried to ininity for Nair women as defined in Chandu
locate the miduki penne in the milieu when Menon’s famous work Indulekha (1889).12
young middle class Nair women migrated to The identification of male professional occu-
Pune. pation with class status was accompanied by
Housework in Kerala was not always the idea of the ‘bourgeois educated housewife’
‘kitchen work’. In fact, many women worked that later saw ‘women’s progressive with-
simultaneously in the fields, reared cattle drawal from salaried occupations’ (Osella &
and did other informal work to contribute to Osella, 2000 as cited by Gallo, 2017, p. 77).
expenses and earn small amounts as personal
income. There were also options for informal
labour, such as basket weaving and sewing,
Appeal of the Well-Groomed
as Padma Nair mentioned, that young women
from lower class families were willing to Women in white-collar jobs, such as teach-
pursue. The respondents shared the view that ing, clerical and administrative professions,
in Kerala, many of the women in those days were desirable role models for some of the
were eager to earn. They spoke of their rela- female respondents during their formative
tives who had moved for study or work, and years. Cissy’s mother was not allowed to work
11
The Nehruvian nationalist discourse encouraged women’s participation in the labour market but failed to
address the issues faced by working women, nor did it challenge the idea of the ‘educated housewife’.
12
In the novel, the protagonist is a beautiful, highly educated and a talented woman. However, the ‘generational
narrative of freedom’ for such a woman is presented within this male narrative as merely the freedom to choose
‘a proper, monogamous marriage, one that depends on the construction of the “educated wife”‘ (Lukose, 2009,
p. 104).
even though she was highly educated because Desirability and Availability of
her father-in-law did not want a working Government Jobs
daughter-in-law. However, Cissy remem-

bers her grandfather’s cousin sister, who Radhamani was certain that she wanted a
was the principal at Nicholson High school government job before getting married. In the
in Tiruvalla, as ‘a great influence’ on her. initial years after migration, she also worked
Professional women enjoyed a certain degree at various private firms like Padma Nair
of autonomy and agency and held a respecta- before receiving a call from the employment
ble place in society, within family and among exchange. Once she got the job at the 512
family members. Lethika Kurup, who worked Army Base Workshop, Khadki, her marriage
at the CDA, recalled her mother’s insecu- was fixed with an immigrant Malayali CDO
rities of not being a working mother. Her officer.
mother migrated to Pune in the 1950s with Radhamani explained her stand by saying
her husband. She would tell her daughters, that if she had gotten married when she was
‘Nizhalkoke lipstick etta ammene matiello’ working at a private firm, she would have had
(‘you all want a mother who wears lipstick’). to leave her work at some point after marriage.
As young girls, Cissy Cruze and Indira Nair ‘After marriage also I did not want to leave
also noticed how ‘well groomed’ these work- my job’ and ‘with government job there is that
ing women were. They took care of themselves security,’ she said. Radhamani was aware of
compared with women who laboured at home the attractiveness of a government job that
and also drew respect from, and often the envy ensured financial security for the entire family
of, others. The imagined lives of women from through pensions and perks. Moreover, the
these professions became part of their ‘desired respect a woman earned through her employ-
selves’. However, not all professions gained ment also defined her status among middle
this kind of respect. For instance, Padma Nair class families. Among the jobs a woman could
said that if she had remained in Kerala, she do, there was no greater respectable job than
would have been doing kitchen work. She later ‘a central government job’. In order words,
corrected this to say that she might have found Radhamani wanted to ensure that her job was
some work because in addition to typing and ‘secure’ so that she could remain financially
shorthand, she was also learning tailoring and independent even from her husband.
basket weaving. However, these professions Nobody can support (us), even brothers also.
were not ‘desirable’ professions in terms of Money was very important. I thought ‘No I have
the perks and social status enjoyed as a central to work’. Arrodum chodikendallo (you do not
government employee. have to rely on anyone). This also includes the
The attractive image of a working woman husband. You do not have to rely on your hus-
band for your needs or for money. It would have
as being respectable and well-groomed, along been a help for my family (also). (Radhamani
with the prevalent notions regarding education Menon)
and work, were crucial in a young woman’s
desire to migrate for a paid job. These factors Radhamani and her husband decided that until
encouraged them to be optimistic at a point her job became pensionable, she would con-
in their lives when they desired a job imme- tinue to work. Therefore, in both securing a
diately after their studies. The young women government job and convincing her husband
felt that they had the education and now they to support her career, she was negotiating
‘want a job’. If they had not left Kerala at the dominant patriarchal ideologies that expected
end of their studies, at that age and at that time, women to prioritize family over work, espe-
they may not have gotten a secure salaried job. cially when it came to the responsibilities of
childcare.
As observed earlier in the sections housework and childcare until they got mar-
‘Influential Communal Networks’ and ried. Padma found it difficult to live with
‘Familial Support’, there were in fact many her aunt and her family because she had ‘no
vacancies in central government offices in freedom’. While male migrants, such as Mr
Pune. The knowledge that government jobs Abraham, could dine with friends outside,
in the Defence were ‘easily’ available for edu- the female respondents hardly spoke of a time
cated women encouraged kin networks to sup- outside the spaces of work and family, apart
port the migration of their relatives. Hence, from the daily commute to work and back.
the respondents felt that ‘it was easy to get After her SSLC,13 Padma wanted to join
jobs those days’. On the other hand, in spite college in Ernakulam, but her parents and aunt
of their education, it was ‘very difficult’ for were against this. Apart from the fact that her
women and men to find jobs in Kerala. parents did not have the means to educate her
further, there was also the fear of losing con-
trol over young girls if they went to college.
They had heard that the behaviour of girls
Pune as a Safe City
‘gets spoiled’ (cheetayakum) once they expe-
The feature that made Pune the most favoura- rience freedom in cities, such as Ernakulam,
ble place for women’s migration from Kerala and this can ‘bring bad name’ to the family.
was its reputation as a ‘safe city’ with a pleas- Padma’s aunt advised her parents to enrol
ant weather. Some of the Nair women and her in typing and shorthand classes instead
upper class Christian migrants also spoke of and promised to find her a job in Pune after-
the local population as comprising predomi- wards. Her father was apprehensive about her
nantly of ‘mild’ and ‘cultured’ Brahmins. The long-distance migration while her mother had
caste and class elites saw the Brahmin popula- confidence in her sister. Limited information
tion of Pune in a favourable light. about Pune, other than that what had been
provided by the kin, played a crucial role in
It was a principled city. There was not much that her parents favouring the city over Ernakulam,
of that money giving under the table. You would
meet such wonderful people, people who could
though it was much closer.
speak up about global politics … little lines. A few
group of people, they would go to a club, maybe
sit down, talk, play cards … it was such a beau-
tiful city … If you still see the Brahmins of Pune CONCLUSION
they are wonderful people … they are very prin-
cipled, they are the best teachers. (Sarala Jagan)
The chapter shows that a combination of
The distance involved in state-to-state migra- factors enabled single women from upper
tion facilitated a break from immediate famil- caste and class families to find employment
ial and communal constraints. However, in pensionable salaried jobs with the central
gendered patriarchal norms operated through government after migration to Pune. Higher
the functioning of kinship relations and com- educational attainment and unmarried status
munal ties. In Pune, the young women were were contributing factors that enabled upper
monitored, especially when kin became an caste, highly educated women to find attrac-
integral part of the migration. Even after tive salaried jobs after migration.
finding work, the women continued to live As young girls, the respondents were moti-
with their close relations and helped with vated to work due to the influence of role
13
SSLC is Secondary School Leaving Certificate that is equivalent of successfully completing Class 10 Board
Exams.
models in their families involved in class- Gazetteer of Bombay state: Poona district. (1954).
based occupations. In their older age, they Bombay: Govt. Central Press.
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ment. However, domestic responsibilities and class in transnational migration. London: University of
California Press.
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Guilmoto, C.Z., & Sandron, F. (2001). The internal dynam-
towards family made some of them take vol- ics of migration networks in developing countries.
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standing of internal migration by bringing tion: Overview report (pp. 1–58). Brighton, UK: Insti-
together diverse variables, such as urban and tute of Development Studies.
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structural context, to identify its causal factors (pp. 1–196). Trivandrum: Centre for Development
and determinants. With respect to feminist Studies.
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and unravel the dynamic factors that operate Pune city, India. International Journal of Anthropol-
ogy, 10(2), 155–161.
within the social institutions of family, kin-
Lele, J. (1995). Saffronisation of Shiv Sena: Political econ-
ship, religion and the state and labour markets. omy of city, state and nation. Economic and Political
Therefore, gender-specific migration experi- Weekly, 30(25), 1520–1528.
ences can greatly enhance the knowledge of Liang, Z., & Chen, Y.P. (2004). Migration and gender in
population mobility in India as elsewhere. China: An origin-destination linked approach. Eco-
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Lukose, R. (2009). Liberalization’s Children: Gender,
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27
Women’s Economic Migration*
Sunetra Ghatak
INTRODUCTION number of women participating in economic

migration) (Department of Economic and
Earlier studies on migration focused only on Social Information and Policy Analysis,
male migration, assuming that female migra- Internal Migration of Women in Developing
tion would not have much socio- economic Countries, 1993). In India, some case studies
implications (Neetha, 2004). The existing based on primary surveys have revealed that
theories based on the social, cultural and women’s economic migration has grown, and
economic factors are also male-centric and women participate equally in both formal and
consider female migration based on two informal activities due to greater educational
factors— marriage and dependence on the attainments (Gupta, 1993). Consequently,
principal breadwinner of the family (Premi, this change from the traditional dependent
1990; Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). role to a modern economically active role of
However, in recent times, due to change women has necessitated demand for domestic
in gender-specific demand of labour and help and other gender-specific works (Gulati,
increased educational attainment of women in 1997). There are instances where families
almost all parts of the world, women have a migrate in response to economic opportu-
chance to participate in activities outside the nity of women as domestic servants, vege-
boundaries of their homes. This change can table vendors and flower vendors in front of
also be noted in the change in roles, patterns the temple, and men acting as ‘associational
and causes of female migration in develop- migrant’ (Meher, 1994; Premi, 2001; Shanti,
ing countries. In literature, this is known as 1991). Mostly, many of the women prefer to
‘feminization of migration’ (that is, large migrate with their husbands in the hope of
* The author is grateful to Professor Amaresh Dubey, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, for his guidance.
She acknowledges the help rendered through detailed comments on the earlier draft of the chapter by Professor
Bhaswati Das, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Dr Debajit Jha, O. P. Jindal, Global University.
Women’s Economic Migration 373
getting significant employment opportuni- and security of women at new destinations. In

ties at the destination; the role of women has both these cases, a well-established network
improved significantly in the family survival of migration between the places of origin and
(Kaur, 2006). destination may be valuable in facilitating the
While the above primary survey-based migration decision of a woman. In this regard,
studies highlighted the phenomenon of wom- a number of primary survey-based studies in
en’s economic migration in the recent times, Delhi identified different dimensions of the
economists have recognized increasingly the ‘social network’ in the process of migration
importance of ‘social networks’ or ‘social (Banerjee, 1983; Kasturi, 1990; Mitra, 2010;
capital’ in determining different economic Mukherjee, 2001; Neetha, 2004; Shanti, 2006)
and social outcomes to explain why people and they had specific objectives. For example,
migrate. They point out that different forms some studies used a particular route of migra-
of ‘social networks’, such as contacts or pres- tion from Tamil Nadu to Delhi (Kasturi, 1990)
ence of friends and relatives, act as a channel or from West Bengal to Delhi (Mukherjee,
of information about the new areas (Manski, 2001). Some others were based on a particular
1993, 2000). In addition, successful migrants group of migrants like migration of domestic
provide potential migrants with resources and helps (Neetha, 2004), migrants in the informal
support—information about job prospects, sector (Banerjee, 1983; Mitra, 2010), single/
access to basic services (like education, health women economic migrants (Kasturi, 1990;
and housing), information on procedures Neetha, 2004; Shanti, 2006) and migrants
(technical and legal), financial help and admin- with a particular skill, such as women being
istrative assistance—in addition to emotional trained to be nurses (Prakash, Ashokan &
solidarity (Massey, 1999). Different studies Rajive, 2002). Hence, from literature, it is
on the perpetuation of migration provide evi- difficult to determine an overall women eco-
dence on how social networks intensify move- nomic migration pattern that can answer ques-
ment of people to different destinations (de tions like ‘who migrates’, ‘why migrate’ and
Haan & Rogaly, 2002; Manski, 1993, 2000; ‘how migrate’ using social networks.
Massey, 1999). Well-established formal or Under the backdrop of the growing recog-
informal networks can reduce information nition of ‘feminization of migration’ in devel-
asymmetry and opportunity cost involved in oping countries and recognition of the role of
the process of migration by minimizing wait- networks in the process of labour migration,
ing period to search for a job at the destina- this study has two objectives. First, the study
tion. Caste or friendship and kinship bonds identified whether the phenomenon of ‘femini-
and connections through co-residents of the zation of migration’ prevails in India. Second,
same clusters are some of the dominant fac- it explored the role of networks in women eco-
tors in the process of migration that influence nomic migration. The study is based on both
an individual’s migration decision (Bertrand, secondary and primary databases. To identify
Luttrmer & Mullainathan, 2000). the presence of ‘feminization of migration’
The role of networks in the case of women in case of internal migration in India, the
labour migration is larger in the country as study used data from National Sample Survey
there are risks, vulnerabilities and societal (NSS) 55th and 64th waves and provisional
restrictions on the mobility of woman, and D-5 table of the Census of India. For the role
thus, their mobility depends more on migra- of networks, a primary survey was conducted
tion networks. Some societies have traditions, in Delhi during January–April 2016.
norms or cultures that create a belief that The rest of the chapter has been organ-
women working outside the domestic bound- ized to address the issues under the second
ary devalue their family reputation. Moreover, and third sections. The second section deals
there are serious concerns about the safety with identifying whether the phenomenon of
‘feminization of migration’ is present in India Trends and Reasons for Women

with simple cross-classification, that is, bivar- Migration in India
iate analysis of secondary data. It focuses on
the trends and reasons of migration among The percentage of total internal migrants to
women in India and if they have changed total population is presented in Table 27.1
over time. Further, the section reveals the in terms of total male and female migrants,
employment status of women, whether it has respectively. The percentage figures on the
changed after migration into the country. The basis of residence (i.e., rural and urban) are
third section discusses the role of networks on also reported. The percentage of total internal
women’s economic migration. It is based on migrants to total population increased in the
the data collected in the primary survey and successive rounds in aggregate as well as in
is divided into two parts—the first subsection the rural and urban sectors. While the percent-
identifies important factors associated with age of male migrants declined, the percentage
women economic migration with the help of of female migrants increased in the successive
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the NSS rounds.
second subsection uses an econometric model As per data from the 2007–2008 NSS,
(probit model) to analyse the role of networks nearly 80 per cent of migrants in India were
and their types. Finally, the fourth section con- women. Now, to answer whether a large
cludes the study. number of women migrants are those that
moved with family or are economic migrants,
Table 27.2 presents the reasons for leaving the
last usual place of residence (i.e., migration).
WHETHER FEMINIZATION OF Around 43 per cent of the total male migrants
MIGRATION IS OBSERVED IN INDIA? reported the employment-related reason for
their migration in 1999–2000, which reduced
This section chalks out features of wom- to 34 per cent in 2007–2008.1 According to
en’s economic migration in India during the the 55th round of NSS, 81 per cent of women
period 1999–2000 to 2011 using data from migrated due to marriage and this percent-
both NSS and the Census of India. To know age increased to 84 per cent during the 64th
whether migration in India has become more round. While the bulk of women migrated in
feminine over time, the trends and reasons for the form of ‘associational’ migration, only
female migration during the period have been 1.5 per cent had employment-related reason
analysed. in 1999–2000. This tiny share declined to 1.1
per cent in 2007–2008. In addition to the NSS
Table 27.1 Total Internal Migration in India by Sex and Residence (Figures in %)
Total Rural Urban
NSS Rounds Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
55th Round (July 1999 to June 2000) 26.29 11.54 41.87 24.06 6.77 42.10 32.85 25.22 41.18
64th Round (July 2007 to June 2008) 28.32 10.65 46.98 25.90 5.24 47.56 35.08 25.57 45.33
Source: Calculated from unit level data of NSS, 55th and 64th rounds.
1
The decline in the percentage of employment-related migration in case of both male and female migrants may
be due to rise in unemployment in recent times as well as a rise in skilled jobs in the urban sector due to increased
education levels of the younger generation.
Table 27.2 Reasons for Migration (Figures in %)

Male Female
Reasons for Migration 1999–2000 2007–2008 2011 1999–2000 2007–2008 2011
In search of employment 12.7 8.3 — 0.3 0.3 —

In search of better employment 13.4 11 — 0.5 0.3 —
To take up employment/better employment 7.8 8.4 — 0.2 0.3 —
Transfer of service/contract 7.6 5.6 — 0.4 0.1 —
Proximity to place of work 1 1 — 0.1 0.1 —
Total (employment-related reasons) 42.5 34.3 29.95 1.5 1.1 2.72
Studies 5.8 8.3 3.39 0.6 1 1.03
Marriage 5 4.4 4.27 81.1 84 69.68
Movement of parents/earning member 26.3 24.2 42.57 12.5 4.4 18.47
Others* 20.4 28.8 19.82 4.3 9.5 8.10
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Computed from unit level data of NSS, 55th and 64th rounds.
Note: * This includes business, acquisition of own house or apartment, housing problems, healthcare, post-retirement,
natural disaster and social/political problems. Migration data for 2011 is taken from provisional D-5 tables. Economic
reasons include work, employment and business.
waves, the study used provisional migration marriage-related migration declined (69.68%)
data from the 2011 Census for seven different in 2011 compared with the previous rounds.
reasons, which captured recent information Further Table 27.3 presents the rural–urban
on migration reasons (see Table 27.2). This divide of reasons for migration. While only
showed a decline in male economic migrants 1 per cent of women from rural areas and
but female employment-related migration 3 per cent of women from urban areas cited
escalated (2.72%) recently. In contrast, female employment as the reason for migration in
Table 27.3 Reasons for Migration by Last Place of Residence (Figures in %)

Rural Urban
Reasons for Migration 1999–2000 2007–2008 2011 1999–2000 2007–2008 2011
In search of employment 0.2 0.1 — 0.7 0.6 —

In search of better employment 0.4 0.2 — 0.8 0.6 —
To take up employment/better employment 0.2 0.2 — 1.4 0.9 —
Transfer of service/contract 0.2 0.1 — 0.0 0.3 —
Proximity to place of work 0.0 0.1 — 0.1 0.2 —
Total (employment-related reasons) 1.0 0.7 2.21 3.0 2.6 4.41
Studies 0.4 0.5 0.87 1.3 2.2 1.65
Marriage 88.8 91.7 78.45 59.7 61.1 46.45
Movement of parents/earning member 6.3 4.5 13.69 31.0 29.6 37.13
Others* 3.5 2.6 4.78 5 4.5 10.37
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Note: *This includes business, acquisition of own house or apartment, housing problems, healthcare, post-retirement,
natural disaster and social/political problems. Migration data for 2011 is taken from provisional D-5 tables. Economic
reasons include work, employment and business.
1999–2000, only 0.7 per cent of rural women exactly the women migrants who ventured
and 2.6 per cent of urban women reported into employment after migration.
migration for employment-related reasons in
2007–2008. The 2011 Census shows that 2.21
per cent of rural and 4.41 per cent of urban
Employment Status of Women
women migrated for employment-related
Migrants in India
reasons. The overall percentage of female
employment-related migration increased and This section reports the activity status of
the share of women from urban areas was women migrants in the pre- and the post-
larger. However, the percentage was very migration condition and gives details regard-
low compared with the percentage of male ing different aspects of women migration.
employment-related migration. The evidence Table 27.4 presents the activity status of
from secondary sources indicates that still the women migrants. It is noticed that the percent-
phenomenon of so-called ‘feminization of age of self-employed women increased. The
migration’ is absent in this country. proportion of women engaged in regular sal-
The finding of absence of ‘feminization of aried/wage employment also increased. The
migration’ is in direct conflict with the results share of unpaid family workers jumped after
derived from the studies based on the primary migration, while women attending to domestic
survey which indicated enhanced economic chores declined considerably. This indicates
migration of women (i.e., employment- important economic implications. Although
related migration) (Gupta, 1993; Premi, 2001; women do not receive any remuneration for
Shanti, 1991). This may be owing to the fact their domestic work, they contribute to their
that NSS data may be a misinterpretation of family income. Another particular feature
the reality for several reasons. First, NSS that is evident from the table is the number of
records only one reason for migration, which, unemployed women migrants seeking and/or
in most of the cases, was identified as mar- available for work increased while migrating.
riage. However, there could have been several Although the share of women taking up
other reasons for the migration of a woman. some form of employment was adequately visi-
Often, the second reason was found to be ble in 2007–2008, it came to around 28 per cent
employment-related (Shanti, 2006). Second, of the total women migrants. Thus, it is appar-
there may be various norms prevailing in the ent that the employment condition of women
society, which prevent women from acknowl- improved rapidly after migration and NSS
edging the economic reason for migration, underestimated the economic aspect of women
and as a result, women respondents gener- migration owing to limited options in the ques-
ally reported themselves as tied or passive tionnaire to report reasons for migration.
migrants. Third, there was a possibility that
a woman primarily migrated due to marriage
but started working thereafter (Kaur, 2006).
Finally, NSS did not record whether a woman ROLE OF NETWORK IN CASE OF
was working before migration. As a result, WOMEN ECONOMIC MIGRANTS IN
the possibility of joining the labour market DELHI
after migration remains unexplored. This
study focused on addressing this issue partly It was observed that while the percentage of
by considering current and previous activity ‘employment oriented female migration’ in India
status of women provided by different NSS is still very low, work participation of women
waves. This is because the activity status of migrants increased after migration. In this con-
women migrants considered both before and text, we identified the role of networks as to how
after migration would enable one to capture they influence the process of women migration.
Table 27.4 Activity Status of Women Migrants in India (Figures in %)

1999–2000 2007–2008
Activity Status Before After Before After
Worked in the household enterprise 1.1 7.4 0.7 3.6

(self-employed): own account worker
Employer 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.7
Worked as helper in household enterprise 6.0 17.9 7.1 10.2
(unpaid family worker)
Worked as regular salaried/wage employee 1.0 2.6 0.8 2.6
Worked as casual wage labour: in public 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0
works
In other types of work 9.2 15.7 8.5 11.1
Did not work but was seeking and/or 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.4
available for work
Attended educational institution 5.0 1.5 6.0 3.8
Attended domestic duties only 58.7 35.4 55.2 40.9
Attended domestic duties and was also 16.0 17.4 18.2 21.8
engaged in free collection of goods
(vegetables, roots, firewood and cattle
feed), sewing, tailoring and weaving for
household use
Retires, pensioners and remittance 0.0 0.3 0.1 1.1
recipients
Not able to work due to disability 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.6
Others 2.6 0.9 2.7 3.2
To study the role of the networks on migra- random technique was adopted to select the
tion, a primary survey of 300 women eco- sample.
nomic migrants from January to April 2016
was conducted in Delhi. Participants were
divided into two broad categories—skilled and
Factors Associated with Women
unskilled migrants—based on the assumption
Economic Migration
that social networks have different implica-
tions for differently skilled migrants. While Many important factors are related to the
professionals, technical workers and persons women migration process. Besides traditional
involved in clerical activities were classi- push–pull factors, information regarding
fied as skilled migrants, service workers and employment opportunities in the destina-
production-related workers were classified as tion area and initial living arrangements are
unskilled migrants, based on their observed important factors for female migration as the
skill levels. Four occupational categories risks and vulnerabilities are always greater for
of migrant workers were selected based on them. A person, who had already migrated or
the second digit occupational category (i.e., had prior experience of migration to that area
teachers, clerks, construction workers and and informal sources like media, can gen-
domestic helpers). The primary survey was erally provide basic information regarding
conducted on the basis of observations and migration opportunities. The survey revealed
interviews through a questionnaire. A simple that women migrants generally received job
information and were supported on arrival components are as follows: (a) Information
in the city by their immediate kith and kin. about Job Opportunity, (b) Reference used
Besides, employers or other informal sources to obtain a Job, (c) Know person in the
may also help in getting information about Destination, (d) Idea and Motivation received
jobs available at the destination. The present for Migration and (e) Community Attitude
analysis attempts to categorize the informa- regarding Migration. The results of factor
tion regarding job opportunities at the desti- loading are given in Table 27.6.
nation if the migrant has used any reference
to secure the job, under major variable groups
and named accordingly. To provide the varia-
Factor I: Information about Job
tion explained by each category of variables,
Opportunity
PCA was applied to identify factors and the
number of factors to be retained based on This emerged as the most important compo-
eigenvalue greater than one. Eigenvalues nent explaining 21.78 per cent of the total var-
measure the relative importance of a compo- iation. Two variables, namely family networks
nent in the analysis. Because the factors are and friends’ networks, were loaded heavily
not correlated, varimax rotation was applied to in this component, indicating the role of kin-
obtain statistically independent factors. ship network in the migration process in case
PCA identified five components with of women migrants. From the field study, it
eigenvalue greater than one. These factors was found that most of the skilled migrants
explain 78.23 per cent of the variance. Factor reported that they received the information
1 (Information about Job Opportunity) has about job opportunities in Delhi from relatives
the highest factor loading and explains 21.78 and/or friends (34% teachers and 41% clerks),
per cent of the variance. Rest of the factors or on their own without using any formal net-
explained 20.88, 10.59, 9.08 and 8.09 per cent works (39% teachers and 21% clerks). Most
of the variance, respectively. Naming of the of the unskilled migrants received informa-
component and factor loadings is summarized tion from family members (41% construction
in the Table 27.5. Components have been workers and 56% domestic help), followed by
discussed according to their importance. The friends/relatives.
Table 27.5 Naming of Components

Component Component Name Factor Loading
Factor I Information about job opportunity Family member (0.764)

Relative/friends (0.727)
Employer (0.575)
Other (0.506)
Factor II Reference used to obtain a job Referred by a family member (0.711)
Referred by a relative/friend (0.642)
Referred by a contractor/broker (0.424)
Factor III Know person in the destination At workplace (0.698)
At Delhi (0.565)
Factor IV Idea and motivation received for migration Who inspired? (0.316)
Who supported? (0.371)
Factor V Community attitude regarding migration Positive community attitude (0.480)
Source: Sample survey, analysis done by the author.

Table 27.6 Factor Loadings from the Significant Factors

Variable Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5
Family member 0.764 0.370 −0.070 0.263 −0.256

Relative/friends 0.727 0.273 −0.041 −0.134 −0.114
Employer 0.575 −0.460 −0.001 −0.028 −0.031
Other 0.506 −0.468 −0.172 0.007 −0.106
Referred by a family member 0.087 0.711 −0.102 0.323 0.213
Referred by a relative/friend 0.410 0.642 −0.295 −0.033 0.089
Referred by a contractor/broker 0.781 0.424 0.236 −0.075 0.259
At workplace 0.124 0.134 0.698 0.043 −0.236
At Delhi 0.324 −0.064 0.565 0.238 −0.083
Who inspired? 0.058 −0.152 0.118 0.316 0.323
Who supported? 0.272 −0.067 −0.331 0.371 0.245
Positive community attitude 0.070 −0.320 −0.113 −0.188 0.480
Eigenvalue 2.831 2.715 1.376 1.180 1.052
Percentage of variance 21.78 20.88 10.59 9.08 8.09
Source: Sample survey.

Note: Figures represent the percentage of total variation explained by the significant factor. Factor loadings were deter-
mined using varimax rotation. Six components extracted.
Factor II: Reference Used to job market is regulated more with the social
Obtain a Job contacts or network channels, and hence,
unskilled migrants, generally, get employment
Another way of identifying the role of social using a reference from their family members,
networks can be to know whether the women relatives, friends or contractors.
migrants used a reference from someone
to get the job. The second important com-
ponent explains whether respondents were
referred by someone to the employers in Delhi Factor III: Know Person at the
(accounts for 20.88% of the total variance). Destination
The questionnaire had multiple options for To capture the roles and types of networks in
the respondents—no reference, referred by a the case of female economic migration, the
family member, referred by a relative/friend first question presented to a respondent was
and referred by a contractor/broker. Findings whether there was any known person in the
show that using reference had the highest place where she is presently working (in the
factor loading. case of the first job after migration). Second
After analysing the survey data, a sharp dis- question was whether the women migrant
tinction between skilled and unskilled women knew any person in Delhi who helped her in
migrants was observed. While most of the settling down in Delhi. The study assumed that
skilled women migrants (70% teachers and the presence of a known person in the place
53% clerks) did not use any reference to secure of work or in Delhi or both may have acted
a job in the destination, most of the unskilled as a social contact network for the migrant.
migrant women used reference either from This led to the third important component of
family members (57% domestic help) or from network use in the migration process.
a middleman (41% construction workers).
These results are owing to the fact that in con- In the case of skilled women migrants,
trast to the skilled job market, the unskilled most of the respondents replied that they did
not know a person either at the workplace or indirect influence of their education and
or in Delhi or in both. However, most of the skill levels as well as monetary conditions.
unskilled women migrants had either a family Educated people can take the risk to migrate
member, a relative or a friend either in Delhi to a new place without prior knowledge about
or in the same workplace where they worked the place or come to a city without knowing
at the time of the survey. the opportunities available there, based only
on their human capital. However, less edu-
cated individuals, such as poor female work-
ers, cannot bear the risk, uncertainties and
Factor IV: Idea and Motivation
opportunity costs involved in the process of
Received for Migration
migration, and thus, generally take help of
The persons who had already migrated and the social networks.
persons who aspired to migrate are different Educated parents have a positive view
in terms of the migration decision. There are of female migration even if their daughter
varied informal norms present in the society, migrates alone. In the case of teachers, par-
which restrict women to migrate or work out- ents gave them the maximum support. The
side the domestic boundaries. Uncertainty and story is more or less the same for clerks. Some
insecurity are the other common problems of the teachers and clerks reported that they
faced by women migrants. Therefore, moral did not even require any permission to take a
and economic support is another important decision regarding migration. By contrast, the
variable for women migration. construction workers are dependent on friends
In the case of both skilled and unskilled and family. They merely depend on family
women migrants, the most important inspira- and friends at their residence and known per-
tion was from their family or friends and the sons at the destination.
persons who had migrated earlier. The people All construction workers had regular con-
who had already migrated generally provided tact with the migrants who had already shifted
the initial idea and knowledge about the desti- to Delhi. Therefore, they opted for migration
nation. These informal sources of information rather than staying unemployed at their resi-
are sometimes very useful. However, in the dence. Thus, broadly, our results indicate that
case of construction workers (unskilled), the the existence of ‘social capital’ in the case of
responses were different from those of clerks the unskilled construction workers is stronger
or teachers (skilled). The construction work- compared with the skilled labours such as
ers reported that they received information teachers and clerks.
related to migration opportunities from either
their family members or friends. In most of
the cases, people who had migrated earlier Factor V: Community Attitude
from the same locality inspired the construc-
Regarding Migration
tion workers. A construction worker from
West Bengal said: In the case of female teachers and clerks
(skilled), migrants received support mainly
It was almost impossible to ignore the opinions from their family and community. This is
of the guardian in the family despite dire poverty
that was facing ... so my guardian allowed me to because, in the case of educated and more
migrate where some other people from my local- affluent families, the community and family
ity had already migrated. held a positive outlook on autonomous female
migration. They also reported that this pos-
The above responses suggest that people take itive outlook towards autonomous female
the decision to migrate based on either direct migration comes from better education and
income level of their families. A teacher from social networks to get crucial information
Chandigarh said, ‘Without the support of my about migration, such as information about
family, my dream of teaching in a good edu- job opportunities and the place of destination
cation institute in Delhi would have remained (Banerjee, 1983; Mitra, 2010). Because the
only a dream.’ demographic characteristics of the migrants
In contrast to clerks and teachers, the female are also likely to be different for skilled and
construction workers (unskilled) reported unskilled migrants and may influence the
that they did not get any support from their identification of the role of networks on the
families. This is owing to the strong restric- two types of migrants (skilled and unskilled),
tive mentality of the traditional Indian soci- demographic characteristics of the migrants in
ety, which believes that if a female migrates our logistic regression model were controlled.
alone it may damage family prestige. This is The left-hand side variable in our model was
because, in those societies, traditions, norms, skilled and unskilled individuals, a binary
values and customs are devised in such a way variable that took value ‘1’ if the ith observa-
as to restrict movement of women unless tion was a skilled migrant and ‘0’ otherwise.
accompanied by a male member of the family. The control variables in the model are demo-
During the survey, it was observed that the graphic characteristics of the migrants, such as
community and family to which the teachers age, religion, caste and education, which are
and clerks belonged held a positive view of expected to influence probability of an individ-
female migration. In those societies, customs ual to be a skilled (or unskilled) migrant.
or tradition-based restrictions did not play an The main variable of concern is network,
important role in restricting the movement which is a dummy variable. It is ‘1’ if an indi-
of women. However, these female migrants vidual has used the network and ‘0’ otherwise.
reported that their families were concerned The functional form of the probit model is
for their safety and well being. On the ground written as follows:
of safety and security, some teachers reported
that they faced discouraging comments while M i = 0 + 1AG i +  2 RG i + 3CTi
migrating.
+ 4 EDi + 5 RM i + 6 NETi + u i
where 0 is a constant term and 1 to 6 are

Model for Role of Networks
the regression coefficients associated with the
To capture the role of networks, a binary independent variables.
logistic regression model was applied to iden- AGi, age; RGi, dummy variable (‘1’ Hindu
tify whether the role of networks for skilled and ‘0’ therwise) representing religion of
migrants is different from that for unskilled migrants; CTi, dummy variable representing
migrants. Following literature on role of net- caste of the migrants (CTi is ‘1’ for lower
works on skilled and unskilled migrants, it has caste and ‘0’ otherwise); EDi, education level
been hypothesized that the role of networks of the migrants; RMi, reasons for migration
is different for skilled and unskilled migrants and NWi, the use of network by the ith individ-
(Manski, 1993, 2000; Massey, 1999). Skilled ual. Network is also a dummy variable taking
migrants, being educated, can obtain the infor- value ‘1’ if network has been used during
mation about jobs, the place of destination and migration and ‘0’ otherwise.
assess the risk and uncertainties involved in the Table 27.7 reports the results of the model.
process of migration of their own. Unskilled The result of likelihood ratio of chi-square is
migrants, due to lack of education and skill, significant at 1 per cent level and the pseudo
mostly were dependent on their informal is 0.1726, which implies that the model fits
Table 27.7 Results of the Probit Model to Identify the Role of Network on the Skilled and
Unskilled Migrants
Variable Measure Coefficient SE Z P > ¦z¦
Constant - 0.845 0.435 1.91 0.057*

Age Continuous 0.793 0.981 3.95 0.000***
Religion Category 0.001 0.023 −3.08 0.071
Caste Dummy −0.021 0.810 2.59 0.023**
Years of education Continuous 0.132 0.975 5.04 0.002***
Reasons for migration Category 0.073 0.036 3.06 0.042**
Positive use of network Dummy 0.274 0.170 1.52 0.015**
Notes: ***, ** and * indicate significance at 1 per cent, 5 per cent and 10 per cent probability levels, respectively.
1. Number of observations = 300, LR chi2 = 64.33, Prob > chi2 = 0.0000.
Log likelihood = −144.96194, Pseudo-R2 = 0.1726.
2. SE = standard error, Z = Z-statistics, z = probability of Z-statistics denotes the level of significance.
Table 27.8 Estimated Marginal Effects of the Explanatory Variables of the Probit Model of
Skilled and Unskilled Migrants
Variable df/dx SE Z P > z x-bar
Age *
0.049 0.012 3.95 0.000 5.302
Religion 0.038 0.072 0.53 0.599 0.358
Caste −0.023 1.924 −2.42 0.015 9,879.84
Years of education* 0.296 1.421 −3.09 0.002 20,588.7
Reasons for migration 0.00005 0.00003 1.74 0.083 587.75
Positive use of network 0.106 0.069 1.52 0.128 0.546
Note: * df/dx is for discrete change of dummy variable from 0 to 1.

SE = standard error, Z = Z-statistics and z = probability of Z-statistics denotes the level of significance.
the data. The sign and value of the coefficient that the likelihood of using a network is less
of the independent variables show how these in the case of skilled migrants compared with
variables influence migration decision with unskilled migrants.
respect to unskilled migrants. The independent Therefore, the aforementioned regression
variables included in the equation, such as age, estimates clearly show that the probabil-
education and use of network, are expected to ity of using the social network for unskilled
induce potential migrants for migration. The migrants was more compared with skilled
estimates suggest that a migrant is more likely migrants (Table 27.8). Moreover, the probabil-
to be a skilled migrant if she belongs to the ity of being an unskilled migrant increased if a
upper caste and Hindu. Increasing levels of randomly chosen person belonged to a lower
education increase the probability of being a caste and was non-Hindu. Besides, the higher
skilled migrant. The coefficient of the reason educational level of the migrant increased the
for migration is also positive and less than probability of becoming a skilled migrant. The
one. This implies that the likelihood of being aforementioned results support the findings of
an unskilled migrant is more if the migrant other studies that have shown a bigger role
has migrated due to employment and work- of networks in the case of unskilled migrants
related reasons. Finally, the results suggest (Banerjee, 1983; Mitra, 2010).
CONCLUSION regulated with the help of social contacts or net-

work channels, and hence, unskilled migrants
The study analysed two unexplored dimen- generally got employment using a reference
sions of the women economic migration in from their family members, relatives, friends
India. In the first part, the study identified, by or contractors. This is because information in
using secondary data, whether the phenome- the job market is asymmetric and informal in
non of so-called ‘feminization of migration’ nature, and therefore, the absence of social
is observed in India. The second part tried to networks creates a barrier to entry. Therefore,
identify the role of networks for women’s eco- networks in the form of employment channel
nomic migration through data collected by the or chain migration exist more in the case of
primary survey in Delhi. unskilled women migration. Third, the posi-
The results obtained from the first part tive network helps in determining destination
showed that while more women migrated and workplace for women migrants. This is
than men in the country did, most of the because migration itself involves the cost of
female migration was due to either marriage settlement. For woman migrants, safety and
or with family-members as associational security are also important factors of con-
migrants. Therefore, India is yet to experi- sideration while migrating. These issues are
ence the phenomenon of ‘feminization of more prominent in the case of uneducated
migration’. However, while the percentage of single women migrants. The above discussion
employment-oriented female migration is still finally suggests that people take the decision
very low, the trend is increasing. Majority of to migrate based on either direct or indirect
the employment-related women migrants were influence of their education and skill levels
from urban areas. An analysis of workforce as well as monetary conditions. Overall find-
participation of female migrants revealed that ings suggest that other than social networks,
in the post-migration period, workforce partic- family support and community support are
ipation of women migrants increased sharply. very important for taking migration decisions
The share of women engaged in self-employed for women migrants. The overall social net-
and casual activities escalated considera- work plays an important role in the case of
bly, and the proportion of women who were women economic migration for both skilled
engaged in domestic duties before migration and unskilled women migrants. Education
entered labour market after migration. and skill levels are the main determinants of
The results presented in the second part differential use of social networks by different
suggest that networks played an important groups of migrants.
role in women’s economic migration for
both skilled and unskilled migrants. The use
of social network was higher for unskilled
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28
Middle Class
Women’s Migration
Tina Dutta
Annapurna Shaw
INTRODUCTION transition process of Indian middle class

women has been their migration dynamics
As India underwent economic liberalization in the post-liberalization period. As a matter
and globalization, the visibility of middle class of fact, a majority of new economy jobs have
women in the emergent new economy jobs in come up in large urban centres (Shaw, 2012)
Indian cities increased considerably (Basi, and educational avenues have also widened in
2009). A simultaneous socio-cultural transi- big cities. Hence, it is reasonable to imagine
tion in Indian middle class families was also that women from middle class families would
marked. The value of daughters’ education undertake migration to cities and metro cities
increased substantially among urban middle to fulfil their economic and educational aspi-
class families. Nowadays, employment of the rations. A preliminary analysis of NSS 2007–
daughter is also perceived as a status symbol 2008 data confirms a remarkable increase in
(Ganguly-Scrase, 2003). Dual-earner middle middle class women’s1 job- and education-
class families, where both the spouses are related migration to cities from 1983 to 2007–
working, are increasingly becoming a common 2008. However, very little research has been
sight in metro cities in India. However, a directed to understand this relatively novel and
somewhat less acknowledged but significant economically viable migration trend of middle
dimension of this socio-cultural–economic class women. Drawing on the qualitative data
1
Middle class women for the quantitative analysis were defined as women whose daily per capita expenditure
was $2–$13 at 2007–2008 PPP. The authors used unit-level migration data of NSS 2007–2008 to carry out the
analysis.
on migration collected through the fieldwork changes, such as economic reforms and glo-
in the city of Kolkata and using the theoretical balization in the country, expansion of modern
lens of structuration theory, the present study service sector, privatization and contractu-
has attempted to unravel the nuances of middle alization of jobs, revolutions in information
class women’s migration to Indian cities. and communication technologies (ICTs) and
the changes in socio-cultural institutions of
the middle class society. It is conceived that
female migration takes place under these
CONCEPTUALIZATION structural forces. Even under similar struc-
tural forces, the migration outcomes vary,
The theories and empirical studies on migra- that is, some women migrate and some do
tion have been largely dominated by the not. Giddens’ notion of agency can explain
neoclassical approach where an individual’s this variation. Broadly, agency relates to an
‘agency’ and economic motive determine individual’s capacity to perceive, arbitrate
the migratory moves (Lewis, 1954; Ranis and manipulate the structural forces to one’s
& Fei, 1961; Sjaastad, 1962; Todaro, 1969). favour to achieve desired social outcomes.
However, these popular theories of migration Thus, even under similar structural backdrops,
fail to account for the role of socio-cultural different women may exercise their agency in
factors, structures and institutions, apart from their own capacity and may or may not mate-
microeconomic factors, in mediating social rialize migration. Further, agency may draw
behaviour. Hence, the neoclassical approach upon various individual levels and family- or
turns out to be insufficient in explaining community-level factors. An educated woman
female migration in developing countries might exercise her agency more emphatically
(Wright, 1995). Structuralist theories, in con- than an uneducated woman might. However,
trast to neoclassical theories, deem migration an educated woman in a conservative family
to be an inescapable consequence of capital- setting may not exert her agency as effectively
ist structure, and thus, refute the ability of an as in a liberal family setting. Structures facil-
individual agency to maximize her/his returns itate or constrain agency and agency in turn
from migration. With respect to gender, struc- arbitrates structures and might alter struc-
turalist theories do not explain specific factors tures in the long run. Following this ideology
affecting the process of female migration, and of Giddens’ structuration framework, and
hence, they fail to account for why women’s based on the field data on female migration,
migration to South Africa was negligible at the present study has broadly two objectives:
the time of capitalist expansion in the country (i) to identify various structures and agency-
and why it gradually picked up pace (Wright, related factors that are at play in the process of
1995). middle class women’s urban migration in con-
Structuration theory as proposed by temporary post-liberalization India and (ii) to
Anthony Giddens (1979, 1984) challenges the understand the aftermath or consequences of
rigidity of structure and the dualism between this migration, highlighting migrants’ issues
structure and agency. The central idea of the and challenges at urban destinations.
structuration framework is that the social pro-
cesses occur under the influence of various
structures and human agency simultaneously.
The agency mediates and arbitrates the struc- RESEARCH DESIGN
tures, in its own capacity, to realize social
outcomes. Following Giddens’ framework, A multiple case study method (Yin, 2009)
middle class women’s contemporary migra- was adopted as a research strategy, where the
tion is positioned amidst major structural units of analysis or the cases are middle class
Middle Class Women’s Migration 387
working female migrants, and the data is in contacts led to the authors obtaining the links
the form of their life stories that are directly or to other working female migrants and they
indirectly related to their migration to the city were considered as secondary contacts. The
and their post-migration life at the destination. method resembles the snowball sampling
method. However, in order to minimize bias
in responses, a maximum of two secondary
contacts were sought from one primary con-
Data Collection and Identification of
tact. Also, family members and relatives of
Respondents
the respondents were not been interviewed
Data has been gathered in the form of even though they qualified to be respondents
semi-structured long interviews from female for the study. The respondents were inter-
migrants working in white-collar jobs in the viewed through face-to-face and telephonic
city of Kolkata through a field study carried interviews. The interviews were long and
out from December 2012 to March 2013. in-depth, carried out in multiple sittings. The
Migrants are identified as individuals residing final analysis of this research study is based
in the city for a minimum of six months and on 25 detailed consolidated interviews. Out of
having their last place of residence outside the these 25 interviews, 18 were collected through
metro core of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area.2 face-to-face conversations (informal chats and
Occupational variation has been sought during formal interviews) and seven through formal
the fieldwork to include women from low (but telephonic interviews.
not poor) to high-income brackets. Close
observation of the lifestyle of the women and
self-declaration of their own economic status Analytical Methods
helped in identifying them as middle class.
Respondents from different types of The analysis of qualitative data combines two
residential arrangements, that is, hostels, methodological approaches as stated by Yin
PG accommodation and rented flats were (2009, pp. 130–132), that is, relying on the-
approached. The fieldwork started with a oretical propositions and developing a case
working women’s hostel chosen at random. description. The former is to test and find
One such working women’s hostel (hostel evidence of the theoretical propositions set at
Asha) was identified in south Kolkata. The the beginning of the study using the collected
senior author spent considerable time with qualitative data. This approach is best suited
the hostellers to build rapport to gather to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ certain social phe-
research-related information. The information nomena happen in the light of pre-established
was collected through informal conversations theoretical tenets. Based on the structura-
and semi-structured open–ended face-to-face tion theoretical framework, the present study
interviews. Migrants residing in PG accommo- attempted to collect evidence for our primary
dations or rented apartments were approached proposition: the process of middle class wom-
through the authors’ personal contacts. The en’s migration to urban India after liberal-
contact information of some of the female ization is a complex interplay between the
migrants working in various service-sector structural changes in the contemporary eco-
jobs was obtained from the authors’ acquaint- nomic, socio-cultural milieu and the mediating
ances. These female migrants are considered role of women’s agency. The aforementioned
the primary contacts for the research. These
2
The metro core of Kolkata is the twin city of Kolkata and Howrah with densely built surrounding areas spreading
from Bally-Dakhineswar-Kamarhati to Andul-Garden Reach-Garia occupying about 34 per cent of the Kolkata
metropolitan area (KMA) (http://jnnurmwestbengal.gov.in/HTM/CDP/Kolkata_CDP/ch-II.pdf).
proposition can be simplified into the follow- Information such as living and working in a
ing sub-propositions: new city, coping and adaptations and vulner-
abilities and challenges has been collected
1. The structures, as in the rules, resources, norms, through the current fieldwork. A descriptive
values and culture, both facilitate and constrain presentation of the same has been done in the
middle class women’s migration. sixth section of the chapter. Owing to limited
2. Middle class women draw upon these structures knowledge about the post-migration life of
but also exercise agency in their own capacities,
urban middle class women, the insights fur-
in order to achieve desired outcomes, that is, their
migration.
nished in the study can be of great use for
future policymaking.
With the above propositions in mind, the pri-
mary purpose of this study was to utilize the
field data to identify various forms of struc-
BASIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS
tures, structural influence and manifestations
of agency in the process of migration of
Female migrants from diverse service-sector
middle class women in contemporary urban
occupations were interviewed in the study.
India.
The industries or sectors and particulars
The second methodological approach is
of women’s professions are presented in
about developing rich descriptions of the cases
Table 28.1. The research participants belong
highlighting different aspects of the subject
to the age group 17–40 years (median age 27
under study. It is useful in investigating explor-
years). Variation in their educational profiles
atory research questions. In the present study,
and incomes has also been maintained in the
a comprehensive understanding of the migra-
field data. The basic demographic profile of
tion process of urban middle class women
the respondents follows in Table 28.2.
cannot be achieved without getting deeper
insights on these women’s post-migration life.
Table 28.1 Types of Service-Sector Jobs

Industry/Sectors Particulars of Professions
Call centre Customer representative

BPO Technical support
Retail (shopping malls) Customer representative
Software industry Website developer, senior software engineer, SAP consultant
Telecommunications Branch manager
Consultancy VISA consultant
Beauty parlour Beauticians
Media (print only) Chief subeditor, senior copy editor
Education sector (teaching) Part-time teacher, teaching assistant
Education sector (non-teaching) Programme executive, programme associate
Nursing Private nurse
Banking services Officer, probationary officers
Social work (NGO) Teacher, faculty trainer of trainers (TOT), senior project officer
Law Legal advisor
Source: Summarized from the work done by the senior author.

Table 28.2 Basic Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Age profile (in years) Minimum 17 years, maximum 40 years, median 27 years
Marital status 16 unmarried, 9 married (out of them, 4 had kids)
Place of birth 22 urban, 3 rural
Place of last residence 24 urban, 1 rural
Education profile PhD/PhD pursuing/MPhil, 4
Masters/MBA, 10
Graduates/engineers, 6
Graduation pursuing, 2
12th grade passed, 1
10th grade passed, 2
Income/salary `3,000 per month to more than `40,000 per month
Type of accommodation Women’s hostel, 7
PG accommodations, 3
Rented room/flat (staying independently), 8
Rented/own flat (staying with husband), 7
Source: Summarized from the work done by the senior author.
UNDERSTANDING THE MIGRATION call centre in Kolkata was around `8,500 per
PROCESS: FIELD EVIDENCE month but she managed to draw `12,500 in her
very first month with her zeal and hard work.
Structures She worked for two months and then left the
job, as she had to attempt her graduation first
Macroeconomy: New Opportunities year exams. She was willing to join such call
for Women centre job again after her exams got over.
Priya (age 26 years), who currently works
The strong role of macroeconomic structures as programme associate in an educational
in determining middle class women’s labour institution at Kolkata, left her hometown
migration emerges in the interview scripts. Kharagpur and started her career with BPO
It becomes quite apparent that the post- jobs in Hyderabad and later in Kolkata. She
liberalization proliferation of modern service- says that after coming to Kolkata, she regu-
sector industries, such as BPOs and call larly visited the Salt Lake area where regular
centres, MNCs, software, beauty and personal walk-in interviews for various BPOs were
care and telecommunications, has played a conducted. After clearing one such interview,
prominent role in employing educated middle she got into IBM as senior executive.
class women in Indian metro cities. Macroeconomic recession also compels
Ease of entry, ease of switching jobs, flex- even highly educated middle class women
ible salary and the modern western working to go for BPO jobs to start a career. Many
environments of BPOs and call centres tend perceive these jobs as a stepping-stone for a
to attract many undergraduate and graduate future career. Raji, a postgraduate in bioin-
women who wish to start their career and formatics, got into a call centre job in order
become self-dependent. to start her career in the time of recession
For Sazia, an undergraduate student and a and no commensurate job placement at her
former call centre employee, a job at the age college. Through college placements, she
of 17 years was a great opportunity to earn got a job in a recognized US-based BPO
extra money. Her fixed salary in a US-based company.
I joined BPO1 as technical support. My salary was the preponderance of beauty parlours and
`12000 per month, including incentives it could fitness centres, from branded to ordinary, in
reach up to 12500.... After one and a half years every corner in the cities. The populariza-
of job in BPO1, I joined BPO2. BPO2 was giving
me more salary, more than double of my previous
tion and phenomenal growth of this largely
salary. I used to get between `25000–30000.
feminized sector of beauty and personal care
My designation at BPO2 was senior technical has created demand for workers at various
support. Just after completion of my training levels, from helpers to professionally quali-
over there, I appeared and qualified for the fied beauticians and hairdressers. During the
Probationary Officer exam of a Public Sector Unit field visit in Kolkata, many female migrants
(PSU) bank. I worked for 10 months in BPO2 and
then joined the bank. I did not even forward my
from the northeast regions of India, Nepal,
resignation to my boss. I just left my job [smiles]. Bhutan, and other districts of West Bengal
(Raji, 27) were noticed. They worked as beauticians and
helpers at many recognized beauty salons in
Although Raji currently has a public sector the city. Many branded beauty and personal
bank job, a much reputed and stable job, she care salons/parlours, such as Jawed Habib,
misses the westernized working environment VLCC and Lakme, operate their academies
of her previous BPO job— and offer various beauty- and fitness-related
short-term courses in metro cities and other
My previous job was more fun. Team gathering
used to be there. I worked in sales department
urban centres.
and we used to get sales targets. If you fulfil the Neeta, a Gorkhali young woman from a
targets, there used to be parties every month … well-to-do service family in Siliguri (West
There I used to be engaged in work for a com- Bengal) quit her graduation studies in the
plete nine and a half hours. You need to attend final year to make a career in the beauty and
calls, talk, do marketing, and find resolution and
all. I liked doing that. I enjoyed working in pres-
personal care sector. Seeing an advertisement
sure … I feel bored here. There is no pressure on nutrition training at VLCC—a recog-
over here. Yes, my current job is more stable. It’s nized brand for beauty, health and fitness in
a permanent job. We get hikes in salary in every India—she arrived in Kolkata. However, she
three months. That way it is good. (Raji, 27) ended up doing an eight-month course on hair
and beauty that cost her `80,000 because of
Macroeconomic restructuring, liberaliza-
its greater demand and employability. Neeta
tion and globalization not only affected the
recounts that post training, jobs were not read-
information technology (IT) sector but also
ily available, but because of being a part of
brought changes in other spheres of urban
the professional network, one can find a job
lifestyle. Ghosh (2011) points out that globali-
within a month or two. Unlike Neeta, Rinku
zation redefined the meaning of fashion and
came from a lower middle class family in
body appearance in modern urban India, apart
Bhutan with no financial support from her
from its visible outcomes in the form of ‘mall
father. Limited employment opportunities at
culture’, ‘consumerism’ and IT boom. He
Bhutan and ease of employment in the beauty
notes, ‘Apart from imported dresses, today’s
care sector in India made her come to Kolkata.
boys and girls also attach importance to body
With her brother’s help, she managed to
appearance by becoming regular customers of
fund her six-month-long training on hair and
gyms or beauty parlours. Everybody seems to
beauty from Jawed Habib academy that cost
be more concerned now about his or her looks
her `65,000 and a three month course from
… it is not at all difficult to locate a gym, a
VLCC academy that cost her `35,000.
beauty parlour or a health club in many semi-
urban localities of West Bengal’ (p. 169). The After my course in Jawed Habib, I went back
craze for beauty and fitness among youth in home and stayed there for 2–3 months. Then I
the metro cities can well be gauged through came back again and joined VLCC for training.
But I could not complete that course as I got uncertainty of employment, it has also made
a job offer in AH Salon [a branded salon]. I the entry to the labour force relatively easier.
joined AH Salon for `8000 per month. After
one year my salary became `9000 per month.
It is almost two years at AH now. My dura-
tion of stay in Kolkata will be around 3 years. Family: Mediating between
(Rinku, 30)
Community, Culture and Religion
A simultaneous expansion and informaliza- Family is the primary unit where an individ-
tion of many traditional feminized service ual is exposed to structural factors, such as
sectors, such as education and nursing in the culture, religion, authority and division of
post-liberalization period, made the entry of labour, which enable or constrain individual
women relatively easier in low- to medium- behaviour. In India, as in most of south Asia,
skilled jobs. Many organized units of educa- the traditional gendered division of labour in
tional centres and hospitals now hire a pool family bestows the primary responsibility of
of employees on contract basis apart from earning and outside work to husbands and
their permanent staff. Priya and Nisha joined adult sons and the duty of household chores
their respective educational institutions on and carework to wives and daughters (who
contract basis as Programme Executive and would be future wives of someone) (Neetha,
Programme Associate, respectively, which 2004). Thus, the household was the domain of
basically involved the clerical work of data- women and the outside remained that of men.
base maintenance of students and associated In this light, a job is seen as a necessity for
responsibilities. Although the jobs are regular men, not only to run a family but also to main-
and salaried, the contracts terminate after a tain authority in the family (Curtis, 1986).
stipulated period, usually in two–three years This smoothens men’s access to resources
and they need to reappear for an interview that are necessary to obtain a job, such as
to get the same job. Priya says that such jobs education, money and mobility. Inevitably,
were earlier done by permanent clerical staff the migration of men is expected and mostly
who were on the payroll of the institute. Now, encouraged in a family. On the other hand,
the institute employs contractual workers for women’s traditionally assigned role of house-
these jobs and outsources the hiring process of work, reproduction and childcare, put them at
the workers to some external agencies. These a disadvantage in accessing family resources
agencies act as an intermediary between the to secure jobs or build careers. As the mobil-
organization and the workers in matters of ity of women is culturally not celebrated in
salary and terms of contract. India (Basi, 2009), structural constraints in
The variation in the nature of these contrac- the way of women’s migration for a job, at
tual jobs is, however, enormous. While Priya the family level, are much higher than that
with a degree in commerce and Nisha with an for men. However, a family’s perception and
MBA draw salaries between `20,000–25,000, practice of norms, values and beliefs deter-
Vandana, who had only passed the 10th grade mine its attitude towards women’s migration
and belonged to a lower middle class family, and employment. On women’s employment
could earn only `3,000 per month by working in India, Basi (2009) observes, ‘… the home
as a ‘private nurse’ in a hospital in Kolkata. can be constructed in three ways: as a site of
Vandana’s job was confirmed without any oppression, a site for resistance and … a site
written contract about salary or tenure of her for leisure’ (p. 135).
work. After joining the hospital, she received In the field interviews, the role of family
six months of training in care work from the turned out to be very crucial for women’s
hospital. While it is true that informalization employment and migration. Financial crisis
of these jobs has increased volatility and at families sometimes leads to acceptance of
a daughter’s employment and mobility out- But, when I have asked for even nominal money,
side home. Vandana started working quite say, `500, for my tuition or books, I have been
early because of monetary needs at home. She denied on scarcity grounds. Or even if I managed
to get that, I knew it was not my father’s priority.
was the youngest unmarried daughter in the In fact it is in the Marwari community only that
family with no brothers. When she got a job girls’ education and their job are treated with low
as a private nurse at a hospital in Kolkata, her priority. (Deepika, 28)
father took her to the city from a village in the
Barasat district of West Bengal and helped her For women like Deepika, family has been a
to settle down. Her family had no objection site of resistance despite economic affluence
with regard to her job or her staying alone out- at home. Because of strong patriarchal norms
side home as economic necessity outweighed and biased gender dynamics, education, job
the socio-cultural norms that restrict or dis- and migration become basic entitlements for
courage women’s mobility. However, even sons but a matter of dispute and negotiation
economically disadvantaged families some- for daughters. Deepika presently has a suc-
times assume that earning is the son’s respon- cessful career and an independent life, but that
sibility and daughters should be married off required enormous efforts, fights and negotia-
rather than sending them out for work. Rinku tion on her part. Strict behavioural constraints
(age 30 years) from Bhutan was discouraged at her home required her to exercise agency
from migrating to Kolkata for her job despite to arbitrate and mould the structures to her
monetary issues at home as her mother felt favour. Hence, for women, the role of agency
that it was her brothers’ responsibility and not is crucial for achievement of desired goals,
hers to take care of family finances. especially if it requires challenging prevalent
Rinku’s situation was different from that of or traditional gender norms.
Vandana’s with respect to distance of migra- The fieldwork also shows that a low prior-
tion as well. The fieldwork data clearly shows ity of education and career is often taken for
that irrespective of economic standing and granted by daughters themselves. Priyanka
community and religious affiliations, parents and her elder brother were raised in a military
prefer daughter’s migration to a place close to family with good economic standing. While
the hometown than to a distant place. her brother’s relatively expensive higher edu-
In moderate to well-off middle class fami- cation of chartered accountancy (CA) was
lies, where economic necessity is not an issue, fully funded by her father, Priyanka’s basic
a family’s perception towards a daughter’s graduation was not even partially funded.
education and career becomes critical for her Priyanka migrated from her hometown
migration. A family’s perception is again influ- Durgapur (West Bengal) to Kolkata in the
enced by its cultural, religious and societal hope of a better education and a career. At a
standing as Bourdieu (1996) distinguishes a young age of 19 years, Priyanka worked hard
family as an ‘objective social category (a struc- as a part-time schoolteacher to fund her under-
turing structure)’ as well as a ‘subjective social graduate studies, hostel fees and other daily
category (a structured structure)’ that main- expenses in Kolkata. Upon asking, she naively
tains and reproduces the social order (p. 21). said, ‘karna padta hai didi … mummy papa
Deepika was raised in a well-off middle agar padha sakte the to padhate’ (I have to do
class family, yet her education, hobbies and it didi. My parents would have educated me
career were never as prioritized as her broth- if they could afford it.’). If resources ‘appear’
er’s were— to be limited in a family, daughters are likely
to sacrifice their career aspirations for those
I have seen abundance of food in my home. My of their male siblings. Such gender dynam-
father always ensured that we eat healthy. This is
ics are so ingrained in most Indian families
very peculiar in my family that if I have demanded
something to eat, it has been brought just then. that women often do not realize that they are
being discriminated against. Priyanka found it After my MBA, when I was appearing for bank
difficult to make ends meet with her nominal PO exams, my mother was worried that if I get a
job then I would have to stay out of my home. It
income from a part-time job. Yet she tried her was just inconceivable for her to send me away
best to manage as she felt bad asking money from home, all alone. Incidentally at that time
from home thinking that it would overburden one of my cousin sisters got a job in Delhi and
her father. her father allowed her to go there to join her
It is also important to note that family does job. This worked positively for me. It brought a
sense of acceptance to my family. My parents
not always reproduce the prevailing macro- could now imagine that their daughter could
structures, but sometimes mediates and alters also stay outside home for her job…. Now when
them. Raji was raised in a Punjabi family and I have been doing this job for quite some time,
she expressed how her family, particularly her earning money, buying some gifts for them or
father, stood against the conservative commu- contributing to the family, even trivially, they feel
good about it and feel proud of me. They get
nity culture and promoted her education and reassured of their decision of sending me out. It
career. is now going on in our region, where we live.
(Shabana, 25)
In my community, girls are married off just after
their graduation. Higher education among girls
Shabana’s story signifies that a family acts
is not that common. In my extended family, it is
only me and one of my cousin sisters, who are as an agent to mediate, alter and even pro-
doing jobs and living outside home. Usually girls duce alternate structures. Gidden’s concept
are not allowed to work far away from home…. of ‘structuration’ process becomes relevant in
When a girl is doing her graduation, a search this context. Within the constraints of religious
for grooms gets started immediately so that by
and cultural structures, Shabana’s uncle took
the time she completes her graduation, she is
married off. But, my father always wanted me the authority to allow his daughter’s migration
to get higher education…Had he not had that and independent stay at a distant city, Delhi.
willingness to get me educated, I would not have Shabana’s father, himself being well-educated
reached this level. (Raji, 28, MSc Bioinformatics, and liberal, appreciated and replicated such an
PO at a PSU bank)
initiative in his family. As Shabana points out,
gradually many people at her place of origin
Shabana had a similar story to share. She
have started to encourage their daughters’
expressed that despite being raised in a
careers and associated migrations, the emer-
Muslim family, she got the opportunity to
gence of a counter structure can be conceived.
pursue higher studies (MBA) and to join a job
This wave of change, though still weak, is
far from her hometown.
noteworthy in anticipation of a much greater
My religion is conservative about women’s going workforce participation and labour migration
out and working outside home, but my father of women in the future.
has been very much supportive in this regard. In the field sample, girls from upper middle
Even my grandfather wants me to continue the
class educated families with relatively liberal
job post marriage. He insists on me to reject
marriage proposals if my future husband and his cultural and religious background had the
family restrict me from working. (Shabana, 25, fortune to get a very supportive and gender-
PO at a PSU bank) neutral environment for their education and
career. In fact, the interview questions on
Shabana is the only daughter among three other family support and gender discrimination
siblings in her family. Her father was a lec- probably surprised some of the respondents.
turer and mother was a housewife with a high Siddhi, now married with a daughter and
school qualification. Her father wanted to get pursuing her doctorate at a premier business
her well-educated though she admitted that a school in Kolkata, has an upper middle class
daughter’s job was not a priority in her family. family background. Her father was chairman
of a holding company with substantial monthly Marriage: Limiting the Choices

income. Having graduated from one of the top
business schools in India and worked in a high The dynamics of women’s migration are quite
profile consulting job, Siddhi attributes her complex and unique compared with that of
educational and career success to her father. men’s because of the critical role played not
only by their natal family but also by their
My father has been very ambitious about our marital family. Because of the traditional
education …. He wanted us to rank well in stud- patriarchal marriage system and post-marriage
ies, clear competitive exams. His expectations patrilocal3 housing arrangements in India, the
were very high and that always put us under
pressure …. We all three sisters have been work-
in-laws have a significant role in influencing a
ing. In fact I feel that my elder sisters have done married woman’s employment and migration.
much better than me. (Siddhi, 35) The role of family differs quite significantly in
case of a daughter’s career and migration and
Before getting married, Siddhi migrated to that of a daughter-in-law’s.
multiple cities, such as Delhi, Bangalore, Vijaya’s experience as a daughter and then
Mumbai and Ahmedabad, independently for as a daughter-in-law highlights these contrasts.
her education and job. Her father ensured that Having been raised in an upper middle class
all his three daughters received a good educa- educated family, she got great encouragement
tion and had a good career. Hence, for him, and support for her higher studies. Vijaya com-
daughters’ migration and independent stay at pleted her master’s degree from Varanasi and
distant places away from home have not been then a PhD from a reputed institute at Dhanbad
an issue. Undoubtedly, the family was a facili- (Jharkhand), her hometown. Despite being
tating agent in Siddhi’s independent migration. highly qualified, she had to compromise with
Sarita had a similar supportive environ- her career choice after marriage. Marriage,
ment in her family despite being raised with post-marriage family responsibilities and
two brothers and another sister. Unlike in power dynamics within the husband’s family
Priyanka’s case, presence of male siblings in compelled Vijaya to settle on a relatively
the family did not deprive her from family low-profile career. Before marriage, she was
resources for her own education and in build- free to migrate to any place for better career
ing a career. Sarita is from an upper middle prospects, but post-marriage she became con-
class business family based in Cuttack, Odisha. fined. Vijaya’s disappointment is revealed
She has a master’s degree in law and works as from the following excerpts of her interview—
a legal advisor at an MNC in Kolkata. Sarita
proudly says— My migration to Kolkata is solely driven by my
marriage as otherwise I would not have migrated
One of the reasons I went for a job is because to a place where there are no or limited job
of my father. He has always encouraged us for opportunities for me. In fact I am staying here
our education and job. All my siblings have been because my husband and in-laws stay here and I
working…. My brothers are doctor and engineer. am not allowed to go to other places for my job.
My sister is also working. I was not that ambi- I can work, but in Kolkata only. They allowed me
tious but my father’s encouragement made me to finish my PhD because that was a precondition
career-aspirant…. During my Masters I had some of my marriage.
financial crisis. I told my father and he said that I stay with my husband and parents-in-law. They
he would arrange money in two days. I then real- approve of my job as long as I do all the required
ized that he does so much for me and so I should household chores…. There are other good insti-
now be working and earning money. (Sarita, 27) tutions where I can apply such as NITs, IITs and all.
But you know options just get limited when you
are confined to one place. I have an offer from
3
A pattern of marriage in which the couple settles in the husband’s home or community (Oxford dictionary).
my home institute, ISM Dhanbad, but cannot has been to stay with her husband rather
join as I am not supposed to leave Kolkata. than to have a great career of her own. After
(Vijaya, 30)
coming to Kolkata, Disha found a job com-
Even though Vijaya’s in-laws are well edu- mensurate with her academic qualifications
cated and economically better-off and she in a renowned NGO at Kolkata. She joined
herself is educationally qualified and econom- as Project Technical Support, a position with
ically active, she is not spared from typical a good profile, exposure and salary. Her hus-
gender roles after marriage. She mentioned band again had to move to San Fransico, USA,
that at her marital home, women are supposed for his job. This time, Disha chose not to leave
to do all the household chores and men are her job and stayed back in Kolkata instead of
supposed to do only outside work, even if both migrating with her husband.
women and men are working. This double It is not always that men should have their desired
burden of work leaves her little time and job and women can adjust with their career and
energy for future career planning and other accompany their husband all the time. Earlier I
activities. Many professional and educated used to accompany my husband everywhere
because I wished to do so.... This time I am in a
Indian women face a similar situation after
good profile job and I did not want to lose this
marriage and this greatly affects women’s job job. My husband is now on deputation in San
participation and labour migration. Francisco, USA. He will return to Kolkata as soon
For those few married women who are able as his deputation gets over…. Yes, my in-laws
to retain a desirable job or undertake migra- would have been happier if I would have gone
with my husband and stayed with him. But, my
tion to a preferred destination, cooperation
husband is considerate and he backs my decision
and support from their marital family, espe- of staying here. (Disha, 32)
cially from their husbands have been crucial.
Manya from Malda (West Bengal) works Field data also suggests that for married wom-
as a senior copy editor in a leading Bengali en’s job and migration, family becomes more
newspaper in Kolkata. Her husband recently of a constraining structure than an enabling
moved to Malda from Kolkata to join his new one. Post-marriage reproductive responsibili-
job. Manya did not have to leave her job to ties seem to hinder the career of every work-
accompany her husband to Malda— ing mother interviewed during the fieldwork.
Nisha got married in Kolkata just after her
I have been staying in Kolkata alone and my hus-
band visits me in the weekends. There has never
MBA. Her father expected her to get a good
been any pressure from my husband or from my job in a metro city like Kolkata rather than
in-laws for quitting my job in order to accom- in their hometown of Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
pany my husband to Malda. My husband and However, Nisha states that after marriage, she
in-laws are very understanding and supportive… got occupied with family responsibilities and
[Being in media sector] sometimes I return home
at around 2:30 am…. It is a fact that because of
hardly found any time to look for jobs.
my husband’s support I am able to manage this
… Meanwhile I conceived so I needed to stay
tough work-life balance. (Manya, 30)
back at home. When my son became three years
old, I again searched for jobs and got to work at a
For Disha, her husband’s support helped her private concern, MI, as an administrative officer.
negotiate with her in-laws in retaining her job. I got the link of this job from my relatives’ con-
Disha has a PhD from a recognized univer- nections. As there was a gap of around 4 years
sity from Baroda, Gujarat. She got married in my career, [and so] getting a job became quite
difficult. I worked there for two and a half years
during the final year of PhD and then moved
and used to get `12,000 per month. (Nisha, 32)
with her husband to multiple places such
as Delhi, Bangalore, Chicago and Kolkata.
Siddhi (35) had to compromise with her
Although every time she has sought her own
job profile after marriage and childbirth.
job possibilities before migration, her aim
Having an MBA from one of India’s premier
B-schools and having worked as a consultant to be vital in promoting their migration and
at a reputed private firm, Siddhi’s educational employment. Social capital, as explained by
qualifications and pre-marriage professional Bourdieu is ‘the sum of the resources, actual
achievements are commendable. However, or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a
just after her marriage she had to accompany group by virtue of possessing a durable net-
her husband to the USA and this move cost her work of more or less institutionalized relation-
consultancy job. Because of the career break, ships of mutual acquaintance and recognition’
she had to settle with an IT-based consultancy (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992, cf. Palloni,
job which was neither high-paying nor flexi- Massey, Ceballos, Espinosa & Spittel, 2001,
ble enough to allow her to balance work and p. 1262). The structural aspect of social capital
family. When her daughter was born, it became lies in the fact that social relationships between
difficult for her to continue even with that job. the members of a network are governed by
She had to work as a freelancer on contrac- general norms of trust and reciprocity and are
tual pay leaving her full-time regular job. For well beyond an individual’s domain. However,
a highly qualified and career-aspirant woman there remains scope of individual manoeu-
like Siddhi, this phase of four years of contrac- vring in reaping benefits from one’s social net-
tual low-paying work was quite distressful. work. It is interesting to note that every female
Post-marriage reproductive responsibilities migrant in the field data acknowledged direct
and carework remain inevitable bottlenecks or indirect contribution of her social network,
for a married woman’s career. Jobs and job comprising her relatives, friends and acquaint-
linked migration become challenging for even ances, in the process of obtaining a job or set-
well-qualified women. However, it is true that tling in the new city. The social capital of these
more than the biological functions of child- women largely facilitated information about
bearing and reproduction, it is the traditional available jobs and career opportunities at the
mindset of a patriarchal society that consid- destination, exposure about career options for
ers childcare and household chores as sole enhancing human capital and material as well
responsibilities of women in the family that as moral support that smoothened their stay at
confine and limit women’s careers. the destination.
Field data shows that a supporting family Much of the migration literature highlights
environment helps married women in continu- the direct influence of an individual’s social
ing their jobs. Working mothers also reported capital on his/her migration through facilita-
that the employing organization’s facilitating tion of information about jobs and help with
role in providing a flexible job environment settling down at the destination. However, a
and maternity leave help them in sustaining much broader aspect of social capital comes
the job and balancing work and life. Chandra to the fore in the present field data analysis.
(age 30 years) was able to continue her job For example, in the pre-migration stage, many
after her son was born because of extensive women got career exposure about higher stud-
support from her husband and other family ies and competitive exams from their friend
members. She mentions that her employing circle in their hometowns. Such information
organization, an NGO in Kolkata, was flexible might not have led to migration directly but
and facilitating too. helped them in enhancing their human capital.
Employment and migration avenues widen
for women with better human capital. Vijaya
(age 30 years) admits, ‘I came to know about
Social Capital: Filling the Lacuna of
BHU [Banaras Hindu University] from my
Financial and Human Capital
friend circle in Dhanbad. BHU is very pop-
Apart from the aforementioned structural fac- ular in Dhanbad.’ Vijaya completed her mas-
tors, migrant women’s social capital turns out ter’s degree from BHU and then pursued PhD
from Dhanbad. Her higher education helped Unfortunately, most working women experi-
her in obtaining a job in the education sector ence discontinuity in their career after mar-
in Kolkata, where she migrated to after she riage and childbirth. In such circumstances,
got married. Shabana was raised in a Muslim references of friends, relatives and other
family in Patna where a daughter’s education professional contacts help in getting jobs or
is supported but not with the aim of building of at least being considered for interviews.
a career. Shabana’s source of career expo- For even highly qualified women like Nisha
sure was her friend circle in Patna. Many of (MBA, age 32 years) and Siddhi (MBA, age
Shabana’s friends went out of Patna to pursue 35 years), returning to the job market after a
an MBA. She also pursued MBA, but in Patna, gap in their careers became very tough. Nisha
due to financial constraints. Her friends sug- was able to join a private firm because of her
gested her to appear for bank Probationary relative’s connections, after being out of the
Officers (PO) examinations as the job market labour force for four years. Siddhi had to quit
for MBAs was grim at that time. Upon qual- her high-profile consultancy job to accompany
ifying the PO exam of a nationalized bank, her husband to the USA and that curtailed her
Shabana migrated to Kolkata to join her job. career choices. Her friend circle helped her
It appears that for women in a relatively con- get back into the job market and she migrated
fined cultural setting, social capital networks to Kolkata. For women like Nisha and Siddhi,
are vital in career building and consequent social capital turned out to be an asset when
migration. their human capital got devalued.
Field data shows that social capital has Social capital also becomes an indispen-
been a prominent source of information and sable resource for women in gaining access
knowledge about job and career opportunities to other resources. For example, having been
at destinations and help in migration of many denied of family resources for college educa-
women. Rinku’s migration from Bhutan to tion, Priyanka could only continue her educa-
Kolkata and her employment as a beautician tion in a reputed college in Kolkata because of
in the city can partially be attributed to her her local acquaintances. She learned about her
social capital. Her migrant friend let her know present college, available courses and part-
about career opportunities in the beauty and time job opportunity in Kolkata from her local
personal-care sector in Kolkata. She acknowl- network of friends in her hometown.
edged her friend’s help in giving her a direc- Fieldwork data reveals that social capital
tion in life as until then she was unsure about not only facilitates migration but also helps
her future. Sazia and Priya got job links in the in sustenance at the destination. Many women
BPO sector from their friends’ network. Rashi found accommodation in the city through their
from Dhanbad (Jharkhand) came to know personal and professional contacts. Vandana, a
about a job vacancy in a telecommunications private nurse in Kolkata, had to relocate her
start-up from her friends. Many vacancies in residence several times in the city for reasons
service-sector jobs in private firms are com- such as bad landlord, unsafe accommodation
municated among internal employees only, and sudden evacuation. Her stay in the city
and so, job information becomes a scarce was very tough until one of her nurse col-
resource. For example, both Aisha and Manya leagues shared with her the link of her present
admitted that job information in the media residence, a working women’s hostel.
sector is obtained primarily through profes- Social capital often becomes a cushion in
sional contacts. Manya has worked in three times of emergency for single migrant women.
newspaper dailies until now and every job link Neeta remembers one such instance when she
was obtained through her contacts. got severely ill as she had to eat three-day
Discontinuity in a professional career stale food because she had neither money
reduces one’s marketability in the job market. nor a job in hand. She suffered from severe
stomach ache and vomiting that night and was visited Meghalaya House in the city almost
not in a position to even walk in the morning. every weekend, where other migrants from
In such a critical situation, one of her friends Meghalaya and other northeast regions gath-
in the city helped her out with food, medicine ered and resided.
and money. Social capital also acts as a safety net
Cases of Deepika, Shobhna and Sara sug- and source of support for outstation women.
gest that even normal day-to-day life becomes Parents also prefer to send their daughters
tough without a friend circle in a new city. to places where their relatives or friends are
Shobhna had never been outside north India present. Rupa’s father supported her migra-
before she came to Kolkata. Being away from tion from Kanthi, West Bengal to Kolkata as
her hometown Pilani, Rajasthan and having he was reassured about her safety because of
no friends in Kolkata, she found it difficult to the presence of Rupa’s aunt in the city.
adjust in the city.
Sometimes I feel out of place. Most of my friends

are settled in Delhi. Delhi is also near my home- Information and Communication
town. So if I were in Delhi I could have joined all Technology: The Catalysts
the gatherings of my friends and also I could go
home very frequently. Here I feel as if I am stay- Information is a key element in the process of
ing in an isolated island. (Shobhna, 25, Teaching migration. Advancements in telecommunica-
Assistant)
tions, internet and software industry in the last
Deepika’s first job posting in a software com- two and a half decades have completely revo-
pany was at Chennai. She then took a preferen- lutionized the quantum and process of infor-
tial job transfer to Kolkata in order to stay near mation and knowledge sharing in India. The
her hometown, Baharampur, West Bengal. educated middle class of modern India has
Moreover, she was familiar with Kolkata as utilized this dynamic change to a great extent.
she completed her bachelor’s in engineering Field data shows that all female migrants have
from Kolkata. Deepika remembers that her at least one cell phone and majority of them
transition from Baharampur to Chennai was access the internet in their day-to-day lives.
much tougher than that of Baharampur to The revolution in telecommunications has not
Kolkata, primarily because of lack of friends only redefined information sharing but also
in Chennai. made round-the-clock connectivity between
people possible. As a result, now, people
I realized that in a strange city, where you do are able to inform about their whereabouts
not have friends and all, staying alone is worse. instantly through one phone call, instant mes-
You feel lonely, and negative thoughts creep into saging and online chatting. This has widened
your mind. You miss your family even more. So,
I joined a gym to keep myself occupied. I used
women’s mobility considerably as even being
to listen to songs and all. But all these could not physically away from family, their virtual con-
help for long. I wanted to come back to Kolkata nectivity with family and friends reduces their
so that I could at least stay near my family. perceived vulnerability.
(Deepika, 28, Senior Software Engineer) An analysis of the field data reveals that
middle class female migrants have utilized
Sara’s stay in Kolkata was also filled with
IT in multiple ways. IT has become a source
solitude. She migrated from her hometown of
of information, knowledge and exposure, a
Tura, a small town in Meghalaya, to Kolkata
medium of earning and spending and a plat-
due to a job transfer. In her early forties, Sara
form for social networking and entertainment.
was unmarried and far from her parents.
Numerous free and paid e-job portals facili-
Her only support in Kolkata was her friend
tate round-the-clock information about job
circle from the northeast region of India. She
vacancies in diverse fields in different loca- that regular consultancies do not provide
tions of the country. information about jobs in the development
Soma found her first regular job through sector.
one such e-job portal. When she was home in Free-flowing information in this digital
Durgapur, she got information about a job in era has made the long-distance migration
a software company, IBM, through bulk email of middle class women feasible. Not only
postings. She came down to Kolkata for her job links and career options, but all sorts of
interview, got the job and joined IBM as a useful information can be obtained through
(trainee) customer care executive. For Soma, the internet.
IT was not only a channel of information that After her engineering degree, Rupa (from
facilitated her migration but also a parcel of Kanthi, West Bengal) got a job offer through
multiple opportunities. Before coming to campus selection in a software company in
Kolkata, she used to earn money by writing Kolkata. Her father’s primary concern was to
online articles for a blog. During her job in find safe accommodation for her in the city at
BPOs and consultancy firms in Kolkata, she a reasonable rate. He resorted to the internet
learned about online trade and started a blog to search for accommodation in Kolkata and
to sell branded cosmetics and accessories. identified the hostel Asha. Siddhi’s first job
Whatever marginal profit she earned through posting was in Mumbai. She had migrated
online trade contributed towards meeting her earlier to Delhi and Bangalore for educational
daily expenses. purposes and so had stayed in secure hostels
IT-based job portals have become a pre- inside college campuses. As this was her first
ferred option for job search rather than reg- time staying in the city all alone, she was cau-
ular consultancies for educated middle class tious about selecting accommodation. For the
women because of the greater intensity of initial living arrangement, she screened wom-
information and ease of access. Majority of en’s hostels through the internet and shifted
the respondents were registered on one or to one near the Juhu area of Mumbai. After
other e-job portal. Vijaya from Dhanbad and staying around six months in the hostel, she
Nisha from Jodhpur did not have any job in shifted to a rented apartment, which she found
hand when they migrated to Kolkata after get- through a broker.
ting married. Both of them were educationally IT has also facilitated the means for build-
well qualified, Vijaya had a PhD and Nisha ing social capital through social networking
had an MBA degree. Vijaya continued search- websites such as Facebook and Twitter. A
ing jobs online and after four months of her majority of the research participants use these
migration, she got a job as teaching assistant virtual social networking sites in their day-to-
in a business school. Nisha had to work hard day life. The feeling of staying connected to
to find a job as she had a career break of four a larger group of people is quite comforting
years after her son was born. She then got a for single outstation women in a new city. For
job link from an online job portal and joined many single women, these social networking
an educational institute as a programme sites are also a means to fight their solitude.
associate. Through online chatting, image/video shar-
For many off-stream occupations, where ing and other group activities, they enter-
there is a dearth of regular consultancies, the tain themselves after a long hectic workday.
internet has become a major source of job Besides, these social networking sites are an
information. Disha and Chandra worked in important channel for sharing information and
an NGO in Kolkata and both of them found knowledge. Instant information from friends
their jobs independently through an e-job about job vacancies, rented rooms, educa-
portal, devnetjobs.in, a dedicated portal for tional courses and health facilities in a new
development-sector jobs. Disha remarked location turn out to be very helpful for migrant
women. Overall, developments in ICTs have woman that she is today. It is not that she does
made migrant women’s stay smoother, besides not realize her responsibilities towards her
inducing migration. parents. She says that she in fact wanted to
become a support for her family like a son,
as she did not have any brother. Later, Priya
moved to Kolkata in order to stay close to her
Agency: Mediating the Structures
family. She has worked in Kolkata for the last
In a patriarchal society like India, restrictions four years and is able to look after her parents
and control over women’s lives can be very whenever needed.
intense. Discussions in the previous sections Soma’s case is a good example to show
(Macroeconomy: New Opportunities for how a simple middle-class woman exercises
Women and Information and Communication her agency to rise above disturbed family
Technology: The Catalysts) make it clear that environment, financial and emotional strain
while economic liberalization has brought and make her own way. In spite of being
opportunities for educated middle class raised in an economically sound family, Soma
women, deep-rooted patriarchal structures was deprived of resources because of trou-
at family and society still constrain their bled family circumstances. Her father with-
freedom. If these women have been able to drew from all responsibility of her when she
migrate to a distant place away from their was in high school. In addition to the finan-
home, it is because they have fought for it. cial crunch, she had to fight with emotional
Leaving home, migrating to a new city, man- shock. Soma started taking tuitions to contrib-
aging a job, living an independent life, choos- ute to her school education. She also utilized
ing a life partner and balancing job and family, online earning opportunities to fund her col-
everything involved great efforts on their part. lege education. After completing graduation,
The efforts and negotiations that helped them she registered her CV in various consultancies
achieve their desired outcomes against all and e-job portals. She found a job in a BPO
odds are conceived as agency here. During the in Kolkata and despite having no relatives or
interviews with middle class women migrants, friends in the city, she migrated and joined the
multiple instances emerged that showed that job. Soma fought structural constraints at the
they exercised agency to alter structural con- family end and harnessed recent economic
straints and harness structural opportunities opportunities in the IT sector that made her
for their gain. migration and employment possible. A BPO
When Priya found her first job in Hyderabad job was just a stepping-stone for her to enter
(then in Andhra Pradesh), her father did not the formal job market. She worked in two
want her to move out of home and stay in a BPOs and then joined a consulting firm as a
city where there were no relatives. Her father visa consultant. She talked about her dreams of
was concerned about her safety and well- travelling abroad and working at an embassy.
being, and a daughter’s job was not a priority Sometimes, migration is not out of mate-
in the family. However, Priya always wanted rial necessity, but a way of getting out of one’s
to be self-dependent, and hence, she did not cocoon to have an independent life. Men can
want to let go the opportunity. When her par- smoothly make such a move but women in
ents stuck to their decision, she even stopped India face various restrictions from family and
eating at home. Finally, she was allowed to society. Neeta from Darjeeling had to put up
migrate to Hyderabad and join her job. Had enormous effort while negotiating with her
Priya not exercised her agency to overpower father for her migration to Kolkata. Neeta is
familial constraints to her migration, she an adventure-loving woman. She says that
would have still been at home or been mar- as her father and elder sister have a military
ried off rather than becoming the independent background, everything from morning to
night happens according to a strict timetable with their family in important matters, such
and with discipline in her home. Her mother as in choosing a life partner, in carrying out
is a retired school teacher and on pension. She unconventional jobs and maintaining an urban
has three earning members and an abundance lifestyle.
of resources in her family and yet she wanted It is interesting to note that while most
to leave home and do something on her own. educated middle class families have encour-
aged their daughters for higher studies and
I did not want to do that course [beautician
employment, almost all the families had res-
course] at Siliguri [West Bengal] because I had
been staying with my parents for 20 long years. ervations about their daughter’s love mar-
Now, I wanted to see the outside world and riages. Interestingly, almost all the middle
wanted to be on my own. I wanted to get out class women migrants in the sample had been
of this support system of home. My father was in love relationships and many had love mar-
dead against this beauty parlour course as he
riages despite the objection of their parents.
is from an army background and does not feel
these jobs to be respectable. He was also worried Raji admits that her father had been very sup-
about my stay in Kolkata as I did not have any portive of her education and job but was very
relatives over here. But I convinced him and got strict about intercaste marriage.
here. (Neeta, 25)
Because I was away and my parents had less con-
For Aisha, being the only child in her family trol over me, I could manage to pursue my wish
[of inter-caste marriage]. In fact I changed my city
posed challenges for her migration. Till she
from Kolkata to Gurgaon because my father was
completed her masters in philosophy, she putting pressure on me to get married. I did not
stayed with her parents in her hometown, discuss my plans of changing city and job with
Cuttack, Odisha. After that, she undertook him. When I reached Delhi, I informed him that
intrastate migration for her job and further I was in a different city. My father came down
to Gurgaon fearing that I might be staying with
education, but convincing her parents for
my boyfriend. When he saw that I was staying
moving to Kolkata was very tough. A good in a PG room, away from my boyfriend, he was
profile job in a leading newspaper company relieved. (Raji, 27)
helped her in negotiating with her parents for
her migration. Rashi, branch manager of a telecommunica-
The task of negotiation and persuasion tions start-up in Kolkata, also had a tough time
becomes even more difficult for married persuading her parents to accept her inter-
women because of societal prioritization of religion intercaste marriage. She acknowl-
the husband’s job and migration over that of edges that having been away from her home
the wife’s. However, field data shows that for several years and leading an independent
many middle class women have been able life helped her in negotiating her marriage.
to negotiate their own job prospects while Sazia’s physical distance from her home-
migrating with their husbands to new cities. town gave her liberty to continue her night
Some women like Disha and Manya have even shift at her call centre job at Kolkata. She
exercised their agency to avert associational narrates how her father reacted when she just
migration and stayed back in the city for con- talked about her plans to do night shift work—
tinuing their jobs.
While agency counters and mediates struc- My father does not even know that I was in a
call centre job. I never told him as he would not
tural constraints to make migration happen, have allowed me to do that. Just to know his
migration in turn helps in enhancing the views on call centre jobs, I once asked him if I
agency of women. Female migrants in the field could work in night shifts. He did not like the
data mentioned that physical distance from idea and shouted ‘What rubbish are you talking?
home loosened familial control over their life You are being deviated from the righteous path.
How can you think about night shift work being
to a great extent. It helped them in negotiating a Muslim girl? You should rather learn “adab,
hijab” [manners, veils]. You should learn from LIVING IN A NEW DESTINATION
our culture’. (Sazia, 19)
Sazia acknowledges that migration has Opportunities and Challenges

given her knowledge and exposure and Post-migration life brings an altogether dif-
enhanced her agency substantially. She states ferent experience for migrants. The big city
enthusiastically— facilitates a wide variety of job options, career
Now when I am outside my home and leading
opportunities, urban amenities, knowledge
my life independently, I have more exposure and and exposure. However, staying alone in a
knowledge. Now I have my own opinion. Even new city brings forth a myriad of problems for
I can persuade my father on certain things just migrants, especially for single women. The
because I am staying independently. (Sazia, 19) economic standing of middle class women
migrants may be better than their poorer
Somi from Assam is associated with an NGO
counterparts, but that does not necessarily
in Kolkata and works as a spiritual teacher for
smoothen their living in an unfamiliar city.
children from the slums. Her job requires lots
Talking to the research participants revealed
of travelling and staying out late in the evening.
a range of problems that they had to deal with
Travelling alone and working in slums used to
in their day-to-day life. Unfortunately, their
be challenging for her initially, but now she
issues and challenges go unrecognized in
feels very confident. She says that her father
policy documents even though middle class
would not have let her do this field-based job
women constitute a substantial workforce in
had he known about her job profile—
Indian cities.
My father actually does not know what I am With the rising incidents of gender-based
doing. He just knows that I am working. But, crimes in the cities of India, the safety and
he does not know that I have to move here and security of women in the cities has become a
there alone ... Back at home, girls are supposed matter of grave concern. Migrant women bear
to stay at home after 5 o’clock. It is not that usual
for us to be outside home in the night. Here, in
a higher risk of becoming soft targets because
course of my job, sometimes I need to stay out till of their greater presence in the public sphere
8, 9 or 10 o’clock in the night. It used to be very due to their jobs/education and due to lack
difficult for me earlier. But now I can manage of a local support base. It is unsurprising to
things well. (Somi, 23) hear from the research participants that they
feel a sense of vulnerability all the time and
Field data shows that migration and economic
everywhere in the city. It is not that avoiding
independence have provided many women,
a particular site, time or attire would prevent
especially unmarried women, a sense of free-
something undesirable from happening, as
dom from patriarchal control, which they have
the threat for women is omnipresent. Sarita,
harnessed to carry out their desired lifestyle at
a legal advisor at a private firm, expresses the
the destination cities. Though married women
vulnerability of single female migrants, ‘…
migrants do not enjoy such freedom as they
being a single girl staying out of home …
are staying with their husbands or in-laws,
there is always a risk factor ... you never know
they too feel a sense of autonomy being eco-
what will come next to you’ (Sarita, 27).
nomically independent. A job with a good
Instances of verbal and physical abuse in
profile may help them negotiate with their
crowded public transport have become a part
marital family on certain things.
of the daily life of every working woman in the
cities. Neeta’s following statement expresses
her and other women’s disgust and agony—
I needed to take the metro [underground train] safety and security issues in their accommo-
from Tollyganj to Girish Park. There was not a dation, such as PG accommodation and rented
single day when I had not been touched here
and there by men. It felt as if I was being raped
rooms/apartments.
every day. In auto rickshaws from Tollyganj to Deepika says that PG accommodation in
Jadavpur, if I sit beside the driver, he would try to Chennai are professionally managed and on
touch me with his elbow. Whenever we girls use an average much better than those in Kolkata
public transport, some degree of molestation we in terms of safety, security and logistics.
have to experience every day. (Neeta, 25)
She points out that the PGs in Kolkata are
The risk factor increases for female migrants, mostly unregistered, involve no written con-
as often they are unaware of roads and routes tract between the owner and the resident, and
in a new city. Rinku remembers once she hence, the landlords can easily do away with
had to go to the New Market area and as she their responsibilities. She narrated a recent
was new to the city, she preferred to take a encounter in her present PG room that kept
shared auto rickshaw to a cab. However, the her sleepless for long time—
auto-rickshaw driver sensed her unfamiliarity The Salt Lake area becomes quite deserted in the
with the city and tried to take advantage of night. There was a time when all women’s PGs in
her. As other passengers got down, he started this area had experienced some odd incidents....
taking her to far interior areas. Luckily, she Even in my PG one such incident happened.
Some odd guy peeped into my window at around
saw a traffic police on the way and shouted for
1:30–2’oclock in the night. When I noticed and
help. She had a narrow escape that day. shouted, all the PG girls gathered and saw that
If such incidents can happen during the day guy making lewd symbols and spluttering abu-
and in crowded public places, it can well be sive words for almost half an hour.... I called up
imagined that nights would be terrifying for the police and even when the police came, our
landlady did not show up. If something happens
working women. Rupa says that returning to
to any girl over here, she would not take any
her hostel from her office becomes a night- responsibility. (Deepika, 28)
mare whenever she gets late—
Deepika was still residing in that PG room
At times I left my office at 9:15–9:20 PM, stood
all alone at the bus stand and faced men’s staring
because of lack of choice. She mentioned
and nasty teasing. It was so awkward and scary that there is an acute infrastructural shortage
when in public buses some drunk sat beside me in Kolkata. Even having a good salary and
… The risk points are everywhere—streets, bus- a higher affordability capacity, she finds it
stand, bus, taxi, everywhere. Recently a lady has difficult to get a safe and well-furnished PG
been raped beside the street near this hostel.
(Rupa, 23)
accommodation in the city.
Knowing that most single migrant women
Such instances highlights not only a lacuna in have no local support system in the cities, often
the city’s law and order but also the wicked PG landlords try to take advantage of their sit-
mindset of a major portion of the masculine uation. Instances of theft, robbery, verbal and
society of the country. Women’s modern life- even physical assaults in PG accommodations
style and increasing share of public space were cited by many respondents. Soma got her
seems to threaten the dominance of the male cell phone and some other belongings stolen
gender. by her PG owner. Manya had to leave her
For single female migrants, home and out- previous PG room in Lake Town area as the
side are equally risky. After a long hectic day landlord’s intention and behaviour with her
at work and a battle-like journey in public was not proper. When Raji was in Gurgaon
transport, returning home may not always be for her job, she had a bad fight with her PG
relaxing for female migrants. Many of the landlord. The owner wanted her to evacuate
respondents raised their concerns over serious the PG room suddenly and even refused to pay
back her advance rent. On resisting, she was their local guardians to the hostel. Many of
verbally abused and shoved away by the PG them were completely annoyed by this local
owner. guardian matter. Vijeta, a software developer
Proper accommodation turns out to in a private firm in Kolkata, had come from
be a critical issue for women migrants in the Chittaranjan district of West Bengal and
Indian cities. Working women’s hostels are stayed in the hostel for the last six months. At
adjudged to be somewhat safer than unregis- that time, she had her cousin who was work-
tered PG accommodation and rented rooms, ing in Kolkata as her local guardian. Now, she
but hostels are the least utilized by a majority had no one to complete the formalities.
of middle class women migrants. Shortage Above all, there are a limited number of
of rooms, inadequate infrastructure, lack proper registered women’s hostels in the city.
of basic amenities, inflexibility in timings Because of absence of any housing contract in
and procedural complications are some of unregistered accommodation, the migrant res-
the major problems that deter well-earning idents always face the risk of sudden eviction.
middle class women migrants from availing They often succumb to frequent and undue
hostel facilities. rise in room rents to avoid hassles of finding
The hostel Asha studied in the fieldwork did a new accommodation. Rinku said that she not
not even have electricity points in the rooms. only had to evacuate her PG room on a short
Girls were observed crowding and queueing up notice but was also forfeited her advance rent.
in the morning and night in the dining hall to For affluent middle class women who own
charge their phones and laptops. Chandra, who private vehicles and work in established organ-
had stayed in another women’s hostel in the izations, the day-to-day struggle for shelter
Behala area, also mentioned the same problem and commutation is minimal. Tripti, an SAP
in the hostel. In terms of furniture, only one consultant in a big private firm in Kolkata, has
bed and a small locker were given in the hostel. been to several metro cities during her job.
There were no cupboards to keep luggage and About problems faced being a female migrant
that increased the possibility of theft. Limited in the city, Tripti comments—
number of toilets and bathrooms created a
huge delay in the morning when everyone I honestly did not face any problem. In Delhi, TCS
has such portals which give you links of accom-
had to rush for office or college. Even room- modation where its employees have stayed or
cleaning service was not there. have been staying … In ITC Infotech, I stayed in
Strict entry and exit timings in hostels also company quarters. I did not even have to search
discourage women working in rotational shifts for accommodation. Also I had my vehicle in all
or unconventional hours to seek hostel facili- the cities. So I did not have to use local transpor-
tation much. (Tripti, 33)
ties in the city. Sazia said that a few months
ago her hostel banned night-shift working However, for a larger mass of female migrants,
boarders in the light of some incidents of girls the basic minimum arrangement for accom-
eloping in the night. This move hampered the modation in the city is dismal and sometimes
jobs of many women working in call centres exploitative. In the absence of proper regula-
residing in the hostel, including that of Sazia. tions and institutional support, the situation
The rule was reversed soon probably realizing can become worse in coming days.
the demands of modern service-sector jobs.
Many hostels mandate the presence of a
local guardian for female migrants for getting
Living and Coping
an accommodation. During a visit to the work-
ing women’s hostel, Asha, readmission of all An important aspect of migration is adaptation
hostellers was in process. All women needed to the new environment and circumstances at
to submit requisite documents and bring the destination. Adaptations might be positive
and desirable. For example, Vandana feels For us people who are of different looks
happy to be able to adapt to the city lifestyle [Mongolian], our vulnerabilities are even more.
Verbal teasing is part of our daily life. Some
that is quite in contrast to her earlier village call us Chinese, China, Nepalese, Chinki and so
life. She mentioned that now western attire, on…. People are always suspicious about our
personal beautification, leisure time and shop- work also. They think that we do body massage
ping have become a part of her city life that only. (Rinku, 30, Beautician)
she never had in her village. Sometimes, post-
migration adjustments are tough and demand- Single women migrants often come under
ing, but she realized that they could be helpful moral scepticisms from their kith and kin
in the long run. Chandra recalled her rough and even from neighbours at the destination.
time in adjusting to her prior social-sector job A woman’s character is always being evalu-
that required her to deal with truck drivers ated through her attire, friends and lifestyle.
and to educate them about safe sex methods. Neeta felt very bad about being doubted by
Initially she used to be afraid, nervous and her relatives at home. Sometimes she needed
often disgusted with teasing and taunts from to reassure her father about her choices and
the drivers. She took it as a challenge and decisions.
learnt to tackle every situation with confidence Many relatives and friends at my hometown say
and boldness. Somi also feels confident to be so many things about me to my father … they
able to adapt to her field-based social-sector doubt what kind of work I do or lifestyle I main-
job that requires extensive travelling and stay- tain. But I assure my father that I shall always do
ing out late in the night. right things. (Neeta, 25, Beautician)
Sometimes a new environment brings in
Manya, being in the media sector, works in
differences and then adjustments seem to
the office till late at night and returns home
be undesirable. Often, perceived cultural
in the middle of the night. This makes her
differences in the destination become a
neighbours sceptical about her profession.
barrier in smooth adaptation. For example,
Some even make derogatory remarks about
Shobhna from Rajasthan feels uncomfort-
her character—
able with the relatively ‘open and friendly’
culture of Bengal. Sarita having worked in I have huge problems staying in my flat … People
Delhi finds the work environment in Kolkata have such a narrow mentality here. They think
to be ‘uncompetitive’, Bengali people to be that I am an alien or something as I do not fall
orthodox and Bengali landlords to be ‘money into their ‘conventional type’ working girl. As I
return home quite late in the night … they are
minded’. On the other hand, Deepika, having sceptical about my job and my character. (Manya,
been raised in West Bengal and educated in 30, Senior Copy Editor in a Bengali daily)
Kolkata, feels at home in the city. She found
it difficult to adjust in Chennai because of Coping with and adjusting to the circum-
language, cultural differences and physical stances sometimes become a mental game
distance from her home. Shobhna and Sarita when actions seem to be futile. Disha thought
had plans to leave Kolkata in the near future. that it is better to take certain things for
Deepika had already left Chennai and was granted than to ponder over them.
settled in Kolkata at the time of the interview.
For those with no alternatives in hand,
coping with the circumstances remains the
only option. Neeta from Darjeeling and Rinku DISCUSSION
from Bhutan, lament about being discrimi-
nated and stereotyped in the city because of Field data provided evidence to support the
their ethnicity and ‘different’ looks— conceptual framework of the research study
that the migration of middle class women to
contemporary urban India is an outcome of career break or withdrawal from the labour
complex interplay between macrostructures force, the prevailing patriarchal mindset in
and human agency. The vital role of various Indian society that considers a wife’s career
structures, such as the macroeconomy, family, to be subordinate to that of her husband’s
marriage, social capital and technological (Neetha, 2004), confine women’s career
innovation, comes to the fore in the migration choices and related migration. On occasions
process of middle class women. Field data where a married woman was able to carry out
shows that the proliferation of IT as well as her preferred migration or job, the support
non-IT-based service-sector industries and the from her husband and in-laws was crucial.
informalization and subcontracting of many The social capital of a woman in terms of
jobs opened up employment opportunities for her extended network of friends and acquaint-
educated middle class women in the megaci- ances in both origin and destination turned
ties and large urban centres of the country. On out to be a facilitator for her employment and
the other hand, family and marriage as social migration. Besides being a channel for infor-
structures turned out to be critical in determin- mation and knowledge about job vacancies,
ing the supply of female labour to the emergent educational opportunities, available accom-
urban job market. In the field data, the role of modation and other amenities at destination
family as a structural force was revealed to be cities, social capital also acted as an important
both facilitating and constraining with respect support system (both moral as well as mate-
to women’s labour migration depending upon rial) for female migrants staying alone in a
the economic standing,4 religious, cultural and distant city. In the field data, each middle class
educational background of a family. Material female migrant acknowledged the contribu-
necessity in lower middle class families was tion of her social capital networks towards her
observed to outweigh the gender restrictive migration or sustenance in the city.
norms to facilitate women’s employment Advancements in ICTs have facilitated
and consequent migration. In moderate- to the means for round-the-clock connectivity
high-income families, where pecuniary issues of women migrants with their families and
do not feature, a family’s perception towards friends. It has turned out to be a boon for
women’s career and mobility become impor- women migrants and their families at origin.
tant. In certain instances, it was seen that even The internet has become an important resource
in affluent families, ingrained gender restric- of incessant information that has been har-
tive cultural and/or religious values confined nessed by educated middle class women for
and discouraged a daughter’s work outside the their employment, migration and independ-
house and consequently her mobility. In other ent stay at the destination. Field data shows
instances, a family appeared to mediate the that ICTs have not only become a channel of
cultural/religious norms in order to promote knowledge and information for them but also
women’s labour migration. In educated well- a means for earning, shopping, entertainment
off families with a relatively liberal cultural/ and social networking that in many ways
religious background, a daughter’s career and smoothen and facilitate their stay in a new city.
migration was treated with as much ease and Although the aforementioned structures
normalcy as that of a son’s. have an influential role in shaping female
Marriage as an institution comes out to be migration, the role of agency remains central
largely restrictive with respect to women’s to the process. An analysis of the field data
labour migration in the field data. Apart from shows that irrespective of their backgrounds,
the household and reproductive responsibil- all the research participants mediated the
ities of a married woman that often cause a structural constraints and harnessed the
4
Such as lower middle class or upper middle class.
structural opportunities through their efforts Bourdieu, P. (1996). On the family as a realized category.
and negotiations, at some point or other, in the Theory, Culture and Society, 13(3), 19–26.
process and aftermath of their migration. They Curtis, R. F. (1986). Household and family in theory on
have been actively involved in what Kandiyoti inequality. American Sociological Review, 51(2),
168–183.
(1988) calls ‘patriarchal bargain’5 for carrying
Ganguly-Scrase, R. (2003). Paradoxes of globalization,
out migration, getting a job or an independent liberalization, and gender equality: The worldviews of
life, which seem to be mundane for boys and the lower middle class in West Bengal, India. Gender
men in a family. & Society, 17(4), 544–566.
The field data also shows that women migra- Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory:
tion seems to be further boosting women’s Action, structure and contradiction in social analysis.
agency. All the women migrants under study Reprint, Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd., 1990.
acknowledged that their physical distance ———. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of
from home and their economic self-reliance the theory of structuration. Cambridge, Malden: Polity
have somehow relieved them from patriarchal Press in association with Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
control and increased their bargaining power Kandiyoti, D. (1988). Bargaining with patriarchy. Gender
and Society, 2(3), 274–290.
at their family at varying degrees. Whether it
Lewis, A. W. (1954). Economic development with unlim-
is for marriage with a partner of their choice, ited supplies of labor. The Manchester School of Eco-
working in night shift jobs or living a lifestyle nomic and Social Studies, 22, 139–191.
of own choice, female migration appeared to Neetha, N. (2004, April 24). Making female breadwin-
be smoothing the negotiation process. ners: Migration and social networking of women
The study unveils how living at a new des- domestics in Delhi. Economic & Political Weekly, 39,
tination remains quite challenging for middle 1681–1688.
class women migrants despite her relatively Palloni, A., Massey, D. S., Ceballos, M., Espinosa, K., &
better economic standing compared to her Spittel, M. (2001). Social capital and international
poorer counterparts. The issues related to migration: A test using information on family net-
safety and security in the city and hassles in works. American Journal of Sociology, 106(5), 1262–
1298.
finding proper accommodation turn out to
Ranis, G. & Fei, J. C. (1961). A theory of economic devel-
be the major challenges faced by the women opment. The American Economic Review, 51, 533–
migrants of the field sample. Infrastructural 565.
lacuna and poor safety and security arrange- Shaw, A. (2012). Indian cities. New Delhi: Oxford Uni-
ments in Indian cities make post-migration versity Press.
life of middle class women highly challeng- Sjaastad, L. (1962). The costs and returns of human
ing. However, these women are observed to migration. Journal of Political Economy, 70S,
fight hard to cope and adapt to their new sur- 80–93.
roundings despite all the odds. Todaro, M. P. (1969). A model of labor migration and
urban unemployment in less developed countries. The
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5
‘Patriarchal bargain’ indicates ‘the existence of set rules and scripts regulating gender relations, to which both
genders accommodate and acquiesce, yet which may nonetheless be contested, redefined, and renegotiated’
(Kandiyoti, 1988).
29
Women Workers on the Move
S. Irudaya Rajan
Sumeetha M.
INTRODUCTION internal migrants in developing countries; in

some regions, they even outnumber the men
Migration in India is often seen as a male- (Shanti, 2006).
centric phenomenon, as it is largely men who According to the 2001 Census, 42.4 mil-
migrate in search of employment. Women lion migrants, out of the total 65.4 million
who migrate are just seen to be accompany- female migrants in India, mentioned marriage
ing their spouses and not directly contributing as the main reason to migrate within the coun-
to the labour force. However, of late, labour try. As associated migrants, women suffer
migration is getting feminized, especially in greater vulnerability due to reduced economic
developing countries (UN, 2004). Economic choices and lack of social support in the new
liberalization and an accelerated pace of area of destination. Internal female migrants
reforms have increased employability in infor- are vulnerable to exploitation and are often
mation technology and garment industries segregated to do unskilled and monotonous
that employ a significant number of females. jobs. In the case of semi-skilled, low-skilled or
Since women are ready to work for any wage unskilled female migrants, this can translate to
and are perceived as passive and docile, they their entry into the low-paying, unorganized
are in great demand, contributing to femini- sector with high exposure to exploitation and
zation of labour and that of labour migration abuse. Women have been drawn into deskilled
(Shanti, 2006). Literature pertaining to India operations as a form of cheap labour because
as well as to Southeast Asian countries clearly they comprise an ideal reserve of labour, since
indicates that the initial opposition to female there is a huge availability of labour force of
migration has been overcome after seeing women (Braverman, 1979).
the remittances from women who migrated In the Indian context, in a country-level
earlier. Recent migration research shows that analysis, Pande (2007) highlighted the need
female migrants constitute roughly half of all to incorporate a gender perspective in the
Women Workers on the Move 409
globalization debate and argued that women Domestic Migrant Labour in Kerala, a
in the informal sector with poor access to study completed in February 2013 (Narayana,
land, credit, education and health facilities Venkiteswaran & Joseph, 2013), adopted a
remain marginalized despite globalization. unique train-based survey of domestic migrant
They are often exploited by being made to labour (DML) to estimate their stock and the
work long hours and paid low wages, and annual inflow. The train survey covered all
they lack voice and participation, which the 63 long-distance trains entering Kerala
further restricts their upward mobility at through Kasaragod and Palakkad and gener-
the workplace. Several studies in India ated estimates of the stock of DML of over
have focused on the motivation and reasons 2.5 million, annual arrivals of 0.235 million,
behind migration of different groups—the and remittances of over `175 billion a year.
element of choice or compulsions of sur- If we add 0.23 million annually, the stock of
vival due to the segmentation of the labour in-migrants in Kerala can be estimated to be
market, its implications in terms of security around 3.9 million in 2019.
and status—at both source and destination Over 75 per cent of the DML come from
areas. While for the poorest, it is a forced five states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West
livelihood response arising from a complex Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. These findings are
set of social relations, including those of closer to the Interstate Migration Survey con-
debt and dependency, for others it is a posi- ducted at the Centre for Development Studies
tive opportunity to save, accumulate capital (CDS) (Moses & Rajan, 2012; Rajan &
or invest in assets (Rao, 2009). From Rao Sumeetha, 2015). The largely male workforce,
(2009) and related literature, we find that aged 18–35 years, uses friends and relatives as
migration for majority of women is a sur- the main channel of migration, and they mostly
vival strategy rather than an accumulation work under contractors and get employment
route. for 6–7 days a week. Whereas, 60 per cent of
Migration plays a pivotal role in the econ- them are employed in the construction sector,
omy of the southern Indian state of Kerala. their presence is also felt in hospitality, man-
The demographic advancement of Kerala’s ufacturing, trade and agriculture. The skill
population has resulted in a situation where sets range from unskilled to skilled carpentry,
the state has a diaspora of the size of nearly masonry, electrician and the like. Over 70 per
three million, while for its domestic require- cent of them earned wages above `300 per day
ments, it depends on a migrant workforce of in 2012, remitting `70,000 per person per year,
almost the same size (Benoy & Narendran, almost entirely through banking channels.
2017). Workers from beyond south India take
care of most of the low-skilled, low-valued
jobs at present. Kerala has about 2.5 million
migrant workers from other parts of India. STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTER
Out of the total interstate migrant workers,
46 per cent are from West Bengal, followed After the brief introduction on gender and
by Odisha (15%) and Assam (11%) (Kerala migration in India, this chapter looks at female
Economic Review, 2016). The interstate migrant workers who come to Kerala from
migrant workers in Kerala are engaged in dif- different parts of India. In order to understand
ferent types of employment, including agri- this phenomenon, the chapter relies on the
culture, construction, hotel and restaurants, Interstate Migrant Survey, 2012 (conducted
domestic work and manufacturing. The gen- by CDS, Thiruvananthapuram). It analyses the
eral trend shows that nearly 60 per cent of the wage differentials of male and female migrants
interstate migrant workers are engaged in the and workers, looks at the remittance data and
construction sector. closely talks about financial inclusion.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY Table 29.1 Average Age of Female Migrants

in Kerala
The chapter is based on the findings of the Female
Interstate Migrant Survey, 2012, conducted Number Mean
by the CDS, Thiruvananthapuram, funded Sector of Workers Age
by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Construction and 95 31
The need for the Interstate Migrant Survey repair
emerged from two very pressing reasons. Self-employed 57 30
First, the intensity and inflow of migrant Casual worker 65 31
workers into the state from different parts Industrial worker 61 26
of the country has increased tremendously,
Gold industry 31 30
and therefore, requires adequate attention.
Domestic worker 93 29
Second, the working and living conditions
Total 402 30
of migrant workers are precarious, even in a
labour-friendly state like Kerala. So far, few Source: Inter-state Migrant Survey (2012).
studies have been conducted in this area, and
therefore, this would be a pioneering effort to and then joined the workforce. At construction
account for the invisible migrant workers in sites are young unmarried women who travel
the state. in a group and go back to their villages when
Five major sectors across four districts projects are over. Such women come from
were chosen for the survey. This included mainly Odisha and Jharkhand. They stay in
construction, casual work, gold industry makeshift tents at the construction sites along
workers, self-employed, industry workers with other members. The Muttatara Sewage
and domestic workers. The sample size was Plant work in Thiruvananthapuram under-
500, distributed across these districts (2,000 taken by the Kerala Government is a huge
individual migrants). The choice of these site with young women workers recruited in
sectors resulted from the basic premise that large numbers, particularly from the afore-
it was difficult for migrant workers to find mentioned states. These women move to other
work in the organized sectors of the economy, destinations along with their group once the
and hence, migrants would be located in large work undertaken is over. They are mainly
numbers in the aforementioned unorganized unmarried young women in the age group
sectors. of 15–25 years. There are some women who
Migrants came mainly from Tamil Nadu, migrate to Kerala due to marriage and then
West Bengal and Odisha. The survey showed enter the labour force. Thus, the pattern of
that nearly 22 per cent of migrants were from temporary migration in India is reflected in
West Bengal. There were many workers the age composition of the migrant workers. It
from the Northeast and other northern states is the young workforce that moves across long
of India. Unlike the migration pattern in the distances in search of employment.
early 1980s, which comprised migrants from Table 29.2 shows that across all sectors,
Tamil Nadu in a vast majority, at present, there despite the variation, in income received,
are migrants from all other parts of India who women migrants save and remit money.
come to Kerala mainly for semi-skilled and Remittances are considered to be an important
unskilled work. element in sustaining migration. Women who
The survey data reveals that the mean age migrate to Kerala minimize expenses and send
of female migrants is 30 years (Table 29.1). money back home. The migration decision is
Some of these women are associated migrants often based on the notion that wages in Kerala
who accompanied their husbands to Kerala are relatively higher than wages in any other
Table 29.2 Average Wages, Remittance and Savings with Female and Employment Sector
Wages Remittance Savings
Sector N Mean (in `) N Mean (in `) N Mean (in `)
Construction and repair 95 7,979 91 5,140 65 1,482

Self-employed 57 6,796 47 3,283 46 2,157
Casual worker 65 6,399 54 3,750 44 1,923
Industrial worker 61 7,108 57 4,729 45 1,362
Gold industry 31 8,932 31 4,581 25 2,956
Domestic worker 93 5,859 86 3,659 72 1,419
Total 402 7,007 366 4,237 297 1,743
Source: Inter-state Migrant Survey (2012).

Note: ‘N’ stands for the number of respondents.
state of India. Migration can provide new repair possessed bank accounts, only 12 per
opportunities to improve women’s lives and cent of women working in the same sector
change oppressive gender relations by break- had bank accounts. It was observed that in all
ing traditional patriarchal relations. However, the sectors surveyed, men had better access
migration can also cement traditional roles to financial services than women. It may also
and inequalities and make women more vul- be that one male member of the family han-
nerable to exploitation and exclusion. It is dled the finances of female migrants. This
observed that women may have little influence raises questions of how financially inclusive
on migration decisions in the household. Even are female migrants and how empowering a
where women migrate alone, this is likely to strategy like migration is. The study clearly
be with reference to, or even determined by, showed that for most women, migration was
the household livelihood strategy and expec-
tations of contributions through remittances
(Jolly & Reeves, 2005). Table 29.3 Possession of Bank Account
Female migrants tend to remit more of their Bank Account Yes No Total
income to their families than male migrants
Male Construction and 110 242 352
do. This appears to be the case for both inter- repair
national migrants and internal migrants. Self-employed 55 189 244
However, female migrants often earn less
Casual worker 36 264 300
than their male counterparts, so, the total rev-
Industrial worker 56 182 238
enue available for remittances may be lower.
Gold industry 121 160 281
Studies of remitting behaviour of internal
Domestic worker 49 220 269
migrants show that ‘a woman’s age and mar-
Total 427 1,257 1,684
ital status are more important in determining
Female Construction and 12 83 95
whether she migrates or not than a man’s’ (De repair
Haan, 2000). Self–employed 11 46 57
An interesting observation from the survey
Casual worker 7 58 65
is the mode of remittances of migrants. For
Industrial worker 11 50 61
two sets of migrant workers, male and female,
Gold industry 15 16 31
employed in the same sector, possession of
Domestic worker 10 83 93
bank accounts showed a significant difference
Total 66 336 402
among both (Table 29.3). While 33 per cent
of migrant men working in construction and Source: Inter-state Migrant Survey (2012).
Table 29.4 Daily Wages with Sex and Employment Sector

Males Females
Employment sector Mean (in `) N Mean (in `) N
Construction and repair 353 352 305 95

Self-employed 365 238 260 57
Casual worker 356 300 246 65
Industrial worker 341 238 274 61
Gold industry 346 272 331 28
Domestic worker 290 269 233 93
Total 342 1,669 269 399

Note: ‘N’ stands for the number of respondents. Table 29.4 shows as that in all the five sectors, the average daily wages
for female migrants are less than those for male migrants. In certain sectors, like industrial sector and goldwork, women
work lesser hours as they are allowed to work in shifts. Women migrants in these occupations do more of the unskilled
work and rarely get a chance for upward mobility. However, compared with other states in India, this difference is not
very wide.
just a survival strategy, whereas men saw Within India, Kerala is unusual. For several
migration as an accumulation strategy. Thus, decades, it departed from the general national
the whole experience of migration is different pattern due to specificities in class formation
for male and female workers. and the institutional linkages that emerged
In a study on migrant workers in the from repeated cycles of class-based contesta-
Ernakulam district, Prasad-Aleeyamma tion and state (Heller, 1999). Despite the extent
(2017) point out that migrant workers who of political consciousness in Kerala, migrant
were working at a biogas plant construction workers are alienated in the state. Questioned
site in Edathala in the Ernakulam district, had on whether local unions approach the work-
comparable work and wages with agriculture ers, none of the female workers in construc-
in the Sundarbans in West Bengal and in con- tion and repair sector had been approached by
struction work in Kerala. The daily wage was local unions. Even though unions are reluctant
`80 or `90 for work in tobacco fields in the to approach male migrant workers, there are
Sundarbans. At the gas plant construction site, a few who have been called for negotiations
it was `225 (Prasad-Aleeyamma, 2017). Mann by local trade unions. This underlines the fact
(2007) points out that jobs can be defined as that female migrant workers have a precarious
unskilled either because they are the province existence as they are not even recognized as
of ‘inferior’ workers or to ensure that ‘unde- wage earners.
sirable’ tasks are performed by ‘undesirable’ Because most women do not have prior
people, regardless of their abilities or experi- experience of handling their finances, they
ence. This resonates with the work of feminist rely on relatives and friends to send back
economists in exposing skill as a gendered money home (Table 29.5). Their migrant male
category where ‘women’s work’ is identified counterparts remit mostly through the bank-
as unskilled work (Phillips & Taylor, 1980). ing channel as they have better access to banks
In gold jewellery work, there are no women and other financial institutions.
designing workers, whereas a large number of The mobility of women, particularly in
local as well as female migrant workers are many parts of Southeast Asia, is limited, as
employed in soldering and in machine-made young girls and women are earners of the
gold jewellery production. family. This, however, is changing rapidly in
major towns and cities as in the post-reform
Table 29.5 Mode of Remittance by Sex and Employment Sector

Not Private Private Through Others
Reported Banks Individuals Agencies Bank Account Others Total
Male Construction and 0 200 55 10 70 0 335

repair
Self-employed 1 108 75 17 31 0 232
Casual worker 0 64 73 51 98 1 287
Industrial worker 0 131 64 2 36 0 233
Gold industry 3 129 87 1 47 0 267
Domestic worker 0 98 98 13 46 0 255
Total 4 730 452 94 328 1 1,609
Female Construction and 0 20 39 11 21 91
repair
Self-employed 0 9 22 0 16 47
Casual worker 0 8 36 1 9 54
Industrial worker 0 17 31 1 8 57
Gold industry 2 16 7 0 3 28
Domestic worker 0 21 41 1 19 82
Total 2 91 176 14 76 359
period ‘while the loosening of restrictions by taking the most precarious jobs and have
on physical mobility are seen as a hallmark little prospect of upward mobility. Despite
of modernity, any attempts to restrict wom- locating to different labour markets, women
en’s access to education and work constitute migrants in Kerala face formidable challenges.
proof of backwardness’ (Ganguly-Scrase & This includes lack of upward mobility in their
Vandenbroek, 2005). Improved access to edu- jobs, lack of collective bargaining to address
cation and better health facilities may still not wage issues and lack of access to financial ser-
facilitate women’s contribution to economic vices, to name a few. Migration experiences
growth and lead to reduction in gender ine- can be fruitful only if there are policies to pro-
quality unless accompanied with women’s tect women migrants and address the issues
increased participation in the labour force and they face.
change in the overall mindset and attitudes
(Arora, 2012). Because women are ready to
work for any wage and are perceived as pas-
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30
Narratives of Left-Behind Women
Neha Rai*
INTRODUCTION boundaries (Bhagat, 2011). Earlier, there was

little information about internal migration in
Migration has been an important phenomenon the census of India; only few reports were
in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP) since the people available with some descriptive and linguistic
of eastern UP, that is, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, material because earlier people used to cross
Gazhipur and Banaras, migrated as indentured only village boundaries of their ancestral land
labour to Dutch colonies such as Mauritius, for cultivation (Bhagat, 2012). Construction of
Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad and Fiji in 1830 railways made movement easier for the people
after abolishment of slavery (Narayan, 2005). in the colonial period (Chattopadhyay, 1987).
But it was transnational migration, also known Internal migration was paid serious attention
as a new form of slavery (Tinker, 1993). After by scholars such as Everett S. Lee (1966),
independence, Article 19(1)(d) and Article Kingsley Davis (1951) and K. C. Zachariah
19(1)(e) part iii of the Constitution of India (1964) due to population growth and its
declared movement of people as a funda- socio-economic implications. Earlier, migra-
mental right, that is, ‘All citizens shall have tion was a subject for geographers, demog-
the right to move freely throughout the terri- raphers and economists only, but nowadays it
tory of India, to reside, and settle in any part is popular among sociologists. Being a social
of the territory of India’. This established phenomenon, it is important to understand the
internal migration as a constitutional right. social aspects of migration such as identity,
Internal migration can be defined as physical gender discrimination and gender relations in
mobility of an individual to a different admin- the migration process. The trend of internal
istrative territory to reside but within the migration became more prevalent after glo-
national boundary. Typically, this is a change balization, which brought a significant change
in residence that crosses provincial or urban in rural areas. Lack of employment, less
* The author sincerely thanks Dr Archana Singh and Dr Kunal Keshri of G. B. Pant Social Science Institute for
their suggestions and comments.
profitable agriculture and small landholding (Parashuraman, 1989). Therefore, more and
capacity in rural areas and better infrastruc- more male migrants take up non-agricultural
tures in urban centres attracted people and work in small towns and big cities. This
compelled them to migrate (Keshri & Bhagat, male migration is reshaping the traditional
2013). According to the 2001 Census, employ- socio-economic structure of rural India, where
ment is the main reason for male migration, females have to take over all the responsibili-
whereas social conditions like marriage are ties of the male members also.
shown as a prevalent reason for female migra-
tion. Around 30 per cent of the total population
is engaged in internal migration, of which 70.7
per cent is female; but the data on the popula- NEED FOR THE STUDY
tion of left-behind women is not considered
as they are not migrants, although they are an Earlier migration discourse analysis was done
important component that feels the impact of on the basis of sex (men–women) which repre-
the migration process. As per Thapan (2005), sented migration as a male phenomenon. Yet,
mainstream migration theory perceives migra- women have always been present in migra-
tion as being a male movement with women tory flows, traditionally as wives, daughters
being left behind or following their menfolk and dependents of male migrants, but were
as dependents. Whenever migration data is never considered as a part of the workforce.
documented or analysed, the reports cover Integration of gender in migration studies
only the people who have migrated. In this emerged in the 1970s when scholars used the
case, only the figures of the known ones are ‘add women and stir’ approach (Hondagneu-
derived, that is, the migrants. There are no fig- Sotelo, 2000; Indra 1999; Kofman, 2000). The
ures of any other persons who were left behind feminist view of gender as a ‘social construct’
in the homeland, which means that they are has raised questions that have fuelled most of
not considered a part of the migration process. the research in the study of women and migra-
In rural environments where women socialize tion over the last decade that is related to patri-
in a traditional way, they are always taught archy, hierarchies of power and domination.
to depend on men, and then they are married How does patriarchy, which gives men pref-
into a new and unknown environment. In both erential access to the resources available in
the cases, whether women migrate with the society, affects women’s ability to migrate, the
male members or are left behind, they face timing of that migration and the final destina-
contestation due to their socialization. In the tion? Connell (1987, pp. 279–304) described
case of arranged marriages, they leave their four dimensions of gender relations, power,
old surroundings and come to a new environ- production, emotional and symbolic, which
ment where they do not know anyone; they interact with one another in social institu-
are even unfamiliar to their husbands. In such tions, with each institution having a particu-
an environment, after the husband’s migra- lar regime of gender relations that shape and
tion, she has to struggle alone. This difficulty construct people’s individual gender perfor-
becomes more severe for those who are in a mance. Incorporation of feminist theory of
nuclear family setup. The joint family is also gender in migration provides a new perspec-
quite distressing for newly married women, tive to analyse how gender identity affects
so women prefer to live in their own maternal migration, and it begins with the decision of
homes. Thus, mostly, rural–urban migration who will migrate. The role of women as moth-
does not involve all members of the family. ers and wives affects the decision process of
Generally, men leave women at the native the migration. It is the role associated with
place due to familial and cultural obligations her gender identity which helps us understand
Narratives of Left-Behind Women 417
why women are less involved in the process Studies attempt to understand the impact of
of migration. Migration studies still need to migration on left-behind women and examine
focus on gender more intensely to understand their aspirations1 from migration.
and analyse women’s experiences. If we see
the migrant men and women with childrearing
responsibility, both have different experiences
because they have different roles regarding FIELD, DATA SOURCES AND
children. Therefore, gender consciousness METHODOLOGY
allows a researcher to choose an appropriate
variable and ask the right question to inves- This chapter is based on a primary field survey
tigate gender and migration (Nawyan, 2010). that used qualitative methods for data col-
This biased consciousness makes left-behind lection and analysis. A sociologist seeks to
women invisible in migration studies. Their explain social phenomena and social behav-
socio-economic contributions and unique iour which can be understood by observing a
experiences are not taken into account. situation and feeling it. Any emotions, aspira-
Therefore, it is obvious that migration is not a tions and experiences are the results of social
gender-neutral phenomenon. Our perspective behaviour that cannot be quantified.
towards migration is gender-biased, all the The study area is the village of
statistics, literature and stories neglect wom- Chakkamarali in the Azamgarh district of UP.
en’s physical, psychological and economic This village was purposefully selected based
contributions. From the first step of migration, on the high rate of male migration. The total
the time of decision-making process, wom- population of the village is 761, out of which
en’s aims, aspirations, outcomes and experi- 246 men have migrated to Delhi, Mumbai,
ences are entirely different from that of men. Gujarat and other places.2
There is still a need to understand left-behind Landholding capacity is remarkably low
women’s contribution in migration. They are among the lower class but they do not want to
the support system for migrants. After male work as agriculture labourers at the native place
migration, women bear the double burden of due to fear of exploitation and humiliation and
household work and agriculture. In spite of also because agriculture is less profitable here.
all, they are assumed to be beneficiaries pass- The sex ratio of the district is positive3 and in
ing life on remittances. Migration discourse is the village too, but the women population is
guided by social and patriarchal stereotypes. higher due to left-behind population.
These stereotypes affect the lives of left-behind Left-behind women4 of this village are
women as well as the migration studies and mainly in the age group of 30–40 years in
gender discourse. Some of the scholars argued the upper caste and 20–30 years in lower
that migration empowered left-behind women castes. Male migrants are in the age group
(Desai & Bannerji, 2008; Gulati, 1983, 1987), of 20–40 years. I mostly interviewed newly
but it is a ‘pseudo empowerment’ because they married women in the age group of 20–30
just follow their husband’s orders and are not years. I did not found any variation in male
actual decision makers. The lives of women age groups among upper- and lower-caste
need to be re-examined by a gendered lens. males because they all move freely and are
1
Aspiration here means the desires and hopes that women have as an outcome from the migration process;
especially the non-quantifiable ones.
2
Field diary, 2015.
3
According to Census 2011, the sex ratio of Azamgarh is 1,000:1,019.
4
In this chapter, left-behind women indicate those women whose husbands have migrated to cities and are
engaged in informal-sector work like construction, labour work, shopkeeper or work in a company.
supposed to take responsibility of their fam- NARRATIVES OF LEFT-BEHIND WOMEN

ilies as breadwinners. In the poorer house-
holds entire families migrate rather than in The process of migration has a constraining
well-off families. Sometimes, they send their effect on left-behind women not only in struc-
8-12-year-old children to urban areas who tural but in cultural terms too. Sometimes
work in shops or in hotels as waiters. In the alienation and struggle may lead to abuse,
rural areas, there is a tradition where parents exploitation and psychological distress.
prefer male migrants as grooms because mar- However, migration starts with a positive hope
riage is supposed to result in upward mobility of life for one, but for others, it creates com-
and socio-economic security for the women plexities which affect their lives and identities.
(Palriwala & Uberoi, 2008, p. 31). Marriage is This study tries to document the everyday life
the only means to fulfil dreams and aspirations struggles of women, how they cope with the
among the women and living with husband is situation of migration. I found almost similar
one of those dreams and aspirations. However, narratives among upper-caste women and dif-
couple migration among rural poor families is ferent among lower-caste women. To examine
a rare phenomenon. Being poor and unskilled, the situations, I have presented two different
they are not sure of their earning at destination narratives related to lower and upper caste
and for fear of losing whatever land they have, left-behind women to understand their lives.
husbands prefer to migrate alone and wives do
not migrate with them.
Data collection methods are divided into
three phases. In the first phase, I conducted
First Narratives
a focused group discussion to identify the Anamika7 is a left-behind woman belonging to
respondents using an open-ended question- a lower caste. She lives in a nuclear family.
naire with 35 left-behind women out of whom Her husband is Subham who does construc-
19 women belonged to lower castes and 18 tion work in Delhi. She earns `100–150 per
belonged to upper castes. In the second phase, day despite being illiterate. After finishing
to verify previous data, I conducted in-depth household work, she gets busy with the agri-
interviews of 20 left-behind women with culture work. When her husband was at home,
baat se baat methodology5 and interviewed he helped in different ways in household work,
10 male migrants to understand the views preparation of food, taking care of children,
of the men about their left-behind wives and farming, caring for the livestock and outside
their lives. In the third phase, I interviewed work, especially going to the market. In the
two respondents, one from an upper caste absence of male members, these tasks are com-
and another from a lower caste, as case stud- pletely transferred to their wives. The worst
ies who were very articulate, vibrant and problem faced by them is having to borrow
outspoken (identified during focused group money from anyone in the village. When the
discussion). Narrative analysis6 was done to women try to borrow money from people, they
analyse left-behind women’s struggles and say, ‘There is no faith in the woman’s caste, do
aspirations and to document their everyday not know whether she will return the money
life experiences. or not ... We work all the time in Babu’s fields
and they do not trust us’ (aurat jati ka kouno
5
The talk (baat) which is used during participant and semi-participant observation to document the everyday life
(Narayan, 2011, p. 32).
6
Narrative analysis is the cognitive process that organizes human experiences into temporally meaning episodes.
It has four processes, namely coding, categories, theme and pattern (Polkighorne, 1988, p. 1).
7
The names of the respondents have been changed to protect their privacy.
bharosa nahi ho pata, nahi payisa lotayi ke Anamika’s day begins at 5 am. For break-
na, ham rat din baboo logan ke khete me kaam fast, she cooks roti sabji. Sometimes she uses
kartat hayi aur unke hamre pe bharose na). food left over from the previous evening.
This implies that no one trusts a woman’s She works in the fields for 4–5 hours. In the
character or her willpower that she will pay off afternoon, she comes home, cooks rice for
money by herself. While a man can be trusted the family, which is eaten with some dal and
to honour his commitment and pay back a vegetable or sauce (khunua) made with garlic,
loan, the community appears to be less willing chilli and mustard oil. Sometimes, she cannot
to trust a woman in the same circumstances. go home due to the workload. Then her chil-
With women, this difficulty comes across dren bring food to the farm. The main meal
clearly. Left-behind women are not benefitted is cooked in the evenings, which is again rice
by the Indira Awas Yojana and other govern- and/or ‘chapattis’ with lentils (rarely a vege-
ment welfare programmes because ‘nobody table) and/or salt and chillies and sometimes
is listening to women’s voice’ (aurat ke baat non-vegetarian food. Her elder girls look after
kehu na sunat hai). Another male member of the younger siblings when she is out for work.
the village, who stays in the village, said that Girls help the mother inside the home while
the Gram Pradhan passes their application for the boys work outside. In the society, women
the above poverty line (APL) and below pov- play multiple roles because compared with
erty line (BPL) cards and house loans under men, women have more responsibilities. Men
the Pradhanmantri Aawas Yojana. These are only responsible to earn money, whereas
women face struggle in their everyday lives. women have the responsibility of childbear-
Some of the previous literature in migration ing and rearing as well as earning an income.
(Deshingkar, Kumar, Chobey & Kumar, 2006; If you see them in this way, that is when the
Srivastava 2011) argue that though remit- woman is working, a woman has double
tances are the primary sources of income, but responsibilities. Historically, women from all
it is not true in case of the informal sector. communities have been restricted for outside
There are many irregularities in their incomes. mobility, but migration has freed them from
To compensate these irregularities, left-behind this. She said that, ‘If you do not get out, how
women start working to generate income, and you will do your work. Being a queen will not
sometimes, they borrow money for everyday work.’ (agar ham bahar na nikalbe ta kaise
life expenses. After male migration, they face kaam chali, rani banake ghare me baithle se
problems as beneficiaries. They are more ta kaam na chalina). It reflects that women
vulnerable than women whose husbands are across lower classes have become more mobile
with them. The process can be understood by and have started going out of the village for
the notion of structural violence as violence work errands and leisure more frequently than
is built in to the structure and is reflected they did earlier. However, this mobility is seen
into groups as unequal power, life chances by them as obligations. In the lower castes,
and social injustice (Galtung, 1969, p. 171). where women have always been more mobile
Women are also victims of the cultural vio- and faced very few restrictions, women said
lence which internalizes the symbolic sphere that there were no changes in the situation
of the their existence, like religion and ideol- regarding their movement outside the village,
ogy, language and art. Thus, culture creates as they were fairly mobile in the past too, and
invisible marks on their body, which are nec- continued being so and she felt very confi-
essary to be understood for academia because dent that she knows more about work than her
marks of physical violence are easily visible husband does. When I asked about her hus-
on the body but those on the mind and spirit band, whether he helps in fieldwork when he
are not easily visible. comes back, she replied, ‘The man does not
want to work in the fields of the upper-class on mobile phones, and after earning a small
people and prevents his wives too. For two amount, they start planning to improve their
months, sit in the house without any employ- own position and are engaged in various strat-
ment but do not work on anyone’s farm. This egies to maximise security for their women.
makes me irritating. Whenever I asked my But these left-behind women are not willing
husband for money for household expendi- to follow the exact guidelines defined by the
ture, mostly he denied due to low income. A social and cultural structure. They bargain
few days ago, I celebrated my grandchildren’s for their freedom and negotiate, sometimes
birth ceremony. I spent entire expenses on explicitly, sometimes implicitly. This situation
my behalf…’ (aadmi baboo logan ke khet me is called patriarchal bargaining,8 which indi-
kaam na kare chahele aur hamke bhi mana cates the flexibility of patriarchy limits and the
krele ek – do mahina ghar pe hi baithe rahte negotiation capacity of women in their own
hai phir chale jate hai lekin baithle se kharch households.
nahi chali, kam kare ke bhi mana krihe aur
jab kuch paisa manga ta bolihe abhi na hai
kuch, dhandha me bahut manda chalet hai,
Second Narratives
poora kharch apne bal par karat hai abhi
pote ka bdhawer tha ek paisa nahi dihale. ‘Nayiharao k sudh bhul gayel piyava gaiyele
Bhut dukh hai bina paisa ke… ek din na chale jab pardesh’ (I have forgotten even my paren-
payi). She visualizes herself a self-dependent tal house in absence of my husband due to
woman because she is capable of earning her extra burden). This is the pain felt by a left-
expenditure. She goes every second or third behind woman whose husband has migrated
day to the village market located at a distance to Mumbai. When I asked her how she feels
of 1 km and buys everything that she needs. when her husband goes to the city, through
In this way, left-behind women belonging to this song, she painted the whole picture of the
lower castes consider themselves competent pain of left-behind women. The aforemen-
enough to earn their livelihoods instead of tioned line emphasizes that one place women
depending on remittance, and their mobility love most is their parent’s home, but she has
can result in making them confident, and more forgotten that place too due to overburden
responsibilities can bring them into contact since her husband has gone away from her.
with relatives. Nevertheless, they are still in Since her husband left, she has forgotten all
the clutches of patriarchy. Without the per- her previous relations. Gouri is a newly mar-
mission of their husbands and relations, they ried upper-caste woman. Her husband works
cannot spend money and remittances, and in hotels. She lives with her parents-in-law in
they also need permission for management of a joint family. Her husband comes home twice
the household and socio-cultural occasions. for 15–20 days in a year because he is paid on
They are dependent for even small decisions a daily basis. In the absence of her husband,
such as which crop is to be planted. The situa- she gets all comforts in her home because,
tion of women in internal migration cannot be as she said, daughters-in-law are not allowed
defined precisely because their husbands keep to step out from the home in our caste (hum
coming home after a period of time, and in logen k biradari me bahu gher se baher na
such situations, women are not able to develop nikalihe). All the necessary needs are fulfilled
an independent position. They have to wait by the in-laws. When I asked has she ever
for the husband’s arrival and all decisions are wanted to go with her husband, she said, ‘in
made by the husbands. They guide their wives our house elder daughters-in-law only get an
8
This term is derived from Kandiyoti’s article, ‘Bargaining with Patriarchy’ (1988).
order to go with husband after the coming of the migrant’s success in the city. Women
of the second daughter-in-law and I shall say that their husbands bring utensils, per-
not even go till my children will be able to fumes, soaps, oil, cloths and such from the
study.’ (‘humar ghare me dusari bahu jab aa city. Mobile plays a vital role in left-behind
jahihe tab pahli bahu ke baher jaye ke aadesh women’s lives. They talk for at least 4–5 hours
milela, humke ta tab tak na aadesh mili jab in a day, but after it, they are not satisfied and
tak ladika- ladki pdhe- likhe layek na ho jay, say, ‘On the phone, only we can talk …can’t
tab hi ghar se bahere jaye ke mili, eske phle do anything else… (in terms of sexual needs)
nahi.’) She is obliged to wait for their children do not get to see the face, just hear the voice.’
to grow up, then, she should take them to the (Phone par bas batiya skila na aur kuch ta na
city for admission in a good school. She has a ho skela na muh ta nahi dekhala na bas awaj
strong desire to accompany her husband but sunke hi santosh krai ke hola), this implies
she is held back by her parents-in-law because psychological loss among women and they
a daughter-in-law is assumed to be an unpaid feel very insecure about extramarital affairs
servant for household and no one wants to of their husbands. In the rural context, men’s
allow her to go outside, as she said, ‘Why prolonged absence has many implications on
would mother-in-law want to go? For her, I women’s social lives. In the cultural context,
am the free unpaid servant. Work all day in the presence of adult men is crucial to house-
the house and then serve them in the evening if hold security, decision-making and mobility.
we go then who will do all these work. (‘saas If a woman has a desire to dress up nicely,
kahe ke jaye dihe unake mufat ka nouker jo family members say, ‘for whom are you get-
mil gayel h ghar me pura din kaam kari phir ting ready? No one is going to see you here.
saam ke unke seva, ager ham chali jayib to ke But no one understands that females like to do
kari sara kaam’). The absence of her husband fashion. Does female not fashion before mar-
leads to emotional and psychological loss and riage. Is husband necessary for this?’ (Kahe
this pain is felt more by those newly married k liye etna taiyaar ho, kehu na dekhe vala
women who live in joint families, as they face h tohke lekin kehuna samjhela k ladki ka to
difficulties in communicating with the older shouk hi hola taiyaar hokhe k, ka ladki sadi
members of the family about their emotions se phile na taiyaar honi ta esme pati vali baat
and other needs, due to cultural and traditional kaha se aa gayal’). This statement shows that
constraints. When husbands are in the house, women have to even dress up based on their
the wives easily communicate with the elders husbands’ presence. Woman are supposed to
in the family through him. Some of them are be incomplete without their husbands, they
positive about joint-family settings because in have bound their lives to their husbands, their
the absence of their husbands, they can feel hobbies, likes or dislikes have no existence,
secure with the family. Some of them regret but the same thing is not applicable to a man.
the long absence of the male member of the He is free to move anywhere and wear dresses
family because tradition bars these women of any type. As economic imperatives force
from expressing personal emotions towards men to move away from their homes and vil-
the husband. It is in fact considered shameful lages for long periods of time, an unprece-
and immodest to express love for the husband dented change is taking place in the position
and to complain of loneliness in his absence. of women in the household’s realm and social
They feel helpless in this situation, as they do sphere. In particular, these changes are visible
not have any idea of the company to the hus- in relation to women’s status, responsibility
band. Women expect migrants to bring pre- and challenges as they cope with the new real-
sents for them and their family. They like to ity of the long and frequent absence of their
show off all that is brought. It is a measure husbands.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION alone. Thapan (2005) says that the identity of
a person changes according to time, place and
In society, roles of men and women are culture, but the women fail to establish their
defined according to social values and cultural own social identities due to patriarchal and
activities (Okaly & Hartley, 1974; Butler, socio-cultural structures and traditions. Their
2008). Women have the responsibility to identity is constructed through their husband’s
take care of the family and household chores, position. Throughout their lives they remain
whereas men are always struggling to earn dependent on their husbands and are forced
livelihoods. Women, especially in the upper to follow their decisions. Although in real-
caste, are forced to stay in the house even after ity they play multiple roles, they are recog-
being literate. Their husbands do not allow nized only as housewives. Besides household
them to work outside of the house. They are chores, they manage agricultural work, strug-
not supposed to be decision makers and men gle for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, sometimes
have to maintain their caste superiority by for loans and for their share in state benefits
keeping their women within fixed boundaries. like public distribution system (PDS) and
They struggle between the social traditions colonies.
and values and their aspirations. At any cir- This study finds that there are differences
cumstance, they are not allowed to leave their in the life experiences of Dalit and upper-caste
traditions because they have been socialized women, and in the same way, there are dif-
to the internalized notion of a good woman ferences in their struggles and experiences.
(bhadra mahila)9 and a bad woman since Dalit women have some freedom to work
childhood. As Simon writes, ‘one is not born outside because of extreme financial con-
but one becomes women’. In the same way, straints. Despite being illiterate, Dalit women
since childhood, girls are taught to follow tra- earn livelihoods, and even though upper-
ditions, socio-cultural values and to sacrifice, caste women are undergraduates, they are not
as a result of which they cannot think about allowed to go out of the house; their educa-
self-identity and equality. They are not sup- tion is just to fit them into the marriage market
posed to be decision makers even in the physi- because nobody can bring illiterate daughters-
cal absence of their male family members. in-law into their houses. Their education does
Internal migration studies draw pictures not help in earning. Dalit women also aspire10
of left-behind women as being empowered to go with their husbands.
and independent, but still there is a silence Migration should not be seen only as
on the issue of their experiences, aspirations movement, it is a process affecting the lives
and struggles. Until we do not document their of left-behind women. Without considering
hardships and experiences, they and their the issues and experiences of these women,
vulnerabilities will remain invisible in the we fail to see their struggles and make them
migration process and discourse. Left-behind invisible. Their absence in migration data also
women look at migration as an opportunity outs them from all welfare policies as disad-
through which they can forge their own iden- vantaged groups, struggling with the double
tity by managing the outer and inner realms burden of work with no social and emotional
9
Bhadramahila is derived from the Bengali bhadralok which indicates respectable, educated and cultured
women, that is, middle- and upper-class women, as distinguished from chhotolok, which means small people or
the poorer, lower classes. Bhadramahila are the women of Bhadralok (Channa, 2013, pp. 50–58).
10
The term aspiration is defined according to the left-behind women’s point of view. They see migration not
only as an opportunity in which they desire to gain economic security and avoid everyday struggles but also as
freedom from patriarchal clutches to spend life leisurely. It is a different matter that they do not get all these at
the destination.
support. Socio-cultural values and aspirations who are left behind in the village as a result
of a woman are different from the gender roles of the migration process should get a separate
assigned to her; these roles affect the quality construct to make them visible in migration
of her life. This is the reason that she remains data. It is the only way to consider them as
invisible from welfare programs and schemes claimants of benefits or migration policies.
and also migration policies. They should be made visible because being
In social sciences, scholars ignoring wom- invisible means ‘not included in the statis-
en’s roles, aspirations and experiences make tics/discourse’. Whenever the states make
them invisible in migration, especially left- welfare programmes for their people, they
behind women. Migration discourse should should count how many people affected from
be investigated with a gender lens that perme- a particular phenomenon in their geographi-
ates every aspect of the migration experience cal area. Left-behind women are neglected at
to analyse gender as a system of power rela- the origin from the first stage of counting as
tions. Not only male migrants’ but left-behind part of migration. Social security is also one of
women’s lives should also be examined. the prominent issues for these women. Male
Although the absence of men implies some absence transforms a woman’s role into two
changes, most men assume their traditional separate roles, which creates contestation in
and patriarchal roles as soon as they return. her social life. On the one hand, she is sup-
In this way, migration of men does not bring posed to bear all the responsibilities which
a permanent change in the position of women are expected of women and manage her lone-
from the restrictions of traditional and cultural liness alone, and on the other hand, she has
roles. Men become insecure and suspicious to struggle to manage household expenditure
about the idea of their women spending time because remittances are not sufficient to take
and utilizing freedom in their absence. They care of the household. Additionally, she has to
are suspicious of some extramarital relations take the role of men, especially in agriculture
in their absence. Their perception of the left- works. These two pressures work in oppo-
behind women is unfavourable. Sometimes, site directions as patriarchal norms tell her
they assume that women live in their home- to remain inside the house, and in contrast,
land without any hurdles. They easily get economic necessity forces her to go outside
remittances and just have the work of cooking to earn money. Neglecting left-behind women
and eating. They do not feel and understand in migration policy is the reflection of patri-
the struggle of these women. Male migrants archal ideology of the academic world. These
gain more authority and move upwards in left-behind women play an important role in
the social realm as soon as they return home growing essential food grains for livelihood.
because they earn money to support their fam- Today, change in the rural scenario can be
ilies. Kandiyoti (1988) used the term ‘patri- highlighted by the contribution of women in
archal bargaining’ to describe this situation, agricultural works. The main reason for the
how the constraint of patriarchy controlled increased share of women in management
the capability and negotiation capacity of left of agriculture is the migration of men to the
behind women. Thus, returned male migrants cities. Migration emerges as a cultural phe-
constraint women to express their feelings and nomenon in which one or two men migrate
desires, and they are obliged to pay full atten- from each house. After migration, there is a
tion to the husband and again the position of need to balance labour in particular houses and
the women starts becoming secondary in the communities where migration has occurred,
household. and this balance is brought by women only.
It is very necessary to include left-behind While in India the policymakers still believe
women in the migration discourse. Women that a farmer means a man, it is important to
pay attention to the fact that women should to move towards real empowerment. Kabeer
also be known as farmers and the policymak- (2005) defines agency as an ability to make
ers need to make available the mechanisms and act on their own life choices, even in the
and financial resources with technical training face of others’ opposition. It is true in the con-
for women. text of left-behind women who want to change
Available literature on gender and migra- their life and world even in hard and restrictive
tion has failed to explore the relation between situations. Now the question is to find where
migration and those who do not migrate, there is a possibility of their transformation
even though they are the important parts of into an efficient agency during the process of
the migration process. Migration policies migration.
and any other labour laws do not address Aforementioned description and discus-
left-behind women. Historically, the rights sion exhibit that when women are socialized
of women had become entangled in the pri- in a traditional way, but they have to carry
vate and public dichotomy, and many issues responsibility of their men too after migration.
which were kept in the purview of the law, This changed situation and supposed freedom
like divorce, succession, marriage and land increase their burden and responsibilities.
rights, were considered to be personal matters Absence of men increases their responsibil-
while for men all these were part of public ity but they still have no authority. But still,
life. Feminist viewpoint highlighted that per- the new situation of their interaction with the
sonal is also political to improve the status of outer world may help them to transform into
women. When left-behind women participate potential agency.
in public life in the absence of their husbands,
then their rights should also be secured. The
Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act,
2008, provides some facilities like education, REFERENCES
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vided to the left-behind women too. First, they ination and constructed realities. Cambridge: Cam-
should be included in the database as labour bridge University Press.
Chattopadhyaya, H. (1987). Internal migration in India:
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We should create space for the left-behind impact on the family. Economic and Political Weekly,
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PART VI
Migration and
Urbanization
31
Urban Migration and
Policy Issues*
R. B. Bhagat
THE URBAN CONTEXT be characterized as a country with a low level

of urbanization, as officially, 31 per cent of
Urbanization is a process historically linked to the population lived in urban areas as per the
the level of economic development and social 2011 Census. The estimated level of urbaniza-
transformation. Demographically, it is meas- tion for the year 2014 was 32 per cent of the
ured as a proportion of the population living population compared with 54 per cent at the
in urban centres that evolved over time to global level. The rate of India’s urbanization,
varying sizes. Large urban centres are recog- that is the annual percentage change in the
nized as drivers of economic growth because proportion of the urban population, is higher
economic activities, communication services, (1.1%) than the global average (0.9%) (UN
educational and healthcare services and sci- DESA, 2014). This shows that India has been
entific and technological innovations are con- urbanizing faster, like most countries in Asia
centrated there. Urban centres also provide and Africa, and its urban population is likely
vital links to the rural areas and are instru- to grow from 410 million in 2014 to 814 mil-
mental in rural development. At the same lion in 2050, with 50 per cent living in urban
time, sustainable urbanization and equity areas. However, paradoxically, India will also
in the distribution of social and economic be a country with the largest rural population
resources remain a great challenge globally, of about 805 million by 2050 (ibid.). So, while
and more so for those countries which have urbanization will be faster, the rural segment
been urbanizing faster. Apparently, India can will continue to be substantial for many more
* This is the revised version of a background paper prepared for the World Migration Report 2015, International
Organization for Migration (IOM). The author is thankful to IOM for support in writing this chapter.
decades beyond the middle of the 21st cen- 2004). Although it is true that natural increase
tury, when India is likely to achieve popula- plays a very important role, but demographic
tion stabilization. transition due to rural-to-urban migration and
However, it may be noted that the compar- reclassification of rural-to-urban areas have
ison of the level of urbanization of India with been rising significantly. It is also worthwhile
either global average or any country is beset to mention that all three components, namely
with definitional heterogeneity, as there is no natural increase, rural-to-urban migration and
standard definition of ‘urban’ at the global reclassification of rural-to-urban areas, affect
level. Thus, the definition of urban followed the rural areas equally. For urbanization to
in a country matters in order to understand occur, urban population growth rate essen-
the relationship between urbanization and tially needs to be higher than the rural popula-
migration. tion growth rate. If both are growing equally,
The criteria of urban generally comprise urbanization would not occur. So, in the con-
one or more indicators such as civic status, size, text of high population growth countries, it is
density and percentage of non- agricultural possible that there may be rapid urban popula-
workforce, and urban characteristics such as tion growth but no urbanization (Bose, 1965).
presence of paved roads, electricity, piped On the other hand, most of the developing
water, sewers and availability of education and countries, including India, have been passing
health services. India follows a definition that through fertility transition. In the case of India,
consists of a combination of municipal status fertility decline in urban areas has been faster
and demographic criteria. There is a variety of than that in rural areas. In this situation, rural-
municipal status in India, such as Municipal to-urban migration and reclassification of set-
Corporation, Municipality (Municipal tlements may emerge as a dominant force of
Council, Municipal Board and Municipal urbanization. This requires an assessment of
Committee), Nagar Panchayat, Town area natural increase along with the components of
committee and Notified Area Committee. If a migration and reclassification. India has ade-
settlement has a municipal status, it is defined quate data on birth and death rates for rural
as urban. For the rest of the settlements, cri- and urban areas published separately on a
teria such as a population of at least 5,000, a yearly basis by the Registrar General of India.
density of 400 persons per sq. km and 75 per As mentioned earlier, the definition of
cent male workforce in the non-agricultural urban adds complexity to the nature and mag-
sector are applied. A settlement not covered nitude of urbanization and requires a careful
by municipal status must satisfy all three cri- adjustment in order to decipher the contribu-
teria to be declared as an urban centre. These tion of rural-to-urban migration. Similarly, the
prerequisites, with some minor changes, have definition of migrants followed in official sta-
been followed since 1961. tistics of India, such as censuses and National
It is also alleged that migration is a weak Sample Survey (NSS), also requires a careful
force in urbanization in developing countries, evaluation in the study of migration trends,
as urbanization has been occurring in the patterns and consequences. A detailed study
context of high population growth (Preston, of migration trends in general, and migration
1982). On the other hand, rural-to-urban towards urban areas in particular, also requires
migration in Western Europe was a strong an understanding of evolution of urban areas
factor in the growth of urban centres in the and its association with migration, as urban
wake of industrialization in the 18th century, centres work as a strong pull factor due to
which continued until the early 20th cen- the concentration of economic activities and
tury. The migration was not only internal but opportunities. This chapter makes an attempt
huge emigration occurred as well (McKeown, in this direction.
Urban Migration and Policy Issues 431
NATURE OF MIGRATION DATA In both censuses and NSSO, there is no limit

of duration at the POE to qualify as a migrant.
As per census procedure, if the place of birth/ Migrants are identified as such if the POLR
place of last residence (POB/POLR) is differ- is different from the POE. The 55th Round
ent from the place of enumeration (POE), the conducted in 1999–2000 and the 64th Round
person is classified as a migrant. Villages and held in 2007–2008 also provide information
towns, whose boundaries are administratively on migration by monthly per capita consumer
defined, are the lowest units for determining expenditure (MPCE) in addition to other
POB/POLR. Villages are defined as revenue household characteristics.
villages which comprise areas occupying
human habitation as well as areas of other
land uses. It is also possible that some reve-
nue villages may be uninhabited. Any change URBAN MIGRATION TRENDS
of residence beyond the village, town or city
boundary qualifies a person to be classified as India is a federal country. At the time of the
a migrant. 2011 Census, it comprised 28 states and 7
Districts are the lowest unit for which union territories. A new state of Telangana
migration data are available. There were 593 was created in 2014 from the state of Andhra
districts in the 2001 Census which increased Pradesh, increasing the number to 29. At the
to 640 in the 2011 Census. Migration data state level, there is a marked variation in the
from 2011 has not yet been published by the level of urbanization. States such as Bihar,
Census of India. An increase in the number of Assam and Himachal Pradesh are at the bottom
districts could greatly affect intradistrict and of the ranking as the urbanization level in these
interdistrict migration data, and it is there- states is less than 15 per cent. In the states of
fore advisable to compare the within- and Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat,
the between-states migration, which largely the urbanization level ranges from 37 per cent
remains unaffected by the number of districts. in Punjab to 48 per cent in Tamil Nadu, which
In censuses, immigrants are also enumerated is much higher than the national average.
but the Indian Census, being de facto, does These highly urbanized states show a higher
not provide information on the emigration level of per capita income and also a higher
of Indians. It is, consequently, not possible level of in-migration (Bhagat, 2012a). The
to study net international migration from National Capital Territory of Delhi is another
census data, though net interstate migration important special union territory that stands
in India can be examined. Since the 1981 out alone with huge in-migration. The meg-
Census, the reasons for migration are also acity of Delhi, along with Kolkata, Mumbai
covered in the census schedule. Apart from and Chennai (Madras), which emerged as
the census, the National Sample Survey Office port cities during the colonial rule, shaped the
(NSSO)—a wing of the Ministry of Planning regional pattern of urbanization and the flow
and Programme Implementation—also now of migration. Any understanding of the trends
includes a question on migration based on and patterns of migration in India is basically
POLR in its employment and unemploy- rooted in the emerging pattern of urbanization
ment surveys. In NSSO surveys, the POLR is and the urban system that evolved during the
defined as a place (village or town) where the colonial rule and was reinforced in independ-
migrant has stayed continuously for a period ent India (Bhagat, 2012a; Raza & Habeeb,
of 6 months or more before moving to the 1976).
POE. In contrast, censuses do not limit the Table 31.1 shows that about 35 per cent
duration of residence in defining the POLR. of India’s urban population is constituted
Table 31.1 Trends in Migration Rates in Urban Areas, 1981–2008 (Migrants per 100 Persons)
Census NSS
Census/NSS Years Males Females Total Males Females Total
1981–1983 33.2 40.8 36.8 27.0 36.6 31.6

1991–1993 26.3 36.2 31.0 23.9 38.2 30.7
2001/1999–2000 32.0 39.4 35.5 25.7 41.8 33.4
NA/2007–2008 NA NA NA 25.9 45.6 35.4
Source: Census of India 1981–2001. NSS figures are taken from NSSO (2010, p. 23).
Note: Migration rates are based on census excluding Assam for 1981 and Jammu and Kashmir for 1991 where the
census was not conducted.
of migrants, according to latest NSS, 2007– evident for both men and women, but it was
2008. In addition, the census presents a higher higher in the case of women. It appears that the
proportion of migrants than the NSS due to feminization of urban migration has become a
the aforementioned difference in defining the definite trend in India in recent times. On the
POLR. other hand, in the rural areas, male migration
There was a decline in the rate of migra- shows a decline though female migration has
tion to urban areas between the Census/NSS increased. Thus, feminization of migration is
years of 1981–1983 and 1991–1993.1 India evident in both rural and urban areas. This
suffered from an economic crisis and also a chapter mostly relies on NSSO data in sub-
serious balance of payment difficulty associ- sequent tables, and whenever necessary, the
ated with declining investment, rising infla- results are compared with census data.
tion and growing unemployment during this Migration streams by rural and urban origins
period. In order to overcome the economic are important dimensions of migration trends
crisis, India initiated economic reforms in and patterns. It will be worthwhile examining
1991 with a new economic policy aimed at the trends in migration on the basis of various
promoting liberalization and globalization of streams and categories that reflect upon short-
the Indian economy. The economic reforms and long-distance migration. Migration data
aimed at loosening the control of the govern- is available by rural and urban status and also
ment and encouraged entrepreneurs to par- by administrative locations, such as intradis-
ticipate actively in the process of economic trict, interdistrict and interstate. Intradistrict
development. This led to the emergence of and interdistrict may be considered short-
India’s growth story resulting in the rise in distance migration, whereas interstate migra-
gross domestic product (GDP) at the rate of 8 tion may be treated as long-distance migration.
per cent per annum in the 2000s (Ahluwalia, However, in many cases, the destination dis-
2011). There was an increase in the rate of trict in respect of interstate migration is very
migration in urban areas after the Census/NSS close to the state boundaries. As migration
year 1991–1993, as revealed by data from both data by distance is not available, these proxies
the Census of 2001 and the NSS of 2000. The are likely to throw some light on the nature of
increase is also supported by the latest pub- movement which may be characterized as rela-
lication from NSSO for the year 2007–2008 tively proximate and distant. Table 31.2 shows
(see Table 31.1). Increase in migration was the composition of migration streams by sex.
1
Some demographers are of the opinion that the quality of the 1991 Census was affected due to political tur-
moil during 1991 in several parts of the country (Srinivasan, 1994).
Table 31.2 Distribution of Migrants in India by Streams of Migration (Percentage)

Males Females
2001 1999–2000 2007–2008 2001 1999–2000 2007–2008
Streams Census NSSO NSSO Census NSSO NSSO
Rural to rural 36.3 32.3 27.1 72.4 70.3 70.0

Rural to urban 34.2 34.3 39.0 13.5 14.4 14.8
Urban to rural 6.2 10.7 8.9 4.1 5.2 4.9
Urban to urban 23.0 22.6 24.8 9.9 10.1 10.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Census of India 2001; NSSO, 2010.

Note: Rural–urban unclassifiable is excluded.
It may be seen from the table that the rural- is predominantly a ‘within state’ phenome-
to-urban stream has the largest proportion of non as only around 15 per cent of migrants
male migrants (39% in 2007–2008), followed moved from one state to another. As far as
by the rural to rural stream (27%). Among immigration is concerned, its share is less
women, rural-to-rural migration is the domi- than 1 per cent among all migrants (NSSO,
nant form of migration followed by rural-to- 2010). The latest figures from the NSS data
urban. However, between 2000 and 2007, the for 2007–2008 show that states which receive
percentage of female migrants across different a large number of migrants are Maharashtra,
streams did not change much. In other words, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Karnataka. On
it indicates that female migration was more the other hand, among out-migration states,
or less equal in intensity across all streams Bihar tops the list, followed by Uttar Pradesh,
of migration, whereas it is not so with male Jharkhand and Odisha (ibid.) Interstate migra-
migration. Though rural-to-rural male migration is presented in Figure 31.1.
tion has definitely declined, rural-to-urban has While interstate migration comprises just
significantly increased in recent years, with 14 per cent of all migrants for the combined
some increase in urban-to-urban male migra- rural and urban areas and for both sexes,
tion. It would be interesting to examine how its disaggregation shows some contrasting
migration differs across different administra- results. For example, among males migrating
tive jurisdictions. Both the census and NSSO to urban areas, it is as high as one-third, and
provide data on migration for intradistrict, about one-fifth for females, in 2007–2008 (see
interdistrict and interstate levels. Table 31.4).
As Table 31.3 shows, intradistrict move- The available evidence above indicates that
ment was about 53 per cent in 2007–2008, migration in India increased between the two
and though it had the largest share, it showed NSSO surveys of 1999–2000 and 2007–2008.
a declining trend. However, interdistrict and This is mainly due to female migration, but
interstate migration has increased. Of those among both men and women, interstate migra-
who moved across states, one-quarter moved tion to urban areas has increased. Furthermore,
from rural-to-urban and one-fifth moved from the decline in male migration observed in
urban to rural areas. Urban-to-urban migra- the census and NSS survey during the years
tion was also substantial (approximately 18% of 1981–1983 and 1991–1993 was reversed.
in 2007–2008), while rural-to-rural migra- However, the decline or increase in migration
tion between states was almost negligible rates depends upon the base year that is con-
(about 4% in 2007–2008). It is worthwhile sidered. For example, Kundu (2011) observed
emphasizing that internal migration in India that the migration rate, especially that of male
Table 31.3 Migration by Streams and Administrative Locations (Percentage)

Migration Streams Intradistrict Interdistrict Interstate All
Census 2001 62.5 24.1 13.2 100

NSS 1999–2000
Rural to rural 75.3 20.1 4.6 100
Rural to urban 43.8 36.5 19.6 100
Urban to urban 46.5 33.5 20.0 100
Urban to rural 36.6 43.5 19.9 100
Total 56.1 30.0 13.9 100
NSS 2007–2008
Rural to rural 72.4 23.2 4.4 100
Rural to urban 41.2 33.6 25.2 100
Urban to urban 48.8 33.8 17.5 100
Urban to rural 27.9 49.2 22.9 100
Total 53.3 32.0 14.7 100
Source: Census of India 2001, Table D2; NSSO, 2001, 2010.
Table 31.4 Migration by Administrative Locations in Rural and Urban Areas (Percentage)
Migrated in Rural Areas Migrated in Urban Areas
Type by Location Male Female Male Female
NSSO 1999–2000
Intradistrict 59.7 74.6 34.5 45.1
Interdistrict 25.4 20.7 40.3 38.6
Interstate 14.7 4.6 25.0 16.2
NSSO 2007–2008
Intradistrict 55.6 72.1 27.9 40.6
Interdistrict 27.9 23.5 38.9 40.4
Interstate 16.4 4.2 33.0 18.9
Source: NSSO, 2001, 2010.
migration, has been on the decline since the part of the workforce. According to the 2011
1961 Census (Kundu & Saraswati, 2012). Census, there was a total of 2.6 million work-
However, it is to be noted that there is no sec- ers in the age group 5–14 years and 8.6 million
ular decline, but male migration to urban areas workers in the above 60 years age group. It is
manifested an ebb and flow pattern, which is also inappropriate to exclude female migrants
characteristic of male migration in response to whose numbers not only show an increasing
economic crises or opportunities. Kundu fur- trend in urban areas but also constitute 20
ther tried to show that adult male migration per cent of the urban migrant workforce, as
in the age group 15–59 years to urban areas per data available in the census. Moreover,
declined from the 32 per cent recorded in the migration rates are affected by the changing
1999–2000 NSSO survey to 31.4 per cent in size of denominator (age 15–59 years) as a
the 2007–2008 survey (Kundu & Saraswati, result of age-structural transition of popu-
2012). However, this rate excludes the migra- lation evident in the rising percentage of the
tion of children and the elderly who also form age group 15–59 years—a potential indicator
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
Uttarakhand
Haryana
Arunachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Assam Nagaland
Bihar Meghalaya
Manipur
Jharkhand Tripura
Mizoram
Gujarat Madhya Pradesh West Bengal
Chattisgarh
Odisha
Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh
Goa
Karnataka
Less then −20

Tamil Nadu
−20 to −1
Kerala
1–20
More then 20
Not estimated due
to small sample
Figure 31.1 Net Interstate Migration in India, 2007–2008

Source: Bhagat, 2016.
Disclaimer: This figure has been redrawn by the author and is not to scale. It does not represent any authentic national
or international boundaries and is used for illustrative purposes only.
of demographic dividend. For example, the adult male migration rate in urban areas seems
proportion of the population in the age group partly to be a statistical artefact and partly the
15–59 years in India increased from 55 per result of low growth in employment (Bhagat,
cent in 1991 to about 57 per cent in 2001 and 2016). It cannot be denied that jobless growth
then to 60 per cent, as revealed in the 2011 has been a major concern of India’s growth
Census. In view of the age-structural transi- story. In addition, the Census and NSSO data
tion, the decline of one percentage point in based on POLR, which measures residential
migration of permanent and semi-permanent Previous studies have attempted to estimate

nature,2 are not able to capture temporary and the contribution of all three components,
seasonal migrants who constitute 1.3 per cent namely natural increase in urban areas, net
of India’s population. Rural-to-urban migra- rural-to-urban and net rural-to-urban classifi-
tion is the dominant form of short-term migra- cation of and boundary changes of urban cen-
tion (Keshri & Bhagat, 2012). tres (Bhagat, 2012a). Figure 31.2 shows that
The NSS 64th round 2007–2008 defined the percentage of net rural-to-urban migration
short-term migrants as people who were away increased during the 1990s than in the 1980s.
from their village or town for 30 days or more, However, it remained at the same level during
but not for more than 6 months, in the preced- the 1990s and 2000s. On the other hand, the
ing 365 days, for the purpose of employment proportion of net rural-to-urban migration,
or search for employment. They were enumer- together with net rural-to-urban classifica-
ated at their place of origin and considered as tion and boundary changes, rose from 38 per
not having changed their POLR. The number cent during the 1980s to 42 per cent in the
of short-term migrants was around 14 million 1990s and to 56 per cent during the 2000s.
in 2007–2008. It is also important to note that This shows significant changes in the forces
commuting as a form of spatial mobility proof urban transition in association with migra-
viding an alternative to residential migration tion and related spatial changes. Large cities
is a result of improved transportation between expand largely due to migration, while the
rural and urban areas. Chandrasekhar (2011) cores of several of them have declined (Sita &
estimated that about 32 million individuals Bhagat, 2007, pp. 59–82). The fertility level
live in households where one or more mem- of many large cities has significantly declined
bers commute for work from rural to urban and some have even reached the replace-
areas, compared with 15 million commuting ment level fertility (International Institute for
from urban to rural areas. Migration to urban Population Sciences, 2009). The growth rates
areas is, therefore, not only the product of of large cities are therefore predominantly the
opportunities and constraints in the urban cen- result of migration as well as areal expansion.
tres but is also influenced by alternative forms At the state level, the more urbanized states
of spatial mobility emanating from urban show a contribution of net rural-to-urban
transition. migration to urban growth of about one-third,
whereas at the all-India level, the contribu-
tion is about one-fifth (Bhagat & Mohanty,
2009). However, in absolute terms, net rural-
CONTRIBUTION OF MIGRATION TO to-urban migration has increased from about
URBAN GROWTH 11 million during 1981–1991 to 14 million
during 1991–2001 and to about 19 million
While rural-to-urban migration adds to the during 2001–2011 at the all-India level. In
urban population, the counterstream of urban to the past, rural-to-urban migration was largely
rural depletes the urban population. Similarly, directed to big cities and to a few small cities
in the reclassification of rural-to-urban areas, and towns where large-scale industries had
while some villages are reclassified as towns, developed. This trend continues but migrants
some existing towns may be declassified in are now moving to the peripheries of metrop-
the absence of fulfilled urban criteria. Net olises and large cities, which are often devoid
rural-to-urban classification is therefore the of basic services and have largely grown in an
real contributor to urban population growth. unplanned manner.3
2 Permanent and semi-permanent migration means migrants changed their usual place of residence.
3
See: www.planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/vision2025/urban.doc (accessed 11 October 2014).
70
62.3
60 57.6
50
43.8
40
35.6 1981–1991
Per cent
1991–2001
30 2001–2011
20.8 20.6 21.5

18.7 19
20
10
0
Natural Increase Rural to Urban Migration Reclassification and
Boundary Changes
Figure 31.2 Contribution of Net Rural-to-Urban Migration in Urban Population Growth

(Percentage)
Source: Bhagat, 2012a.
REASONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF move for employment and better employment

URBAN MIGRANTS prospects, whereas females follow them as
a consequence of marriage or move later as
As mentioned previously, migration to soon as the male migrants have settled down.
urban areas is predominantly rural to urban. However, as stated earlier, irrespective of the
Table 31.5 presents the motives for migration reasons for migration, a substantial proportion
to urban areas. The share of employment- of female migrants make up the workforce.
related migration has increased for males, Table 31.5 indicates that the share of those
but for females it is marriage which has been who searched for better employment as a
on the rise. However, migration related to reason for migration has increased, whereas
movement with parents and family members, the proportion of those searching for work
excluding marriage, has declined. On the declined during the two NSS census periods
whole, family-related migration for females of 1999–2000 to 2007–2008. It is also signif-
has been increasing during the last two dec- icant that education as a reason for migration
ades. It would seem that male and female has declined. This may be due to the wide
migration to urban areas are related as males expansion of educational institutions in rural
areas in recent decades.
Table 31.5 Reasons of Migration to Urban Areas

Males Females
Reasons 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008 1993 1999–2000 2007–2008
In search of employment 8.6 17.0 15.1 1.3 0.7 0.6

In search of better employment 12.9 15.6 16.5 1.4 0.8 0.6
To take up employment/ 18.3 18.3 23.1 1.8 1.4 1.2
better employment/transfer of
services
Proximity to work 1.7 1.0 1.0 0.4 0.1 0.2
Total employment related 41.5 51.9 52.7 4.9 3.0 2.6
Marriage 1.0 1.6 1.4 31.7 59.7 60.8
Movement with parents and 28.3 27.0 25.2 49.5 31.0 29.4
family members
Total family related 29.3 26.6 26.6 81.2 89.5 90.2
Studies/Education 18.0 6.2 6.8 7.0 1.3 2.2
Othersa 11.3 13.3 13.9 6.9 6.2 5.0
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: NSSO, 2001, 2012.

Note: a This includes business; acquisition of own house or apartment; housing problems; health care; post-retirement;
natural disaster, and social/political problems.
In India, income data at the household level migrate increases with rising economic status
is generally not available. As a result, studies for permanent and semi-permanent migra-
generally rely on consumer expenditure which tion (not seasonal and temporary) (Oberai &
includes both food and non-food expenses. The Singh, 1983; Skeldon, 1986; Bhagat, 2010).
NSSO provides information on migrants by However, the results observed for per-
MPCE of the households. Figure 31.3 shows manent and semi-permanent migration does
that the percentage of migrants in urban areas not apply to seasonal and temporary migra-
increases with increasing MPCE for both males tion. Seasonal and temporary migration pre-
and females. The increase in migration rate dominantly occurs among the poor and the
with MPCE is much steeper for males than it socially disadvantaged groups. Temporary
is for females. Migration rate increased by five migration also largely occurs in the rural-to-
times for males from the lowest to the highest urban migration stream. Further studies show
decile class compared with 1.2 times increase that the annual rate of temporary migration is
for females. Furthermore, India has a number seven times higher than permanent migration
of communities which are historically disad- (Keshri & Bhagat, 2013). Studies also point
vantaged due to the caste system. Caste is an out that seasonal and temporary migration
endogamous group hierarchically arranged is a livelihood strategy among rural house-
based on birth. As far as migration is concerned, holds (Deshingkar & Farrington, 2009; de
higher castes migrate more than lower castes. Haan, 2011; Keshri & Bhagat, 2012b). The
It is also important to mention that not only largest proportion (about 36%) of seasonal
do migrants have a higher level of education and temporary migrants is employed in the
than non-migrants but also the proportion of construction industry followed by agricul-
educated and technical migrants in urban areas ture (20%) and manufacturing (about 16%).
has increased during the period of the two There is a dearth of data on the actual mag-
NSSO surveys of 1999–2000 and 2007–2008 nitude of seasonal and temporary migration
(Kundu & Saraswati, 2012). Earlier studies on and estimates vary from about 13 million,
India also pointed out that the propensity to based on the NSSO, to 100 million evaluated
120
100
80
Migration rate %
60
Female
Male
40
20
0
0–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 40–50 50–60 60–70 70–80 80–90 90–100
Monthly per capita consumer expenditure decile class
Figure 31.3 Migration Rate by MPCE Decile Class, 2007–2008

Source: Based on NSSO, 2010.
by individual researchers (Keshri & Bhagat, number of Class I UAs increased from 384
2013; Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). The in 2001 to 468 in 2011. Furthermore, there
Planning Commission suggested that there is a are 53 million-plus UAs which comprise 43
need to undertake state-centric surveys to cap- per cent of India’s urban population. The
ture the flow and pattern of migration to the number of million-plus UAs increased from
various sectors, particularly the construction 35 in 2001 to 53 in 2011—an addition of 18
sector (Planning Commission, 2013, p. 363). UAs during the period 2001–2011 demon-
strating that the nature and pattern of urban
population is heavily concentrated in large
cities. There were eight megacities with a
MIGRATION TO CITIES population of more than 5 million in 2011
(see Figure 31.4). Out of these megacities,
India has 7,935 cities and towns according the three having a population of more than
to the 2011 Census, but 70 per cent of the 10 million are Greater Mumbai UA (18.4
urban population lives in 468 Class I Urban million), Delhi UA (16.3 million)4 and
Agglomerations (UAs) that is with a pop- Kolkata UA (14.1 million).
ulation of 100 thousand and above. The
4
According to the Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN, Delhi was the second
largest UA with 22.7 million inhabitants in 2011 after Tokyo (UN DESA, 2012). As per the Census of India prac-
tice, the UA is limited to the state boundaries that exclude the part of the Delhi UA spread out in the states of
Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Srinagar UA
Amritsar UA
Chandigarh UA
Meerut UA
Delhi UA
Faridabad (M Corp.)
Jaipur (M Corp.)Agra UA Lucknow UA

Jodhpur UA Gwalior UA Kanpur UA Patna UA
Allahabad UA
Kota (M Corp.) Varanasi UA
Asansol UA
Bhopal UA Ranchi UA
Ahmadabad UA Jabalpur UA
Indore UA Jamshedpur UA
Rajkot UA Vadodara UA Kolkata UA
Surat UA Durg-Bhilainagar UA
Nagpur UA Raipur UA
Nashik UA Aurangabad UA
Vasal Virar City (M Corp.)
Greater Mumbai UA
Pune UA
GVMC(M Corp.)
Hyderabad UA
Vijayawada UA
Bangalore UA Chennai UA
Kannur UA
Kozhikode UA Legend
Tiruchirappalli UA Total Population
Thrissur UA
Kochi UA Madurai UA
1,000,000
Kollam UA
Thiruvananthapuram UA
5,000,000
10,000,000
1 Millimetre = 1 Million
Figure 31.4 Million-Plus Cities in India, 2011

Source: Based on the 2011 Census.
Disclaimer: This figure has been redrawn by the author and is not to scale. It does not represent any authentic national
or international boundaries and is used for illustrative purposes only.
The rising importance of these million-plus less than 15 per cent in Allahabad and Agra to
cities, both in numbers as well as the huge 55 per cent and more in Surat, Ludhiana and
concentration of urban population within Faridabad. About 45 per cent of the population
them, indicates the significance of the pres- of Mumbai and of Delhi comprised migrants
ence of migrants in the city space. The share in 2001 (see Figure 31.5). Looking at the pro-
of in-migrants in million-plus UAs varies from portion of migrants across the million-plus
cities, it is quite evident that this is closely movement of people. Some of the impor-
related to the economic position and vibrancy tant urban corridors are: the Mumbai–Delhi
of these cities. Industrial Corridor, the Amritsar–Delhi-
Many million-plus UAs, namely Delhi, Kolkata Industrial Corridor, the Chennai–
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Pune, show Bangalore Industrial Corridor, and the
an increase in female migration (Bhagat, Mumbai–Bangalore Economic Corridor. The
2012b). In fact, the increase in female migra- transport network and urbanization would
tion is evident across the class size of urban seem to be reinforcing each other. This phe-
centres (Singh, 2009). Although the increase nomenon is not new but has strengthened
has largely occurred due to the rise in marriage since the liberalization and globalization of
and family-related migration in recent times, the Indian economy in 1991. Urban corridors
large cities also show enormous growth in play an important role in industrial develop-
female domestic servants as well as construc- ment and labour migration, unhindered by
tion workers who were all mainly migrants. A the administrative boundaries of districts and
large number of placement agencies have also states. Previously, cities and towns mostly
sprung up that are involved in the recruitment existed within district boundaries, but there
process (Neetha, 2002; Srivastava, 2012a, pp. are now about a dozen UAs spread over sev-
166–193). eral districts indicating their increasing size.
Another characteristic feature of India’s It is also evident that eastern and northeast-
urbanization is the emergence of urban ern India stand marginalized in the process of
corridors shaped by transport linking the urbanization with the exception of the Kolkata
million-plus UAs. These corridors have also UA. Patna is the next largest city in the region
influenced the flow of goods, services and but is seven times smaller than Kolkata.
60 58 57
55
50
50
45
43 43
40
35
30 28 28 27
19
20 17
14
12
10
0
ad
d
na
i
i
r
a
ik
A
at
ne
ra
as
ba
lh
ba
at
tn
DI
no
as
np
r
Ag
ia
ab
De
Pu
an
Su
um
lk
Pa
ha
IN
dh
ck
Ka
Ko
rid
r
Va
M
la
Lu
Lu
Fa
Al
Figure 31.5 Percentage of Migrants in Selected Million-Plus Urban Agglomerations

Source: Bhagat, 2012b.
However, both cities have not been able to of the populace and higher castes migrate from
attract large migrant populations unlike cities rural areas, the gaps that emerge are likely to
in north, west and south India. As a result, be filled by the poor and the lower castes with
Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are largely implications for economic improvement and
out-migration areas, and the entire region not poverty reduction in rural areas. A number
only has a very low level of urbanization but of studies show that internal migration can
is also among the more backward regions of help reduce or prevent households sliding
India. Regional inequality, pattern of urban- into poverty in both sending and receiving
ization and distribution of million-plus UAs areas (Deshingkar & Grimm, 2005; Harris,
are, consequently, all closely associated. 2004; Higgins, Birds & Harris, 2010). The
Areas with a high level of urbanization and efficiency of labour use and poverty reduction
per capita income also have a high level of are the two main outcomes associated with
migration (Bhagat, 2010). In this way, migra- transfer of surplus labour from the agriculture
tion, as influenced by development processes, to the non-agricultural sector. NSS data also
surges through cities and urban corridors. supports the increased transfer of the labour
India’s development is manifested by its force from agriculture to the non-agricultural
growing agglomeration of economies in the sector in recent times. About 55 per cent of
million-plus cities. However, in recent years, migrants who worked in agriculture prior to
the expansion of industries, services and related
migration were reported to have shifted to
employment growth has been higher not only non-agricultural activities in 1999–2000. This
in the secondary million-plus UAs, such as figure increased to 66 per cent in 2007–2008.
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Studies also show that migrants are better-off
Jaipur, but also in the peripheries of primary than non-migrants are at the place of desti-
million-plus UAs like Delhi, Mumbai and nation (Kundu & Sarangi, 2007; Srivastava
Chennai. Srivastava (2012a) relates this to the & Bhattacharya, 2003). Furthermore, in
‘hub and spokes’ pattern of growth with which 2007–2008, majority of permanent and
the migration pattern is closely associated. semi- permanent male migrants (57%) were
employed in regular jobs in urban areas com-
pared with non-migrant males who were
largely self-employed or worked as casual
OPPORTUNITIES OF URBAN labourers (63%). However, seasonal and
MIGRATION temporary migrants fall largely behind when
compared with permanent/semi- permanent
Rural-to-urban migration is not viewed pos- migrants and non-migrants in urban areas
itively in many countries including India. (Srivastava, 2012a). The consequences of
Policies are often aimed at reducing rural to migration, therefore, also depend upon the
urban migration, although this may not be nature and diversity of migration patterns.
desirable as there are many reasons to believe In recent years, cities have come to be con-
that migration, particularly rural to urban, sidered as drivers of economic growth as urban
may prove beneficial (Lucas, 1997). The two- areas contribute to about 65 per cent of India’s
sector classical model by Lewis (1954, pp. GDP (Planning Commission, 2008). Migrants
139–191) argued that rural-to-urban migra- help in growth and capital accumulation by
tion helps to transfer surplus labour and boost providing cheap labour and undertaking many
economic development. In the Indian context, risky and unsafe jobs which natives prefer not
Dubey, Palmer-Jones and Sen (2004) found to do, although they may face stiff competition
strong support for the Lewis model. They also or even conflict with the natives. In addition,
observed that as relatively better-off sections the seasonal and temporary migrant labour
supply is highly flexible in terms of work in accessing healthcare and on schooling of

intensity, payment regimes and working hours children (Lucas, 1997). The UNDP Human
(Srivastava, 2012a). A study by Deshingkar Development Report noted that household
and Akter (2009) shows that the economic remittances are vital in improving the live-
contribution of seasonal and temporary lihoods of millions of people in developing
migrants, based on major migrant-employing countries (UNDP, 2009). Available evidence
sectors in India, amounts to 10 per cent of the from India shows that about 55 per cent of
national GDP. On the other hand, informali- male out-migrants send remittances. These
zation of the labour market, increased control remittances constitute half of the average
of labour and low wages are also associated household consumer expenditure and are uti-
with increased availability and choice for lized for food, education and healthcare. Of
both the employers and the migrant workers. those households that receive remittances,
This is evident in the considerable decline about three-quarters spend the amount on food,
during 1999–2007 of the unemployed among followed by expenditure on health (37.4%),
migrants, particularly among those who had education (31%) and household durables
moved from rural to urban areas. A decrease (20.1%). It is therefore evident that remit-
was similarly noted in the share of those not in tances are an important means of food secu-
the labour force during this period. This sug- rity, as higher proportions of households with
gests that many rural folks are able to improve lower socio-economic backgrounds depend
their economic conditions through migration, on them for such expenditure (Deshingkar
and there is no evidence of strong distress & Sandi, 2012). Several studies have pointed
driving rural-to-urban migration. On the other out that migration is a family strategy wherein
hand, migration decisions have a positive one or more members are employed in urban
and significant impact on livelihood patterns areas as insurance against distress and crisis.
(Kundu & Saraswati, 2012, p. 223). It also improves their creditworthiness (Stark
Using both secondary and primary data, & Lucas, 1988; Lucas, 1997; Deshingkar &
Jha (2008) concluded that in India, after Sandi, 2012).
1991, out-migration played a decisive role It is also significant to mention that in
in asset-building in the areas of origin and India, the household remittances sent by inter-
contributed to poverty reduction through nal migrants in 2007–2008 were twice those
remittances. Chellaraj and Mohapatra (2014) of the household remittances sent by interna-
concluded that both internal and international tional migrants for the same period (NSSO,
remittances have a poverty-reducing effect 2010). However, it should be borne in mind
and showed that remittances are associated that migration alone may not improve house-
with higher household expenditure on health hold conditions, as they are influenced by a
and education. Similarly, in other parts of number of factors. So, while it is reported that
the world, urban employment provides an remittances from internal migration increase
opportunity for rural households to supple- school attendance, children of seasonal
ment their earnings and also to diversify their migrants moving with their parents drop out
sources of income. Remittances from urban of school (Deshingkar & Sandi, 2012; Smita,
employment were found to boost consump- 2008). However, it is necessary to emphasize
tion in rural areas and contribute to house- that while migration is very intrinsic to the
hold savings (IOM, 2005, p. 15). Increased path of human development, its impact is also
investment in agriculture has been possible in place-specific (de Haan, 2011).
some countries through migrants’ remittances As a recent publication by UNESCO (2013)
leading to growth in agricultural produc- points out, migration is a historical process
tion. Remittances are also spent on housing, that has shaped human civilization, culture
and development. Along with economic remit- Social security programmes are place-bound
tances, returning migrants bring a variety of and implementation of the programmes falls
skills, innovations and knowledge to their under the purview of the state governments.
areas of origin, and these are known as social Interstate migrants incur more hardships as
remittances. Migration also enhances the capa- the portability of social security programmes
bilities of the migrants through exposure and is not possible; they also face hostility from
interaction with the outside world. Many learn native residents who are instilled with the ide-
new skills from previous migrants who helped ology of sons of the soil (Weiner, 1978).
them to migrate and are a part of the migrants’ Migration is treated more as an issue of
social network at the place of destination. In a governance rather than one of development.
study in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south Deshingkar and Sandi (2012) argue that there
India, more than 20 per cent of circular and is untapped potential for human develop-
permanent migrants were able to learn more ment if the positive impacts of migration are
than two skills (Deshingkar et al., 2009, p. harnessed properly, but this requires accom-
84). In fact, migration is an informal process panying changes in attitude and institutional
of capability formation and skill development. structures. While there is a lack of integration
Cities are places where new migrants accumu- of migration into development planning, there
late new skills required by modern production are a host of labour laws that deal with the con-
sectors. In the long run, migration can play a ditions of migrant workers. However, the Inter-
positive role with the right type of policy and state Migrant Workmen Regulation Act, 1979
may benefit both the areas of origin and desti- (ISMWRA), which deals with contractor-led
nation (World Bank, 2009). movements of interstate migrant labour, is not
enforced properly. While a segment of migrant
workers moves with contractors, many also
find work independently through the networks
CHALLENGES OF MIGRATION AND of family, friends and kin and so do not fall
POLICY ISSUES under the purview of the ISMWRA. Many
schemes and programmes exist for workers
In India, not all migrants are equally vulnera- in the informal sector which are also applica-
ble. Permanent and semi-permanent migrants ble for migrant workers but require registra-
with higher education and skills can with- tion, and in some cases, identity cards. One
stand the challenges and succeed in becom- such very significant programme for migrant
ing members of the urban citizenship. On the workers comes under the Building and Other
other hand, migrants with low education and Construction Workers Act, 1996. Under this
skills, together with the seasonal and tempo- Act, funds are collected through a tax on con-
rary nature of their employment, are more struction for the welfare of construction work-
vulnerable and subject to various kinds of ers. Substantial funds have been collected by
exclusions in urban areas. These categories the Construction Welfare Boards in many states
of migrants are excluded from social secu- but implementation of the programme is very
rity programmes, such as public distribution poor due to the paucity of registration of work-
of food, access to education and healthcare, ers. Some non-governmental organizations,
and most importantly, entitlement to hous- like the Ajeevika Foundation, have done good
ing at the place of destination owing to the work in Rajasthan helping in the registration of
absence of identity and residential proof. migrant workers and issuance of identity cards5
5
The Government of India has launched a biometric identification of the population residing in India under
the UID (Unique Identity) programme also known as AADHAR. Migrants have the opportunity to enroll and
get an AADHAR card which can be used as an identity and residential proof. However, as many migrants lack
to them. A principal flaw in the Act is that it needs to be embedded in urban development
treats construction workers as immobile and policy and planning, as rural-to-urban migra-
does not provide for locational or even inter- tion is the predominant form of migration.
sectorial mobility (Srivastava, 2012b). Social security is a very important aspect of
Urban planning has been virtually a failure labour policy as approximately 90 per cent
in India (Planning Commission, 2013). The city of the workforce is employed in the infor-
master plan hardly reflects any concerns for mal sector. Although poverty is a yardstick of
migrants. On the other hand, migrants are often many policies and a segment of migrants is
blamed for the declining civic amenities and for indeed poor, the consideration of poverty as
almost all the woes of the city. They are even the only status is not adequate. The migrant
held responsible for the rising crime rate as well status of labourers needs to be incorporated
as law and order problems in the city. Urban explicitly because it adds to their vulnerability
development is a state subject in India. Urban along with poverty and social disadvantages
Local Bodies (ULBs) are still controlled by associated with caste, ethnic and minority
most of the state governments who are unwill- status. Vulnerable migrants need to be pro-
ing to delegate power and financial autonomy to tected against exploitation, long working
them despite the constitutional provisions made hours, low wages and restriction of movement
in the 74th Amendment to the Constitution. after working hours. Access to decent living
These new constitutional provisions have des- conditions should also be included in migra-
ignated ULBs as planning and development tion policy ensuring that migrants are not
authorities. However, in actual practice, there denied access to housing and basic services.
are multiple organizations engaged in planning Although poverty and migrant status overlap,
and development of urban centres. Due to the they cannot be treated as synonyms. This is
lack of local democracy, concern for migrants perhaps the strong tacit assumption in India’s
is not visible in various city development plans urban policies and programmes, mostly for-
and projects (Bhagat, 2012b). mulated in the Five-Year Plans prepared by
Many have argued that it would be inappro- the Planning Commission of India. As a result,
priate to prevent migration as it plays a very rural-to-urban migration is looked upon as
important role in development and in fulfilling ‘distress migration’ arising out of poverty,
human aspirations. Preventing migration may and rural development programmes are for-
even prove to be counterproductive (World mulated to include rural-to-urban migration
Bank, 2009; UNESCO, 2013; Foresight, (de Haan, 2011; Planning Commission, 2013).
2011). A recent UNESCO (2013) publication This implicit assumption negates the fact that
highlighted that the policies and programmes rural-to-urban migration is also the result of
facilitating integration of migrants at the desti- increasing aspirations and ability to migrate
nation remain weak at best or non-existent and as income and educational levels improve in
suggested 10 key areas for the inclusion and the rural areas. The positive values of migra-
integration of migrants in development. tion could far outweigh its negative impacts if
Migration policy, however, should not be supported by proper policies and programmes.
viewed merely as part of labour policy but
proper documents for identification, a significant step was taken when a Memorandum of Understanding was
signed between the National Coalition of Organizations for Security of Migrant Workers, a group of NGOs
working with migrant workers and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for facilitating the inclu-
sion of migrant workers in the UID programme. See: http://uidai.gov.in. Recently, the Governor of the Reserve
Bank of India, Mr Raghuram Rajan, announced that bank accounts will be opened for migrant workers without
proof of address (Times of India, 16 August 2014, p. 21).
Box 31.1: Key Strategies for Integration and Inclusion

of Migrants in Urban Areas
1. Registration and identity: There is an urgent need to ensure that internal migrants are issued with a
universally recognized and portable proof of identity that can enable them to access social security pro-
grammes anywhere in India. Political and Civic Inclusion: Special provisions are needed to secure the
voting rights of internal migrants and their inclusion in decision-making processes and urban planning.
2. Labour market inclusion: Negotiation opportunities with employers, including training, placement and
skills upgradation, with the help of NGOs. In case of uneducated and poor migrants, creating aware-
ness about their rights and supporting them.
3. Legal aid and dispute resolution: Internal migrants should be able to access legal aid and counsel-
ling to protect themselves against work- and wage-related malpractices and receive grievance- and
dispute-handling mechanisms to negotiate with employers/contractors.
4. Inclusion of women migrants: Filling knowledge and research gaps in the gender dimension of migra-
tion. Preventing discrimination, exploitation and trafficking of women.
5. Inclusion through access to food: The public distribution system (PDS) should be made portable to
include multilocational migrant populations.
6. Inclusion through housing: Providing dormitory accommodation, rental housing and also enabling
private housing. In situ upgradation of slums and providing basic services.
7. Educational inclusion: Providing seasonal hostels at the source regions to retain left-behind children
in schools, and also worksite schools at destination for children moving with parents.
8. Public health inclusion: Avoiding stigmatization of migrants as carriers of diseases and infections and
recognizing women and children migrants as vulnerable to health risks. Strengthening intervention
and reaching out to them with healthcare services.
9. Financial Inclusion - Extend banking facilities to promote savings and secure transfer of remittances in
the source and destination areas.
Source: UNESCO, 2013.
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32
Migration and Urbanization
Jajati K. Parida
Ravi K. Raman
INTRODUCTION that rural-to-urban migration in India also

increased by 3 million per annum between
Indian economy is in a transition phase. India 2001 and 2011 as per census migration data.
has moved up in the income ladder and has With decreasing job opportunities in rural
become a lower-middle-income country since areas on one hand, and increasing enrolments
2007–2008 (World Bank, 2015). Due to a sus- in secondary and higher levels of education
tained growth rate of gross domestic product on the other hand, it is expected that rural–
(GDP) (about 7% per annum) since 2002– urban migration would increase further in the
2003, the incidence of poverty has reduced sub- coming years.
stantially (Chauhan, Mohanty, Subramanian, In a context where capital intensity in
Parida & Padhi, 2014). More importantly, a manufacturing sector is on the rise and newer
structural transformation is taking place with forms of services are emerging due to globali-
falling share of employment in agriculture and zation and changing economic environment, a
a corresponding rise of employment in the study on rural–urban migration and migrants’
non-farm sectors (Mehrotra & Parida, 2017). employment patterns in urban India is impor-
With growing mechanization in agriculture tant. As the migrants were being displaced due
(Himanshu, 2011; Mehrotra, Parida, Sinha to mechanization in agriculture, most of them
& Gandhi, 2014), for the first time in Indian are either unskilled or low-skilled workers,
economic history, absolute number of workers landless or marginal farmers, or they belong
in agriculture declined (5 million per annum) to socio-economically marginalized groups,
massively during the period from 2004–2005 including women. An increasing trend of
to 2011–2012 (Mehrotra et al., 2014; Parida, unskilled and low-skilled migrants from rural
2015). Moreover, it is important to note to urban areas has implications on the growth
of low-skilled informal sector jobs, urban in rural areas and 197,960 in urban areas) in
housing and growth of slums, quality of edu- 2007–2008, at the national level.
cation, healthcare services and overall urban Because both census and NSS define
poverty and inequality. The main objective of migration (based on last residence criterion)
this chapter is to explore the trends and pat- in almost the same manner, using these two
terns of rural-to-urban migration and to study data sets is less likely to affect our data anal-
migrant workers’ employment patterns in ysis. We have combined both usual principal
urban India. status and usual subsidiary status to calcu-
This chapter is organized as follows. The late work participation, unemployment and
second section provides the sources of data. labour force participation rates. Moreover, for
In the third section, we discuss the structural estimating absolute number of workers from
transformation of employment, rising internal NSS data estimates, we have used census pop-
migration trends and their patterns in India. ulation data (projected population based on
The fourth section discusses how the growth monthly exponential growth rates) as an addi-
of rural–urban migration determines urbani- tional weight.
zation in India. In the fifth section, we ana- We begin the discussion with structural
lyse the employment patterns of rural–urban transformation in employment in India in the
migrants in urban India. Finally, the sixth sec- next section.
tion concludes the chapter.
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION AND

ON DATA AND METHODS RISING MIGRATION TRENDS IN INDIA
This chapter is based on secondary data. Both As sectoral employment pattern has implica-
macro- (aggregate level) and micro-level tions on internal migration flows, we begin
(household and individual level) data is used. our discussion with the structural transforma-
Data from the population census of India tion of employment in India. It is important
and National Sample Survey Organization to note that the share of agricultural employ-
is analysed. While Census of India provides ment in total employment has been declining
migration data at the aggregate level, National since 1993–1994 (the beginning years of our
Sample Survey (NSS) provides household- and study period). It was about 65 per cent of the
individual-level information of migration and total employment during 1993–1994, which
other socio-economic and demographic char- has declined to 62 per cent during 1999–2000,
acteristics. Total number of internal migrants further to 58.5 per cent during 2004–2005, to
based on their current and last residence is about 53 per cent during 2009–2010 and to 49
collected from Census of India for the period per cent during 2011–2012 (see Table 32.1).
from 1971 to 2011. This data is used to explore However, the absolute number of workers in
the recent trends of rural-to-urban migration agriculture increased from 241.5 million during
in India. Moreover, the migration-specific unit 1993–1994 to 246.6 million during 1999–2000
data collected by the NSS in its 55th (1999– and further to 268.6 million during 2004–2005
2000) and 64th (2007–2008) rounds is used to (see Table 32.1). However, for the first time,
explore the employment status. These surveys absolute number of workers in agriculture
provide a comprehensive national coverage: declined to 245 million during 2009–2010, and
a sample size of 819,013 persons (509,779 it continued to decline further to 232 million
in rural areas and 309,234 in urban areas) in during 2011–2012 (see Table 32.1). When the
1999–2000 and 572,254 persons (374,294 GDP picked up during 2002–2003, a structural
Migration and Urbanization 451
Table 32.1 Sectoral Employment Trends in increased from about 55 million to 115 mil-
India, 1994–2012 lion (more than twice). Similarly, the share of
Employment Trends 1994–2012 employment in service sectors increased from
21 per cent to about 27 per cent from 1993–
Sectors 1994 2000 2005 2010 2012
1994 to 2011–2012 (see Table 32.1). Absolute
Absolute employment (million) employment in service sectors also increased
Agriculture 241.5 246.6 268.6 244.9 231.9 from about 78 million to 127 million in the
Industry 54.7 63.2 83.3 99 115.1 same period (see Table 32.1).
Services 77.7 89.8 107.3 116.3 127.3 Since agriculture in India is mostly prac-
Total workforce 374 399.5 459.1 460.2 474.2 tised in rural areas and industry and service
Share of employment (%) sector employments are normally available in
Agriculture 64.6 61.7 58.5 53.2 48.9 either urban or semi-urban areas, structural
Industry 14.6 15.8 18.1 21.5 24.3 change in employment has implications on
Services 20.8 22.5 23.4 25.3 26.8 rising internal migration within India.
Source: Authors’ calculation using NSS unit data, various
rounds.
Note: Absolute number of employment are calculated by
Internal Migration Trends in India
adjusting NSS estimated with census population data.
Internal migration in India has been increasing
transformation in employment took place since 1971, but the rate of growth of migra-
during the post 2004–2005 period. Moreover, tion increased massively during the period
during this period, the absolute number from 2001 to 2011. In absolute numbers, total
of poor also declined massively (Planning migration increased from about 160 million to
Commission, 2013). According to Himanshu 202 million from 1971 to 1981 and further to
(2011) and Mehrotra et al. (2014), this struc- 226 million in 1991 to about 309.5 million in
tural transformation in employment happened 2001, and to about 454 million in 2011 (see
due to growth of mechanization in agriculture. Figure 32.1). In rural areas, it increased from
On the other hand, total employment in about 124 million to 143 million from 1971
industry and service sectors shows increasing to 1981 and further to 167 million in 1991 to
trends. The share of employment in indus- about 223.5 million in 2001 and to about 308.5
try increased from 14.6 per cent to about million in 2011. On the other hand, in urban
24.3 per cent from 1993–1994 to 2011–2012 areas, it increased from about 31 million to 45
(see Table 32.1), and absolute employment million from 1971 to 1981 and further to 58
500 453.6
Total Rural Urban
Migrants (million)
400
309.4 308.4
300 225.9
201.6 223.4
200 159.6 166.9
143.1 103.2
123.8 57.8 49.5
100 44.5
30.8
0
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
YEAR
Figure 32.1 Internal Migration Trends by Sectors in India, 1971–2011

Source: Authors’ plot based on census migration data (using D-series).
million in 1991, decreased to about 49.5 mil- are on the rise. On the other hand, the share
lion in 2001, but increased again to about 103 of rural-to-rural and urban-to-rural (return)
million (more than twice) in 2011. The per- migration have been falling over the years.
centage of migrants to total population, which In the case of male migrants, the share of
was almost constant at around 30 per cent in rural-to-rural migration decreased from about
1971 and 2001, increased to about 37.5 per 51 per cent during 1971 to about 34 per cent
cent (see Figure 32.2). This happened for the during 1971–2011. For female migrants, rural-
first time in the history of Indian economy. This to-rural migration decreased from about 77
huge increase in urban migration could be due per cent to about 64 per cent during the same
to the structural transformation in employment period. This is a good sign of rural develop-
that took place in the post 2004–2005 period. ment as rural-to-rural male migration was
This is also reflected by the annual growth mainly distress-driven due to agricultural con-
rate of migration in urban India. It increased ditions and seasonal factors owing to uncer-
massively, 11 per cent from 2001 to 2011, the tainty in agricultural production. This decline
highest ever since 1971. During 1971–1981 may also partly be due to the availability of
and 1981–1991, the growth rate of urban employment through the Mahatma Gandhi
migration was about 4.5 per cent and 3 per National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
cent, respectively (see Figure 32.3). This (MGNREGA) during agricultural slack sea-
growth rate declined to −1.4 per cent during sons (Parida, 2016). In the case of female
1991–2001. However, in the post 2001 period, migrants, rural-to-rural migration was mostly
it recovered and increased by 11 per cent, due to marriage (Kundu & Gupta, 1996; Mitra
reflecting the speed of the structural transfor- & Murayama, 2009; Parida & Madheswaran,
mation process in India. 2011; Premi, 1980; Singh, 1986; Srivastava,
1998, 2011; Srivastava and Sasikumar, 2003).
However, the changing direction of movement
from rural to urban areas reflects the fact that
Intersectoral Migration Flow in India
women have also been migrating for employ-
An exploration of the sectoral flow of inter- ment in recent years.
nal migration in India shows that both rural- Moreover, the rising rural-to-urban migra-
to-urban and urban-to-urban migration flows tion is a reflection of the Lewisian (Lewis, 1954)
Total Rural Urban

105
95
27.4
85
75 28.2 28.2 17.3
26.8
Migrants (%)
65
37.0
55
28.2 28.2 26.8 30.1
45
35 37.5
25 29.1 30.3 26.9 30.1
15
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Figure 32.2 Migrants as Percentage of Total Population by Sectors in India, 1971–2011

12.0
Annual % growth rate of migration

Total Rural Urban
10.0
8.0 10.8
6.0
4.0 4.5
3.0 3.7 3.4 4.7 3.8
2.0 2.6
1.6 1.2 1.7
0.0 −1.4
−2.0 1971−1981 1981−1991 1991−2001 2001−2011
Figure 32.3 Annual Growth Rate of Internal Migration by Sectors in India, 1971–2011
60.0 Panel A: Sectoral flow of male migration in India (%)

50.8
50.0
40.0 33.9
30.2 28.8
30.0 24.0
16.6
20.0
7.5 7.1
10.0
0.0
Rural to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Urban Urban to Rural
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
76.8 Panel B: Sectoral flow of female migration in India (%)

80.0
70.0 64.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
15.7 15.1
20.0 10.2 5.1 7.5
5.2
10.0
0.0
Rural to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Urban Urban to Rural
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Figure 32.4 Sectoral Flow of Internal Migration by Sex in India, 1971–2011

transition. According to Lewis (1954), rural-to- share of migrants in the age group 25–34 years
urban migration is likely to decrease the volume increased from 25.8 per cent to 26.4 per cent
of underemployment—excess labour—in agri- from 1999–2000 to 2007–2008. Moreover,
culture. As these workers—whose productivity the share of migrants in the age group 35–59
is negligible—move to modern urban-sector years increased from 39 per cent to 44 per
jobs, their productivity normally increases. cent during the same period (see Table 32.2).
As a result, overall labour productivity would The increasing share of working-age popu-
increase due to increased rural-to-urban lation in the rural–urban migration stream
migration in developing countries. reflects the structural transformation process.
In India, we have observed that the share Otherwise, it can be stated that the working-
of rural-to-urban migration has been rising age population is leaving rural areas due to
over the years. For men, it increased from 24 the low labour-absorption capacity of rural
per cent to 30.2 per cent, and for women, it labour markets and they are moving towards
increased from 10.2 per cent to 15.7 per cent. urban areas in search of alternate employment
As large proportions of population still live in opportunities. This is observed in case of both
rural areas, farm mechanization and resulting male and female migrants.
rural-to-urban migration are likely to decrease Social group-wise distribution of rural-
the volume of disguised unemployment in to-urban migrants reveals (see Table 32.2)
agriculture. As the Indian economy moves that the share of Scheduled Tribes increased
towards a non-farm economy, the rising share slightly from 8 per cent to 9 per cent, that of
of rural-to-urban migration may have a posi- Schedule Castes remained constant around
tive impact on the growth of GDP and overall 21 per cent and the share of Other Backward
economic development in India. Classes (OBCs) increased significantly from
Furthermore, the rising percentage share 36 per cent to 42 per cent. However, the share
of urban-to-urban migration (7.5% to 28.8% of Others (upper castes) declined from 35 per
in case of men, and 5.1% to 15.1% in case of cent to 28 per cent during the same period.
women) shows that people from small cities/ A rising share of OBCs in the rural-to-urban
towns are moving towards large cities for migration stream indicates that OBCs in India
either employment or for better economic mostly belong to either landless or agricul-
opportunities. This is also a good indicator of tural labour classes as these categories are
development. expected to move out of agriculture due to
We have explored the composition of rural- growth of mechanization. Moreover, a few
to-urban migrants based on their demographics, of them could be marginal and small farmers,
skills and socio-economic profiles in the next those who could not manage to continue the
subsection. This may help in understanding the production process due to rising cost of pro-
structural transformation process better. duction in agriculture in recent years. Hence,
they migrated to urban areas in increasing
numbers.
Moreover, we computed the rural–urban
Age, Sex and Class of Rural-to-Urban
migration flows by migrant’s economic cate-
Migration
gories. We classified them into two broad cat-
Age-wise distribution of rural-to-urban migra- egories,1 that is, below poverty line (BPL) and
tion reveals that the share of relatively younger above poverty line (APL). It is important to
and working-age population is higher in the note that about 47 per cent of the rural–urban
rural-to-urban migration stream in India. The migrants were poor (BPL) in 1999–2000. This
1
To calculate BPL and APL, we used Tendulkar’s poverty line (2004–2005) as given in the poverty report (Planning
Commission, 2013), but adjusted the price to get the BPL line for the years 1999–2000 and 2007–2008.
Table 32.2 Rural-to-Urban Migrants by Age, Sex and Socio-economic Groups in India (in
Percentage)
1999–2000 2007–2008
Categories Males Females Total Males Females Total
Age groups
Below 15 years 17.1 3.2 5.7 13.9 2.0 3.8
15–24 years 18.4 18.1 18.2 18.9 14.6 15.3
25–34 years 19.1 27.3 25.8 21.6 27.3 26.4
35–59 years 36.6 39.7 39.2 37.0 45.0 43.8
60 and above 8.7 11.6 11.1 8.6 11.1 10.7
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Social groups
Scheduled tribes 7.3 8.4 8.2 7.0 9.6 9.2
Scheduled castes 17.1 20.9 20.2 17.2 21.1 20.5
Other backward classes 33.8 36.9 36.3 39.3 42.9 42.3
Others 41.9 33.8 35.3 36.5 26.4 27.9
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Economic groups
Below poverty line 40.8 48.3 46.9 20 34.5 32
Above poverty line 59.2 51.7 53.1 80 65.5 68
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Authors’ estimation based on NSS unit data (55th and 64th) migration rounds.
share declined to only 32 per cent in 2007–2008. (see Table 32.3). Although this share declined
This implies the fact that in 1999–2000 people slightly to 93 per cent in 2007–2008, it still
migrated out of income distress. However, the holds a major share. Among these low-skilled
share of distressed migrants has been declin- migrants, about 52 per cent were illiterate,
ing over the years. This could be because the 22.5 per cent had primary level of education
incidence of poverty has declined massively. and 18.5 per cent had secondary level of edu-
Although the share of the poor in the rural- cation in 2007–2008 (see Table 32.3).
to-urban migration stream has declined, it This high share of low-skilled migrants in
is expected that those who lost their jobs in the rural-to-urban migration streams reflects a
agriculture form a major share of this migra- transition process. In a context where capital
tion stream. Hence, rural-to-urban migration intensity in manufacturing sector is rising at a
stream has implications on urban poverty and rapid rate (Mehrotra et al., 2014), and newer
living conditions. forms of services (modern services) are grow-
ing due to globalization (Mehrotra & Parida,
2017; Raman, 2012), rising low-skill migra-
tion has implications on growing urban unem-
Role of Education on Rural-to-Urban
ployment, poverty and inequality.
Migration
Furthermore, it can be inferred that due
Distribution of rural-to-urban migrants on the to increased low-skill rural–urban migra-
basis of their level of education reveals that tion, urban information-sector employment
the share of low-skilled migrants is very high. is growing in India. We have discussed this
Migrants with below secondary level of edu- in the fifth section where we have explored
cation and illiterates constituted about 95 per the employment patterns of rural-to-urban
cent of the total migration flow in 1999–2000 migrants in great detail.
Table 32.3 Level of Education and Rural-to-Urban Migration in India (Figures in Percentage)
1999–2000 2007–2008
Level of Education Males Females Total Males Females Total
General education
Illiterate 23.4 66.2 58.2 18.9 57.8 51.8
Primary 29.2 18.2 20.3 27.9 21.5 22.5
Secondary 29.0 12.2 15.4 31.9 16.0 18.5
Higher secondary 7.2 1.7 2.8 9.5 2.7 3.7
Graduate & above 7.3 1.1 2.3 8.3 1.7 2.7
Technical/vocational education
Below graduate 3.5 0.4 1.0 2.3 0.2 0.5
Graduate & above 0.4 0.1 0.1 1.2 0.1 0.3
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
RURAL-TO-URBAN MIGRATION (5.5 million), Kerala (4.4 million), Madhya

AND GROWTH OF URBAN Pradesh (4.22 million), Karnataka (4.2 mil-
POPULATION IN INDIA lion) and Delhi (4.15 million). It is important
to note that most Indian states registered a
It is observed that rural-to-urban migration higher annual rate of growth of rural-to-urban
is contributing significantly to the growth of migration than the average of all Indian states
urban population in India. While urban pop- (see Table 32.4). The states which registered
ulation increased from 286 million to 377 more than the national average rate of growth
million from 2001 to 2011, with an annual are Kerala (22.3 per cent), Tamil Nadu (12.1
growth rate of 3.2 per cent, rural-to-urban per cent), Andhra Pradesh (8.5 per cent), Uttar
migration increased from about 52 million to Pradesh (7.9 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir
about 83 million during the same period, with (7.9 per cent), Haryana (6.8 per cent),
an average annual growth rate of 6 per cent Uttaranchal (6.8 per cent), West Bengal (6.6
(see Table 32.4). More importantly, the share per cent), Rajasthan (6.6 per cent), Assam (6.2
of rural-to-urban migration to total urban pop- per cent) and Gujarat (6.1 per cent). Moreover,
ulation increased from 18.1 per cent to 21.9 all northeastern states registered more than
per cent from 2001 to 2011 (see Table 32.4). national average rate of growth of rural-to-
Moreover, the growth rate of rural-to-urban urban migration, except Arunachal Pradesh
migration is higher than both growth of urban and Mizoram.
population and growth of share of urban pop- Moreover, states in which the share of urban
ulation to total population (proxy of growth population is higher (relatively urbanized states)
of urbanization). This shows the contribution have a higher growth of rural-to-urban migration
of rural-to-urban migration on the growth of too. Earlier studies like Deshingkar and Akter
urban population. (2009), Bhagat and Mohanty (2009) also claimed
The states which ranked at the top in terms that urbanization is growing due to the sharp
of absolute number of rural-to-urban migra- increase in rural-to-urban mobility of people.
tion during 2011 are Maharashtra (13.5 mil- Mechanization in agriculture and unavailability
lion), Gujarat (7.3 million), Uttar Pradesh of jobs in rural areas have pushed a large number
(7.2 million), Andhra Pradesh 5.9 million), of poor migrants to urban areas; an improved
West Bengal (5.7 million), Tamil Nadu standard of living along with rising income
would sustain this process in the long run.
Table 32.4 Growth of Rural-to-Urban Migration and Urban Population in India, 2001–2011
Rural–Urban
Migration as Urban Population as
Rural–Urban Migration Urban Population Percentage of Urban Percentage of Total
(Million) (Million) Population Population
Annual Annual Annual Annual
Name of growth growth growth growth
the State 2001 2011 rate (%) 2001 2011 rate (%) 2001 2011 rate (%) 2001 2011 rate (%)
Jammu & 0.27 0.48 7.9 0.92 3.4 27.5 10.6 13.9 3.1 24.8 27.4 1.0
Kashmir
Himachal 0.22 0.26 1.9 0.09 0.7 64.1 36.4 37.4 0.3 9.8 10.0 0.2
Pradesh
Punjab 1.53 2.18 4.3 2.1 10.4 38.7 18.5 21.0 1.3 33.9 37.5 1.1
Uttaranchal 0.49 0.83 6.8 0.9 3.0 25.0 22.7 27.3 2.0 25.7 30.2 1.8
Haryana 1.54 2.58 6.8 2.7 8.8 22.4 25.2 29.2 1.6 28.9 34.9 2.1
Delhi 3.26 4.15 2.7 3.5 16.4 37.3 25.3 25.3 0.0 93.2 97.5 0.5
Rajasthan 1.96 3.25 6.6 3.8 17.0 34.5 14.8 19.1 2.9 23.4 24.9 0.6
Uttar 4.01 7.17 7.9 10.0 44.5 34.7 11.6 16.1 3.9 20.8 22.3 0.7
Pradesh
Bihar 1.47 2.21 5.1 3.1 11.8 28.2 17.0 18.8 1.1 10.5 11.3 0.8
Sikkim 0.02 0.05 17.5 0.09 0.15 6.4 28.2 30.3 0.7 11.1 25.2 12.7
Arunachal 0.08 0.11 3.7 0.09 0.32 25.5 36.8 36.2 -0.2 20.8 22.9 1.1
Pradesh
Nagaland 0.06 0.16 15.2 0.23 0.57 15.0 18.6 28.1 5.1 17.2 28.9 6.8
Manipur 0.03 0.10 24.8 0.26 0.83 22.3 5.1 12.3 14.0 26.6 29.2 1.0
Mizoram 0.10 0.15 5.3 0.13 0.57 33.7 21.8 25.6 1.8 49.6 52.1 0.5
Tripura 0.09 0.27 20.2 0.42 0.96 13.1 16.4 28.1 7.2 17.1 26.2 5.3
Meghalaya 0.05 0.10 11.6 0.14 0.60 32.1 10.1 16.6 6.5 19.6 20.1 0.3
Assam 0.67 1.09 6.2 1.0 4.4 35.9 19.6 24.8 2.6 12.9 14.1 0.9
West Bengal 3.41 5.66 6.6 6.7 29.1 33.6 15.2 19.4 2.8 28.0 31.9 1.4
Jharkhand 1.34 1.99 4.9 1.9 7.9 30.9 22.3 25.1 1.2 22.2 24.0 0.8
Odisha 1.49 2.09 4.0 1.5 7.0 37.1 27.0 29.8 1.0 15.0 16.7 1.1
Chhattisgarh 1.10 1.68 5.3 1.8 5.9 23.9 26.3 28.4 0.8 20.1 23.2 1.6
Madhya 2.91 4.22 4.5 4.1 20.1 38.9 18.2 21.0 1.6 26.5 27.6 0.4
Pradesh
Gujarat 4.5 7.3 6.1 6.8 25.7 27.8 24.0 28.3 1.8 37.4 42.6 1.4
Maharashtra 10.5 13.5 2.8 9.7 50.8 42.3 25.6 26.5 0.3 42.4 45.2 0.7
Andhra 3.2 5.9 8.5 7.4 28.2 28.1 15.5 21.1 3.6 27.3 33.4 2.2
Pradesh
Karnataka 2.8 4.2 5.0 5.7 23.6 31.7 15.7 17.9 1.4 34.0 38.7 1.4
Goa 0.18 0.28 5.1 0.24 0.91 28.4 27.3 30.3 1.1 49.8 62.2 2.5
Kerala 1.4 4.4 22.3 7.7 15.9 10.8 16.4 27.4 6.8 26.0 47.7 8.4
Tamil Nadu 2.5 5.5 12.1 7.4 34.9 37.0 9.1 15.8 7.4 44.0 48.4 1.0
All India 51.7 82.6 6.0 286.1 377.1 3.2 18.1 21.9 2.1 27.8 31.1 1.2
Source: Authors’ calculation based on census migration data (using D-series).

To substantiate our argument further, we of regular workers indicates that there was
explored the employment patterns of rural– a high inflow of low-skilled and unskilled
urban migrants in the next section. workers into the urban areas, of which most
are from rural areas. The unskilled and semi-
skilled workers from rural areas are most
likely to work as either casual labourers or
RURAL-TO-URBAN MIGRATION AND are self-employed. Earlier studies on migrant
URBAN EMPLOYMENT IN INDIA labour, like Connell, Das Gupta and Lipton
(1976), Joshi and Joshi (1976), Bhattacharya
The share of migrants in the urban workforce (2002), Srivastava and Bhattacharya (2002)
is greater than their share in the total popu- and Deshingkar and Akter (2009) have found
lation. About 37 per cent of the total urban that poor households participate extensively in
workers are migrants (see Table 32.5). The rural-to-urban migration and they are mostly
shares of migrants in the workforce is high- absorbed in the unorganized sector of the
est (about 59%) in Delhi and in Maharashtra economy. Most of these workers either open
(about 50%). It is important to note that the small shops or engage themselves in petty
two largest metro cities, namely, New Delhi trade, street vending, rickshaw pulling or
and Mumbai, belong to these states. Moreover, auto-rickshaw driving.
in most of the states, it was noticed that the Distribution of male migrant workers across
share of migrants in workforce is more than the industries reveals that about 74 per cent of
the national (all India) average. This implies them were engaged in various non-farm sec-
that both large and small cities attract rural tors in 1999–2000 (see Table 32.6). This share
migrants during the transition periods. increased to 79 per cent during 2007–2008.
Distribution of migrant workers on the Industry-wise distribution of urban migrant
basis of their types of employment reveals workers—those who have come from rural
that in 1999–2000, share of self-employed areas—reveals that of the male migrants,
migrants was about 36 per cent, that of casual about 29 per cent are employed in the man-
worker was 16 per cent and that of regular sal- ufacturing sector, 13 per cent in construction
aried workers was about 48 per cent. In 2007– activities, 17 per cent in the hotel trade and
2008, the share of self-employed and casual restaurant services, about 9 per cent in trans-
workers increased to 37 per cent and 18 per port and communication services, about 13 per
cent, respectively, whereas the share of regular cent in education, healthcare and other social
salaried workers declined to 45 per cent (see services, 3 per cent in real estate and finance
Table 32.5). services, 1 per cent in mining and quarrying
The share of regular salaried workers also activities and 21 per cent in agriculture and
declined across states in India. The share of allied activities.
regular salaried workers declined from 69 per The distribution of female migrant work-
cent to 59 per cent in Delhi, from 56 per cent ers, on the other hand, reveals that most of
to 50 per cent in Maharashtra, from 49 per them are engaged in agriculture and allied
cent to 37 per cent in Tamil Nadu, from 47 per sectors. Nevertheless, of the female migrants,
cent to 40 per cent in West Bengal, from 45 about 7 per cent are engaged in manufacturing
per cent to 41 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, from sectors, 2.3 per cent in construction, 2.7 per
41 per cent to 37 per cent in Andhra Pradesh cent in hotel trade and restaurant services and
and from 40 per cent to 39 per cent in Gujarat about 4 per cent in education, healthcare and
(see Table 32.5). other social services.
The increasing share of both self-employed This finding by and large supports earlier
and casual employed and declining share studies like Joshi and Joshi (1976), Dupont
Table 32.5 State-wise Employment Patterns of Migrants in Urban India

Percentage of Migrants Distribution of Urban Migrant Workers by Their Types of Employment (%)
in the Urban Workforce
(UPSS) Self-employed Regular workers Casual workers
Name of
the State 1999–2000 2007–2008 1999–2000 2007–2008 1999–2000 2007–2008 1999–2000 2007–2008
Andhra 41 47 35 37 41 37 24 27
Pradesh
Arunachal 3 6 0 30 82 59 18 11
Pradesh
Assam 15 32 24 39 54 54 23 8
Bihar 19 29 42 53 50 36 8 12
Goa 47 46 22 31 48 51 30 18
Gujarat 38 40 34 40 39 40 27 20
Haryana 52 47 36 38 52 55 12 8
Himachal 66 56 30 37 62 52 9 12
Pradesh
Jammu & 27 16 34 44 51 47 15 9
Kashmir
Karnataka 37 34 33 26 50 56 17 19
Kerala 39 35 42 36 38 35 21 29
Madhya 30 30 37 44 42 34 21 23
Pradesh
Maharashtra 52 50 30 33 56 50 14 16
Manipur 2 1 60 11 29 75 11 14
Meghalaya 4 7 19 30 59 31 22 40
Mizoram 1 27 50 54 41 35 10 11
Nagaland 71 47 23 47 72 49 5 5
Odisha 42 42 36 40 51 50 13 10
Punjab 42 35 36 30 52 59 12 11
Rajasthan 43 40 44 49 43 36 13 16
Sikkim 54 75 35 26 60 74 5 0
Tamil Nadu 37 25 33 36 49 37 17 27
Tripura 12 17 22 32 66 57 12 11
Uttar 37 25 47 48 45 41 9 11
Pradesh
West Bengal 40 33 39 44 47 40 14 16
Delhi 5 59 21 33 69 59 10 8
Chhattisgarh NA 49 NA 27 NA 49 NA 24
Jharkhand NA 27 NA 37 NA 38 NA 25
Uttaranchal NA 53 NA 41 NA 47 NA 13
Other UTs 53 53 30 24 62 53 8 23
All India 38 37 36 37 48 45 16 18
Notes:
1.UPSS implies Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status, which is derived by combining both principal and subsidiary
status of employment.
2.UTs implies Union Territories.
Table 32.6 Rural–Urban Migrants by Their Industry of Employment in Urban India (Figures in
Percentage)
1999–2000 2007–2008
Industry of Employment Male Female Total Male Female Total
Agriculture & allied 25.6 82.6 67.7 21.3 82.7 70.2

Mining & quarrying 1.3 0.3 0.5 1.0 0.3 0.4
Manufacturing 20.3 7.4 10.8 22.9 7.5 10.6
Electricity, gas and water 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.1
Construction industry 8.0 1.4 3.2 12.6 2.3 4.4
Hotel, trade & restaurant 17.6 3.1 6.9 16.7 2.7 5.6
Transport & communication 8.5 0.1 2.3 9.2 0.2 2.0
Real estate & finance 1.9 0.1 0.6 3.2 0.2 0.8
Education, healthcare and other services 16.1 5.0 7.9 12.5 4.1 5.8
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
(1992), Kundu and Gupta (1996), Srivastava urban unemployment rate. This may impact
(1998), Singh (2002), Mitra (2003) and urban poverty and inequality.
Deshingkar and Akter (2009). These studies
were conducted in various states of India and
found that unskilled or semi-skilled migrant
workers in small towns and suburban areas CONCLUDING REMARKS
are normally employed in construction, tex-
tiles, small-scale industries, brickmaking, During this period of high economic growth
stone quarries, mines and hospitality services. and structural transformation, a ‘Lewisian
The increasing share of rural-to-urban transition’ is taking place in India, with a
migrants in manufacturing, construction and large number of people migrating from rural
service-sector employment may have contrib- to urban areas to take up urban employment.
uted significantly to economic growth in India Mechanization in agriculture is one of the
in the recent years. Though manufacturing major drivers of rural-to-urban migration
and service sectors are highly heterogene- in India. Rural-to-urban migration not only
ous in terms of their range of activities, the increases the share of migrants in the urban
labour-intensive subsectors (Mehrotra et al., population but also their share in employment.
2014; Parida, 2015) absorb a large share of Since migrants are found employed in man-
rural-to-urban migrants in India. Since rural- ufacturing and service sectors, it is expected
to-urban migration is an outcome of higher that their labour productivity may have
economic growth and structural changes increased. As a consequence, the incidence of
that are occurring in both output (GDP) and poverty has declined substantially.
employment in India, an increase in labour However, since a large share of rural-to-
productivity after migration can help speed up urban migrants are illiterate or low-skilled
this process. with up to primary level of education, a rising
However, because a large share of rural- demand for skilled workers may increase the
to-urban migrants are illiterate or low-skilled urban unemployment rate. This may impact
with up to primary level of education, a rising urban poverty and inequality. In this context,
demand for skilled workers would increase strengthening labour-intensive manufacturing
units in micro-, small- and medium-size enter- 1993–4 to 2011–12. Economic & Political Weekly,
prises in rural areas may check the growth 49(32), 49–57.
of rural-to-urban migration and help sustain Mitra, A. (2003). Occupational choices, networks and
growth of employment in rural areas. transfers: An exegesis based on micro data from Delhi
slums. New Delhi, India: Manohar.
Mitra, A., & Murayama, M. (2009). Rural to urban migra-
tion: A district-level analysis for India. International Jour-
nal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 5(2), 35–52.
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Explaining employment trends in the Indian Economy:
33
Circular Migration
and Urban Housing
Renu Desai
Shachi Sanghvi
INTRODUCTION migrating from other districts of Gujarat and

from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar
There is increasing recognition that circu- Pradesh and other states. Mosse et al. (2005)
lar and seasonal migrants to cities remain have pointed out that the physical expan-
on the extreme margins in their urban work sion of Gujarat’s industrial growth poles can
destinations, facing layers of socio-economic be attributed directly to the seasonal flow of
and political vulnerabilities, although they casual labourers of Adivasi background from
contribute significantly to the economy upland villages in south Rajasthan, west-
(Deshingkar & Akter, 2009).1 In Ahmedabad, ern Madhya Pradesh and eastern Gujarat to
these migrants work in construction, facto- work in construction and related industries.
ries, small hotels, restaurants and food stalls, Although they build the cities, they live in
domestic work, head-loading and load-cart- some of the most vulnerable conditions which
pulling, scrap recycling and vegetable vend- remain unmapped and are barely understood.
ing (Aajeevika Bureau, 2007). A large number While there has been an increasing
of them work as construction labourers, emphasis on the invisibility of these migrant
1
This chapter is concerned with circular and seasonal migrant labourers, but henceforth, for ease, we refer to
them simply as migrant labourers. Estimates of seasonal migrants in India vary widely from 40 million (Srivastava,
2012) to 100 million (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). Official data comes nowhere close to these estimates due to
definitional problems. Census does not capture seasonal migration at all. The NSSO 2007–2008 round estimated
about 14 million short-duration seasonal migrants in India using a definition which only captures those who
migrate for one month or more, up to a period of six months, within the last year. This leaves out the many
seasonal migrants who migrate for more than six months in a year.
Circular Migration and Urban Housing 463
labourers in urban policies, planning and gov- Ahmedabad and their native place (BSC,
ernance processes (Bhagat, 2012, pp. 86–99; 2009).
Deshingkar, Khandelwal & Farrington, 2008; The recruitment channels through which
Srivastava, 2012, pp. 166–193), there are only construction workers are employed involve an
a few studies that look at their housing in the absence of a clear relationship between work-
city in any depth.2 This chapter examines in ers and the principal employer while a series
depth the spaces inhabited by migrant con- of intermediaries seek to maximize their
struction workers in Ahmedabad by develop- profit. This creates major difficulties for work-
ing a typology of their housing, discussing ers in terms of occupational safety, fair wages
the conditions and migrants’ experiences in and welfare facilities at their workplaces.
each housing type and outlining the policy While the Building and Other Construction
and governance dynamics shaping these con- Workers (BOCW) Act 1996 has led to some
ditions. The chapter draws upon a housing important shifts, there is still a long way to
survey done in 2018 of 224 migrant construc- go. Many of the difficulties are compounded
tion workers across 14 kadiya nakas (infor- for the migrant workers. They also face severe
mal street-side labour markets), qualitative obstacles in realizing decent housing, basic
research undertaken since 2014 in about 20 services and social services in the city. One
migrant settlements through observations and reason for this is the lack of a political voice in
informal conversations as well as focus group the city as they exercise their vote in their vil-
discussions with migrants from 8 settlements lages, resulting in no interaction with political
and an analysis of relevant legislation, policies leaders in the city. Bureaucrats in the urban
and governance.3 local bodies (ULBs) perceive these workers
as not having any claim on urban resources
because they are ‘temporary’. This chapter
identifies two main types of migrant construc-
MIGRANT LABOUR IN THE tion workers based on their path of migration
CONSTRUCTION SECTOR and recruitment and elaborates on their hous-
ing spaces in the city.
India’s construction industry is highly labour
intensive and is the second largest employer
in the country, after agriculture. Employment
in the sector rose from 14.5 million in 1995 HOUSING SPACES OF THE FLOATING
to 31.5 million in 2005 and to 41 million in MIGRANT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
2011 (Planning Commission, 2012). In 2011,
skilled and unskilled workers were 9.1 per Many migrant construction workers come to
cent and 83.3 per cent of the total workforce, Ahmedabad through labour recruiters/contrac-
respectively, with most being unorganized and tors as part of labour gangs and go directly to
migrant labourers (Planning Commission, construction sites. The employer or contractor
2012). In Ahmedabad, the number of con- gives them a place to live on the site or off-site.
struction workers was estimated to be about These ‘floating’ migrant construction workers
0.1 million in 2009, with 70 per cent being shift across construction sites to work and live,
migrants who shuttle back and forth between with many also moving between cities. Work is
2
This includes Agarwal (2016) on migrants living in Indore’s slums, Naik (2015) on migrant renters in Gurgaon
and Naraparaju (2014) on migrant construction workers in Navi Mumbai.
3
This research was mainly undertaken through three studies sponsored by the Prayas Centre for Labour Research
and Action and funded by The Tata Trust Migrant Support Program (in 2014) and the Paul Hamlym Foundation
(in 2017 and 2018). See Desai, Soni, Vaid and Mevada (2014), Desai (2017) and Desai and Sanghvi (2018).
considerably regular for them for a few months Most of the workers, therefore, live on-site
or more, and sometimes even few years. or off-site in shacks made of metal sheets or
Under the BOCW Act, every establishment even plastic sheets. In case of the off-site
which employs 10 or more construction work- arrangements, the employer or contractor
ers and where the total cost of construction is often negotiates access to public or private
more than `1 million has to be registered and land and puts up the workers there. In case of
is supposed to provide workers with tempo- multi-storey building construction, the work-
rary accommodation for the duration of their ers move into the under-construction build-
work. The accommodation should have sepa- ing after it reaches a certain number of floors.
rate spaces for cooking, washing, bathing and Better workers’ accommodation, often using
toilet facilities, and drinking water should be prefab materials, is provided by some large
provided. However, the provisions made by construction companies, but this is still an
employers in Ahmedabad are generally inad- exception rather than the rule. Provision of
equate due to legislative, policy and govern- water and sanitation facilities varies across
ance gaps (Desai, 2017). The Gujarat Building sites, but in many cases, potable water is not
and Other Construction Workers Rules 2003, provided, toilets are poorly maintained and
which was formulated under the Act, does storm-water drainage around the workers
not set out any standards for these provisions, accommodation is non-existent. There are
and in fact, does not even refer to temporary also instances where the builder or contractor
accommodation. This creates ambiguities accommodates the workers in existing infor-
about what kind of temporary accommodation mal rental rooms and pays their rents.
and basic services should be provided. The Gujarat Building and Other
Moreover, the task of implementing the Construction Workers Welfare Board (here-
BOCW Act and 2003 Gujarat Rules was after referred to as the Board) has a large
given to the Directorate of Industrial Safety fund from the cess collected from employers
and Health (DISH), the wing of the Labour of construction workers. In 2017, the Board
and Employment department in charge of launched a temporary housing scheme to build
factories, without any additional resources. rooms using precast concrete slabs for walls
Dedicated inspectors for construction sites and metal sheets for roofs. This was directed
were recruited only in 2017. The impact of at the labour gangs working on private con-
these human resources on improving accom- struction sites or public infrastructure pro-
modation and basic services for workers jects. The land for this housing was provided
remains to be seen, especially in the absence by the developer in the former case and by
of mechanisms to ensure that all construc- a ULB in the latter case. By doing this, the
tion sites are registered with DISH in the Board absolved the employers of their respon-
first place. While the Ahmedabad Municipal sibility under the BOCW Act. In conclusion,
Corporation (AMC) has data on construction we suggest how the Board can better use its
sites because it issues development permis- cess funds for workers’ housing.
sions, there is no data sharing with DISH. As
part of the development permission process,
developers are required to sign a bond with
AMC which states that they will provide tem- HOUSING SPACES OF THE MIGRANT
porary housing and sanitation to the workers, NAKA WORKERS
but here too, absence of standards means that
the nature of this provision is open to interpre- The second type of migrant construction
tation, generally resulting in poor provisions.4 workers based on their path of migration
4
See Desai (2017) for a detailed discussion.
and recruitment are those who migrate to Table 33.1 Housing Typologies of the Survey
Ahmedabad independently and go to kadiya Respondents
nakas to search for daily-wage work. Referred Number of
to as naka workers, these migrants remain in Housing Typology Respondents
the city for few, several or even 11 months Rental rooms/units 108 48%
of the year, with many of them migrating to Squatter settlements 41 18%
the city in a circular manner over many years. Homeless settlements in public 30 14%
Work obtained from the naka is irregular, with spaces
workers getting from 5 to 25 days of work in Rental spots on lands/building 26 12%
a month depending on the season (summer, rooftops
winter, monsoon and festivals), skills, expe- Other (living with relatives, in 19 8%
rience, contacts with contractors who come employer-provided housing or
to the naka to hire labour and negotiating in public resettlement housing)
abilities. These migrants work at different Total 224 100%
construction sites over the course of a single Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
month, which makes it difficult to pin down authors.
an employer responsible for housing them.
Thus, these workers arrange for their own Table 33.2 Quality of Shelter in Squatter
housing in the city, and in most cases, enter Settlements
the city through village- and kin-based social Shelter Quality Number of Respondents
networks, find housing through them and then
start going to a nearby naka. Kutcha 35 85%
Migrant naka workers live in four main Potla 6 15%
housing typologies in Ahmedabad: squatter Total 41 100%
settlements on public and private lands, home- Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
less settlements in public spaces, rental rooms/ authors.
units and rental spots on lands and building
rooftops. A survey with 224 migrant workers the monsoons. Termites and rodents inter-
across 14 nakas covered workers living in mittently damage the structure, necessitating
these different typologies (Table 33.1). Each repairs. In heavy rains, the shelters offer little
of these is discussed in the following sections, protection to their occupants and their posses-
drawing upon the survey findings and qualita- sions. Cooking is impossible and the migrants
tive research. have to sleep hungry or spend money on pur-
chasing cooked food. In some settlements,
severe waterlogging forces the migrants to
Squatter Settlements temporarily shift to shop verandahs or under
flyovers. Some migrants live in the open
Majority of the survey respondents living without any shelter, tying up their belongings
in squatter settlements on public and pri- into a bundle (potla) every day (Table 33.2).
vate lands were living in kutcha shelters This was found in the squatter settlements on
(Table 33.2). Kutcha shelters are constructed narrow strips of land along railway tracks. The
from plastic, cloth, wood and bamboo sticks state authorities allow them to erect tent-like
and have to be rebuilt at least once a year. This plastic-sheet structures during the monsoons,
is generally after the monsoon, as the wooden but this offers only minimal protection.
columns rot away due to waterlogging and These squatter settlements generally lack
the hut is sometimes blown away by strong municipal water provision. None of the survey
wind and rain. The plastic sheets tear from the respondents living in these settlements were
summer heat and have to be replaced before found to have an individual tap (Table 33.3).
Table 33.3 Source of Water in Squatter Table 33.4 Access to Toilets in Squatter
Settlements Settlements
Number of Number of
Water Source Respondents Type of Toilet Use Respondents
Surrounding buildings (residential, 29 71% Open defecation 33 81%

commercial or schools) Shared toilet 3 7%
Shared water source in the settlement 8 19% Pay-and-Use toilet/Pay-and- 3 7%
Government facilities 4 10% Use toilet + Open defecation
Total 41 100% Public toilet 2 5%
Total 41 100%
Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
authors. Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
authors.
Of the respondents, 19 per cent had access to
a shared water source in the settlement. This Majority of migrants living in squat-
may comprise a borewell dug by the residents ter settlements practised open defecation
or an informal water supplier or common (Table 33.4), although this is getting increas-
municipal taps. The remaining 81 per cent ingly difficult as surrounding lands are getting
of respondents filled water from buildings developed. AMC has placed mobile toilets in
and government facilities outside the settle- some settlements, but not all the migrants use
ment (Table 33.3). Discussions with migrants them for reasons such as inadequate number,
revealed that one or two members from each distance from their hut, lack of cleanliness and
family woke up early to obtain water through lack of water inside the toilets. The manage-
informal arrangements with security guards/ ment of these toilets has been given to a pri-
caretakers at government facilities like a vate organization which is required to assign
water distribution station, sewage treatment one caretaker for each toilet and AMC sends
plant or police chowky, or from nearby resi- water tankers to fill the toilet’s water tank and
dential and commercial complexes. Water was arranges to empty its sewage tank. Migrants’
available for only a few hours in the morning narratives suggest that these tasks may not be
and sometimes in the evening and involved undertaken properly.
long queues. The migrants generally walked, Bathing is generally done in cloth/plas-
making multiple rounds to fetch water for tic sheet enclosures made by the migrants
bathing, washing, drinking and cooking, near their huts. These are usually open-to-
making it a time-consuming process. sky enclosures, which offer little privacy and
Most migrants do not have to pay for water, women, therefore, bathe in the dark. When
but establishing and sustaining informal the migrants cannot obtain enough water, they
arrangements to obtain water is not always are unable to take a bath. The workers are
easy. In some cases, the migrants had to oblige exposed to dust, cement, paint and mud along
the provider to sustain regular access to water, with sweat, which makes access to water and
for example, by sweeping the area around the bathing facilities crucial to maintain hygiene.
water tap or buying tea/snacks from him in Significantly, the mobile toilets do not have
case the provider was a shopkeeper. In some bathing facilities.
settlements, groups of 15–20 migrant families Of the survey respondents, 90 per cent
had organized 24-hour water access for them- were not provided with electricity in their
selves by pooling money (approximately `700 shelters. Monthly electricity-related expenses
each) to dig a shallow borewell and install a varied widely, almost nil using the torchlight
handpump. This breaks down every few years, from their mobile phones, `100 using a kero-
necessitating reinvestment. sene lamp, `300–400 using candles and `600
by renting a rechargeable battery to power a Table 33.5 Source of Water in Homeless

light bulb in their hut. An additional `100–300 Settlements in Public Spaces
was spent monthly for charging their mobile
phones at nearby shops in case they could not Water Source Number of Respondents
charge them at their worksites. Surrounding buildings 28 93%
The lack of provision of basic services like (residential, commer-
water, sanitation (toilets, bathrooms and drain- cial or temples)
age) and electricity to the squatter settlements Government facilities 2 7%
inhabited by migrant naka workers is a conse- Total 30 100%
quence of AMC’s approach to these settlements.
This approach can be summed up as compris- authors.
ing the following reasons: (a) an absence of
recognition of these settlements, with AMC
living in the open on the roadsides and foot-
viewing the migrants as being temporary in the
paths erect tent-like plastic-sheet structures.
city, (b) land-ownership issues with many of the
However, during torrential rainfall, some are
settlements being on railway authority lands,
forced to take shelter under flyovers, on shop
(c) improperly done slum surveys, like the
verandahs or in bus stands.
2009 Rajiv Awas Yojana survey in Ahmedabad,
Water and sanitation access is a challenge
which exclude these settlements and (d) current
for the migrants living in public spaces. A
governance processes engaging urban poor set-
majority of the survey respondents obtained
tlements only if their residents vote in the city.
water from surrounding buildings, like resi-
This also results in tenure insecurity, especially
dential societies, commercial establishments
on the railway lands and denial of resettlement
and temples (Table 33.5). A few filled water
in case of eviction. Three migrant settlements
from government facilities like a police
on railway lands have faced eviction in the past
chowky. Fetching water was found to be a
few years, with the migrants returning to the
laborious, time-consuming and uncertain pro-
land after eviction and rebuilding their shacks
cess and could also turn violent. In one settle-
in the absence of any alternative.
ment, a young girl was physically assaulted by
a middle class resident from a locality when
a tap at the temple from where the migrants
Homeless Settlements in Public filled water was found broken. After this,
Spaces the temple discontinued giving water to the
migrants. While they do not generally pay for
Migrant naka workers living in homeless the water, the migrants in one footpath settle-
settlements in public spaces are found most ment reported calling a private water tanker
commonly under flyovers, on roadsides and intermittently.
footpaths and on shop verandahs. In some Majority of the homeless survey respond-
areas of the city, the roadside and footpath ents used pay-and-use toilets (Table 33.6). A
settlements comprise of kutcha shelters, but in significant number practised open defecation,
most of the homeless settlements, the migrants with some intermittently using pay-and-use
live in the open. They tie up their belongings toilets. The AMC’s scheme for pay-and-use
into a bundle (potla) every morning before toilets includes the possibility of instructing
they leave for the naka and unfold the bundle the private organization contracted with run-
when they return to set up their sleeping and ning and maintaining a pay-and-use facility
cooking spaces. During monsoons, those to not charge for use,5 and AMC has made
5
Circular no. 75, dated 19 February 2014, from the Municipal Commissioner’s Central Office based on AMC’s
Standing Committee resolution no. 1441, dated 23 November 2013, about ‘Pay and Use Toilet Blocks’.
Table 33.6 Access to Toilets in Homeless theft of money and mobile phones at night
Settlements in Public Spaces and theft of utensils when they are away
Type of Toilet Access Number of Respondents during the day. Homeless shelters can play
an important role in improving the living
Pay-and-use toilet 22 73%
conditions of homeless migrants. However,
Open defecation/ 8 27%
pay-and-use toilet +
there are limitations with the current shelters
open defecation that would have to be addressed (discussed
Total 30 100% later).
authors.
Rental Rooms
the use of certain pay-and-use toilets free.6 The rental housing market provides low-cost
However, discussions with migrants revealed accommodation to a large number of migrant
that the pay-and-use toilets they used charge workers, including those who go to the nakas.
`1 for urinal use, `3–5 for toilet use, `10 to Majority are in informal rental chalis, which
bathe and `10 to wash clothes. For a migrant are clusters of rental rooms built without fol-
couple getting 20 days of work in a month as lowing development and planning regulations.
unskilled workers, a minimum of 6–8 per cent The nature of the landlord’s land tenure can
of their monthly earnings would be spent on vary—it can be informal with the landlord
sanitation if they were to use these toilets for having occupied the land by squatting, or it
all their sanitation needs. This explains why could be semi-formal with the government
some of the migrants using these toilets defe- having allotted this land to an individual for
cated in the open at times, and only some used a certain use (e.g., for use as cattle sheds)
the toilets for bathing and washing clothes. who has then violated this use and built rental
Wherever possible, the migrants make open- rooms; or it could be formal with the landlord
to-sky bathing enclosures on the roadside, legally owning the land. A chali can comprise
with the women bathing in the dark. Washing of a few rooms to over 50 rental rooms; it can
of clothes is also done on the roadside wher- be a cluster of kutcha or semi-pucca ground-
ever possible. None of the migrants who live floor rooms or it can be a 2–3 storey pucca
in the homeless settlements in public spaces building comprising rooms. In some cases, the
has been provided with electricity. landlord lives there and has built semi-pucca
Homeless migrants living on the road- groundfloor rooms next to his house or has
sides and footpaths face regular harassment expanded his house into a 2–3 storey structure
by the state. Their belongings—clothes, to include rental rooms.
blankets, utensils and foodstuffs—are inter-
mittently taken away by the traffic police or Some migrant naka workers also live
the AMC. Discussions with migrants from in rental rooms in low-income, most likely
two roadside/footpath settlements revealed semi-formal, housing societies and in urban
that they faced this kind of eviction twice villages. The survey also revealed some
a year when VIPs visited the area or resi- migrant naka workers living in small rental
dents of surrounding middle class societies room clusters built on farmland in the urban
complained to the AMC. With each eviction, periphery. A few of the survey respondents
they had to buy all their necessities again, rented a one- or two-bedroom flat in public
which cost them at least `2,000. Some of the housing or a private apartment building. Rent
homeless migrants have also experienced of a room/unit likely depends on its location
6
Data about chargeable and free pay-and-use toilets collected from AMC West Zone and New West Zone offices
in June 2018.
Table 33.7 Rent Levels for the Rental Rooms/ Table 33.8 Source of Water in Rental Rooms/
Units Units
Monthly Rent of the Number of
Room/Unit (in `) Number of Respondents Water Source Respondents
Up to 500 0 — Shared water source in 80 74%
501–1,000 1 1% the settlement
1,001–1,500 19 18% Individual tap 25 23%
1,501–2,000 25 23% Surrounding buildings 3 3%
and government facilities
2,001–2,500 27 25%
Total 108 100%
2,501–3,000 24 22%
More than 3,000 11 10% Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
Rent unknown 1 1% authors.
Total 108 100%
Table 33.9 Access to Toilets in Rental Rooms/
Units
authors.
Type of Toilet Access Number of Respondents
in the city, shelter quality and the level of ser- Shared toilet 69 64%
vices. Table 33.7 shows that majority of the Individual toilet 22 20%
rentals are in the range of `1,000–3,000 per Open defecation 10 9%
month. Of the 108 survey respondents, 45 Pay-and-use toilet 6 6%
were single male migrants, of which 40 shared Public toilet 1 1%
a room among 2–6 single males, thus making Total 108 100%
the room affordable for them.
Of the survey respondents living in rent-
authors.
als, 74 per cent obtained water through shared
water sources in the settlement (Table 33.8).
The landlords provide common taps for their individual toilets, 9 per cent defecated in the
tenants, and the water source is a municipal open and 6 per cent used pay-and-use toilets,
connection or a borewell dug by the landlord. revealing that not all landlords provide toilets,
The landlords do not charge additionally for and if they do, these may be so inadequate
water; however, in the case of using a motor that it forces the tenants into open defecation
to draw water from the borewell, tenants are or using toilets outside the settlement. Access
sometimes expected to contribute towards the to electricity in the rentals is better than in the
electricity costs of running it. In case of a hand- other housing typologies. Majority of survey
pump, tenants may be required to contribute to respondents had access to electricity, 46 per
repair costs. Of the respondents, 23 per cent cent without any additional cost while 49 per
had an individual tap inside their rooms. Only cent had to pay for electricity in addition to
a small percentage of the respondents reported the rent.
having to fetch water from surrounding build- Experiences and perceptions of tenure
ings and government facilities. security amongst migrants who live in rent-
Of the survey respondents living in rented als is not as straightforward as in squatter
rooms/units, 64 per cent used shared toilet and homeless settlements because many did
facilities, mostly provided by the landlords not report being evicted or feeling threatened
(Table 33.9). The adequacy of these shared with eviction, but mentioned moving rooms
toilets varies, with a toilet shared between a frequently. Landlords do not want a migrant
few rooms to being shared by a large number to occupy the same room for a long time,
of rooms. Of the respondents, 20 per cent had and sometimes increase the rent to force the
tenants out. However, there were also some per family, while in others, a rent of `200–300
migrants who had been renting the same room was charged per adult.
over several years, attributing this to good Rental spots on lands are found in the
relations with their landlords. peripheral areas of Ahmedabad where farm-
Most of the rental arrangements described lands are still available as well as in some cen-
above are in a totally unregulated sector, and tral areas with undeveloped lands. Some of
thus, level of services and tenure security these peripheral farmlands are home to small
provided is entirely up to each landlord. In groups of migrants while some have much
semi-formal settlements, where the landlords larger groups. Qualitative research revealed
are the legal landowners but have developed that almost 500 migrants from a single tehsil
the land without following the planning and from Rajasthan’s Banswara district were
development regulations, the AMC only con- living on a farmland in the city’s Sarkhej area
cerns itself with providing a water and drain- in the peak summer season, paying `300 per
age connection to the landowner’s plot and adult to a caretaker employed by the land-
not with how many people reside within the owner. In the monsoons, many of the migrants
plot, through what arrangements and whether return to their villages for agriculture, but
they have adequate access to water and sani- those who stay on in the city cannot live on
tation. In informal settlements, recognized by this land as it is farmed during this time and
the AMC as slums, it assumes all residents to they stay in rental rooms instead. There are
be illegal, and therefore, does not recognize other lands where migrants live all year round,
the right of anyone to be a landlord. This also although the number of migrants living on
means that there is no policy and governance them decreases during the monsoons.
process to ensure that the residents of the Majority of the survey respondents living
rental rooms have access to adequate services. on rental spots paid up to `500 rent per month
The non-recognition of landlordism and ten- in this manner (Table 33.10). Little more
ancy in these slums also means that if in situ than half the survey respondents obtained
slum redevelopment projects, such as under water from shared sources set up by the land-
the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, are imple- lord within the settlement (Table 33.11). The
mented in them or the slum faces eviction nature of water provisioning varies, from
and resettlement, it may lead to a loss of the supply twice a day from a large Sintex plastic
informal rental stock that is more affordable to tank filled from a borewell to 24-hour supply
these migrants. from a handpump. In many cases, landlords
make no provision for water. Thus, half of
the survey respondents fetched water from
surrounding buildings. Open defecation is
Rental Spots on Lands and Building
Rooftops Table 33.10 Rental Costs Incurred in Rental
Migrant naka workers also live in Ahmedabad Spots on Land/Rooftop
by renting a spot on land or a building roof- Monthly Rent Incurred Number of
top. This refers to two arrangements, one in (`) Respondents
which a landowner or land occupier charges Up to 500 15 58%
rent for allowing one to live in the open or
501–1,000 6 23%
build a kutcha shelter on a plot of land and
1,001–1,500 4 15%
another in which migrants stay on the rooftop
1,501–2,000 1 4%
of a commercial building or warehouse on a
Total 26 100%
rental basis, generally in the open, but some-
times by building a kutcha shelter. In some of Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the
these arrangements, monthly rent is charged authors.
Table 33.11 Source of Water in Rental Spots Homeless Shelters

on Land/Rooftop
Around 45 homeless shelters have been con-
Number of
structed in Ahmedabad by the AMC in response
Water Source Respondents
to Supreme Court orders. In 2018, the shel-
Shared water source in the settlement 14 54% ters, which were initially conceived as night
Surrounding buildings (residential, 12 46% shelters, began to be converted into 24-hour
commercial, industrial or temples)
shelters as per the guidelines of the Shelters
Total 38 100%
for the Urban Homeless (SUH) scheme, a pro-
Source: Based on the primary research conducted by the gramme launched by the central government
authors. in 2014 under the National Urban Livelihood
Mission. Twenty-eight shelters were open in
Table 33.12 Access to Toilets in Rental Spots August 2018.7 Several shelters were used by
on Land/Rooftop migrant construction workers. Mostly, these
Type of Toilet Access Number of Respondents were single male migrants, however, a few
shelters were also used by family migrants
Open defecation 19 73%
because the shelter caretakers allowed them
Shared toilet 4 15%
to live as families—sleeping as families in the
Pay-and-use 3 12%
toilet/pay-and-
halls or in the open in the shelter’s compound
use toilet + open or on its terrace—unlike other shelters, where
defecation men and women of a family were made to live
Total 26 100% in separate male/female halls. Research at two
shelters housing family migrants revealed that
authors. in each of these shelters, all the migrants were
from the same district and were largely related
to one another through familial ties, resulting
common among these migrants (Table 33.12).
in a good level of understanding, trust and
Only a few survey respondents reported using
cooperation. This was an important reason for
shared toilets or pay-and-use toilets. While
the shelters being feasible for families even
women reported they bathed in the darkness
though they are not designed for families. In
in the open or in cloth and plastic-sheet enclo-
both these shelters, the caretakers allowed the
sures, during a visit to one settlement, a woman
families to make their mud/brick stoves (chul-
was observed taking a bath in an open area in
lahs) in the compound and cook with firewood.
broad daylight with all her clothes on, raising
Although cooking in the rains was not possi-
concerns about privacy, hygiene and safety of
ble, the caretakers in many of the other shelters
women migrants. Of the survey respondents,
did not accommodate such informal uses in the
89 per cent of those living in rental spots did
shelter’s compound. A few of the shelters were
not have access to electricity.
equipped with kitchens, but these were either
Many of the migrants, living in two rental
very small rooms or had been taken over by the
spot settlements in the central area of the city,
caretaker’s family for their own use.
reported having lived in other typologies of
The shelters faced certain issues in provi-
housing from where they had been evicted.
sion of water and sanitation. In one shelter,
The caretaker at the settlement on the farm-
the piped municipal water was not adequate,
land in Sarkhej indicated that the implemen-
resulting in the caretakers having to call for
tation of a town-planning scheme had recently
water tankers. When these tankers did not come
begun in the area and the migrants may not be
on time, it resulted in lack of running water in
allowed to live on that field much longer.
7
Data obtained from the Urban Community Development Department, AMC, 18 August 2018.
the toilets and baths, as there was not enough which includes workplaces and social services
water in the underground tank to pump up to (Harish, 2017). This was revealed in the survey
the overhead tanks. At such times, the migrants with regard to proximity of housing to the naka.
had to use buckets to draw water from the Of the respondents, 38 per cent were found to
underground tank, and at times, even descend live in locations from where they could get to
into the tank to fill their buckets. In the other the naka in 10 minutes or less while 32 per cent
shelter, the caretaker did not always operate the travelled for 11–20 minutes. Of the respondents,
motor to pump water to the overhead tank in 22 per cent reported travel time from home to
order to save on electricity costs, resulting in the naka to be between 21 and 30 minutes. Only
lack of running water in the toilets and baths, 8 per cent took more than 30 minutes to reach
and the migrants having to draw water from the the naka. Walking was found to be the preferred
tank with buckets. Furthermore, a family living mode of travel from home to the naka for a large
next door forcibly used water from this shel- majority of the respondents (71%), followed by
ter’s underground tank resulting in no water shared autos (19%). Some used a combination
in the evenings on some days. In one shelter, of walking and shared autos, and a few used
the caretaker allowed the migrants to rest in motorcycles. A very small percentage of the
the halls if they did not get work during the respondents (2%) used buses, which might be
day, whereas in the other shelter, the caretaker due to poor connectivity of the bus routes, fre-
did not. In the latter, the caretaker also did not quency, and in case of Ahmedabad’s bus rapid
allow the migrants to leave their belongings transit system buses, may also have to do with
in the halls during the daytime, forcing them affordability. Because 71 per cent walked to the
to place their belongings in his house (which naka, they did not incur any transport costs. Of
was opposite the shelter) and pay him for this the respondents, 21 per cent reported spending
purpose. In the absence of proper monitoring `5–10 per person to reach the naka. Only 8 per
by the AMC, the conditions at the shelters thus cent spent more than `10 one-way, indicating the
varied, depending on the organization that had unwillingness/inability to incur such transport
been contracted to run the shelter and the care- costs among majority of the migrant naka work-
taker it employed. ers. Any intervention to improve migrant naka
In mid-2018, AMC began to revamp some workers’ housing will have to take distance and
of the shelters under the SUH scheme to transport costs to the naka into consideration.
include better facilities as well as prepared to
contract out the shelters to a new set of organ-
izations with clearer terms and conditions
regarding operation and maintenance. There CONCLUSION AND FUTURE
are also long-term plans for constructing new DIRECTIONS
shelters, including some designed for families.
It remains to be seen how these efforts unfold Housing and basic services for migrant con-
and to what extent they provide decent shelter, struction workers in their urban work destina-
basic services and other facilities to the city’s tions continue to be inadequate for majority
homeless, including family migrants. of both the floating migrant workers—who
migrate directly to construction sites and do
regular work for a significant duration and
Relationship of Migrant Workers are provided a place to stay by the employer
or contractor—as well as the migrant naka
Housing to the Naka
workers—who are engaged in irregular daily
For the urban poor, the viability of housing wage work and arrange for their own housing
is intricately linked to distance and mobil- in the city. Furthermore, little is being done at
ity with regard to development opportunities, present to seriously address this inadequacy,
which is particularly striking in the context of the residents who are to be resettled and
the Government of India’s ‘Housing for All by rehabilitated. The registration booklet given
2022’ slogan. by the Construction Workers Welfare Board
In the case of the floating migrant construc- is one possibility, however, while the Board
tion workers in Ahmedabad, the inadequacy is in Gujarat has increased its registration of
due to legislative, policy and governance gaps construction workers in recent years, regis-
involving both the labour department and the tration of the migrant workers needs specific
municipal authority. There is potential for attention. To address the affordability issue
coordination between these two government with regard to resettlement housing, tying up
agencies to regulate construction sites in terms with the Board’s housing subsidy scheme is a
of adequacy of workers’ accommodation and possibility. It should be noted here that some
provision of basic services. Given that the of these settlements are home to not only
BOCW Act and Gujarat Rules are ambiguous migrant construction workers but also locals,
on the nature of this provision, standards must permanent migrants and circular migrants
be devised and then enforced. The validity from occupations other than construction, and
of the development permission given by the the question of affordability of resettlement
AMC could even be suspended/cancelled in housing may have to be addressed in other
case a construction site does not comply with ways for them. Rental housing may also be
these standards. Corporate social responsibil- explored as alternate housing for the migrants
ity (CSR) initiatives can also play a role by in settlements that are non-tenable because
innovating on modular systems through which house-ownership may not be affordable for
adequate housing and basic services can be all (see the following paragraph for more on
provided to workers across different con- rental housing). Until such time that reset-
struction sites at a cost that is viable for the tlement and rehabilitation can be done, it is
employers. important that there are no evictions and that
In the case of migrant naka workers, the the ULBs instead make temporary arrange-
inadequacy stems from the urban policies, ments for adequate and potable water as well
programmes and governance approach at the as affordable and safe access to toilets.
central, state and municipal levels towards Central and state governments and ULBs
the different housing typologies in which have not so far formulated appropriate hous-
they currently live in the city. For this, a first ing policies and programmes to create a decent
necessary step would be for the ULBs to housing stock in the city for migrant workers.
enumerate the migrant settlements. Squatter The homeless shelters can play an impor-
settlements of migrants, which are tenable tant role here, especially given the extensive
in terms of landownership and not located SUH guidelines (MHUA 2018), but so far,
on hazardous lands, must be extended basic they remain limited in their design, manage-
services like water, toilets, drainage, paving ment and coverage. Attention must also be
and electricity, at the initiative of the ULBs. given to rental housing. At the Centre, this
Where the settlements are not tenable on a would require finalizing the Draft National
long-term basis, a proposal can be prepared Urban Rental Housing Policy 2015 (MHUPA
to resettle and rehabilitate their residents in 2015), and translating it into a programme
alternate housing in a manner that is afforda- with budgetary allocations and clear guide-
ble to them as well as viable in terms of the lines with regard to modalities and norms for
migrants’ access to the naka for work. This rental housing construction and management.
will require delinking resettlement provision This should be integrated into the Pradhan
from eligibility criteria like cut-off dates Mantri Awas Yojana (urban) and future hous-
and city-based proof-of-residence docu- ing programmes of the central government.
ments, and finding other ways to identify However, the state government need not wait
for the centre to move on this front and can housing, the most well known of which are the
formulate a rental housing policy and pro- migrant hostels in Kerala by the state’s labour
gramme through its housing boards. Public department. This chapter moves us further
sector rental housing has increasingly come along in terms of thinking about city-specific
to be seen as a failure in Indian cities due to and sector/occupation-specific dynamics, and
past experiences; however, new institutional the numerous interventions that would be
mechanisms can be evolved learning from required to realize decent housing in cities
the past and consultations with relevant stake- for migrant construction workers, both family
holders to innovate on this front. For instance, migrants and single male migrants, floating
Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS, workers and naka workers.
2015) suggests that the state government or
even the ULBs can setup Rental Management
Companies as no-profit or limited-profit com-
panies with technical, financial, social and REFERENCES
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34
Occupational Mobility
in Migrants*
Arvind Pandey
Ajit Jha
INTRODUCTION relatively less mobile in the first few decades

after independence, as internal migration was
Migration in search of a better fortune is a nat- very low and declining until the 1990s. The
ural characteristic of humankind since times predominance of agriculture, strong commu-
immemorial. People’s movement from one nity ties, lack of education, rigidity of caste
area to other is always guided by the specific system, diversity of languages, culture and
needs of their time. The era after industrial food habits were the main reasons cited by
revolution witnessed unprecedented growth researchers for the immobility of Indian pop-
in production and trade, which induced ulation (Chandrasekhar, 1950; Davis, 1951).
large-scale migration of labour and capital. The structural adjustments in the economy
This process led to a massive sectoral shift adopted by the Government of India in 1991
in the economy from agriculture to tertiary due to severe balance of payment crisis
sector. Developed countries experienced this changed this pattern. Both the secondary data
change first, and gradually, it spread among sources on migration in India-Census and
developing countries with the rise in urban National Sample Surveys (NSSs) have shown
population and expansion of transport and an increasing trend of internal migration after
communication in the later half of the 20th economic reforms (Mahapatro, 2012; Parida
century. Indian society was perceived to be & Madheswaran, 2010; Srivastava, 2012).
* The present study is a part of the doctoral thesis of Arvind Pandey, submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi, in 2016. The authors are grateful to Prof. Ravi Srivastava for his constructive comments and suggestions.
Occupational Mobility in Migrants 477
The growing spatial inequalities in terms of of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of
economic opportunity and widening regional Delhi.
gaps with the concentration of growth in few
areas and states have impacted the pace and
pattern of migration in India. Significant
improvements in the road infrastructure and CONTEXTUALIZING THE THEORETICAL
transportation, and revolution in telecommu- FRAMEWORK OF EMPLOYMENT AND
nication have facilitated labour migration. OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY AMONG
Structure of the labour market has changed MIGRANT WORKERS
under globalization with the generation of
demand of workers in certain sectors. The There are three forms of employment and
supply-side factors have also changed with the occupational mobility: (1) intergenerational
changing social structure and pattern of edu- occupational mobility, (2) social occupational
cation (Srivastava, 2012). These aspects have mobility and (3) migratory occupational
contributed positively to the process of migra- mobility. Intergenerational mobility is con-
tion of rural folks to metropolises in search of ceptualized as the occupational differentials
a better livelihood, higher income and long- between two successive generations (Ray
term employment opportunity. The absorption & Majumder, 2010; Reddy, 2015). In India,
of these low-skilled and semi-skilled workers there are certain types of occupations which
taking place in informal sector jobs is mostly are directly associated to a particular caste or
casual in nature. The neoclassical framework religion. The mobility in these types of occu-
argues that migration from underdeveloped pations is classified as social occupational
to developed regions provides an opportunity mobility. These two types of occupational
to the poorer sections of society for upward mobilities have been studied by several schol-
mobility in terms of their employment. In this ars in India (Ray & Mazumder, 2010; Reddy,
context, it is an important question to study 2015; Thorat & Neuman, 2012). However, the
whether rural–urban migrant workers remain third form of occupational mobility is solely
causally employed or their status of employ- related to migrants. It shows the upward/
ment changes over the course of time. Several downward occupational mobility of migrant
studies (Baganha, 1991; Granato, 2014; workers before and after migration and mobil-
Fernandez-Macias, Grande, Poveda & Anton, ity within the duration of stay at destination.
2015; McAllister, 1995; Sabirianova, 2002) There is dearth of studies which cover migra-
contextualize the employment and occupa- tory occupational mobility in India.
tional mobility among migrants mainly based The theoretical framework of employment
on the experiences of immigrants in devel- and occupational mobility among migrant
oped countries. However, studies on employ- workers is mainly based on the experiences
ment and occupational mobility of internal of immigrants because of limited availability
migrants are limited in both developed and of knowledge about occupational mobility
developing countries mainly due to the lack of internal migrants (Nguyen, 2005). Recent
of reliable and adequate data of employ- development in the migration studies shows
ment history of migrants (Nguyen, 2005). a changing perspective of scholars towards
The present study is an attempt to enrich the the theories of internal and international
existing limited literature on employment and migrations, where they have tried to find a
occupational mobility of internal migrants by convergence tendency between these two
providing a pattern and determining factors processes, and have developed the possibility
of employment and occupational mobility of studying both the processes in a coherent
of migrant workers living in selected slums framework (King & Skeldon, 2010; King,
Skeldon & Vullnetari, 2008; Massey et al., The discrimination approach as mentioned
1993; Skeldon, 1997; Srivastava & Pandey, by McAllister (1995) suggests that job availa-
2017). In this context, the broader framework bility for a newly arrived migrant at the place
of occupational mobility among immigrants of destination and occupational mobility of a
can be used to determine the factors respon- migrant (both upward and downward) depends
sible for employment and occupational mobil- on the socio-cultural and economic character-
ity among internal migrants up to a certain istics of the destinations.
extent. It has been discussed in several stud- The human capital of migrant workers,
ies (McAllister, 1995; Sabirianova, 2002) that such as level of education, formal and informal
economic development is one of the main rea- learning of workplace, knowledge and skills,
sons for employment and occupational mobil- languages and work experience also deter-
ity among migrants. The structural changes in mine the occupational mobility of migrant
the economy affect the pattern of employment workers (Fernandez-Macias et al., 2015;
and occupational mobility among migrants. McAllister, 1995; Nguyen, 2005; Srivastava,
The gradual shift of economy from agricul- 2011). Migrant workers who have more
ture to manufacturing and service sector led to human capital may find better employment
the change in the employment and occupation opportunities at the destination because of
of migrant workers. The status of the econ- the appropriate education and skills accord-
omy of a country also affects the pattern of ing to the demand of the labour market at the
occupational mobility. It has been found that destination and better information compared
at the time of recession, migrants settle for with others. They also move upwards because
low-paid jobs or become unemployed (Rajan of these individual characteristics (Nguyen,
& Prakash, 2012; Zachariah, Prakash & 2005). Socio-economic capitals, such as exist-
Rajan, 2004). However, in times of economic ence of social networks at place of destina-
growth, they experience upward employment tion (Massey, Alarcón, Durand & González,
and occupational mobility depending on their 1987) and possession of land holdings and
social and economic capital. other assets at the place of origin (Pandey,
Empirical studies (Baganha, 1991; 2017), also decide the occupational mobility
Fernandez-Macias et al., 2015; McAllister, of migrant workers. Social networks not only
1995) have established the hypothesis that help the migrants to get their first jobs in the
the occupational mobility of immigrants is city on arrival but also pre-inform them about
a ‘U-shaped’ curve. There is a decline in the the skills required for the jobs. Over the course
occupational status of immigrants and in- of time, they also inform the migrants about
migrants from the latest employment at place better job availability, and therefore contribute
of origin to first employment at place of des- to upward occupational mobility.
tination due to cultural differences, limited
knowledge of labour market, lack of family and
social networks and inadequate education and
skills (Fernandez-Macias et al., 2015; Nguyen, OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND
2005). With longer duration of stay at the place MATERIALS
of destination, the migrant generally moves
upward in terms of employment and earnings. The broad objective of the present study is to
However, this ‘U-shaped’ pattern of occupa- analyse occupational and employment mobil-
tional mobility among migrants is not univer- ity among migrant workers living in slums
sally true, as there are skilled migrants who of a metropolitan city. This study also exam-
receive better employment at place of destina- ines occupational and employment mobility
tion and move upwards over the course of time. among migrant workers across social groups.
The secondary data sources on migration pat- the land of the Delhi Development Authority
tern in India (Census and NSS) do not have (DDA), followed by the Delhi Urban Shelter
comprehensive information on the occupa- Improvement Board (DUSIB), Railway and
tional and employment mobility of migrant Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
workers, and therefore, to fulfil the aforemen- Therefore, in the second strata of sampling,
tioned objectives, a primary survey was con- two JJ Clusters were selected from each
ducted in eight different slums (locally known district, one, which is settled on the land of
as Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters [JJ Clusters]) of DDA, and two, which is settled on the land of
NCT of Delhi from November 2014 to March DUSIB or Railway or MCD.
2015. It is evident from the studies (Bhan, After the pilot survey and field observa-
2013; Dupont, 2008) that in NCT of Delhi, tions, the following eight JJ Clusters were
majority of the migrant population lives in finalized for the present study:
JJ Clusters. This was the main reason for the
29°0′0˝N
29°0′0˝N
selection of JJ Clusters for the study of occu- 77°0′0˝E 77°10′0˝E 77°20′0˝E
pational mobility among migrant workers.

Delhi N
sample JJ Clusters
28°50′0˝N
Sampling Design
28°50′0˝N
Primary survey in the present study was con-
ducted in households identified through strat-
ified random sampling. In the first strata of
28°40′0˝N
28°40′0˝N
the sampling, four districts of NCT of Delhi,
South, South West, North East and North West
were selected based on the highest decadal
urban growth in 2001–2011.1
28°30′0˝N
The basic assumption behind the selec-
28°30′0˝N
tion of these four districts was the contribu-
tion of migrant households in the decadal
urban growth. During the preparation of
Commonwealth Games in Delhi, a large
28°20′0˝N
28°20′0˝N
number of slums were displaced from core Location of JJ Clusters
River
areas to peripheries,2 which is reflected in the 024 8 12 16
kilometers River
negative decadal urban growth in the districts
located in the core (Central Delhi and New 77°0′0˝E 77°10′0˝E 77°20′0˝E
Delhi) and positive decadal urban growth in

the peripheral districts (South West Delhi, 1. South Delhi:
South Delhi, North East and North West  Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla Industrial Area,
Delhi) in 2001–2011. The percentage share of Phase-I, Okhla, (DDA) (2)
slum households settled on the land of differ-  V P Singh Camp, Tuglakabad (RAILWAY) (7)
ent landowning agencies shows that in Delhi, 2. South West Delhi:
 Dalit Ekta Camp, Vasant Kunj (DDA) (8)
52.2 per cent slum households are settled on
1
The analysis of the decadal growth of the urban population is based on the Population Census of India, 2001
and 2011.
2
Several studies (Bhan & Shivanand, 2013; Dupont, 2008) have documented forceful displacement of slum
households from core to peripheries of NCT of Delhi. According to these studies, at least 60,000 households
were evicted from 218 slums between 1990 and 2007.
 Sonia Gandhi Camp, Samalkha, Kapashera RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

(MCD) (6)
3. North East Delhi:
 Dr Ambedkar Camp, Jhilmil Industrial Area, Raj Background Characteristics of the
Nagar (DDA) (1) Migrant Workers
 JJ Cluster, CPJ Block, New Seelampur (DUSIB)
(5) The results from Table 34.1 show that the
4. North West Delhi: majority of the migrant workers in selected
 JJ Cluster, B-Block, Meera Bagh, Near NG Drain, slums were from the two states of Uttar
Paschim Vihar (DDA) (3) Pradesh and Bihar. These states contribute
 JJ Cluster, B-Block, Near Samshan Ghat, 77.25 per cent of the total migrant workers.
Wazirpur (DUSIB) (4) Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are the other
states from where migrant workers migrated
Note: The numbers shown in the maps are mentioned in to Delhi. The migrant workers in selected
the parenthesis in front of the respective JJ Clusters.
slums had migrated in their early adulthood as
the mean age at migration for the sample is 20
In the last stratum, 50 households were ran-
years. The main reason of migration reported
domly selected from each of the above men-
by the respondents was poverty, followed by
tioned JJ Clusters, which include all types of
low wages or income in source areas. These
households, that is, households with the claim3
two reasons acted as push factors. However,
of ownership of the jhuggi and rented house-
34.17 per cent migrant workers reported that
holds. Therefore, total 400 households were
they migrated to Delhi in search of employ-
surveyed. The employment and migration his-
ment and to find better employment.
tory of the heads of the households were col-
Of the respondents, 60 per cent workers
lected from 400 households along with other
reported that they themselves took the deci-
socio-economic and demographic character-
sion to migrate to Delhi. The duration of stay
istics through a structured questionnaire. The
indicates that majority of the migrant workers
principle earner of the household was consid-
in selected slums were old migrants. The aver-
ered as head of the household in the present
age duration of stay for these migrant workers
study to avoid any confusion in this regard. In
was 24 years. It has been discussed in several
the employment history of heads of the house-
studies (Dubey, Palmer-Jones & Sen, 2006;
holds, information related to pre-migration
Srivastava, 2012) that caste plays an important
working status, post-migration working status
role in the process of migration. Certain castes
(first employment in the city) and the current
in India are historically deprived from acquir-
employment status was collected. Later, the
ing/owning any form of property, formal edu-
employment status of the heads of the house-
cation and other human capital (Dubey et al.,
holds was classified according to the nature of
2006), and therefore, rural-to-urban migration
employment, that is, self-employment, regular
is part of their survival strategy. This pattern
wage/salaried employees and casual labour
is reflected in the selected sample of the pres-
and industrial categories based on National
ent study. A total of 44.75 per cent migrant
Industrial Classification (NIC) Code, 2008. In
workers in selected slums were from Other
this study, the term ‘migrant workers’ is used
Backward Castes (OBCs). However, the per-
for the heads of the households to make the
centage share of migrant workers belonging to
analysis simple and understandable.
Scheduled Castes (SCs) was 42.25 per cent.
These two social groups constitute 87 per cent
3
The ‘claim’ word is deliberately used in the present study because at the time of survey, not a single household
could produce documents related to its claim of tenure status in the jhuggi.
Table 34.1 Background Characteristics of Migrant Workers

Background Characteristics Percentage (N)
Place of origin Uttar Pradesh 41.00 (164)

Bihar 36.25 (145)
Madhya Pradesh 12.00 (48)
Rajasthan 5.00 (20)
Others 5.75(23)
Age at migration ≤15 29.50 (118)
16–20 39.25 (157)
21–25 17.00 (68)
26–30 8.75 (35)
≥31 5.50 (22)
Mean age (in years) 20
Reasons of migration Agriculture work is not remunerative 4.60 (51)
Non-availability of non-farm employment 3.61 (40)
Low wages/income in source area 19.39 (215)
Poverty 31.47 (349)
Socio-political conflict/displacement due to project 0.27 (3)
Natural calamities 0.45 (5)
In search of employment 16.41 (182)
To take up a better employment 17.76 (197)
Other reasons 6.04 (67)
Decision of migration Self 59.75 (239)
Parents 19 (76)
Self and parents both 5.5 (22)
Friends 1.5 (6)
Relatives 6.5 (26)
Spouse 3.5 (14)
Others 4.25 (17)
Duration of stay (in years) ≤10 8.75 (35)
10–20 30.25 (121)
20–30 42.25 (169)
30 and above 18.75 (75)
Average (in years) 24
Social groups Scheduled Tribes 0.50 (2)
Scheduled Castes 42.25 (169)
Other backward castes 44.75 (179)
Others 12.5 (50)
Religion Hindu 78 (312)
Muslim 22 (88)
Landholding (in hectare) Landless 62.00 (248)
Small landholding (≤0.25) 17.50 (70)
Medium landholding (0.25–0.75) 13.75 (55)
Large landholding (≥0.75) 6.75 (27)
(Continued)
Table 34.1 (Continued)

Background Characteristics Percentage (N)
Level of education Illiterate 36 (144)00 (000)

Primary 13.5 (54)
Middle 21.25 (85)
Secondary and higher secondary 26.75 (107)
Graduate and above 2.5 (10)
Source: Primary survey, 2014–2015.

Note: The figures in the parenthesis are the samples in the respective categories.
of the total sample. The characteristics associ- six groups based on the response4 provided
ated with SCs and OBCs are clearly reflected by sample households, namely cultivators,
in the pattern of landholding size at origin and agricultural labourers, mining and quarrying,
level of education of the migrant workers. In manufacturing and construction, wholesale
selected samples, 62 per cent migrant workers and retail (including motorcycle repair) and
were landless and 31.25 per cent were small- service sectors. However, a significant per-
and medium-size landholders. The education centage of migrant workers were studying
level of the migrant workers is also very low before migration to Delhi, and are therefore
as one-third of the workers were illiterate and considered in a separate ‘not in labour force’
70.75 per cent had education up to middle category.
school. Only 26.75 per cent migrant workers Rural India is still dominated by the agri-
had secondary and/or higher secondary edu- culture sector as majority of the rural popu-
cation. Religion-wise distribution of migrant lation in India is engaged in this sector as
workers shows a dominance of Hindu religion cultivators or agriculture labourers. Only a
among sample households. The number of small percentage of workers in rural areas
Muslim migrant workers was significant only work in the non-farm sector in small-scale cot-
in the JJ Cluster of Seelampur and Wazirpur. tage industries, business and other activities. It
is evident from Table 34.2 that 68.25 per cent
of the total migrant workers were employed
before they migrated to Delhi and 31.75 per
Pre-Migration Employment Status
cent were not in the workforce and were stud-
The analysis of pre- and post-migration ying. Majority of the migrant workers worked
employment status of migrant workers is as agricultural labourers (42%) and cultivators
very relevant in migration studies. It not only (11.5%) before migration. The high percent-
throws light on the economic motives of age share of the migrant workers in these two
migration but also provides insights into the types of employment is a manifestation of the
determining factors of rural-to-urban migra- agrarian nature of rural economy in India.
tion (Caldwell, 1968). In this context, the Manufacturing and construction followed by
employment status of migrant workers before wholesale and retail (including motorcycle
migration to Delhi was collected during the repairs) were other sectors in which migrant
field survey. Pre-migration employment status workers worked before migration.
of migrant workers is classified broadly into
4
A significantly high number of migrant workers were studying before migration to Delhi in each of the selected
JJ Clusters. The pre-migration employment status was also not very diversified. Therefore, the classification of the
pre-migration employment status has not been done on the basis of the NIC Code-2008 and nature of employ-
ment. This analysis is done only for post-migration employment status and current employment status of migrant
workers.
Table 34.2 Employment Status of Migrant Workers Before Migration to Delhi (Pre-Migration Employment Status) (in Percentage)
Not in
Employment Status before Migration Workforce
Manufacturing Wholesale & Workers
Agricultural Mining and and Retail (Including in
Districts Cultivators Labourers Quarrying Construction Motorcycle Repair) Services Subtotal Student Total
South Delhi (n = 100) 26 20 0 8 4 3 61 39 100

South West Delhi (n = 100) 8 52 1 5 1 2 69 31 100
North East Delhi (n = 100) 7 45 0 6 6 4 68 32 100
North West Delhi (n = 100) 5 51 1 8 9 1 75 25 100
Total (N = 400) 11.5 42 0.5 6.75 5 2.5 68.25 31.75 100

The percentage share of the OBCs and Post-Migration Employment Status

SCs is high compared with other catego- (First Job in Delhi)
ries and a significant percentage of migrant
workers were landless at the places of origin. The location of a JJ Cluster determines
Therefore, the analysis of the pre-migration the nature and industrial category of post-
employment status of the migrant workers by migration and current employment status of
social groups and landholdings provides more the migrant workers, and therefore, analysis
insights about the patterns of pre-migration of the employment status of migrant workers
employment status of these workers. from this section onwards is done at the JJ
It is evident from Table 34.3 that the high- Cluster level (Table 34.4).
est percentage of migrant workers from SCs The share of post-migration employment
and OBCs were agriculture labourers before status (first job in Delhi) of migrant work-
they migrated to Delhi. By contrast, migrant ers according to the nature of employment
workers in other categories worked as cultiva- shows that the percentage share of migrant
tors before migration. This social group-wise workers who worked as regular wage/salaried
occupational segregation is a direct conse- employees at the time of migration (their first
quence of the possession of the landholdings job in Delhi) was highest (39%), followed by
at the place of origin. It has been discussed casual labourers (34.50%) and self-employed
earlier that in India, land deprivation is high (26.50%).
among SCs and OBCs than among Others. The cluster-wise share of migrant workers
It could be one of the reasons why migrant shows that the percentage of migrant workers
workers from these social groups used to work who worked as regular wage/salaried employ-
as agriculture labourers. By contrast, other ees at the time of migration was highest among
category workers used to work as cultivators the workers in the JJ Clusters located in indus-
because they owned lands at places of origin. trial areas such as Okhla, Jhilmil Industrial
Compared with SCs and OBCs, the per- area, Wazirpur and Tuglakabad. Initially, at
centage share of migrant workers who were the time of migration, most of the migrant
studying before migration is high. It also workers joined the industries located in these
indicates the limited accessibility of human clusters as regular wage/salaried workers.
capital for workers belonging to SC and OBC By contrast, the share of migrant workers
categories. who worked as casual workers at the time of
The percentage share of migrant work- migration was highest among the workers in
ers according to the landholding size at the JJ Clusters located in residential areas such as
place of origin supports the above results. Vasant Kunj, Meera Bagh and Samalkha. It
The migrant workers who owned medium and can be explained by the information provided
large landholdings at places of origin worked by respondents that they migrated with a con-
mainly as cultivators before migration. By tractor to work in construction of these resi-
contrast, migrant workers in landless and dential areas as daily/weekly wage labourers.
small landholding categories worked as agri- The share of migrant workers who were
culture labourers. The percentage of migrant self-employed at the time of migration was
workers who were studying before migra- highest among the workers in JJ Clusters
tion also increases with increasing size of located near the railway station and industrial
landholding. areas such as Seelampur, Wazirpur, Okhla and
The aforementioned analysis shows that Tuglakabad.
social groups and landholdings at places Industry-wise classification (NIC-2008)
of origin significantly determine the pre- of the post-migration employment of migrant
migration employment status of migrant workers provides more insights about the types
workers. of first jobs of migrant workers in different
Table 34.3 Pre-Migration Employment Status of the Migrant Workers across Social Groups and by Landholding Size at Place of Origin (in
Percentage)
Not in
Sector of Employment before Migration Workforce
Manufacturing Wholesale & Workers
Social Groups/ Agriculture Mining and and Retail (Including in
Landholdings Cultivators Labourers Quarrying Construction Motorcycle Repair) Services Subtotal Student Total
Social groups
Scheduled Castes 6.51 52.66 1.18 3.55 4.73 3.55 72.18 27.81 100
Other Backward Castes 8.94 39.66 0.00 10.61 5.59 1.68 66.48 33.52 100
Others 38.00 16.00 0.00 2.00 4.00 2.00 62.00 38.00 100
Landholdings (in hectare) at place of origin
Landless 0.00 54.44 0.81 9.27 5.24 2.82 72.58 27.42 100
Small (≤0.25) 7.14 40.00 0.00 2.86 7.14 2.86 60.00 40.00 100
Medium (0.25–0.75) 43.64 9.09 0.00 1.82 3.64 1.82 60.01 40.00 100
Large (≥0.75) 62.96 0.00 0.00 3.70 0.00 0.00 66.66 33.33 100
Source: Field Survey, 2014–2015.

Note: Due to the inadequate sample of Scheduled Tribes’ households (N = 2), they are not included in this table.
Table 34.4 Post-Migration Employment Status (First Job in Delhi) of the Migrant Workers (in
Percentage)
Regular Wage/
Self- Salaried Casual
Districts JJ Clusters employed Employees Labourers Total
South Delhi V. P. Singh Camp, Tuglakabad 26 58 16 100

Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla Industrial 26 74 0 100
Area, Phase-I, Okhla
Subtotal (n = 100) 26 66 8 100
South West Delhi Dalit Ekta Camp, Vasant Kunj 8 4 88 100
Sonia Gandhi Camp, Samalkha, Kapashera 26 22 52 100
Subtotal (n = 100) 17 13 70 100
North East Delhi Dr Ambedkar Camp, Jhilmil Industrial 16 54 30 100
Area, Raj Nagar
JJ Cluster, CPJ Block, New Seelampur 56 32 12 100
Subtotal (n = 100) 36 43 21 100
North West Delhi JJ Cluster, B Block, Meera Bagh, Near NG 16 16 68 100
Drain, Paschim Vihar
JJ Cluster, B-Block, Near Shamshan Ghat, 38 52 10 100
Wazirpur
Subtotal (n = 100) 27 34 39 100
Grand Total (N = 400) 26.50 39.00 34.50 100
JJ Clusters and the reasons of the spatial con- workers. Wholesale and retail trade (including
centration of migrant workers in a particular motor vehicles/motorcycle repair services),
sector. Post-migration employment status (or restaurants and hotels and service sector were
their first job in Delhi) of the migrant workers the other sectors in which migrant workers
is classified into seven groups as follows, as worked, but the overall percentage share of
per NIC-2008: these migrant workers is very low compared
with manufacturing and construction.
1. Manufacturing The post-migration employment patterns
2. Water supply, sewerage, waste management and of migrant workers can be better explained
remediation activities by tracing the origins of the JJ Clusters. The
3. Construction share of migrant workers who worked in the
4. Wholesale and retail trade (including motor vehi-
manufacturing sector at the time of migra-
cles and motorcycle repair services) and hotels and
restaurants
tion was highest in the JJ Clusters located in
5. Transport, storage and communication industrial areas such as Okhla, Tuglakabad
6. Financing, insurance, real estate and business, and and Jhilmil Industrial area. It was reported
7. Service sectors (community, social and personal by older respondents that during the estab-
services) lishment of industries in these areas, the
demand of labourers increased, and therefore,
It is evident from Table 34.5 that manufactur- migrants from the rural areas of surrounding
ing and construction were the two main sectors states migrated to get employment in these
in which migrant workers worked when they industries. In this process, they started settling
first arrived in Delhi. These two sectors alone on the public land surrounding the industries.
constitute 70 per cent of the total migrant Over the course of time, other members of the
Table 34.5 Post-Migration Employment Status of Migrant Workers According to Industrial Categories (NIC-2008)
Water Supply, Wholesale and Retail Financing, Community,
Sewerage, Waste Trade (Including Motor Insurance, Social and
Management Vehicles and Motorcycle Transport, Real Estate Personal
and Remediation Repair Services) and Storage and and Business Services etc.
Districts JJ Clusters Manufacturing Activities Construction Restaurants and Hotels Communication Services (Services) Total
South V. P. Singh Camp, Tuglakabad 52 2 16 8 6 6 10 100

Delhi Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla 64 0 0 16 4 4 12 100
Industrial Area, Phase-I,
Okhla
Subtotal (n = 100) 58 1 8 12 5 5 11 100
South Dalit Ekta Camp, Vasant Kunj 6 0 88 2 2 0 2 100
West Sonia Gandhi Camp, 22 0 52 18 4 0 4 100
Delhi Samalkha, Kapashera
Subtotal (n = 100) 14 0 70 10 3 0 3 100
North Dr Ambedkar Camp, Jhilmil 48 0 30 12 2 0 8 100
East Industrial Area, Raj Nagar
Delhi JJ Cluster, CPJ Block, New 42 4 10 22 10 0 12 100
Seelampur
Subtotal (n = 100) 45 2 20 17 6 0 10 100
North JJ Cluster, B Block, Meera 10 0 68 8 4 2 8 100
West Bagh, Near NG Drain,
Delhi Paschim Vihar
JJ Cluster, B-Block, Near- 40 0 10 20 10 2 18 100
Shamshan Ghat, Wazirpur
Sub-Total (n = 100) 25 0 39 14 7 2 13 100
Grand Total (N = 100) 35.50 0.75 34.25 13.25 5.25 1.75 9.25 100

households also joined the migrant workers autorickshaw drivers, tea-stall owners and
and the JJ Clusters spread over a large area. owners of small grocery stores.
The share of migrant workers who worked Comparison of post-employment status
in the construction sector at the time of their and current employment status of migrant
arrival in Delhi was highest in the JJ Clusters workers also indicates the occupational shift
located in residential areas such as Vasant of a small percentage of regular wage/sala-
Kunj, Meera Bagh and Samalkha. Migrant ried workers to being self-employed. It can
workers from these JJ Clusters reported that be explained by the observations made during
at the time of their migration to Delhi, mas- the field survey that over the course of time,
sive construction work was happening to build many workers who worked as electricians
the residential areas close to these JJ Clusters or motor mechanics in industries later start
and most of the them migrated with contrac- their own electricity shops. Likewise, migrant
tors or co-villagers to work in the construction workers who were in the age group of 30–39
of these colonies. Initially, they lived in the years when they migrated to Delhi and ini-
makeshift arrangements provided by the con- tially worked in industries, also shifted to self-
tractors on the empty land surrounding these employment as most of them opened small
colonies. Over the course of time, they made shops and tea stalls inside the JJ Clusters they
their own jhuggi on the same land and the JJ lived in.
Clusters came into existence. Cluster-wise share of migrant workers
The share of migrant workers who worked shows that although there is occupational
in the wholesale and retail trade (including mobility among migrant workers from
motor vehicles/motorcycle repair services), casual and regular wage/salaried employees
restaurants and hotels and service sectors at to self-employment, but nature of employ-
the time of their migration to Delhi was signif- ment is still linked with the location of the
icant only in Seelampur, Wazirpur and Okhla. JJ Clusters of the migrant workers. Majority
of the migrant workers settled in industrial
JJ Clusters still work as regular wage/sala-
ried workers in nearby industries. Likewise,
Current Employment Status of
majority of the migrant workers settled in the
Migrant Workers
JJ Clusters surrounding the residential colo-
The current employment status of migrant nies still work as casual labours.
workers shows occupational mobility of Industry-wise classification of the current
migrant workers from their first employment employment status of migrant workers shows
in Delhi (Tables 34.6 and 34.7). The share of that the dominance of manufacturing and con-
regular wage/salaried employees is still high struction has declined over the course of time
among migrant workers. However, compared as the percentage shares of migrant workers
with the post-migration employment status currently working in these two sectors are
of migrant workers, the share of migrant low compared with that of migrant workers
workers currently working as casual work- who worked in manufacturing and construc-
ers declined with a corresponding increase tion at the time of their first arrival in Delhi.
in self-
employment. It shows that over the The decline is more prominent among work-
course of time, migrant workers have shifted ers in the construction sector. These migrant
from being casual labourers to being self-em- workers have moved from manufacturing and
ployed. It was observed during the field survey construction to transport, storage and commu-
that the migrant workers who worked as daily nication, wholesale and retail trade (including
wage labourers at the time of their arrival in motor-vehicle repair), hotels and restaurants,
Delhi have shifted to being rickshaw pullers, financing, insurance, real estate and business
services as the percentage shares of migrants in construction sectors has also declined in the
currently working in these sectors have JJ Clusters located in residential areas than
increased compared with the post-migration that of migrant workers who reported their
employment status of migrant workers in the first job in the city in the construction sector.
respective sectors. The share of migrant workers currently work-
Cluster-wise industrial classification of ing in transport, storage and communication
the current employment of migrant workers has increased sharply. Other sectors in which
shows that although the spatial concentration there is a slight increment in the percentage
of the particular types of employment still share of the workers are wholesale and retail
exists in JJ Clusters, but compared with the trade, hotels and restaurants, finance, insur-
first employment of the migrant workers, it ance, real estate and business services. The
has shifted towards other sectors. Comparison analysis clearly shows a sectoral employment
of the post-migration and current employ- mobility among migrant workers.
ment status of migrant workers in different The occupational mobility of migrant
JJ Clusters shows that the percentage share workers in the present study is evident from
of migrant workers currently working in the the aforementioned comparison of the post-
manufacturing sector has declined in the JJ migration and current employment status of
Clusters located in industrial areas over the the migrant workers. Migrant workers in the
course of time, as the percentage share of present study have shifted mainly from being
migrant workers currently working in the man- casual labourers to being self-employed and
ufacturing sectors is low compared with the from construction and manufacturing sectors to
share of migrant workers who reported their transport, storage, communication, wholesale
first job in the city in manufacturing sector. and retail trades, hotels and restaurants, financ-
Likewise, the percentage share of the workers ing, insurance, real estate and business services.
Table 34.6 Current Employment Status of the Migrant Workers (in Percentage)
Regular Wage/
Self- Salaried Casual
Districts JJ Clusters Employed Employees Labourers Total
South Delhi V. P. Singh Camp, Tuglakabad 52 38 10 100

Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla Industrial 28 70 2 100
Area, Phase-I, Okhla
Subtotal (n = 100) 40 54 6 100
South West Delhi Dalit Ekta Camp, Vasant Kunj 26 4 70 100
Sonia Gandhi Camp, Samalkha, Kapashera 30 30 40 100
Subtotal (n = 100) 28 17 55 100
North East Delhi Dr Ambedkar Camp, Jhilmil Industrial 10 68 22 100
Area, Raj Nagar
JJ Cluster, CPJ Block, New Seelampur 50 42 8 100
Subtotal (n = 100) 30 55 15 100
North West Delhi JJ Cluster, B Block, Meera Bagh, Near NG 38 10 52 100
Drain, Paschim Vihar
JJ Cluster, B-Block, Near-Shamshan Ghat, 50 42 8 100
Wazirpur
Subtotal (n = 100) 44 26 30 100
Grand Total (N = 400) 35.50 38.00 26.50 100

Table 34.7 Current Employment Status of Migrant Workers According to Industrial Categories (NIC-2008)
Districts Clusters Manufacturing Activities Construction Restaurants and Hotels Communication Services (Services) Total
South V. P. Singh Camp, 42 2 10 12 16 8 10 100

Delhi Tuglakabad
Indira Kalyan Vihar, Okhla 56 0 2 16 6 12 8 100
Industrial Area, Phase-I,
Okhla
Subtotal (N = 100) 49 1 6 14 11 10 9 100
South Dalit Ekta Camp, Vasant 8 0 70 6 10 2 4 100
West Kunj
Delhi Sonia Gandhi Camp, 30 0 40 20 2 2 6 100
Samalkha, Kapashera
Subtotal (N = 100) 19 55 13 6 2 5 100
North Dr Ambedkar Camp, 58 6 22 8 2 2 2 100
East Jhilmil Industrial Area, Raj
Delhi Nagar
JJ Cluster, CPJ Block, 38 4 8 24 16 4 6 100
New Seelampur
Subtotal (N = 100) 48 5 15 16 9 3 4 100
North JJ Cluster, B Block, Meera 12 0 54 12 12 0 10 100
West Bagh, Near NG Drain,
Delhi Paschim Vihar
JJ Cluster, B-Block, Near- 30 0 8 22 18 2 20 100
Shamshan Ghat, Wazirpur
Subtotal (N = 100) 21 0 31 17 15 1 15 100
Grand Total 34.25 1.50 26.75 15.00 10.25 4.00 8.25 100

Occupational Mobility across Social The percentage share of self-employed was

Groups highest among OBCs, followed by Others.
This occupational pattern can be explained
Social groups determine and assist in occu- by the differences in social and human capi-
pational and employment mobility of the tal among the migrant workers across social
migrant workers. Studies (Gupta & Mitra, groups. It was observed during the field
2002; Munshi & Rosenzweig, 2006; Panini, survey that migrant workers from the Others
1996) show that caste-based social networks category had better social networks than those
not only help in the process of rural-to-urban from OBCs and SCs, and therefore, majority
migration but also often provide informa- of them got regular wage/salaried jobs when
tion on job and space to the newly-arrived they migrated. However, a large number of
migrants to settle down. Occupational choice migrant workers, especially from the SC
at the initial stage of migration of the migrant category, migrated with the contractors/co-
workers largely depends on their social net- villagers/family members who worked in the
works. However, the social networks also help construction sector, and therefore, they also
in the process of occupational mobility. In engaged in this sector as casual labourers.
sample migrant workers, 92 per cent reported Current employment status of the migrant
that they had previous social networks in workers shows occupational mobility among
Delhi. In this context, the present subsection SCs and OBCs, as they have shifted from
provides the details of differences among the being casual labourers to being self-employed.
post-migration and current employment status Likewise, migrant workers from the Others
across social groups and occupational mobil- category have also moved from regular wage/
ity across social groups based on the nature salaried employees to self-employment
and sector of employment. (Table 34.9).
At the time of migration to Delhi, a high Sectoral distribution of the post-migration
percentage of migrant workers among SCs and and current employment status of migrant
OBCs were casual labourers compared with workers across groups supports the aforemen-
Others (Table 34.8). However, the percentage tioned observation during the field survey, as a
share of regular wage/salaried employees was high percentage (45.56%) of migrant workers
highest among Others, followed by OBCs. from SCs worked in the construction sector
Table 34.8 Post-Migration Employment Status and Current Employment Status across Social
Groups (in Percentage)
Regular Wage/
Social Groups Self-employed Salaried Employees Casual Labourers Total
Post-migration employment status

Scheduled castes 19.53 (33) 34.91 (59) 45.56 (77) 100 (169)
Other backward castes 33.52 (60) 35.20 (63) 31.28 (56) 100 (179)
Others (General) 26.00 (13) 66.00 (33) 8.00 (4) 100 (50)
Current employment status
Scheduled castes 26.63 (45) 34.91 (59) 38.46 (65) 100 (169)
Other backward castes 43.02 (77) 35.75 (64) 21.23 (38) 100 (179)
Others (General) 40.00 (20) 56.00 (28) 4.00 (2) 100 (50)

Note: Due to the inadequate sample of Scheduled Tribes’ households (N = 2), they are not included in this table. Samples
are given in the parenthesis.
Table 34.9 Sectoral Distribution of Post-Migration Employment Status and Current Employment Status across Social Groups
Social Groups Manufacturing Activities Construction Hotels and Restaurants Communication Services (Services) Total
Post-migration employment status

Scheduled Castes 24.85 (42) 1.78 (3) 45.56 (77) 11.83 (20) 3.55 (6) 1.78 (3) 10.65 (18) 100 (169)
Other Backward Castes 40.78 (73) 0.00 (0) 30.73 (55) 12.85 (23) 6.70 (12) 1.12 (2) 7.82 (14) 100 (179)
Others 52.00 (26) 0.00 (0) 8.00 (4) 20.00 (10) 6.00 (3) 4.00 (2) 10.00 (5) 100 (50)
Current employment status
Scheduled castes 26.63 (45) 2.96 (5) 39.05 (66) 12.43 (21) 6.51 (11) 2.37 (4) 10.06 (17) 100 (169)
Other backward castes 40.22 (72) 0.56 (1) 21.23 (38) 14.53 (26) 13.97 (25) 3.35 (6) 6.15 (11) 100 (179)
Others 38.00 (19) 0.00 (0) 4.00 (2) 26.00 (13) 10.00 (5) 12.00 (6) 10.00 (5) 100 (50)

Note: Due to the inadequate sample of Scheduled Tribes’ households (N = 2), they are not included in this table. Samples are given in the parenthesis.
when they migrated. However, 70 per cent landholdings at places of origin. By contrast,
migrant workers among OBCs worked in the a high percentage of SC and OBC migrants
manufacturing and construction sectors. In the were agricultural labourers before migra-
Others category, half of the migrant workers tion to Delhi due to landlessness or limited
worked in manufacturing and 20 per cent of landholdings.
them worked in wholesale and retail trade and The comparison of post-migration (first job
hotels and restaurants. in Delhi) and current employment status of
The current employment status of migrant migrant workers shows occupational mobility
workers across social groups shows occupa- among migrant workers. The migrant workers
tional mobility. Although the construction in selected clusters moved from being casual
sector is still dominated by SCs and OBCs labourers to being self-employed. This mobil-
and manufacturing is the main sector among ity was mainly among workers belonging to
Others and OBCs, the share has declined in the SC category, followed by those belonging
the respective sectors across social groups. to OBC category. However, migrant work-
The increasing percentage share of migrant ers from the Others category who worked as
workers in wholesale and retail trade (includ- regular wage/salaried employees also shifted
ing motor-vehicle repair), hotels and restau- towards self-employment.
rants, transport, storage, communication, Sectoral distribution of the migrant work-
financing, insurance, real estate and business ers shows occupational mobility across social
in each social group, evidently shows occupa- groups. Construction and manufacturing were
tional mobility across social groups. the main sectors in which migrants worked
when they migrated. The current employ-
ment status of the migrant workers shows that
although these two sectors still dominate than
CONCLUSION others, over the course of time, the percent-
age share of migrant workers in these two
The study examines the pre-migration employ- sectors has declined. Migrant workers have
ment status of migrant workers living in the shifted to wholesale and retail trade (including
selected Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters of NCT of motor-vehicle repair), hotels and restaurants,
Delhi. It also compares the post-migration and transport, storage, communication, financing,
current employment status of these migrant insurance, real estate and business. Social
workers and attempts to examine the occu- group-wise occupational mobility is also evi-
pational and employment mobility over the dent from the present study.
course of time. Analysis of the pre-migration One of the interesting findings of the
employment status of migrant workers indi- present study is spatial concentration of the
cates that before migration to Delhi, major- employment of migrant workers in different
ity of the migrant workers were agriculture Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters. The tracing of the
labourers and cultivators. However, a signifi- origins of selected JJ Clusters shows that the
cant percentage of them were not in the labour share of migrant workers in the manufacturing
force as they were studying. The social group sector is high among the JJ Clusters located
is one of the determining factors in this pat- near industrial areas. Likewise, the share of
tern of employment as majority of the migrant migrant workers in the construction sector is
workers from the Others category were either high in the JJ Clusters located near residential
cultivators or were studying before migra- areas.
tion to Delhi because of the possession of
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35
Maternal Healthcare in Slums*
Namrata Ahirwar
Kunal Keshri
INTRODUCTION 2001, 2011). These cities face the predicament

of mushrooming of slums. Apart from prob-
More than half of the human race lives in lems like inadequate housing, lack of basic
urban areas. Therefore, the cities which utilities and affordable transportation, Indian
receive internal as well as international slum dwellers are facing immense problems
migrants are becoming focal points of devel- of meagre public healthcare infrastructure
opment policies (International Organization which will increase in the near future.
for Migration, 2017). India is home to the There is a growing concern of inadequacy
world’s highest number of internal migrants of healthcare services of migrants, making
(309 million). Generally, these migrants are it a global public health policy issue (Ghent,
driven from the backward countryside by 2008). Poor migrants mostly end up in the
push factors and destined to live in the urban lower segment of the workforce in cities owing
areas of developed regions (Government of to their deprived economic status. It compels
India, 2010). The recent growth of Indian them to stay in slums characterized by adverse
urbanization has a peculiar characteristic of physical and social environment which poses
lopsidedness towards the megacities, such health risks for them (Gawde, 2016).
as Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata (Gaur et al., Maternal health is a significant indicator of
2013; Registrar General of India, 2005). In women’s socio-economic development. Apart
addition, the latest population census results from this, it is also a means to fulfil the gap
suggest that a majority of the urban population between health status of men and women. But
resides in the 53 million-plus cities. There has in most of the developing countries, such as
been an increment of 18 such cities from the India, there has been limited progress towards
year 2001 to 2011 (Registrar General of India, women’s health. Also, their awareness
* An earlier version of the chapter was presented at an international seminar on ‘Population, Health and
Development: Global and National Policy Perspective’ held in Delhi during 15–17 February 2018, which was
organized by International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. The authors are thankful to the partici-
pants of the seminar for their comments and suggestions. Thanks is also due to Dr Kirti Gaur for providing inputs
towards the improvement of this chapter.
Maternal Healthcare in Slums 497
regarding availability of healthcare services RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

and access to healthcare facilities is not up to
the mark. If we consider the countryside and Availability of data on the utilization of mater-
urban slums, the condition is more deplora- nal healthcare services among migrants in
ble. Despite the presence of various national Indian slums is limited. Although some recent
and international programmes and policies to data is available from the large-scale National
promote the health status of women in devel- Family Health Survey (2015–2016), it does
oping economies, women continue to experi- not have the information on migration of
ence life-threatening and other serious health slum dwellers in all the cities of India (IIPS
issues related to pregnancy or childbirth. The & ICF, 2017). Very few micro-level studies
situation is quite dismal in South Asia due have been conducted to understand the uti-
to inadequate access to healthcare services lization of maternal healthcare services in
and poor utilization (Chandwani & Padhiyar, the slums of Uttar Pradesh, especially in the
2013; Kabir & Khan, 2013). Conspicuously, Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad) city, which
poor women are least likely to receive mater- is a million-plus city and faces problems of
nal care services in India (IIPS & Macro increasing slum population. This calls for a
International, 2007). Chimankar and Sahoo need to understand the utilization of mater-
(2011) in their study found that only one-fifth nal healthcare services disaggregated by
of women in slums had received full antenatal their migration status and to identify the fac-
care (ANC). It was also found that only 37 per tors associated with the underutilization of
cent of women had received postnatal check- these services among urban slum dwellers of
ups within 42 days of delivering a child. Prayagraj city.
Due to rapid urbanization and industriali- The main objective of this chapter is to
zation, a large number of women come from study the utilization of maternal healthcare
rural to urban areas along with their family for services by migration status in the slums of
better opportunities and start living in slums, Prayagraj city. It also aims to identify major
which are characterized by poor living condi- determinants of the utilization of maternal
tions. The prevalence of reproductive health healthcare services. The study hypothesized
problems among women of reproductive ages that migrant women are at a disadvantage in
is quite high in the urban slums of developing terms of utilization of maternal healthcare ser-
countries. Because of poverty, low level of vices than their non-migrant counterparts. It
education and lack of accessibility, utilization also hypothesized that utilization of maternal
of healthcare services is very low (Hossain healthcare services is positively related to the
et al., 2013). Women, especially those who duration of migration.
are poor, are often trapped in a cycle of ill
health exacerbated by childbearing and hard
physical labour. Timely antenatal check-ups
have an impact in the reduction of maternal
The City of Prayagraj (Erstwhile
morbidity and maternal deaths. Absence of Allahabad)
proper antenatal check-ups may lead to var- Prayagraj is one of the important educational
ious pregnancy complications. Women in centres of north India and is also headquarter
slums remain unaware of their own reproduc- of the most populous district (Prayagraj dis-
tive health problems. Srivastava et al. (2015) trict) of Uttar Pradesh. The total population
found that in Dehradun city, the availability of Prayagraj urban agglomeration/metropoli-
of government and private health facilities tan region is 1,212,395 (Registrar General of
within the vicinity of the slums is low and the India, 2011). As per the 2001 Census of India,
indicators of institutional delivery and post- 15 per cent of the total population in Prayagraj
natal care are poor. urban agglomeration is comprised of migrants.
Of the 150,000 who migrated into the city, 33 selected using snowball sampling. Along
per cent are from rural areas (Government of with the women selected for the sample,
India & World Bank, 2015). Primary health- participants for the qualitative component of
care facilities and urban health posts, pro- the study consisted of healthcare personnel,
vided by the National Urban Health Mission, managers from the municipal corporation of
lie within a radius of 4–6 km (National Urban Prayagraj city and representatives of volun-
Health Mission, 2013–2014). Healthcare ser- tary organizations. The semi-structured inter-
vices in Prayagraj city are mainly provided by view schedule included questions regarding
the public sector, including the Department migration, personal and family characteristics
of Medical, Health and Family Welfare, and and utilization of antenatal, delivery and post-
private sector hospitals, nursing homes and natal care. Respondents for the case studies
clinics (Government of India & World Bank, were purposively selected from each of the
2015). chosen slums during the course of fieldwork.
The case studies were carried out to cover
the following topics: knowledge, attitude and
practices with regard to utilization of maternal
DATA SOURCE AND METHODS health care services (antenatal care, delivery
and postnatal care), local attitude, cultural
The study mainly utilizes primary data. practices, accessibility factors, availability of
To fulfil the study objectives, both qualita- services and medicines, attitude and behav-
tive and quantitative methods were used. iour of medical staff. Fieldwork was done for
To collect information on demographic 2 months in the four slums of Prayagraj city in
and socio- economic characteristics of the the second half of the year 2016. During the
sample, quantitative survey method was used. fieldwork, health posts and anganwadi centres
Additionally, qualitative methods such as were also visited.
in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group dis-
cussions (FGDs) and case studies were widely
used to fulfil the objectives of the study.
Prayagraj city was purposively selected due RESULTS
to its increasing slum population in recent
decades. Fieldwork was conducted at dif- Socio-Demographic and Migration
ferent locations in the four prominent slums Characteristics
of Prayagraj city, namely Kareli, Kydganj,
Alopibagh and Parade Ground, which are Table 35.1 presents socio-demographic pro-
mostly scattered along the banks of the rivers files of the women selected for the sample.
Ganges and Yamuna (locations are shown in Results suggest that majority of the migrant
Figure 35.1). The study population includes and non-migrant women were in the age group
a sample of 50 women of reproductive age of 20–30 years. The results on educational
(15–49 years) from the aforementioned slums status of migrant women suggest that about 64
of Prayagraj city. Half of them were migrants per cent of women were illiterate, 28 per cent
(25) and remaining were non-migrants (25). had primary education, 4 per cent of women
In each of these groups, 13 women were preg- had secondary education, and remaining 4 per
nant and 12 women had recently delivered, cent had attained higher secondary education.
that is, they had given birth to a child within The educational status of non-migrant women
6 months preceding the survey. Women were was more or less similar to that of migrant
women.
Phulpur
Pura Gadaria
Bishanpur
Bagia Salori
Mumfordganj Chandpur
Ashoknagar Baghara
Purwa Police Lines Kota Allenganj

Colonelganj Chhota Baghara
Church Lane
Panghat Darbhanga Colony
Allahpur Bakshi Khurd
Salem Sarai
Alopibagh
Badshahi Mandi DaraGanj
Railway Colony
Mirganj Chahchand Chak Bahrana
Chakiya Atala Bandigani
Legend Phulpur
Attarsuiya
Places
Road Mirapur
Kota Ghat
Allahabad_rail Bat Ghat Arail
Slum Locations
River Karbala
Sands
Water_body
Figure 35.1 Location of Slums in Prayagraj City

Source: Slums in Prayagraj City (Municipal Corporation Allahabad, 2016).
About 20 per cent of the migrant women during fieldwork that only few migrant women
were employed while among non-migrant were interstate migrants, mostly migrated
women, employment was 24 per cent. It is from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
important to mention here that the economic Majority of the people had relatives in the city
status of non-migrant women was better than who were from the same home states, with
that of migrant women, which is evident from similar cultural backgrounds, which shows
their husbands’ occupation and monthly family the presence of social network of migrants in
income. Further, results suggest that 76 per the city.
cent of migrant women belonged to Scheduled
Castes (SCs) and 24 per cent belonged to
Other Backward Classes (OBCs), while 68
Utilization of Antenatal Care Services
per cent non-migrant women belonged to SCs
and 32 per cent belonged to OBCs. Majority The utilization of ANC services among
of the women (both migrant and non-migrant migrant and non-migrant women is presented
women) were Hindus (84%) and a few were in Table 35.2. We found a significant differ-
Muslims (16%). Most of the migrant women ential in the registration for ANC among
had in-migrated from the same state (intrastate migrants (69%) and non-migrants (92%). Out
migrants), that is, Uttar Pradesh. It was found of registered migrant women, only 11 per cent
Table 35.1 Socio-Demographic Table 35.2 Utilization of Antenatal Care

Characteristics of the Sample among Pregnant Women
Migrants Non-Migrants Migrants Non-Migrants
Covariates (N = 25) (N = 25) Covariates (N = 13) (N = 13)
Age of women Registration for 69 92

<20 8 16 ANC
20–24 32 32 Time of registration for ANC
25–30 52 40 First trimester 11 25
>30 8 12 Second trimester 67 50
Education of women Third trimester 22 17
Illiterate 64 72 Do not remember 0 8
Primary 28 24 Place of seeking
Secondary 4 4 Government facility 78 75
Higher secondary 4 0 Private healthcare 22 25
and above provider
Occupation of women Health workers 0 0
Employed 20 24 Other 0 0
Homemaker 80 76 Number of antenatal care visits
Education of husband One 45 42
Illiterate 60 52 Two 22 25
Primary 36 32 Three 22 33
Secondary 4 12 Four of more 11 0
Higher secondary 0 4 Do not remember 0 0
and above
Source: Authors’ fieldwork.
Occupation of husband
Permanent salaries 4 4
employed
were registered in the first trimester, 67 per
Temporary salaries 8 12
cent were enrolled in the second trimesters,
employed followed by 22 per cent in the third trimester.
Daily wage labour 72 68 Contrastingly, a quarter of the non-migrant
Not working 16 16 women (25%) were registered in the first tri-
Monthly family income (in `) mester, around half (50%) in the second tri-
5,000 80 56 mester, followed by 17 per cent in the third
5,000–1,000 12 40 trimester and remaining 8 per cent could
>1,000 8 4
not recall their date of registration. A major-
Caste
ity (78%) of the registered migrant women
Schedule Castes 76 68
received ANC in government facilities and
Schedule Tribes 0 0
22 per cent in private healthcare facilities. On
the other hand, three-fourths of the registered
Other Backward 24 32
Classes non-migrant women received ANC in govern-
Religion ment facilities and a quarter in private health-
Hindu 84 84 care facilities. Frequency of ANC visits is
Muslim 16 16 slightly higher among registered non-migrant
Other 0 0
women as three or more visits were observed
among 33 per cent of non-migrant women
Source: Authors’ fieldwork. compared with 22 per cent among migrant
women.
From the IDIs, it can be articulated that Most of the participating health workers,
there is a perception that registration for Anganwadi worker (AWW) and Accredited
ANC in the first 3 months of the pregnancy is Social Health Activist (ASHA) were aware of
unnecessary. For instance, a migrant woman the benefits of IFA tablets. One of the AWW
who was 6 months pregnant mentioned, ‘I explained,
have not faced any problem, during my first
Iron and vitamins tablets are good for the health
few weeks of pregnancy then why do I need to
of mother and the fetus because pregnant
go for check-ups?’ It was also found that most women face many complications during their
of the women go for check-ups when they face pregnancy period; they get sick, they feel pelvic
complications and problems. A four-month pain, bleeding and iron-deficiency anemia. Here
pregnant non-migrant woman said, ‘I was not (in slums) women know about these tablets
rebuild strength and also improve anemia.
feeling well after three months of pregnancy,
since I had relentless back pain and vomiting,
One migrant woman (eight-months pregnant)
my sister took me to a Anganwadi centre.’
said, ‘I did not take IFA tablets because my
A major chunk of slum women started
mother-in-law also told, don’t take iron tab-
consumption of iron folic acid (IFA) tablets
lets. If you take iron tablets, your baby will be
during the second and third trimesters of their
big and black in colour.’
pregnancy. They reported receiving informa-
Therefore, it can be ascertained that the
tion about IFA tablets from the Anganwadi
major impediments to the use of IFA tablets
workers; a few of them also reported receiv-
reported by the slum women were forgetting
ing information from doctors when they
to take the tablets on a regular basis or family
visited the healthcare facilities, but some of
members not allowing them to take these tab-
them also received information from their
lets. Majority of the women were afraid of the
family members, friends, neighbours and
consumption because they had experienced
television. Women reported that the major
side effects like vomiting, nausea, belly pain,
sources of IFA tablets were Anganwadi cen-
constipation, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
tres, government healthcare facilities and pri-
They also had misconceptions related to
vate clinics or hospitals. Awareness about the
medications provided during pregnancy. A
benefits of IFA tablets was good among few
three-month pregnant non-migrant woman
slum women. They knew that these tablets
said, ‘We have heard that taking medicines
are meant to provide strength to their feeble
during pregnancy, including iron tablets
bodies during the pregnancy and it also helps
causes vomiting, leading to enlargement of
in keeping them away from fainting, back pain
the foetus resulting difficult delivery or even
and improves maternal health and well-being.
miscarriage.’ She also said, ‘I don’t want to go
A non-migrant woman who was three-month
to hospital as I don’t want to be examined by
pregnant said, ‘Iron ki goliyan (iron folic acid
male doctors because I feel uncomfortable to
tablets) are helpful for my body and good for
show my body parts.’
my health because they provide me strength’.
Lack of men’s support is also a reason for
Some of the respondents were not aware of
women not taking these tablets. In the slum
the IFA tablets. They had not even heard about
of Kareli, a 26-year-old non-migrant woman
their benefits. Some of the reasons they pro-
who was not registered for the ANC, said, ‘My
vided were no or less visits by the healthcare
husband does not give me permission to visit
workers, less income and illiteracy. Women
any health check-up. He says that there are
felt that they only had to consume IFA tablets
lots of domestic work to be done. That’s why I
if they felt weak. Some did not consume them
am not taking to any antenatal check-up.’
because of adverse effects such as indigestion
A 29-year-old migrant woman narrated,
and vomiting.
‘My husband does not want me to talk to
outsiders especially health workers and do not members, mainly mothers-in-law and hus-
allow me to go out of home. My mother-in-law bands, not allowing the women to use them;
also supports my husband and she says I have the women felt well and stopped without con-
delivered 8 children at home with the help sultation; the women did not take medicines
of traditional birth attendance, it was good. during the pregnancy; the woman did not visit
That’s why I am not taking to any antenatal healthcare providers; and fear of side effects
check-up.’ of consumption or from previous experiences.
Many migrant women who were expecting Women did not know the advantages of these
their second or third child told that bad expe- and they had no education. Awareness and
rience of the first delivery made them wary perceptions regarding the consumption of IFA
of ANC visits. For instance, a 24-year-old tablets, which are an important supplement
migrant woman said, during pregnancy for the health of mothers
and their unborn babies, were mixed among
I was 19 years old when I got married, I got preg- migrant and non-migrant women. The study
nant soon after. My first baby was very weak
at birth. Doctor said he had a weak heart and also suggests that lack of husbands’ support
needed treatment. During my pregnancy, I did and previous history of a complication during
not know what to eat, how much to eat and pregnancy, delivery or after delivery influence
how much to rest, that is why my child was born utilization of maternal healthcare services.
weak. This time I was aware of the importance Analysis of the fieldwork observations
of nutrition. I visited the health clinic regularly
for check-up. They told me what to eat, when
and interactions with healthcare personnel
to eat, how much to sleep, in what position to revealed that the health centres/posts are not
sleep, what are the signs to immediately see a located in close proximity of the slums. Long
doctor. This time I have very little fear’. Also, a distance to healthcare centre is a problem to
27-year-old migrant woman shared a similar kind access healthcare facilities for some slum
of experience, ‘In my earlier pregnancy, I didn’t
know much; since this pregnancy I have learnt
people. In the slum of Kareli locality, there
a lost; I must give my first milk for the first 6 was no anganwadi centre. It was also observed
month, health workers tells as about food, what that if the distance to healthcare centres is less,
to feed, how much to feed, go to the hospitals then access to healthcare services is compar-
if something happens, and to wash our hands atively higher.
before touching the baby.
The behaviour of healthcare providers towards

women has a major influence on women’s Utilization of Delivery and Postnatal
decision whether or not to use a particular type Care Services
of maternal healthcare service. The qualitative
study also confirmed this. One of the respond- The utilization of delivery and postnatal care
ents reported, ‘We do not visit health centre among the recently delivered migrant and
because doctors and nurse are not aware of the non-migrant women is shown in Table 35.3.
services and its benefits for our health.’ Among migrant women, 83 per cent had
Geographical accessibility and transpor- normal delivery and 17 per cent had a cae-
tation was observed as the main obstacle for sarean, whereas among non-migrant women,
using maternal healthcare services. A 34-year- the proportion of normal delivery reduced
old woman said, ‘The government and private to 76 per cent. Comparison of migrant and
hospital are far away, that’s why I have not non-migrant women suggests that institutional
taken any antenatal care.’ deliveries are lesser among migrant women
According to the healthcare providers, the (25%) than that among non-migrant women
common barriers to the use of ANC and espe- (33%). Among migrant women who deliv-
cially the consumption of IFA tablets were the ered at home, only 11 per cent were attended
women forgetting to take them daily; family by a trained birth attendant, 45 per cent by a
Table 35.3 Delivery and Postnatal Care and fortunately my brother-in-law came and
among Women Who Recently Delivered went to get my mother-in-law. I got assistance
from my mother-in-law so the birth was normal
Migrants Non-Migrants and everything went well.
Covariates (N = 12) (N = 12)
A 26-year-old non-migrant woman, who had
Type of delivery
lost her last baby in the hospital, recalls her
Normal 83 76
experiences,
Caesarean 17 24
Place of delivery My family and I did not know out that I was
Home 75 67 expecting twins because the babies were too
small. We discovered that I was having twins
Hospital 25 33
after the birth of the first one. Everyone was
Birth attendant for home delivery surprised, and it was delayed for 2–3 minutes in
Trained birth 11 13 finding out that there was another baby inside,
attendant my second child choked to death. There was a
Traditional birth 45 50 problem as I did not know, so now I will go for
attendant check-ups.
Mother/ 33 25
mothers-in-law These birth stories also indicate that some slum
Other 11 12 women are not getting any kind of maternal
Postnatal check-ups 17 33 healthcare at all. If the woman had visited a
healthcare centre, then she would have known
Source: Authors’ fieldwork.
that she was pregnant with twins during her
ultrasound check-up. This shows the serious-
traditional birth attendant and 33 per cent by ness of the situation. Traditional knowledge is
mothers/mothers-in-law. helpful in handling normal births, but in com-
The scenario is not very different for plicated situations, proper healthcare is a big
migrants and only 13 per cent deliveries of help.
migrant women were attended by a trained The most common reason for choosing the
birth attendant, which presents the sorry state place of delivery includes family tradition,
of affairs regarding the utilization of deliv- past delivery experiences, economic condi-
ery services in the slums of Prayagraj city. tions and rude behaviour of hospital staff.
Another important observation is related to Women feel that home delivery is safe and they
the postnatal check-ups in which migrant should go to hospital only if they face compli-
women (17%) lag far behind than non-migrant cations during the labour pain. Women who
women (33%). have had home deliveries in the past without
During the fieldwork, especially during major complications see no need to have an
IDIs and FGIs, it was found that most of the institutional delivery. For instance, a 40-year-
migrant and non-migrant women faced com- old migrant woman said, ‘I have not faced any
plications and problems due to unawareness complications, during my past three pregnan-
and traditional social barriers. A recently cies and delivery with the help of traditional
delivered migrant woman narrates: birth attendance.’ She did not take any post-
I calculated the delivery date myself based on my
natal care but said that she would have gone
last menstruation. I had a feeling about when it to a hospital for check-up if she had money.
had to be but he came too early. I was all alone A migrant woman, who did not use antenatal
that day. Hamao pati (My husband) had gone and postnatal services said, ‘When I became
outside of the house. I went into contractions for pregnant, I had to follow the instructions given
a long time but there was no sign of progress.
Though this was not my first baby the pain was
by my mother, elders my m other-in-law and
strangely unbearable. I remember seeking help, society.’
For women who delivered in their homes, an important bearing on maternal healthcare
mothers-in-law played an important role in utilization (Gawde et al., 2016).
decisions related to delivery. Seeking health- Fieldwork results suggest that family
care for routine check-ups during pregnancy in income is one of the important determinants
the absence of illness is also rare, as opposed and is positively related to the utilization of
to the expectation that one should. maternal healthcare services in the slums of
Recent migrant women had stayed in Prayagraj city. A 24-year-old migrant woman
the city for less than five years. Non-recent said,
migrant women had stayed in the city for a
I know I should go to the hospital for check-up
longer time. Most migrants delivered in their
after delivery, but the baby is good, he is feeding
homes, the proportion being higher among well, his activities are good too, and I also don’t
newer migrants compared with older migrants. have any problem. So why should I go to the
It is also common for most Indian women to hospital and increase unnecessary expenditure.
have their first delivery at their parents’ place. If any complication happens then we will go. If I
see a doctor, he will take `200 for the consulta-
This cultural practice also results in migrant
tion fees. We do not have money to see a doctor.
women opting to return home for their preg- So why should we go to a doctor? They advise to
nancy. Social support and cultural norms over- take proper diet. We cannot afford it. I think that
ride the benefits provided by the city. if I had money, I go for health checkups.
During the FGDs, some women expressed
concerns about the maternal healthcare quality This indicates that their healthcare comes
in their home and preferred to stay in Prayagraj after meeting their basic needs in life. Study
city. A seven-month pregnant migrant woman suggests that people who are from a low-in-
narrated, ‘The city life is problematic; room come background prefer to seek free treatment
is very small. And here we are 8 members. or low-cost treatment.
So this condition is not suitable. Women also The husband’s decision about maternal
reported that at my home (village), whole healthcare services is also one of the main
families are there who will take care of me.’ A factors identified. The study also revealed
non-migrant woman said ‘In my village, there that level of education (woman and her hus-
is no facility for operation, and the hospital band’s) is a significant predictor to utilization
and clinic are too far away.’ of maternal healthcare services. As one ANM
said, ‘The uneducated husbands scold their
wives every time. They just want their wives
to stay at home. On the other hand those hus-
Factors Affecting Utilization of bands with little education background moti-
Maternal Healthcare Services among vate their wives to follow their pregnancy
Migrant and Non-Migrant Women check-ups regularly.’
The main constraints to utilization of maternal The slum women are not only econom-
healthcare are diversity of population groups, ically and socially backwards but are also a
low literacy and income levels and socio- neglected section among the society. Maternal
cultural beliefs and practices which adversely healthcare utilization is not only determined by
affect health. Low levels of socio-economic the socio-economic factors but there are also
conditions are the key features of slum areas, other confounding factors. Women do not get
which lead to a substantial number of prob- proper food and they consume cheaply priced
lems related to health. Majority of the women high calorie food. There are several matters,
who live in slums belong to lower socio- like individual and community knowledge,
economic classes. Socio-cultural factors have partner’s support, previous maternal health-
care experiences, distance from the healthcare
centre/hospital and the degree of communica- This study found that factors such as
tion with other women, which affect the utili- socio-demographic, healthcare systems and
zation of maternal healthcare. cultural beliefs and practices affect the utiliza-
tion of maternal healthcare services. Findings
suggest that family income, education of hus-
band and maternal care have important bear-
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ing on maternal healthcare utilization. Women
with higher education are more likely to go
Pregnant women residing in urban slums are for health check-ups than illiterate or less
assumed to belong to a ‘high-risk’ group with educated women. Husband’s education also
limited access to health facilities, especially affects the use of ANC and postnatal care.
maternal healthcare services (Srivastava et al., Women with higher-educated husbands visit
2015). Maternal health is inextricably bound the healthcare centre more than women with
with social, cultural and economic factors that less-educated husbands do. It is found that
influence all aspects of their lives. This study Muslim women receive less ANC and postna-
focuses on utilization of maternal healthcare tal care than Hindu women do. Family income
among migrant and non-migrant women in also has positive impact on the use of maternal
the slums of Prayagraj city. It shows that most care. Use of ANC and postnatal care is higher
women registered late because of a belief that among high-income families than among
there are no advantages in booking for the low-income families. A study in Chennai city
ANC in the first three months of pregnancy. found similar results that poor socio-economic
Low consumption of IFA tablets was found conditions of the women badly affect the
to be the weakest component of healthcare in health status (Kaviarasu & Xavier, 2015).
the slums of Prayagraj city. Several myths and Lack of men’s support is also a reason behind
misconceptions surround the consumption some women not using healthcare services,
of IFA tablets. Similar results were found in which affects women’s health. In some slums,
a qualitative study of two cities in Pakistan, women prefer to deliver at home with the help
which suggests that women do not know the of healthcare professionals and a traditional
benefits and advantages of the use of IFA birth attendant. The healthcare centres/posts
tablets and are afraid of the side effects from are not located close to all slums. Distance
previous experiences (Nisar et al., 2014). to healthcare centre is a problem to access
We found that most of the migrant and non- healthcare facilities for some slum people.
migrant women favoured delivering at home Women felt the healthcare workers’ atti-
with the help of a traditional birth attendant. tudes, bad language and feeling of being
However, a proportion of migrant women is neglected. They also felt that the healthcare
higher among women who deliver at home. workers at the hospital were biased against
Husbands, mothers and mothers-in-law play poor, illiterate slum women and prefer-
an important role in decisions related to the ential treatment was given to people with
place of delivery. A study in the urban slums higher socio-economic status. Majority of
of Solapur city of Maharashtra reported simi- the respondents complained about the non-
lar observations (Kotnis et al., 2012). Seeking availability of medicines and long waiting
healthcare for routine check-ups during preg- times for the poor. One study on Mumbai
nancy in the absence of illness is also rare. slums (Gawde, 2016) also had similar findings.
Most migrants delivered in their home towns, Migration was found to be a significant
the proportion being higher among newer factor in the utilization of maternal healthcare
migrants than among older migrants. services and most of the migrant women lag
in the utilization of ANC and postnatal care.
Most importantly, institutional delivery is rural and urban area of Bangladesh. Journal of
higher among migrant women which shows Nutrition & Food Sciences, 3(4). doi:10.4172/2155-
the deplorable situation of awareness of the 9600.1000219.
availability of the healthcare facilities in the IIPS & ICF. (2017). National family health survey (NFHS-
4), 2015–2016: India. Mumbai, India: IIPS.
city. Duration of migration also affects the
IIPS & Macro International. (2007). National family
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migrant women. Migration Report 2018. Geneva, Switzerland: Interna-
tional Organization for Migration.
Kabir, R. & Khan, H. T. A. (2013). Utilization of ante-
natal care among pregnant women of urban slums
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14(03), 280–285.
PART VII
Migration and Politics

36
Displacement and the
Biopolitics of Development*
Samir Kumar Das
INTRODUCTION of the power of development. Thus, borrowing

from Foucault, we may say that development
This chapter seeks to find out how develop- is what ‘makes [us] live or once power begins
ment impinges on the body—the living human to intervene ... in order to influence life’ (2003,
body of those who are displaced by it and vice p. 248). It is only in recent years that a para-
versa, and most importantly, with what effects. digmatic break in literature is sounded, when
In the existing literature, still dominated by a development is increasingly being viewed
high developmentalist streak, development is to have ‘uprooted life’ (Sharma, 1996, p.
viewed as one that calls for the production of a 311), ‘degraded the socio-economic, cultural
docile body of displaced persons—a body that and political lives’ (Hussain, 2008, p. 15) or
not only is invested with the insatiable desire ‘excluded and expelled’ the victims from the
for development, but also strives for honing world of rights (Harriss-White, Prakash &
and chiselling it in ways that are considered Mishra, 2013).
conducive to development. The growing This chapter seeks to take the argument a
corpus of literature on disciplining the labour- step further and points out with the help of a
ing body with the objective of releasing within series of interviews and ethnographies con-
it the productive capacity provides only one ducted by us and others in recent times how
example of how the body turns into an object development makes the living body extinct
* Some of the arguments figuring in the chapter were presented at the national round-table conference on ‘The
Fading of Development in the Face of Rising Politics of Identities’ organized by Osmania University under the
University with Potential for Excellence (UPE) Programme on 10 March 2017 in Hyderabad. I thank A. V. Satish
Chandra and others for their comments on the presentation. Lapses, if any, are entirely mine. Unless otherwise
stated, all translations from original non-English sources are mine.
and disappear as much as the living body also remained unfazed. The panchayat elections
asserts its ‘sovereignty’ through the mere act were held on 14 May 2018.
of living, by way of transcending what Bataille Reacting to Mandal’s widely reported
calls the fear of death, extinction or disappear- attempts at muzzling opposition voices in the
ance. While the third and fourth parts of this name of development, Shankha Ghosh—a
chapter revolve around these two themes, they Jnanpeeth and Sahitya Akademi-awardee and
are prefaced by the first part that dwell on a well-respected poet from West Bengal—
how development calls for producing a docile wrote in a poem: ‘Everyone only spreads
body that is not only invested with a strong canard./All roads are wide open –/Come
developmentalist desire—developmentality as anyone and oppose./ … Open your third eye2/
I once described it (Das, 2016, pp. 19–45)— Development (unnayan) stands blocking the
but is also constantly urged to hone and chisel road/With a sword (khadga) in its hand.’3
it to meet the requirements of development. While development is anthropomorphized in
The second part points out how development this poem, albeit with a poetic and aesthetic
targets already vulnerable bodies in the sense spin characteristic only of a poet of his stature,
that those who are already otherwise vul- it is also seen as one huge, solid rock standing
nerable are found to be further vulnerable to on the way, encroaching on it and blocking
displacement induced by it. The impact of the road in a way that prevents the opposition
development on concrete and living human candidates from coming out without fear and
body, and vice versa, forms only an emerging freely filing their nominations. Opposition
area of social science research in contempo- parties would not be able to file their nomina-
rary India. tions because development would be standing
on the road blocking their way. Development,
in other words, trumps the larger democratic
question of expressing one’s opinion with-
DEVELOPING THE BODY out fear or favour and voicing one’s dissent
through elections. After all, the poetics of
On the eve of the recently held panchayat1 democracy, according to Ghosh, strips devel-
polls in West Bengal in May 2018, Anubrata opment of the ‘certainty’ that it is otherwise
Mandal—the heavyweight leader of the ruling made to enjoy in public eye.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party from the Mandal, widely criticized for his acid
district of Birbhum—spoke of ‘development’ tongue, reacted bitterly with these words:
waiting on the road for the opposition candi-
dates venturing out to file their nominations There is a poet, yes a poet! We used to know
Rabindranath is a poet, we know Nazrul is a
to see for themselves and be mesmerized by poet. He is as if telling me [that] development
it. The opposition took it as a direct threat is standing—blocking the road. I am still saying
in order to forcibly prevent them from filing that development is standing on the road. I am
nominations by way of blocking the road. not a poet who lies. Isn’t development standing
According to a section of the press, the TMC on the road? Who can deny this? O Poet, can’t
you see it?4
had thus bagged a sizeable percentage of seats
returned unopposed as a result of the wanton Mandal’s rebuff was taken as unaesthetic at
violence allegedly organized by it. The ruling its best and audacious at its worst and elicited
party, however, put up a brave front and
1
The three-tier local self-government institutions are generically known as panchayats in India.
2
In Hindu mythology, the third eye is regarded as the divine eye that can see more than what our ordinary pair
of eyes can including the past, the present and the future.
3
Freely translated from Shankha Ghosh’s Mukta Ganatantra (Free Democracy).
4
Zee24Ghanta news channel published on 10 May 2018.
Displacement and the Biopolitics of Development 511
reactions from all quarters. Mandrakanta Studies conducted particularly on different

Sen—a comparatively young litterateur— sectors of labour in India, like the recruitment
protested in rhyme: ‘So wretched is my coun- of tribal labour in the construction of roads
try, so unruly is my state, the illiterate shout and in stone quarries, of women in care indus-
loudly, ignoring the poet.’ The Left political try, and so forth, illustrate this.
leaders condemned Mandal on the ground that Second, what holds individual bodies
he was being audacious and not sufficiently together, within a collective body—a nation,
respectful of the poet. A Left leader was a region, a panchayat or a development unit—
quoted as saying: ‘We all bow our heads before with the potential of developing itself, is the
Shankha Ghosh. And this man is asking who market. In other words, individual bodies form
is he? This is misbehaviour and is not accept- a collective whole insofar as they are cast into
able.’ According to Mandal, the omnipresence a market mechanism by way of playing dif-
of development is bound to blow away the ferent, but complementary roles—whether
poetics of democracy, for the latter, after all, as producers, consumers, traders, suppliers,
refuse to adjust to the invariable ‘inflections’ middlemen or otherwise. The roles are tied
of the ‘rough, blunt world of the politics’ of together within the market mechanism so that
development (Samaddar, 2018). each of them plays a role in the production
Anubarata Mandal was perhaps right economy and no segment of the society falls
in asserting that development demands the apart. Market, thus, becomes a microcosm for
production of a docile body in the form of a the society, and those who do not fit into it are
captive vote bank in this instance—fully con- of no use and should accordingly be dispensed
tented with its enjoyment or with the mere with. As I argued elsewhere, India’s Northeast
promise of enjoyment of the dividends of has been subjected to a surge of policies in
development—a body that (a) not only sub- the age of globalization, not so much to find
mits to development without ever raising any a market for the societies of the region but to
voice and should derive ‘pleasure’ even in the convert the societies themselves into a gigan-
mere promise of being developed, let alone tic market (Das, 2015a, pp. 178–184). As
being actually developed and (b) is even more Polanyi, albeit in a different context, observes:
than ready to sacrifice itself at the altar of
development. We argue that development calls [T]he control of the economic system by the
market is of overwhelming consequence to the
for the production of a body that recognizes its whole organization of society: it means no less
infinite perfectibility. At one level, the recog- than the running of society as an adjunct to the
nition is issued from one’s own unhappiness market. Instead of economy being embedded in
with the body one is endowed with, on the social relations, social relations are embedded in
ground that it is not of adequate use for devel- the economic system. The vital importance of
the economic factor to the existence of society
opment. At another level and as a corollary precludes any other result. For once the eco-
to it, the recognition is also accompanied by nomic system is organized in separate institu-
an unprecedented concern for the well-being tions, based on specific motives and conferring
of the body, its care and upkeep, its health a special status, society must be shaped in such
and well-being, the imperative of achieving a manner as to allow that system to function
according to its own laws. This is the meaning
desired physical and mental parameters and of the familiar assertion that a market economy
proportions, shapes and forms—in one word, can function only in a market society. (Polanyi,
its ability to prove ‘useful’ for development. It 1957, p. 57)
also implies that one has the capability of pos-
sessing one’s own person and one’s capacity Third, the body with its infinite potential
and developing and perfecting them to meet for development, acquires in our time what
the changing requirements of development. Escobar calls ‘the status of certainty in social
imaginary’ (Escobar, 1995, p. 5) with the (Escobar, 1995, p. 10). Recent writings on the
effect that it rules out any dissenting voice. subject tend to suggest that there is indeed no
We now live in a world in which we are des- dearth of alternatives to development, if not
tined to develop, and even any alternative way alternative ways to development. Rajinder
to develop ourselves is ruled out. Implicit in Singh’s writings on the traditional modes
it, there is epistemic violence that is practised of water conservation practices in the arid
to wipe out the alternatives. Development, in deserts of Rajasthan or Fukuoka’s innova-
other words, over-determines the public dis- tions in the field of organic farming provide
course. Let us cite an example. After land was only two classic examples in this regard. But
acquired in Singur (West Bengal) in 2006 in Baviskar, on the other hand, shows how these
the immediate aftermath of the massive elec- alternatives—not of course to be considered
toral mandate that the Left Front had secured as well-orchestrated and competing models of
in May in the same year, the ruling Front faced development—were gradually ‘compromised’
a series of drubbings in all the subsequently (Baviskar, 1995, p. 227) and thrown out of
held elections, culminating in its final exit in reckoning.
2011 (Das, 2018, pp. 29–45). After its final What does one do with the ‘useless’ bodies
exit in the state Legislative Assembly polls, that do not qualify as tools for development?
a middle-ranking leader of the Communist Development, by its very definition, produces
Party of India (Marxist)—the leading partner a hierarchy and the most elementary form of
of the Left Front—told me in an interview that hierarchy that it does tends to differentiate
the people are not appreciative of the neces- those who have the potential of being devel-
sity of land acquisition. They must appreciate oped from those who have not. The latter are
it, he emphasized, for their own benefit. They summoned to pay the ‘price’ of development.
must be persuaded (bojhano) by our cadres While inaugurating the Hirakud dam on 13
to see the benefits of development. Else, they January 1957, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first
will have to pay dearly as Bengal ‘misses the Prime Minister of India, maintained that the
development bus’. His words seem to fore- ‘price’ that development extracts from them
cast those of Anubrata Mandal from his rival is worth paying for compared with the gains
political party, for the latter too—as we have that it is expected to bring to the ‘nation’. The
noted—accuses the poet of not having seen problem arises when the losers and gainers are
development standing visibly on the road. distributed asymmetrically in the body politic
People have no right to non-development and and those who are already vulnerable become
what is predestined as development escapes further vulnerable to displacement.
any kind of introspection, review or reflexiv-
ity. People are forced to develop. As I argued
elsewhere, it is the development, which is sov-
ereign, not the people, for development turns VULNERABLE BODIES
each one of the collective body of people into
its mute and pliant objects (Das, 2015b, pp. While early studies conducted by such schol-
1–10). ars as Fernandes (1997) and his associates dis-
All this creates a world in which develop- covered a positive correlation between social
ment, as it were, has no outside. Development backwardness and displacement, latter stud-
exercises its unbridled hegemony by way of ies conducted in different parts of India also
pushing the other alternatives from out of the reinforce the argument. In simple terms, it is
public discourse. Arturo Escobar’s powerful found that the otherwise vulnerable bodies
work chronicles ‘the history of loss of an illu- (like the poor and the landless, the Scheduled
sion’ of development as a ‘singular experience’ Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other
Backward Classes, the Dalits and the women) matter whether my home is destroyed. How can
become further vulnerable to displacement. they deprive me of this soil and sky?6
Vulnerability, in short, is of a self-spiralling
A careful reading of the above narrative
nature, insofar as it spills across diverse sec-
brings us face-to-face with at least two broad
tors of social life. The most vulnerable among
principles that expressly run counter to the
the vulnerable left with no ‘cultural capital’5
reasons of the modern state—from whom she
to invest, kinship or community network to
might seek to reclaim her right to home. As a
fall back on, no sources of livelihood to thrive
result, she found it absolutely impossible to
with, no trace of cognitive, legal and political
assert her rights claims sound plausible to the
resources, that otherwise enable one to access
state. First, natural endowments (like soil and
the constitutional and legal rights are most
sky) are divine gifts, and therefore, for every-
likely to be displaced by the development
one to enjoy. We can also cite the example of
projects.
Lakshmi—another respondent woman who
I propose to elaborate the argument by way
also faces the same threat. The world, she
of referring to the narrative that one can recon-
says, has space for the garbage heaps to be
struct from one of my interviews with Ms Arati
dumped. But she has no place to call home.
Dasgupta, facing the threat of being displaced
As she observes, ‘Let us remain like gar-
from what she considers ‘home’, as a result
bage heaps dumped at one corner. My dear
of the government’s decision of dredging
sister [with an obvious reference to her inter-
and widening the Beliaghata Circular Canal
viewer], are we to remain with our feet hang-
(in north Kolkata) as part of urban planning.
ing in mid-air? We too are creatures of this
The government felt it necessary in order to
world. Isn’t there anything left in our part?’
save the city from heavy waterlogging during
How can she survive without a place where
rainy season by way of enhancing the water-
she can rest her feet? In simple terms, a form
carrying capacity of these canals and facili-
of divine theory is invoked in support of their
tate rapid release of water. It is interesting to
claim to right to home.
examine the reasons she expounds in support
Second, Dasgupta seeks to establish her
of her claim to her right against displacement.
claim by way of invoking the narrative that
When asked how she had come to settle in the
she was raised in the same place—in the
place from where she now faces the threat of
‘new’ home of her neighbours, crawled on
being evicted, she replies—
the same soil and took bath in the same canal.
With God! I came here holding the hands of In one word, she grew up depending and by
God. Don’t you believe? This is my motherland. I surviving on common property resources.
had nobody. On the other hand, I had everybody. The fact that she was raised here makes her,
My mother died after giving birth to me. I have
as she puts it, an integral part of the neigh-
never seen my father. The people on the banks of
this canal raised me. One grandma raised me up bourhood, and most importantly, makes her
during my childhood at her place. She too died feel at home in the same place. Home is not
when the ice factory had caught fire. Believe me, simply a piece of land and a civil structure
my dear sister [in a reference to the interviewer]; that can be owned and transferred at one’s
I grew old by crawling on this soil and bathing
will. By home, she understands a space
in this canal. You will see, no one will be able to
evict me. I came here holding the hands of God. where one can feel at home and does not feel
Only God will be able to lift me up. It does not homeless.
5
We use the concept in the same sense in which Pierre Bourdieu has used it (Bourdieu in Richardson, 1986, pp.
241–258).
6
Interview taken on 7 December 2008 in Kolkata.
The principles cited by Dasgupta do not The above ethnographic account shows how
qualify for what in political theory is called the poor and the socially vulnerable, the back-
‘public reason’. For one thing, public reason ward and the erstwhile immigrants from East
stipulates that one’s claim to right must be Pakistan/Bangladesh, the people without any
couched in a demonstrable concern for ‘public legal ownership of home—become hapless and
good’ or what we describe as some form of shirtless victims of eviction and displacement,
collective interest. If Arati Dasguptas and first by being denied access to necessary means
Lakshmis are to be evicted in the interest of of survival, and then through the application of
saving the city from the regular cycles of floods sheer force. In this case, encroachment by the
and the public interest of city-dwellers, then state agencies on the people’s hitherto enjoyed
they can voice their rights claims only in oppo- access to common property (water or land in
sition to the ‘public good’ in question. The irony this case) resources is done either in the name
is that they can express their rights claims only of environmental protection, or in the name of
at the risk of opposing the ‘public good’. Thus, protecting the ‘national’ property or simply in
it is not without reason that those who resist the name of upholding the sanctity of the law
displacement of this nature are also branded as of ownership. Contrary to common beliefs, we
‘anti-national’. Second, the protagonists of the notice that phenomena such as resource crisis,
modern state agree that God has given us nat- environmental degradation, floods, natural dis-
ural endowments for everyone’s use, but God, asters and climate change can hardly be called
as John Locke reminds us, has also given us great levellers, as they do not discriminate
‘reason to make use of them to the best advan- between the high and the low, the rich and the
tage of life and convenience’. Since reason is poor, the well-groomed and the shirtless, and
innate to the person, and hence, to be regarded therefore, have the potential of cutting across
as personal, only one’s reason entitles one to the social divide that exists amongst the people
whatever one makes of the natural endow- affected by them.
ments, and it, as Locke categorically informs Development has the effect of not only
us, ‘excludes the common right of other men’ displacing the victims but also making them
(Locke, 1946, pp. 51–52 ff.). Dasguptas and disappear and extinct. More often than not,
Lakshmis simply lack the cognitive and other development, as our following case study of
resources that would have enabled them to the Andaman Islands presents, renders them
access and enjoy their rights; they do not have redundant and extinct.8
what Hannah Arendt calls ‘right to rights’.7
Democracy, in the words of Kaviraj, acts
like a ‘sluice gate’ that protects the laws and
institutions of Indian democracy from being THE EXTINCT BODY
run over by ‘shirtless fellow citizens’. The
desperation that emanates from the inability If in the so-called ‘Indian mainland’, the prom-
of the shirtless to voice their rights claims, in ise of development creates a ‘docile body’
a language that the laws and the institutions of of people who are seen to cherish and nur-
the modern state understand, eventually gives ture an insatiable desire for development, in
birth to what he calls ‘a culture of insubordi- the Andamans, the labour ‘rejected’ (Weiner,
nation’ (Kaviraj, 2001, pp. 229–257). Right 1993, pp. 1737–1746) elsewhere, whether as
to communication, for the vulnerable bodies, convicts or aboriginals or even as constantly
does not easily translate into communication circulating cheap and unskilled ones, served
of rights claims. as the prime movers of development. We
7
The above ethnographic account is taken from Das (2011).
8
Elaborated from Das (2017, p.7).
know that the Andamans developed as a penal The colonial policy of deportation and set-
colony. In the aftermath of the Rebellion of tlement of ‘problem people’ continued even
1857, state-directed deportation of political in postcolonial times. On the one hand, the
and criminal convicts served for the coloni- policy was meant to improve the governance
zation of the islands. The penal colony was of the so-called mainland by removing land-
established out of strategic and punitive con- less people, squatters, refugees and other cat-
siderations of keeping the mainland free from egories of ‘uncontrollable’ subalterns to the
convicts, insofar as it meant that many con- former penal colony, where they were rehabil-
victs and indentured labourers did not return to itated as sedentary farmers. On the other hand,
their homelands. The belief was that prisoners this massive state-directed population move-
could not escape from the Andamans and even ment also aimed at rejuvenating the older
if they did break out, the dense forest, the ‘fero- colonial project of attaining self-sufficiency
cious’ tribal people or the surrounding rough in terms of agricultural production. The immi-
sea would claim all those who were not recap- grants of peasant origin—mainly the Partition
tured. In fact, within the first 10 months, 240 refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan—were
out of the 733 convicts were found dead. The the harbingers of development assigned with
Andamans, for long in colonial times, served the task of spreading and disseminating the art
as India’s Guantanamo Bay where the convicts of wet rice cultivation in the islands.
and criminals can be herded together, isolated Much of the migrant labour—whether of
and set apart, in a bid to keep the mainland the convicts, tribes and aborigines or of the
safe and secure. This was also a space of impu- nomads, in short, the jetsam and flotsam of
nity outside the public gaze where the author- the population—all ‘rejected’ in the mainland,
ities had scant regard for the law of the land, became an integral part of whatever develop-
rules could be flouted without being detected ment had hitherto taken place in the Andaman
and referring to the court of law, people could Islands. While development in the islands
be ‘killed without being sacrificed’ as Giorgio reflects their desperate urge to survive in a
Agamben had famously said. landscape that was inhospitable—if not utterly
The transition to the policy of settling the hostile—often aided by the generous state
ex-convicts started to change in the early 20th patronage, their journey to be part of ‘We, the
century. One distinct outcome of this policy People of India’ has yet to come to an end.
change was the settlement of two ‘criminal’ Convict labour was primarily utilized to
groups9 of subalterns as self-supporters—the dry swamps, fell trees and cut forests, and to
Bhantu, a ‘criminal tribe’ from north India and develop the infrastructure in order to facilitate
the Moplah, rebels from the Malabar Coast. ‘colonization’ of the land. A rehabilitation
Both groups were not split up like the previ- scheme was set up to allow ‘loyal’ and tamed
ous convicts in the settlement. Instead, they convicts to settle down with their mainland
were settled in isolated spaces of jungles, far families as free, self-supporting colonists at
away from the villages and stations of the the end of their term. To create families for
penal settlement. This was intended to avoid permanent settlement of the colony, the British
any potential menace to the so-called order even encouraged self-supporters to marry con-
of the colony, which these rebellious and vict women. Poor climatic conditions, high
‘criminal’ groups were apprehended to cause expenses and the dependence on imports led
through their historically evidenced behaviour the administration to reconsider their settle-
of insubordination. ment policy in the 1920s. The descendants of
9
The colonial authorities resorted to the practice of designating and officially classifying some tribal groups as
‘criminal tribes’. Some of them reportedly continue to suffer from social stigma even in independent India.
the freed convicts remained a small proportion Islands consisted mainly of this stereotype of
of the population. Only 12.53 per cent in 1901 labour.
and 20.20 per cent in 1911 were locally born Parallel to the state-directed settlement of
and the rest (87.47% and 79.80%, respec- people, an independent movement of people
tively) were immigrants. to and from the Andamans has always existed.
The scheme continued even in post- These migrants—soldiers, administrators,
independence India. Thus, between 1949 and servants, labourers, traders, teachers and
1978, under the rehabilitation schemes, all fishermen— have come, either temporarily
together 4,531 families (450 of them were or permanently. A sprinkling of privileged
settled between 1949 and 1952 and 3,281 migrants has been white-collar government
between 1949 and 1961) were settled on servants, most of them from Kerala and West
cleared plots of jungle. Most families were Bengal. Many among them had been attracted
provided with either 10 or 5 acres of hilly and from the mainland with the lure of high sala-
paddy land or supplied with food items and ries. Moreover, the development of new plots
timber, pesticides, a buffalo, and/or a milk of agricultural land coincided with a desire
cow plus some cash. According to an estimate, to expand the geographical boundaries of the
more than 86 per cent of these families were colony. An increase of surplus production
Bengali refugees (Biswas, 2010, p. 90, quoted could only be realized through the expansion
in Zehmisch, 2012, p. 10). In the last scheme of cultivable land by clearing forest land. In
of rehabilitation, more than 560 families were addition to that, there has been an independ-
allotted agricultural and homestead land over ent, ‘self-motivated’ population movement to
the 4,100 acres of cleared forest land in Middle and from the islands since the early years of
Andaman, Neil Island and Little Andaman till colonization. The development and growth of
the middle of 1969. Apart from that, landless government institutions has attracted labour-
communities, like Malayalis from Kerala, and ers, adventurers, scientists, entrepreneurial
‘Ranchi labourers’ from middle India, were traders, soldiers and white-collar as well as
rehabilitated. Tamil Sri Lankan repatriates, blue-collar government servants. This ‘settler
and Telugu as well as Tamil repatriates from colonialist’ policy of stretching the frontier
Burma, came to the Islands under the same into ‘virgin’ forest was combined with the
schemes. These non-Bengali families were expansion of commercial forestry. According
probably brought in at the instance of the gov- to R. V. R. Murthy, many of the Telugu labour-
ernment as a reaction to the protests of the ers coming from Telangana and the erstwhile
local-born communities. The old inhabitants, state of undivided Andhra Pradesh, are actu-
who were in control of political power, had ally displaced from the Maoist-affected areas
fears that a Bengali majority might overpower of the district of Srikakulam (Murthy, 2016).
them. While in 1901, the population of Andaman
As an echo to the colonial schemes, the and Nicobar Islands was 24,649, in 2011, it
administration hired many Ranchi labourers reached 380,581. While sporadic data on the
from the Chota Nagpur region to work on convicts, penal colony settlers and refugee
contract basis. Recent ethnographic records migration from West Bengal or of the Ranchi
suggest that several officials have confirmed settlers is available, corresponding survey on
that as Adivasis or indigenous people of India, the expelling factors that led the present set-
they were assumed to be racially fit for this tlers to migrate is, to our knowledge, non-
kind of hard labour required for clearing the existent. The importance of fieldwork in this
jungles and removing the swamps. Their ‘abo- regard can hardly be exaggerated. In a survey
riginality’ and ‘primitiveness’ explain their conducted in 2016 on a sample of 70 set-
‘docility’ and ‘hard-working’ characteristics. tlers representing varying periods of duration
In other words, migration to the Andaman of their stay in the areas of their settlement,
it is being seen that ‘expelling factors’ and workstation and occupied it, in spite of gunfire.
‘attracting factors’ play almost an equal role Fresh British troops arrived and recaptured
in explaining immigration (36 as against 34 the station resulting in the death of several
persons). While the sample size is too small, Andamanese. Some of them were wounded
the factors specified in the survey also overlap. and some were taken as prisoners. This attack
The interviewees were not allowed to provide is known as Andaman’s ‘Battle of Aberdeen’.
mutually inclusive answers. Taking the total It is believed to be the Andamanese tribes’
of 36 persons as 100 per cent, it was seen that ‘first organized, large-scale attack’ on convict
conflict (11.1%), drought (8.3%) and religious settlers and their British guards. In retalia-
factors (5.6%) do play an important role in tion, the Andamanese and the Burmese forest
pushing out the population from the mainland, workers and sepoys (security personnel) were
although there is no denying that lack of jobs often ordered to make ‘punitive expeditions’.
(38.9%), poor economic activity (16.7%) are Vacant Jarwa campsites, deep in the forest,
much more important. Discriminatory culture were invaded, ransacked and set afire by
(11.1%) and political intolerance (8.3%) are armed people. In a 1925 expedition, 37 Jarwas
nevertheless important. In all, 51.4 per cent of reportedly died, reflecting the extreme nature
the sample migrated due to expelling factors of such ‘punitive expeditions’.10
while 48.6 per cent migrated due to attracting In the past, Jarwas were regarded by set-
factors (Rajavel, 2016). tlers and outsiders in the islands as being wild,
The Andaman group of islands like the rest hostile and violent, who deserved to be killed,
of India became a part of the development hunted down and wiped out. From 1947
programme with the introduction of five-year to 1963, there were no less than 46 violent
plans undertaken in the early 1950s. By 1955, encounters with the Jarwas, in which mostly
20,000 acres of forest had been cleared for non-tribal settlers were killed. Records since
4,000 families to settle. In the second five-year 1979 indicate that the frequency of hostile
plan an additional 1,500 families was added Jarwa attacks increased each year. On an aver-
to the total number of families settling in the age, about two dozen non-tribal forest workers
islands, with impetus being given to agricul- and construction labourers were killed within
ture, small-scale industries, and the construc- the 765 km of Jarwa reserve every year.
tion of roads. By 1965, the infrastructure of The policy of plunder and decimation
the island had undergone significant changes. underwent a change with Indian independ-
Development, however, has taken its toll on ence. The administration started feeling that
the local and the tribal population. As the total the only way to conciliate and tame the Jarwas
population of the island reached 200,000, the was to capture them in large numbers and then
total number of the Andamanese tribal pop- send them back as ‘messengers of peace’. In a
ulation decreased to about 450. Increasing way, this policy of pacification and gift-giving
encroachment on the tribal habitat not only to transform the Jarwas shows continuity
cut into their life-bearing resources but also between the colonial policy and the Island’s
adversely affected the demographic balance, post-independence administration. Since
eventually threatening their extinction. This 1960, the practice of gift-giving was stepped
indeed has a long history. up, and whenever possible, Jarwas were cap-
Early morning on 17 May 1859, one party tured around villages of Middle Andaman and
of tribal Andamanese proceeding along the brought over to the capital city of Port Blair by
shore was stopped by the naval guard’s gun- the Bush Police. Jarwa individuals were pre-
fire but another party reached the convict sented with abundant gifts and dropped back
10
The figures are taken from Pandya (2002, pp. 799–820).
at the site of their capture. Through the re- of dams is already waiting to be constructed in
instituted policy of gift-giving, the Jarwas were different parts of the Northeast, particularly in
‘induced to appreciate and accept a policy of the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam
coexistence’. and Manipur, in the near future.
Today, Jarwas are not seen as primitive We conducted a series of interviews in
anymore, but as ‘ex-primitive’. This two-way Gerukamukh area in Upper Assam—the
change in the image and imagination of the hub of anti-dam protests in the Northeast—
tribals is, in the words of Pandya, tied inex- organized by the Krishak Mukti Sangram
tricably with the planning and inauguration of Samiti (KMSS or the Association for the
the Andaman Trunk (A. T.) road. By 1988, the Liberation of Peasants) and a few other organ-
construction of A. T. road was completed and izations. The movement in Gerukamukh
the road, by all accounts, continues to have its seems to have marked the arrival of a new
transformative impact on the social landscape political subject in the wake of a series of
of intergroup relations. As he puts it: developmental policies clubbed under what is
generically called ‘Look East’, and in its new
… Both tribal and non-tribal people going back avatar, the ‘Act East Policy’, initiated since the
and forth over the road have dislocated the very
fixity of the image of primitive and modern.
early 1990s. The interviews were conducted
Ideas, individuals, and identities are dislodged, across various groups and communities, like
transposed, and relocated in relation to places the Mishings, Dewris, Ahoms, Assamese,
connected by the road. Hence, the road in the Nepalis, Hajongs and Bodos and other tea
Andamans is now a setting for the acting out tribes, like the Kurmis, living in the area—
of the script of modernity. Much as a map con-
nects perceived space and experienced place … Most of our respondents extend their unwaver-
the movement on the road connects two world- ing support to the anti-dam protests—although
views, that of the tribal and that of the non- not all of them actively participate in them.
tribal. (Pandya, 2002, p. 803) When asked why they support it, all of them
have been unambiguous in pointing out that the
Thus, to cite an instance, late morning on 31 issue is integral to the ‘security of their life’ (jiwa-
October 1997, about 25 Jarwas ‘came out’ of nar suraksha). They argue that unless their life is
the forest with the intention of contact rather not secure, development becomes ‘unthinkable’.
What will they do with development if they are
than confrontation. The gesture on their part
not alive? The issue of security cuts across the
is believed to have completed the full circle ethnic lines and is incommensurably ‘greater’
that had its origin back in 1859—the year (brihattar swartha) than development of this
when the long saga of hostility and confron- or that community. When their collective sur-
tation with the tribals began (Pandya, 2002, vival is at stake, it is necessary that people as a
whole irrespective of their ethnic and communal
pp. 799–820).
considerations come together and organize a
joint (ekeloge) resistance and joint (umaihotiya)
struggle. Dams once constructed make them
vulnerable to natural catastrophe which—if it
THE SOVEREIGN BODY ever happens in a region otherwise prone to
tremors and earthquakes—will not differentiate
between classes and ethnicities. The survival of
At a time when more intense exploitation of the people with their bare bodies and bones is
natural resources is considered essential for under threat (bhabuki). Life always is greater
development to take off all over India, particu- than development.
larly in the Northeast, dams are expected to
provide a source of cheap hydroelectric power Life for them is understood in terms of mere
in an otherwise energy-starved country, and survival as bare, living bodies that somehow sur-
also serve as a solution to annual rounds of vive. While more evident movements for auton-
floods and other natural catastrophes. A string omy split and divide the people along ethnic
and linguistic lines, and necessarily privileged Vulnerable bodies are also rendered extinct if
communities over others and create ‘minorities’ they prove to be of no ‘use’ to the enterprise
within the ethnically marked-out spaces, the of development. The body must be of use and
movement for collective survival calls for their contribute to social productivity, else it should
joint resistance. In other words, never before in not exist. By contrast, the body too asserts its
the history of the Northeast has bare survival of sovereignty way of living the moment it dies,
the physical body become so much of a security lives in order not to die, by refusing and defy-
concern for the people as it is now. ing death. Development, in short, impinges on
These new issues of biopolitics are likely to the concrete body of the displaced in diverse
question ethnic and linguistic issues of home- ways.
land, territoriality and autonomy by express-
ing what Barbora calls ‘Assam’s new voice
of dissent’ (Barbora, 2011, p. 22). The ‘new
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37
Migrant, City and Changing Lives
Ranabir Samaddar
LABOUR, MOBILITY AND precarity of life and work, which the migrant
INFORMALITY in the city represents. This is indeed the main
question arising out of the massive infrastruc-
When we reinforce the point that the migrant tural programmes in and around the cities of
sits at the heart of the city in the neoliberal the world, and certainly India.
time, we are actually suggesting a provisional Theorists of urbanization (Henri Lefebvre
theoretical framework that can accommodate and David Harvey, to name the two most influ-
the figure of the migrant labour, as a critical ential ones) have shed light on the various prac-
element, in the transformation of the city to tices of space-making. These space-making
a rental outlet, and at the same time, a site of exercises have impacted the new and emerg-
extraction. These two transformations cast ing forms of labour, leading to new zoning
new light on the relationship between labour practices and policy interventions and to ‘new’
and urban space—the fundamental problem- issues of life such as old-age labour, danger-
atic in the emergence of the neoliberal city. ous work in waste processing and new kinds
These also reflect on the hidden processes of of biological works such as surrogacy, caring,
the shift of the modern city from being a site of nursing, sex and entertainment industry, forms
industrial production to being one of a logis- of flexible wage, and an overall new kind of
tical economy requiring, besides localized precarious work regime. Anyone working in
concentrations of human capital, a complex of these occupations knows the overwhelming
place-based services to support the circulation presence of migrant labour in these industries
of capital and commodity. From this angle, and the gendered nature of migrant work. All
the relationship between the migrant and the in all, the phenomenon of migration remains
neoliberal city encapsulates the central social at the core of these material developments.
contradiction of modern global capitalism, They mark the dynamics of entry and disper-
namely increased return from global con- sal of migrant labour force at the moment of
nectedness and the increasing informality and its arrival in the city. They also show how the
arrival of a migrant labour force becomes an labour force will remain at the bottom-end
occasion for restructuring a city along neolib- of the income-sharing process of the society.
eral lines, and for the emergence of a neolib- It does not require much imagination to see
eral urban authority. The migrant in this way that the logistical agenda of capital acquires
becomes a necessary but invisible part of the even greater significance in the postcolonial
modern metropolis. The city becomes global condition, known above all by a lack of infra-
only with the presence of the migrant.1 structure for the sale and purchase of goods
In the postcolonial condition, we and capital. Massive amount of migrant labour
have, besides the factory form, other will be employed in jobs such as construction,
forms of labour—dispersed, informal and cable laying, container handling, data infra-
unorganized—with labouring subjects moving structure and building, yet remaining in a
from one site to another. We need to study as permanently precarious condition. Hence, the
to how this dispersed labouring population is anxiety all over the capitalist world is in face
managed under postcolonial capitalism. Marx of this permanent precarity of labour—which
foresaw the capitalist task of the management is its own creation—how to make the postco-
of a mobile population. In Sections 3–4 of lonial labour, which is what migrant labour is,
Chapter 25 in Capital (volume one), he dis- resilient? And hence, the demand for making
cussed the phenomenon of relative surplus labour resilient goes hand in hand with the
population and its different forms. In Section global agenda of infrastructure building in the
5, he discussed the nomad population, whom postcolonial world.2
he described as a class of people whose origin
is agricultural, but whose occupation is in
great part industrial. They are the light infantry
of capital, thrown by it, according to its needs, MIGRANT LABOUR’S SPECTRAL
now to this point, now to that. When they are PRESENCE IN THE MARKET
not on the march, they camp. These sections
suggest the ways in which we can study the Much of the mobile labour is involved in
formation of a mobile army of labour by way processing, reprocessing and particularly,
of identifying its foundational elements— logistical processes. Financial processes and
primitive accumulation, laws of population, data economy, just like waste processing and
violence and government of market economy. reprocessing, play a significant role in the
Thus, with regard to the composition of labour, marginalization of mobile labour. This is now
we must attend to the specific transient forms, witnessed in the backdrop of a tidal wave of
while in regard to the composition of capital, bankruptcies and closures of monetary insti-
we must attend to the specific forms in which tutions, which threaten to submerge the global
capital can produce profit. These two inquir- labour market in a backlash against neoliberal
ies allow us to situate the entire discussion on market economics. Free market neoliberal
mobile labour in the context of accumulation. economics means complete freedom for the
The situation acquires further complica- various circuits of the economy, like money
tion because in the circulation process, labour circuit, production circuit and circulation cir-
is involved without adding anything to the cuit, to operate even when competing and con-
total value, which means much of the migrant flicting with each other to a point of ruin.
1
The phrase ‘global city’ is invoked here in the sense Saskia Sassen used it. See Sassen (2005).
2
It is not accidental that what Saskia Sassen calls the new labour demand in the wake of the rise of global cities
marks the labour programme of capitalism in the postcolonial world (see Sassen, 1989). She also notes the role
of migration in capitalist management of labour in the wake of globalization. Capitalist management of labour
means, among others, management of ‘migration as a global supply system’ of labour (p. 31).
Migrant, City and Changing Lives 523
The entire logistical process in the econ- waste renewal is not possible, the question
omy also creates waste, which involves a lot will be: how do we situate migrant labour in
of logistical labour for the reprocessing of the value chain of a commodity which puts
waste. Thus, waste of money, conduct, mate- capital at the centre and pushes labour of the
rial, organic elements, biological remains migrant to the margins? Not without reason,
and e-waste becomes a permanent feature of contemporary global capitalism is marked by
capitalist circuits, and the capitalist circuit, in increasing production of waste, recycling of
one form or another, must include processing waste, an ever-expanding waste reprocessing
waste also, so that the circuit does not come to economy and a rapidly expanding and largely
an abrupt end, and the logic of circuit can pro- impoverished global labour force involved in
ceed.3 Waste appears in this way as the other waste recycling.5 This is the logic of global
form of value. Waste must now produce value. value chains to which everything useful must
It represents the capital’s attempt to salvage, attach in order to be useful as an exchangeable
recuperate and recycle the remains of pro- product.
duction, the disposable that must not become Apart from the fact that waste processing
irretrievably waste. Postcolonial labour is the structures labour migration, we have to also
guarantee that nothing will be an irretrievable note another factor in making labour’s pres-
waste for the global commodity chain.4 It is ence spectral in the economy. Think of the
not surprising that migrant labour is heavily postcolonial condition under which labour
deployed in the processing of waste that char- migrates from work to work and the peas-
acterizes urban economy. ant becomes a semi-worker to become a full
Given the dynamics of postcolonial capi- worker only to return to till his/her small parcel
talism, we may ask: will there ever be, in the of land or work in others’ fields when indus-
capitalist system of production, anything that trial, semi-industrial or semi-manufacturing,
will not have value? Can we assume always or even extractive jobs, like small-scale and
that waste is a by-product, residual, epiphe- artisanal mining, sand mining or stone crush-
nomenal and inconsequential, for the under- ing, become scarce. Research on transforma-
standing of value production and realization? tions of agrarian society throws some light on
Or, is it not true that waste is the product of a the transformation of labour. Yet our under-
contradictory process of value production and standing of the transformation of labour will
realization? Given the fact that without labour, remain incomplete unless we take into account
3
On this, see the interesting discussion by Vinay Gidwani (2008).
4
Bennett (2010); see also Friends of the Earth Report (2011); Gabrys (2013); Graham and Thrift (2007); Lepawsky
(2014); and the significant essay on labour and waste (Rossiter, 2009).
5
One report from Bangladesh states,
Sixty per cent of iron used in the construction business in Bangladesh comes from the ship-breaking indus-
try, earning the state-capitalist apparatus annual revenue of US$900 million. It employs 30,000 people
directly and 250,000 people indirectly. Yet the labour laws in the sector are not applied to protect the
workers from grievous injury. In the last decade, 250 workers have died and more than 800 have been
handicapped for life. Hulking steel remains of ships that took part in maritime trade across the earth’s ocean
spaces in the last century undergo radical transformation, reverting from ship back to steel. The process of
breaking down the massive ocean liners uses a mixture of acetylene and muscular power. Within the rusting
structural frames lie the secrets of steel reclaiming its form. Here is the inverse of the shipyards of northern
maritime powers, where steel, through the power of capital infrastructure, was reshaped into objects that
would produce the conditions for capital to reorganize itself. The long stretching beach and the bay provide
the scenography as the labourers struggle to dismember rusting leviathans in the oily mud. The bosses of
the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong have an appalling human rights record despite global media cover-
age and impose a notorious no-photography rule…. (Ahmed, 2013, p. 50)
the rise of a city-centric economy with all its Think of the supreme logistical sites, such
logistical implications that occasion massive as building financial corridors or special
influx of migrant labour into cities and towns. economic zones, upgrading ports for greater
Only with such a dual understanding, we shall container-handling capacity, creating seam-
get a full sense of the said agrarian transfor- less multimodal transport hubs, building
mation and the transformation happening to new towns, reprocessing e-waste, construct-
rural labour. ing highways, airports and logistical cities,
The unremunerative rural small-scale econ- all these requiring and creating footloose
omy, the impact of neoliberal governance, labour—the latter forever remaining in the
massive migration and consequent multipli- shadows of the logistical sites but moving on
cation of labour forms—all these were much from construction work to plumbing to driving
in evidence, for instance, in India, when the transportation vehicles, to perhaps quarrying
Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion or reprocessing urban e-waste. Profit is never
of Livelihoods in the Unorganized Sector came derived from these logistical activities directly.
out in August 2007. Migrant work in various For instance, in a new town where land prices
logistical processes brought back the focus on will soar up, built-in environment will rake
studying interchangeable labour forms. In this in money, financial hubs will be established,
context, it is important to note that the foot- BPOs will populate the town and new steel and
loose postcolonial labour is also a consequence glass buildings will come up, the immediate
of international investment chains in coun- revenue will be in the form of rent and inter-
tries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, est, whereas without labour, the soil cannot
Turkey, Egypt, Colombia, Panama, Cambodia have been ready, bridges cannot have been
and Mexico, in garment-production, iron ore built, airports cannot have been constructed,
mining, manufacturing of ancillary parts and additional iron ore supply would have been
instruments in industries such as automo- impossible and steel and glass buildings could
bile, electronic production, mobile telephony, not have come up. Yet, in this circuit of com-
leather products and toy industry. These are modity circulation, capital will continuously
overwhelmingly export-oriented, with the change form and value-producing labour will
production sites being often special zones. be more and more distant from the final stage
Wages are often low, the workforce is mark- when the profit will be realized from the cap-
edly female and the labour supervision rules ital invested and revenue will be shared.6 Or,
strict and marked with violence. think of the capital (which deployed labour)
6
Indeed, the role of logistical initiatives, such as infrastructure building, make the circuits of capital more and
more complicated leaving the capitalist class with only aggregate calculations to decide how much of the said
infrastructure-building programme finally becomes profitable (after deducting all other forms of revenue includ-
ing payment of salaries and wages). Two economists have noted,
Many of the recent infrastructure initiatives in Eurasia seem to treat connectivity gaps as a problem with an
easy solution. For example, the ostensible purpose of China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
is to direct large amounts of new credit toward infrastructure projects, suggesting that the problem is a
‘financing gap’. Yet international credit has been cheap for the better part of a decade, and institutional
investors would happily lend money toward long-term projects offering a reasonable and reliable rate of
return. Rather than a lack of lenders, a more pressing problem in Eurasia is mobilizing the resources to repay
them. Infrastructure is funded in one of two ways: through use of public revenues (i.e., taxes) or through
user fees (e.g., tolls). If the estimated infrastructural needs outweigh the resources available, the result is a
funding gap rather than a financing gap, and it is the former that remains the more binding constraint in
Eurasia. Funding shortages are only one of the many impediments to increasing infrastructure investment in
Eurasia... Initiatives such as the Global Infrastructure Facility run by the World Bank and the G20-supported
Global Infrastructure Hub are trying to address some of these constraints ... (Besides China’s One Belt
that went into clearing the forest to open up labour.8 In the postcolonial situation, this is
an iron ore mine to produce steel to produce significant as the postcolonial composition
a crane to build a giant steel and glass house of labour shows increasing multiplicity and
or a data centre in a new town so that a local heterogeneity of labour forms. For instance,
version of the Silicon Valley can come up to the movements of workers impelled by the
produce programmes and facilitate informa- supply side of the economy and the overall
tion expansion and transmission. logistical reorientation of economy provide
For capital, this is the desirable history of new shapes to labour’s living existence and its
labour—labour at work but not visible, ready organization. Supply of labour accompanying
at hand but not always necessary, labour living these changes also brings changes in labour
but whenever required must soon be dead.7 regimes. From body shopping of IT workers
Everywhere, this strategy seems to be success- to strict vigil over workers who may escape
ful only to fail at the most unexpected hour of the informal, small and artisanal mines—we
crash. have a range of control modes that show the
In this ghostly transformative exercise, co-existence of freedom of workers to move
money (increasingly in credit and digital from one work to another (involving change
mode) seems to be the most important tool in in workplace, country) and modes of con-
determining the mode of living labour. Money trolling and tying them to the work where they
capital, and not industrial capital, is the spec- are needed. This duality requires varieties of
tral other of living labour in the postcolonial wage system, contract procedures, labour laws
condition. Study of migrant labour as shaped and differing degrees of freedom to unionize.
by logistical requirements must take this as a Multiplicity is in the gene of capitalism. There
central fact. is then, as always, another scene, the other
scene of supply. Logistical reorganization of
capitalism points to that other scene of reor-
ganization of supply of labour.
MIGRATION AND CHANGING FORMS The continuous redrawing and rearrange-
OF LABOUR ment of political boundaries within postco-
lonial countries and among these countries
The issue of migration and border has become (including various types of border arrange-
one of the central questions in studies of ments, border flexibilization and trade
One Road project) Other initiatives, such as those proposed by Tokyo and New Delhi ... are similarly driven
by each capital’s commercial and geostrategic interests. (Goodman & Parker, 2016)
One can also note in this context the pervasive failure of postcolonial cities to build a durable infrastructural
environment—as seen in Gurgaon or Rajarhat in India.
7
One aspect of this transformation is that besides the conditional visibility of labour in the logistical milieu,
labour’s individuality (product of visibility) is over as the infrastructural turn of capitalism overwhelms the society.
In the logistical milieu, infrastructure is able to present labour as a necessary coordinate to the universal future
made of mobility. The sacrifice of labour as individual to a projected digital future signals the transition of
industrial capitalism to postcolonial capitalism, from the factory to the imperium of roads, airport cities, ports,
containers, special freight corridors, Uber taxis, fast transmission cables, autorickshaws and trucks.
8
On this, one of the incisive analyses in recent time, Mezzadra and Neilson (2013) clarify at the outset,
Our emphasis on heterogeneity is also important for the analysis of what we call with Karl Marx the com-
position of contemporary living labor, which is more and more crisscrossed, divided, and multiplied by
practices of mobility and the operation of borders… we also focus, to make a couple of examples, on the
hukou system of household registration in contemporary China and the complex systems of bordering that
internally divide the Indian labour market. (Preface, p. x)
facilitation) show the global space of modern derivative figure in contrast to a stable citizen
capitalism made possible by a series of new but that the migrant occupies a primary posi-
lines of enclosure, separation and partition.9 tion in the capitalist production process, more
The entire debate on goods and services so in the neoliberal time, when accumulation
tax (GST) in India is an instance of the new would not be at all possible without labour
mercantilism that is on its way to become flexibility, that is, without migrant labour. In
the ruling ideology of postcolonial capital- the capitalist economy, all these will function
ism.10 The worldwide trade and currency also to exacerbate the fault line of race along
wars resemble the spirit of new mercantil- which accumulation will proceed.12 Besides
ism, perched on logistical agreements and race, migrant labour negotiates and institutes
arrangements, both within the country and boundaries of similar other kinds, like gender,
internationally. The new mercantilism, while caste and region.13
consolidating, strengthening, rationalizing Recent investigations suggest a broader
and unifying the supply system, cannot do connection between borders and today’s
away with the internal differentiation within labour migration. Climate changes in addi-
the commodity market, including the market tion to the already happening massive migra-
of labour as commodity. In this sense, there tions in and from the colonial countries.14 Our
is a postcolonial backyard in every developed time is, in many ways, following the colo-
country.11 But to develop the full implications nial age marked, as it is now, by famines and
of this argument, we have to theorize the massive population movements induced by
migrant along relatively less explored lines, dry weather, floods, hunger and the forcible
which will show that the migrant is not a exit of large peasant communities from the
9
This also includes militarization of borders and the pronounced presence of armed groups in the border towns.
Militarization and the influx of labour go hand in hand. On this, studies of towns and settlements in Mexico on
the US–Mexico border are insightful. See, for instance, Andreas (2000) and Birson (2010).
10
Goods and services tax is a proposed system of indirect taxation in India merging most of the existing taxes
into a single system of taxation. It will be a comprehensive indirect tax on manufacture, sale and consumption of
goods and services throughout the country, replacing taxes levied by the union and state governments. Instead,
it will be now levied and collected at each stage of sale or purchase of goods or services based on the input
tax credit method. Taxable goods and services will not be distinguished from one another and will be taxed at
a single rate in a supply chain till the goods or services reach the consumer. Administrative responsibility would
generally rest with a single authority to levy tax on goods and services. Exports would be zero-rated and imports
would be levied the same taxes as domestic goods and services adhering to the destination principle. It is claimed
that amalgamating several Central and State taxes into a single tax would mitigate cascading or double taxation,
facilitating a common national market. The Union government has assured states of compensation for any reve-
nue losses incurred by them from the date of introduction of GST (1 July 2017) for a period of 5 years.
11
For instance, one study on US workers shows that transit mobility fails to improve the employment status for
low-income persons. See Sanchez, Shen, and Peng (2004).
12
It is not altogether beside the point that in as much as migration invokes race and racism, it is also the other
way round, in the sense that race has produced over centuries bounty hunters, escapees, vagrants and fleeing
bondsmen.
13
Colonial history is replete with accounts of circulating labour. For instance, Kerr (2006) wrote that in 1770 a
British official in Madras observed groups composed of men, women and children who formed ‘a kind of trav-
elling community of their own under a species of Government peculiar to themselves, with laws and customs
which they follow and observe wherever they go’. These itinerant, coveted groups of earth and stone workers
circulated from worksite to worksite where they dug tanks (small reservoirs), ditches and wells and built roads
and fortifications. They lived close to their worksites in temporary huts which they set up for the occasion and
always chose a spot distinct from any village, ‘wandering from one place to another as is most convenient’
(p. 85).
14
Mike Davis on the late 19th century famines and migration in China, India and Brazil in the context of the El
Nino spells (2001); see the report by Furquan Ameen Siddiqui (2016).
emerging global food market. The humanitar- circulation—of information, data, money, sol-
ian response to what is known as ‘migration diers, labour and other commodities. Logistics
crisis’ has grown in range as governments dis- makes the infrastructural sites a dual ground of
cover why people move: they move not only production and circulation. Thus, the develop-
due to violence, threat of violence, torture ment of shipbuilding, railways, container traf-
and discrimination (by now banal causes), fic, roadways, airport cities, pipelines, cable
but also due to natural disasters, man-made laying, and last but not the least, information
famines and floods, climate change, develop- and financial processing zones like data cen-
mental agenda, resource crisis, environmental tres, not only indicate a logistical reorientation
catastrophes and the like. It is in this complex of economy, but also mark a new type of poli-
context that the basic migration control sys- tics that is imperial and vested with the ‘natu-
tems have been put in place, such as recording ral’ power of producing new territories. Rural
the foreigner, developing labour market man- migrant labour, waste reprocessing worker,
agement tools to use immigrant labour for a container truck driver, the crane operator in
capitalist market and for control of domestic the shipyard, the construction labour—these
labour, and finally developing a detailed sur- figures complete the other side of the software
veillance system. Relief organizations have systems that link and run the port’s cargo han-
proliferated, destitute asylums resembling dling capacity, the toll plazas on the highways,
prison houses have been set up in different the working of the data centres, the diffusion
lands by charitable institutions to welcome of mobile telephony and the remaining infra-
survivors, particularly girl and elderly female structural sites of logistics. All these tell us
survivors. In all these, one common feature of the urban turn in the capitalist policy uni-
appears, possibly for the first time, that of verse. Cities have always been there with us
treating the migrant as the source of insecu- but with infrastructural growth, the world of
rity. The victim of forced migration is now an cities has now produced the urban in which
active body, whose soul no longer needs to be migrant labour remains a hidden, subaltern
saved because the destitute, wretched body figure. Policies in tandem become mobile and
would soon and inevitably die, but because development strategies follow suit.
this is now an unruly body that requires man- Labour follows the commodity chain, and
agement and control. in the process, labour also becomes a part of
Historical comparisons with colonial times the commodity chain. The structure of one
can yield valuable insights. Think of impe- predicates the other. If this has been true of
rial infrastructures in the context of the reori- the colonial and postcolonial history of South
entation of postcolonial economy towards Africa, this is true of migration to the Gulf
being an infrastructural site for global supply region in the Middle East today. In case of
of commodities.15 Imperial infrastructures South Africa, this has been evident in the pro-
focus on facilitating supply or more correctly, duction of primary commodities like minerals.
15
On this, Ned Rossiter (2016) writes,
Focusing on the combinatory force of logistics and infrastructure between the 1800 and 2000 communica-
tion system of the cable, I argue that the logistical operation of imperial infrastructures produces territory
in ways that skew and structure the relation between states and empire ... the territoriality of power mani-
fests through communications infrastructure such as telegraphic cables and data centres to produce a new
sovereign entity that I term the logistical state. (author’s emphasis, pp. 140–141)
The mineral market and labour market have money, information and waste—do not make
moved together.16 On the other hand, in the labour flows homogenous, even and standard,
Gulf in the Middle East, the specific require- but heterogeneous.17 Postcolonial capitalism is
ments of pink-collar jobs have shaped migra- a confirmed evidence of this law of mobility.
tion flows there. The Gulf is the region where
women labour in pink-collar jobs migrate in
large numbers from South Asia, and the Gulf
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In this respect, reports on South Africa are instructive. For instance,
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UP earlier engaged in garment-making and power looms, and some in the textile mills, but are now engaged in
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engaged in contractual jobs and unskilled employment. In 1998, the government initiated a drive of deporting
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38
Adverse Incorporations
and Subnational Welfarism
M. Suresh Babu
M a n s i Wa d h w a
M. Vijayabaskar
INTRODUCTION However, as scholars in political science have

noted (Chatterjee, 2004), members of the
Internal migration for work has emerged informal economy stake claims to property
as a significant labour market phenome- and entitlements not as citizens but as mem-
non in post-reform India (Deshingkar, 2006, bers of a political society that has emerged
2008). Of particular significance is the pres- with the rise of electoral democracy in India.
ence of considerable interstate migration Further, there are states like Kerala and Tamil
(Chandrasekhar & Sharma, 2014). At the Nadu that are not only home to a large seg-
current stage of India’s development, inter- ment of interstate migrant workers, but also,
state migrant workers have emerged as an importantly, to some of the best social welfare
oft-
overlooked segment of the population, regimes in the country. Based on a micro-level
effectively marginalized in policy discourse study of interstate migrant workers in the state
and civil society groups working on social of Tamil Nadu, we point to the emerging inad-
inclusion due to a complex interplay of fac- equacy of social protection for such migrant
tors (Prasad-Aleyamma, 2018). As mobility workers and to the pathways of exclusion and
of capital and labour manifests in modern marginalization of migrant workers in the
demographic settings, norms of citizenship state. Through this, we also show the limits to
get reformulated at the subnational level, the distributional framework of welfare enti-
thereby altering access to public provisioning tlements in India. We draw our inferences from
and entitlements which are inextricably linked micro-level data gathered using survey meth-
to an individual’s ability to claim citizenship. ods from among interstate migrant workers in
Adverse Incorporations and Subnational Welfarism 531
urban and peri-urban areas of Chennai city. By therefore, enriches macro-level understanding
advancing our understanding of the processes of the phenomenon of interstate migration in
of marginalization and exclusion, the analysis India, and it is aimed at informing contem-
renders visible the spaces of intervention that porary policymaking by looking at the pro-
may be necessary to ensure ‘inclusive citizen- cesses of marginalization at the micro-level.
ship’ that is increasingly seen to be critical to It is argued that both formal (based on legal
developmental improvements. recognition) and informal citizenship (rooted
Rapidly increasing interstate migration of in regional affiliation and ethno-linguistic dif-
workers in India is a reality, particularly for ferences) contribute to such exclusion. This
men from the relatively poorer states of India account of ‘lived citizenship’ at the subna-
(Srivastava, 2013). However, this has received tional level in India reveals how rights and
scant policy attention. Buried under the rheto- identity are negotiated in the face of cultural
ric of economic growth, rural-to-urban migra- estrangement and practices of marginalization
tion often corresponds with migration across (Lister, 2007). This phenomenon is then juxta-
state boundaries, owing to vast regional dispar- posed with that of the experience of excluded
ities in industrial development and availability labour groups in other countries.
of employment. The state of Tamil Nadu is
one of the major Indian states experiencing an
influx of a significant population of migrants
each year due to demand emanating from its INTERSTATE MIGRATION IN
expanding manufacturing and services sec- CONTEMPORARY INDIA
tors. The state is known for a vibrant labour-
intensive manufacturing base that includes Trends in interstate migration in recent years
textiles and apparel, leather goods and automo- fall in line with the growth patterns and employ-
bile and auto-component production. In fact, ment opportunities that have arisen in India in
the state has the largest share of employment the last two decades. Internal migration is sub-
in manufacturing in the country (Tamil Nadu stantial and impactful. According to data from
State Planning Commission, 2017). The state the 2001 Census, 314.54 million people in
has been going through a construction boom India (almost 30% of Indian population) were
and also has one of the highest shares of con- migrants out of which 29.90 million migrated
struction employment in the country (Tamil for the purpose of employment (Planning
Nadu State Planning Commission, 2017). In Commission, 2011). As per estimates from the
addition, the state is also home to a vibrant ser- National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO)
vices economy known for its software, health- 2007–2008, 326 million or 28.5 per cent of the
care and educational service sectors. Indian population falls under the category of
While existing literature on citizenship internal migrants. When viewed as a part of
discusses the politics of its constitution and the overall population, the NSSO data indi-
whom the citizenship extends to, there is a cates that 26.1 per cent of rural residents and
visible lack of empirical evidence depicting 35.4 per cent of urban residents are classified
the processes of exclusion from the prevailing as migrants (Chandrasekhar & Sharma, 2014).
umbrella of citizenship. Theoretical debates At the same time, estimates of short-term or
on citizenship, hence, are said to be taking seasonal migrants range from 15 million (NSS
place in an ‘empirical void’ (Kabeer, 2005). 2007–2008) to 100 million (Deshingkar &
This chapter attempts to fill that gap by pro- Akter, 2009). The number of internal migrants
viding an account of various aspects of the in India is found to have increased by 37 per
exclusion of migrant workers due to the crisis cent between 1991 and 2001 (226 million
of citizenship at the grassroots. The chapter, migrants in 1991) and by 100 per cent since
1971 (159 million migrants in 1971) (Singh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal and
Kumar, Singh & Yadava, 2011). Odisha in search of employment. Large-scale
Interstate migration has become an impor- distress migration from rural areas, particu-
tant component of internal migration with the larly out of agriculture-supported livelihoods,
number of migrants doubling between 2001 has been a cause of concern for Indian plan-
and 2011 and growing at a rate of 4.5 per ners for a while now, as often they do not find
cent annually.1 According to the Economic ‘decent’ work even as their migration is seen
Survey 2016–2017, the stock of interstate out- to pose additional demands on existing urban
migrants in the age group of 20–29 has nearly infrastructure.
doubled during this period, with Tamil Nadu The analysis of pre-liberalization census
being one among the seven states that have data between the 1960s and 1991, carried
witnessed net in-migration.2 out by Kundu and Gupta (1996), revealed
Our analysis is restricted to interstate that there was a decrease in the percentage
migrants who move between federal regional of interstate migrants to total migrants in this
units (called states in India) for the purpose of time frame, which signified a decrease in the
undertaking employment. Given the geograph- mobility of the population under the impact of
ically patchy patterns of industrial develop- changing socio-economic patterns. However,
ment and urbanization in India, stark inequality in the post-liberalization period, a noteworthy
exists among various Indian states with regard increase in the magnitude of interstate migra-
to availability of jobs, leading to migration tion was observed. Data from NSSO rounds of
of people from industrially backward and 1999–2000 and 2007–2008 points to a clear
largely poor regions to the more ‘developed’ picture of increase in interstate migration for
ones. This often coincides with rural-to-urban members of both genders. While 19.72 per cent
migration flows that have strengthened in of the male migrants fell under the category of
recent years. Breakdown of National Sample interstate migrants in 1999–2000, 26.27 per
Survey (NSS) data (2007–2008) for both cent of the total migrants were found to be
in-migrant and out-migrant groups shows that migrating between states in 2007–2008 (Table
migration to urban areas for employment is 38.1). For females, these figures increased
predominant (Srivastava, 2013). Interstate from 9.94 per cent in 1999–2000 to 10.33 per
migration over long distances was undertaken cent in 2007–2008 (Mahapatro, 2012).
by 27.5 per cent male migrants in contrast to Based on the 2007–2008 NSSO data,
8.4 per cent female migrants, consistent with the respective shares of the four migration
conventional migration theory (Srivastava, streams are: rural–rural (62%), rural–urban
2013). This trend is further compounded by a
rapidly decreasing agricultural income in rural
Table 38.1 Percentage of Interstate Migrants
areas. Urban areas and industrial towns, espe-
in Successive Rounds of NSSO Surveys
cially those situated in Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu and the National Capital Region, NSS 1999–2000 (%) NSS 2007–2008 (%)
have emerged as major sources with demand Males 19.72 26.27
for cheap, skilled as well as unskilled labour Females 9.94 10.33
force, which is met by hordes of workers who
regularly out-migrate from poorer states like Source: Data from Mahapatro (2012).
1
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/interstate-migration-in-india-doubled-between-
2001-2011-wef/articleshow/61224940.cms (accessed on 23 July 2018).
2
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/economic-survey-2016-17-inter-state-labour-migration-close-to-
9-mn/297775 (accessed on 3 September 2019).
(19%), urban–rural (6%) and urban–urban not have had a positive net in-migration at all
(13%). This distribution follows the trend three points of time (Table 38.2).
identified by Chandrasekhar and Sharma Post 1991 economic reforms, many Indian
(2014). Thus, while rural-to-rural migra- states, including Tamil Nadu, have been com-
tion continues to be the dominant form of peting among each other to attract foreign
migration, it is followed by rural-to-urban investment and to forge links with global pro-
migration (Chandrasekhar & Sharma, duction networks. These linkages stir up the
2014; Deshingkar & Akter, 2009; Singh demand for affordable labour, which is met by
et al., 2011). An analysis of NSSO data of in-migration from other states. Rapid urban-
2007–2008 reveals some other important ization, thriving industry and an expanding
trends. Among men, the major reasons for services sector has created a huge demand for
migration were found to be employment mostly low-skilled labour force in Tamil Nadu
(43.02%), followed by family (22.07%) and (there also exists some demand for experi-
education (17.34%). On the other hand, mar- enced workers with specialized skills like car-
riage (64.6%), followed by family (21.03%), pentry). This demand is met by in-migrants
emerged as the most important reasons for hailing primarily from the rural areas of states
migration among women (Mahapatro, 2012). like West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand,
Assam and Northeastern states. Migrant
labourers are quickly hired as not only do they
seek lower wages but also are seen to be more
THE CASE OF TAMIL NADU pliant than the local labour force is. Moreover,
strong out-migration flows of natives of Tamil
Before the economic reforms of 1991, most Nadu further contribute to the creation of a
of the developed states, like Gujarat, West lacuna that is filled by immigrants from poorer
Bengal, Karnataka and Punjab, displayed states. A report based on a recent study of
high percentages of interstate (lifetime) immi- interstate migrants in Tamil Nadu, completed
grants. However, Tamil Nadu was an excep- in 2016, shows that the state has nearly 1.1
tion to this general trend. Even when the million internal migrants, which according
rates of net interstate (intercensal) migration to labour activists, is an underestimate.3 The
for Indian states were compared, Tamil Nadu study is, however, useful, as it provides a geo-
was found to be the only developed state to graphical and sectoral break-up of interstate
Table 38.2 Rate of Net Interstate Migration (Intercensal) in Some Major States During 1961,
1971 and 1981
Rural Urban Total
States 1961 1971 1981 1961 1971 1981 1961 1971 1981
Assam 1.66 0.85 — 8.31 2.59 — 2.23 0.97 —

Gujarat −0.63 −0.23 0.34 1.88 1.87 1.21 0.03 0.38 0.62
Haryana — 0.45 0.91 — −0.49 0.93 — 0.29 0.93
Karnataka 0.58 0.26 0.12 −2.98 0.75 0.55 1.27 0.4 0.19
Maharashtra −0.15 0.06 0.53 9.78 5.36 5.05 2.86 1.85 2.21
Tamil Nadu −1.62 −0.49 −5.30 −0.13 0.13 −0.88 −1.22 −0.31 −1.62
Source: Kundu and Gupta (1996).
3
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Tamil-Nadu-now-home-to-1-million-migrant-workers-Study/
articleshow/50861647.cms (accessed on 30 April 2018).
migrant workers in the state. According to the lives, work, backgrounds and families pro-
study, construction, textiles and other man- vided qualitative insight into the migration
ufacturing are the major destination sectors process. Respondents for both surveys and
while Chennai and its two adjoining districts, case studies represented a variety of back-
Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur account for grounds and migration experiences. This
more than 51 per cent of interstate migrants. systemic exclusion of migrants is located
Kancheepuram district alone accounts for within the broader conceptualization of cit-
more than 20 per cent of such migrant labour. izenship structures and rights-based under-
standing of entitlements of citizens.
SURVEY AND DATA COLLECTION

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WELFARE
The survey was conducted among migrants AND CITIZENSHIP: IMPACT OF
employed in the Kancheepuram district of GLOBALIZATION
Tamil Nadu. This district is home to sev-
eral special economic zones and industrial With the nation state being the dominant mode
parks for automobiles and auto components, of political organization in the current world
electronics and footwear. The spurt of indus- order, citizenship of the nation state has come
trial activity has also led to a construction to be inextricably linked with state support
and real estate boom in the region. Our and welfare provisioning. Legal and economic
survey was carried out primarily in three configuration of the nation state implies that
sectors: manufacturing, construction and benefits of the nation state, which take the
services (security services and hospitality). form of subsidies, welfare and social protec-
Data was collected using a combination tion can only be enjoyed by the ‘citizen’. In his
of a questionnaire- based field survey and seminal work on social citizenship, Marshall
selected case studies. A total of 150 migrant (1950) elucidates the theoretical understand-
workers were surveyed. Data captures the ing of state provisioning for a citizen. Marshall
channels of migration, methods of recruit- saw social citizenship as the third and final
ment, terms of employment, wages, access stage in the development of citizenship—the
to public welfare provisions, access to social first two being civil and political citizenships,
security schemes, living conditions, political respectively. Social citizenship incorpo-
representation and issues faced by workers rates economic security, public provisioning
on account of ethno-linguistic differences. (including education and social services) and
It was not, however, a systematic sample as ‘a right to share to the full in the social herit-
it was difficult to access the workers, and age’ of society. In this conception, citizenship
hence, relied on snowballing techniques. We, is a tool to lay down conditions for equality in
however, ensured that the workers we spoke society and reflect ‘the urge forward along the
to did represent the macro-trends with regard path ... towards a fuller measure of equality’.
to the nature of work and lives they lead in However, Marshall also noted that through the
the region through discussion with some course of history, citizenship, rooted in civil
key informants, such as labour contractors rights, had also become a means of creation
and HR personnel of a few firms. In order of inequality in the market economy of ear-
to understand the geographical mobility and lier times. The exclusionary potential of citi-
work trajectories of the migrant workers, zenship has also been discussed in the works
in-depth case studies were conducted with of Engin F. Isin (as cited in McNevin, 2006,
63 workers. Detailed interactions about their p. 137), who argued that citizenship was not
‘a possession’, but was akin to ‘an identity programmes that reflect the ascendance of the
and practice through which political privilege principles of contractual exchange in public
and marginalization are constructed’. At each discourse and the simultaneous decline of the
point in time, the prevailing system of citizen- importance of community obligation (Fraser
ship created certain ‘immanent others’ inside & Gordon, 1994). As self-reliance of the indi-
the polity whose existence was necessary to vidual becomes necessary for social citizen-
produce the ‘insider/outsider’ dichotomy that ship, the state takes on a more protective role
is a feature of all citizenship regimes. The that only helps those who are unable to fulfil
exclusion and marginalization of these ‘imma- their requirements through market action.
nent others’ was crucial for the creation of With a policy-shift towards liberalization and
privilege for the citizen. For example, slaves, privatization efforts in the last two decades in
women and the property-less in the Greek the developing world, dominance of private
polis (McNevin, 2006, p. 137). action, market forces and individual self-
Under such conditions, the debate about reliance have become the markers of citizen-
what citizenship entails and who is to reap ship (Kabeer, 2005).
the fruits of being a ‘citizen’ has significant Post-reform Tamil Nadu, however, reveals
influence on the discussion about interstate a different trajectory. While it has also initi-
migrants in Tamil Nadu. As globalization ated a series of reforms that can be labelled
boosts mobility across national and interna- ‘neoliberal’, its regional history of collec-
tional borders, dislocating individuals from tive mobilization (Dreze & Sen, 2013) and
their traditional ecosystems, the role of citi- lower caste-based political regimes (Harriss,
zenship practice in creating pockets of exclu- 1999) has allowed for a welfare regime that
sion among the political subjects of a country has been able to combine neoliberal reforms
cannot be ignored. In fact, the interpretation with a set of welfare protection measures
of citizenship norms and the discourse on provided to citizens. Even as employment
rights of a citizen encompass the dialectic became increasingly contractualized or infor-
with which modern-day democracies contin- malized, the state provided a range of wel-
ually struggle. Free movement of labour has fare provisions to its citizens. It includes, for
led to citizenship being prized almost akin to example, provision of 20 kg of free rice to all
an asset that has value due to exclusive own- households with ration cards, some lentils
ership (United Nations Research Institute for and cooking oil, free television sets and also
Social Development [UNRISD], 1996). laptops for children going to higher second-
The close relationship between citizen- ary schools among other things. The state has
ship and welfare support has come to develop also initiated a health insurance scheme for
very differently today under the influence the poor for tertiary treatment in both private
of global market capitalism and neoliberal and public hospitals in the state. Apart from
values, particularly in postcolonial democ- being one of the most industrialized states
racies like India. The onus of meeting daily in the country, the state is known for better
needs is on the individual who must be given human development outcomes attributed to
the freedom to participate in the market and robust state interventions in both education
fulfil his duty towards the state. The buoyant and healthcare (Tamil Nadu State Planning
support that the concept of state welfare pro- Commission, 2017). The extent to which
visioning enjoyed in Western nations in the migrant workers from other states are able
mid-20th century has given way to a strength- to avail of such welfare provisioning and
ening belief in the market allocation of social whether there are barriers to their access are,
goods. Even when state support is discussed, therefore, worthy of investigation.
preference is towards contributory welfare
BARRIERS TO CITIZENSHIP: FORMS OF in wages, differential access to socio-legal

MANIFESTATION protection and differential treatment under
administrative processes in the destination
With regard to the unique character of exclu- region.
sion of internal migrant workers in Tamil
Nadu, citizenship needs to be understood not
merely as a formal recognition of nationality
but also as a set of socio-cultural practices and DIMENSIONS OF ADVERSE
socio-psychological narratives that constrain INCORPORATIONS: EMPIRICAL
or facilitate an individual’s claim to rights and EVIDENCE FROM TAMIL NADU
entitlements. Bauder (2008) views citizenship
as a ‘strategically produced form of capital’ By virtue of their peculiar position as ‘outsid-
which manifests in the form of formal and ers’ within the larger socio-economic matrix
informal citizenship, both of which create dis- of the destination state, migrants confront
tinction in the labour market, effectively mar- multiple barriers to accessing quality employ-
ginalizing migrant workers over non-migrants ment and welfare provisions. As has been
in industrialized countries. Formal citizenship pointed out by Bhagat (2011), exclusion and
refers to the legal declaration of membership discrimination are embedded within adminis-
of a modern nation state that is firmly linked to trative and political processes, market mech-
certain civic, economic and social rights and anisms and socio-economic processes that
privileges. Informal citizenship, on the other further worsen the socio-economic divide
hand, implies membership of a national com- between ‘locals’ and ‘migrants’. At the same
munity anchored in socio-cultural codes and a time, with migrants flowing in, the topogra-
sense of belonging to a civil society. Informal phy and socio-economic landscape of urban
citizenship is particularly relevant in the case and peri-urban areas is undergoing a grad-
of those groups that may belong to the nation ual, yet visible, transformation. While the
state formally but do not share the same com- living spaces of migrants and their utility in
munity or cultural allegiance as is applicable economic functioning (both often distinct
in our analysis. Thus, exclusion of one group from the locals) affect the way local people
over another occurs by regulating access to interact with their tangible environment,
resources based on institutionalization of ethno-linguistic differences contribute to the
identity differences. marginalization experienced by the migrant
Although migrant workers are accorded community. The different dimensions of mar-
equality with regard to formal rights and ginalization and adverse incorporations that
opportunities as local workers in Tamil immigrant groups experience are discussed in
Nadu, informal citizenship practices dictated this section.
by ethno-linguistic differences lead to mar-
ginalization of the migrants with regard to
employment, wages, welfare entitlements and Economic and Labour Market
social protection measures. While in the case
Marginalization
of international migration, a lack of formal
citizenship is the source of discriminatory The migrant’s functional role in the econ-
practices, in the case of interstate migration omy is what integrates the migrant with the
to Tamil Nadu, informal citizenship, rooted destination. Still, mechanisms of formal and
in regionally determined political and cultural informal citizenship function to make the
economy, plays a major role. We point to the migrants’ labour less valuable than that of
segmentation of the labour market, differences the native workers. The analysis reveals that
migrant workers in Tamil Nadu only have but only of the contracting firm signifies the
partial access to labour market opportunities absence of a direct and legally enforceable
because the chain of intermediaries directs link between the larger firms and the shop
migrants towards a few functional roles only. floor labour.
They are employed mainly in low-skilled The nature of employment is mainly con-
jobs that require very little training or experi- tractual (except in hospitality sector, where
ence, and importantly, in positions that do not casual labour is most common). Of the
allow them to build any considerable capabil- respondents, 73.4 per cent had regular con-
ities to move into better jobs. An exception, tract employment while 21.4 per cent were in
however, is a segment of the construction regular casual employment. A mere 1.3 per
sector where skilled workers like carpenters cent claimed to have a permanent job and 2.6
have been incorporated into the workforce. per cent were employed without any interme-
Specifically, in factory establishments cov- diary. However, contractual employment at
ered in the survey around Chennai city, where the lower rungs of the labour market exhib-
assembly lines dominate production, migrant its immense informality due to absence of
workers primarily work in jobs with lowest effective protection and equations of power
skill requirements. This is clearly reflected in that are skewed in favour of the contractor.
the composition of labour in industries where This is reflective of the larger national trend
the migrants occupy low-end jobs on the shop towards informalization in the Indian econ-
floor, such as painting, which also pose health omy, with increase in informal employment—
hazards, while the more skilled, better-paid defined as employment without access to
positions that are higher up in the organiza- employment security or employment provided
tional hierarchy are almost exclusively held social security—being particularly prominent
by non-migrants. Upward mobility into the (Srivastava, 2012). Often, a migrant labour is
upper ranks is generally not possible for the employed through large contractor firms that
migrants as it requires formal educational have thousands of workers on their rolls and
qualifications. deploy them in different firms in the region
It is common practice for migrants to be depending on the demand and requirements.
employed in particularly hazardous jobs that While in the case of smaller firms, the
involve a significant risk of injury. Several contractor is an individual and not a firm,
recent incidents of accidents and building contractors have a role even in formal con-
collapses in Tamil Nadu involved the death tractor firms as the latter rely on a chain of
or maiming of migrant workers. Decent work contractors to source labour from distant
deficits and labour law violations have been regions. As recruitment occurs through infor-
shown to be extremely common in establish- mal networks and personal contacts only,
ments employing migrant workers previously the contractor wields significant power over
as well (Kantor, Rani & Unni, 2006). Survey the worker’s employment, wages and day-
results show that owing to the elaborate chains to-day life. In both manufacturing and con-
of contractors and subcontractors involved in struction, large numbers of respondents were
recruitment, it is hard to pinpoint responsibil- engaged in informal employment within the
ity for untoward incidents on one player. As formal sector, that is, under private contrac-
a result, this broken chain of liability causes tors to whom a part or whole of the operations
the aggrieved worker to not receive adequate of a particular kind had been outsourced.
compensation or redress. The fact that iden- The hiring of workers through third-party
tity cards that migrants are required to possess agents or contractors is a widely prevalent
showing their employment status do not carry strategy among big corporate players (both
any insignia or name of the primary employer Indian and foreign ones) who dominate the
manufacturing sector in Tamil Nadu. This Survey results also show high job inse-
practice distances the employer establishment curity experienced by migrant workers.
from the recruitment process and terms of Termination of employment can be arbitrary
employment of workers on their shop floor. and the threat of termination may be used as a
Instead, the third-party contractors hold all coercive force to make the worker toe the line.
responsibility due to which the costs and lia- The insecurity translates into exploitation as
bilities of violating employment-protection contractor(s) often refuse to pay the migrant
legislation are avoided by the company. labourers their rightfully earned wages in
The construction industry showed similar the smaller firms. Survey results reveal that
trends in the functioning of government-run hardly any collective bargaining mechanisms
projects like the Chennai metro. By outsourc- exist in most occupational areas for migrants.
ing specific tasks, like electrical work and Even in the manufacturing sector, where there
civil construction, to external private agents, is a trade union present in some of the firms,
primary employers are cut-off from their we observe that migrant workers neither are
ground-level workers, and hence, can avoid members of trade unions nor are their inter-
responsibility for delayed salary payments or ests represented. In the other two sectors, the
hazardous work conditions. This reflects the absence of trade unions or any such associ-
informalization of labour relations within the ation representing workers’ interests was a
organized/formal sector even when govern- striking feature.
ment/public sector employers are concerned.
Another interesting pattern emerged from dif-
ferent segments of the services sector; security
Marginalization through
guards (a prominent occupation for immigrant
Debt
labour in Tamil Nadu) were recruited by big,
private firms that provide security services. The Given that recruitment is largely through con-
security sector showed greater job security, tractors, the practice of taking advances from
fewer labour violations than the other two sec- their contractors is evident in sectors such as
tors. Jobs here, however, continue to be dead- construction and to a lesser extent in the hos-
end jobs and are quite strenuous as it requires pitality sector. This has obvious implications
workers to stand for long hours and also regu- with regard to freedom of mobility and reflects
larly work night shifts. On the other hand, in the phenomenon of neo-bondage. Workers
the hospitality sector, mode of employment often move from one firm to the other depend-
varies according to the size of the employer ing on the contractor’s networks, and hence,
establishment—corporate hotel chains hire on are tied to the contractor to assure themselves
a contractual basis with fixed norms and work of a degree of income security. In the absence
hours, but small restaurants/caterers recruit of the contractor, migrants do not have access
workers casually. It must, however, be said to networks that allow them to move jobs in an
that even a significant share of local workers extremely precarious labour market. By pro-
does not have permanent employment and they viding credit, the contractor further reinforces
are often employed as trainees or apprentices the extent of dependence of the labourers on
for a few years in manufacturing firms only him. This phenomenon is also strengthened
to be replaced with a new set of trainees or by the difficulties experienced by migrant
apprentices. However, such jobs provide a few workers to access other sources of informal
more possibilities of skill learning or entering credit in the destination regions on account of
into better jobs compared with the ones that absence of social networks that local workers
migrant workers are confined to. can tap into.
Marginalization of Reproductive position to become ‘entitlement claiming citi-

Realms zens’ in the destination regions.
Given the aforementioned character of infor-

mal employment, migrants, especially in
the construction and hospitality sector, do Adverse Incorporation Due to Ethnic-
not possess any legally recognized proofs of Linguistic Segmentation
identification of employment or residence. As Data from the field showed apprehension
a result, they are effectively excluded from among the migrants when asked about inter-
public services and provisions of any kind. mingling with the locals. There exists a social
No respondent in our study possessed a ration distance between migrants and the local com-
card or any other governmentally recognized munities, worsened by clustered settlements
proof of identity/residence in Tamil Nadu of migrants leading to spatially distinct spaces
(though many of them reported having them of the two groups. Migrant worker settlements
at their places of origin). Cut-off from their are geographically concentrated, creating dis-
basic right to access essential entitlements, tinct spaces of reproduction with very thin
like subsidized food grains through the public networks of integration with the local com-
distribution system (PDS) or subsidized cook- munity. Often, migrant workers report issues
ing gas, migrants have to bear the additional with regard to getting rental accommodation.
financial burden of buying grains or cooking In the case of manufacturing, we observed a
gas from the open market. Moreover, not pos- new class of low-end rentiers among locals
sessing formal documentation leaves them in in the villages close to the factories. They
a legal limbo making them prone to harass- construct one room tenements with common
ment at the hands of local police, as revealed bathing facilities for migrant workers to stay.
by respondents, particularly in the hospitality In many instances, defecation is in the open,
sector. However, the rice and wheat distrib- and this has led to issues of collapse of san-
uted through the PDS find their way into the itation infrastructure and a slew of diseases.
open market when ration card holders sell However, migrant workers have not been
their entitlements for a subsidized rate. Some able to mobilize around these issues given
of the migrant respondents did acknowledge the absence of any degree of embeddedness
that this allows them to access cheaper rice in the local milieu. Informal citizenship, that
or wheat compared with states like Gujarat refers to a sense of belonging which ‘may not
where they worked previously. be defined so much by “racial” markers as by
This phenomenon starkly reveals the having access to territorially defined cultural
ambiguities and loopholes existing in the codes and conventions and by being able to
framework of formal citizenship, which is enact place-particular habitual performances’
characterized by legally guaranteed, uniform (Bauder, 2008) is clearly lacking in this case.
and equal rights for all citizens. Yet, ground- This is also largely enabled by the linguistic
level realities captured in our data show that divide as migrant workers do not speak Tamil,
internal migration tends to create differenti- the official language of the region. Over half
ated citizenship. This can possibly be over- of the respondents of this study did not know
come if the migrant workers are able to stay Tamil, 26.9 per cent reported having acquired
for longer periods of time. But given the Tamil over the course of their stay, with the
harsh conditions of work and high precarity, duration of stay inducing greater acquisition
migrant workers are highly mobile. Especially of language, expectedly. Intersectoral differ-
in the case of the construction sector, workers ences were observed in this context—migrants
move across states, and therefore, are not in a employed in manufacturing and services need
to interact with native Tamil speakers on a day- access to the ESI facility did not possess the
to-day basis, and hence, report higher level of ESI card, and hence, could not make actual
language awareness than workers in the con- use of it in times of emergency. Any attempt
struction sector who tend to live and work in made by respondents to attain their ESI cards
regionally-concentrated clusters. Migrants are from the contractors was met with indefinite
also often suspected of engaging in antisocial delay. Out of all those respondents engaged
activities leading to enhanced surveillance in contractual employment, 31.5 per cent had
by the police. Incidents involving the ‘north access to Provident Fund (PF) facility while
Indian’ criminal have garnered ample media the remaining 68.5 per cent did not. However,
attention in public memory. on closer inspection, it was found that while
monthly deductions were made from the sal-
aries of these workers in lieu of PF, individ-
ual workers did not receive their cumulative
Exclusion from Social Protection
PF on leaving the company. Broken chain of
Apart from the inability to access the PDS that responsibility results in a concentration of
is universal in the state and offered as entitle- power in the hands of the hiring agent/con-
ments to ration-card holders in the state, we tractor, who then exercises ultimate control
observed that migrants also face barriers to over payments and is able to dupe migrants of
accessing social protection offered through their own money. With job-hopping common
labour welfare boards. Tamil Nadu has been a among migrants, most lose a significant part
pioneer with regard to creation of labour wel- of their salaries that was spent on accessing
fare boards for informal workers, especially social security (PF) in the previous company.
in the construction sector (Agarwala, 2013). A significant proportion of the meagre sal-
Funds are sourced through contributions by aries of migrants is spent on housing, daily
both the employer and the state, which are supplies and healthcare. Children of workers
then utilized by the welfare boards to provide who accompany them to the destination are
for pensions, accident and healthcare and a in extremely vulnerable circumstances and
limited amount of unemployment allowance. face a higher risk of child labour and falling
This is, however, incumbent upon the work- out of school intermittently. It is noteworthy
ers being registered as members of welfare that while Acts like the Right to Education
boards. Given the high degree of mobility Act and policy initiatives like the Sarva
among migrant construction labour and the Shiksha Abhiyan both provide for inclusion
absence of mobilization among the migrant of migrant children within the fold of formal
workers even by local trade unions on account education, in reality, migrant children are
of linguistic differences among other factors, unable to make use of the provisions under
migrant workers are seldom registered, and these two schemes due to inadequate imple-
hence, are excluded from such protection. mentation. This poor implementation, as can
Even in the case of contractual employ- be expected, is largely due to absence of civil
ment, migrant workers are unable to access society initiatives towards mobilizing migrant
the public schemes that they are enrolled in worker families into enrolling under such
and actively paying for. A significant 81 per schemes. Barriers to access public health ser-
cent of our respondents claimed to have access vices were also reported by significant seg-
to the public Employee State Insurance (ESI), ments of our survey respondents. Migrants
for which a certain amount of money was are often found in jobs that involve doing
being deducted from their salaries automati- dangerous tasks at work where they are prone
cally every month. However, it was found that to injury. In case of an accident, the cost of
81.1 per cent of those who claimed to have medical treatment has to be borne fully or
partially by the worker himself. Respondents per cent of the total internal migrants in India
mention cases where the contractor or com- are women (Census, 2001), there is a signifi-
pany paid for the first round of treatment and cant gender dimension to internal migration.
then left the worker on his own to pay for the Women’s experience of migration is very dif-
rest of the treatment. ferent from that of men, and women become
Unlike Mumbai in Maharashtra, where the susceptible to a unique set of vulnerabilities
‘sons-of-the-soil’ ideology holds great sway that require special attention. As official data
over political attitudes towards migrants, the sources on migration encapsulate marriage as
official state position towards migrant work- a woman’s primary reason for migration, her
ers in Tamil Nadu is not as harsh. Rather, work—both before and after marriage—does
they are marginalized because of their invis- not get accounted for in statistical estimation.
ibility in civil and political negotiations at the Yet, the social perception of women’s eco-
state level. The fact that many do not vote in nomic contribution tends to undermine their
Tamil Nadu but in their source region implies role in subtle ways. In the construction sector
absence of political clout. Further, their high in Tamil Nadu, migrants were observed to have
mobility and spatial and ethno-linguistic mar- been accompanied by their families, while this
ginalization undermines their incorporation was not common in other sectors. The wife of
into civil society initiatives. Their plight has the migrant was then employed as a helper
rarely been acknowledged by state authorities on the same worksite. Women are the most
until recently. It was only in August 2014, in marginalized among the migrant workforce.
wake of the furore caused due to serious acci- Not only are women paid less than men are,
dents at multiple construction sites leading married women bear the dual burden of paid
to the demise or incapacitation of numerous work and unpaid housework. Detailed inter-
migrant workers that announcements were views with women from migrant households,
made to the effect that the migrant workers in who are also involved in paid employment,
the state would be allowed to register with the revealed that most women had no control over
Tamil Nadu Construction Worker’s Welfare their earnings. While this is likely to be true
Board, and hence, would be able to access in the case of in-state female workers as well,
the social security measures that non-migrant absence of adequate reproduction infrastruc-
workers have access to. While the ultimate ture, location at the lowest ends of the labour
outcome of such attempts of the government market and ghettoization of their residential
remains to be seen, it is to be noted that the spaces render their position more adverse.
norms of citizenship that dictate access to
public services at the local level are currently
undergoing gradual change in the context of
Invisibilization through Poor
Tamil Nadu. Even this enumeration has been
Recognition
seen in some quarters as a means of harass-
ment by the police in a context where migrants Despite the conspicuous economic, social and
are increasingly being viewed as antisocial demographic ramifications of the phenome-
elements responsible for criminal activities. non of internal migration, migrant labourers
have largely been sidelined in policy circles.
The absence of any concrete national migra-
Gender-induced Marginalization tion policy is telling in itself. Lack of political
attention coupled within adequate data (both
In the extant discourse on migration, wom- official and academic) results in a wide gap in
en’s labour and economic contribution often governance by the Indian state. The only piece
remain invisible. However, given that 70.7 of Indian legislation relevant for interstate
migrants is the Interstate Migrant Workers data from these sources are not comparable.
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions There is also little information available about
of Service) Act, 1979 which is aimed at regu- the channels, pace and rounds of migration
lating migrant workers’ recruitment and terms (UNESCO, 2013).
of employment. It provides for compulsory Political exclusion of migrants is also man-
licensing of contractors and for registration of ifested in their absence from the electoral pro-
the establishments that employ migrants. The cess altogether. Since migrants are away from
principal employer, implying the actual organ- their native constituencies for long periods of
ization where work is carried out by migrants, time, they are unable to exercise their right to
is made responsible for ensuring that proper vote (UNESCO, 2013). Although in the past,
salaries and allowances are paid to the inter- special arrangements have been made in a
state migrant workers. few rare cases for migrants working in one
However, this law is weighed down by state to visit their native place and vote in
multiple loopholes that render it largely inef- the elections, these are at best infrequent. As
fectual. The narrow definition of a migrant mentioned earlier, even in the spaces of their
worker assumed in the Act excludes a large residence in destination areas, their inability
proportion of actual migrant worker popula- to vote implies that they have little collective
tion. Only the migrants who are employed by a voice to press for better amenities.
contractor in their native state for employment
in another state come under the purview of the
Act, while all the other modes of recruitment,
mobility and employment undertaken by the CONCLUSION AND EMERGING ISSUES
migrants are neglected. In Tamil Nadu, many
migrants travel to the destination on their In India, civil society, international organiza-
own accord and then look for jobs, hence, tions (e.g., UNESCO’s Internal Migration in
getting excluded from the provisions of this India initiative), community welfare bodies
Act. Second, labour contractors are rarely reg- and the media are currently working for the
istered in the source regions. Another major agenda of inclusive citizenship with respect to
failing of the Act is that it does not address the internal migrants. Rights-based arguments in
problems pertaining to registration and iden- favour of social support and economic secu-
tity of the migrant workers at all. Coordination rity are based on globally accepted standards.
and cooperation among different states is This trend also brings to the fore the impor-
essential to bring about real impact on ground tance of ‘horizontal’ view of citizenship,
level but no attention is paid to that aspect which emanates from relationships among
either. Moreover, poor implementation of this citizens as opposed to the state–individual
Act, even in its current form, has rendered it ‘vertical’ relationship. Such horizontal associ-
obsolete. The lack of quality data on inter- ations have been the foundations of pioneer-
nal migration in India is another big impeding collective action for inclusive citizenship
iment. Data from both the major sources on (Kabeer, 2005).
migration—the Census and the NSS—is The discussion on migration, labour and
unreliable and fraught with empirical and citizenship in academic literature has largely
definitional problems due to which internal revolved around international migrant work-
migration remains underestimated. While the ers, who are subject to restrictions and discrim-
Census does not capture short-term migration inations in their country of employment, by
adequately, it also fails to account for return virtue of absence of citizenship. However, we
migrants and the total number of moves made point out in our paper that internal migration
by an individual migrant. Additionally, the in multi-ethnic countries like India, marked
by different levels of political commitment to need to be explored in detail. The role of the
social protection across regions, can also gen- destination state of a migrant worker vis-à-vis
erate exclusions and adverse incorporations the responsibility of the home state continues
that are similar in some ways to that observed to be ambiguous in the context of Indian fed-
in the case of international migration. Central eralism. Moreover, statistical indicators and
to this phenomenon is the delinking of work data sources need be adjusted so as to incorpo-
and residence from the notion of citizenship rate the nuances of Indian internal migration
experienced, which is common to both inter- properly in order to provide reliable estimates
national and internal migrants (UNRISD, of their mobility. The population of migrant
1996). Internal migration, in countries like workers in India is likely to be on the rise in
India and China, is a prime example. the coming years. Yet, this issue has remained
Since allocation of resources is deeply marginal to mainstream political discourse for
entrenched within the practice of citizenship, long. The economic and social ramifications
an inclusive citizenship framework is essential of the exclusion of migrant workers need to
to ensure equal opportunity for all. We point be looked into while paying due attention to
out that even in a state like Tamil Nadu that the underlying concerns of belonging and
has a better social protection framework and citizenship.
is culturally less non-discriminatory, there are
factors that undermine migrant workers’ abil-
ity to access certain public services and wel-
fare provisioning. Such cases of marginalized REFERENCES
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39
Spaces of Alienation
esistance
and R
Charvaak Pati
INTRODUCTION employment in an open economy with a highly

competitive market. However, this is only a
The automobile industry in India has grown partial story of the industry. The growth of the
enormously in recent decades. India is the sixth industry since the economic reforms of the
largest producer of automobiles. The Bharatiya 1990s, and particularly since the early 2000,
Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic has coincided with labour conflicts due to
Alliance (NDA) government in India has increasing work intensity, higher rate of con-
declared the industry as the foremost driver tractualization of jobs, low wages, and most
of its ambitious Make in India programme importantly, denial of basic trade union rights
that is aimed at turning India into a manufac- (Barnes, 2018; Bose, 2012).
turing powerhouse with an ostensible goal to Existing literature on the industry lays
compete with China. The Automotive Mission emphasis on two aspects: first, the structural
Plan (AMP) 2016–2026, prepared jointly by aspect with its focus on the production struc-
the Government of India and the Society of ture in the industry and the place of the indus-
Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), try in the global production networks; second,
predicts that the industry will contribute to the collective action of workers (Ness, 2016;
over 12 per cent of the country’s GDP and 40 Nowak, 2016). The experience of workers,
per cent of the manufacturing sector and add especially migrant workers who constitute the
60 million jobs (AMP 2016–2026, 2017). The bulk of the workforce in the industry, tends
industry has come a long way from operating to be underemphasized. The present chapter
in an economy characterized by import substi- takes a small step to fill this gap in the liter-
tution industrialization in a protected market ature by narrating the experiences of migrant
to playing an important engine of growth and workers in the automobile industry with a
specific focus on workers working in Maruti while a majority of the migrant workers were
Suzuki’s Manesar plant. employed through multiple labour contractors.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is the It was only in 2009 that workers were made
largest carmaker in India with more than 45 permanent at the plant. These were the work-
per cent of the market share. Its two plants are ers who had degrees from Industrial Training
located in Gurgaon and Manesar in the state Institutes (ITIs). The number of contract
of Haryana. This chapter narrates the experi- workers was very high and a significant sec-
ences and everyday life of migrant workers tion of these workers were migrant workers.
working in the Manesar plant who constitute Coming from different parts of India, these
majority of the workforce. The fieldwork for migrant workers had high expectations from
this study was conducted in 2014–2015 and their jobs. The glitter of the fast-paced auto-
involved a variety of methodologies, includ- mobile industry offered a lot of hope to the
ing structured and unstructured interviews, migrant workers. It did not take too long for
participant observations and ethnography. the workers to realize that their expectations
Amidst the growth story of the industry and of high wages, better working conditions
collective actions by workers, what is often and a respectable working life were going to
ignored is the mundane and everyday life of turn into despair. High work intensity, con-
migrant workers as they experience and artic- stant surveillance on the shop floor and high-
ulate it. The chapter is divided into three sec- handedness by the supervisors were becoming
tions. The first section, which I call spaces of unbearable for the workers. In the words of
production, looks at how workers relate to Pankaj, a worker from Bihar—
industrial life at the Manesar plant. This is fol-
lowed by a discussion of workers’ experiences ... I came here with a lot of hope thinking that
working in Maruti would get me a decent salary
in the living space, which is called spaces of and job security. Many of my friends could not
reproduction. The third section examines the make to Maruti but I made it, and my parents were
complex ways in which the migrant workers very happy .... but the working conditions were
relate to collective actions and union politics, very bad and the supervisors always shouted at you
and I call the space in which these activities for the smallest of the faults. There is no dignity
here for any of us. I continue to work here because
take place as spaces of resistance. The meta- I have a family and I am the only earning member
phor of space is used in order to highlight the of my family ... everything is a farce here ...
centrality of geography in the experiences of
migrant workers. The discussion ends with a Pankaj was not alone in his ruminations. Other
few concluding remarks. workers echoed similar views: high work
intensity, low wages, no job security, espe-
cially for the contract workers, and continu-
ous humiliation on the shop floor. Even those
THE SPACES OF PRODUCTION migrant workers who were permanent were
getting salaries of approximately `15,000,
While workers from Haryana and Rajasthan including overtime at the end of 2010. The con-
constitute the majority of the workforce at tract workers were getting less than `10,000,
the Manesar plant, a large number of work- which also included overtime. This meagre
ers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West wage was by no means enough to run a family
Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab also and that is why most of the migrant workers
work at the plant. These migrant workers are did not bring their families to live with them.
employed in different capacities at the plant. After a protracted struggle which lasted from
When the plant began operations in 2006– June to October 2011, workers at the Manesar
2007, there were very few permanent workers. plant formed a union called Maruti Suzuki
Many of them were trainees and apprentices, Workers’ Union (MSWU) in March 2012. The
Spaces of Alienation and Resistance 547
struggle witnessed a rare unity between local workers themselves. Interestingly, the workers
and migrant, permanent and contract workers. are not unaware of these divisive objectives
The formation of the union was followed by a of the management as the common refrain
tragic and violent incident inside the plant on among migrant workers is that the manage-
18 July 2012, leading to the death of a higher ment is resorting to these tactics in order to
management official. Subsequently, 2,300 not let them unite the way they did during
workers were terminated, including more than the struggles for the formation of a union
500 permanent workers. 2011. The self-realization of being a migrant
The violent incident was used by the man- worker is more sharply visible in the workers’
agement to restructure the workforce inside descriptions of life in the living space, which
the plant. Instead of contract workers, the is the subject matter of the next section.
company went for what it called Company
Trainees who were appointed for 6–7 months
at a time. Most of these workers were migrant
workers. Moreover, an attempt was made to THE SPACES OF REPRODUCTION
not recruit workers from nearby villages to
not let workers regroup again. The politics The migrants working in the Manesar plant
on the shop floor also underwent a change. live in the villages surrounding the plant.
Every workstation involved workers from dif- These workers prefer to stay in the dormitories
ferent regions working alongside each other. which have come up in these villages. This
The sole motive behind this move was to not saves both time and money for these workers.
let workers form a bond of solidarity on the However, staying in these villages, like Kho
shop floor, as had happened in the past, due Gaon, Kasan and Dhana, among others, brings
to relatively homogenous workforce at differ- its own share of problems and workers feel the
ent work stations. The post-18 July situation most alienating experiences in these spaces. A
on the shop floor was narrated poignantly by large number of dormitories have been built
Panchanan, a worker from Odisha— in these villages. They are overcrowded and
cramped with 3–4 workers living in one small
Earlier workers from one region would work room for which they pay between `3,000 and
together ... they [supervisors] would put Odia
workers together with Bengali workers or work-
`4,000 every month. These are the only places
ers from other Hindi speaking states like Bihar. they can revive themselves and send home
We always had problem working with workers part of their wages. These living or spaces
from Haryana as they are very dominating ... of reproduction have become an important
but we were friendly. After the kaand [the vio- source of labour control in the region as the
lent incident] things have changed. Now they
don’t allow workers from only one or two states
villagers and political representatives from
to work together. At any work station you will these villages make sure that the workers
find workers from different states. Language are under regular surveillance. This ensures
problems, cultural problems make it difficult to labour control across spaces—from spaces of
become friends ... production to reproduction.
The migrants are forced to buy grocery
While bringing together workers from differ-
from the shops owned by their landlords.
ent regions has the potential for the creation of
Failure to do so sometimes results in a range
wider working class solidarity in the long run,
of reprisals including intimidation and evic-
the strategy has been used to divide workers
tion. The migrants who have never been in
along regional and linguistic lines. Thus, the
such a situation resent this the most. Even
existing cultural and regional differences are
those who had worked in other places wanted
exploited to create a divide between local and
to be left alone without interference. Sandip,
migrant workers as well as among migrant
a worker from Rajasthan working in the press
shop, expresses the angst of other workers Sundays. However, not all of them have the
when he says the following: time to engage in such activities as many of
these workers work in shifts, which are either
We came here (to work in the Manesar plant) to on Sunday mornings or Sunday nights. For
earn some money, take care of our family and
live a good life ... but we are being treated like
these workers, holidays do not mean much.
dogs here. We feel like we are in a prison. The The contract workers among the migrants
factory feels like a prison, this place where we cannot even afford to move to better places.
live is nothing short of prison. At least leave us Only a few workers who have been made per-
alone here and do not tell us always what to do manent with a rise in wages have moved to
and what not to do. In the factory we get money
for work but here we give money to stay ... on
rented rooms in better localities. The rest carry
the top of that we are threatened and abused all on with their alienated lives.
the time ... sometimes we feel like going back to
our towns and villages but it is a compulsion to
stay here. There is nothing to do back home ...
SPACES OF RESISTANCE
There are many restrictions for these migrant
workers. They are not allowed to talk over
Resistance offers a space for workers to de-
phone on the rooftop as these workers can
alienate themselves. Strikes and other collec-
potentially cast an evil eye on their bahu/
tive actions in the Manesar plant witnessed
betis (daughters-in-law/daughters) and vio-
rare unity among permanent and contract
late the sacred space for women in the vil-
workers and local and migrant workers.
lages. Many workers have reported that they
Migrant workers, most of whom were con-
have been beaten up by the locals for talking
tract workers, believed that the formation of
to the women in these villages. These spaces
a union in the plant can get them permanent
become even more unbearable for the workers
employment and a huge wage increase. This
in case there is a strike going on in the plant.
was the common talking point among them.
During the multiple strikes in the Manesar
The motives for participating in the collective
plant in 2011, workers found it difficult to get
actions were different for different migrants,
together in these villages and devise strate-
depending on their employment status. While
gies. The landlords routinely intimidated these
those working as trainees aspired for perma-
workers against any collective action in the
nent positions, the contract workers wanted
plant. The status of these workers as migrants
to be made trainees, and they believed that
added an interesting shift to the narrative.
the union was the proper institution to fulfil
Thus describes a worker from Bihar:
these aspirations. Many others believed that
During strikes or sit-ins we will be told by these the union can demand from the management
landlords and local Sarpanchs, ‘Look, you are housing for all the migrant workers in the
migrants, you have come from outside. What plant.
will you gain from these activities? If something MSWU was recognized by the manage-
happens to the locals [local workers] they can go
back home right away but what will happen to
ment in March 2012, and it was followed by
you?’ We used to talk about among ourselves workers bargaining for wage increase, reduc-
and sometimes we would listen to them but tion in work intensity and making contract
many times we would not. Because of this I have workers permanent. The violent incident on
changed five rooms in the last four years. Many 18 July happened even as negotiations were
of my friends have done the same.
on between the union and the management.
While socializing with other workers and The restructuring that followed the violent
going out on Sundays is constrained, the incident made the migrant workers more
migrants go to temples on holidays and vulnerable. In the face of police crackdown,
Spaces of Alienation and Resistance 549
many of them fled Manesar. The entire union plant of MSIL. A number of observations can
body was imprisoned. The spontaneous work- be made based on the narratives the workers
ers’ movement, which emerged in the wake offered. Migrant workers are aware of their
of the incident and termination of more than vulnerable situation both as workers and
2,300 workers, did not address the concerns of as migrants. This self-awareness, or what
the migrant workers. While the issues raised Marxists have called class consciousness, is
by the Maruti Suzuki Provisional Committee- limited to the extent that these workers seek to
led movement were immensely significant, improve their both working and living condi-
it suffered from one serious limitation. The tions by forming a union. The class conscious-
movement mostly addressed the concerns of ness of migrant workers is remarkably similar
the imprisoned workers and the terminated to the experiences of the wider working class.
permanent workers, while contract workers’ However, what differentiates their experiences
concerns and interests were ignored, although from others is the way they relate their status
not deliberately. Pratik, a worker from West as migrant workers and the vulnerabilities
Bengal, said about the movement and the associated with it to the totality of their experi-
position of migrant workers in it— ences. This totality of experiences takes shape
in the spaces of production, reproduction and
There was a lot of unity between us during the resistance. This has significant implications
struggle [during the strikes in 2011 and after-
wards] but after the incident everything changed
for the trade union movement in the automo-
... there was no one to talk to outsiders [migrant bile industry. It is time both company-based
workers] ... the central trade unions only talked unions and Central Trade Unions took note of
about permanent workers. Even the smaller the specific interests of migrants workers, who
labour organizations talked about getting the constitute more than 60 per cent of the work-
imprisoned workers out of the jail. No one
thought about us ... all they cared for was local
force in the Manesar plant and more than 90
workers ... per cent in the industry.
The disappointment of being left out and not

having been made a part of the movement is
revealing. The common refrain among migrant REFERENCES
workers was that the unions in different com-
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validity in the face of increasing onslaught on production Chain: Notes from the pits of a low road.
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CONCLUSION
This short chapter narrates the experiences

of migrant workers working in the Manesar
40
Politics of Sons of Soil
Shahana Purveen
INTRODUCTION drivers is located within the paradox of mul-

tiple vulnerabilities and the work of provid-
The chapter is set within the context of exploring social service by giving rides in kali-peeli
ing the lives of migrants who serve as taxi driv- taxis (historical identity of Bombay [Mumbai
ers or public servants in a city that is known city currently]), which is vital to life in the
for its politics of violence against them. In this city. This chapter explores the everyday expe-
chapter, the researcher explores the question, riences of taxi drivers/taxi work in the city
‘How do taxi drivers from Uttar Pradesh (UP) through ethnographic responses of taxi driv-
relate to their role and work when their sit- ers. It leads us to an understanding of various
uation and identity as migrants is uncertain expressions of urban realities in driving work
and accompanied with suspicion?’ Mumbai, and the ways in which they coalesce with
the city of migrants, has witnessed a com- established discourses on taxi driving, identity
plex history of migration, extremely diverse and migration.
and continually shifting migrant populations The chapter is divided into five broad sec-
and their politics of polarized identities along tions. It begins with methodology, challenges
ethnic lines. Mumbai is known for its ‘cult faced during fieldwork and the process of
of violence’ against migrants that came into mapping taxi drivers in a metropolitan city
prominence in the 1960s with the rise of Shiv like Mumbai in different settings. The second
Sena and its leader Bal Thackeray. Shiv Sena section presents a thematic history of migrant
played the politics of regionalism or sons of labourers in Mumbai. The third section gives
soil for political mileage against South Indian an overview of the taxi industry with spe-
migrants. In the 2000s, the same politics cific reference to Mumbai. The fourth sec-
was played by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena tion explains the precarious conditions of taxi
leader Raj Thackeray against migrants from occupation and unfolds the different layers
UP and Bihar (commonly called migrants of discrimination embedded in the everyday
from Bhaiya Land) to gain a foothold in work and life of migrant taxi drivers through
state politics. The experience of migrant taxi ethnographic responses of the drivers. The
Politics of Sons of Soil 551
fifth section summarizes the implications of taxi drivers. The fieldwork progressed on
discrimination on the lives of migrant drivers the basis of the information collected from
in the city. RTO officials. At this stage, taxi drivers
were contacted and in-depth interviews were
conducted. Taxi drivers were approached at
some of the biggest as well as smallest taxi
METHODOLOGY stands of the city, for example, CST railway
stand, Andheri railway stand, Pallavi stand,
The study is exploratory in nature. Mumbai Central railway stand, Dadar stand,
Ethnography methodology was used for the LTT stand, Deonar stand, Chembur stand,
purpose of the study. Ethnography is a meth- Govadi stand and Kurla stand. In order to
odological choice that allows to engage in get a comprehensive understanding about
contextually rich and nuanced type of qual- the study, two focus group discussions were
itative research, in which data is produced, also conducted with those drivers who were
and it involves ‘thick’ interaction between willing to share more information about
researcher and researched (Falzon, 2009). day-to-day social and political complexities
Data was collected over a period of six months of their lives.
from November 2016 to May 2017 with the Thematic analysis was used to analyse
help of two methods, in-depth interviews and the data. It began with transcription of the
focus group discussions in multiple phases. collected data. The interviews were recorded
For sample selection, theoretical sampling in mixed Hindi and Bhojpuri. Initially, all
was applied and was continued till the data interviews were transcribed into English. The
reached a saturation point. transcribed data was then ordered and divided
It is difficult for a researcher to collect into homogeneous data types or according
data from respondents who work in a mobile to emerging subthemes. The process of data
occupation such as taxi driving. Taxi drivers analysis proceeded with the objective of dis-
do not sit or stand at one taxi stand or at one covering concepts and emerging patterns
location. At any point of time in the day, they within concepts with similarities and dissim-
can ply their taxi to any part of the city on ilarities. The process was followed by identi-
the basis of availability and needs of the pas- fying broad themes, and breaking them into
sengers. For the researcher to map the taxi subthemes; thematic codes were created and
drivers, especially those from UP, was the quotations of participants were classified
biggest challenge. For this purpose, initial under these codes. Finally, interlinks among
contact was made with the president of one of various themes were ordered in the paper by
the premier taxi unions that helped to gather focusing on research objectives.
basic information about the taxi drivers, but
this was not enough to locate the migrant taxi
drivers. Although, he gave a thick historical
background of taxi occupation that explains MUMBAI AND MIGRANTS:
how the occupation was initiated in Mumbai A HISTORICAL GROWTH
and also how the ‘faces of drivers’ have
changed over time from Gujarati Muslims Today, Mumbai is recognized as ‘India’s
to UP ‘bhaiyas’ (detailed explanation pro- Most Modern City’ (Patel, 2005, p. 249). It
vided in upcoming section). This informa- is considered India’s first town to experience
tion was not enough to initiate fieldwork economic, technological and social changes
with the taxi drivers. The researcher met associated with the growth of capitalism.
various officials of the Regional Transport However, the history of migration in Mumbai
Office (RTO) to get more information about is complex and dynamic. This section draws
attention to history of migrant labourers in blacksmiths, cobblers, mechanics and car-

Mumbai. The history of labour migration in penters. An interesting feature of the Mumbai
Mumbai has predominantly centred on the manufacturing industry was its flexible pro-
growth of the cotton textile mills in the early duction strategies, wherein it employed a
and mid-19th century. Mumbai emerged as an large number of casual labourers to overcome
important and the biggest cotton market in the seasonal and trade-related variations as well
world by the mid-19th century (Chandavarkar, as maintained a small scale of operations, spe-
2009). The establishment of railways in 1860 cifically in relation to certain jobs, for exam-
connected Mumbai to adjoining regions facil- ple, tanning, dyeing and spinning. Many other
itating movement of people into the city to factories and industries grew alongside cater-
seek employment in the cotton mills. By the ing to the city population, opening up avenues
late 19th and early 20th centuries, cotton for employment and small and home-based
mills offered work opportunities to migrants businesses in the local market. Casual and
in various skilled and unskilled activities. unskilled jobs for migrants were mainly found
The labour force was drawn from neigh- in the dockyards, godowns and warehouses.
bouring regions of Konkan, Ratnagiri, the Such labour was not based on contract or a
Deccan, Kathiawar and Kutch in Gujarat and monthly basis but on the basis of demand and
from north India (Chandavarkar, 1994). By supply (Chandavarkar, 1994).
the end of 20th century, Mumbai had estab- It is also interesting to note that migrant
lished an identity as a city of many tongues labour from particular regions was preferred
and many cultural expressions (Chandavarkar, to work in particular sectors. Workers from
2009; Prakash, 2011; Purandre, 2012; Weiner, the coastal Konkan strip and the Western
1978). However, in 1995, the emergence of Ghats manned the docks and cotton textile
a chauvinist ethnic party, the Shiv Sena, in mills. Most businesses and trading groups
Maharashtra officially changed the city’s came from Gujarat. Particularly after inde-
name from Bombay to Mumbai, which pendence, new waves of migrants arrived
destroyed the multi-ethnic and multilingual in the city from both north and south India
identity of the city. Henceforth, the Marathi- (Patel, 1995). There was diversity in the cat-
speaking regional political elite decided the egory of migrants when they came to settle
fate of the city, and these changes initiated in the city, ranging from the language they
the process of fragmentation of people on spoke, part of the country they belonged
the basis of class, community, language, reli- to and the economic activities they were
gion and region. Therefore, from the 1960s, engaged in. Migrants from Maharashtra were
Mumbai started redefining its boundaries both mainly concentrated in the cotton textile mills
politically (with the Marathi-speaking groups while the concentration of workers from
asserting their domination on the elite block) Andhra Pradesh was highest in the construc-
and in imagination (Patel, 2005). tion sector. Gujaratis dominated the trade and
In order to understand the context of commerce along with Marwaris and Sindhis.
migrant labour in Mumbai, it is important Migrants from UP and Bihar dominated the
to understand how Mumbai as a prominent sectors of taxi and autorickshaw drivers and
industrial centre observed migrant labour in home-based industries (Joshi & Joshi, 1976).
different sectors from past to present. The Further, ‘the ethnic and communal diversity
textile industry employed workers for vari- of Bombay’s business world was striking. It
ous activities, which varied from handloom included merchants belonging to many com-
weaving, dyeing, spinning, printing clothes, munities of Gujarat, as well as businessmen
tailoring and dressmaking. There was also from other provinces of India (Sind, Marwar),
demand for specialists, such as electricians, Baghdadi Jews’ (Markovits, 1995). Similar
findings were observed in the present study. THE TAXI INDUSTRY: HISTORICAL TO
According to leaders of various taxi unions: PRESENT ERA
Migrants from UP and Bihar are preferred to
ply taxi and autorickshaws. Locals do not want There are various studies that focus on
to work as drivers. If they do, it will be difficult migrants’ conditions in different industries,
for them to get a bride; no one+ will give their such as, construction, agriculture, stone
daughters to them as driving a taxi is considered quarries and fish and prawn processing.

a demeaning occupation.
However, it is difficult to get the literature
on migrants in taxi occupation though the
Along with the economic structure of the
city’s black-and-yellow (kaali-peeli)1 taxis
city, the space of Mumbai city has also been
are predominated by immigrants from north
divided along the lines of class, caste, reli-
India, particularly UP and Bihar (Joshi &
gion and region. Socio-spatial division is
Joshi, 1976). Driving the office cab, the long-
also found in Mumbai slums. Class-based
distance holiday taxi, the airport taxi or the
grouping has found its spatial expression
black-and-yellow taxi, the taxi drivers in their
largely for the Hindus. Muslims are forced to
many avatars have struggled to extract full
live in Dongri, Pydhonie, Nagpada, Byculla,
usage value from the car and from their labour
Mazgoan, Mahim, Bharat Nagar, Behrampada,
(Surie, 2017). Black-and-yellow taxis are an
Jogeshwari, Millat Nagar, Kurla, Sonapur-
integral part of the city’s heritage and have
Bhandup, Govandi, Cheeta Camp and Kidwai
been depicted in various Bollywood movies,
Nagar (Wadala East), due to fear and danger of
such as Taxi Driver (1954) and Gaman (1978)
political violence. The higher classes of other
(Prakash, 2011). The number of registered
religious groups mainly live in enclaves of
metre taxis has increased from 43,627 (in
their own religious groups. Sikhs are mainly
2011–2012) to 44,433 (in 2012–2013)2 to
concentrated in the areas of Guru Teghbahadur
fulfil the demands of commuters. They are
Nagar, Punjabwadi, Chembur Colony and
a lifeline for Mumbai’s residents. Mumbai
Marol. Parsis have maintained their presence
being a historic city, the new and old localities
in Dadar (East). The city has also been polar-
and constructions have blended chaotically,
ized along the lines of caste and class. Some
aided by the lack of cohesive city planning
lower class and caste populations often face
in the decades after independence. Thus, the
problems in finding residence in areas dom-
residents usually commute across the city on
inated by higher class and castes (Shaban,
a daily basis to travel to their places of study,
2010). Migrants from UP and Bihar are
work and so on. Black-and-yellow taxis prove
located in Kurla, Sonapur-Bhandup, Govandi,
crucial in their role of providing last-mile
Bandra (East), Mahim, Goregoan, Jogeshwari,
connectivity as well as safety. Yet the service
Nagpada and Byculla. The wealthiest commu-
providers (taxi drivers) always come under
nities in the city live in Malabar Hill, Worli,
the ambit of apprehension and their integrity
Tardeo, Bandra (West), Juhu, Andheri (West),
is always under question.
Versova and Powai (Shaban, 2010). In this
To take the attention towards the history
sense, arrival of migrants is not new to the city
of black-and-yellow taxis and how they came
but is very much deep-rooted in every part and
into the existence in an era that is marked as
every work. However, different vulnerabilities
the ‘dead British era’. ‘Earlier horse cart was
make them uncertain about their rightful claim
the main source of transportation in Mumbai
to the city.
1
Kaali-peeli and black-and-yellow are used simultaneously for the purpose of this study.
2
Motor Vehicles Statistical Data of Maharashtra State District: Table No. 13 of Statistical Book. Compiled by
Ghag, N. Digital Transport Info Exchange.
and then few taxis came into existence by the of the taxi driving occupation. Schwer, Mejza,
efforts of the British government. In 1960, the and Grun-Rehomme (2010) in their study
Indian government restricted the permit for ‘Workplace Violence and Stress: The Case
new taxis on the demands of horse-cart owners. of Taxi Drivers’ describe the patterns of driv-
However, horse carts were banned officially by ers’ experiences with occupational violence
the government in 1968, and in exchange, the in terms of abuse, physical assault, robbery,
government gave taxi permits to the owners of fare evasion and false allegations in two cities,
horse carts. Officially, kaali-peeli taxis started Las Vegas and Nevada. A study by Hamil and
operating in Mumbai approximately from Gambetta (2006) explored that taxi drivers are
1909. Until then, no colour was assigned for 60 times more likely to be murdered on the job
taxis. Over the course of time, this colour has than the average worker and face the highest
become iconic for the existence of Mumbai’s homicide rate than any other occupation in the
taxis. All over the world, people can identify United States. Contrarily, studies in the Indian
it and now it has become a part of the identity context lay more emphasis on economic condi-
of Mumbai. The occupation of drawing the tions of drivers and government regulations in
horse cart was mostly practised by Gujarati the taxi trade. The study based on taxi drivers
Muslims. So in 1968, automatically Gujarati in Goa mainly focuses on their economic con-
Muslims came into taxi occupation and dom- ditions during the preliberation and postliber-
inated the trade completely. After a few years, ation period in Goa (Boadita, 1970). Another
Gujarati Muslims moved to the hotel business. study done by the students of the Tata Institute
So there was a scarcity of drivers in Mumbai of Social Sciences (TISS) explored the gov-
and it was filled by South Indian migrants. ernment regulations in the intermediate public
Until the 1980s, all taxi drivers were from the transport market (including autorickshaw and
southern states of India, like Karnataka and black-and-yellow taxis) in Greater Mumbai
Tamil Nadu. However, some of them were (Chauhan, 2016). Hence, there is a need to do
from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh as well. this kind of study that explores different layers
Later, South Indian migrants migrated to the of discrimination embedded in everyday work
Gulf to work as taxi drivers. After 1980, there and life of migrant taxi drivers in the present-
was another wave of migrants in Mumbai day socio-political environment.
from north India, especially UP and Bihar. Therefore, the present study focuses on
These migrants were very hard-working and migrant taxi drivers from UP and their com-
fulfilled the demand for taxi drivers. Since plexities in the socio-political context. It
then, taxi driving has been the main occupa- explores their experiences of discrimination
tion for migrants from UP (primary data col- and marginalization in everyday working and
lected from field). living environments. It explores the issues
At present, the entry of private aggregator of identity and different experiences of the
companies like Ola, Uber, Meru, TabCab and migrant taxi drivers in Mumbai city, their
Car Zone has made work difficult for drivers expectations from the city, and their concerns
of black-and-yellow taxis. In this competitive with work and employment.
and uncertain condition of the taxi occupation,
migrants end up competing with each other.
They are also the victims of more violent
assaults and are exposed to dangerous situa- FINDINGS FROM THE FIELD
tions. Especially, newly arrived migrants from
different cultures with a different language are In this section, the researcher has thematically
easy to target. Various studies can be traced arranged findings from focus group discus-
in different countries of the world in context sions and in-depth interviews with taxi drivers
to provide a glimpse and a perspective on their uncle’s son is also driving a taxi. As a child, I
life in the city as migrants, their struggle to used to visit my father and partially completed
my schooling from Mumbai. However, in 2009 I
survive in the city, the nature of discrimina- settled here and decided to work as a taxi driver.
tion and the challenges of taxi-driving. To get It was my father’s taxi which I drove first. I used
a comprehensive understanding of the study, to drive the same taxi in night shift and my father
individual cases are presented in every theme. drove in the day shift. So we both managed with
one taxi. However, now I have bought my own
taxi. My brother-in-law also stays in Mumbai and
he is also in the same occupation. Over genera-
tions, my family is involved in the same occupa-
SURVIVAL CIRCUIT tion. Hence, the taxi occupation has become our
‘khandani3 occupation’ and we are like ‘khan-
In earlier studies, various scholars and geog- dani taxi drivers’.
raphers found that migrants make ghettos in
urban spaces to make themselves a part of the
city (Demuth, 2000; Shaban, 2012). They prac-
tise their culture and norms within this space THE CHOICE OF MIGRATION AND
with fellow migrants. However, in the study, TRAJECTORIES OF CITY LIFE
it was found that along with ghettoization of
urban spaces, migrants make a ‘survival cir- Lack of opportunity and agrarian crises are
cuit’ in work life too. Perhaps the major char- main factors for migration into the city based
acteristic which distinguishes taxi drivers from on interactions with taxi drivers. Most of the
previous migrants (in general) is that they form taxi drivers interacted with during the field-
a kind of ‘survival circuit’ in the city. If one work own agricultural land back home, but
family member is engaged in the occupation of it is not enough to earn a living. However,
taxi driving, then slowly their other relatives, the degree of crisis can be seen in the form
like brothers, cousins, uncles, brothers-in-law of migration of the large number of upper
and even the new generation sons and nephews caste population (Brahmins, Kshatriyas and
start doing the same work. Therefore, eventu- Thakurs). The researcher encountered in the
ally it becomes their ‘family businesses’. field that majority of taxi drivers belong to
upper caste Hindu communities. Declining
revenue from agriculture, lack of development
at the places of origin, inability to fulfil family
The Case of Sooraj (Age 37 Years) obligations and an aspiration for a better life
In this case, he explained the process due to seem to be some of the dominant reasons for
which taxi occupation became their khan- migrating into the city.
dani occupation. Whenever a new member
of the family or a villager comes to Mumbai
in search of employment, they end up in this The Case of Prem (Age 42 Years)
circuit of taxi occupation—
He is an upper caste Brahmin from UP. In
My grandfather came to Mumbai in 1940 and his case, he explained the reason to move to
worked on dockyard and after the retirement he Mumbai and to refer to work as a taxi driver—
drove a taxi. Then my father and uncle (Taaujee
and Chachajee) came to Mumbai. They both My grandfather had five brothers and five
opted taxi occupation. My father has spent 40 brothers have four children. After the demise
years in this occupation and still plying it. My of my grandfather the property, including the
3
Family.
agricultural land was divided equally among all to do peculiar jobs in precarious conditions
brothers. Hence, the share in the property grad- which are against their status or prestige.
ually reduced and each one of us was left with a
small portion of land. My grandfather owned 10
The changing attitude towards agriculture is
bighas of land, but now I have only 2 bighas. I also because of the change in agrarian rela-
have three sons and two daughters. I cannot sur- tions as they find it difficult to employ labour
vive with my family on these 2 bighas. Therefore, on their terms. In the cases presented above,
I had to migrate to Mumbai. The land area under the ‘devalourization of material labour’ n the
the cultivation has reduced. Earlier, there was a
time when the farmland produced more than
village forces these migrants to search occu-
enough to feed 20 family members. Now it pations in the city (Sanyal & Bhattacharaya,
cannot even produce enough for seven members 2011).
(we are seven members in the family). Our posi-
tion has become very weak in the village. Hence,
I came here and now agricultural production is
entirely dependent on the labourers. On the sea- The Case of Mahesh (Age 39 Years)
sonal basis, every year I have to go back home
and look after the agricultural land. However, I Every case is unique in its own way. The case
cannot depend on it completely. of Mahesh explains the struggle after getting
Thus, the choice to migrate or stay back is into the city and the process of selecting taxi
not an individual decision but depends on the occupation:
circumstances and prevailing conditions. As
Demuth (2000) mentioned, no one personally I came to Mumbai in 1979, without any backing,
forces the migrants, except that circumstances although my follow villager was staying here. He
was the one who introduced me to Mumbai city
and the zeal to find a job at the destination that and its dazzling life. On his advice I came here
may provide much more money than could be and did all kinds of odd jobs before entering into
earned by staying back. the taxi-driving occupation. I had to sleep on
the footpath, took shelter at the railway station
during the rainy season, and even spent nights
under the pavement during the time of winter. I
The Case of Rakesh (Age 35 Years) first started working as a cleaner. Day and night
I cleaned taxis of others at the stand. For that I
In Bhadoi, there are no occupational opportu- used to get 10 rupees per taxi (such a meagre
nities except the carpet intertwines work. We amount). The few years I continued the same
come under the category of higher caste, the work and in between in the free time I learnt
Brahmins. Traditionally, we Brahmins are consid- driving and started to ply auto in night shift.
ered as priest, teachers (acharya) and protectors Finally, with the help of other drivers I rented a
of sacred learning through generations. Our taxi and since then I am driving the taxi.
main occupation is to perform puja in temples
or at socio-religious ceremonies and rite of pas-
sage rituals, such as, solemnizing a wedding with
hymns and prayers. Apart from it, we can do only The Case of Vishnu (Age 55 Years)
agricultural work in the village but not anything
else. In fact, now it is so difficult to get laagat He explains how migration affected his family
(cost) of farming and weaving carpets is not hon-
life and his inability to bring his wife and chil-
ourable for Brahmins. If I do the work of ghaliche
(carpet making) in village, people will talk about dren to Mumbai. He believes that by doing so
me that ‘a Brahmin boy does a low-category job. he is protecting his family from the hardships
But no one can see me here in the city if even I of the city that he is already facing.
clean sewage and back home I will get the same
respect as a Brahmin. For migrant taxi drivers life is not easy in Mumbai.
They have to sacrifice so many things especially
This section reflects that due to the failure ‘family life’. I got married in 1990. My wife is
of agriculture, people migrate and are ready from my caste and religion. She is 50 years old. I
have three children; one son and two daughters.
From the initial stage of my marriage, I am stay- uncertainties in their work. Migrants’ hopes
ing in Mumbai and my wife along with the chil- and expectations of the city are intertwined
dren lives in the village. So you can imagine what
kind of family life I have. I do not have the capac-
with fear and experiences of everyday inse-
ity to keep my wife and children in Mumbai. cure conditions at the workplace. Below are
excerpts from in-depth interviews that reflect
I drive a taxi and do not have income to buy a flat.
If my wife comes here, she has to stand in queue ambivalent dilemma and paradox of ‘service
for toilet and that I don’t want her to do. I am provider/public servant’ about the conditions
already living my life in the gutter and do not want of their work in the city.
to spoil the lives of children by bringing them.
I always believe my son should not go outside UP.
He should get good education and work there. If
he is unable to get a good job, then he would do The Case of Chanchal (Age 42 Years)
a small business. Thus, his next generation will be
happy forever. I am having various problems in He is the president of one of the many taxi
my body by sleeping on the floor. In the village, I stands in Mumbai. He explained the situation
used to sleep on the couch. Here, I have to sleep of taxi stands thoroughly:
on the floor. Bedbugs are another problem. They
keep biting the whole night’. Therefore, I don’t We taxi drivers do not have any facility at the
want my family to come here and face similar taxi stand. I met members of the Municipal
suffering which I am going through. Corporation to MLA and asked them to pro-
vide facilities at the taxi stand but nothing has
For most of the taxi drivers that the researcher happened so far. If you see, there is no lavatory
interviewed, their personal stories of migra- within the ambit of 1 kilometre of the taxi stand.
Drivers have to walk very far or stand in the bush
tion do not end with arriving in Mumbai, but to discharge urine. Many times we have to give
it is a beginning of another journey, a journey fine because police officers catch us while pissing
for the search of ‘livelihood and foothold in in the places where urination is forbidden. There
the city’. Through these cases, we can concep- is no facility for water. Drivers take water from
tualize the diversity in which the city life is the nearby tea stall. Perhaps the government can
think to provide electricity facility on every stand
conceived and managed by migrants. Multiple throughout the city. So we could hear and read
voices give multiple views on the urban way news. Certainly, passengers can also take advan-
of life and experiences of migrant labour- tage of these facilities in the waiting time. If the
ers. They also enable the idea that the city of government is not able to provide all the facil-
Mumbai holds tremendous capacity to change ities then just provide a place to sit and rest of
the things we will manage by donating money
migrants’ lives in different ways and it is not among us.
wrong to say that ‘Mumbai a city of dreams’.
The Case of Suresh (Age 40 Years)

THE PECULIARITIES OF TAXI DRIVERS
His case gives the idea that the situation is
AND TAXI OCCUPATION more or less similar at every taxi stand in the
city. The case also highlights that government
Taxi drivers play a pivotal role in urban trans- can provide basic facilities:
portation systems and in the lives of locals.
They are the only service which is accessible Unfortunately, accidents can occur with us at any
24 hours a day, everywhere and which offers time. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange med-
ical facility at the stand. There is no place to sit
individually arranged and flexible origin–
for us. We have only two options, either to sit
destination movement without reference to inside our taxis or stand outside in spite of unfa-
routes and timetables. However, the life of vourable weather (heavy rains, heat waves, etc.).
migrant taxi drivers is full of dilemmas and Government seeks to designate a place for taxi
drivers where we all can sit and take rest. He kept Across all interviews that the researcher con-
on telling ordeal of drivers and described the fear ducted, there was a sense of futility associated
to drive a taxi in case of lack of medical facility
and lack of interest by the government about
with the work of taxi driving. Along with the
their problems. If any accident occurs to us, there futility, they have anger towards the govern-
is no first-aid facility at the stand which could ment and union because of the condition of
save our life. We would die on the way to hospi- taxi stands and taxi drivers. These conditions
tal due to the lack of first aid. It can be possible trash their self-esteem and zeal to do public
for the government to open a medical booth at
every taxi stand, where some basic medicine can
service.
be provided for the welfare of all drivers.
It was also found during the fieldwork that

majority of the migrant taxi drivers live with- MIGRANTS VERSUS LOCAL: THE
out family and have to depend on food in cheap POLITICS OF SON OF SOIL
restaurants and street food. There is no facility
for food at the stand, ‘every time we just eat At the time of migration, resettlement of
vada pav (burger) from the roadside and get people elsewhere generates issues related to
ill (Vada Pav khao or bimaar raho)’. If there their identity and conflict, which are often
is an accident, there is no compensation for discussed under the purview of ‘insider–out-
us. Actually, ‘we drivers are like public serv- sider’ politics. However, for the purpose of
ants, as we help the people in their daily lives this chapter, the researcher has used both
by providing rides.’ However, we do not get terms migrants versus locals and insider–out-
any support from the government in terms of sider simultaneously. In the Indian context,
medicines, food or facilities at the taxi stand. very few studies talk about migrants and their
In fact, it is not easy to get loans from banks related issues, such as identity and conflict
being migrant drivers. (Rajan, Korra & Chyrmang, 2011). Most of
the time, migration (both international and
national) is considered a negative phenome-
The Case of Raju (Age 55 Years) non caused by underdevelopment, violence,
trouble at source regions, poverty and jobless-
He narrated the stigma and apprehension asso- ness. Almost everywhere, right-wing politics
ciated with the taxi-driving occupation: opposes migrants’ entry, particularly when
migrants are poor, refugees or from a different
Although we taxi drivers do public service, but
ethnic or religious background (Rajan et al.,
we do not get any respect from passengers.
Anyone can physically assault us and make false 2011).
allegations against us. I believe, there should be In this section, the researcher attempts to
some laws for our protection. Let me share an examine the conflicting situation of migrant
incident with you: taxi drivers and the stigma associated with
Once a passenger came and insisted for five their identities. Chauvinist regional politics of
people to sit in the taxi. But I denied as a taxi Mumbai in the 1960s gave birth to disputed
has space only for four people and it’s also ille- issues of cultural identity and job opportu-
gal. They were drunk too. Then those five people
abused me and even beat me but no one came
nity between local and migrant taxi drivers. It
to help me. Finally, I had to run away from there. also gave birth to the concept of ‘son of soil’,
which demands preferential hiring policies for
Earlier people have some humanity but now they
do not have any affection and respect towards locals.
taxi drivers. In fact, they treat migrants as alien Below are presented two cases which
who come from a different world. reflect the antagonism between migrant taxi
drivers and locals.
The Case of Kashi (Age 44 Years) opportunities back to our homeland that is why
we have to come here.
The majority of the taxi drivers in Mumbai are
I came to Mumbai from Jaunpur, UP in 1948 at
from UP. In Mumbai the demands of drivers are
a very tender age with my father. My father was
much higher than UP due to development. But
working as a conductor for BEST bus service.
local have arrogance that it is their land (inlogo
It was a government job. It was possible that I
ko ghamand hota hai ye to mera desh hai).
would become a bus conductor in place of my
There are some incidences that easily showed
father after his retirement. But I preferred to
that what kind of attitudes they have towards
become an independent taxi driver.
us. Sometimes local people easily say that there
I got the licence and badge from RTO office is nothing that belongs to migrants. Earlier the
easily. Although, it is not easy now to get a taxi atmosphere was not like this. It is after the emer-
badge and permit due to the mandatory 15 gence of a few political parties. Perhaps from
years of domicile certificate. Apart of mandatory the past eight-nine years the scenario has been
15 years domicile certificate RTO wants from changed completely. These political parties have
‘potential driver to know Marathi language’. To created human-hatred among common people
check the fluency in Marathi language, officer due the political greed. They started the slogans
in charge himself speaks only in Marathi to the Bhaiya yahan se Bhag (run away UP migrants)
applicant. If the potential driver gives all reply in and Maharashtra for Marathi Manus. In reality
Marathi then, they say ‘yes’ otherwise ‘they say migrants earn their own, so what is wrong with
go back to your home and cancelled the applica- it. Migrants do not ask someone to do favour on
tion (bolte hain wapis jao apne desh)’. They want behalf of them or they do not snatch anything
to give jobs to Maharashtrians not other Indians. from anyone.
I believe that this rule has been made to restrict
the entry of migrants and give the jobs only to Many incidents have also happened at taxi
Maharashtrians not other Indians. Local drivers stands due to the political environment. He
always justify the enactment of this rule and shared one such incident. ‘Can you see this
believe that migrants from UP and Bihar come tree of almonds (pointing to a tree at the stand),
here with empty hands, they do not have anything
but within two days they get the licence and did
earlier it was very small. One day a lady came
all scandal (Kand). Immediately, after committing from Bandra and started to pluck the leaves. I
the crime, they run away from the city. requested her not to pluck many leaves as we
all grew-up this tree with so much effort and
now it provides us some shade during the hot
summer (it is the common place for all of us to
The Case of Shayam (Age 50 Years)
sit and take rest in between the work). But the
woman with aggression and anger said to me:
Local makes fun of us the way we migrants live,
the way we speak, and the way we eat. We are You are stopping me in my Maharashtra (Hamare
always treated as outsiders, because of that we Maharashtra mai aakar humko hi tu rok rha hai).
do not have any izzat (honour) here. We use the Now you can imagine about their way of think-
word bhaiya in a respectful manner however it ing. Then I also became angry and said if it is your
sounds derogatory to them. We do not have any Maharashtra, so would you pluck the entire tree
proper place to stay; it make us lose our astitva (tera Maharashtra hai to pura ped le logi). Lastly,
(identity). We can experience it in our daily lives. she threatened me by saying ‘I will see you’ and
Even though they do not use say it directly to left the place.’
us but sometimes we overhear their conversation
in which they use derogatory remarks against us From the above narratives, it is clear that antag-
and it makes us to feel disrespected and insulted.
We migrants travel 1,500 kilometres to come to
onism may be not visible but always exists in
Mumbai with the hope to earn something and the minds and hearts. It is not only limited to
do not want to indulge in politics. If we would political parties but also spread among the
have enough opportunities at UP then we would masses. To stop this kind of rivalry, people
have stayed back and not been insulted on need to understand when they have same
the regular basis. Since we do not have many
occupation and same gathering then why to
quarrel with each other unnecessarily. As one ciplinary, intergenerational and international perspec-
of the respondents rightly mentioned, ‘when tives (pp. 21–58). Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
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Workplace violence and stress: The case of taxi driv-
Boadita, C. G. (1970). A study of taxi drivers in Goa ers. Transportation Journal, 49(2), 5–23.
(Unpublished thesis). Mumbai: TISS. Shaban, A. (2010). Mumbai political economy of crime
Chandavarkar, R. (1994). The origin of industrial capi- and space. New Delhi, India: Orient Blackswan Private
talism in India: Business strategies and the working Limited.
classes in Bombay, 1900–1940. Cambridge: Cam- ———. (2012). Ethnic politics, Muslims and space in
bridge University Press. contemporary Mumbai. In A. Shaban (Ed.), Live of
Chandavarkar, R. (2009). History, culture and the Indian Muslims in India politics, exclusion and violence (pp.
city. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 208–225). New Delhi, India: Routledge Publication.
Chauhan, T. (2016). Government regulation in the inter- Surie, A. (2017). Tech in work organising informal work in
mediate public transport sector: Study of a metropoli- India. Economic and Political Weekly, LII(20), 12–15.
tan city (Unpublished thesis). Mumbai: TISS. Weiner, M. (1978). Specification of sons of the soil:
Demuth, A. (2000). Some conceptual thoughts on migra- Migration and ethnic conflict in India. New Delhi,
tion research. In B. Agozino (Ed.), Theoretical and India: Oxford University Press.
methodological issues in migration research interdis-
PART VIII
Emerging Issues
41
Nature of ‘Unfreedom’ among
Migrants*
Deepak K. Mishra
INTRODUCTION and regions (Kannan, 2005; Maimbo & Ratha,

2005; Zachariah & Rajan, 2004).
Migration of labour has been conceptual- In the standard neoliberal framework,
ized as a process which is part of the process migration decisions are supposed to be taken
of economic development and prosperity. voluntarily by atomistic individuals in their
However, while some authors have viewed individual interests in response to various
migration itself as a sign of economic develop- push and pull factors. The New Economics
ment, the vast literature on migration studies of Labour Migration school expanded the
suggests considerable diversity in migration, scope of migration analysis by emphasiz-
in terms of its both causes and implications. ing that migration decisions are part of
Increasingly, the non-economic aspects of household-level decisions not only to increase
migration, such as lifestyle choices, freedom incomes but also to minimize risks (Stark &
and social and cultural preferences, have also Bloom, 1985). The roles of social networks
been recognized as important motivations that and reciprocities are also recognized as impor-
impact the outcomes of migration. tant determinants of migration.
International labour migration has increas- In India, the relatively higher levels of
ingly become a contentious and divisive issue economic growth following the neoliberal
in many parts of the developing and the devel- economic reforms since the early 1990s have
oped world. Also, there is a greater recognition been accompanied by an increase in the extent
of the contribution of migration to the process of migration. The relatively low mobility of
of economic development in the host countries the population in India has been at the centre
* Financial assistance from the ICSSR, New Delhi, and UPE-JNU to conduct this research is gratefully acknowledged.
of scholarly attention for some time. First, post-reform India has resulted in widening
a substantial proportion of the migration is of regional disparities, which goes beyond
termed as social migration, which results from interstate disparities, along with rising inter-
factors like marriage and movement of fami- personal inequalities (Bakshi, Chawla &
lies, although some of these migrations may Shah, 2015; Bhattacharya & Sakthivel, 2004;
end up being economic outcomes. Migration Cherodian & Thirlwall, 2015; Ghosh, 2012).
for economic reasons is considered to be This process of uneven growth has, on the one
rather low in comparative terms. The high hand, raised the expectations and aspirations
costs of leaving the social networks of trust for better living standards everywhere, par-
and reciprocity and crossing the language and ticularly with wider spread of mobile and dig-
cultural barriers across the states are cited ital communication technologies. On the other
as reasons behind the low mobility in India hand, given the geographical unevenness in
(Munshi & Rosenzweig, 2009). In the recent economic prosperity, there has been a spur
period, with the turnaround of the Indian in the out-migration of labour, particularly
growth story, there was an expectation that of the youth labour force, from the relatively
migration flows would increase in response slow-growing regions of north and eastern
to the uneven demand for labour in a grow- India to the relatively fast-growing regions
ing economy. There is some evidence to show and cities in southern and western India
that there has been a growth of labour migra- (Government of India, 2017). Second, the pro-
tion in the post-reform period, and barriers of longed agrarian crisis in much of rural India,
language and distance have become less of a in a period of relatively robust growth of the
binding constraint for the migrant population.1 rest of the economy, is among the key factors
However, as the neoliberal growth process is that have pushed labour out from the rural hin-
unfolding and the urban spaces are being terlands. Agricultural growth stagnated in the
reconfigured, there are indications that the post-reform decade of the 1990s, and when it
exclusionary forms of urbanization discour- revived, it has failed to raise the earnings of
age migrants from moving into the metropol- a substantial majority of small and marginal
itan cities of India. The rising costs of living farmers in a sustainable manner (Deshpande,
and commuting, creation of gated communi- 2012; Reddy & Mishra, 2009; Rupakula,
ties and exclusionary urban spaces, denial of 2016; Vakulabharam, 2013). As part of the
rights to passage, housing rights or access to process of neoliberal economic restructur-
crucial livelihood resources for the poor in ing, credit support to the farm sector, in gen-
the name of security and beautification have eral, and to the small and marginal farmers,
resulted in worsening economic prospects in particular, declined and those belonging to
for many migrants from marginalized socio- the marginalized sections suffered even more
economic backgrounds. Nativist politics and (Rao, 2018; Shetty, 2009). Thus, as small
lack of security, particularly for women, chil- and marginal cultivators became a part of the
dren and minorities, have further aggravated commercialization process in a broader con-
the risks associated with migration. text of selective withdrawal of state support
On the other hand, three distinct processes to the farm sector, many of them had to rely
have contributed to an increase in economic on informal credit at exorbitant interest rates
migration in recent decades (Mishra, 2016a). (Lerche, 2011). Farmers purchased high-cost
First, the nature of economic growth in inputs using this credit or by entering into
1
The Economic Survey, 2016–2017, notes that ‘internal migration has been rising over time, nearly doubling in
the 2000s relative to the 1990s’. Also, that ‘preliminary evidence in the gravity model study suggests the absence
of language as a significant barrier in the movement of people’ (Government of India, 2017, p. 277).
Nature of ‘Unfreedom’ among Migrants 565
interlinked transactions and sold their prod- THE QUESTION OF UNFREEDOM

ucts to middlemen and commission agents UNDER CAPITALISM
(Mishra, 2008). This process created a crisis
of survival for many agriculture-dependent Capitalism is supposed to be characterized
households, and one of the responses of the by the dominance of free labour, labour that
crisis was spatial relocation of family labour, is free in the dual sense of the term. Labour
which sometimes took the form of reliance on under capitalism is ‘free’ from the ownership
seasonal migration, commuting or participa- of means of production and is also free to sell
tion in the local non-farm economy. The third the labour power to any employer. A distinc-
process is the role of informality in the con- tion is made between exploitation of wage
temporary growth process. It is well known labour through extraction of surplus value and
that the informal economy is far from being extra-economic coercion. Since free labour
a transitory phenomenon in economies like relations are thought of as essential charac-
India (Harriss-White, 2003a). The persistence teristics of capitalism, all forms of unfree
of the informal economy and informaliza- relations are typically described as being
tion of the formal sector points to the signif- non-capitalist or pre-capitalist. J. Mohan Rao
icance of informal economy for the ongoing has argued that the distinction between free
economic transformation in India. Far from and unfree labour is important to understand
being a relic of the past or the results of an capitalism. He argues,
incomplete capitalist transition, informal
economy is incorporated in to the globally Capitalism may be characterized by three funda-
integrated economy. As labour processes mental conditions: (a) labour free in the double
sense; (b) private ownership of the means of
are getting fragmented and labour is being production; and (c) a substantial absence of
employed through layers of intermediaries, non-economic constraints on commodity pro-
non-economic or non- capitalist institutions duction and exchanges. If capitalism is general-
and identities based on language, ethnicity, ized commodity production as defined by (a) and
caste, religion, gender and location are being (c), then, the commodification of labour power
is essential, not peripheral, to its development.
woven into labour relations for a variety of Commodified labour is not only free labour in the
purposes, including to select, discipline and bourgeois sense, but also labour dispossessed of
exploit labour (Harriss-White, 2010). It is in the means of its subsistence. (Rao, 2014, p. 169)
this intersection of identities and economy
that informality infuses new meanings to the According to him, unfree labour and capitalism
‘non-capitalist’ in the process of capitalist are not compatible in the long run. However,
transition. The supposedly archaic institutions others, including Tom Brass, have argued that
of identity and difference are not only compat- unfree labour is not an aberration, rather it is
ible with the institutions of global capitalism, a significant aspect of labour under historical
rather they play a significant role in the pro- capitalism (Brass, 2000, 2011). Similarly for
cess of capitalist accumulation (Basile, 2013; Banaji, although free labour is a core con-
Harriss-White, 2003b). Migrant labour from cept in defining capitalism, various degrees
the marginalized sections often gets integrated of unfreedom are compatible with capitalism
into the labour processes under neoliberalism (Banaji, 2003). The binary categorization of
through such identity-based institutions. At freedom and unfreedom has been noted to be
times, these institutions are analysed through of limited use in understanding the nature of
a highly depoliticized frame of social net- labour relations under globalization (Morgan
works, but the question of power relations & Olsen, 2014). Rather, labour relations under
inherent in these institutions of identities capitalism are thought to be in a continuum
remains obscured in such analyses. between free wage labour and various degrees
of unfreedom (LeBaron, 2015). Jan Breman Circular, seasonal and short-term migra-
has chronicled such unfreedom as a key aspect tion, in the context of developing economies,
of labour relations in India and has termed it is one of the manifestations of the increasing
as ‘neo-bondage’ (Breman, 2010). With flex- precariousness of labour. In India, as elab-
ible production systems, globally mobile orated in the previous section, on the one
capital attempts to disintegrate production hand, the prolonged agrarian crisis has made
systems under a new regime of global division agriculture-dependent livelihoods unsustain-
of labour, and various forms of unfreedom and able, and on the other hand, the withdrawal
coercion are being seen as part of global value of state support from healthcare, education
chains (Westra, 2018). Global capital is not and transport has forced households to spend
only compatible with such labour relations, a higher amount of money for these services.
it systematically uses such labour relations in Many of them have started to borrow from
an interconnected system of global production the informal credit market to finance these
networks. expenditures. In response to the crisis of sur-
The recent focus on modern slavery has vival, an ever larger segment of rural work-
further elaborated the range of unfree and ers has started to out-migrate. But as they
coercive labour relations that are part of do not find stable and decent employment in
contemporary capitalism (Lebaron & Ayers, the non-agricultural sector, they are forced
2013). In this proposition, the role of debt to earn precarious livelihoods in the urban
bondage as a form of modern slavery received informal sector, while continuing their
critical attention. According to Bales, debt dependence on agriculture. Unfreedom of
bondage should be considered as slavery migrant workers needs to be understood in
only when ‘people are enslaved by violence relation to these structural changes.
and held against their wills for purposes of
exploitation’ (Bales, 2004). LeBaron (2014)
argued that ‘the notion that because entry
into debt bondage is not physically coerced INSIGHTS FROM FIELD SURVEY IN THE
it is free from coercion is misleading insofar KBK REGION, ODISHA
as this overlooks the disciplinary processes
of global economic restructuring that have Odisha’s Kalahandi–Balangir–Koraput (KBK)
pushed millions into the circuits of capital on region in Odisha is known as the epicen-
highly inequitable and unfree terms in recent tre of distress seasonal out-migration. The
decades’. region has a substantially higher share of the
Under neoliberalization, increasing pre- Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste
cariousness of employment has emerged as a (SC) population than the state and national
key aspect of the way labour relations in the averages. Since the early 1980s, the region has
global south as well as in the advanced capi- been in news for its mass poverty, low levels
talist countries. The intensification of vulnera- of development, distress sale of crops and
bility through various forms of dispossession, forest products, starvation-related deaths and
that destroys the basis of livelihoods of petty sale of children (Currie, 1998, 2000; Mishra
commodity producers, and the dismantling of & Rao, 1992; Rao, 1995). Distress migration
state support for the working classes create a has been among the durable responses of the
circular dynamic in which ‘chronic poverty population to recurring droughts and lack of
enhances vulnerability to labour exploitation, employment during the harsh lean season in
and these forms of exploitation themselves this rainfed belt (Gopabandhu Academy of
act to produce and reproduce chronic poverty’ Administration, 2016).
(Phillips, 2013).
The recent history of out-migration from impacted the pattern of out-migration. First,
the region is intertwined with low levels of the districts have been brought under a sub-
productivity in the single-crop rainfed agri- state level administrative structure called the
cultural system, food insecurity, destruction Kalahandi–Balangir–Koraput region, and spe-
of and denial of rights over common property cial programmes have been launched in these
resources such as pastures and forests, slow districts addressing the problems of hunger,
and inadequate growth of the rural non-farm malnutrition and food insecurity. The public
economy, growing landlessness, governance distribution system that operates in these
failure of various kinds as well as the long- districts is universal, contrary to the targeted
term processes of marginalization and social approach that is followed elsewhere in the
exclusion of the lower castes and tribal pop- state as well as the country. Second, increase
ulations. The agrarian structure and relations in the area under irrigation in parts of the undi-
in the region, for a long time, were charac- vided Kalahandi district, following the com-
terized by the dominance of the local feudal pletion of the Indravati Dam project, has led
classes, which involved various form of extra- to significant changes in cropping patterns,
economic coercion. The halia or goti sys- levels of productivity and production relations
tems were part of a system of bondage where in the irrigated villages (Patel, 2011). Third,
the farm servants were tied in a permanent in rainfed parts of the region, there has been
labour contract. In the more recent periods, significant effort to expand cotton cultivation
such extreme forms of coercion and physical as a form of commercial agriculture, both by
violence appear to have declined. The local government agencies and by private players.
agrarian economy continues to be character- The procurement of cotton has been expanded
ized by the numerical preponderance of small through layers of commission agents, who
and marginal holders, dependence on usurious advance credit and seeds and offer to buy the
loans from informal moneylenders and vari- output.
ous forms of interlinked transactions (Mishra,
2008, 2011). Environmental degradation, par-
ticularly deforestation, soil degradation and
The Field Survey
destruction of indigenous water management
systems (such as bandhs and katas) have The out-migration process has been studied
accentuated vulnerabilities of the agriculture- in some detail by a number of studies and
and forest-dependent populations. government reports (Mishra, 2016b; Parida,
Despite being the focus of numerous media 2016). The account presented in this study
reports and academic investigations (see for is based on a field survey undertaken by the
a discussion on the construction of this per- author in six villages in the three districts of
ception, Routray, 2017, pp. 1–27), seasonal the Balangir–Nuapada–Kalahandi region.
out-migration from the region has increased. Two villages from each of the three districts
There are no reliable estimates of the number were selected purposively on the basis of
of seasonal migrants, and it varies from about the following criteria: a history of seasonal
0.1 to 0.5 million persons. Nevertheless, sea- out-migration at least for the last five years,
sonal and circular migration has become a representation of different agro-ecological
durable livelihood option for a significant sec- conditions within the districts, and as far as
tion of the poor (Mishra, 2016b). However, possible, villages within the district represent
the region has witnessed some changes which different streams of seasonal out-migration.2
2
This is consistent with earlier studies on seasonal migration from the region. Migrants generally move to three
major streams from the study region: (a) to the irrigated rural areas of Sambalpur and Bargarh districts; (b) to
After the selection of villages, a census of found to be highly segmented. The main
households in the villages was conducted to streams of migration that were identified
gather information about the basic socio- through the field survey are: (i) migration to
economic characteristics of the households. the brick-kilns (mainly in Andhra Pradesh,
A separate, detailed questionnaire was Telangana, Tamil Nadu, coastal Odisha and
administered to sample households having at Uttar Pradesh) (81.39%); (ii) migration as
least one member who had been a seasonal construction workers to various cities and
migrant in the last crop year. Depending on towns (mainly in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
the size of the villages, 50–60 households Kerala and Maharashtra) (5.22%); and (iii)
were selected from the migrant households migration as gardeners to various cities
from each of the villages through stratified (mainly in Chhattisgarh) (11.48%). So far
random sampling.3 The migrating households as the major migration destinations are con-
were stratified on the basis of caste and tribe cerned, 24 per cent of migrants migrated
status, Seasonal migrants were divided into within Odisha, 33 per cent migrated to
four broad social categories: STs, SCs, Other Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 10 per cent to
Backward Castes (OBCs) and Others and Karnataka, 9 per cent to Chhattisgarh, 7 per
total seasonal migrant sample was selected cent to Maharashtra and 3 per cent to Uttar
proportionately from these four groups. The Pradesh. While most migrants in the Balangir
total number of sample migrant households and Nuapada districts migrated to brick-kilns
was 345. From each of the six villages under in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the migra-
study, 20 control households (120 households tion destinations for Kalahandi villages were
in total) were selected from among the non- more diverse. Before migration, most of the
migrating households having a similar socio- seasonal migrants were agricultural labour-
economic background (landholding and caste ers (67%) and cultivators (27%). In terms of
or tribe status). Thus, in total, 345 migrant and social groups, SC and ST have a relatively
120 non-migrant households were selected. high presence among seasonal migrants, fol-
The questionnaire-based survey was supple- lowed by the OBC.
mented by in-depth interviews, focus group While migrants to the brick-kilns migrate
discussions (FGDs) and participant observa- with families, most of the other migrants do
tions. In this chapter, the results of the survey so as individuals. Further, it is the former cat-
on ‘unfreedom’ of the migrant labourers are egory of migrants who migrate through labour
reported. Since unfreedom is difficult to cap- contractors against advance payments, while
ture in a quantitative analysis, we have relied the latter migrate with the help of their friends
on the results from the qualitative survey. and relatives from the villages. Since the dom-
inant pattern of migration from the region is
through labour contractors and their agents,
we concentrated on this group of migrants
The Process of Migration
in our subsequent discussions on unfreedom.
Although seasonal out-migration was found However, to develop a comparative assessment
to be a significant livelihood strategy in the of the nature of unfreedom associated with
selected villages, the migration patterns were this particular form of seasonal migration, we
not uniform, rather, migration streams were also referred to other seasonal migrants.
the brick-kilns of urban areas in Andhra Pradesh; and (c) to the construction sector in urban areas of Raipur
(Chhattisgarh), Bhubaneswar and Cuttack (coastal Odisha), and more recently, to far-flung areas of the country
(including Delhi).
3
In villages with more than 100 households with at least one seasonal migrant during the last crop year, 60
households were selected; from others 40 households were selected.
Migration to the brick-kilns has become there to the destinations. Once the migrant
part of a durable livelihood strategy for a large labour groups reach their destinations, they
number of seasonal migrant households, in are regrouped and are sent to various work-
the sense that they have been migrating year sites. They live in makeshift accommodations
after year during the same season, though provided by their employers and are paid
not to the same destinations. It is no longer a basic weekly allowance to cover food and
viewed as a supplementary source of income, other expenditures. They work under a piece-
nor is it only resorted to in years of a transient rate system, and the rates are typically nego-
livelihood crisis, like drought or crop loss. tiated between the employers and the labour
However, during a year of drought, the extent contractors before migrants’ arrivals. At the
of migration increases. Over the past years, end of the period, the advance that they had
a subtle change was noticed in the relation- taken before their arrival at the destination
ship between crop cultivation and seasonal and the weekly advances during their stay at
migration. Typically, seasonal migration was the destinations are deducted from the total
described as a coping mechanism during lean dues. More often than not, the migrants work
periods, that is, after the harvesting of crops off the debts that they have incurred before
when there was no work in the villages. The the migration process began and return with a
period of return was associated with the crop- very small amount as compensation.
ping cycle as most migrants wanted to return
to the villages in time to prepare the fields
for the next cropping season. In other words,
The Question of ‘Unfreedom’
crop cultivation was central to the livelihood
strategy and seasonal migration was aimed at There are several aspects of the seasonal
mitigating the consumption shortfall during migration to brick-kilns that point to the
the period when there was no employment in exploitative nature of the migration labour
agriculture. For a large section of the migrat- contracts. Keeping aside the question of the
ing households, particularly those who are abysmally low levels of wages that are paid
landless labourers or have given up cultiva- to the workers, the labour recruitment pro-
tion, migration to brick-kilns or construction cess itself needs to be examined carefully to
sites has emerged as a central livelihood strat- understand the nature and extent of unfreedom
egy. It is the seasonality of employment at the that characterize such ‘contracts’. In the main-
destinations that has shaped their arrival and stream neoliberal understanding of the term,
departure. labourers and labour contractors (or employ-
During the festival of nuakhai, a festival ers) ‘voluntarily’ enter into a contract, out of
associated with harvesting of the new crop, their free will. Some authors also claim that it
labour contractors and their agents contact is in the enlightened self-interests of both the
prospective labour households and advance parties—the labourers are insured against lack
them a lump sum advance against the promise of employment and the employers are assured
to work at the destination sites. The advance is of timely availability of labour. The compul-
often given to the male head of household and sions inherent on migrant labourers in these
is against an unit called pathuria, consisting contracts form the key constitutive context
of an adult male, an adult female and a child. that shapes the nature and outcome of the con-
While male and female adults complement tracts. Lack of alternative livelihood opportu-
each other in preparing the soil and the bricks, nities, poor resource endowment positions and
child labour is used to dry the bricks under the the possibility of starvation are at the back-
sun. The labour contractors and their agents drop of the ‘decisions’ to migrate. So far as the
organize the transport of labourers from the agency of labourers is concerned, in almost all
villages to nearby railway stations and from in-depth interviews, they expressed an acute
awareness of the fact that the labour relations A key aspect of the debt-mediated labour
and the wages that they get were ‘unfair’. It contracts was that once the workers take the
is a place, ‘where nobody wants to go out advance, they have no freedom to work for
of choice’. In the interviews, the labourers anyone else.4 The threat of violence against
blamed a range of factors, from their ‘fate’, those who do not honour the contract is real.
hunger, being born in a poor, landless family, The threat operates at two levels. At the origin,
carelessness of their relatives (typically, father the labour contractors and their agents act
or husband) and illness, as the reasons for their against the defaulters—those who do not turn
migration to brick-kilns; but none of them up after taking the advance or those who do
described such migration in a positive light. not work till the end of the period. Also, at
‘Who would like to go to pardesh (a foreign the worksites, the workers are at the mercy of
land) to get humiliated?,’ asked a middle-aged the employers and their managers. There are
lady who had been migrating since she was numerous reports of violence against workers.
a child. Those who owned land or belonged In one case, the contractors allegedly chopped
to the OBC or higher castes, never failed to off the right hands of two labourers when out
remind the interviewers that they had seen of a group of 12 migrant workers, 10 escaped
better days in the past, and the fact that they before finishing their work (The Hindu, 2013).
are seasonal migrants now was described as There are reports of physical abuse and vio-
their ‘misfortune’. This may be contrasted lence against women workers as well. During
with the response of the young migrants from the field survey, we also heard of stories of
a Kalahandi village who migrate to Bengaluru ‘disappearances’ of workers from their work-
and Kerala. They also talked about the harsh sites or while they were returning.
working and living conditions at their desti- Second, the migrant workers do not have
nations, but were less unanimous when asked any knowledge regarding the place of their
about their preferences in the next season. work before they arrive at the worksite. It is the
Some of them, at least, were sure that they labour contractors who contact the employers
would like to go back to their maliks, employ- and often villagers from same villages are
ers (or construction contractors) at the des- sent to different destinations. The fact that the
tination with whom they had established a migrant workers do not have any control over
rapport. their destinations points to the general levels
There are some objective indicators which of unfreedom at the worksites.
point to the various dimensions of unfreedom Third, at the worksites most of the brick-
at the destination, particularly in relation to kiln workers live and work in isolation from
the work at brick-kilns. First, all the migrant the local populations. They do not under-
workers are indebted to their employers stand the language and are dependent on their
through the labour contractors, and they are employers for purchasing or accessing the
not free to sell their labour power to another necessities of life. This makes their position
employer till they pay off the loan. Nearly 88 extremely vulnerable, particularly during
per cent of migrant workers had taken some periods of illness and conflicts. The ability
advance against their commitment to work. to contact relatives at home through mobile
While 78 per cent had taken advance from a phones has certainly reduced this vulnerabil-
sardar or labour contractor, 18 per cent had ity to some extent, but the overall dominance
taken an advance from the agents operating on of the employers and their agents continues to
behalf of the sardars. be very high.
4
In a few cases, workers reported to have negotiated their way out by returning the advance to the sard-
ars. However, since majority of workers use the advance to pay back old loans or for immediate consumption
expenditure, it is not an easy option for them to return the amount to the sardars.
Finally, during the interviews, most of the acts as the driving force behind the repeated
workers complained about cheating in the cycles of bondage and unfreedom and these
ways bricks were counted or accounts were structural constraints are created through
settled. They do not have any control over the long-term changes in production relations in
evaluation of their work by the employers. agriculture as well as labour relations within
The inability to choose an employer or and outside agriculture in the region. Low-
negotiate about the place of work, wages and productive rainfed agriculture has kept the
working conditions, are various aspects of the agriculture-dependent populations vulnerable.
lack of freedom that the migrant workers face. The informal credit market in the study region
But, according to them, the main reason for is known to be characterized by high-interest
their lack of freedom is the lack of alterna- loans (Mishra, 2008; Sarap, 1991). In such
tives. In the interviews, most migrant work- a scenario, labour contractors have emerged
ers were emphatic that they were aware of the as the key players in the local economy. The
exploitation, unfairness and indignity they are influx of money to the region through them
subjected to at the worksites. ‘It is not just the is not only used as advance payment to the
maliks and the sardars, everybody treats us workers, but a substantial part of it goes
badly. The policemen in the trains, the goons to the layers of middlemen as commission
who often loot us on our way back to home, all (Table 41.1). This has resulted in a situation
of them insult us. But what can we do? What where the contractors have consolidated their
shall we eat, if we do not go to make bricks?’ position in the local economy as well as in
These were the words of a migrant worker politics (Rajshekhar, 2015).
who had to return home with only `500 after
working for nearly 4 months.
It is lack of choice at the places of origin
that shapes the involuntary entry into such CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
bondage. In order to understand the essen-
tial characteristics of such unfreedoms, it is Unfreedom of migrant workers is an important
important to go beyond the binary of free and aspect of the labour relations under contem-
unfree labour. The structural context of lim- porary capitalism. However, it is erroneous
ited livelihood options at the places of origin to rely on a binary categorization of labour as
Table 41.1 Migration Processes in the Study Region: Sources of Advance Payment
Received Advance Received (`) from the
S. Advance before
No. District Village Migration (`) Agent/Sardar Subagent Employer Other
1. Balangir Tentulimunda 211 (100.00) 201 (95.26) 10 (4.74) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)

Sorgul 246 (100.00) 242 (98.37) 4 (1.63) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
Total 457 (100.00) 443 (96.94) 14 (3.06) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00)
2. Kalahandi Dongapakhan 94 (52.51) 49 (52.13) 41 (43.62) 4 (4.26) 0 (0.00)
Khaliapali 93 (64.14) 28 (30.11) 50 (53.76) 15 (16.13) 0 (0.00)
Total 187 (57.72) 77 (41.18) 91 (48.66) 19 (10.16) 0 (0.00)
3. Nuapada Tuthibar 165 (100.00) 155 (93.94) 0 (0.00) 0 (0.00) 10 (6.06)
Botha 183 (100.00) 95 (51.91) 72 (39.34) 16 (8.74) 0 (0.00)
Total 348 (100.00) 250 (71.84) 72 (20.69) 16 (4.60) 10 (2.87)
Grand Total 992 (87.87) 770 (77.62) 177 (17.84) 35 (3.53) 10 (1.01)
Source: Field Survey.

Note: Figures in parentheses refer to percentage.
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42
Climate Change and
Migration Nexus
Avijit Mistri
INTRODUCTION emission scenarios, it is estimated that by the

end of the 21st century, the sea level will be
Nowadays, environmental migration has 40 cm higher than it is today, and the annual
become a growing concern, particularly in number of people affected by flooding in the
low-lying areas and islands. Nearly 300 mil- coastal regions is projected to be between 13
lion people inhabit 40 deltas globally, with million and 94 million, globally. Almost 60
an average density of 500 people per sq. km, per cent of this increase will be along the coast
including all the megadeltas (Ericson, from Pakistan, through India, Sri Lanka and
Vorosmarty, Dingman, Ward & Meybeck, Bangladesh to Burma (Wassmann, Nguyen,
2006). The most populated delta is the Ganges– Chu & Tuong, 2004).
Brahmaputra delta and the one with highest Indian Sundarbans1 is a part of the Ganges–
density is the Nile delta. Using a coarse digital Brahmaputra delta that is comprised of 102
terrain model and global population distribu- islands. Being an archipelago and coastal loca-
tion data, Ericson et al. (2006) estimated that tion (in the Bay of Bengal), it is highly sus-
more than 1 million people would be directly ceptible to global warming and hydroclimatic
affected by rise in sea level by 2050 in each events. In the late 2000s, Intergovernmental
of the three megadeltas, namely, the Ganges– Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; 2007a) had
Brahmaputra–Meghna delta in Bangladesh warned that the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta in
and West Bengal, the Mekong delta in Vietnam Bangladesh and in West Bengal in India is in
and the Nile delta in Egypt. From different the most vulnerable condition due to climate
1
Sundarbans in India is comprised of 102 islands, of which 54 are inhabited islands (5,400 sq. km) and 48 are
forested (4,200 sq. km) islands. A total 9600 sq. km area of the state of West Bengal in India is recognized as
Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve in 2001 by the UNESCO.
Climate Change and Migration Nexus 575
change, rise in sea level and intensification is sacrificed to the rivers’ grasp. Apart from
coastal storms. Moreover, studies reveal that farming, fishing is jeopardized by the gradual
environmental parameters in the Sundarbans implementation of environmental legislation
have been observed to be changing over the for better conservation of the fragile ecosys-
years. The sea level has risen at the rate of 3.14– tem (Mistri & Das, 2015, 2018a). The people
4.0 mm per year during 1977–1998 (Nandy & of the Sundarbans depend highly on natural
Bandyopadhyay, 2011; Singh, 2002), which is resource-based activities, like farming (59%
higher than the all-India average of 1.0 mm per worker) and fishing (5% worker) (Census of
year and the global average of 1.8 ± 0.5 mm India, 2011), which are highly susceptible to
per year during 1961–2003 (Bindoff et al., climatic vagaries. Out-migration is a promi-
2007). Surface water temperature in the nent livelihood strategy in the Sundarbans. At
Sundarbans has increased at the rate of around least one member from three-fourths of the
0.04–0.05°C per year during the last three households out-migrates from the Sundarbans
decades (Hazra, Samanta, Mukhopadhyay & in search of work (Mistri, 2013). They prefer
Akhandet, 2010; Khan, Singh & Rahaman, interstate migration over interdistrict and
2000; Mitra, Gangopadhyay, Dube, Schmidt intradistrict migration (Mistri, 2013). A study
& Banerjee, 2009), which is higher than the by Mistri and Das (2018b) showed that both
global average, that is, 0.006°C per year, the migrants and non-migrants perceive the
even higher than the Indian Ocean average moderate extent of environmental risk in
of 0.02°C per year (IPCC, 2007b). The fre- their means of living, such as farming and
quency of tropical cyclonic storms over the fishing. They are more concerned about the
north Indian Ocean during November has micro-risks, like their own families and com-
increased twofold in the last 122 years, 1877 munities, local incidences rather than holistic
to 1998 (Singh, Khan & Rahman, 2001). concerns (the Sundarbans as a whole) and
The intensification rate of tropical distur- geographically distant people and places, such
bances in the Bay of Bengal leading to a as people around the world and non-human
cyclone (cyclonic stage) and severe cyclonic nature like wildlife and mangroves (Mistri &
storm (SCS) has significantly increased by Das, 2018b). Cyclone, water surge, saliniza-
17 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively, in tion, rainfall and temperature change are more
the past 129 years during 1877–2005 (Singh, causes of concern in their means of livelihood
2007). Increasing salinity is one of the major compared with other environmental phenom-
threats to livelihood in the Sundarbans. The ena (Mistri & Das, 2018b).
Sundarbans has nearly 8.0 parts per thousand The linkage between climate change and
(ppt) of soil salinity (Ghosh, 2012), which is out-migration is hardly linear, rather, it is a
higher than the permissible limit (6.0 ppt) for multifaceted aspect needed to examine the
rice cultivation. Rice is the principal crop in environment as a cause of migration along a
this region. The yield rate of rice has been spectrum, such as a wide range of economic,
declining gradually at the rate of 0.15 per social and demographic factors (ADB, 2009).
cent per year from 1990–2000 to 2010–2011 It is a wide consensus (IOM, 2009; Kniveton,
(Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics Schmidt-Verkerk, Smith & Black, 2008;
(BAE&S), 2011). From 2009 to 2013, there Myers, 2005) that environmental migration
was complete crop failure due to high salin- is the environment-induced migration where
ization posed by the SCS Aila in 2009. environment adversely affects the livelihood,
Moreover, due to riverine erosion, the net loss resulting in migration as an outcome. Migration
has been 2.85 sq. km per year from 1930 to is linked to environment through livelihood
2000 (Ghosh, 2012), which has increased to issues. When environmental stressors in a
5.5 sq. km per year from 2000 to 2008. Every certain place influence the inhabitants, the
year a substantial proportion of cultivable land factors associated with livelihood, like assets,
occupations and capabilities of inhabitants and processes (institutions, rules and regulations
other factors, like transforming structure and and policy), influences both the assets and
processes (i.e., governmental and non-gov- the vulnerability context. Interaction between
ernmental rules and regulations, policies and the livelihood assets and influencing factors
programmes) play a vital role in the decision produces different proactive or reactive live-
for out-migration (Camber & Conway, 1991; lihood strategies. Out-migration is one of the
Department for International Development important livelihood strategies among them.
(DFID), 2001; Krantz, 2001). This multidi- In the Sundarbans, a huge number of people
mensional concept is highly advocated by the are out-migrating, and its nexus with environ-
widely popular proposition of the sustainable mental change is hardly explored with empir-
livelihood approach (SLA). The five assets ical rigour. The present study, therefore, is an
that are in the possession of a household, attempt to provide more insight into the nexus
such as human, natural, financial, social and between livelihood issues and out-migration
physical capital, constitute an asset-pentagon from the Sundarbans, where the environ-
(Figure 42.1). The asset-pentagon internally ment has been given special consideration.
compensates, if any of these is deteriorated. An inductive approach (bottom-up approach)
Assets are adversely influenced by vulnera- is followed to examine the SLA empirically,
bility contexts like shocks, stresses and sea- which begins with the observation of out-
sonality. In the Sundarbans, the environment migration, then investigates the patterns,
is considered a predominant stressor. Another interaction, association, and finally, ends
external factor, comprised of structures and with general conclusions. It is a comparative
Key
H = Human Capital S = Social Capital
N = Natural Capital P = Physical Capital
F = Financial Capital
LIVELIHOOD ASSETS
H
TRANSFORMING in
VULNERABILITY STRUCTURES LIVELIHOOD order LIVELIHOOD
CONTEXT S N AND
Influence STRATEGIES to OUTCOMES
& access PROCESSES achieve
P F
Figure 42.1 Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

Source: DFID (2001, Section 2, p. 1).
study between migrants (exposed group) and Mathurapur-II and Bijaybati (7) and Amrabati
non-migrants (control group). (8) from the Namkhana block.
DATA SOURCE RESULTS
This study is based on the field investigation Processes of Migration

conducted through a structured questionnaire
schedule. Total samples were equally divided Interstate and interdistrict migrations from
into two equal groups—a control group and the Sundarbans are observed to be 49 per
an exposed group. The control group is that cent and 48 per cent, respectively. Only 4
group of the households where no member had per cent migrants prefer intradistrict migra-
migration experience during the last 365 days tion. Considering individual preference at
before the date of survey. The exposed group the places of destination, Kolkata ranks
is that group where at least one member of the top (32%), followed by Tamil Nadu (13%),
household had experienced or was experienc- Karnataka (7.5%), Kerala (6.5%), Gujarat
ing migration in the 365 days before the date (6%) and Bardhaman (5%) (Figure 42.3).
of survey. Total 400 respondents, 200 from Kolkata urban agglomeration (UA) is the
each group and all in the working age (15–59 all-time best option for the migrants as it is
years), were selected. The head of the house- adjacent to the SBR, the distance varying in
hold or any working person in the absence the range 35–125 km. Three Southeastern
of the head of the household was considered Railway networks, namely Sealdah–
as a respondent in the control group. In the Canning, Sealdah–Dimond Harbour and
exposed group, the only migrating person who Sealdah–Namkhana, and many road net-
was present at the time of the survey and bear- works connect Kolkata to the interior parts
ing the migration status till date, that is, he or of the Sundarbans. On an average, trains
she came home for an occasion or a purpose are available every 30 minutes. Even some
not to return permanently, was considered of the islanders commute 1.30–3 hours to
as a respondent. Migrating households were work in Kolkata. Another destination of
identified with the help of snowball sampling. interdistrict migrants, Bardhaman, is charac-
A total of 9,600 sq. km wide Sundarbans terized by seasonal pull. Bardhaman district
Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is spread over 19 is the ‘rice bowl’ of West Bengal. Nearly 78
administrative blocks (Figure 42.2) in two per cent migrants who prefer to migrate to
administrative districts in West Bengal, namely Bardhaman, reported that rice harvesting,
South 24 Parganas (13 blocks) and North 24 especially in winter season, was the main
Parganas (6 blocks). A total of 400 respond- attraction, and all of them had good con-
ents (from 400 households) from eight census tacts with landowners before the move. It is
villages (50 respondents from each) distrib- a long-standing practice which is now facil-
uted over four selected administrative blocks itated by telephone and mobile networks.
were surveyed. The selected census villages On the other hand, a substantial proportion
are Lahripur (1) and Sonagar (2) from the of migrants (49%) prefer to move out of the
Gosaba block, Parbatipur (3) and Joygopalpur home state. Wage rate differences and job
(4) from the Basanti block, Radhakantapur opportunities at the places of destination are
Abad (5) and Pashchim Jatardeul (6) from the major pull factors for interstate migration,
around 49 and 37 per cent migrants advo-
cated these facts, respectively. Furthermore,
Figure 42.2 Schematic Plan of Sampling, Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve
interstate migrants are well-informed regard- they migrated to take up a job at the destina-
ing job availability at the places of desti- tion. Intermediaries contact the workers and
nation, reducing insecurity in the labour fix the wage rate, form a group and take them
market. Around 30 per cent interstate to the worksite. Therefore, migrants are 100
migrants received information from relatives per cent informed about the expected wage
or friends and co-villagers or neighbours. rate and job availability. Not a single day is
Nearly 34 per cent migrants were observed wasted on the wait. Operations of middlemen
to be well-attached with the middlemen or suggest that they give `1,000–`2,000 cash in
contractors (locally called thikadar), and advance for family expenditure, though it is
Place of destinations
(Migrants in %)
Tamil Nadu 13.0
Karnataka 7.5 Inter–state
Kerala 6.5
Gujarat 6.0
Other States 15.5
Kolkata 32.0
Inter–dist.
Bardhaman 4.5
Other districts 11.0
S 24 Pgs 4.0
Figure 42.3 Migrants’ Places of Destination

deducted later on from the migrants’ wages. 2013). In the Sundarbans, around 62 per cent
In some cases, the transportation cost is of migrants experienced more than one return
borne by the contractor, especially one side to the place of origin and movement to the
travel cost to go to the worksite. same place of destination. The mean number
Migration from the Sundarbans is charac- of returns were 7.0 times during the last 365
terized by a circular pattern. Circular migra- days. Circularity is the indication of strong
tion is the repeated movement from and return ties with the place of origin (or family) and
to a place of origin and destination, and the conduciveness to the remittance flow.
repetition must be more than once (Hugo,
Occupational Issues in the facilities, most farmers practise monocrop-

Sundarbans ping (rice) in the monsoon season. The people
who are engaged in farming face a long lean
According to the Census of 2011, nearly 59 period. Likewise, there is also 3 months
per cent of workers were engaged in farming (April–July) of restriction on fishing on the
and 5 per cent of workers in fishing activity. ground of breeding period of fish. Moreover,
From the field investigation, it was observed fishing is severely hindered by environmen-
that nearly half of the respondents reported tal legislations. Environmental conservation
themselves as marginal workers (Table 42.1), in the Sundarbans is highly skewed towards
whereas main workers were around 39 per environmental sustainability hardly balanc-
cent and non-workers were 11 per cent. Most ing the socio-economic counterparts (Mistri
of the migrants (54%) were marginal work- & Das, 2018a). The people, therefore, who
ers engaged for less than 3 months in work at are willing to stay in the Sundarbans, hardly
the places of origin during the last 365 days manage to get a job for more than 6 months
before migration, whereas around 45 per cent in one single occupation. They always diver-
non-migrants were marginal workers. The per sify their jobs at the local level. Nearly 44 per
centage of main workers (51%) was compar- cent of non-migrants were observed to have
atively higher among the non-migrants, but changed their occupation during the last 365
a substantial proportion of marginal workers days. The change highly persists in farming
(45%) was also observed among them. Nearly (38%), followed by fishing (28%). However,
18 per cent of migrants reported that they were job diversification highly depends on the
not working at the places of origin before availability of employment opportunities. The
they migrated. Agriculture in the Sundarbans inadequacy of that leads to out-migration to
is very seasonal. Due to lack of irrigation cope with economic needs.
Table 42.1 Work Status of Respondents during the Last 365 Days
Migrants’ Work Status Non-Migrants’
before Out-Migrating Work Status during
Types of Workers Attributes during the Last 365 Days the Last 365 Days Total
Main worker Count 56 101 157

Expected count 78.5 78.5 157
Percentage within workers 28.0 50.5 39.3
Adjusted residual −4.6 4.6
Marginal worker Count 108 90 198
Expected count 99 99 198
Adjusted residual 1.8 −1.8
Non-worker Count 36 9 45
Expected count 22.5 22.5 45
Total Count 200 200 400
Expected count 200 200 400
Source: Computed from field survey data.

Environmental Threat on Farming Total 17 distinct perceptions of climate change

and Fishing consequences were collected from respond-
ents. The index score for risk perception in
Farming and fishing are confronted by the farming is 2.95. It infers that respondents
climatic change in different ways, like dete- perceive moderate risk in farming in the cur-
riorating environment, declining production rent climatic condition. Six incidences, such
or collection, degrading quality of production, as long periods of heavy rainfall (x = 3.12),
increasing diseases, pests and other infecting high temperature in summer (x = 3.90), severe
agents and reduced productivity of labourers winter (x = 3.40), high rate of pest inci-
(Di Falco, Yesuf, Kohlin & Ringler, 2011; dence in farming (x = 3.29), loss of soil fer-
Farauta, Egbule, Idrisa & Agu, 2011; Juana, tility (x = 3.20) and increase of soil salinity
Kahaka & Okurut, 2013). However, people’s (x = 3.33) are significant causes of concern in
concern about their occupation is the outcome framing. The mean score for migrants in risk
of their continuous observed experiences. In perception in farming was 2.883, which is sig-
the study, last 5 years’ (recall period) experi- nificantly (t = 3.017, p = 0.003) lower than the
ences of the respondents were collected using normal level of concern (µ = 3). Non-migrants’
different sets of questions designed with a five- (x = 3.012, t = 0.356, p = 0.722) perceive mod-
point Likert-type scale which ranged from 1 erate risk in farming. Comparatively slightly
(to no extent) to 5 (to a very great extent). higher perceived risk among the non-migrants
In the study, the incidences of environ- can be attributed to intense attachment with
mental change in the agriculture (Figure 42.4) places of origin by occupation. It is also an
manifest through uncertainty in the onset indication of potential out-migration from the
of the season (incidences 1–6), the effect of Sundarbans.
extreme climatic events and processes (7–11) The fishermen’s concerns in the
and increase in farming problems (12–17). Sundarbans can be attributed by two
5.00
4.00 3.90*
Risk Perception
(Mean Score)
3.40* 3.33*
3.29* 3.20*
3.12* 2.95 2.86* 2.97 2.95
3.00 2.79* 2.74*2.76*
2.75*2.75* 2.65*
2.50*
2.18*
2.00
1.00
x
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1
de
In
S. No. of Incidences
Figure 42.4 Environmental Risk Perception in Farming

Note: * Statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference from µ = 3.0 (average concern).
Incidences:1: Delay in onset of monsoon, 2: Unusually early monsoon followed by weeks of dryness, 3: Erratic rainfall
in monsoon season, 4: Long periods of heavy rainfall, 5: Less rainfall in monsoon, 6: Long period of dry season, 7:
High temperature in summer, 8: Severe winter, 9: Long spell of fog/smog, 10: Overflowing of streams/rivers (flood), 11:
Increasing risk of cyclones (number/intensity), 12: Declining yield rate, rice (kg/bigha), 13: High rate of pest incidence
in farming, 14: Increasing diseases in farming, 15: Rotting of rice (Aman) saplings in monsoon, 16: Loss of soil fertility,
17: Increasing soil salinity.
5.00
4.00 3.76*
Risk Perception
(Mean Score)
3.49*
3.34* 3.18*
2.94 2.84* 2.92 2.81* 2.92 2.95 2.76* 2.96
3.00
2.62*
2.00 1.96*
1.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Index
S. No. of Incidences
Figure 42.5 Environmental Risk Perception in Fishing

Note: * statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference from µ = 3.0 (average concern).
Incidences: 1: Increasing risk of cyclones/low pressure/gusty wind, 2: Increasing risk of flash-floods/high tides, 3:
Increasing risk of tidal force or river or ocean current, 4: High humidity and temperature in summer, 5: Severe winter
(windy and low temperature), 6: Declining depth of rivers and creeks, 7: Declining fish (fish/prawn/crab) production,
8: Reduction of fish/prawn/crab stocks and varieties, 9: Increasing trash fish, 10: Faster spoilage of the catch, 11:
Increasing salinity of river/ocean water, 12: Decrease in water transparency (or green colour), 13: Environmental
regulations affecting fishing.
categories (Figure 42.5), such as worsening fishermen (x = 3.18, p = 0.024). Both mig
of the collecting environment (incidences rants (x = 2.916, t = −1.810, p = 0.073)
1–6) and effect on production (7–13). and non-migrants (x = 3.003, t = 0.068,
Fishing in the Sundarbans includes catch- p = 0.946) perceive more or less equal envi-
ing fish, prawn, crab and other aquatic ronmental risk (moderate extent) in fishing.
animals, and collecting non-timber forest
products (NTFPs), such as honey, bees-
wax, firewood, tannin bark and nypafruti-
Household Assets Possession and
cans (locally golpata). The mean score
Migration
(x ) for risk perception in fishing is 2.96
(Figure 42.5). The respondents perceived Assets possessed by the household are broadly
moderate level of risk in fishing. Fishermen classified into five groups, like human capi-
are highly concerned regarding the declin- tal (household size, age, education, knowl-
ing fish production (x = 3.76, p = 0.000). edge and skills of members, ability to work
Reduction of fish stocks and its varieties are and good health), financial capital (income,
also a great concern (x = 3.49, p = 0.000). remittances, livestock and other tangible
Increasing trash fish2 (x = 3.34, p = 0.000) assets), physical capital (transportation and
decline both the quality and quantity of pro- communication, basic amenities and secure
duction. Moreover, it is an established fact shelter or housing), natural capital (land pos-
that environmental legislation is one of the session, forest resources and ecotourism) and
great barriers to fishing in the Sundarbans social capital (social networks and aspira-
(Mistri & Das, 2018a). This phenom- tions) (DFID, 2001). These capitals are not
enon also resonates in the concern of mutually exclusive. Assets help people cope
2
Trash fish or rough fish are those which one are less desirable to the catchers in a region. Environmentalist
suggests that the production of rough is increased due to the climate change.
with adverse situations. Hence, the decision or a paddle van (46%), fishing contrivances
to out-migrate is immensely influenced by (30%) and television sets (29%). The house-
the possession of different assets. The associ- holds hardly possessed comparatively costly
ation between asset possession and migration assets like two wheelers, four wheelers and
in the Sundarbans is discussed as follows. computers or laptops. Around 12 per cent of
households possessed none of the above spec-
ified assets. Nearly 59 per cent of the migrants
sent remittances and the average frequency
Human Capital
of remitting was five. A fair amount of remit-
Nearly 4.4 million people reside in the tances regularly flows into the Sundarbans.
Sundarbans and the number has increased from Around 42 per cent of migrants remit `15,000
3.7 million in the previous Census of 2001. and above in a year.
The growth rate is 17.8 per cent (geometric
growth 1.65) whereas the state average is 13.9
per cent (geometric growth 1.31). The faster Natural Capital
pace of growth poses immense pressure on
carrying capacity of the marginal landholdings Landholding in the Sundarbans is attributed
in the islands. Like other parts of India, migra- by ‘marginal size class’ that is less than one
tion is very male selective in the Sundarbans. hectare. Around 43 per cent of respondents
The working-age population (15–59 years) is were landless, which is highly prevalent
68 per cent, which precedes the state (64%) among migrants (46%). Ecotourism in the
as well as national (61%) average. More than Sundarbans has huge potential and can be
three-fourths (77%) of respondents were the best alternative for means of living. But
observed to be literate. Nearly 68 per cent of it is seasonal, lacks community involvement
the respondents reported good health, not suf- and is overwhelmingly dominated by out-
fering from serious health issues during the last siders or multinational corporations (MNCs)
365 days. (Bhattacharya, Bhattacharya & Patra, 2011).
Financial Capital Social Capital

Households in the Sundarbans possess a very In the Sundarbans, the social network is an
minimal amount of livestock and durable intrinsic part of migration. Almost all migrants
assets. The livestock sector contributes around had a social connection before they decided to
6.8 per cent of GDP in India and employs 8 per out-migrate (Table 42.2). On the other hand,
cent of the labour force (Food and Agriculture 73 per cent non-migrants did not have any
Organization (FAO), 2005, p. 6). Livestock is connection outside the area they reside for
a very important liquid asset. Rural migrants finding jobs and other help when the survey
often sell their domestic animals to meet the was conducted. The social network was sig-
costs incurred for migration, or when they nificant (x2 = 242.08, df = 5, n = 400, p = 0.00)
need to suddenly move. Economically val- and strongly associated (Cramer V = 0.78)
uable domestic animals, such as cow (38%), with the migration status of the respondent.
buffalo (32%), pig, sheep and goat (9%), were No source/asking to find jobs at workplace
very less. On the other hand, only one durable contributes most (Adj. R = −14.8), and it advo-
asset, telephone, especially the mobile phone, cates in favour of non-migrants. The mid-
was possessed by most of the (78%) house- dleman or contractor (Adj. R = 6.9) followed
holds. The other major assets were a bicycle by co- villagers/neighbours (Adj. R = 6.7)
Table 42.2 Sources to Find Jobs

Sources Migrants Non-Migrants Total
Relatives/friends Count 68.0 42.0 110.0

Expected count 55.0 55.0 110.0
Percentage within source 34.0 21.0 27.5
Co-villagers/neighbours Count 59.0 9.0 68.0
Percenatge within source 29.5 4.5 17.0
Middlemen/contractor Count 45.0 1.0 46.0
Contact himself/contact by employers Count 17.0 2.0 19.0
Standard residual 3.5 −3.5
Other Count 8.0 0.0 8.0
No source/asking to find jobs at the Count 3.0 146.0 149.0
workplace Expected count 74.5 74.5 149.0
Residual −71.5 71.5
Adjusted residual −14.8 14.8
Total Count 200.0 200.0 400.0
and contact himself/contact by employers aspired more (86%) to live in urban areas for
(Adj. R = 3.5) are also major contributors and better quality of life and opportunities than
argue in favour of out-migration. Members of a non-migrants (65%) did. A generation-wise
formalized group often share mutually-agreed occupational shift from farm to non-farm
views, rules, norms and sanctions. It may be sectors is visible. A substantial proportion of
the cause of migration or may strongly favour respondents, around 57 per cent, did not prefer
retention. In the Sundarbans, non-migrants to continue their parents’ or guardians’ occu-
(41%) are more likely to attach to formalized pations which were either farming or fishing.
groups, such as non-governmental organiza- Younger respondents below age of 30 years
tions (NGOs), village clubs, self-help groups (56%) expressed strong unwillingness to con-
(SHGs), cooperative societies, political insti- tinue with their parents’ occupations com-
tutions and religious groups, compared with pared with respondents (42%) aged above 30
migrants (29%) at the places of origin. years.
There is a high aspiration for urban life
(75%), especially for the Kolkata UA. Migrants
Physical Capital Household size under human capital is one

of the significant predictors in the model. For
Telecommunication in the Sundarbans is a every addition of a member in a household,
great inducement for out-migration. Mobile the odds of migration increase by a factor of
connectivity reaches into every nook and 1.324 or around 32 per cent. Studies suggest
corner in the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is (Massey, 1990; Stark & Lucas, 1988; Speare,
well-connected by road, rail and water net- 1974) that large families diverse the labour
works. But modes of transportation are slow portfolio through out-migration. Work status
and not available round-the-clock. Most of the of the respondent (dummy, main worker)
islands in the Sundarbans are connected to each based on the duration of work engagement
other by ferry boats or vessel services, which at the place of origin makes a significant
are available until 9.00 pm. After that, they are contribution to the model. For a respondent
arranged on a demand basis with additional who is the main worker (works more than 6
late night charges. Furthermore, vast areas months) in the household, the odds of migra-
still lack electrification through the convention are around 88 per cent lesser than those
tional grid. Accessing healthcare services in the of a non-worker (R). Social network is the
Sundarbans causes great agony to all classes strongest predictor in the model. For every
of people. A substantial proportion of people one unit increase of social network that has
(65%) still depends on quack doctors. Most of every additional social connection to find a
the households enjoy the provision of drink- job (over not having the same), an increase in
ing water, but the quality is questionable. The migration by 3.640 log odds can be expected
Sundarbans is a severely arsenic-affected (more while other predictors remain constant. Social
than 300 µg/L) area or red-alerted zone (School group in terms of the caste of the respondent
of Environmental Studies [SOES], 2010). Most is also a significant predictor under social
of the houses are either temporary (45%) or capital. The likelihood of out-migrating
semi-permanent (44%) and only 50 per cent are among the Scheduled Tribes (STs) is nearly
in livable condition. Average person per room six times higher than that of non-SC/ST(R).
(person/room ratio) is 3.5 or around 4.0. It is around three times higher than even
Scheduled Castes (SCs). This higher prob-
ability of out-migrating within the ST com-
Sustainable Livelihood Model munity raises the question of social inequality
in terms of asset possession and access to
The sustainable livelihood model (SLM) other facilities. Association with formalized
helps investigate which factor or group of fac- group at the places of origin (β = −1.439) is
tors significantly influence the probability of inclined in favour of non-migration. It leads
out-migration from the Sundarbans. A binary to less likelihood of reporting as migrants.
logistic regression technique was incorpo- Household type is characterized according
rated to examine the SLM empirically. The to the source of income that contributes ≥50
variable to be investigated was respondents per cent income. The variable is comprised
with migrant status, which is coded as non- of three dummies, such as farming, fishing
migrant = 0 and migrant = 1. Total observed (including NTFPs) and daily or casual labour,
cases (n) are 400, which is equally distributed where the reference category (R) is non-farm
among migrants and non-migrants. The prob- activities. Daily or casual labour (β = 2.928)
ability of out-migration is investigated under exerts huge push on migration while farming
the 21 predictors (excluding dummies) in six (β = −1.365) and fishing (β = −1.469) deter
categories (Table 42.3). These predictors are the same. If the people of the Sundarbans
incorporated from different levels, such as get enough support from principal activities
individual, household and community level.
of farming and fishing for maintaining their the Sundarbans, a substantial proportion of
livelihood, the chances of out-migrating will farmers are landless, and farmland is marginal
decline. On the other hand, daily or casual in size. Most of the non-migrants reported a
labour influences out-migration in two ways. higher concern in farming compared with
Most of the migrants are attached to daily or migrants. Hence, the mean score (x) of per-
casual labour either at places of origin or of ceived risk in farming for non-migrants
destination. When they are attached at the (x = 3.01, SEM = 0.035) was higher than the
places of origin, they suffer extreme margin- migrants (x = 2.88, SEM = 0.039). This phe-
ality (get a job for less than 6 months) that nomenon leans the odds ratio in favour of
pushes the migrants. When they are attached non-migration. Another principal means of
at the destination, they earn more compared living in the Sundarbans is fishing which was
with that at the places of origin that pulls the excluded due to the low number of observa-
migrants. Structures and processes include tions (n = 268) as all the respondents were not
the intervention of different governmental and experienced in fishing. However, the influence
non-governmental policies and programmes of environment was significant yet ambiguous.
for livelihood promotion, such as job crea-
tion, credits, subsidies, relief and other finan-
cial assistance. The livelihood promotional
index (LPI) is constructed to combine of six DISCUSSION
aspects, namely prior work experience in the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Labourers from the Sundarbans circulate over
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, uptake the year at different places of destination.
of public distribution system (PDS) facilities The nearest metro city of Kolkata is their all-
by households on a regular basis during the time favourite option. Apart from Kolkata,
last 365 days, receiving any credit by house- interstate migration is highly preferred, and
holds during the last 365 days, receiving any it is influenced by intermediaries or contrac-
subsidized credit during the last 365 days, tors. Lack of job opportunities and the low
receiving (Aila) relief packages and any assis- wage rate at the places of origin lead to out-
tance from eco-development committees or migration from the Sundarbans. Most of the
forest protection committees during the last migrants were either farmers or fishermen
365 days. For every one unit increase in LPI who have suffered severe marginality in their
score, the odds of being migrants declined by respective activities before the move. On the
a factor of 0.805. It can be inferred that if the other hand, those who stay in the Sundarbans
scope of earning a livelihood increases in the diversify their activities at the local level to
Sundarbans, the probability of out-migration sustain. While principal activities, farming
may decrease by around 20 per cent. and fishing, face different sorts of constraints,
Environmental change is considered to ecotourism can be a viable alternative. But
be a major threat to livelihood in the model. local people show extreme reluctance due to
People’s overall concern regarding changing its seasonality and little incentive in terms of
environment in the Sundarbans positively income generation. In these circumstances,
influences the likelihood of out-migration. out-migration is the best option to cope with
With one unit increase in the risk perception the situation.
index score, out-migration increases by three In addition to that, households of the
times (OR = 2.582). But perceived risk in the Sundarbans possess minimal assets in terms
means of living, especially farming, showed of land, livestock and durable assets, and have
a negative relation with the probability of very poor services for livelihood derived from
out-migration (OR = 0.306 or β = −1.186). In natural resources. But the islanders possess
Table 42.3 Sustainable Livelihood Model by Binary Logistic Regression

Dependent Variable Log Likelihood = −84.712101
Respondents with Migration Status:
Observation (n) = 400
Non-Migrant = 0 and
Migrant = 1 LR Chi2 (28) = 385.09
Prob > Chi2 = 0.0000
Pseudo-R2 = 0.6945
Coefficient Standard Odds Ratio
Independent Variable Category (β) Error (OR) p
A. Human Capital
HH size Number of family member 0.281 0.138 1.324 0.042
Age Above 30 years R
30 years 0.791 0.489 2.205 0.106

Marital status UnmarriedR
Married 0.522 0.757 1.685 0.491
Education IlliterateR
Up to primary −0.943 0.696 0.910 0.892
Middle and secondary 0.180 0.685 1.197 0.793
Above secondary and other 0.093 0.838 1.097 0.912
Work status Non-workerR
Marginal worker −0.778 0.820 0.459 0.343
Main worker −2.100 0.826 0.122 0.011
Health condition NoR
Yes 0.232 0.495 1.261 0.640
B. Social Capital
Social group Non-SC/STR
ST 1.775 0.823 5.903 0.031
SC 0.682 0.553 1.978 0.217
Social network NoR
Yes 3.640 0.065 38.075 0.000
Associated with formalized NoR
group Yes −1.439 0.492 0.237 0.003
Aspirations for urban life NoR
Yes 0.588 0.559 1.801 0.292
Generation-wise Aspiration NoR
to work in non-farm Yes 0.751 0.471 2.118 0.111
sectors
Aspiration for economic Do not knowR
well-being Optimistic 0.657 0.710 1.929 0.355
Pessimistic 0.411 0.825 1.509 0.618
C. Economic Capital (Financial and Natural Capital)
HH types Non-farm activitiesR
Farming −1.365 0.595 0.255 0.022
Fishing (including NTFPs) −1.469 0.680 0.230 0.031
Daily labour/causal labour 2.928 0.907 18.683 0.001
HH income Rupees/month −0.0001 0.000 1.000 0.157
(Continued)
Table 42.3 (Continued)
Coefficient Standard Odds Ratio

Independent Variable Category (β) Error (OR) p
Livestock of HH Standard livestock unit 0.125 0.316 1.133 0.692

index
Durable assets of HH Durable Assets Index 0.199 0.485 1.221 0.681
Agricultural land (ha.) 0.375 0.862 1.454 0.664
possession
D. Physical Capital
Basic infrastructure and Amenity Index −0.339 0.580 0.713 0.559
amenities
E. Structures and
Processes
Livelihood promotion Livelihood promotional −0.216 0.078 0.805 0.005
index
F. Vulnerability Context
Environmental concern in Risk perception index 0.949 0.287 2.582 0.001
the Sundarbans
Risk perception in farming Risk perception index for −1.186 0.427 0.306 0.005
farming
Constant −6.103 2.200 0.002 0.006

Notes: HH implies household. Rreference category, p < 0.05%–5% and p < 0.01%–1% level of significance.
human capital. Most of them are young, edu- areas still lack electrification through the
cated and possess good health. Least number electrical grid and that is very hard to believe
of working days were wasted due to illness. in the contemporary era of information and
They are very energetic to take the risk of communication technology as well as in the
long distance. A good amount of remittances wave of digital India. Lack of electricity is also
regularly flow to the Sundarbans. Moreover, a barrier to the expansion of alternative liveli-
they are highly influenced by urban life and hood opportunities, such as small or medium
wish to live in urban centres in future. A industries, household industries, agro-based
generation-wise occupational shift is visi-
industries and fish processing industries, at
ble. The farmer’s or fisherman’s son no more the local level. Ecotourism is hampered due to
wants to be a farmer or fisherman. The aspira- unavailability of electricity. In hot and humid
tions of the people in the Sundarbans lead to summers, tourists turn their faces off from the
huge out-migration and also indicate the future Sundarbans. Accessing healthcare services in
potential of the same. Furthermore, the social the Sundarbans causes great agony to people
networks, in terms of connectedness to find a of all economic classes. A huge proportion of
job and other information for out-migration, the population still depends on quack practi-
contribute a lot. Therefore, the people of the tioners. Though most of the households enjoy
Sundarbans are endowed with human and the provision of drinking water, the quality
social capitals that facilitate out-migration of water is questionable. The housing con-
from there. ditions of the islanders depict a poor quality
The basic infrastructure in the Sundarbans of living. Most of the people live in either
in terms of transport and telecommunication temporary (kutcha) or semi-permanent (semi-
is good. These act as a great inducement for pucca) houses where congestion is quite high.
out-migration from the Sundarbans. But vast Therefore, transport and communication entice
out-migration. Meanwhile, lack of e lectricity, amount of remittances in the households. It is

healthcare facilities and other factors like poor possible that in the absence of migration, their
quality of living provide the extra push for family may be pushed into abject poverty.
out-migrating from the Sundarbans. Lastly, sudden or progressive changes in the
Nowadays, climate change occupies the environment adversely influence the means
core of a wide debate. There is a data limita- of living in the Sundarbans, and people are
tion (owing to timescales) to prove the rates also concerned about it but the influence is not
of change of parameters as evidence. The prominent. Coping mechanisms to deal with
Sundarbans is also not an exception. However, environmental stressors are slow and are age-
the people of the Sundarbans are not free from old practices. Thus, it can hardly be consid-
its ill effects. They perceive the risk to a mod- ered as the prime cause that compels people to
erate extent in their principal means of living, move out. Here, environmental stressors can
that is, farming and fishing. Both migrants be considered as an additional push along with
and non-migrants perceive more or less equal socio-economic factors which play the major
environmental risk in their respective activi- role for out-migration from the Sundarbans.
ties and no significant wide difference was
observed between the groups in terms of the
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43
Behind the Shining
Brick and Mortar
Amrita Sharma*
D i v y a Va r m a *
INTRODUCTION Ahmedabad, the industrial and commercial

hub of Gujarat, witnessed massive growth in
The construction sector is one of the fastest its construction industry in the post 2000s.
growing work sectors in India. It accounts for Numerous big construction companies—
8 per cent of India’s gross domestic product Indian as well as multinational—made large
(GDP) and is projected to grow at an annual investments in the state capital. Riverfront
rate of 7.6 per cent between 2015 and 2020, projects, bridges, roads and commercial com-
making India the third largest construc- plexes are prominent examples of the presence
tion market of the world by 2020. A highly of the burgeoning industry in the city, which
labour-intensive sector, it is the second larg- depends almost entirely on the large pool of
est employer of labour force in the country seasonal migrants for its supply of labour.
and the single largest employer of migrant Despite their contribution, migrant workers
workers (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). Nearly face exclusion on multiple fronts—they are
92.4 per cent of the labour input in the con- denied basic public amenities, are forced to
struction sector is in the unorganized sector live in deplorable conditions scattered across
(2004–2005).1 the city or in its degenerated peripheries and
are frequently exposed to unsafe and high-risk
* The authors would like to thank Igor Bosc and Bharti Birla of International Labour Organization (ILO), Subhash
Bhatnagar of Nirmana, Sudhir Katiyar of Prayas Centre for Labour Research and Action, Sonia Sharma of Mobile
Creches and Rajiv Khandelwal of Aajeevika Bureau for their valuable inputs and comments on this chapter.
1
National Statistical Commission, Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics, February 2012.
Behind the Shining Brick and Mortar 593
work conditions in what is largely an unorgan- (labour congregation points where workers
ized and unregulated sector. convene daily, seeking work) across the city.
This chapter attempts to characterize the The other large group comprises migrants
migrant streams coming to work in the con- from northern and western Rajasthan, Uttar
struction industry of Ahmedabad, to describe Pradesh and Bihar. Migrants from these source
their living and working conditions and study areas stay in the city on a semi-permanent
the challenges they endure as temporary basis. On account of long distances from their
footloose workers, outside the purview of source areas, they return to their villages less
state social-protection mechanisms. Finally, frequently—only once or twice a year, during
it aims to outline a few recommendations festival seasons. These workers are recruited
to build a responsive state policy inclusive directly on to the construction sites across the
of the well-being of its vast pool of migrant city on a temporary basis.
city-makers. Another important group of migrant work-
The chapter has been compiled from (a) ers involves those who work on large construc-
primary data and field-based narratives arising tion sites that are contracted out by corporate
from Aajeevika Bureau’s extensive experi- construction companies. As companies that
ence of working with and researching migrant operate across the country, they also recruit
labour in the region, (b) secondary sources construction labourers nationally. The work-
(listed in sources section) and (c) inputs from ers largely come from eastern India, including
partner organizations and sector experts. eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West
Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. They are
recruited by contractors on short-term project-
specific contracts. While the contractors enjoy
DEMOGRAPHICS OF MIGRANT continuity with the company, the labourers
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN move with projects across the country, with
AHMEDABAD only a small proportion hired on a perma-
nent basis by the company.2 This document
Major Source Areas and Migration mainly focuses on single and family-based
Patterns migrant workers arriving from tribal clusters
near or within Gujarat, who make up almost
Major source areas include the majority of 70 per cent of the construction workforce in
tribal districts of southern Rajasthan (Udaipur, Ahmedabad (Prayas, 2009). However, there
Dungarpur and Banswara), eastern Gujarat are many overlaps with other migrant groups
(Dahod, Panchmahal and Godhra) and west- in terms of working and living conditions.
ern Madhya Pradesh (Jhabua). Migration of
workers from these source areas is predom-
inantly seasonal, characterized by a high
Social Groups
degree of mobility, with migration cycles
ranging from 15 days to 3 months. Migrants Migrant workers are mostly single males,
also return to their villages during festivals from Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes.
and agricultural seasons. These workers Approximately 30 per cent of the migrants
largely cater to the inner city markets and are arrive in family groups which include women
hired on a daily wage basis at labour nakas and young children, especially from the afore-
mentioned tribal clusters.
2
Sudhir Katiyar in e-mail conversation with the authors on 4 November 2016.
Demographic profile of migrants
Male workers: Female workers: Children: up to 8–10

14–45 years 18–45 years years including infants
CONDITIONS OF WORK through the bottom-most layers of labour

recruiters, skilled workers and unskilled
Recruitment Process workers.
Recruitment processes are entirely mired in

informality and involve a long chain of con- Child Labour in the Construction
tractors and subcontractors. The two major Sector
ways of recruitment are either through the
nakas or through direct employment through Due to the prevalence of family migration,
labour contractors at construction sites. the presence of children at construction sites
Ahmedabad has around 90 labour nakas at is substantially high. Children take care of
each of which 200–1,000 workers congregate their younger siblings or perform household
every morning, looking for work and waiting chores at construction sites. They also assist
to be picked up by employers. Direct employ- in carrying loads of sand, bricks and tools
ment at the worksite is mediated through an and in cleaning the sites. There is a saying in
elaborate chain of contractors, who recruit the Rajasthani dialect, Vagdi, ‘Aathvi pass to
workers directly from the source and also earn zindabad, nahi to Ahmedabad ’. This translates
a commission for this service. The lowest to ‘If you pass class eight it is victory, if you
don’t then Ahmedabad is always an option’.
links in this chain are most often older
There are many NGOs and networks that work
migrants who are part of the same regional or against child labour. However, it is very difficult
caste-based social network in the rural areas. to abolish the practice. Inspection takes place
The chain then progresses towards destination- at very few sites and children are rarely res-
based contractors who aggregate workers cued. Systematic planning is absent for rescue
from different geographies and link them and rehabilitation efforts. On an average, child
finally with the principal employers. In one labourers work 8–10 hours a day, and receive
mapping exercise done by Aajeevika Bureau, `150–`200 for a day’s worth of labour.
it was found that there were a total of nine
levels in the recruitment chain. Builder, engi-
neer and contractor comprised the topmost At the beginning of the migration cycle, a
and upper-middle part of the chain. This was bulk amount is extended as an advance to the
followed by three levels of subcontractors migrant’s family at the source, thus, indebt-
who comprised the middle layer. They worked edness remains a pervasive feature of this
work arrangement. Once recruited by the sub- construction sites are paid lower wages than
contractors, work destinations for labourers those recruited at the nakas. However, the
change very frequently and information on availability of work at the nakas tends to be
this rapid circulation is rarely made available more variable and depends on the worker’s
to workers.3 Worksites are often in peripheral contacts and negotiation skills. Informal esti-
areas of Ahmedabad, resulting in long hours mates suggest that naka workers are able to
of difficult commuting—tens of workers are get work for only 15–20 days in a month while
huddled together like cattle in trucks. The sub- direct employment through a contractor yields
contractors are almost never licensed under work for 20–22 days a month. If a naka worker
the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, does not obtain work by a certain time in the
due to which the workers are deprived of ben- morning, he or she is often forced to take up
efits such as travel, compensation for wage work at a lower wage than usual. The prevail-
loss during travel as well as housing, in most ing daily wage rates in Ahmedabad are pro-
cases. vided in Table 43.1. Wage discrimination
between men and women is widespread and
normalized. There are hardly any skilled
workers among women as they lack opportu-
Type of Work
nities for upward mobility and diversification
The sector provides employment in varied (Mazumdar, Neetha & Agnihotri, 2013).
work profiles—construction of buildings (both
residential and commercial), sewerage and
drainage line construction, laying telephone After the age of 35 years, workers start with-
lines, tile laying, marble fitting, construction drawing from the construction sector. This is
accessories work, colouring, plastering, and because of the heavy workload which their
so on. Notably, there is a strong correlation emaciated bodies are unable to sustain. As per
between source of workers and the type of a migrant registration database maintained
work they undertake in the construction indus- by civil society organizations working with
migrant workers in western India, only 3.2
try. Workers from Gujarat and Rajasthan are
per cent of the respondents among migrant
observed to dominate masonry and centring
construction workers exceeded the age of 45
work. The fitting of marbles, stones and tiles is years.
mostly done by workers from Rajasthan while
workers from Uttar Pradesh are seen primarily
in plastering (PoP) and colouring work. Over
the course of time, select expertise has built up
Table 43.1 Daily Wage Rates, Labour Nakas
among workers of given source areas which
and Work Sites
reflects the dominant effect of social networks
in migrant labour markets. Labour Directly Employed
Daily Wages Nakas (`) at Sites (`)
Skilled workers 600 500

Unskilled workers 300 200
Remuneration (male)
Most migrants are employed in unskilled, Unskilled workers 250 180
bottom-end work within the construction
(female)
industry. Workers directly employed at the Source: Aajeevika Bureau (2014).
3
Centre for Urban Equity, CEPT University Ahmedabad and Prayas Centre for Labour Research and Action
(2014), Housing Conditions of Construction Workers in Ahmedabad.
Working Hours and Leave are able to withhold and pay less than what
the workers earn, without being held account-
On an average, a construction worker works able. Often upon completion of work, workers
for 8 hours from 10 am to 6 pm with a half an wish to return home, which becomes arduous
hour lunch-break in between. Construction if payments are not made in time. In cases
workers who are employed at worksites per- of denial of remuneration, workers go back
form overtime work, including night shifts, home without money. Formal legal redress
but they are seldom paid overtime rates. Paid of work disputes requires full names and
holidays are non-existent. They usually take a addresses of all parties. However, the lack of
one-day leave every month on amavasya (new a written agreement at the time of recruitment
moon) day, which remains unpaid (Aajeevika and multiple layers of subcontracting mar the
Bureau, 2013). prospects of workers in seeking redress from
labour departments and labour courts. The
current legal machinery is also not adept at
A database of 1,224 work disputes regis- handling disputes in the unorganized sector,
tered by NGOs working with migrant workers where labourers have little documentary proof
reveals that 94 per cent of the disputes are
of their employment, are widely scattered and
related to payment of wages. For a total of
846 cases related to wage payment, the total
circulate frequently across state boundaries
outstanding amount came up to `21.8 million. (Aajeevika Bureau, 2014).
The median amount of payment under dispute
per worker is `4,940, which is significant for a
poor migrant.
Risk and Workplace Safety
There are only a few industries as hazardous
as construction work. Work at elevation, work
Work Contracts and Wage Payments involving heavy overhead loads, operation of
heavy machinery and power tools, confined
Barring the first one or two levels of contrac- spaces to work in, temperature extremes and
tors, all work agreements are made verbally. material handling demands combine to
This greatly constrains enforceability of the increase the risk of injuries. In the absence of
contracts. Naka workers are paid on a daily safety measures, including right clothing and
basis but if they are employed for a long dura- protective gears, workers often become vic-
tion, payment is made only after the comple- tims of workplace accidents. Newspapers
tion of work. On the other hand, workers at carry at least two reports of accident-related
the sites get their full settlement only after deaths at worksites in a month. Real figures
their respective work segments have been are likely to comprise a far larger number of
completed. In the meantime, workers are only deaths and injuries. However, these are usu-
given a kharchi, to meet basic expenses on ally concealed by contractors and builders.
a weekly or fortnightly basis. Attendance is
most often maintained solely by the contractor
which leads to many disputes regarding settle-
Construction sites operate as concealed,
ment of wages. hidden and invisible spaces where accidents,
Cases of wage disputes, such as withhold- deaths and instances of child labour go unno-
ing of wages and non-payment or delayed ticed and unregistered.
payment, are common. Migrants often do
not log their work hours and payments due to
them. When there are no records, employers
An Aajeevika Bureau survey suggests that Social Protection

injuries caused by alien particles in the eye
are most common, as 28 per cent respondents In the absence of a formal employment rela-
admitted suffering from such eye injuries. Of tionship, workers do not enjoy any social
the respondents, 25 per cent had suffered an security benefits from the employer. The
injury on their heads, 20 per cent had suf- Workers Welfare Board recently constituted
fered fall-related injuries, 11 per cent were
hit by a falling object, 10 per cent had been
injured by electric equipment and 6 per cent Crèche facilities for children migrating with
their families are absent at worksites. Children
were struck by a moving vehicle. Notably,
are often left to roam around on construc-
a fall from a height was almost three times tion sites or are tethered to a spot near their
higher among male workers than among their mothers. Sometimes, they are looked after by
female counterparts. This was because male elder siblings who are very often deprived of
workers were solely involved in skilled and education owing to factors such as language
semi-skilled occupations like scaffolding and barriers (in case of interstate migrants) as well
centring work. Male workers being struck as constant mobility of the parents between
by falling objects also had almost two–three worksites and across cities. The worst outcome
times higher chances than female workers did. of this movement is their exposure to work-
Other causes of injuries, such as being struck place hazards and health risks, disruption to
by a hammer, heavy object or by a vehicle their education, and how they are forced into
paid labour in sub-optimal conditions so early
and electrical injuries, were equally common
in their lives. The adverse impact of these work
among male and female workers. Although arrangements is intergenerational, affecting
labourers have such dangerous working condi- the future of workers’ children.
tions, 97 per cent of them do not have any life
insurance (study conducted by Self-Employed
Women’s Association [SEWA], Delhi, 2011).
Compensation is rarely given to workers under the Building and Other Construction
or their families, even in cases of fatal acci- Workers’ (BoCW) Act, 1996 has started to
dents. Compensation amounts, if at all paid, enrol construction workers, including migrants
remain less than 10 per cent of the legal from other states, which is an encouraging
provisions mandated under the Workmen’s
Compensation Act, 1923. What is provided is
A large number of female construction work-
first-aid treatment and the remainder of costs ers, who are unskilled helpers, face sexual
are borne by the workers. In the absence of exploitation and harassment at worksites.
paid leave during injury, workers are reduced Gender inequalities add a deeper layer to the
to taking loans. Sometimes these circum- existing vulnerabilities, which manifest in var-
stances turn young children into child labour- ious forms such as unequal wages, no mater-
ers. Ahmedabad city has witnessed instances nity benefits, sexual harassment, poor nutrition
where a worker’s body is sent at his or her rel- and ill health. It is observed that women
atives expense to the source for funeral rituals accompanied by their husbands fail to enrol
by the builder. Although entitled to compen- as workers with the Welfare Board. This further
sation and other dues, workers hardly receive constrains their visibility and denies them their
rights as workers and welfare benefits such as
any, either because of denial of responsibility
paid maternity leave and toolkits.
by employers, poor vigil and enforcement
by local administration or at times, corrup-
tion and squandering of money at the level of
contractors. step. However, workers face tremendous diffi-
culty in enrolling themselves as members.
Lack of portability persists for family-based Temporary Shelters or Open Spaces

schemes, which affects single male migrants
who leave their families behind at the source. Family-based migrants live in open spaces,
For example, benefits such as scholarships for under flyovers, beside railway tracks or in
children and family healthcare cannot be temporary shelters in large open grounds.
accessed by those workers whose families are Unable to afford rented accommodations,
not present in Gujarat, limiting the scope of this group is the most vulnerable of all. They
benefits considerably. seldom have access to any basic public ameni-
ties including water, sanitation and electricity.
Given the shortage of public water facilities in
the city, women have to endure a long strug-
Collective Bargaining and Freedom gle for water supply every day. Bathing usu-
of Association ally takes place at worksites in the evenings
after work or at their living sites very early
Migrant workers are dispersed across the
in the mornings. Their living conditions are
wide urban canvas that seriously inhibits their
prime examples of the poor housing choices
ability to organize themselves in formal or
that migrants are compelled to make. While
informal ways (Abbas & Varma, 2013). They
a lack of steady employment options forces
are divided across caste, geographical or lin-
them to move from one worksite to the other,
guistic lines due to which the class identity
healthcare and income shocks in their house-
of the worker does not assume prominence
holds at the source trigger a great degree of
(Bonner & Spooner, 2008). The hidden nature
movement between source and destination.
of work at construction sites and high levels
Limited economic means and a high degree of
of mobility of the workers across construction
mobility prevent them from investing in safe
sites works against the process of unioniza-
and secure living spaces, which further com-
tion of workers. Migrant workers hardly find
promises their ability to access other public
representation in national-level trade unions,
services and makes them vulnerable to harass-
which largely cater to workers in the formal
ment by police and local authorities. Workers
sector. Their highly precarious existence in
have reported paying anything between `50
the city also limits their ability to make any
and `500 to policemen to continue living in
demands on the public systems. Migrants
the open. In 2009, PRAYAS identified 22
do not have voting rights at the destination,
locations in the city where 10,100 migrant
which further constrains their ability to make
labourers were found living in open spaces
demands effectively.
(Behaviour Science Centre, 2009). It is deeply
ironical that construction workers build homes
for others but are not provided with decent
CONDITIONS OF LIVING living conditions by builders or authorities in
the city.
The perilous existence of migrant construction
workers in the labour market is exacerbated by
equally precarious conditions of living in the On Construction Sites
city. Workers live either in temporary shelters
or in open spaces, at the worksite or in rented Workers recruited to work directly on the sites
accommodation in slums. Each arrangement are provided spaces by the builders to live on
is ridden with high risks, enhancing their vul- the sites. These sites, however, lack facilities
nerability further and forcing them to live in for a dignified living and workers struggle
inhuman conditions. to access clean drinking water or sanitation
facilities. Bathing and defecation take place in use diesel as a cooking fuel due to their inabil-
the open, which is a major cause of suffering, ity to access public distribution system (PDS)
especially for female workers. No additional in the destination state. High expenses on food
facilities are made available for the children and fuel and erratic eating habits translate to
of workers who migrate with their families. poor nutrition and low immunity among con-
Migrants who live on construction sites face struction workers.
issues associated with unhygienic living con- Added to this is the nature of construction
ditions and lack of safe, secure spaces and work, which results in many occupational
their lives are mired in complete invisibility. diseases. Ahmedabad has very high temper-
atures through most of the year and construc-
tion labourers work in the open in extreme
heat without any protective gear and with
Rented Accommodation in Slums
insufficient water supply. The most common
There is a third category of migrant workers problem experienced by workers is that of
who are able to rent rooms or are allotted body pain caused by long hours of perilous
rooms by their employers in slums, but they labour. Skin diseases and poor eyesight are
are also forced to persist in poor, congested also common due to excessive contact with
living environments—dimly lit spaces with cement and sand. Occupational diseases are
very poor ventilation that house about 5–10 usually treated by buying medicines from
workers in spaces as small as 8 × 10 feet. One local pharmacies. Workers rarely go to a
example is that of the Desai and Rabari pasto- clinic because private medical facilities are
ral communities who offer rooms to migrant very costly in the city. Malaria is widespread
labourers on their land which is meant for in the monsoon season as water is stored in
cattle. These rooms cost between `1,500 and open tanks at construction sites. Frequent
`2,500 per month, depending upon their sizes. cases of tuberculosis are reported among con-
In most cases, the rooms lack proper roofs, struction workers and this is considered to
electricity or water connections. The con- be an outcome of exacting work conditions,
struction being illegal, owners rarely invest in poor living environments and poor nutrition.
maintenance activities. Migrants themselves When the illness is prolonged, workers gen-
are responsible for all eventualities, including erally go back to their villages for treatment.
harassment by law enforcement agencies or It is a strange reality that workers choose to
theft. There are cases where the house owners go back to their homes in medically under-
force workers to purchase exorbitantly priced served regions, despite ample medical facili-
food supplies from their shops located in the ties being available in the city.
slums. It is frequently observed that workers start
Studies estimate that migrants in the city exiting the labour market at the age of 30–35
end up spending almost 40 per cent of their years and return to their native village. An
income on water, fuel, food grains and vege- analysis of the economic life cycle of migrants
tables because they are compelled to buy gro- reveals that while a skilled worker reaches his
ceries in small quantities on account of their or her prime at about 30 years of age, unskilled
high mobility and irregular consumption (Ali, migrants begin their exit from the labour mar-
2008). Vegetables and grains are bought at kets. Long working hours, hard manual labour
high rates and kerosene is illegally purchased and exposure to occupational health hazards,
from the black market at `50–`60 per litre. exacerbated by poor living conditions, take a
Wood is bought at `10 per kilogram. Workers serious toll on their physical health.
living on construction sites are also found to
14 to 20 21 to 27/30 27/30 to 35/40 onwards

years years 35/40 Commuters
Secondary Primary wage Manual Lower earning
Beginning of Exit
Peak Work Life
wage earners labour takes capacity
E a r ly E n t r y
earners toll Children start

Start family
Return
Commuters migrating
Slide back into

poverty
Economic Life Cycle of a Migrant Worker
WHAT CAN BE DONE: KEY verification, and finally, facilitate linkages

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY with public services and social security. These
UPTAKE facilities can be run by the labour department
or in collaboration with NGOs and worker
The evidence presented thus far builds a case groups and with assistance from local civic
for immediate policy attention to the tens of authorities (Aajeevika Bureau, 2014).
thousands of workers coming to Ahmedabad
every year and contributing to its prosper-
ity. Research studies and initiatives by the Registration of Construction Workers
civil society offer useful lessons and insights and Portability of Benefits across
on how the government, industry and non- States under the Building and Other
governmental organizations (NGOs) together Construction Workers Welfare Board
can work towards creating an inclusive work
and living environment for migrants in the An effective and transparent system of enrol-
city. Some of the tenets of this response can ment and distribution of benefits needs to be
potentially include the following: created where workers can apply directly.
They must be made aware of the documen-
tation requirements and should also be able
to track the status of their applications. For
Setting Up of Worker Facilitation
greater efficacy of the welfare efforts, there is
Centres Both at the Source and a need to ensure portability of the scheme on
Destination Areas following three counts:
On account of their frequent travel, return and
relocation, migrant workers require structures 1. Portability of registration of beneficiaries
2. Portability of disbursement of benefits
that they can easily access in their regular
3. Disbursement of family-based benefits (such as
migration corridors. These centres can under- scholarships for children and family medical bene-
take mapping and registration of migrant fits) to incoming single male migrants whose fam-
workers helping government obtain estimates ilies reside in other states
of the overall magnitude and trends, offer
information and emergency support to work- This requires creation of interstate coordina-
ers facilitating search for accommodation, tion mechanisms and the development of a
labour recruitment and assistance with police
centralized system of welfare delivery using working on sites, and mothers being forced to
easily accessible technology platforms. The work before/immediately after delivery.
recent proposition to standardize certain 3. Targeted initiatives for upskilling of female work-
components of the benefits so that they are ers to take on skilled jobs, such as masonry and
carpentry form the essential first step in ensuring
common across all states is a step in the right
equal opportunities in the construction sector.
direction. Skilling initiatives must be designed and imple-
Currently, most of the revenue to the mented in a manner that caters to the unique
BoCW Board comes from government con- needs of female workers. Skilling must go hand
struction projects. There is an dire need to in hand with support in accessing skilled jobs
strengthen the cess collection mechanisms so post-training as women find it difficult to access
that the mandated amounts are deposited by male-dominated trades.
all builders across the board. Such compa- 4. To address cases of sexual harassment of women,
nies that deposit cess with the BoCW should internal complaints committees should be set up
ensure that the workers employed indirectly within the worksite with civil powers of enquiry
or on temporary contracts in their projects and conciliation as per the Sexual Harassment of
Women at Workplace (Protection, Prevention and
receive the mandated social security coverage.
Redressal) Act, 2013.
Further, social security benefits offered by the 5. In open spaces, women are often forced to go
BoCW may be aligned to the number of days for work even when they are ill as their residen-
worked, taking into its fold basic social secu- tial spaces are unsafe. The Ahmedabad Municipal
rity, including Provident Fund (PF), gratuity Corporation (AMC) can consider setting up wom-
and insurance, in order to replace the pleth- en’s resource centres to create safe spaces for
ora of existing schemes that are prone to high female workers.
leakages.4
Special Measures to Address the Provision for Dignified Housing, Basic

Exclusion of Female Construction Amenities and Food and Fuel Subsidy
Workers for Migrant Workers
Purposive inclusion of women under the The government, in partnership with the
BoCW scheme as independent workers will industry, should introduce low-cost rented
need to be undertaken to ensure that their accommodation for migrant workers on a
identities as workers are protected and pro- sharing basis in high migrant-density centres.
moted and to ensure they have access to ded- Furthermore, worker hostels that are availa-
icated benefits such as paid maternity leave. ble for short-term can be created in the city.
Special emphasis should be given to the provi-
1. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 should be sion of basic amenities, such as drinking water,
enforced strictly, so that women earn wages equal electricity and toilets, in the living spaces of
to men for performing the same jobs and are able migrant workers. Creative solutions, which
to access the same rights and entitlements as a also allow for portability of these amenities,
worker.
need to be encouraged with an involvement
2. The provision of maternity leave of 26 weeks
of social design experts, in a public–private
under the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 should be
extended to female construction workers as well. partnership mode. Steps should be taken to
This is especially important in the context of fre- ensure that rain baseras in the city are better
quent miscarriages faced by pregnant women
4
Sudhir Katiyar in email conversation with the authors on 4 November 2016.
maintained and managed and are responsive provision of adequate safety equipment and
to the needs of seasonal migrants. sharing of safety information with workers.
The open spaces where migrant communi- It provides specific instructions on covering
ties live need to be notified and enumerated of scaffoldings and removal of live wires to
by AMC. These communities need to be pro- ensure physical safety of workers on site.
vided basic facilities, such as clean drinking There is also a requirement for an in-house
water, sanitation (portable toilets), cooking medical officer on construction sites with
gas connections and healthcare services by 200 workers or more. The Act also suggests
the AMC. The frequent eviction drives carried hiring a safety inspector to ensure adher-
out by the AMC that victimize and jeopardize ence to safety guidelines and constitution of
the lives of migrant communities need to end. a safety committee with the participation of
For workers living on construction sites, workers. These guidelines need to be actively
the employer should be mandated to provide implemented. The bigger players within the
temporary housing facilities that are free and construction industry should lead the way and
safe. Most labour colonies are makeshift, with the help of the government at different
temporary shacks that the workers them- levels, institutionalize them across the board.
selves put up, these should be replaced with The government especially needs to increase
well-designed, robust structures that meet all its vigilance capacity to ensure adherence to
the physical and social needs of the worker these norms.
community.
These residential facilities can include
the provision of a mess to provide cheap and
Provision of Basic Amenities at
healthy food. Community kitchens, where
Labour Nakas
workers can cook their food using subsidized
fuel in a hygienic and clean cooking envi- The labour nakas, by virtue of being informal,
ronment, are another option. Given the high are usually situated at crossroads or on road-
mobility of worker populations, the public sides. Therefore, they lack basic minimum
distribution system of India also needs a sys- facilities such as shaded seating, supply of
temic overhaul. The new system needs to drinking water and sanitation facilities, which
enable portability of food and fuel subsidy. In more organized and formal recruitment cen-
the interim period, migrant ration cards can tres otherwise ensure. Female workers find it
be provided to facilitate access to subsidized especially difficult to stand at the labour nakas
food retail stores. in absence of these facilities. Efforts should be
made to ensure provision of basic amenities
at labour nakas in order to facilitate smooth
Ensuring High-quality Safety and transaction of labour services.
Protection Gear and Adherence to
Safety Norms at Workplaces
Crèche Facilities for Children from
The construction industry with support from
Migrant Families
the government and the civil society should
draft a set of guidelines for model worksites Crèche facilities for children from migrant
that ensure safety and dignity of workers families need to be created and activated
and outline non-negotiables when it comes across all construction sites. A set of guide-
to human life. The safety guidelines under lines detailing benchmarks for trained staff,
BoCW provide a useful framework which space, infrastructure and basic facilities must
includes training and induction of workers, be developed and implemented. Integrated
Child Development Services (ICDS) and Setting up of Low-cost Diagnostic

Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) and Curative Healthcare Facilities
services, including vaccinations and food
for pregnant mothers and children in the age The government should set up or promote the
group of 0–6 years as well as schooling for setting up of low-cost diagnostic and curative
children in the age group of 6–14 years, need facilities for migrant workers and their fami-
to be ensured. Access to ICDS and ICPS ser- lies at destination. Apart from the assessment
vices for children in migrant families can be and treatment of common ailments, these
achieved through better convergence between facilities should be equipped with screening
the labour department and the Department of for occupational diseases such as asthma,
Women and Child Development. tuberculosis and skin allergies. They should
be equipped to refer patients with serious
ailments to relevant government/private hos-
pitals in cases of accidents, trauma and other
Setting up Fast Track Legal Dispute emergencies. In the case of private health-
Resolution Mechanisms to Address care providers, the referral should provide for
Serious Violations of Worker Rights either subsidized/low-cost or free treatment
depending on the financial condition of the
Any framework for the support of migrant
worker. Health awareness camps/meetings
workers must be built on effective regulation,
should also be organized from time to time at
vigil and a swift redress system to address the
the worksites or at residential settlements of
issues faced by the migrant workers. A special
migrant workers, where information regarding
desk to register and act upon the complaints
primitive and preventive health practices can
of workers in distress may be set up to ensure
be given to the migrant community.
that the workers are not forced to remain silent
or helpless in the face of fraudulent or manip-
ulative work arrangements. Most workers’
cases are likely to be relatively small ticket, REFERENCES
and hence, will remain unlikely choices for
litigation. The format of mediation carried Aajeevika Bureau. (2013). Profile of migrant workers in
out within a credible paralegal framework Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Unpublished manuscript.
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labour helpline services for workers can help migration from Rajasthan. Supported by Sir Dorabji
open up the gateway to distressed workers Tata Trust and released by UNESCO and UN Women
who are in need of counselling, support and in October 2014.
urgent action. Experiences from the labour Abbas, R., & Varma, D. (2013). Internal labour migration
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this forum for redress of grievances and guid- Washington, DC: Migration Information Source,
Migration Policy Institute.
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Ali, Z. (2008, December). What’s on the menu? Under-
much better coordination between the labour
standing food habits and challenges of migrant
departments of different regions in sending workers in Ahmedabad. Paper presented at Aajeevika
and receiving information is required to help Bureau Knowledge Sharing Workshop, Ahmedabad,
migrant workers access legal justice in an Gujarat.
effective way. This does pose several practical Behaviour Science Centre. (2009). Situational analysis
challenges and demands the highest level of of construction labour market of Ahmedabad City.
political agreement between governments to Ahmedabad: Behavioural Science Center.
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bonner.pdf Labor Research and Action. Retrieved from http://
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XLVIII(10), 54–64. researches/labouring_brick_by_brick.pd
44
Cyclical Mobility
Rabiul Ansary
Bhaswati Das
INTRODUCTION of the total population). But micro-level

studies paint a different picture of the tem-
Migration, or much of it as cyclic mobility, porary movement pattern that is emerging in
is now an integral part of the alternative live- India. Population mobility (i.e., temporary,
lihood strategies pursued by a large number seasonal and commuting) has observed a
of poor people living in destitute conditions sharp increase in recent times (Deshingkar
in the rural areas (Deshingkar & Farrington, & Anderson, 2004). Circular movement from
2009). The mobility of people is increas- rural areas is emerging as a dominant form
ingly becoming complex with improve- of movement among the poorer population
ment in transport and communications as in India. About ten million poor people move
they desperately search for better livelihood away from their usual places of residence to
sources. This mobility ranges from daily or find work for periods ranging from weeks
weekly or monthly commutation to tempo- to months (Deshingkar & Grimm, 2005).
rary migration and is much diverse in nature Village-level studies in major states of India
and sometimes difficult to capture in large- (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha,
scale surveys. The official data sources in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) are docu-
India (Census of India and National Sample menting vast and growing numbers of short-
Survey Office [NSSO]), by adopting simple term internal out-migrants accounting for
definitions, remove many of the complexi- nearly about 30 million or more (Deshingkar,
ties involved with human mobility and con- 2006). Circular migration rates are also high
centrate more on migration that is relatively among chronically poor people in remote
long term in nature. However, in 1999–2000 rural areas. An estimated 0.3 million labour-
(55th round of NSSO), there was some hope ers migrate for work from the drought-prone
as the data reported gross figures of tempo- Balangir district in western Odisha every year
rary migration for work in India (only 1% (Deshingkar, 2003). Studies by Srivastava
(1998) and Byres (1999) also found that by engaging in manual wage work or petty
seasonal migration from rural areas for business. These occupations continue to be
manual work has increased dramatically in important sources of livelihood for some
India since the 1960s. Rogaly et al. (2003) people.
estimated that over 0.5 million people (par- In the present study ‘cyclic mobility’ is
ents and children) migrate seasonally to the defined as the process in which individuals
rice-producing district of Bardhaman, West from a particular household2 go out from the
Bengal each year from the surrounding displace of origin for occupation-related rea-
tricts and the neighbouring state of Jharkhand sons and stayed for at least 2 weeks but less
(erstwhile south Bihar). than 6 months at the place of destination and
People from Murshidabad district moved then returned home, involving more than
out temporarily for manual work elsewhere one outward and return movements. Thus,
in West Bengal to reduce the insecurities cyclic mobility is an occurrence of repeated
they face including hunger, debt, ill health to and fro movements with an interval of
and workplace exploitation (Rogaly et al., time specified for this purpose. It also does
2001). A detailed study of the ‘Bagri region’ not contain any specific and well-defined
on the east bank of the Bhagirathi river in pattern. Places of destination and dura-
Murshidabad district before and after the tions vary with the availability of services
millennium flood1 in West Bengal (Chapman or work at the destinations and work to be
& Rudra, 2007) observed a changing course done back home. The present study has
of human mobility. A longitudinal study in covered the circular mobility of the petty
Murshidabad district (Rafique et al., 2006) traders, construction workers and any other
observed changing meaning and course of casual workers who remain absent for a
migration from the year 2000 onwards from defined interval of time from the places of
transplanting and harvesting paddy to urban origin for work-related reasons, involving
construction work, brick-kilns, earthwork ‘multiple outward and inward movements’,
and other petty businesses. The millennium in the last one year. Thus, the term cyclic
flood completely destroyed the means of mobility differs from the term migration on
livelihoods and left no options other than timescale and in any declared intention of
moving out from the villages to avert ini- longstanding change of residence. It also
tial cash crisis and food shortage of the poor differs from seasonal or temporary migra-
households in the eastern districts (Rafique tion. Cyclic mobility occurs on a substantial
et al., 2006). The village-level study of scale, both within the state (interdistrict and
Reja and Das (2016) in Murshidabad dis- intradistrict) and between states (interstate).
trict found large numbers of young male The present study also focuses on interd-
cohorts migrating for manual work to other istrict and interstate movements from the
states (long-distance). Employment-related study area. Migration, in the present study,
male migration from rural areas (interdis- is defined as the process in which ‘any
trict and interstate) is one of the dominant person from a particular household who had
forms of migrants in India (Abbas & Varma, stayed away from his present place of origin
2014; Rafique et al., 2006; Srivastava, 2011). for a period of more than six months for
Alongside, middle-aged populations have occupation related reasons during the last
started practising cyclic mobility elsewhere two years provided he/she is still migrating
in West Bengal or to neighbouring states at the time of survey’.
1
The Kalukhali bonya (flood of Kalukhali) in late September 2000.
2
A household is defined in this study as a domestic group sharing food cooked at a common hearth.
Cyclical Mobility 607
OBJECTIVES, DATA COLLECTION number of responses regarding the destination

TOOLS AND METHODOLOGY (i.e., rural–urban) is more than the number
of cases. It emerged that over the reference
With this background, the present chapter is an period, the number of responses is higher
attempt to distinguish the socio-economic and (688) than the number of cases (450). It means
demographic characteristics of the respond- that on an average, one respondent had moved
ents from the study area who opted for cyclic out to more than one destination during the
mobility and migration. The present study is study period. Further, from the distribution of
entirely based on primary data collected from respondents across the places of destination, it
Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The is observed that 90 per cent of all cases are in
study mostly used quantitative information to rural areas and 62 per cent are in urban areas.
understand the mechanisms of the phenomena It can be inferred from the results that respond-
of cyclic mobility and migration. Fieldwork ents who moved out to rural destinations
was carried out in three phases which involved for employment or other occupation-related
a pilot survey and repeated visits in 2015 and reasons changed their destinations more fre-
2016. An in-depth study was conducted at the quently than those who move out to urban
places of origin. Snowball sampling method areas. In the category of cyclic mobility, 137
was used to select the respondents. A set of per cent movements were to rural areas and
450 predesigned and precoded questionnaires 39 per cent movements were to urban areas.
was canvassed among the respondents who Respondents practising migration who are
opted for cyclic mobility and migration from more likely to enter in urban areas accounted
the district. Out of 450 samples, 170 were for 99 per cent of the sample respondents.
from the households which had at least one Thus, those who opted for cyclic mobility are
migrant member and remaining 280 respond- more likely to go to rural areas (i.e., villages)
ents were those who practised cyclic mobil- and those who practised migration are more
ity. Apart from that, in-depth interviews were likely to go to urban destinations.
conducted. In the present study, information In the selection of destination states by the
only on male migrants who were moving out respondents in two different types of mobility,
from the households for work-related reasons pattern intrinsic differences were observed. It
is captured. Descriptive statistics have been should be mentioned that in the study group
used to analyse the large primary data set. of cyclic mobility, major occupation groups
were petty businesses (70%) and the rest of
the respondents worked in construction sectors
(30%). The findings of the study reveal that
Mobility Pattern from Murshidabad the respondents who entered into cyclic mobil-
District: An Overview ity for petty businesses floated on an average
Migrants very frequently rotate across work- among four destination villages in a single trip.
sites and sectors based on availability of On the other hand, those who entered into cyclic
work (Chatterjee, 2006). Most of the sur- mobility and engaged in building and construc-
veyed respondents had to frequently change tion work floated on an average between 1.5
their places of destination. The propensity to urban destinations. To the respondents who
change destination was very high among those had opted for cyclic mobility, the most favour-
respondents who practised cyclic mobility able destination state was West Bengal and it
than the respondents who opted for migration. accounted for 189 per cent of the responses. In
Most of the sampled respondents were from West Bengal, still most favourable destination
rural areas. Since many of the respondents among the respondents of cyclic mobility was
rotated across multiple destinations, the total Kolkata. Those who had developed a network
of cyclic mobility between their places of origin were engaged in different sets of occupa-
and Kolkata were mostly involved in constructions in building and construction sectors at
tion work (i.e., mason and helpers). The second the destination states. It further emerged that
most-favoured destination district was Dinajpur in interstate migration, the most favourable
where most of the respondents were engaged destination state was Kerala (52%). In Kerala,
in petty business (i.e., hawking mixed house- most favourable destinations were the Aluva
holds items, selling plastic and stainless steel and Ernakulam districts to where most of the
utensils). From the study area, people move respondents from the Murshidabad district
out to districts like Bardhaman and Midnapore migrated. The study was in accordance with
not only for work in the agricultural field but the village-level research in the Murshidabad
also for petty business (i.e., conch bangles district which observed that nearly more
business, hawking clothes and purchasing and than half of the long-distance migrants were
selling of agricultural products). There was a likely to enter Kerala (Reja & Das, 2016). The
considerable number of respondents who were second most favoured destination state was
engaged in the business of conch bangles in Gujarat which accounted for 27 per cent of
Puruliya district. It is worthwhile to mention the total responses. In this state, most favour-
that conch bangles are a must wear for mar- able destination district was Surat where most
ried Hindu women in West Bengal. The tradi- of the respondents were engaged in house
tional rural society imposes the practice more painting and floor tiles fitting. Labourers from
than the urban society does, keeping a steady Murshidabad skilled in this particular work are
market for the product in rural areas. The in large demand in Surat. Other southern states,
second most-favoured destination state among such as Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and Karnataka
respondents was Bihar which accounted for (Bengaluru), were also favourable destinations
85 per cent of the total responses. In Bihar, among migrants from the Murshidabad district
most of the respondents who were involved in and accounted for 23 per cent and 14 per cent
petty businesses (i.e., conch bangles business responses, respectively. In the neighbouring
and collection and selling of scrap materials) states where the level of urbanization is low,
roamed around the districts of Araria, Katihar low wage rate pulled less migrants from the
and Purnia. Neighbouring states like Jharkhand particular stream accounted for 6 per cent
and Odisha were the third and fourth most (Jharkhand), 4 per cent (Odisha) and 3 per
favourable destination states among them. The cent (Bihar). In these states, the most-favoured
most favoured districts were Deograh (conch destination districts were Ranchi (Jharkhand),
bangles business) in Jharkhand and Balassore Jharsuguda (Odisha) and Patna (Bihar).
(hawking clothes), Jagpur (conch bangles busi-
ness) and Mayurbhunj and Jharsuguda (mason
and helper) in Odisha.
Socio-economic and Demographic
Further, in cyclic mobility, those who were
Profiles
engaged in building and construction sector
work in urban areas, also floated in neigh- The relative importance of economic and
bouring states. The states of Odisha and Bihar socio-demographic characteristics of the
accounted for 13 per cent and 11 per cent mobile population may not only differ
of the total responses, respectively, in urban from region to region but also within geo-
areas in the category of cyclic mobility. graphical areas and populations. The role
The pattern of mobility among the respond- of households as the decision-making units
ents who practised migration involved both to move out affects individuals of specified
long-distances (interstate) and long spells socio-economic categories. The decisive
of time outside the state boundary and they role of demographic characteristics (i.e.,
age, sex, family size and level of education) population (Yadava, 1989; Zachariah, 1968).
for the migration process appeared from the In the present study, irrespective of their
study of Haq and Rehman (1975). In India, type of mobility, it is observed that most of
the studies also found a positive correlation the mobile or migrating populations were in
between socio-economic and demographic the young age (20–39 year) groups. The age
characteristics and migration among inter- groups 25–29 years stand as a divide between
state migrants. Several scholars showed that young working age and late young working
migration is related to age, sex, education age. It is evident from Figure 44.1 that from
and economic status of the migrants. Micro- age 19 years onwards, people start to out-
studies suggested that most of the migrants migrate and steadily reach the peak before
are in the age group of 16–40 years, particu- they reach 30 years of age. Around 75 per
larly among temporary or semi- permanent cent of the respondents who migrated for a
migrants whose duration of stay may last long-term were in their prime working age
from 60 days to 1 year. The detailed accounts (20–34 years). A steady decline in migration
of socio-economic and demographic back- in the mid-30s was a prominent phenomenon
ground of respondents who opted for mobil- in the area. In case of respondents who opted
ity3 from rural Murshidabad for work in for cyclic mobility, a substantial proportion of
informal sectors lead to a comprehensive them were in late groups. Percentage distri-
understanding that the mobility process in this bution of the migrant respondents in the age
case also is intertwined with socio-economic group of 19–34 years was 76 per cent, while
factors at the places of origin. Individual and the corresponding figure for cyclic mobility
household characteristics that influence the was 46 per cent. On the other hand, percent-
decision to migrate vary by types of migra- age distribution of the respondents who opted
tion (i.e., short- and long-distance, seasonal for cyclic mobility in the later age (35–50
or temporary and circular). years and above) accounted for 54 per cent
and migration was only 24 per cent.
The propensity to migrate declined at a
much faster rate than the propensity to opt for
Demographic Profile of the Mobile
cyclic mobility with age. Cyclic mobility was
Population
practised either within the state boundary or
The age of a man indicates his stage of life, to neighbouring states. A statistical test (chi-
which influences the decision of whether to squared test4) was run to explore and inves-
move out for short- or long-distance, for short- tigate the significance of variations observed
term or semi-permanently. People in their between percentages of respondents by their
middle age carry a heavy baggage of duties and types of mobility. The ‘Pearson chi-square
responsibilities towards their families which value’ indicated a value of 56.08 with an asso-
prevents them from moving out or remaining ciated significance level of 0.000. It indicated
absent for long spells of time from the house- that the percentage of migrants who were
holds. Accordingly, in the present study, the young in age was significantly different from
younger cohorts with mean age of 28 years the percentage of respondents who opted for
(SD 7.4 years) opted for migration whereas the cyclic mobility. Further, there appeared to be
older cohorts with mean age of 36.3 years (SD an association between migration and ages.
10.5 years) opted for cyclic mobility. The ‘phi coefficient’ (correlation coefficient)
Several studies have shown that migra- indicated a stronger relationship between
tion as a process is favoured among young age and nature of the movement. The phi
3
Both cyclic mobility and migration.
4
To explore the relationship between two categorical variables.
35
Migration
30
29.4 Cycles of mobility
27.1
25
20
Percentage
20
18.8
15.4
15
16.1 12.9 13.9
10 10.7
9.6 11.8
6.5
5
4.7
0.6 1.2
0
Less than 19 20−24 25−29 30−34 35−39 40−44 45−49 50 and above
Figure 44.1 Age Distribution of the Sampled Respondents

Source: Prepared by the authors from the Field Survey Data, 2016.
coefficient value was 0.35 with an associated Table 44.1 Demographic Characteristic of
significance level of 0.000, which was consid- the Study Population
ered as a higher effect5 indicating strong asso- Population Percentage
ciation between age, mobility and migration.
Young population (0–14 576 29.5
Nearly 66 per cent of the total surveyed
years)
population was in the working-age group,
Old age population 79 4.0
followed by the young-age population which (60 + years)
was around 30 per cent. The study was in Working age dependent 847 43.4
accordance with national-level research and population (15–59 years)
observed that nearly one-fourth of the pop- Total dependent 1,502 76.9
ulations are mobile and working in a fragile Total mobile population 450 23.1
casual labour market (Minority Concentrated
Source: Computed from the field survey data, 2016; total
District Project Ministry of Minority’s Affairs,
surveyed population 1,952.
Government of India, 2008; West Bengal
Rural Household Survey, 2006). Average
were dependent on one mobile person. It
dependency on mobile labour (ADML)6 is
was observed that the burden of dependent
presented in Table 44.1.
members was much higher (nearly 5) among
The calculation of ADML was done to
those who opted for cyclic mobility, whereas
determine the extent to which the house-
for those who were migrants, the burden of
hold members were dependent upon mobile
dependents was much lower (3.1).
respondents’ income or the family burden
Numerical representations cannot capture
on each mobile person. On an average, more
the magnitude of the family burden on the
than three (i.e., 3.3) household members
5
Cohen’s (1988) criteria of (0.10) small effects (0.30) medium effects (0.50) for large effect.
Total household population
6
ADML =
Total mobile labour
mobile population as these also include social cyclic mobility and 29 per cent for respondents
responsibilities lying on them that need to be who practised migration. Interestingly, among
fulfilled. Getting daughters or sisters married all the respondents and types of mobility, the
into a hypergamous society involves large number of persons moving out declined with
amount of monetary investment. In the study the increasing level of education. Because
group, 91 per cent had at least one daughter/ both the categories of movers were joined in
sister of a marriageable age. Slightly more the low-end works, including heavy manual
than half (51.4%) of them who practised cyclic labour-intensive occupations (petty businesses
mobility had daughters/sisters of marriage- and building construction work) at the destina-
able age. The corresponding figure among tions, the role of education was insignificant.
migrants was half, that is, 25.3 per cent. This On the other hand, higher educated persons
was because the mean age of this group was preferred not to out-migrate for these type of
higher than that of migrants, and they were works. The ‘Pearson chi-square value’ indi-
at a mature stage in their family life. On the cated a value of 3.9 with an associated signif-
other hand, because of more family responsi- icance level of 0.407. In this case, the result
bilities, they opted for cyclic mobility so that was not statistically significant implying no
they remained in close touch with the family. determining role of the education level.
The defining role of education in the migra- The type of family along with family size
tion process is discussed in existing literature may also influence the decision to move out for
(Naik et al., 2009). However, the informa- work. In other words, families are the principal
tion on the level of education of the mobile agents of decision-making. Increasing number
respondents in the present study found no of household members put pressure on family
defining role like it did in previous micro- resources. In many rural households, the aver-
level studies (Reja, 2015). This community of age household income is inadequate to meet
mobile respondents belonged to economically both the household’s consumption expendi-
vulnerable sections which led to a culture of tures and agricultural production require-
discontinuation of education at early stages. ments. The probability of family to send any
It was found from the study that there existed of the adult members for livelihood is higher
a high rate of illiteracy among them. It also in an extended family than in a small nuclear
emerged from the study that a thumping major- family. The present empirical study of mobile
ity of respondents (68.4%) were ‘not literate’ respondents’ behaviour based on households
in spite of being in a young age group when or family types indicated the prevalence of
the Government of India launched an inten- nuclear family7 in overall mobility accounting
sive drive to improve the literacy rates among for 69 per cent and the rest 31 per cent were
the new-generation people. Among those from joint-family type. The greater numbers
who opted for cyclic mobility, 67.5 per cent of nuclear families emerged because of break-
were illiterate, whereas among the migrants, ing up of the joint family after the marriage of
this percentage was slightly higher, account- adult sons. As high as 72 per cent from nuclear
ing for 70 per cent. Even the literate persons family types opted for cyclic mobility and 28
achieved only the lowest level of education. per cent were from joint families. Although
The level of education of respondents in the migration keeps individuals absent for longer
category of ‘up to primary (till class V) and spells of time from the households, 63 per cent
Middle and Secondary (class X)’ accounted of them were from nuclear families and the
for 31 per cent among those who opted for rest were from joint families. The percentage
7
Nuclear families are typically defined as a married couple and their children. In a joint-family system, the number
of dependents living is larger. In the present study, joint family may include parents, sisters, wives of sons and
grandsons and granddaughters.
Table 44.2 Respondents’ Family Size and Family Type

Cyclic Mobility Migration
Family Type Nuclear Family Joint Family Total Nuclear Family Joint Family Total
2–3 46 (22.8) 11 (14.1) 57 (20.3) 30 (28.0) 6 (9.5) 36 (21.2)

4–5 143 (70.7) 45 (57.7) 198 (67.2) 73 (68.5) 33 (52.4) 110 (62.3)
6 and above 13 (6.4) 22 (27.2)) 35 (12.5) 4 (3.7) 24 (38.1) 28 (16.0)
Total 202 (72.0) 78 (28.0) 280 107 (63.0) 63 (37.0) 170
Source: Computed from the field survey data, 2016.

Note: Figures in parentheses are in percentage.
of joint families in the migration category migration) belong to diverse socio-economic

was higher than the households that practised groups in India. There is extensive literature
cyclic mobility. available which incorporate the relationship
Not only family type, but size of the family between migration and land ownership. The
also plays a determining role on type of mobil- micro-study of Naik et al. (2009) indicated
ity. It is evident in Table 44.2 that households that many migrants had small landholdings
opting for cyclic mobility had comparatively which did not provide employment in all the
larger family sizes than respondents who seasons of the year. Households migrating
practised migration. Of the households with a for transplanting and harvesting rice from the
family size of 4–5 persons, 67.2 per cent opted Murshidabad district reported that half of the
for cyclic mobility. The corresponding figure households did not own any agricultural land
for migrants’ households was 62.3 per cent. and 17 per cent of the households had only
Interestingly, those who practised migration micro-landholdings. These landless workers
reported a higher percentage of 16 per cent often lead precarious lives at home. Landless
households with a larger family size (6 and agricultural labourers of the lower social strata
above) than the households opting for cyclic of Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West
mobility (12.5%). There was hardly any dif- Bengal and Jharkhand migrate seasonally
ference in the average household size between within or outside their states (Deshingkar &
migrant (4.3%) and cyclical mobility persons Farrington, 2009; Jayaraman, 1979; Rogaly et
(4.4%). This reflects the hypothesis that house- al., 2001). The land is often considered as an
holds send few members as migrants to diver- asset which serves different economic motives
sify their labour portfolio to absorb the risk of (i.e., provide food or security during any eco-
failure of markets other than labour (Stark & nomic shocks). The data on a household pos-
Levhari, 1982). This re-emphasizes the fact sessing any land other than land on which
that when family nucleation occurs, mobil- houses were built presented a very dismal pic-
ity patterns change. The study validated the ture among the study population. Only 29.3
empirical findings of Mukherjee (1980)where per cent of the total surveyed households in
he reported that most of the short-distance Murshidabad possessed any plot of agricultural
circulators were from nuclear families. land and rest of them did not possess any land.
The comparison between the two groups indi-
cated that households opting for cyclic mobil-
ity were better-off compared with households
Socio-economic Profile of the Mobile
practising migration. In the group that prac-
Respondents
tised cyclic mobility, 31.4 per cent households
Mobile households (i.e., circular migration, had their own land while the percentage was
seasonal or temporary migration and long-term as low as 26 per cent for migrant households.
In terms of size and class distribution of the community. Among the households that opted
land in the study area, all the respondents for cyclic mobility, all the respondents were from
belonged to the category of submarginal the Muslim community. Among the respondents
landholding (size less than 1.0 hectare). The who practised migration, 21 per cent belonged
highest family landholding size among all to the Hindu community and the remaining 79
types of mobility was 0.64 hectare, which is per cent belonged to the Muslim community.
lower than the average landholding size (0.73 Analysis of the association of social groups and
hectare) reported in the Murshidabad district migration at the village study presented varia-
(District Statistical Handbook, 2014). Land tion and high dominance of lower-caste popu-
possession based on type of mobility indi- lation in seasonal wage-work-related migration
cated variation in landholding (i.e., own land in India (Society for Regional Research and
and leased-out land) among the respondents. Analysis, 2010). Socio-economically deprived
However, many a time, land was a family- groups, such as the Scheduled Castes (SCs),
level asset and belonged to the parents. In the Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes
absence of parents, accurate amount of land (OBCs), were dominant in migration (Keshri &
possession may emerge. Meanwhile, how- Bhagat, 2010; Nayak, 1993). The result of cross
ever, people take land on lease or purchase tabulation of mobility types with social groups
and cultivate. The percentage share of leased (Table 44.3) indicated that overall mobility is
land was higher (52.4%) than the land owned dominated by the Muslim OBCs, accounting
by the migrants themselves (47.6%). Little for nearly 54 per cent of the total respondents.
more than one-fourth (26.5%, 74 HHs [house- It was followed by the Muslim General class
holds]) households from the group practising respondents (38%). The entire Hindu popu-
cyclic mobility had lands in their own name. lation practising cyclic mobility or migration
The corresponding figure among the migrants belonged to the SC category.
was only 9.4 per cent (16 HHs). People prac- In the case of OBC Muslims, it was
tising cyclic mobility were of relatively higher observed during our interaction that most
age which gave them an edge for asset accu- of the Muslim households had acquired
mulation. Like another study (Mosse et al., the OBC status recently to get government
2002), the investment in land and agriculture benefits to improve their socio-economic
indicated the continuity of peasant identities status. That is why predominance of OBC
and cultivation among the study population. Muslims was observed for both catego-
The distribution of the respondents based ries of the mobile population. However,
on religion and social groups indicated that the it emerged clearly that socially marginal-
mobility process from the study area was dom- ized people were also economically mar-
inated by the Muslim community, accounting ginalized, and they preferred to go out of
for nearly 92 per cent of the total respondents. their villages in search of better income
The remaining 8 per cent were from the Hindu opportunities.
Table 44.3 Religion and Social Groups of the Respondents

Religion Social Groups
Mobility Types Hindu Muslim Scheduled Caste Other Backward Classes Muslim General
Cycles of mobility 1 (0.4) 279 (99.6) 1 (0.4) 142 (50.7) 137 (48.9)
Migration 36 (21.2) 134 (78.8) 36 (21.2) 100 (58.8) 34 (20.0)
Total 37 (8.2) 413 (91.8) 37 (8.2) 242 (53.8) 171 (38.0)

Note: Figures in parentheses are in percentage.
Migration is frequently linked to debt wage was low and work was available only for
cycles, and requirement of cash to repay debts 30–35 days in each crop cycle. He was planning
to shift the occupation and destination. A major
pushes households to migrate (Deshingkar, break took place when he met one of his child-
2003). Sometimes deficit-induced debt gives hood friends who used to sell conch in the rural
rise to the mortgage of land, pawned jewel- areas of West Bengal; the profit margin from
lery or sale of assets among poorer families. this business was relatively better. So he started
Limited access to institutional credit forces to follow the same profession with his friends. In
2013, he repaid all the debt. He took a credit of
households to borrow at high interests from `80,000 from the SHGs instead of from a money-
private moneylenders (Deshingkar, 2003). lender in the year 2014 and built a pucca house.
The findings of the village study (Mosse et Since he had a secure source of income from the
al., 2002; Reja & Das, 2016) reported that petty business, he was encouraged to take such
migrants’ remittance was used to repay pre- credit for the creation of these physical assets.
He said that he could manage the debt. He also
vious debts. The results indicated that around informed that in 2017 July, his SHGs instalment
81 per cent of the surveyed households were would get over and then he would be eligible for
indebted. The percentage of indebted house- another `1,40,000 loan which he was planning to
holds was highest among those who practised take and create further assets.
‘cycles of mobility’, accounting for 83 per
cent, and the corresponding figures for those The region is relatively free from money-
who were migrants was around 78 per cent lenders and only 8 per cent respondents had
(Table 44.4). taken loans from them (Table 44.5). Most of
The region has emerged as a source of the people (48%) had taken loans from their
Kerala-bound long-distance migration (Reja friends and relatives, followed by SHGs and
& Das, 2016), and any such migration needs banks. Few households were under critical
some initial investment to be made which debts where they mortgaged their land or gold.
indebted households cannot arrange imme- Only five households that practised migration
diately, and thus, opt for cyclic mobility. But against 16 households that practised cycli-
cyclical mobility also helps households to cal mobility were critically indebted. Since
come out from indebtedness as is verbatim many of the respondents used more than one
represented in the following account: source to borrow money, by using multiple
response methods, it was observed that the
Rahidul Ali Islam is a 50-year-old petty business- total number of responses was much higher
man who sells conch bangles (sankha). He moves (494 responses) than the actual number of
out ten times in a year from Murshidabad to
cases (363 out of 450 respondents borrowed
Purnia, Araria and Katihar—all the places in the
state of Bihar. He was heavily indebted during money), which means on an average, one
2004–2005 which was perpetuated since a long respondent borrowed money from approxi-
time, which pushed him to migrate to Bardhaman mately 1.4 sources. Indebtedness was much
district to work as a labourer in a paddy field. But higher among those who practised cyclic
Table 44.4 Debt of the Households and Type of Mobility

Indebtedness Source of Debt
Types of Mobility Indebtedness 1 2 3 4 5
Cyclic mobility 232 (82.8) 90 (38.8) 26 (11.2) 20 (8.6) 81 (34.9) 15 (6.5)

Migration 131 (77.6) 86 (65.2) 7 (5.3) 8 (6.1) 26 (19.7) 5 (3.8)
Total 363 (80.8) 176 (48.4) 33 (9.1) 28 (7.7) 107 (29.4) 20 (5.5)

Notes: Friends or relatives without interest-1, friends and relatives with interest-2, moneylender-3, self-help groups
(SHGs)/bank-4, mortgage (gold/land)-5. Figures in parentheses are in percentage.
Table 44.5 Multiple Sources of Debt by Type of Mobility

Cyclic of mobility Migration
Number of Percent Number of Percent
Source of Debt Responses of Case* Responses of Case*
Friend and relatives without 94 40.5 100 76.3

interest
Friend and relatives with 47 20.3 13 9.9
interest
Moneylender 34 14.7 8 6.1
SHGs/banks 139 59.9 38 29.0

Note: *Number of responses/total number of valid cases.
mobility. In the cyclic mobility category, that most of the households are tied to a ‘debt
the most popular sources were SHGs and cycle’ through government institutes or other
banks, which accounted for 42 per cent of all sources rather than by moneylenders. Loans are
responses and nearly 60 per cent of all cases. rather encouraged in the community to create
However, the case study showed that indebt- physical assets (taking agricultural land on
edness was much more aspiration-driven, and lease, building houses, livestock, agricultural
that mobility increased their capacity to repay implements and petty businesses) along with
one loan and borrow another to create further repayment of outstanding family loans taken
assets for economic enhancement. to cover marriage expenses and for health and
During the discussion with the respondents, household consumptions. Instead of terming
the fascinating pushing role of the microfi- this as debt trap, it is better to call it a debt cycle
nance (SHGs) emerged in the mobility process where exploitative moneylenders are replaced
from the study area. The village-level data of by microfinance groups and people by choice
the migrated households showed fading away continue in this cycle.
of agrarian system of bondage8 practised from Information on types of occupations per-
generation to generation and emergence of formed by the mobile respondents before
neo-bondage (Breman, 2010; Sassen, 1988). and after mobility (i.e., cyclic mobility and
The government institutions that strengthen migration) indicated occupational shift from
the households financially, on the other hand, origin to destination states. Further, it also
linked them into debt cycles. The people repay indicated whether mobile population was
debts from SHGs in weekly or monthly instal- engaged in diverse occupations or there was
ments. So, every week or month, the benefi- convergence in limited occupations. To get a
ciaries have to pay a certain amount of money comprehensive picture of the economic activi-
to the concerned authority of SHGs. It is very ties of the respondents before and after mobil-
tough to make payments from agriculture or ity, cross tabulation of occupation was done.
allied economic activities due to the uncertain The findings of occupations before and after
nature of the sources of income. So, people opt the move of the respondents indicated con-
for non-agricultural occupations which have vergence into particular sets of occupations
higher regular wages. The present study found left available for the migrants at the places
8
It is the relationship between bosses and workers. Indebtedness causes labourers to comply with a condition
of employment that keeps them entrapped at the worksite. Employers use the payment of advance wages as
a mechanism of attachment. The recipient has to repay the provider in labour if and when desired, for a price
lower than the ongoing market rate.
of destination (Srivastava, 2011). Since most In both types of mobility, highest percentage
of the respondents were from the rural areas, share was from the wage labourer in agri-
before mobility, the principal occupations cultural and allied sectors, accounting for 31
in which majority of the respondents (60%) per cent (cycles of mobility) and 39 per cent
were engaged were of course agriculture and (migration), respectively. Among those who
allied activities.9 But after mobility, all the had started practising cyclical mobility were
respondents were engaged in the constricted engaged in petty businesses, and informal
non-agricultural labour market options availa- workers were in the construction sector. Thus,
ble for them. The options included petty busi- 19 per cent of them did not diversify their occu-
nesses (45%) and building and construction pation with mobility. Similarly, 27 per cent of
sectors (55%). In spite of limited options, they those who were migrants did not diversify their
do not stick to agricultural sector as mobility occupation. These two groups suggest that
is economically motivated (Ansary & Das, mobility provided them better opportunity in
2016; Srivastava, 2011). Figure 44.2 presents terms of higher wages and availability of jobs.
a comparative picture of the occupational shift
from origin to places of destination.
Those who were engaged in petty busi-
Households Living Conditions
nesses continued to develop their network in
the rural areas. On the other hand, those who Household living conditions and assets pos-
were construction labourers established their sessed within the respondent’s households
network in the urban areas. Murshidabad is reflect the investment of remittances for the
traditionally known for its craftsmanship, creation of utility or luxury goods other than
especially for ivory, conch, brass and silk to meet the household’s daily consumptions
work. Respondents engaged in petty busi- expenditures. Further, it also indicates which
nesses10 took specalized goods/products from groups benefit more from a particular type
particular areas and sold them in different dis- of mobility. There is ample literature in the
tricts of West Bengal and neighbouring states. domain of migration studies which found
In the category of cyclic mobility, 70 per cent multifaceted use of remittances by migrants
were engaged in petty businesses and remain- in India. Remittance is utilized for the maxi-
ing respondents (30%) were in building and mization of family welfare of the migrants’
construction sectors. Long-distance migrants households (Parida & Madheswaran, 2011).
moved towards the states of Kerala, Gujarat, After satisfying subsistence needs, migrant
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra exclusively to remittances were used to buy household dura-
join in construction sectors. Only around 3 ble goods, build houses, purchase agricultural
per cent of the migrants were engaged in petty land, invest for children’s education, live-
businesses at the places of destination. stock, farming and small-scale enterprises.
Migrants who were engaged in petty busi- The village-level study of Reja (2015) clearly
ness either sold homemade ‘biri’ which is indicated a particular way of investment of the
another famous product of Murshidabad dis- remittances by Bengali migrants.
trict or started demand-driven Bengali roadside Information about assets and household
food court (dhaba) to serve Bengali cuisine living conditions is presented in Table 44.6. If
(fish and rice) near worksites of Bengali con- remittances are exhausted to meet the house-
struction workers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. holds’ consumption expenditure, then little is
9
Hiring for wage work in agricultural and allied sectors, share croppers, agricultural wage work and cultivation.
10
That is ‘conch of bangles’ (Domkul one of the CD of Murshidabad), ‘stainless steel and other households plas-
tic items’ (Umarpur–Farakka and Beldanga-I), ‘readymade clothes’ (Kolkata and Hugli).
Previous occupation of present cyclic Previous occupation of present migrant
mobility respondents mobility respondents
Traditional
Students
craftsmanship Construction
10%
10% Labourers Cultivation
Share Croppers and
Agricultural wage work Wage work in 11% 12%
15% Wage work in Agricultral and
Agricultral and allied sectors
allied sectors 39% Petty Business
Petty Business
31% 16%
11%
Share
Croppers and
Cultivation Students Traditional Agricultural
15% Construction 8% craftsmanship wage work
Labourers 8% 6%
8%
Total Respondents-170
Total Respondents-280
Figure 44.2 Occupational Shift Based on Type of Occupation between Origins and Destinations
Source: Prepared by the authors from the Field Survey Data, 2016.
left for the creation or investment for assets. borewell within the premises of their houses.
Information on living condition and assets Improvement in economic conditions was
possession within the households reflects their slow for those who practised cyclic mobility.
standard of living. The condition of the houses They could not afford to have a tubewell or
occupied by the respondents for residential a borewell of their own, but got the benefit
purpose indicates variation among the groups. from the scheme of piped water launched by
Between the two types of mobility, it is the village panchayat.
the migrants who are better-off than those Assets are the stock of accumulated
who opt for cyclic mobility in terms of house- resources which have been held on to over the
holds’ living conditions. In the category of period for future consumption and are a source
cyclic mobility, 80 per cent respondents lived of security for contingencies. Assets can be
in ‘liveable or good condition houses’ while of many forms, that is, financial and non-
almost all the migrants (97%) lived in liveable financial or tangible and intangible (Mistri &
or good condition houses. A similar situation Das, 2014). By using the census definition,
was observed in terms of building materials information about following assets was cap-
used for the construction of houses. Most tured during the field survey between both
of the migrants (91%) lived in semi-pucca types of respondents (Table 44.7). Among the
houses while the percentage was only 68 per types of mobility, those who practised migra-
cent for those who practised cyclic mobility. tion reported higher percentage of households
In terms of use of cooking fuel,11 toilet facil- (68%) with a colour TV along with a cable
ity within premises and availability of sepa- connection compared with those who opted
rate kitchen within the households, no such for cyclic mobility (47%). The bicycle was a
difference between two groups was observed. very common means of transportation in the
Since all the respondents were from the rural rural areas. Realizing this, the government of
areas, households used biomass as it is cheap West Bengal implemented a scheme named
and locally available, for cooking purposes. It
is noteworthy to mention that most of the toi-
Table 44.6 Households’ Living Characteristics
lets within the households were built under the
by Type of Mobility
government programmes (either under Total
Sanitation Campaign or under Nirmal Bangla Households’ Living
Mission). Thus, mobility does not have any Characteristics Cyclic Mobility Migration
impact on these. Dilapidated house 56 (20.0) 5 (2.9)
However, the sources of drinking water Liveable house 221 (78.9) 160 (94.1)
based on mobility groups suggest a local Good house 3 (1.0) 5 (2.94)
dynamic. Migrants who had piped water Kuchcha house 86 (30.7) 10 (3.8)
within premises were much lesser (16%) Semi-pucca house 192 (68.5) 155 (91.1)
than those who practised cyclic mobility Biomass as cooking fuel 279 (99.0) 165 (97.0)
(28%). Though piped water is considered to Toilet facility within 271 (96.8) 163 (95.8)
be a better water source, lesser proportion premise
of migrant households had access to it. That Separate kitchen 121 (43.2) 72 (42.3)
is because piped water was introduced only Piped water (within 78 (27.8) 27 (15.8)
during the last four years in the locality. By premises)
this time, out-migration was an established Tubewell or borewell 119 (42.5) 96 (56.4)
phenomenon and through that households (within premises)
improved their economic condition which Source: Computed from the field survey data, 2016.
made them have their own tubewell or Note: Figures in parentheses are in percentage.
11
Firewood/crop residue/cow dung cake/kerosene.
‘Saboojsathi’ where universal distribution of migrants. They did not disconnect themselves
bicycles to all school-going children was car- from the local labour market, and thus empan-
ried out. This removed any group variation elled themselves under the Mahatma Gandhi
in possession of bicycles among the study National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
households. (MGNREGA) scheme. Even if they cannot
The universal coverage of mobile phone work under the scheme at present, they can
emerges from the study. Since all the respond- reap the benefits in case of any exigencies at
ents, due to their mobility, remain absent from the destination labour market. Thus, 77 per
regular family affairs, they stay connected cent respondents, irrespective of their mobility
through mobile phones. It is apparent from status, reported that they had job cards issued
Table 44.6 that nearly all the respondents pos- either exclusively in their names or with their
sess a mobile phone. Access to bank services wives’ names (joint account). However, there
indicates the possibility of accumulation of was a huge difference in actual participation
liquid cash for future contingencies. In the study where nearly 49 per cent of those who had
area, among the respondents, nearly 94 per cent opted for cyclic mobility and reported to have
respondents who practised migration had a bank either themselves worked under the scheme
account in their name. In the case of people who or any member of their family had, as against
opted for cyclic mobility, 92 per cent had a bank only 2.5 per cent among the migrants.
account in their own name. Similar kinds of exclusions were observed
Since the migrants (seasonal or semi- regarding availing of benefits from social pro-
permanent) stay away from their places of res- tection schemes like Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
idence for most of the time of the year, they Vidyutikaran Yojana (electricity connection
are excluded from many of the government for poor households), Indira Awaas Yojana
development programmes, social services (housing scheme for poor households) and
and policies (Rogaly et al., 2001). Most of the Nirmal Bangla Mission (toilets for poor
respondents do not intend to settle at the des- households), which provide financial assis-
tination states permanently due to attachment tance for respective facility creation. Access to
with their place of birth. So, they are more government schemes was more among house-
eager to access all the social services and holds that practised cyclic mobility (84%) as
facilities at their places of origin rather than against migrant households (63.5%). Since
bothering about accessing them at the places the respondents in the cyclic mobility were
of destination. The present study tried to cap-
ture few government schemes for poverty Table 44.7 Household Assets’ Possession by
alleviation12 availed by the two study groups Type of Mobility
to see how the respondents are included in
Assets Cyclic Mobility Migration
the government schemes. The results show
that both groups are quite strongly attached Radio 28 (10.0) 8 (4.7)
to their places of origin. Exclusions are rel- TV 134 (47.8) 120 (70.6)
atively more among migrants where only 65 Cable connection 133 (47.5) 117 (68.8)
per cent still had access to the public distri- Cycle 260 (92.8) 162 (95.2)
bution system (PDS) rations, whereas 73 Scooter/bike 37 (13.2) 37 (21.7)
per cent respondents from cyclical mobility Mobile 274 (97.8) 169 (99.4)
group regularly received selected goods from Bank account 258 (92.1) 160 (94.1)
PDS. Efforts to avail all livelihood opportu- Source: Computed from the field survey data, 2016.
nities were extremely high among the poor Note: Figures in parentheses are in percentage.
12
Ration card, access regular ration supply, MGNREGA, work in MGNREGA (last two years), main source of light
(electricity), health benefit card (RSBY [Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana]), toilet.
in constant touch with their places of origin, practising cyclic mobility are better-off while
they could easily avail the scheme benefits availing government schemes. Long absence
where entitlements pertained to the mobile from households/communities/village affairs
person. In this context, though migrants are at puts migrants in a disadvantageous position
a disadvantage and are excluded from many in many cases. Finally, many of the present
government schemes, but expressions of their respondents experienced mobility for the last
housing conditions are better because of their 15 years, yet they are unable to secure them-
higher income. selves economically. So, it can be said that
mobility may not be a sustainable alternative
in the long run. However, in the short run, it
halts them from further sliding down into deep
CONCLUSION poverty from their already poor condition.
Life cycle is an important determinant of the

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migration and remittance in India: Empirical evidence
45
Migrant and Language
S. Irudaya Rajan
I . V. P r a s a d
Rinju
INTRODUCTION 2011, based on the place of last residence.

It indicates an increased positive growth
Fertility, mortality and migration are the rate of nearly 200 per cent. Currently, as per
three basic components of population growth the 2011 Census of India, internal migrants
in any region. Migration is a form of mobil- constitute about 37 per cent of the total
ity in which people change their usual place population.
of residence across defined administrative The mobility of Indian population signif-
boundaries for a variety of reasons, which icantly increased during the 1990s. Based on
may be involuntary, voluntary or a mixture of the 1931 Census, Kingsley Davis (1951) con-
both (UN, 1993; UNESCO, 2012; Zachariah cluded that Indians were less mobile. After
& Rajan, 2015). These voluntary or involun- a few decades, the mobility of Indian popula-
tary movements bring changes in the size, tion stands close to 30 per cent, which is much
composition and distribution of population. higher than what Kingsley Davis believed. The
Historical processes and patterns of migra- megacities of India, such as Delhi, Mumbai,
tion in India have shaped its socio-cultural Kolkata and Chennai, shaped the pattern and
and development patterns (Bhagat, 2014; flow of migration and urbanization in India.
Zachariah, Mathew & Rajan, 2003). Labour mobility has become one of globaliza-
Census of India has been an important tion’s defining features, and there were an esti-
source of internal migration in India. It has mated 150 million migrant workers around the
collected information on the place of birth world in 2017 (International Organization for
since 1872 and place of last residence since Migration (IOM), 2017). Data from the 64th
1971. Internal migration is an important round of National Sample Survey (NSS) shows
factor in influencing socio-economic devel- an increase in short-duration out-migration,
opment. Internal migrants in India increased although there is a slight change in the con-
from 159 million in 1971 to 454 million in cept. According to the 64th round of NSS, there
Migrant and Language 623
were an estimated 15.2 million short-duration where same language groups have already
out-migrants in India, and it is because of the migrated and settled.
construction industry, which emerged as the The present chapter is an attempt to under-
major industry that employed short-duration stand interstate migration through the lens of
out-migrants. Migration network theories can language. Language is an important attrib-
be used to explain both migration decisions ute of a population. Linguistic barriers cut
and destination choices of migrants (Randell across internal and international migrations.
& VanWey, 2014). In this context, Massey and Migrants, owing to lack of linguistic skills,
Aysa (2005) found that sibling networks play an face problems in accessing labour markets and
important role in encouraging migration. healthcare facilities (IOM, 2017). The Census
Socio-economic and cultural factors are of India has been the richest source of lan-
believed to influence migration to a place guage data collected at successive intervals.
of destination. In addition, earlier migrants,
that is, the number of people among the past
migrants who stayed at the place of desti-
nation, represent the pattern and volume of MIGRATION AND LANGUAGE
migration to a particular place of destination
(Greenwood, 1971; Levey & Wadyeki, 1973; Socio-cultural and linguistic diversity plays
Singh & Yadava, 1974, 1979). In check- an important role in determining pattern and
ing population movements from one state flow of population from one place to another
to another, large socio-cultural and linguis- (Saxena et al., 1990; Singh, Kumar, Singh, &
tic diversities have played an inevitable role Yadava, 2011). Most of the countries in the
(Lusome & Bhagat, 2006; Saxena, Kumar & world are monolingual or have a clear dominant
Navneetham, 1990). language but India has as many as 22 official
Social movement of individuals had a languages. There are a total of 121 languages
significant influence on establishment of and 270 mother tongues with speakers’ strength
new bonds, which further raised or shrunk of 10,000 and above at the national level. Of
any social class at the places of destination 121 languages, 22 are specified in the eighth
or origin (Smith, 1941). Therefore, internal schedule of the Constitution of India (see Table
migration is related to a process of change 45.1). These are called Scheduled languages.
occurring within the social system (Rele,
1969). The decisions on whether to move, how
and where, are complex and may involve a Growth of Hindi Language Speakers
variety of actions in different ways. There are
a number of theories on the process of migra- Hindi and Bengali languages occupy the
tion and most of them are based on a gravity first and second place, respectively, in terms
model. However, Saxena et al. (1990) argue of majorly spoken languages in India since
that physical distance no longer appears to be the 1971 Census to the latest 2011 Census.
a crucial factor in migration than the volume Marathi was at the fourth place till the 2001
of prior migrants and their linguistic composi- Census but in 2011, it occupied the third place
tion. African writer Ngugi Wa Thiongo states surpassing Telugu, which was in third place.
‘language as communication and culture are Hindi is the most spoken language in India.
then products of each other’ (Williams, 1991). It is one of the two languages used by the
Individuals often stick to their cultural body Union Government, the other being English.
of values even in their places of destination Currently, 43.63 per cent of the Indian pop-
(Saxena, 1997). Therefore, people speaking ulation speaks Hindi, and it is observed that
a particular language tend to move into areas the percentage of Hindi speakers is growing in
every decade (see Figure 45.1).
Table 45.1 Top 10 Languages with Speakers’ Between 2001 and 2011, Hindi grew at a
Strength of 10,000 and Above at the National rate of 25 per cent, adding about 100 million
Level and Percentage of These Speakers to new Hindi speakers. Hindi language has wit-
the Total Population of India, 2011
nessed growth since 1971, driven mostly by
Persons Percentage of high population growth in Hindi-speaking
Speaking Language Speakers states. Hindi language speakers are growing
Rank Language Language to Total Population
not only in Hindi-speaking states but also in
1 Hindi 528,347,193 43.63 non-Hindi speaking states (see Table 45.2).
2 Bengali 97,237,669 8.03 In short, growth of Hindi speakers in Hindi-
3 Marathi 83,026,680 6.86 speaking states is due to natural growth rate,
4 Telugu 81,127,740 6.70 while in non-Hindi speaking states it is due
5 Tamil 69,026,881 5.70 to migration rate. Increase of Hindi language
6 Gujarati 55,492,554 4.58 speakers in non-Hindi speaking states is an
7 Urdu 50,772,631 4.19 indicator of non-native speakers in that par-
8 Kannada 43,706,512 3.61 ticular state. Migration is the main reason for
9 Odia 37,521,324 3.10 the increasing number of Hindi speakers in
10 Malayalam 34,838,819 2.88 southern parts of India. It is because of the
close ties of southern in-migrants with their
Source: Calculated by the authors from the 2011 Census
of India, Registrar General of India.
places of origin. These ties result in cultural
diffusion in South Indian states. In social
anthropology, the term ‘cultural diffusion’
Hindi Speakers in South Indian refers to spatial transmission of cultural ele-
States ments brought by the migrants into new ter-
Several studies report the contribution of ritories. In the process, new migrants have
migrants to the process of urbanization, certain advantages in finding jobs and getting
industrialization, population redistribution temporary accommodation from migrants
and economic development. However, they from the same places of origin (Rele, 1969).
also contributed to the process of cultural dif- There is an increasing trend of non-native
fusion and social integration (Singh, 1980). speakers in South Indian states since 1991
(see Figure 45.2), and it is because of the
46
Percentage of Hindi Speakers
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Year
Figure 45.1 Percentage of Hindi Speakers in India, 1971–2011

Source: Calculated by the authors from the 2011 Census of India, Registrar General of India.
Table 45.2 Growth of Hindi Language Speakers in South Indian States, 1991–2011
Hindi Speakers (in ‘000) Percentage Growth
State 1991 2001 2011 1991–2001 2001–2011
Andhra Pradesh 1,841 2,464 3,120 33.83 26.63

Karnataka 885 1,345 2,013 51.92 49.71
Tamil Nadu 160 189 393 18.46 107.62
Kerala 22 26 52 21.31 96.80
40.00
35.00
30.00
Percentage
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Tamil Nadu Kerala
1991 2001 2011
Figure 45.2 Percentage of Non-native Speakers in South Indian States, 1991–2011

changing pattern of internal migration in language data. There is an increasing trend of

India. Hindi, Bengali and Marathi language speak-
It is surprising that Hindi is the second ers in South Indian states since 1991 (see
most spoken non-native language in Andhra Table 45.4).
Pradesh, placing Kannada in the fifth place,
although Karnataka is a neighbouring state of
Andhra Pradesh (see Table 45.3).
Majority of the migrants tend to move PARADIGM SHIFT FROM NORTH TO
to metro cities due to availability of var- SOUTH
ious jobs. The larger share of non-native
speakers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and It has been observed that there is a shift in the
Tamil Nadu can be attributed to the large migration process from northern to southern
influx of migrants to Bangalore, Hyderabad parts of India. The recent Economic Survey
and Chennai situated in these states, respec- of India (2017) estimated that the magni-
tively. The 2011 Census of India migra- tude of interstate migration in India was
tion data shows an increase of 98 per cent close to 9 million annually between 2011
in Tamil Nadu’s migrant population and 77 and 2016. The major destination states are
per cent increase in Kerala’s migrant popu- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra
lation. Majority of these migrants were from Pradesh and Kerala. Both migration data
Hindi-speaking states as revealed by the and language data supported this shift of
Table 45.3 List of Non-native Languages Spoken in South Indian States, 2011
Non-native Languages in Rank Order
State Native Language 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Andhra Pradesh Telugu Urdu Hindi Tamil Marathi Kannada

Karnataka Kannada Urdu Telugu Tamil Marathi Hindi
Kerala Malayalam Tamil Tulu Kannada Konkani Hindi
Tamil Nadu Tamil Telugu Kannada Urdu Malayalam Hindi
Table 45.4 Percentage Share of Selected Language Speakers in South Indian States, 1991–2011
1991 2001 2011
State Hindi Bengali Marathi Hindi Bengali Marathi Hindi Bengali Marathi
Andhra Pradesh 2.77 0.05 0.76 3.23 0.05 0.80 3.69 0.07 0.80
Karnataka 1.97 0.05 3.65 2.54 0.08 3.58 3.29 0.14 3.38
Kerala 0.07 0.01 0.11 0.08 0.01 0.10 0.16 0.09 0.09
Tamil Nadu 0.29 0.01 0.13 0.30 0.01 0.10 0.55 0.03 0.12
Table 45.5 Selected Language Speakers (in Thousands) and Their Decadal Growth (in Per Cent)
in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 1991–2011
1991 2001 2011 1991–2001 2001–2011
Hindi/Bengali in TN/KL 189 228 497 20.54 118.08

Tamil/Malayalam in MH/UP 799 968 915 21.06 −5.45
Note: TN/KL: Tamil Nadu and Kerala; MH/UP: Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
migration from northern regions to South MIGRANTS AND LINGUISTIC

Indian states. On one hand, Hindi and CONFLICTS
Bengali speakers in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
together recorded a positive increase of 118 Migrants play a dominant role in changing
per cent, whereas Tamil and Malayalam socio-economic structures in diverse places.
speakers in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh As the country is passing through the phase
together recorded a negative growth rate of of economic transition, riots based on lan-
5 per cent during the decade of 2001–2011 guage appear condensed compared with ear-
(see Table 45.5). These migratory inflows lier years. But this pause may also be due to
help in the formation of distinct migrant globalization and social mobility (Das, 2014).
communities at places of destination Language conflict is no longer limited to the
(Romaniszyn, 2004), which helps in provid- conflict between two diverse linguistic groups,
ing information on prevailing opportunities rather it is considered as a conflict between
for future in-migrants. This leads to further political parties, social classes and between
migration of distinct communities to a par- institutions to fulfil their specific functions
ticular destination. (Das, 2002). Discrimination against migrants
occurs in various places of India under the
‘sons of the soil’ political ideology while Progress, 21. Retrieved from http://www.icip-per-
claiming that local jobs are being snatched by lapau.cat/numero21/
migrants (Rajan, Korra & Chyrmang, 2011). Greenwood, M. J. (1971). A regression analysis of migra-
Many migrants face discrimination and har- tion to urban areas of a less developed country: The
case of India. Journal of Regional Science, 11(2),
assment due to diverse language and culture
253–262.
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due to non-migrants’ perception of jobs being Switzerland: International Organization for Migration,
stolen by migrant workers (Abbas & Varma, The UN Migration Agency.
2014). There have been many such instances Kingley Davis. (1951). The population of India and Paki-
within India, such as Bengali migrants in stan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Assam during the 1820s. Assam became a Levey, M. B. & Wadyeki, W. J. (1973). The influence of
centre for settlers from many other Indian family and friends on geographical labour mobility.
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officials trained Bengalis for administrative patterns of internal migration in India, 1971–2001.
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Association for the Study of Population (IASP), Thiru-
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often encouraged by state policy intended to conflict and migration. In S. I. Rajan (Ed.), India migra-
reduce poverty. Majority of the migrants are tion report 2011: Migration, identity and conflict
poor, illiterate and live in hazardous locations. (chapter 6, pp. 95–101). New Delhi, India: Routledge.
Randell, H. F. & Van Wey, L. K. (2014). Networks versus
They also experience violence and discrimina-
need: Drivers of urban out-migration in the Brazilian
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46
Family Migration
Madhusudan Nag
THE BACKGROUND resort to different coping mechanisms, such as

borrowing, running down savings, selling off
Even after more than two decades of economic assets and migration (both short term and long
reforms, the majority of the Indian population, term), for their survival (Deshingkar & Start,
specifically rural, draws its livelihood from 2003; Todaro, 1969; White, 2008, p. 38).
agricultural and allied sectors. Although there Although seasonal and short-term migra-
has been a rapid decline in share of the sector tion has often been distress-driven, it con-
in country’s GDP, it plays a much bigger role tributes to the economy through different
in the economy in terms of its share in total channels (Breman, 1996; Deshingkar & Akter,
employment (Economic Survey, 2017–2018, 2009). Most studies on seasonal migration
p. 83).1 However, employment driven by agri- report that this type of migration often leads
culture and allied sectors is highly volatile and to family migration (couple with children).2
varies across spaces. Further, in rural areas, Notwithstanding, family migration in India
the lack of employment diversification from has ‘gone up from 1.539 million in 1993 to
agriculture to non-agricultural activities has 2.351 million in 2008’ which accounts for
abetted vulnerabilities among households. nearly 53 per cent of total migration (Jayaraj,
Consequently, rural households (families) 2013, p. 49).3
1
In the year 2017–2018, the agriculture sector accounted for 16 per cent of total GDP. However, its share in
employment remains as high as 49 per cent (Economic Survey, 2017–2018).
2
The family migration constitutes a major share of total migration. For instance, see Gupta (2003), Smita and
Panjiar (2007), Korra (2010) and Sengupta and Vijay (2015).
3
One of the seminal studies on family migration is Jayaraj (2013). His estimation of family migration is drawn from
various NSS rounds. The author has defined family migrant household as a family with ‘two members’. Jayaraj
(2013) has measured family migration in general and has not specified seasonal family migration (This definition
from NSS for families migration (seasonal) is problematic, because it is unable to capture the short-term/seasonal
A migrant family goes through multitu- THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING

dinous sufferings in the journey from the
place of origin to destination. At the work- On one hand, according to the neoclassi-
place, members of migrant families work for cal theory, whose theoretical premise is
long hours in an ‘arduous and exploitative grounded in wage differentiation, an ‘indi-
environment’. The most imperative char- vidual’ migrates from a rural to an urban
acteristic of short-term family migration is area to maximize his/her utility in the hope
that children also take part in the work of the of higher expected wage in an urban area
family. Smita (2008, p. 4) reports that ‘chil- (Harris & Todaro, 1970). On the other hand,
dren get drawn into labour from the early age new economics of labour migration (NELM)
of 6–7 years old, and are usually full-fledged emphasizes ‘household’ as a decision-maker
labourers by the age of 11 or 12’. This men- in migration that sends members to migrate
tioned about family migration issues (which to maximize household utility. The departure
also include child labour, but not alone), and of NELM approach from the neoclassical
as a concept migration has not been discussed theories lies in the shift of focus of migration
and paid enough attention despite the availa- theory from ‘individual independence … to
bility of micro-level evidence. (International mutual interdependence’ (Stark, 1991, p. 26).
Organization of Migration, 2008, p. 151). The antecedent of the study on the role of
Human Development Report (2009, p. 1) family migration dates back to the 19th cen-
iterates and affirms the distress faced by a tury (Dumon, 1989, p. 151). However, empir-
family during its stay at destination: ical study on family migration began with the
work of Mincer (1978). By employing ‘human
Bhagyawati … a member of a lower caste lives
in rural Andhra Pradesh, India. She travels to
capital framework’ of Sjaastad (1962), the
Bangalore city with her children to work on con- author argues that family as a unit ‘migrates
struction sites for six months each year, earning even if one member of the family finds a job
`60 (US$1.20) per day. While away from home, at the destination’ provided that the family
her children do not attend school because it is would gain from migration through ‘inter-
too far from the construction site and they do
not know the local language. Bhagyawati is not
nalizing the losses of other family members’.
entitled to subsidized food or health care, nor The author argues that ‘family would migrate
does she vote, because she is living outside her [only] if their net gain is positive’. Such migra-
registered district. Like millions of other internal tions of family members, even if one member
migrants, she has few options for improving has a job at the destination, as Mincer (1978)
her life other than to move to a different city in
search of better opportunities.
argues, are called ‘tied-movers’. The studies
by Shields and Shields (1989, 1993) argue
Such narration indicates the enduring plight that ‘non-market’ activities such as ‘location,
faced by migrant households who remain children’s education and mother’s, husband’s
secluded from the access of central/state income, family structure, household technol-
grants and welfare benefits at their places of ogy’ mainly influence the decision of family to
origin and destination. In the very process, move. In the Indian context, De Haan (2000)
millions of people miss out on citizenship, argues that poor and food-insecure families
especially voting rights, while at the desti- migrate more compared with families that are
nation (Sainath, 2004; Deshingkar & Akter, less poor and somewhat more food-secure.
2009, p. 52). The latter group of families send their young
men/women, for a short period and to a short
family migration. Hence, the current study uses alternative data source and definition of family migration in
India).
Family Migration 631
distance. Contrarily, a low-income family SHORT-TERM FAMILY MIGRATION:

migrates with all members of the family for CONCEPT AND DEFINITION
long periods. Notwithstanding, in ‘attempt-
ing to unify the patterns and determinants of The concept of migration is subjective.
migration under one theoretical umbrella’, According to Zelinsky (1971), short-term
migration literature has often overlooked its migrants move for a short period with the inten-
‘heterogeneity’ aspects (Kuhn, 2002, p. 1). tion of returning to the place of usual residence.
Migration of an individual is fundamentally On the other hand, circular migration is a circu-
different from migration of a family. Each of lar path tread by household/individual migrants
these migration forms has its definite char- continuously from their place of origin to des-
acteristics and is driven by different factors. tination (Zelinsky, 1971). However, short-term,
Most of the current theories on migration tend circular and seasonal migrations have often
to focus on individual migration more than on been used interchangeably in migration litera-
family migration (Root & De Jong, 1991; Roy ture (Keshri & Bhagat, 2012). Family migra-
et al., 1992, p. 58). tion may be of two types: ‘lifestyle migration’,
Existing empirical literature interprets where family moves to other place as a tour-
family migration in the context of depriva- ist, education, guest, etc., mostly driven by
tion that migrant members undergo, in both pull factors, and ‘distress-driven’ migration,
working and living place (Marius-Gnanou, where family moves from place to place as
2008). Besides, there is a dearth of explo- part of livelihood strategy (O’Reilly & Benson,
ration of family migration at the national 2009; Bird & Deshingkar, 2009). This study is
level. In this backdrop, the present study an attempt to shed some light on the latter—
aims to look into various aspects of family distress-driven family migration. Further, the
migration at the macro level in the Indian study focuses only on employment-driven
context. Specifically, the study addresses the short-term family mobility in India.
following issues: The data on migration in India is officially
collected by the Decennial Population Census
What is the extent of employment-led short-
term family migration in India? What are the and National Sample Survey Organization
characteristics of family migration in India? (NSSO). However, the data provided by both the
When and where do families migrate? What sources is severely limited to suit our purpose.
are their work/industrial statuses at des- Census includes data on permanent or long-term
tination? What are their socio-economic
aspects of migration alone. On the other hand,
backgrounds?
NSSO faces conceptual ambiguities in defining
The rest of this chapter is organized as fol- family migration, which can potentially lead to
lows. The third section discusses concepts and overestimation and underestimation.4
definitions related to short-term family migra- The NSSO defines a household as a
tion. The fourth section presents data sets and migrant household if that enumerated
methods of the study. The fifth section analy- household has moved into the place (vil-
ses the macro evidence of short-term family lage/town) of enumeration in the last 365
migration. The magnitude and characteristics days of the survey. It defines ‘a group of
of family migration are discussed in this sec- persons normally living together and taking
tion. Finally, the sixth and seventh sections food from a common kitchen will constitute
provide the conclusion and the limitations and a household. The members of a household
scope of the study. may or may not be related by blood to one
4
For a critical analysis of the Census and the NSS data set, see Rajan and Mishra (2011) and Jayaraj (2013),
respectively.
another’. Further, it notes that ‘each inmate DATA AND METHOD

(including residential staff) of a mess, hotel,
boarding and lodging house, hostel, etc. This study used secondary data and mainly
will constitute a single-member household’. focuses on data from the IHDS-II (2011–
According to this, all individual migrants 2012) (Desai & Vanneman, 2018). IHDS is
who live ‘in boarding and lodging houses, a nationally representative, multitopic survey
hostels, and employed as residential staff of of 42,152 households in 1,503 villages and
a mess’ are enumerated as ‘a household by 971 urban neighbourhoods across India. This
herself/himself’. Such definition of a house- chapter uses descriptive statistics to analyse
hold raises some definitional issues that the magnitude and characteristics of family
may potentially ‘overestimate the number migration. Short-term family migration rate
of migrant household or families’ (Jayaraj, for a category of household or a region for
2013, pp. 47–48). a specific period was estimated based on the
Indian Human Development Survey number of migrants of that category per 1,000
(IHDS) is an endeavour regarding collec- households of that category in the region.
tion of data on family migration that mit- It was calculated by using the following
igates, to an extent, the aforementioned formula6:
limitation. One of the aspects of this survey Short-term Family Migration Rate = (Total Number
is to capture the dynamics of migration of Family Migrant Households / Total Number of
in India. It specifically captures migrant Households in that Category) × 1,000
family as it asks the following questions in The magnitude of family migration in India is
‘Income & Social Capital’ questionnaire to calculated by using the information on place
respondents5: of destination, longest time that they stay,
means of migration, occupation and stream of
Have you or any member of your household
left to find seasonal/short-term work during last migration.
five years and returned to live here? [If yes] How
many members left during last five years? [And,
whether the migrant/member] Had migrated
alone or with family? DISCUSSION
Given the pertaining information on family
migration, for our study, we have defined Magnitude of Family Migration
family migration as when a member of a In India, the movement of labourers from
household migrates along with his/her spouse one place to another involves complex
or with his/her spouse and children. This defi- decision-making, and it varies across regions.
nition, which is derived from the IHDS ques- However, among all types of mobility, short-
tionnaire, mitigates the limitation encountered term family migration for employment or
by the above-discussed data set. For our anal- search of employment is too costly. The degree
ysis, we shall adhere to this definition to cap- of complexity is less in individual migration
ture the aspects of family migration pertaining than in family migration where all members
to India. of the family have to move to a destination
(Korra, 2011; Smita, 2008).
Data presented in Table 46.1 reveals that 2
million households (0.8%) have migrated (as
5
The questionnaire can be browsed from http://ihds.info/sites/default/files/ihds2isq.pdf (last seen on 26 May
2018).
6
This method is also used by Keshri and Bhagat (2012).
Table 46.1 Decomposing Migrant Status of Table 46.2 Distribution of Migrant Household
Households According to Rural/Urban Region According to Rural/Urban Region in India (Per
in India (in Millions) thousand)
Migration Status Rural Urban Total Migration Status Rural Urban Total
Non-migrant 163 (67) 80 (33) 243 (95) Individual migration 47 8.61 34.77
Individual Migration 8.1(92) 0.6 (8.0) 8.8 (3.4) Family migration 11.29 1.09 8.04
Family migration 1.9 (96) 0.08 (4.0) 2.0 (0.8) All 58.3 9.7 42.81
All 173 (68) 81 (32) 254 (100)
Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II.
Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II. Note: Migration rate is calculated as (number of house-
Note: Values in parenthesis are percentage. hold in categories/total number of household in that same
category) × 1,000.
family migration), as against 8 million (3.4%)

Table 46.3 Proportion of Short-term Migrant
individual migrants. It can also be observed
Family According to Origin and Destination
that nearly more than 1.9 million (96%) fam- Place in India
ilies migrated from rural areas as against
almost 0.1 million (4%) from urban areas. Regions Rural Destination Urban Destination
Thus, it is implied that short-term family Rural 51.78 48.22
migration is far more prevalent from rural Urban 35.29 64.71
areas than from urban areas of the country. Total 50.92 49.08
The study argues that poverty and lack of Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II.
employment, especially in rural areas, are the
factors that may have compelled the families
to rural areas (urban–rural). Table 46.3 demon-
to migrate with the expectation of finding jobs
strates that families of rural origin migrate to
for more than one member (Deshingkar &
both rural and urban destinations and urban
Akter, 2009).
families mainly migrate to other urban areas.
Further, the study presents the figures of
short-term migration rate (per 1,000 popula-
tions) for rural and urban areas. This figure
falls to 35 per 1,000 households as individ- Interstate and Intrastate Family
ual migrants. Further, there are 8 households Migration Flows
per 1,000 households as family migrants that
move with spouse and children. It also sug- In the next step, we classified migrants’ desti-
gests that family migration rate is highly dis- nations as if they lie in the same state or another
proportionate in rural areas compared with state. This indicates the volume of migrants
urban areas (see Table 46.2). from within and outside based on their places
of origin and destination. Also, the distance
of migration is an influential factor for house-
hold migration as it determines the volume of
Stream of Family Migration migration. Table 46.4 suggests that in rural
Information on places of origin and destination to rural migration, nearly three-fourths (72%)
of family migrants reveals that in rural areas, of the families migrated within the same state
52 per cent of families undertook rural-to-rural while the remaining 28 per cent moved to
migration and 48 per cent of families under- another state. Similarly, among rural–urban
took rural-to-urban migration. On the other migrants, almost half (51%) of the families
hand, from urban origins, nearly three-fourths moved within the same state, and another half
(65%) of families migrated to other urban areas (49%) moved to another state. This implies
(urban–urban) and 35 per cent of them migrated that families from rural origins that migrated
Table 46.4 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Family and Place of Migration According to
Origin and Destination Place in India
Rural Destination Urban Destination All Destination
Regions Same State Another State Same State Another State Same State Another state
Rural 71.88 28.13 51.01 48.99 61.81 38.19

Urban 50 50 63.64 36.36 58.82 41.18
All 71.08 28.92 51.88 48.13 61.66 38.34
Table 46.5 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Family According to Duration at Destination in

India
Rural Destination Rural Destination
Region 1–3 Months 4–6 Months 7–12 Months 1–3 Months 4–6 Months 7–12 Months
Rural 61.25 28.75 10 71.81 14.77 13.42

Urban 66.67 16.67 16.67 90.91 9.09 0
Total 61.45 28.31 10.24 73.13 14.38 12.5
to other rural destinations (rural–rural) are the migration streams at different time points.
more prone to migrating within the same Data from Table 46.5 presents the informa-
state. The proportion of rural–urban family tion on the duration of stay of migrants at
migrant is equal for interstate and intrastate the places of destination. This indicates that
migration. On the other hand, families that among rural–rural migrant families, a higher
undertook urban–rural migration migrated in proportion (61%) live for a duration of 1–3
the same proportion within the same state and months at the destination, whereas, three-
to another state. In urban–urban migration, a fourths (72%) of rural–urban migrant families
higher proportion (64%) of families migrated stay for a duration of 1–3 months.
within the same state. Similarly, most of the families from urban
This implies that rural migrants are more areas (both urban–rural and urban–urban
inclined to migrate short distance while urban migrants) migrate for 1–3 months. On the
migrants are ready to migrate long distance. whole, data in Table 46.5 indicates that a large
Preference of rural migrants to move short dis- proportion of migrant families stay for one to
tances may be due to the presence of job oppor- three months at the destination. The reasons for
tunities in agriculture and associated activities at the short span of staying at the destination may
places of destination. In such situations, migrants be lack of further employment due to seasonal-
engage in agricultural activities during the mon- ity, difficulty to find an accommodation, end of
soon which may not allow them to migrate long contract for the job, schooling of children and
distance and for a long-term at destinations. costs of maintaining a household and several
The case is the opposite for urban households other factors (Breman, 1996; Rogaly, 1998).
(Haberfeld et al., 1999; Nivalainen, 2004). Besides that, most of the migrant fami-
lies may be poor, landless labourers or mar-
ginal landholders who depend on agriculture
for livelihood back home, where families
Duration of Stay at Destination
are expected to return after a short period,
An analysis of family migrants based on dura- mostly during rainy seasons (mostly) (Bird &
tion of stay at destinations gives an insight into Deshingkar, 2009; Korra, 2011).
Means of Migration to Destination State-level Analysis of Family

Migration
The means or channel of migration may play
an imperative role in the process of family Regional inequality has increased in India
migration. There are three means of migra- across states and groups. Industrialization and
tion through which families migrate, such as green revolution are concentrated in few states
through a contractor, with a job assurance or such as Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,
self-employment and without job assurance or Gujarat and other states; whereas states such
with employment. as Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Majority of migrant families move either Pradesh and Chhattisgarh continue to deal with
through the contractor (middleman) for problems of poverty and inequality (Ahluwalia,
employment or based on their own information 2011). These are significant reasons for migra-
and employment assurance (see Table 46.6). It tion from an underdeveloped region to devel-
implies that apart from the role of middlemen, oped region (Breman, 1994; Kundu & Gupta,
social network among migrants plays a major 1996; De Haan, 2011). Table 46.7 reveals that
role in the case of family mobility. Further, the
a total of 2 million households migrated as a
families also migrate without security of job family in India during 2011–2012. The esti-
and livelihood options. mated numbers of short-term family migrants
are highest in Andhra Pradesh (515,719), fol-
lowed by Maharashtra (320,479), Madhya
Occupational Status at Destination Pradesh (224,107), Rajasthan (200,763),
Gujarat (174,933), Uttar Pradesh (165,637)
The occupational status at the destination and Chhattisgarh (115,257) (see Table 46.8).
refers to a set of activities which migrants Furthermore, the migration rate is cal-
predominantly engage in or are employed in. culated to assess the intensity of short-term
The study revealed that family migrants from family migration, which is indicated to be high-
urban areas work primarily in the construction est in Andhra Pradesh (24 families per 1,000).
sector in both rural and urban destinations and Other major states such as Madhya Pradesh
rarely work as agricultural wage labourers. (20 families), Daman and Diu (16 families),
However, rural–rural family migrants mostly Chhattisgarh (15 families) and Rajasthan (14
work as agricultural wage labourers and con- families) also have high family-migration
struction workers. On the contrary, families rates. However, the short-term family migra-
which undertake rural–urban migration are tion rates in rural and urban areas are different
engaged as construction workers and non- across states, and overall high proportion of
agriculture wage labourers. migration rates are found in rural than in urban
areas in all states.
Table 46.6 Proportion of Short-term Migrant Families According to Means of Migration in

India
Rural Destination Urban Destination
Regions Contractor With Jobs Without Jobs Contractor With Jobs Without Jobs
Rural 53.21 33.97 12.82 40.85 50 9.15

Urban 66.67 16.67 16.67 63.64 27.27 9.09
Total 53.7 33.33 12.96 42.48 48.37 9.15

Table 46.7 Distribution of Short-term Migrant Family across the States in India
Rural Destination Urban Destination
Non- Non-
Agricultural Agricultural Construction Other Agricultural Agricultural Construction Other
Regions Labour Labour Workers Labour Labour Labour Workers Labour
Rural 61.25 5 32.5 1.25 8.05 18.79 67.11 6.04

Urban 16.67 16.67 50 16.67 0 10 50 40
Total 59.64 5.42 33.13 1.81 7.55 18.24 66.04 8.18
Table 46.8 Short-term Migrant Family and Monthly Per Capita Consumption in India (in migra-
tion rate)
Short-term Family Migration Short-term Family Migration
Rate (per 1,000) (in Numbers)
States Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total
Punjab 0.85 0 0.59 2,133 0 2,133

Haryana 2.67 0 2.21 7,923 0 7,923
Delhi 0 1.14 1.11 0 4,408 4,408
Rajasthan 19.38 2.36 14.05 193,141 7,622 200,763
Uttar Pradesh 8.14 1.79 6.28 152,703 12,934 165,637
Bihar 1.85 4.33 2.59 18,940 8,732 27,672
Assam 1.43 0 1.01 13,042 0 13,042
West Bengal 2.33 0 1.23 24,098 0 24,098
Jharkhand 4.07 0 2.35 34,681 0 34,681
Odisha 10.63 3.66 8.78 65,313 5,618 70,931
Chhattisgarh 19.74 0 15.12 115,257 0 115,257
Madhya Pradesh 25.47 1.64 20.82 218,342 5,765 224,107
Gujarat 21.02 0 12.19 174,933 0 174,933
Daman & Diu 16.95 0 16.95 154 0 154
Maharashtra 14.98 0 9.99 320,479 0 320,479
Andhra Pradesh 37.67 3.54 24.53 491,389 24,330 515,719
Karnataka 8.87 3.46 7.25 84,824 18,968 103,792
Tamil Nadu 6.62 0 3.03 43,435 0 43,435
Total 11.22 1.17 7.74 1,960,787 88,377 2,049,164

Note: Only major states of India are analysed here.
Characteristics of Family Migration status, education level and social groups (De
Haan, 2000; Keshri & Bhagat, 2012).
In this section, the study analysed family migra-
tion considering various characteristics, such as
economic status, usual principal activity status,
general education level, social background Monthly per Capita Consumption
and broad occupational status. This is because Expenditure
migration is influenced by various socio-
Economic factors constitute a crucial under-
economic variables, such as income, activity
lying factor in the decision of migration,
especially in employment-led migration. Due economically, such families are less inclined
to lack of accurate income-level data, monthly to out-migrate.
per capita consumption (MPCE) class is used
as an indirect measurement of poverty (Keshri
& Bhagat, 2012; Chandrasekhar et al., 2014).
Usual Principal Activity Status
The study analysed the distribution of family
migrants based on various MPCE classes The occupational backgrounds of families
according to short-term family migration for at the places of origin before migration are
rural and urban regions separately. an essential aspect for analysis. It can shed
It reveals that, first, in rural areas, short- light on the family’s economic condition and
term migration rate is highest for the lowest help draw inferences about the decisions and
MPCE class. It means needy rural families motives behind the movement (Agrawal &
are more inclined to migrate towards other Chandrasekhar, 2015). Data from Table 46.10
regions for employment or in search of jobs suggest that in rural areas, large proportions of
(see Table 46.9). families migrate from both the non-agriculture
Significantly, short-term family migration wage labour (24 families per 1,000) and agri-
rate decreases when a family’s economic culture wage labour (21 families per 1,000)
status improves, and vice versa. These out- categories.
comes suggest that if a rural household is at an On the other hand, in an urban area, the dis-
economically higher position or is better-off, tribution is different than in a rural area. This
then such families are less likely to move out shows that families from non-agricultural and
of their village or town. On the other hand, agricultural labour backgrounds in rural and
the urban sector also has the highest migra- urban areas are ready to migrate.
tion rate for the lowest income class. For other
income classes, no particular trend is observed
in urban areas. Further needy families are
General Education Level
inclined to migrate to rural areas than to urban
areas; for example, rural distribution is more Education is an important indicator that makes
skewed than urban distribution is. These out- families aware of economic availability and
comes show that economic vulnerability and acts as a human development indicator which
necessity seem to compel poor families to
migrate in the direction of developed regions
for work or in search of work or employment. Table 46.10 Short-term Migrant Family and
Moreover, if a household is at an advantage General Education Level of Head Member of
the Household in India (in migration rate)
Principal Activity Status Rural Urban Total
Table 46.9 Short-term Migrant Family and Farming and allied 9.12 0 8.74
Usual Principal Activity Status in India (in activities in agriculture
migration rate)
Agricultural wage 21.18 6.83 20.14
MPCE Level Rural Urban Total labourer
Non-agricultural wage 23.63 2.83 16.53
Lowest 14.94 5.22 13.61
labour
Lower 14.2 0.57 11.07
Small business & 2.01 1.06 1.52
Medium 11.57 2.33 8.69 housework
Higher 8.89 0.27 5.33 Artisan or independent 2.44 0.66 1.29
Highest 4.77 0.72 2.57 work & salaried
All 11.22 1.17 7.75 All 11.22 1.17 7.74
Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II. Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II.
Table 46.11 Short-term Migrant Family and Social Groups

Social Croups in India (in migration rate)
The study observed that in rural areas, family
General Education Level Rural Urban Total
migration rates vary among social groups and
Not literate 14.15 2.65 11.89 are considered high among lower-caste groups,
Literate but below primary 13.18 1.64 9.99 namely Schedule Tribes (STs), followed by
Primary/middle 10.27 0.84 6.91 Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward
Secondary & higher secondary 5.56 0.53 3.11 caste (OBCs). In urban area, SC families have
Graduate & above 3.25 0.93 1.63 a higher rate of short-term family migration.
Total 11.22 1.17 7.74 On the whole, these observations confirm
Source: Author’s calculation from IHDS–II. that people who are poor and socially deprived
are more prone to migrate than others are,
Table 46.12 Short-term Migrant Family and on a short-term basis with whole families
Religious Groups in India (in migration rate) (Table 46.12). Further, this effect is more pro-
nounced and prevalent in rural areas. Hence, it
Social Group Rural Urban Total
can be said that short-term family migrations
Brahmin 2.64 0.95 1.82 are driven by distress factors in rural India.
Forward/General 2.52 0.24 1.55
Other Backward Castes (OBC) 10.82 1.51 7.57
Scheduled Castes 17.49 2.27 12.99
Religious Groups
Scheduled Tribes 19.53 0 16.77
Others 2.97 0 1.76 Table 46.13 depicts short-term family migra-
All 11.23 1.17 7.76 tion rates according to different religious
groups. In rural areas, majority of migrant
families are Buddhist (24 families per 1,000),
followed by Hindu (12 families per 1,000),
demands decent employment. This gives
tribal (11 families per 1,000), Muslim (8 fam-
people the power to acquire knowledge and
ilies per 1,000) and Christian (7 families per
skills and to upgrade existing skills, which
1,000). However, the pattern across rural and
consequently enhances employment oppor-
urban areas is incomparable due to negligible
tunities, living standards, and hence, may be
migration rates for urban religious groups.
a prime determinant of jobs (Haberfeld et
al., 1999; Agrawal & Chandrasekhar, 2015).
Here, the study found that the absolute migra- Table 46.13 Short-term Family Migration
tion rate is higher for rural areas than for urban Rate (Migrants per 1,000) According to
Religion for All India
areas at all education levels (Table 46.11).
However, the rate of migration falls as educa- Religion Groups Rural Urban Total
tional level improves.This is true in both rural Hindu 11.98 1.24 8.44
and urban areas. Moreover, migration rate is Muslim 7.92 1.32 4.88
very high for families whose heads have not Christian 6.91 0 5.21
received a secondary education (not literate, Sikh 1.38 0 1.04
below primary and primary/middle) schooling Buddhist 24.1 0 14.93
in both rural and urban areas. Tribal 10.81 0 9.26
All 11.22 1.17 0.77

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION scope to use an econometric approach to under-

stand the determinants and effects of family
This study focused on family migration in migration in India using IHDS data. Next, one
India, as short-term migration is an important may contrast the difference between individual
way of survival among low-income families migration and family migration in the context
(Breman, 1996; Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). of long- and short-term migrations. As in the
The broader conclusions of this paper are as era of globalization, the economy is in the midst
follows. Short-term family migration in India of booms and troughs over the course of time,
was studied under the umbrella of workers or which mainly affects rural and urban people’s
individual migration. There are approximately employment and livelihood. Therefore, there is
more than 2 million households that migrate a need to understand the issues and aspects that
as a family, that is, with spouse and with or influence needy families to migrate from their
without children. The findings of the paper traditional resource bases of livelihood in rural
suggest that short-term family migration rate areas to urban informal sectors.
from rural areas are predominantly higher
than from urban areas, and there is equal
migration to both rural and urban destination.
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47
Precarious Employment
in Power Looms*
D i v y a Va r m a * *
Amrita Sharma**
The atmosphere, the wild hum of the machine, INTRODUCTION

the jig-jig-jigging of its pistons, the tick-tick-
ticking of its knobs, the furious motion of the
broad conveyor belts across its wheels, the clank- Surat, the prominent poster child of the
ing of chains, the heat they all generated, and the ‘Gujarat model’ of development, is one of
heavy, greasy odour of oil mixed with the taste of the fastest growing cities in India.1 It boasts
the fresh cotton thread, not offensive by itself,
of thriving diamond and textile industries,
but sickening like bile in the mouth—from all this
seemed to rise a black shadow, strangling one at both of which have together contributed to its
the throat with its powerful invisible fingers. growth as an economic powerhouse of India.
Mulk Raj Anand, Coolie (1936)
It is also home to several of India’s major pro-
cessing and manufacturing facilities in sectors
* This chapter draws extensively from a research study, titled ‘Of Health, Hope and Survival in Surat: A Scoping
Study on Health of Odiya Migrants in Surat Power Looms’, published as part of a comprehensive research report,
Studies, Stories and a Canvas: Seasonal Labour Migration and Migrant Workers from Odisha, anchored and pub-
lished by the Centre for Migration and Labour Solutions, Aajeevika Bureau in partnership with Adhikar, Odisha.
**The authors would like to thank Igor Bosc and Bharti Birla of the International Labour Organization (ILO),
Prof. Errol D’Souza and Prof. Chinmay Tumbe of IIM, Ahmedabad, Dr Ramani Atkuri, public health specialist,
Prof. Biswaroop Das, formerly with the Centre for Social Studies, Surat, Mohammad Amin of Adhikar and Rajiv
Khandelwal of Aajeevika Bureau for their valuable inputs and comments on this chapter.
1
Drawn from a report on fastest growing cities in the world, by City Mayors Foundation, an international think
tank dedicated to urban affairs. Figures are based on assumed annual growth rates for cities and urban areas
between 2006 and 2020. The assumptions are based on past growth/decline and forecasts by international
and national statistics organizations. Retrieved from http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth1.html.
Retrieved 22 October 2016.
Precarious Employment in Power Looms 643
such as zari, chemicals, petrochemicals and region and (c) inputs from partner organiza-
natural gas.2 tions and sector experts.
Surat’s textile sector accounts for 40 per cent
of the demand for man-made fabric in India.
The city houses over 65,000 power looms in
450 textile processing units that manufacture DEMOGRAPHICS OF POWER LOOM
around 30 million metres of raw fabric and 25 WORKERS IN SURAT
million metres of processed fabric on a daily
basis. It is the largest manufacturer of clothes Major Source Areas and Migration
in India, and notably accounts for 90 per cent Patterns
of polyester and 10 per cent of synthetic sarees
produced in the country.3 It employs close to Migrants from Odisha form a dominant part of
1.2 million workers and has an annual turno- the migrant workforce in the power looms of
ver of `30–35 billion.4 Surat. The number of Odiya migrants in Surat
The city’s economy rests on the cheap is estimated to be between 0.6 and 0.9 million
migrant labour, brought in from both within (Sainath, 2009). Approximately 80 per cent of
Gujarat and beyond. Since the 1970s, the Odiya migrants are from the coastal district of
economic boom in Gujarat has not only Ganjam. The other districts supplying migrants
attracted workers from the neighbouring to Surat constitute Baleshwar, Cuttack, Puri,
states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra but also Kendrapara and Nayagarh (Das & Sahu, 2013).
from far-away states such as Odisha, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu. Odiya workers constitute a dominant Social Groups
migrant stream accounting for a significant
part of the workforce employed in the power Aajeevika Bureau’s work in Surat with Odiya
looms. This chapter attempts to capture the migrants in the power loom sector reveals the
salient features that characterize working and fact that General and Other Backward Class
living conditions of Odiya migrants in the (OBC) groups constitute the vast majority of
power loom sector of Surat and the hardships the migrant population. Around 75 per cent
that they endure on a daily basis even as they of the Odiya migrants in the power looms
make enormous contributions to driving the are single males, the rest come with their
textile economy of the city. It also attempts families, which include women and young
to outline a few policy recommendations children. Women are generally engaged in
that can potentially bring about dignity and unskilled, home-based work.
well-being to this vast invisible population
that lives on the margins of the rapid pro-
gress the city has witnessed. The chapter has Age Profile
been prepared by compiling information from
(a) secondary sources, (b) primary data and Research studies conducted by Aajeevika
field-based narratives arising from Aajeevika Bureau indicate that early entry into unskilled
Bureau’s extensive experience of working work, at around 15–16 years of age, is a
with and researching migrant labour in the dominant feature of the work lives of Odiya
2
https://www.suratmunicipal.gov.in/TheCity/Contribution. Retrieved 22 October 2016
3
http://acccrn.org/sites/default/files/documents/SuratCityResilienceStrategy_ACCCRN_
01Apr2011_small_0.pdf. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
4
Ibid.
migrants in Surat. At around 40–45 years, Both warp and weft yarns are set into
as the severe work conditions take a toll on looms by the bhim pachad workers. Further
their bodies; workers begin to get demoted up the value chain is the machine operator
in terms of wages as well as work profiles who runs the machines that convert the thread
within the value chain, which finally culmi- into cloth. Then there are the TFO masters
nates in an early exit from the labour market who look after the repair and maintenance
(Aajeevika Bureau, 2014). of the TFO machines, and the loom masters
The workforce in the power looms also who similarly supervise the loom machines as
includes begars—a small group of helpers for well as ensure smooth running of the looms.
cleaning and regular maintenance of the looms. Finally, there are the begars who are engaged
In most cases, these begars are older migrant in cleaning the looms.
workers who are no longer fit to undertake reg- Majority of the workers, approximately
ular machine operations. For lack of alternate 60 per cent, are engaged in operation of
livelihood options, older migrants assume these machines, followed by 10 per cent each in
low-paying roles. It is a perverse reality of the warping, bhim-pachad and TFO; around 5 per
power looms, where a worker, after undertak- cent are begari workers.
ing back-breaking work for 20–25 years, gets
downgraded and earns lesser with time.
CONDITIONS OF WORK
THE WORLD OF WORK IN POWER Recruitment Process

LOOMS
Labour recruitment in the industry is chan-
nelized mostly through social networks. Most
Power looms are highly mechanized and
workers enter the labour market as adoles-
employ workers in a few well-defined
cents in the age group of 15–16 years with the
functions—machine operation and Two for

help of their family members or relatives. The
One (TFO) (twisting and warping) operation.
younger workers are inducted into the task
Machine operation further consists of different
of bobbin operation, which is an entry-level
subfunctions/roles, such as bobbin operation,
activity most loom workers go through.
warping, bhim pachad (setting the threads into
the machine) and supervision of the looms.
The primary raw material used in power
looms are the yarns. The TFO worker is in Remuneration
charge of converting larger yarns into smaller
yarns, which are then given to two sets of Aajeevika Bureau’s operations in Surat indi-
workers—warping workers and bobbin work- cate that wages vary across different roles.
ers. Warping workers convert the yarns into While a bobbin operator, loom master and
warps (length-wise yarns which run vertically TFO master get a fixed salary, the machine
in the loom machines) while bobbin work- operator’s wages depends on the number of
ers operate bobbins or wooden shuttles that metres of cloth he produces per day. A loom
produce the weft (filling thread). Looms are master’s fixed salary depends on the number
meant to hold the warp threads in place while of machines in the loom unit he is working in.
the wefts (filler thread) are woven through He also earns additional payment for install-
them. The process involves interlacing of the ing a new machine in a loom unit. An estimate
two sets, warp and weft, at right angles to proof the monthly wages of different kinds of
duce the cloth. workers is indicated in Table 47.1.
Table 47.1 Monthly Wages of Power Loom prove that they had been employed in a cer-
Workers tain unit. Thus, they end up working as casual
Work Profile Monthly Wages workers without a permanent contract even if
they have been employed in the same unit for
Begar `5,000–7,000
more than 10 years.6 Experiences based on
Bobbin operator `7,000–8,000
Aajeevika Bureau’s operations in Surat indi-
Machine operator `8,000–13,000
cate that disputes involving non-payment of
TFO worker `8,000–10,000
wages, and non-payment of compensation in
TFO master `13,000–15,000
the case of accidents, are rampant. Workers
Loom master `15,000–18,000
seldom seek legal recourse against any viola-
Source: Aajeevika Bureau (2014). tion of rights at the work place because these
practices are heavily normalized, and workers
Working Hours and Leaves lack adequate documentation to establish any
violation.
Work is structured in two shifts of 12 hours
each so that machine operation is not inter-
rupted. The number of machines supervised
by each worker has increased with time with Working Conditions
rising global competition5 and pressures to Every machine operator is required to over-
optimize labour costs. There are no declared see and manage 8–12 machines depending on
holidays in the power looms or provisions for the size of the power loom. Supervision work
taking leaves. In case of any personal emer- requires him to move non-stop across nar-
gency or need, workers take leaves at the risk rowly placed machines checking that threads
of replacement. For an absence of 2–3 days, do not break and that shuttles are changed
workers usually end up looking for work in time. The 12-hour shifts which have been
afresh. In case of return after long holidays normalized in the industry operations flout the
from the village, workers seldom go back stipulation of the Factories Act, 1948 which
to the previous employer as they are sure of requires a work day to be limited to 8 hours a
having been replaced. The industry needs to day, with specifications for overtime. However,
function non-stop and the costs are borne by the wage payment done by the industry does
the worker through a highly casualized and not account for any overtime. Through the
precarious nature of employment. work day, there are no breaks except for lunch.
Workers do take 2–3 small breaks informally
but have to ensure a replacement and non-stop
Work Contracts and Wage Payment machine operation.
The halls that house the power looms are
Workers are employed in small, unregistered often poorly lit. The space between two rows
units where terms of work contract are dic- of machines is narrow and movement across
tated by the employer. Payment settlement them requires dexterity and caution. The
is done every 15 days. However, no written floors are often slippery with oil and grease.
contracts are maintained. Names of the work- Overcrowding, ill-ventilation and low roofs
ers are never part of the payroll of the power increase the noise levels to excruciating
loom units. Workers do not have any means to
5
It is notable that despite the large volumes of cloth manufactured, looms in Surat continue to use old and dated
technology while other countries have moved to shuttle-less machines involving air-jet and water-jet technolo-
gies which are considered to be much safer and less polluting.
6
Ibid.
Despite mandatory provisions specified

India’s weakening position in global textile in the Factories Act, 1948, toilets and drink-
competition has forced Surat loom owners to ing water facilities are non-existent in a large
optimize production costs. For lack of tech- majority of the factories. Aajeevika Bureau’s
nological upgradation, cost reduction has experiences in Surat indicate that workers
happened primarily through cutting down on often have to purchase drinking water from
the manpower requirement to service looms—
nearby shops. Open defecation is common
halving the man-machine ratio in the last
20 years. Workers report that the number of
in the absence of toilet facilities. Completely
machines to be supervised by each worker used neglected by the Surat Municipal Corporation,
to be 6 in the 1980s, which increased further to the areas that have power looms are character-
8 in the 1990s and 12 in the present decade. ized by extreme filth and garbage with negli-
The earning per worker, however, remains of gible public facilities.
the same level. This practice is in clear con-
travention of the Factories Act, 1948 which
stipulates that a worker can only supervise a
maximum of 6 machines. During an interview Social Protection
in March 2014, the Assistant Commissioner of Most workers are outside the purview of any
Labour in Surat shared that there is an annual
social protection schemes such as insurance
shortage of around 0.5 million workers in the
Surat textile industry, within which the power
or pension. Due to the near complete absence
looms experience a shortage of 0.15–0.2 mil- of formal work arrangements, employ-
lion workers. This labour shortage, however, ers do not provide any social security cover
does not deter the operations of the power such as Provident Fund (PF) contributions
looms, which implies that the current work- or Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) cov-
force is performing additional work amounting erage. The workers are also not part of any
to at least 4 million man hours. state-sponsored social security schemes. In a
context where workplace accidents are very
high, the lack of insurance cover threatens to
proportions. These power looms also lack the
drastically cut short the work lives of migrants.
required safety in electrical work and wires
As many as 78 per cent of them also do not
often hang loose leading to frequent electrical
have bank accounts (Das & Sahu, 2013), thus
shocks. Exposure to machines is again quite
severely curtailing the security of their hard-
high. Recent estimates point to a very high
earned money and potential for savings.
number of deaths among migrant workers in
the area. According to an upcoming report on
‘Labour conditions in Surat textile industry’,
in the last 3 years, 84 fatal accidents were Collective Bargaining and Freedom
reported in registered textile-processing units of Association
in Surat, in which 114 workers died.7 Even
Interviews in the course of Aajeevika
these figures are most likely to be an underes-
Bureau’s work in Surat indicated that there
timate since a large number of units in the area
have been sporadic efforts for unionization
are unregistered.
in the past which have not really translated
into better conditions at work or greater
7
https://www.counterview.net/2018/03/84-fatal-accidents-114-deaths-in-three.html. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
The article summarizes findings from a study entitled ‘Labour Conditions in Surat Textile Industry’ supported by
Bonn-based Sudwind Institute for Economics and Ecumenism, authored by Jagdish Patel of the Vadodara-based
People’s Training and Research Centre.
bargaining power for workers. These workers toilets shared by 70–80 occupants of the mess.
largely remain outside the purview of major The garbage collection service of the Surat
national-level trade unions. Municipal Corporation does not extend to this
area. The entire living area is thus strewn with
waste, resulting in grave health consequences
for workers, including contracting malaria,
CONDITIONS OF LIVING8 cholera and other communicable diseases.
The incidence of skin diseases and other res-
Economic imperatives force migrant work- piratory illnesses is also very high. Living
ers to opt for living arrangements that are in degenerated conditions like this results in
extremely suboptimal. Some of the most issues such as alcoholism, malnutrition and
common living arrangements are independ- social drift on a massive scale among these
ent shacks in slums, rented accommodation workers.
in slums and in large halls called ‘messes’, Most workers have poor food intake; skip-
which are run by migrant entrepreneurs. ping breakfast and staying hungry till noon is
Single male migrants usually prefer shared a common practice. Kerosene is commonly
rented accommodation or ‘messes’, in a bid to used as a fuel and is brought from the black
save on living expenses. market at exorbitant prices at `50–60 per litre,
Rented accommodations are small, con- since workers lack access to the public distri-
gested rooms that are poorly ventilated and bution system (PDS) or other fair-priced shops
dimly lit. There is no space for a separate in the city. Landlords also run grocery shops
kitchen, due to which cooking takes place and often force workers to purchase from their
within the same living area, making the floor shops at much higher prices.
constantly damp. Rent per person is usually It is a well-documented fact that the com-
about `1,800–2,000 per month. Additionally, munity faces exclusion on multiple counts,
expenditure on food amounts to `1,500–2,000 even after long years of working in the city.
per person on a monthly basis. Municipal While language barriers are a major reason
water supply is available only for about 2–3 for this lack of integration, their living spaces,
hours daily. which are practically ghettos, confined to the
‘Messes’ are another popular choice for degenerated peripheries of the city, offer no
young, single migrants. The arrangement avenue for engagement with public spaces or
includes both food and accommodation for a for demanding better amenities and entitle-
monthly payment of `1,800–2,100 per person, ments from the city that has been built with
which is paid every 15 days. The provision of their hard toil.
food in the messes makes it a preferred option
for many single migrants. While the ground
floor is dedicated to cooking and running the
eatery, other floors house workers in rooms/ IN POOR HEALTH
halls of different sizes. On an average, rooms
are about 20 × 12 × 8, housing about 100 As a consequence of the gruelling work con-
workers who operate in two shifts, thus effec- ditions and deplorable living conditions that
tively accommodating about 50 workers at a migrant workers experience on a day-to-day
time. basis, poor health outcomes are a pervasive
The ‘messes’ are extremely dirty, unhy- feature of their lives. A recent health assess-
gienic and congested, with barely one or two ment study commissioned by Aajeevika
8
Drawn from Aajeevika Bureau’s experiences from the field.
Bureau (Atkuri & Aajeevika Bureau, 2018) long unprotected exposure to extremely high
among power loom workers in Surat presented levels of noise in the power looms. However,
stark findings on the health status of these in addition, nearly 60 per cent of the remain-
workers. Of the workers, 46 per cent were ing workers also showed hearing loss, which
either underweight or overweight or obese is most likely also noise-induced, though with
(body mass index (BMI) below 18.5 or over not typical tracings as seen in NIHL. The
23). While 15.4 per cent of the workers were prevalence of hearing loss was found to be
observed to have hypertension, 22 per cent of positively correlated with the duration of work
the workers were found to be anaemic. Over performed by the worker in the power looms
a third (38%) of the workers were also found (Figure 47.2.)
to be suffering from dyslipidemia, a condition NIHL is irreversible. Though the
denoting abnormal lipid levels and high cho- Workmen’s Compensation Act stipulates
lesterol that substantially increases their risk that workers suffering from NIHL are liable
of cardiovascular diseases. Of the workers, 23 to get compensation from their employers,
per cent reported problems with their vision. this has hardly ever been put into practice,
The most significant finding of the study largely since workers are unaware of their
was revealed by the audiometry tests which rights. Apart from hearing loss, exposure to
suggested that 94 per cent of the workers who such noise levels on a regular basis causes
were tested had hearing loss (Figure 47.1). irritation, inability to sleep, reduced ability to
While normal conversations take place at concentrate, annoyance and excitement (acti-
around 35 dB, prolonged exposure to noise vation) of the central nervous system, causing
levels over 90 dB can cause hearing loss. The increased heart rate, increased blood pressure
power looms generate between 110 and 114 dB and changes in body metabolism. While there
loud noise, where workers work for 12 hours is a high likelihood that these conditions are
without any ear protection. Of the workers, 35 pervasive among power loom workers, con-
per cent displayed typical noise-induced hear- ducting more in-depth investigations will be
ing loss (NIHL), a direct consequence of their
6
Only 6 per cent
of workers have
normal hearing
35
59
Normal hearing Noise-induced hearing loss Other hearing loss
Figure 47.1 Proportion of Loom Workers with Hearing Loss

100%
90%
2
80%
4
70%
16 15
60%
50% 4
40%
30%
5
20% 7 6
2
10%
0 1 1
0%
<5 yrs 5−<10 yrs 10−<20 yrs >=20 yrs
Normal NIHL other HL
Figure 47.2 Hearing Loss by Number of Years of Work in the Looms
critical in generating stronger evidence sup- foundation to bring them under the purview
porting these. of labour laws, to introduce legislations to
improve their working and living conditions
and to advocate for further benefits, such as
social security.
WHAT CAN BE DONE: KEY
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY
UPTAKE Constitution of the Gujarat State
Social Security Board
The conditions of working and living, expe-
rienced by migrant power loom sector work- The Gujarat State Social Security Board can
ers, calls for an urgent institutional response be constituted as per the provisions of the
to their issues. The following are a few rec- Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act,
ommendations that can become a part of the 2008, and self-registration of workers can be
response framework. enabled under the State Social Security Board.
Recognition of Power Loom Work as Institution of a Welfare Board for

a Dominant Category of Work Power Loom Sector Workers through
a Tripartite Arrangement between
This will be an important first step to ensure
that power loom workers are able to establish the State, Employers and Workers
their identity as workers, and their occupa- On the lines of welfare boards in other sim-
tions are recognized as legitimate categories ilar occupational categories, this institutional
of work. It will also provide a much needed arrangement would receive overall funding
from the state, supported by cess/taxes col- to be educated about their eligibility for compen-
lected from the employers and a membership sation for NIHL.
fee collected from the workers. These boards 6. Provision of basic amenities at the workplace,
will be an appropriate platform to provide such as safe drinking water, toilet and sanitation
facilities.
welfare benefits and economic security to
informal workers.
Facilitating Financial Inclusion for Instituting Mechanisms to Ensure

Workers Collective Bargaining
Mechanisms need to be instituted that will
Facilitating financial inclusion for workers is
ensure collective bargaining for workers in
essential to ensure contributory savings from
order to ensure that labour rights are recog-
employers and workers. These may be linked
nized and labour legislations are implemented.
to the welfare board registrations, with pro-
visions for continuing the same account as
long as the worker is in the same occupational
sector. Necessary safeguards with respect to Provision of Affordable ‘Pay and
withdrawal of savings may be introduced to Stay’ Homes for Migrant Workers
ensure that workers do not have a perverse
incentive to leave their jobs in order to access Affordable ‘pay and stay’ homes need to be
the saved amount. provided for migrant workers to ensure that
they have decent, hygienic living conditions
along with access to basic public services,
such as drinking water, sanitation and state
Recognition and Notification to benefits, such as subsidized ration.
Employers about Minimum Working
Conditions
The following minimum working conditions REFERENCES
need to be recognized, notified to employers
and implemented on a mandatory basis: Aajeevika Bureau (2014). Of health, hope and survival
in Surat: A scoping study on health of Odiya migrants
1. An 8-hour working day (rather than the current in Surat power looms. In Studies stories and a canvas:
12-hour day) with a half-hour break Seasonal labour migration and migrant workers from
2. One paid holiday per week Odisha. Udaipur: Aajeevika Bureau. Retrieved from
3. No payment below the minimum statutory wage http://www.aajeevika.org/assets/pdfs/Odisha%20
4. Provisions for adequate safety equipment and pro- State%20Migration%20Profile%20Report.pdf
tective gear at the workplace, regular safety train- (accessed on 24 July 2019).
ings and adequate compensation, as mandated by Atkuri, R. & Aajeevika Bureau (2018). Status of power-
law, in the case of accidents. loom workers in Surat city. Unpublished material.
5. With regard to the specific medical condition of Das, B. & Sahu, G. B. (2013). Understanding financial
NIHL experienced by many workers, conditions at behaviour of urban migrant workers: The case of Surat
the power looms need to be adapted to reduce city. Surat: Center for Social Studies.
noise generation. The state/employers’ associa- Sainath, P. (2009, July 11). More migrations, new des-
tions need to institute arrangements for periodic tinations. The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.
screening of all power loom workers for this condi- thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/more-migra-
tion. Compensation should be paid to all workers tions-newdestinations/article226404.ece (accessed
currently facing this condition. Workers also need on 16 October 2016).
48
Economic Inequality and
Migration*
Rikil Chyrmang
INTRODUCTION overall growth rate since 1980 has been just

over 2 per cent, insufficient to generate any
Assam was considered one of the most back- surplus for investment (Government of Assam
ward states in India (Rajan, 2013). In inde- Report, 2011). The state economy is primarily
pendent India, the growth performance of agrarian with a weak industrial sector (NERV,
Assam in terms of per capita income marked 2020, 2011). Bezbaruah and Dutta (2004)
less than that of the national average. Even argued that high growth rates can be achieved
after the state reorganization of the 1950s, its only if stimulated by a strong economic
development continued to be poor. Due to rel- policy as the state had been lagging behind
atively poor growth of Assam’s economy and in infrastructural and industrial development
considering the disadvantage after partition, (Sharma, 2006). Sachdeva (2006) found that
the government constituted numerous Special the continued economic neglect and inappro-
Committees, Commissions and study groups, priate economic policy framework had created
and the Central Government in recent years an unstable economy and shattered the basic
announced special packages for its develop- institutions of a market economy.
ment. However, the development gap has been According to the United Nations
ever widening and it continues so, even after Development Programme (UNDP) 2009–
the new economic policy reforms of 1991. The 2010, Assam’s poverty headcount ratio was
* This chapter was a part of the PhD thesis, ‘Cross-Border Migration, Resource Conflicts and Development—The
Case of Assam State, India: An Empirical Investigation’, submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in
2014 under the supervision of Prof. S. Irudaya Rajan and Prof. (Rtd) K. Narayanan Nair, Centre for Development
Studies. I am thankful to both of them for their insightful comments and support at various stages of this study.
The views expressed in this chapter are of the author.
37.90, multidimensional poverty index was examine the socio-economic characteristics

0.31 and multidimensional poverty head between the native and non-native settlers,
count was 60.10 per cent. All these indica- and second was to analyse the extent of their
tors are higher than the national average, economic inequality. The micro evidence of
which is a matter of concern, as millions of economic inequality is measured in terms of
people continue to live in poverty. The per- monthly per capita consumption expenditure
formance of Assam, based on the 2007–2008 (MPCE) on food and non-food items, edu-
Human Development Index (HDI), Gender cation and healthcare, per capita saving and
Development Index and Human Poverty investment and land possession.
Index, revealed that it ranked lower than most The study is based on survey data collected
other Indian states. The 2011 human devel- through interviews with a structured question-
opment indicators showed that the inequality naire from 300 households out of 784 house-
adjusted HDI of Assam ranked at 11 (out of holds of two villages, 150 households each
19 states in India). The state had lost 28.17 from Kathalguri (under Udalguri district)
per cent in HDI due to different inequalities. and Kharupetia (under Darrang district). The
It is in this context that the micro evidence of investigation was conceived according to the
economic inequality measurement becomes ‘general to particular’ mode using random
important. Economic inequality can occur sampling and it involved four levels of selec-
due to several reasons, such as the difference tion: (i) district, (ii) subdistrict, (iii) village
in physical attributes, personal preferences, and (iv) households. The final sample used
social processes or conditions that determine for analysis included 295 households as 5
the pressure to work or not to work, public households chose not to respond. Kathalguri
policies regarding labour and education, and is predominantly inhabited by the native pop-
policies affecting the distribution of resources. ulation, and by contrast, Kharupetia is mostly
Inequality is more pronounced in developing inhabited by non-native settlers. The selection
countries (Amiel & Cowell, 1998). The sim- for field survey was on the basis of the devel-
plest way to measure inequality is to divide opment indicators of the district, economic
the population into five quintiles from poorest activities at the taluk and basic amenities in
to richest, and reporting the levels or propor- the village. Darrang district, with the second
tions of income (or expenditure) that accrue lowest HDI and having the greater share of
to each level (Haughton & Khandker, 2009). non-native population, was chosen for the
Our study hypothesized that inequality survey. Udalguri district, formed in 2004, was
in income distribution is causal to underde- chosen as the second district for the study,
velopment among the native and non-native although its Census data was not published at
populations. Non-natives are expected to be the time of survey, as it was part of the erst-
backward, wherever they are; however, they while Darrang district. The two villages had
could be also prosperous at the expense of an average household size of around 5 with
the natives. It is thus important to study this a mean age of 29 years. The survey was held
aspect by assessing the present situation relat- from 20 July 20 to 5 October 2012.
ing to two social groups comprising the native The sampling design and survey method-
and non-native population within the state. It ology enables studying the specificity of the
has been observed that very limited quantita- problems faced by the subjects, their live-
tive research has been conducted in the con- lihoods and living conditions. Household
text of Assam with regard to differences in information is vital in understanding the con-
the livelihood strategies and economic activ- sumption behaviour of the households. We
ities between the native and non-native pop- selected the villages for the survey on the
ulations. Therefore, our first objective was to basis of available economic indicators and
Economic Inequality and Migration 653
their backwardness. Wherever necessary, we migration and remittances and their utiliza-
computed an index based on the formulae pro- tion. The next two blocks collected informa-
vided by the UNDP for their computation of tion on household expenses and children’s
HD). The method used for data analysis was education and health. The fifth and sixth
cross tabulation and simple statistical tools. blocks collected information on social capi-
Lorenz curve (LC) and the Gini coefficient tal and physical assets of the household. The
(G) are the tools used for measuring the eco- seventh and eighth blocks contained informa-
nomic inequality between the natives and tion on land and livestock of the households.
non-native settlers. The last two blocks collected information on
MPCE, savings and investments.
The chapter is organized in five sections.
The second section discusses the socio-
Identifying the Non-native
economic characteristics of the two study
Households
areas in Assam. The third section elaborates
After informal discussion with the villagers, on MPCE quintile classes and discusses the
we initiated identification and interaction with results of the empirical analysis, while the
the key informants who were familiar with measurement of the economic inequality is
the village, such as the leader of the mosque presented in the fourth section. The fifth sec-
or school teachers, and then we discussed the tion ends with some concluding remarks.
problems in the area with academia of nearby
colleges and with a researcher who had con-
ducted a field study in the same area, NEHU,
Shillong. The information was collected from SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
the households as per the questionnaire on OF THE TWO VILLAGES
their socio-economic and demographic char-
acteristics and their livelihood strategies. The native households reported 132 males
(88.00%) and only 18 females (12.00%) as
household-heads, the survey respondents
were also of the same percentage. Non-native
Questionnaire
households reported 143 males (98.62%) and
The questionnaire contained nine blocks. The only 2 females (1.38%) as household-heads.
first block elicited the socio-demographic However, the survey respondents were 137
characteristics of the households while the females (94.48%) and 8 males (5.52%), as
second block collected data on migration some of the male household-heads had gone
status, such as patterns of migration, dura- for daily wage employment (Table 48.1).
tion of stay, present occupation, reasons for There is also a vast difference in social norms
Table 48.1 Percentage Distribution of Household-Heads and Respondents by Gender

Household-heads by Gender Respondents by Gender
Native Non-native Native Non-native
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Gender households Percentage households Percentage respondents Percentage respondents Percentage
Male 132 88.00 143 98.62 132 88.00 8 5.52

Females 18 12.00 2 1.38 18 12.00 137 94.48
Total 150 100.00 145 100.00 150 100.00 145 100.00
Source: Field Survey, 2012.

and work culture between the two communi- none practised the Muslim religion. Among
ties, the native females participated in work non-natives, the majority were Muslims and
along with men in the agricultural fields and only 18.62 per cent were Hindus. In the vil-
related activities. lages, the share of female population was
From 295 sample households selected from more (Table 48.5).
the two villages, 1,457 persons were enumer- The distribution of people by their mother
ated, of which 782 belonged to the native tongue is given in Table 48.6. Among non-
population and 675 were non-native settlers. natives, the majority (92.41%) spoke Bengali.
There was an almost equal gender representa- As shown in Table 48.7, Scheduled Tribes
tion from both the villages (Table 48.2). (STs) (45.53%) had the major share among
The native households reported 47.44 per social groups among the natives while most of
cent of their members as the son/daughter of the non-native settlers belonged to the General
the household-head and the same was 48.89 category (88.28%).
per cent in the case of non-native settlers Table 48.8 shows that the educational status
(Table 48.3). The natives reported 50.51 per of both natives and settlers are only marginally
cent as being married and 42.97 per cent were different. Those who had completed primary
unmarried. The non-native settlers reported education but below secondary formed the
48.59 per cent as being married and 48.44 per largest category at 33 per cent among natives
cent as being unmarried (Table 48.4). Natives and 27 per cent among non-natives. The illit-
had a religious composition of 82 per cent erates constituted 7.31 per cent of the natives
Hindus and 16.67 per cent Christians, while and 14.07 per cent of the non-natives.
Table 48.2 Percentage Distribution of Native and Non-native Settlers by Gender

Native Non-native Total Native Non-native Total
Gender Number of persons Number of persons Total Percentage Percentage Percentage
Males 399 360 759 51.02 53.33 52.09

Females 383 315 698 48.98 46.67 47.91
Total 782 675 1,457 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 48.3 Percentage Distribution of Relationship to Household-Head

Native Non-native
Relation to household-head Number of persons Percentage Number of persons Percentage
Household-head 152 19.44 144 21.33

Spouse of head 127 16.24 149 22.07
Son/daughter 371 47.44 330 48.89
Spouse of son/daughter 50 6.39 10 1.48
Grand child 64 8.18 1 0.15
Father/mother 3 0.38 21 3.11
Brother/sister 9 1.15 14 2.07
Father-in-law/mother-in-law 0 0.00 1 0.15
Brother-in-law/sister-in-law 6 0.77 4 0.59
Servant/employee/other 0 0.00 1 0.15
Total persons 782 100.00 675 100.00

Table 48.4 Percentage Distribution of Marital Status

Native Non-native
Marital status Number of persons Percentage Number of persons Percentage
Married 395 50.51 328 48.59

Unmarried 336 42.97 327 48.44
Widow 40 5.12 13 1.93
Divorced/Separated 11 1.41 7 1.04
Total 782 100.00 675 100.00
Table 48.5 Percentage Distribution of Religion by Gender

Native Non-native
Religion Males Females Total Males Females Total
Hindu 81.06 88.89 82.00 50.00 16.79 18.62

Muslim 0.00 0.00 0.00 50.00 83.21 81.38
Christian 17.42 11.11 16.67 0.00 0.00 0.00
Others 1.52 0.00 1.33 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 48.6 Percentage Distribution of Language by Gender

Native Non-native
Mother tongue Males Females Total Males Females Total
Assamese 21.97 16.67 21.33 0.00 7.30 6.90

Bodo 45.45 55.56 46.67 0.00 0.00 0.00
Bengali 3.03 5.56 3.33 100.00 91.97 92.41
Hindi 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.73 0.69
Others (Nepali/Bhutanese/Tibetan) 29.55 22.22 28.67 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 48.7 Percentage Distribution of Social Groups by Gender

Native Non-native
Social groups Males Females Total Males Females Total
Schedule tribe 43.94 55.56 45.33 0.00 0.00 0.00

Schedule caste 15.15 5.56 14.00 37.50 10.22 11.72
Other backward castes 25.00 16.67 24.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
General 15.91 22.22 16.67 62.50 89.78 88.28
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Table 48.8 Percentage Distribution of Educational Status by Gender

Native Non-native
Educational status Males Females Total Males Females Total
Illiterate 6.05 8.62 7.31 10.08 18.55 14.07

Literate with below primary school 17.38 17.23 17.31 15.69 16.67 16.15
Primary but not completed 18.64 25.59 22.05 20.73 14.47 17.78
Primary but below secondary 34.51 31.59 33.08 22.97 31.45 26.96
Secondary passed but have no degree 14.11 10.97 12.56 17.37 13.84 15.70
Professional graduate course 4.79 2.61 3.72 3.08 0.63 1.93
Non-professional graduate course 0.25 0.26 0.26 5.88 1.26 3.70
Professional postgraduate course 0.50 0.26 0.38 0.28 0.00 0.15
Technical course 0.25 0.00 0.13 0.28 0.00 0.15
Others 3.53 2.87 3.21 3.64 3.14 3.41
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 48.9 Percentage Distribution of Usual Activity by Gender

Native Non-native
Usual activity Male Female Total Male Female Total
Job seekers 13.10 3.39 8.33 50.98 5.03 29.33

Students 33.00 32.38 32.69 24.65 27.36 25.93
Unpaid family work 4.79 1.57 3.21 2.24 10.69 6.22
Disable/Sick person 0.25 0.26 0.26 0.56 2.20 1.33
Too young and too old 3.53 2.35 2.95 8.12 8.49 8.30
Household works 14.86 51.44 32.82 1.68 36.48 18.07
Rentier/Pensioners 1.76 0.00 0.90 0.00 0.00 0.00
Others 28.72 8.62 18.85 11.76 9.75 10.81
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Table 48.9 shows that the usual activity category of Others due to the large numbers of
status of most natives was as household work- dependents and students.
ers (32.82%) and students (32.69%). The
usual activity status of the non-natives was job
seekers (29.33%) and students (25.93%) with
household work at 18.07 per cent. Female MPCE INCOME QUINTILE CLASSES
natives engaged more (51.44%) in household
activity as against those among non-native Before we consider MPCE, it is important
settlers (36.48%). As shown in Table 48.10, to discuss out-migration, which may act as
the main occupations of the male natives were a significant contributor to increased house-
cultivators and self-employed in business, hold spending. Both the study areas were
whereas it was cultivators and daily wage less developed and encouraged people to
labourers for the settlers among non-natives. out-migrate for better earning opportunities.
For both the native and non-native settlers, the Out-migration is thus an important source
major share of the occupation status was the of livelihood in supplementing household
Table 48.10 Percentage Distribution of Household Member’s Occupation by Gender

Native Non-native
Types of Occupation Males Females Total Males Females Total
Cultivator 18.64 6.79 12.82 14.29 8.49 11.56

Wage employment in agriculture 2.52 2.87 2.69 9.24 9.75 9.48
Wage employment in non-agriculture 4.79 1.04 2.95 15.97 8.49 12.44
Employed in state/central government 8.82 2.09 5.51 4.20 3.14 3.70
Employed in private sector 7.81 2.61 5.26 3.92 1.57 2.81
Self-employment in business 13.35 3.13 8.33 10.08 3.14 6.81
Employed in semi government aided 1.26 0.26 0.77 0.84 0.00 0.44
school/college, cooperative/local
administrative bodies
Professional/technical 0.25 2.87 1.54 1.12 1.26 1.19
Livestock trading 1.26 1.57 1.41 0.28 0.94 0.59
Others 41.31 76.76 58.72 40.06 63.21 50.96
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
income. We tried to identify the out-migrants The out-migrants were reported to be remit-
based on their responses on whether any ting back home `1,000–50,000 per year in the
member of the household had moved out case of non-natives and `20,000–100,000 per
of the village for work. We found that there year in the case of natives (Figure 48.1).
were out-migrants from both the study vil- The remittances sent in by the out-migrants
lages. Table 48.11 shows the duration of out- in both the groups play a very important role
migration among the natives and non-natives. in improving the well-being of the household
Table 48.12 shows out-migration by desti- members. Table 48.13 shows that the native
nation. We find that the preference is mostly households mostly use these remittances for
from regions within the state for both native education of members (41.67%), whereas
and non-native. Interdistrict out-migration the non-native households use these mainly
according to rural and urban locals was 13.89 to supplement household living expenses
per cent among natives and 33.33 per cent (76.19%).
among non-natives, and 41.67 per cent among The quintile method was used for analys-
natives and 28.57 per cent among non-natives, ing and comparing the expenditure patterns of
respectively. the households for food and non-food items,
Table 48.11 Duration of Stay of the Migrants

Native Non-native
Duration Migrants Percentage Migrants Percentage
One week 0 0.00 2 9.52

One month 0 0.00 4 19.05
Six months 3 8.33 3 14.29
One year 6 16.67 2 9.52
Others (not specified) 27 75.00 10 47.62
Total 36 100.00 21 100.00

Table 48.12 Out-Migration by Destination

Native Non-native
Destination Rural/Urban Migrants Percentage Migrants Percentage
Intradistrict Rural 4 11.11 3 14.29

Urban 6 16.67 1 4.76
Interdistrict Rural 5 13.89 7 33.33
Urban 15 41.67 6 28.57
Interstate Rural 0 0.00 3 14.29
Urban 6 16.67 1 4.76
Total out-migrants 36 100.00 21 100.00
90.00
80.00 77.78
70.00
60.00 47.62
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00 14.29 14.29 14.29
9.52 8.33 5.56
10.00 0.00 0.00 2.78 2.78 0.00 2.78
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
0.00
it
00
00
0
m
00
00
00
00
00
00
,0
,0
re
5,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
<1
10
0–
–2
–5
–7
,0
,0
’t
1–
dn
–1
>1
00
01
01
01
00
Di
01
1,
,0
,0
,0
5,
10
20
50
,0
70
Native Non-Native
Figure 48.1 Percentage Distribution of Remittances from Out-Migrants

Table 48.13 Percentage of Use of Remittances for computing household consumption

Use of Remittances Native Non-native expenditure. The NSSO estimates of MPCE
worked out for each sample household served
Education of household 41.67 4.76
1 members as a close proxy for income. The iterations for
calculating the quintiles distribution are as
2 Marriage & other ceremonies 22.22 4.76
follows:
3 Healthcare 2.78 0.00
4 Financing household ventures 5.56 4.76
• First, we sorted the values in an ascending order,
(business, housing repairs etc.)
including two sets of information about the
5 For household living expenses 0.00 76.19
households, 150 of native and 145 of non-native
including food
households.
6 Others 27.78 9.52
• Second, we divided the sorted values into five
Total 100.00 100.00 equal parts. For the natives, there were 150 values,
Source: Field Survey, 2012. so there were 30 values in each of the five groups.
For the non-natives, there were 145 values, so
there were 29 values in each quintile.
education, health, saving, investment and land • Third, we calculated the total value for all cases
availability based on different income groups and added up all the incomes and expenditures.
(see Table 48A.1). As it is difficult to collect • Fourth, we calculated the total amount in each
reliable income data, we followed the National quintile and added up all the incomes in each
Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) method quintile.
• Fifth and last, we calculated the percentage of Results and Discussion of the MPCE
the total amount for each quintile and calculated Income Quintiles
what percentage of the total income/expenditure
is earned/spent by each quintile. Table 48.14 shows that the average MPCE on
food and non-food items of the first quintile
Then we started the calculation of inequal- class of the bottom poorest for the natives is
ity in income/expenditure to check whether 6.08 per cent, while the non-natives spent a
there was perfect equality in each quintile that little more at 9.12 per cent. The top fifth quin-
would form 20 per cent of the total house- tile of the natives spent 42.03 per cent, which
hold’s income/expenditure. The lowest group is more than the expenditure of non-natives
in the ranking was called the first quintile (32.85%). But in terms of average MPCE at
(first 20%), the second group was referred to the top quintile, the non-natives spent more at
as the second quintile (second 20%) and so on. `5,338.96 than the natives at `2,266.44.
The highest group in the ranking was the fifth Table 48.15 shows the quintile classes of
quintile (last 20%). The first and fifth quin- MPCE for the native households which indi-
tiles, considered as ‘poor’ and ‘rich’, can be cate that the poorest bottom quintile spent
used as proxy. The iterations are symbolically only 4.74 per cent (average `27.08) on edu-
written as follows: cation while the non-natives spent more at
Let Q ( y|x ) for   (0,1) denote the  th 5.30 per cent (average `51.90). The natives
quintile of the distribution of the consumption in the fifth quintile, the richest, spent 41.46
given the vector of covariates x. We modelled per cent (average `236.82) of their income.
these conditional quintiles as follows: The fifth quintile of the non-natives spent
less than the natives at 40.34 per cent (aver-
Let Q ( y|x ) = x ′() age `389.82). The average mean of MPCE
for the natives was `114.232 and `193.256 for
where  ( ) is a vector of quintile regression the non-natives, and the combined mean for
(QR) coefficients (Koenker & Basset, 1978). both the villages was `153.744. The overall
Table 48.14 MPCE on Food and Non-food Items

Native Non-native
Quintile Class Percentage Average Percentage Average
1st quintile 6.08 328.07 9.12 1,482.53
2nd quintile 9.73 524.50 14.81 2,407.33
3rd quintile 16.81 906.77 19.06 3,097.55
4th quintile 25.35 1,366.87 24.16 3,925.69
5th quintile 42.03 2,266.44 32.85 5,338.96
Total 100.00 100.00
Two-sample t-test with equal variances
Groups Mean Standard Deviation

1. Native 1078.53 773.613
2. Non-native 3250.412 1472.888
Combined 2164.471 1593.884
Difference −2171.882

Table 48.15 MPCE on Education

Native Non-native
MPCE Quintile class Percentage Average Percentage Average
1st quintile 4.74 27.08 5.30 51.19
2nd quintile 9.82 56.11 10.42 100.70
3rd quintile 17.79 101.58 16.98 164.04
4th quintile 26.19 149.57 26.96 260.53
5th quintile 41.46 236.82 40.34 389.82
Total 100.00 100.00

1. Native 114.232 82.780
2. Non-native 193.256 134.876
Combined 153.744 113.425
Table 48.16 MPCE on Healthcare

Native Non-native
MPCE Quintile class Percentage Average Percentage Average
1st quintile 4.40 74.64 5.80 123.61
2nd quintile 6.02 102.17 7.82 166.67
3rd quintile 8.97 152.17 10.16 236.36
4th quintile 14.43 244.93 16.55 384.85
5th quintile 66.18 1,123.19 59.67 1,272.22
Total 100.00 100.00
1. Native 339.42 442.911

2. Non-native 436.74 477.456
Combined 388.08 437.190
mean difference was −`79.024, which indi- of the natives spent 66.18 per cent (average
cates that the non-natives were spending more `1,123.19) of their incomes on healthcare and
than the natives. As shown in Table 48.16, the the non-natives spent 59.67 per cent (average
bottom quintile MPCE on healthcare among `1,272.220).
the native spent 4.40 per cent (average `74.64) The mean difference between two groups
and the non-natives spent 5.80 per cent (aver- is −`97.322, which shows the overall
age `123.61). There was a huge gap between expenditure is more among the non-native
the lowest and top quintiles. The fifth quintile households.
As shown in Table 48.17, the poorest non-natives, but the actual investment was
quintile of natives saved only 3.50 per cent low in both the groups. The mean difference
(average `39.63) and the richest saved 47.98 was very high at −`21,288.24. Investment was
per cent (average `543.99) per capita, while more uniform among the non-natives than
the non-native settlers saved 2.09 per cent among the natives.
(average `16.70), which is less than what the Table 48.19 shows that the bottom quin-
natives saved. The fifth quintile of non-natives tile of the native households had 1.89 per
saved 58.45 per cent (average `485.16), much cent (average land owned: 0.30 acres) of land
more than what the natives saved (47.98%), ownership, slightly more than the non-native
but in terms of the average for the fifth quin- households with 1.43 per cent (average land
tile, the natives saved `543.99 more than the owned: 0.25 acres). The top quintile class of
non-natives’ average of `485.16. The mean the natives acquired land with 54.23 per cent
difference is `61.322 which indicates that (average land owned: 8.65 acres). While the
the overall average saving is more per capita non-natives acquired 54.70 per cent (average
among the natives than among the non-natives. land owned: 9.77 acres). The mean per capita
As far as investment is concerned, land ownership for the two groups stood at
(Table 48.18), the lowest quintile of the 3.373 acres and the net difference was about
natives invested only the 2.09 per cent (aver- −0.3620 acres.
age `1,005.88), while the non-natives invested As shown in Table 48.20, the poorest
approximately the same in terms of percent- quintile of natives spent 5.87 per cent (aver-
age (2.05%) but it differed in terms of the age `403.83) and the richest quintile spent
actual average of `3,170.59 per annum. The 39.70 per cent (average `2,729.47). The
highest quintile among the natives invested non-native settlers spent 9.07 per cent (aver-
above 67.70 per cent (average `32,558.82), age `1,560.79) more than the natives in the
while the non-natives invested 55.50 per cent lower quintiles did in terms of both percent-
(average `85,770.59) per annum. Investment age and actual expenditures. The richest quin-
in the top quintile class was more in percent- tile of non-natives spent 33.17 per cent lesser
age terms among the natives than among the than the natives but more in terms of actual
Table 48.17 Average Monthly per Capita Savings

Native Non-native
Quintile class Percentage Average Percentage Average
1st quintile 3.50 39.63 2.09 16.70
2nd quintile 8.20 92.93 6.74 53.75
3rd quintile 16.80 190.52 10.41 86.42
4th quintile 23.52 266.70 22.31 185.13
5th quintile 47.98 543.99 58.45 485.16
Total 100.00 100.00

1. Native 226.754 197.782
2. Non-native 165.432 189.374
Combined 196.093 185.389
Difference 61.322

Table 48.18 Average Investment per Annum (in `)

Native Non-native
1st quintile 2.09 1,005.88 2.05 3,170.59
2nd quintile 4.65 2,235.29 6.80 10,505.88
3rd quintile 7.58 3,647.06 12.46 19,252.94
4th quintile 17.98 8,647.06 23.19 35,835.29
5th quintile 67.70 32,558.82 55.50 85,770.59
Total 100.00 100.00

1. Native 9618.822 13148.66
2. Non-native 30907.06 32998.61
Combined 20262.94 26204.65
Table 48.19 Per Capita Land Possession (in Acres)

Native Non-native
1st quintile 1.89 0.30 1.43 0.25
2nd quintile 6.81 1.09 2.88 0.50
3rd quintile 13.90 2.22 11.60 2.00
4th quintile 23.18 3.70 29.39 5.25
5th quintile 54.23 8.65 54.70 9.77
Total 100.00 100.00
1. Native 3.192 3.308

2.Non-native 3.554 4.005
Combined 3.373 3.468
expenditure at `5,706.26. The mean for the MEASUREMENT OF ECONOMIC

two groups stood at `2,407.845 and the mean INEQUALITY
difference was almost twice at −`2,065.722,
which indicates that the overall average con- LC and G were used to measure the level of
sumption was more among the non-natives inequality. LC is a graphical representation of
than among the natives. the cumulative distribution of a variable, most
often used to represent income or expenditure.
Table 48.20 Overall MPCE

Native Non-native
1st quintile 5.87 403.83 9.07 1,560.79
2nd quintile 12.14 834.38 14.81 2,547.98
3rd quintile 18.11 1,245.22 18.87 3,246.08
4th quintile 24.18 1,662.02 24.08 4,142.42
5th quintile 39.70 2,729.47 33.17 5,706.26
Total 100.00 100.00

1. Native 1374.984 890.119
2. Non-native 3440.706 1580.669
Combined 2407.845 1627.245
The data is rearranged from the lowest to the P

highest quintiles before the cumulative per- G= , where P is the area between the 45
P� + Q
centages are calculated. The graph plots the
degree line and the LC and Q is the area below
cumulative percentage of households on the x-
LC.
axis and the cumulative percentage of income/
expenditure on the y-axis. The diagonal line 1
• P + Q = , when the total area is 1
at 45 degree represents perfect equality. 2
Associated with such a curve is the Gini index P P
• G = �  G =  G = 2P
(GI) defined as twice as the area between the P+Q 1
curve and the diagonal line. If the LC lies 2
below the line of equality, the distribution of 1
income or expenditure in the society is more • P + Q =  2 P + 2Q = 1  G + 2Q = 1 
2
unequal.
The LC can be used to compare equal and G = 1 − 2Q
unequal distribution in a country/village with
different time periods.1 As shown in Figure Catalano et al. (2009) assumed that the LC is
48.2, the LC, OAO’ depicts the unequal continuous and applied calculus to calculate
income/household expenditure. G is the pro- the G. LC shows the cumulative proportion of
portion of the inequality to the entire area income/assets owned by a proportion of the
under the 45 degree line and is measured as population. In calculus notation, the
1
1
G = ( x − L ( x)) dx divided by . This simpli-
∫ 2
0
1
To work with the real numbers, we used the technique called Gini coefficient. According to the World Bank,
the Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. The Gini index
measures the extent to which the distribution of income or expenditure among individuals or households within
an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. It measures the area between the LC and the hypo-
thetical line of absolute equality, and is expressed as a percentage of the maximum area under the line. The Gini
coefficient (or Gini ratio), G, a summary statistic of the LC, is the degree of inequality.
Cumulative percentage of income/expenditure

y 45º
100 O′
80
60
P
40
A
Q
20
0 x
20 40 60 80 100
Cumulative percentage of household population
Figure 48.2 The Lorenz Curve and Gini Coefficient
100
Equality
% of MPCE on Food
80
Native Lorenz curve
60 Non-native Lorenz curve
40
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.3 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Food Items

1 represents the line of perfect equality. The two

fies to G = 1 − 2Q f ( x ) L ( x ) dxf ( x ). This ∫ lines below the diagonal line are the LCs for
0 natives and non-natives. The LC shows that
expanded equation shows the uniform distribu- the curve closer to the diagonal line is closer
tion with L( x) = x , which results in G of 0, to equality in terms of income or expendi-
representing perfect equality (zero inequality). ture, and the line which pushes the LC further
We analysed the economic inequality with bending away from the diagonal tends to be
specific parameters, using the LC and G tech- more unequal.
niques. The particular variables were plotted Figure 48.3 represents the MPCE LC on
on the y-axis against the cumulative percent- food items for the natives and non-natives
age distribution of household population (see also Table 48A.2). The y-axis shows the
on the x-axis. The 45-degree diagonal line cumulative percentage of food expenditure.
100
90
% of MPCE on non-food
Equality
80
Native Lorenz curve
70
Non-native Lorenz curve
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.4 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Non-food Items

100
% of combine MPCE on food
90
Equality
80
70 Native Lorenz curve
and non-food

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.5 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Combined Food and Non-food Items
We can see that the MPCE on food items for that the MPCE on combined food and non-
the non-natives shows more equality com- food items for the non-natives is more equal
pared with that of the natives, as the LC has compared with that of the natives, as the LC
moved closer to the diagonal line. has moved closer to the diagonal.
Figure 48.4 represents the MPCE LC on Figure 48.6 represents the MPCE LC on
non-food items for the natives and non-natives education for the natives and non-natives
(see also Table 48A.2). The y-axis shows the (see also Table 48A.2). The y-axis shows the
cumulative percentage of non-food expendi- cumulative percentage of education expend-
ture. We can see that the MPCE on non-food iture. We can see that the MPCE on educa-
items for the non-natives is more equal com- tion coincides (LC) for both the natives and
pared with that of the natives, as the LC has non-natives.
moved closer to the diagonal. Figure 48.7 represents the MPCE LC on
Figure 48.5 represents the MPCE LC on healthcare for the natives and non-natives (see
combined food and non-food items for the also Table 48A.2). The y-axis shows the cumu-
natives and non-natives (see also Table 48A.2). lative percentage of healthcare expenditure.
The y-axis shows the cumulative percentage Figure 48.7 depicts that there is no significant
of food and non-food expenditure. We can see difference between the native and non-natives
100
90
% of MPCE on education
Equality
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.6 MPCE Lorenz Curve on Education

100
90
% of MPCE on healthcare
Equality
80
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.7 Household MPCE Lorenz Curve on Health

LC on equality health expenditure. However, The y-axis shows the cumulative percentage
we could see that both the LCs are much away of per capita investment. We can see that the
from the diagonal line indicating pronounced per annum investment is better among non-
inequality of expenditure on healthcare for natives. However, both the LCs bending away
both the groups. from the equality line indicates high unequal
Figure 48.8 represents the LC on per capita investment for both.
saving for the natives and non-native house- Figure 48.10 represents the LC on per
hold settlers (see also Table 48A.2). The y-axis capita net land availability for the native and
shows the cumulative percentage of per capita non-native households (see also Table 48A.2).
saving. We can see that while both villages The y-axis shows the cumulative percentage
show significant inequality in per capita saving, on land possession. We can see that the LC
the LC for the non-native settlers being further for the natives is slightly more equal than that
away from the diagonal, shows more inequality. for the non-natives. But the two LCs are bend-
Figure 48.9 represents the LC on investing farther away from the diagonal indicating
ment per annum for the non-native settlers a high degree of unequal distribution of land
and native households (see also Table 48A.2). possession between the two groups.
100
90 Equality
% of per Capita Saving

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.8 Lorenz Curve on per Capita Saving

100
90
% of Invesment per annum
Equality
80
Native Lorenz curve
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.9 Lorenz Curve on Investment per Annum

100
% of Land possession
90 Equality
80
Native Lorenz curve
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.10 Lorenz Curve on Land Possession

Figure 48.11 represents the LCs on overall Table 48.21 The Gini Index
MPCE for the native and non-native house- Particulars Native Non-native
holds (see also Table 48A.2). The y-axis shows
MPCE food 0.3535 0.2289
the cumulative percentage on overall MPCE.
MPCE non-food 0.7069 0.2066
We see that the LC on overall MPCE for the
MPCE food + non-food 0.5525 0.1244
non-native settlers shows more equality than
MPCE education 0.0899 0.4076
that of the natives.
MPCE healthcare 0.4236 0.6710
Per capita saving 0.3249 0.3478
Investment per annum 0.9999 0.4882
THE GINI INDEX Land possession 0.5413 0.2337

Table 48.21 shows the GI for natives and
non-natives. Non-natives show more equal-
ity than that of the natives with lower GI in in government and private sector were found
the case of MPCE for food, non-food, food to be the major occupations for the natives.
and non-food combined, investment and land Wage employment in agricultural and non-
ownership. The native fares better in terms of agricultural sectors and self-employment in
MPCE on education, MPCE on healthcare and small businesses were found to be the main
per capita savings. occupations for the non-natives. With the
educational status in both the villages being
mostly limited to primary schooling, they were
CONCLUDING REMARKS precluded from employment in the organized
sectors. More than 50 per cent indicated occu-
The study found that the usual activities pation as ‘others’ in both the villages, which
as students, household workers or unpaid may be understood to be dependents like chil-
family workers are only marginally different dren, students, aged and those who are not in
between the two groups. They do differ in service.
terms of employment needs. The number of The distribution of household resources for
non-natives in search of jobs was higher than the natives and non-natives shows a signifi-
that of natives. Cultivation, wage employment cant difference within the ‘poorest’ and ‘rich-
in agricultural and non-agricultural activities, est’ quintiles as regards to the MPCE on food
self-employment in businesses, employment and non-food items, education and healthcare,
100
90 Equality
% of MPCE

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
% of Population
Figure 48.11 Overall LC MPCE

per capita saving and investment and land households do have land but they remain poor
possession. The non-natives’ GI of MPCE for as their land is less arable or with low yield
food, non-food, food and non-food combined, as they follow traditional farming methods
investment and land possession shows less and do not favour mechanization adopted
inequality than that of the natives. In terms of by many non-native settler households. This
MPCE on education, MPCE on healthcare and kind of inequality can be one of the driving
per capita savings, the natives show less ine- forces to a problem in a way that it increases
quality than the non-natives do. Out-migration the incident of violent conflicts for economic
is another source of livelihood as the out- resources that accumulate in the form of dis-
migrants send remittances to their families, turbances, and thereby push the areas towards
which could be the other factor pushing the underdevelopment.
overall MPCE for the non-native settlers. Our policy recommendations would be
The study identified that there is a mean that the problems of underdevelopment in the
difference in per capita term regarding land study area are not merely confined to lagging
ownership for the two groups as per the empir- income levels, but they also extend to the pro-
ical results on MPCE between the natives and cess of development itself. A top-down devel-
non-native settlers. The overall MPCE of the opment planning strategy has not involved
non-natives proved to be better than that of people in designing and implementing the
the natives and they took better advantage of strategy and the various public investment
the opportunities. The study found that eco- projects in the study area have not yielded
nomic inequalities exist within and among the commensurate benefits. Thus, it is necessary
natives and non-native settlers. The better-off for the implementing agency to prioritize the
non-native settler families were more likely avenue of investment so that the people can
to acquire land and other assets. The native get employment opportunities.
APPENDIX 48A
Table 48A.1 Monthly per Capita Consumption Expenditure Items
 Expenditure on food items includes: rice, pulses and pulse products (includes soya bean, gram products and
besan), cereals and cereal products (includes muri, chira, maida, suji, noodles, bread (bakery), barley and cereal
substitutes), edible oil and vanaspati, milk and milk products (includes milk condensed/powder, baby food, ghee,
butter and ice cream), vegetables, fruits and nuts (includes garlic, ginger, mango, banana, coconut, dates and other
dry fruits), sugar (includes gur, candy (mishri) and honey), salt and spices and other food items (includes bever-
ages such as fruit juice and processed foods such as biscuits, cake, pickles, sauce, cooked meals, dry chillies and
curry powder), tea/coffee, fish, meat and eggs, cigarettes, tobacco, beedi and pan, alcohol and other intoxicants,
prepared food from outside home, eating outside and other food items.
 Expenditure on non-food items includes: Fuel and lighting (firewood, kerosene oil and electricity), miscellaneous
goods and services [(personal care, toilet articles, torch, umbrella, lighter, toothpaste, bulb, washing soap and
agarbati), telephone charge, transport, household cleaning articles, medical expenses (includes expense on hospi-
talization and child birth), educational expenses (includes expense on school books and other education articles),
house rent, taxes and other charges, religious expenses, social expenses (marriage, death, donations), newspapers
and magazines, entertainment (includes cinema, picnic, sports, club fees, video cassettes and cable charges)],
clothing and footwear (clothing for men/women/children, bed sheets, towels and footwear), consumer durables
goods (furniture and pictures, utensil, ornaments, kitchen equipment, vehicles, clock and watches, cassettes, CDs,
recorder, TV, radio and other appliance repair and maintenance).
 Savings: Includes bank account (savings account, fixed deposits and recurring deposits), chitty, kuris and similar
instruments and micro-finance, Provident Fund (PF) instalment, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) premium and
others.
 Investments: Includes buildings and land, plantations, business enterprises, human capital (education and training),
bond and similar financial instruments (shares, debentures and mutual funds), gold and others.
 Net land: Includes owned land, leased in and other possession, excluding leased out land.
Table 48A.2 Cumulative Frequency and Lorenz Curve of the Natives and Non-natives
Natives
F NF F+N E HE S I PCNO PCM
Percentage
Pop Household Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF Freq CF
20 1st 20% 7 7 4 4 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 6 6
40 2nd 20% 12 18 7 11 10 16 10 15 6 10 8 12 5 7 7 9 12 18
60 3rd 20% 18 36 13 24 17 33 18 32 9 19 17 28 8 14 14 23 18 36
80 4th 20% 25 61 26 50 25 58 26 59 14 34 24 52 18 32 23 46 24 60
100 5th 20% 39 100 50 100 42 100 41 100 66 100 48 100 68 100 54 100 40 100
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Non-natives
20 1st 20% 9 9 8 8 9 9 5 5 6 6 2 2 2 2 1 1 9 9
40 2nd 20% 15 24 12 20 15 24 10 16 8 14 7 9 7 9 3 4 15 24
60 3rd 20% 20 44 16 36 19 43 17 33 10 24 10 19 12 21 12 16 19 43
80 4th 20% 24 67 21 57 24 67 27 60 17 40 22 42 23 44 29 45 24 67
100 5th 20% 33 100 43 100 33 100 40 100 60 100 58 100 56 100 55 100 33 100
100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Computed by the author based from the Field Survey 2012.
Note: F: monthly per capita expenditure on food, NF: monthly per capita expenditure on non-food, F + N: monthly
per capita expenditure on food and non-food items, E: monthly per capita expenditure on education, HE: monthly per
capita expenditure on health, PCNO: per capita net land ownership, S: per capita savings, I: annual investment, Freq:
frequency, CF: cumulative frequency. MPCE: monthly per capita expenditure overall.
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49
Needs of Migrants
Helga Thomas
Govindappa Lakshmana
INTRODUCTION employed in informal sectors, such as brick-

kilns, construction, salt, embroidery, carpet
Migration has been defined as the move- making and plantations. They are employed
ment of people from one place to another, as wage workers, domestic workers, vendors,
which can be permanent or semi-permanent. rickshaw pullers and hawkers (Deshingkar &
It includes movement of refugees, displaced Akter, 2009). The total number of migrants
persons, uprooted people as well as eco- increased from 314.5 million in the 2001
nomic migrants. Migration may take place in Census to 453.6 million in the 2011 Census.
two forms, namely internal or international. Number of people who migrated temporar-
Internal migration refers to the movement of ily (13,076,510) was seven times more than
people from one place to another within the those that migrated permanently (1,870,474)
country. It plays a vital role in the process of in India in 2007–2008 (Bhagat, 2012).
urban development as cities are the main des-
tinations for migrants. Most of the migrants
are at their prime working age. They are
mostly capable bodies that work hard. The POLICY EFFORTS
socio-economic profiles of these migrant
workers belong to poor backgrounds with low The 12th five-year plan proposed strategies
educational qualifications, having less or no to deal with migration. It emphasized skills
land, ultimately engaging in unorganized sec- training for rural migrants and the urban poor
tors to earn a living (Srivastava, 2008; Rajan working in the informal sectors. Jawaharlal
& Bhagat, 2017). International and internal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is a
migrants working in cities have a major con- mission to upgrade the quality of infrastruc-
tribution to India’s gross domestic product. ture in the cities and develop new suburban
Most of the internal short-term migrants are townships. Provision of Urban Amenities
in Rural Areas was initiated in 2004 with a is required to better understand the context of
mission to accelerate holistic development of the migrants working in the brick-kilns. The
rural areas through public–private partnership laws of the country condemn the process of
framework to provide livelihood opportuni- advance payment, but this system still con-
ties and facilities like those in urban areas. tinues in these sectors. The varied needs of
The National Commission for Enterprises migrants with respect to healthcare, safety,
in Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) advocated welfare, psychosocial and economic are
on the issues of unorganized sector and pro- required to be studied to understand the vul-
posed various legislations about condition of nerability and profound deprivation faced by
work and social security. The Unorganised them.
Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, was Lack of methodological improvement in
enacted to provide social security and welfare the definition and design of internal migra-
to the unorganized sector. This Act works to tion has hampered the delivery of services
formulate specific schemes related to disabil- for internal migrants. They still face difficul-
ity cover, healthcare, maternity benefits and ties to be accepted in the social, economic,
old-age benefits. The Commission also con- political and cultural segments of society.
demns the recruitment of migrant workers, They face a lot of constraints, such as low-
mostly seasonal workers in mines, brick-kilns paid jobs, insecure and hazardous work, lack
and quarries, against advances and adjustment of housing or residential rights, no access to
against wages, which includes contractors’ state-provided schemes and services such as
commissions, interest rates and provision education and health, discriminations based
charges. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural on gender, class, religion and ethnicity, vul-
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) nerability of women and children to traffick-
has a major entitlement-based initiative in ing and exploitation (UNESCO/UN-Habitat,
employment, food security and credit sup- 2012). They face a range of deprivations.
port. Steps are required to be taken to improve Research also indicates the continuing need
the conditions of the poor who are left only for healthcare, safety, welfare and psycho-
with the choice of survival migration. It will social needs (Bhagat, 2011;; Mandal, 2005).
involve addressing the two major constrictions It is essential to understand their context of
they face—food and credit. lives and the system they follow in the pro-
cess of seasonal migration. This chapter
focuses on findings from a qualitative study
done to explore and understand the needs
UNDERSTANDING NEEDS of the migrant population in the brick-kiln
industry.
Although there have been legislative responses Brick making is an ancient sector. In
over the last few years to address the issues India, brick industry is one of the traditional
of migrant population, slowly, the issues of and labour-intensive industries. About 1 mil-
seasonal migrants are also being taken into lion workers are estimated to be employed
account. The implementation of these legisla- in it, according to National Commission on
tions has to be firm to bring about improve- Rural Labour. The number of units increased
ment in the lives of people and to meet their to 22,000 employing about 3 million work-
needs. The literature related to the needs of ers, according to the All India Brick-Kiln
migrants, especially seasonal migrants, and to Manufacturers Association. The brick-kiln
the applicability of services and programmes industry is a direct source of employment to
to meet those needs, is comparatively poor unskilled workers who come from rural areas
compared to that of non-migrants. Research to earn an income.
Needs of Migrants 673
METHODOLOGY in-depth interviews. The interviews were

conducted in the brick-kiln areas of Odisha.
The objectives of this study were to study the Both male and female workers within the
reasons for seasonal migration and explore age group of 18–50 years were included in
the needs of the migrants. Based on the the study. Out of the 39 respondents, 27 were
review, expert interview (EI) guidelines for males and 12 were females. Eighteen respond-
in-depth interviews and focus group discus- ents were tribals and reported that they did not
sions (FGDs) were developed. The sample size belong nor did they want themselves to be
of the study was 39, which included in-depth categorized under any major religion such as
interviews with nine key informants (KI) who Hinduism, Islam or Christianity.
had worked for more than 10 years and FGDs About 30 respondents had never attended
with 30 participants. Data was analysed using school and six had attended only the pri-
thematic analysis technique and once satura- mary classes. They started working from an
tion was reached, the interviews were stopped. early age to support family livelihood and to
As defined by Ryan and Bernard (2005), this meet the needs of their families. They usually
process included identification of repetition, accompanied their parents to their workplaces
similarities and dissimilarities in the data. and started working at agricultural lands,
Transcribed data from the interviews and FGDs construction sites, brick-kilns and various
was studied thoroughly. Line to line coding was other unorganized sectors. Six had enrolled in
done with development of additional codes. All school but dropped out. Three had studied till
the codes were then gathered and brought under secondary school.
themes that were analysed. There were 112 All the 39 respondents were seasonal
needs which were grouped under six themes, migrants who work in agricultural lands in the
(1) living condition needs, (2) work needs, villages and then migrate for a period of 5–6
(3) emotional needs, (4) healthcare needs, (5) months to brick-kiln areas (Table 49.1).
social needs and (6) social security needs.
REASONS FOR MIGRATION

RESULTS
They stated multiple reasons, such as unavail-
A total number of 39 respondents were inter- ability of land to cultivate, debt issues, lack
viewed by conducting five FGDs and nine of work opportunities, large families, more
Table 49.1 Background Details

Variable Value Label N
Religion Hindu 11
Christian 10
Others 18 (Tribals did not mention any religion)
Educational status Never been to school 30
Class 1 to 5 6
Class 6 to 10 3
Class 10 to above 0
Gender Male 27
Female 12
number of dependents, failure of agriculture It’s like we make a tent and stay somewhere.
crop due to less rainfall, difficulty in working That is the thing there is not much to discuss
about this.—Participant 4, FGD2
the land, to make use of time they get off from
agricultural work, being responsible as the We are always unsure whether we will get work
tomorrow, whether we will be able to eat tomor-
eldest in family, have to work to provide food
row. So there is no luxury for us to feel anything
for the family and cannot save money as the about the kind of place we stay in, the job or the
profit gained from agriculture is too less to save. kind of work we get.—Participant 4, FGD3
They are not sure of getting work every day.

There are layers of interconnected problems.
NEEDS OF THE MIGRANTS Since ages, they have adjusted to such situ-
ations in the workplaces. Hence, their main
Needs were identified in five areas which are concerns are earning enough to fetch them
common among migrants, (1) living condition food for the next day—
needs, (2) work needs, (3) emotional needs,
… no madam not room. It’s not a room. It is a
(4) healthcare needs and (5) social security
corridor outside the school. Where we cook and
needs. stay a little. There is no place for us to stay, no
room as such. We stay outside. We cook outside.
We cook there in a corner, eat and then use the
corridor to sleep. If it rains, then it is problem.
Theme 1: Living Condition Needs The place gets wet. But we use a mosquito net
when we sleep.—Participant 4, FGD1
The respondents expressed various prob-
lems they face when they migrate to towns/ In some places, they are not allowed to go out
cities for work. There is a need to have proper of the boundary. The place or the huts where
living conditions at their working places. The they stay have major issues of privacy and
following needs were uncovered about living overcrowding.
condition: suitable residential accommoda-
tion, bigger and less crowded rooms, privacy, Four of us stay here (showing the room) I: So you
clean environment, clean drinking water have two kids? … No no! We do not have kids.
My husband, me, brother-in-law and sister-in-law
supply, clean toilets and proper ventilation in
stay in one room.—Interviewee 6
the rooms. The living condition needs are dis-
cussed below.
Toilet
Accommodation
The main concern of many respondents was
The researcher saw small huts with no amen- unavailability of toilet facilities. They mostly
ities present, such as electricity, water and defecated in open fields. The following needs
safety, and they were made up of bricks about the toilets were discussed: access to
arranged one above the other and covered with hygienic toilet facilities, privacy, better sewage
a sheet of plastic. In some places, there were systems and adequate provisions for safety.
big tents. As has been mentioned, they do not When the researcher asked about the toilet,
have any particular place as their accommoda- Participant 2, FGD2 replied:
tion. When asked about accommodation, they
answered sceptically about powerlessness and It’s the Open Ground (laugh) … Added by one
about priority of getting food to eat. The fol- more (Participant 4, FGD2)... It’s the ground
only. We often encounter so many animals like
lowing quotes highlights this:
monkeys and such. There was a huge monkey
(Hanumankodo) (laugh!!). Like this we have have to achieve and the amount of work to
never been in such place where we are going to be done for the day. Irrespective of working
work and stay.
more than the total number of working period
They also expressed problems of safety and in a day, there is no concept of payment for
hygiene due to the unavailability of toilet the overtime.
facilities. Particularly, women expressed the
• ‘They give advance during the Dussehara festi-
difficulties they face due to the unavailability
val’—Participant 2, FGD4
of toilet facilities. • ‘The payment depends on the number of bricks we
(Smile) What to feel (noni). We do not get time
make’—Participant 2, FGD4
to think of anything. We went to work so what • ‘... if we can make 1000 bricks we get paid `800’—
to do we have to stay.—Participant 1, FGD2 Participant 3, FGD4
• ‘There is no fixed time duration...’—Participant 1,
FGD3
Theme 2: Work Needs There are instances when they get less pay-
In discussions about work-related problems, ment than the actual rate. If there is no work,
a series of problems came up. Some of the they do not get money. One of the common
problems were reported and discussed by a sayings by the people was ‘NO work NO
majority of the participants. The researcher pay’. The contactors (middlemen) deduct the
arranged the analysis according to subthemes money and determine the payment. There was
of remuneration, leave, work nature, work an incidence shared by a participant where
condition and welfare aspect. they migrated for work and were cheated
by contractors, as after completion of the
work period, they were not paid and had to
return home empty handed. Lured about get-
Remuneration ting better payments, they ended up getting
Payments in the brick-kiln industry are cheated—
mainly done through the process of advance ‘We used to get payment. If the contractor is a
payment. They get the money in advance nice person then payment is assured. But if the
from the contractor during festivals, marriage contractor is not a good person then he prom-
functions or in certain emergency situations. ises to send the money home and eats up the
money (takes the money). There are many such
One of the major concerns expressed by the
incidences where people face such kind of things
participants was that the advance money ...—Participant 5, FGD1
compelled them to work till the fixed tenure
... here the problem is only about money. They
is finished. The situation gets worse when don’t pay even after doing work.—Interviewee 3
there is any emergency situation because they
... we had gone for the road works; we didn’t
cannot quit work until they finish the work
get paid for our works. There were many days
tenure. They get paid based on the number of we worked hard and the contractor did not
bricks made. This forces the labourers to push pay us. And went away. We left the money and
themselves harder to produce more number of returned back to our villages. With force (jabar-
bricks to get their satisfactory wages, which dasti) we cannot demand for money madam, we
have not seen that place nor do we know those
in turn leads to putting pressure and exploit-
people that we will go to ask for our money.—
ing themselves. They put in extra efforts and Interviewee 1
extra time to meet the target numbers. From
... We were assured they will pay today or tomor-
the responses, the researcher found that the row, in this false promises given they never paid
labourers have no fixed duration of work, us our money and they left. That money we
most of the time it depends on the target they never got, neither did they come again or called
us nor did we go after them in search of them ... We do not have the privilege to fall sick—
...—Interviewee 6 Interviewee 6
There is rigid compartmentalization of work Women respondents talked about the diffi-
on the basis of sex, respondents said about the culty in working during their maternity period
issue of unequal payment. Women work as with no privileges/facilities. They worked till
unskilled labour, digging soil or taking head the time they could, then took a few days off
loads, and the men work in moulding and when they delivered and joined work after a
shaping the bricks. Based on the kind of work few days. This situation exposed the mother as
they get, the payments are made. Women get well as the baby to extreme vulnerabilities, as
almost half of what the male workers are paid. is expressed in the following excerpt—
As said by a respondent—
Even during pregnancy we have to work. Even
They pay us on weekly basis at the rate of in that condition (se obostha) we have to work
`150 per day. Every day our payment is `150. hard, madam. Till that date comes, we go for
But they pay us on weekly basis (soptaho permit). work. Only during the time of delivery, we stay
The men working get `250. They have different at home for a few days, the rest of the time we
sets a of work so they get paid differently....’— have to take the shovel (kodki) and go for work.
Interviewee 1 Only bad days are coming my way, no good or
happy days. My husband is working hard going
through all the struggles and me too (tears in
eyes)—Interviewee 1
Issues of Leaves
Some of the other participants said they stay
Brick-kiln industries are characterized as a back in their village during their pregnancy.
huge sector with no or minimal welfare facil- Tribal women are the prime breadwinners of
ities. One such welfare measure of leaves their families. Therefore, the women prefer
is absent in the unorganized sector. On the going out for work either in the place outside
count of a fixed number of work days and their village or within the village. As one of
payment based on that, the workers are not the participants said—
allowed a single day as leave. They do not
have provision for sick or emergency leaves. We stay in our village. We go for some work in
the land during those days.—FGD3, Participant 4
When asked about getting holidays, many of
them had a surprised look on their faces, tell-
ing the researcher that they have never heard
of having any such facilities. They expect Nature of work
getting off from work for festival. But they
did not get leave to celebrate festivals but to Mentioning about absence of job secu-
visit their families and friends. Discussing rity, the workers mentioned about the tem-
about weekly off, there were two different porary nature of the work as being one of
responses. For few respondents, there was no the biggest challenges they faced. Getting
weekly off. They said that they did not get work every day is one of the important
off. Some others said that they worked for needs they put forth in the discussion.
six days a week and that one day in the week Expressing the problem of not having work
was off. But they did not get paid for it. They every day, respondents expressed the need
got paid only for the 6 days they worked. of schemes which could ensure availabil-
ity of work for them throughout the year.
Its labour work! If one day labour work stops then There was a visible absence of work rules
that money gets deducted—FGD1, Participant 3 observed by the researcher. The absence of
formalized framework guiding the work pat- Work is hard madam. It is a tough work to work
tern escalates the insecurities and vulnera- here continuously from morning to evening
under the sun.—Interviewee 7
bilities of the labourers. Most of them were
distress-driven migrants. They are sent to There is no availability of rest rooms for the
the worksite to new places in groups without labourers. They take lunch break, but there is
being given any prior information about the no fixed time for the lunch break. The breaks
kind of work they will be doing. are completely managed by the contractors or
... and do not go for work for the next day then depend on the completion of the work target.
food won’t be sufficient for my family (Khaiba The need is to have a fixed rest time between
niyon thibo) [in the local language it means insuf- the work hours. There were also issues of
ficient food]). That is the problem. We earn and overtime without payment discussed by the
we eat (sigh!).—Participant 1, FGD1
workers. There is no age limit for working
There is no guarantee of work. It’s this way we in the sector. There were labourers who were
are living, now whom to tell our problems (Kake below the age of 15 years and even old people
dukh guarbu?) ....—Interveiwee 4
above 60 years. When asked, they responded
Brick-kilns mainly employ seasonal migrant that they normally joined their parents and
workers. As they do not work in a place for longer then continued going for work.
durations, there is no proper record system. Their
wages are not enough to save as they spend it
to support the family for their everyday food Welfare Aspect
and living. They follow the network method of
giving money to relatives or someone from their Many of them got emotional when they
village gives it to their families. shared the story of their struggles. One of the
common thing spoken by them was:
Yes mostly through friends or take by myself. Or
else we give to some people who is taking some Nobody to listen to our problems.... It’s this way
money ...—Interviewee 8 we are living, now whom to tell our problems
(Kakae dukh guarbu?).....—Interviewee 4
The gender dimension of migration is crucial
as women have different issues, dimensions, The list of challenges multiplies with the
patterns, aspects than men have. Women absence of any proper formal structure to
migrating to urban areas to work in the infor- address their problems and needs. There is a
mal sector undergo a series of problems in bal- visible absence of unity in this sector. They
ancing work and home. addressed the lack of skill and anticipate the
need for skills-development training. There
are no crèche facilities even though there are
a number of women employed at these units:
Work Conditions
This little ones play here … no! there is no such
The day-long work affects their health due room for them—Interviewee 8
to excessive exposure to heat and sun. The
researcher also observed that the children of The labourers expressed their discontentment
these workers play out in mud for the whole of getting no bonus even during festival days.
day. They are exposed to these extreme The tribals usually call the bonus as inam;
conditions which ultimately deteriorates they expect some kind of bonus in either cash
their health. They come to work early in the or kind during festivals. They are not con-
morning and go on throughout the day with- tent with the work they do. They are forced
out any proper rest period in between the to work because they have no other option to
working hours. earn a living.
Theme 3: Emotional Needs cards, training about health education in local

language, information about government pro-
The respondents highlighted this issue of visions, information about doctors, clinics and
being unable to return home even during hospitals situated nearby, friendly healthcare
emergencies. The need here is the emotional services in hospitals and clinics, drinking-water
support which the migrants as well as the fam- facilities and sitting arrangements.
ilies require during difficult periods. Family
time gets compromised due to the work pres-
sure and the circumstances in which they have
to complete the target of the day. The needs Theme 5: Social Needs
are that they should be able to spend time with One of the major social problems they
their family and children, especially when face is the loneliness and difficulties of
they fall ill. staying away from their families, the dis-
We cannot go home. Because of difficult in living tance which keeps them away from being
we came here and without working in our work in touch with their dear ones. The need
period we cannot return ...—Interviewee 6 is to have someone with whom they can
The children have to manage themselves as we share their worries, fear and talk to when
both husband and wife have to work every day. they feel lonely. The compulsory period of
(What about the health of children?) They are bondage for six months keeps the migrant
growing madam, what to do now.—Interviewee 1 labourers away from family and village. But
these people move out in groups with their
friends and people from the same village,
Theme 4: Health Needs so they become each other’s support system
in need. They expressed their feelings of
Working as unskilled and semi-skilled labour- missing family and home. When moving to
ers requires a lot of hard work. Labourers different cities and towns, they are unaware
working in brick-kilns are exposed to a series of the language and do not know how to
of health issues. The major issues as men- communicate. The need is to have a work
tioned by the respondents are body ache, back rule and to know the numbers of important
ache and breathing problems. places.
The difficulty of not having toilets gives
rise to infection problems among the labour- (Smile) We want to visit family, but do not get
ers. The issues related to no money for check- time to think about it. We got to work so what
to do but stay.—FGD5, Participant 7
ups, hospitals in far-off places and no sick
leaves make health problems more serious.
When asked about their feeling of coming to
Working hard and hard, we are so used to it, but a new environment, most of them shared the
there are days when there is a lot of pain in the experience of their struggles in their daily
body—FGD2 Participants 2 lives which forced them to move out for work.
I always have body ache and head ache— So now, they do not think much about the new
Interview 9 environment as they have to work and earn
their livelihood. Their priorities are food and
The health needs listed by the participants are the wages they get.
to have residential areas away from the brick-
kiln furnace, ambulatory healthcare service, There is nothing which can be improved. If the
free health insurance, toilet facilities at the situation is either good or bad my life is only
about work. If you work, we have to work with
workplace, time to visit a health clinic, health struggle and if do not work then we face struggle
and problems. So we have to work. There is no there. There were also complete families that
relief or time to feel.—FGD4, Participant 3 migrated to the site. Both the parents worked
at the sites but the children were often left in
the open site and were exposed to extreme
Theme 6: Social Security Needs conditions.
Discussing about the living conditions of
The respondents were worried about not get- the migrants, the researcher observed small
ting work every day. Security of work is a huts of bricks arranged and plastic sheets cov-
main concern for them. Concerning health- ering the top. There were also large open tents
care, the issues were distance from city and where they sleep at night. There was no elec-
high cost of private clinics. They said that tricity provided nor any other facilities. All the
they did not receive any amenities or help rooms were tiny and provided no privacy. The
from the government. Worried about their researcher did not find any toilet facilities for
retirement days when they would not be able the workers. Mostly, the brick-kilns are on the
to put in the same effort to earn their liveli- outskirts of the towns in a deserted place away
hood, they mentioned the need of having a from the main market.
secure life at least during their old age and The unorganized sector is characterized
expressed their discomfort in not get any for low wages, no security and no facilities
of the privileges from the government. The or amenities. In spite of the lawful ban of
cards which they have only work in their bonded labour, the practice still persists.
villages and cannot be used in the cities that There are systems of ‘neo-bondage’ mech-
they migrate to. The below quotes highlights anism where the traditional forms of long-
these matters— term bondage of labourers to the agricultural
From Government there is no help. I do not have
lands tend to be time bound. Now, the bond-
any cards to claim benefits. Government benefits age is not infinite, it is for a period of a
are nothing (Government suvidha kichu nai).— few months (Breman, 2007). The advance
FGD1, Participant 3 money paid to the workers comes with high
I can’t come to work every day when I will grow interest which they pay by working for 5–6
old. If I will send him for daily labour work then months. The payment is done according to
I don’t know if can work. I am very much willing the age of the worker. If the person is older,
that he should write the exam and study further
less money is paid, and vice versa. Disparity
....—Interviewee 3
in payment still exists. Female workers are
No we have not got anything from the govern- paid half the amount less than the male
ment ...—FGD3, Participant 5
workers.
Leaves are considered as a welfare meas-
ure. There is no system of leaves seen in the
DISCUSSION unorganized sector. More problems are faced
by the women as no maternity leaves are pro-
vided. There were workers who move to the
Migrants who work in the brick-kiln industry
sites with their whole families. The children
move from nearby villages and can be cate-
moved with their parents, accompanying them
gorized under intradistrict and interdistrict
to their workplaces. The whole day they stay
migrants. Some of them are young boys who
there, play around in the mud and at times,
are not married and migrate with the other vil-
they work. The long-term exposure to dust and
lagers, sometimes following the place through
heat affects the health of all, especially that of
a network of known people already working
children. There were no facilities seen at the and mobile healthcare services and outreach
workplaces, as discussed by the researcher programmes are essential for improvement of
about the children. There are no crèche facil- the health status of migrants.
ities available in the workplace. The children Migrating leaving back families and dear
accompany the parents to the worksites. ones and moving to an alien place is a diffi-
Labour-market rigidity, low skills and cult task for all migrants. Staying away from
increased competition induce creation of family and dear ones is difficult for them.
informal employment (Srija & Shrinivas, The difficulty increases if there is any special
2014). Among the list of issues, security of occasion like festivals, birthdays or birth of a
work is an important concern. Excessive com- new child in the family. Adjusting to the new
petition among the sectors with large supply environment takes a while, being from a dif-
of labour who are ready to work for minimal ferent place and suddenly coming to a new
wages decreases their capacity of collective environment. The situation gets more difficult
bargaining and also decreases the security of when they have to move to a different state
the job. They do not raise their voice towards because of the unknown language.
any sort of issues in the fear of loss of job. One of the important security issues the
One of the serious concerns expressed by the migrant labourers face is the security of
migrants is the insecurity regarding work. work. They do not get work every day. The
It was the first time that these people got Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
an opportunity to talk about their work, the Guarantee Act, 2005 aims to give employment
difficulties they face and their needs. The for a minimum of 100 days in the rural back-
responses were filled with emotions. Many ward districts. But the work in unorganized
said it was a new experience for them to share sectors varies in place and nature, and hence,
about themselves, their work and their strug- they face the risk of loss of employment.
gles. There is no such system where they can Being migrants, they are not even enrolled
discuss about their problems. in the census data as they always move to
Migrating from their village, leaving cities or towns. This is a key issue which needs
behind families and their dear ones is in itself attention from the policymakers of the coun-
an emotional situation for the migrant labour- try. Seasonal migrants become a part of the
ers. The situation gets tougher when they are invisible group that is not enrolled in any of
unable to visit their village or their dear ones the government documents. The respondents
even in emergencies. have clearly mentioned they have not received
Working in brick-kilns with extreme expo- any kind of assistance or have taken the priv-
sure to dust and heat round the clock exposes ilege of any the schemes. Talking about the
them to a series of health issues. Exclusion in Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the wages fixed
the social, cultural, economic, political and are very small and meagre with too many var-
geographical context extensively determines iations from state to state. In a nutshell, the
the staying or moving of the migrants. They basic needs and security of a large number
are vulnerable to poor health and not able to of labourers in the unorganized sectors go
avail the healthcare services provided. Due to unattended.
meagre wages, they compromise on food and
nutrition requirement. They do not have proper
access to quality food because of high costs
and food arrangement preferences (Zainebali, CONCLUSION
2008). New environment, lack of information,
costly private clinics and no knowledge about Considering the rising number of internal
government services are few factors responsi- migrants and their contribution towards the
ble for the poor health of migrants. Friendly economy, it has become crucial that available
laws be properly implemented, address- city in India: Rights, responsibilities and citizenship.
ing the vulnerabilities faced by the work- New Delhi, India: UNESCO.
ers. Contrarily, there is a lack of awareness Bhagat, R. B. (2012). A turnaround in India’s urbaniza-
about laws and programmes, and this popu- tion. Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 27(2), 23–39.
Breman, J. (2007). Labour bondage in West India: From
lation remains neglected and invisible. India
past to present. New Delhi, India: Oxford University
has still not ratified the International Labour Press.
Organization (ILO) conventions on the rights Deshingkar, P. & Akter, S. (2009). Migration and human
of migrants. Lack of data widens the gap to development in India.
address it at the policy level. It is essential to Mandal, A. (2005). Women workers in brick factory:
understand the people and their needs to be Sordid saga from a district of West Bengal. New Delhi,
able to bring positive changes. India: Northern Book Centre.
Rajan, S. I. & Bhagat, R. B. (Eds.). (2017). Climate change,
vulnerability and migration. New Delhi: Taylor & Fran-
cis.
REFERENCES Srivastava, R. (2008). Impact of internal migration in
India. Centre for the Study of Regional Development,
Bhagat, R. B. (2011). Migrants’ (denied) right to the city. Migrating out of Poverty—Research Programme Con-
In F. Marina (Ed.), Urban policies and the right to the sortium. Refugee and Migratory Movements Research
Unit (RMMRU), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
PART IX
Migration Policy
50
Migration Policy: Where
Do We Stand?
Meera Sethi*
Debolina Kundu*
INTRODUCTION more developed economies, with little or no

connection to the discourse on international
Migration research and policy address internal migration (DeWind & Holdway, 2008).
and international migration separately as two Furthermore, internal migration tends to be
independent disciplines drawing on different less documented than international migration,
literature, concepts, methods and data sources. and in some cases, it has also been considered
One of the reasons why the linkages between as an obstacle to development that needs to be
the two forms of movement have been ignored restricted and controlled (Dang, 2003). Very
is the way in which researchers have dealt with little attention has been given to the formu-
the subject. The word migration has always lation of policies on internal migration and
been associated with international migration, ‘those working on international migration
while internal migration has been subsumed seldom consider internal migration as rele-
under such terms as population distribu- vant to their interests, and vice versa’ (Hugo,
tion (United Nations, 1998) or urbanization 2016). This may be related to the ‘ambivalent’
(Skeldon, 2006). Studies on internal migra- nature of international migration, which pre-
tion have focused largely on ‘rural–urban sents challenges to both countries of origin
movements and processes of urbanization and destination. Internal migration, instead,
in developing countries and on movements is more associated with concepts of nation-
between regional labour markets’ within the alism and citizenship, and despite the larger
* The authors are grateful to Dr Arvind Pandey and Ms Annarita Imbucci for their research assistance.
number of internal migrants, is of less concern movement takes them across national borders
to policymakers (Skeldon, 2006). Often, inter- has placed them under different spheres of
national sovereignty and administrative govern-
nal migrants are ‘invisible’ (DFID, 2003) to ance, reinforcing their separation in scholarship
the eyes of policymakers despite the immense as well as policymaking.
potential of internal migration to contribute to
development. Most writings converge on the view that
This chapter attempts to provide an over- mobility can be an effective tool for economic
view of the interlinkages between internal growth and to fight poverty only if appropriate
and international migration, particularly on policies are developed and migrants—internal
their convergence and divergence. The fol- as well as international—are protected from
lowing section draws upon the case of India abuse and exploitation. Yet, internal migration
and data from the 2011 Census to understand is barely mentioned in key policy documents
the migration trajectories, and it provides an that provide a framework for poverty reduc-
overview on the role of migration in national tion and development strategies in developing
development plans to assess where India countries (IOM, 2005). Policies on internal
stands as regards to its migration policy. It also migration in particular require a high level
touches upon India’s three-year action agenda of collaboration among different ministries,
recently developed by the National Institution as internal mobility impacts multiple sec-
for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. The last tors, such as agriculture, rural development,
section of the chapter draws on the Migration labour, urban development, healthcare, edu-
Governance Index (MGI) and its five policy cation, housing and social welfare. Authors
domains that India can potentially draw from. like Deshingkar (2005) recognized this chal-
lenge by stating that ‘migration as a policy
field represents the special problem of being
at once everyone’s concern and also nobody’s
Interlinkages between Internal and
concern’ and that internal migration is ‘an
International Migration
administrative and legislative nightmare, it
The different perspectives presented by aca- crosses physical and departmental boundaries
demics and researchers over the course of confusing rigid institutions that are not used
time show how the two forms of migration are to cooperating with each other’ (Deshingkar
related and where they converge or diverge & Grimm, 2005). Policymakers need to take
as regards to their effects on development. a more holistic approach as internal migration
Skeldon (2006) defines the two migratory pro- policies cannot and should not be the respon-
cesses as ‘different spatial responses to similar sibility of one sector or one ministry alone.
forces’. The thrusts for both ‘internal and inter- Policy analysts have created the concept
national voluntary migration can be accounted of ‘joined-up policy making’ or ‘whole-of-
in the disparity of opportunity between source government approaches’ to address this chal-
and destination’. In other words, the drivers of lenge (Castles, 2004).
both internal and international migration are The essays in the volume on Research
similar—‘lack of adequate opportunities at and Policy Perspectives on Internal and
source or availability of better opportunities International Migration (DeWind & Holdway,
at destination’ (Srivastava & Pandey, 2017). 2008) provide ample evidence from various
DeWind and Holdaway (2008) state that regions on how the livelihoods of many rural
families depend on both internal and interna-
although internal and international migrants are tional migration. Both processes contribute
often motivated by similar forces and may be
to an increase in their income and reduction
linked with one another, whether or not their
of poverty. Although international migration
Migration Policy 687
offers higher level of returns, domestic remit- Research findings on the urbanization–
tances are also an important source of income construction–migration nexus in five cities of
for migrant households, as research in sev- South Asia, including Chennai, India, indicate
eral Asian countries has demonstrated that the policy challenges faced by internal
(Deshingkar, 2005; Srivastava & Pandey, rural–urban labour migrants, for example
2017). A study by Chellaraj and Mohapatra in the construction sector, are different from
(2014) concluded that both ‘internal and those experienced by international labour
international remittances have a poverty- construction migrants. In both instances, they
reducing effect and are associated with higher experience wage exploitation, health and
household expenditure on food, health and safety violations and poor living conditions.
education’. In India, for example, the house- However, not only is there more data available
hold remittances sent by internal migrants in on the latter but ‘nation-states are less able to
2007–2008 were twice those of the household absolve themselves of their responsibility to
remittances sent by international migrants for their citizens abroad. In comparison, the State
the same period (Bhagat, 2014; NSSO, 2010). is largely absent in honouring its responsibility
Remittances not only improve creditworthi- to internal rural-urban construction migrants’
ness of internal migrants but are also crucial (Kumar & Fernandez, 2015).
when it comes to repayment of debts, invest- In sum, mobility can have positive out-
ments and offsetting social costs for marriage, comes in terms of economic development and
festivals and various ceremonies (Deshingkar, poverty reduction for families, communities,
2005). regions and nations. However, migration pol-
Internal and international migrants, families icies need to pay sufficient attention to both
and their networks are often linked with one internal and international migration as part
another, and they share resources both within of an integrated process rather than dealing
and across national borders (Deshingkar, with them in isolation as two distinct enti-
2005). Also, it is much easier for migrants to ties. International and internal migration can
move internally and establish networks that be ‘alternative strategies open to potential
can play an important role in gaining access migrants or one can substitute for the other’
to employment locally as well as overseas. (Hugo, 2016). Indeed, internal migration is
It is also less costly and poses fewer risks as relevant to development as international
than crossing international borders. Skeldon migration is, it deserves more policy attention
(2006) observes that internal migration is a than it has received to date, as it is likely to
precursor to international migration in Asia grow at a faster rate than international migra-
with the movement of workers from largely tion and ‘shape migration policy in the future’
rural hinterland areas to transit zones which (Koser, 2007).
are the launching points for international
labour migration. Migration from rural to
local areas and then to international cities and
The Case of India: What Does the
onwards to locations of secondary settlement
Census Data Tell Us?
is a chain process, which generates a series of
employment opportunities for further waves It is evident that migration is a defining feature
of internal and international migrants (Hugo, of the 21st century and an increasingly impor-
2003; Skeldon, 2006). Internal migration pre- tant issue for India, as a country of origin,
empts international migration, and often, it transit and destination that accounts for 469
is hard to distinguish internal migrants from million migrants—both international and
international, especially where border shifts internal. India has the largest diaspora popu-
are unclear or porous (Koser, 2007). lation in the world followed by Mexico and
Russia. It is also the world’s largest recipient 50.1, female migration rate has shown a sharp
of remittances second only to China. Over the increase.
years, India’s emigration policy has evolved Till 1991, internal migration rate consist-
and the country has put in place several ini- ently declined while the 1990s saw a rever-
tiatives to engage with its diaspora. However, sal of the trend. The pattern is same in both
despite the large number of internal migrants rural and urban areas. Provisional figures from
in India, very little attention has been given the recent census show a high increment in
to the formulation of policies on internal the total due to an increase in both rural and
migration compared with international migra- urban migration rates. However, urban migra-
tion. Issues surrounding immigration into tion rates are higher than rural migration and
India have received even lesser attention over female migration rate is much higher than
the years with an almost exclusive focus on male migration rate (Table 50.2).
migration. More importantly, migration has The migration rates based on the National
not been cohesively woven into the national Sample Survey (NSS) also support the
development plans and vision of the country. trend presented by the Census, showing that
Drawing on the 2011 provisional Census migration rate in India increased after 1991.
data available, India accounts for about 453 The stagnant growth rate in agricultural and
million internal migrants and 28 million1 non-farm employment sectors, increasing
international migrants. Within its territorial rural–urban and regional inequality in terms
borders, India witnesses extensive migration of employment, wages, healthcare and edu-
between different states and districts. About cational facilities are some of the prominent
37.5 per cent of the country’s population factors highlighted by scholars in India for
accounts for total migrants, having risen by the increase in the internal migration rate
44 per cent over the decade of 2001–2011. (Mahapatro, 2012; Parida & Madheswaran,
Male migration rate has remained relatively 2010; Srivastava, 2012a). Also, these factors
constant. However, as illustrated in Table are mainly associated with the economic
Table 50.1 Internal Lifetime Migrants in India by Gender and Residence (in Percentage),
1971–2011
Total Rural Urban
Census Year Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
1971 30.60 18.90 42.80 27.18 12.89 42.25 36.92 35.00 39.16
1981a 30.30 17.22 44.30 28.29 12.06 45.34 36.80 33.24 40.84
1991b 26.75 13.96 40.53 25.38 9.66 42.10 30.71 26.10 35.87
2001 30.07 17.04 44.05 27.98 11.14 45.78 35.51 31.98 39.44
2011c 37.47 22.62 53.23 32.52 13.47 52.60 48.41 42.65 54.62
Source: Computed from Migration Tables, Census of India (1971–2011).

Notes: Unclassified migrants are included in total, urban and rural figures.
a
The figures for 1981 do not include Assam as the Census was conducted in Assam in 1981.
b
The figures for 1991 do not include Jammu and Kashmir as the Census was not conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in
1991.
c
Provisional figures. The 2011 data is for total migrants because internal migration figures are not available.
1
To be noted that MEA defines Indian diaspora comprising people of Indian origin and non-resident Indians,
while the UN International Migration Report, 2017 estimates that 16.8 million people (equal to 1.17% of the
population of India) lived outside the country in 2017, based on the stock of international migrants calculated
using the national statistical data.
Table 50.2 Total Internal Migration in India by Gender and Residence (in Percentage)
Total Rural Urban
NSS Rounds Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
49th Round (January–June 1993) 24.40 10.51 39.35 22.53 6.22 39.86 30.22 23.47 37.73
55th Round (July 1999–June 2000) 26.29 11.54 41.87 24.06 6.77 42.10 32.85 25.22 41.18
64th Round (July 2007–June 2008) 28.32 10.65 46.98 25.90 5.24 47.56 35.08 25.57 45.33
Source: Computed from unit level data of NSS 49th, 55th and 64th rounds.
reforms adopted by the Government of India the dependency on remittances has been high
in 1991. in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. Indeed,
International migration from India wit- remittances are a source of regional inequal-
nessed a similar growth trajectory as that of ity because only top 25 per cent households
internal migration registering a sharp increase received half of the domestic remittances. In
since 1990 when total emigration from India China, only 25 per cent remittances are chan-
was around 7 million, representing 4.40 per nelled through informal ways. However, in
cent of the total international migrants’ stock, India it is around 70 per cent, which suggests
globally. However, it increased to 7.9 million that there is a huge opportunity available for
in 2000 and 16.8 million in 2017. In other financial institutions in India to formalize the
words, between 2008 and 2017, the percent- remittance receiving mechanism. A total of 40
age share of international migrants from India per cent international remittances are received
increased from 4.60 per cent to 6.39 per cent by three states only, namely Kerala, Punjab
(Table 50.3). and Goa.
Both internal and international migration Furthermore, it may be noted that India is
have resulted in an increase in remittance the largest recipient of international remit-
flows. Based on migration schedules of the tances in the world (World Bank, 2015).
49th and 64th rounds of NSS, the 2001 Census According to RBI, the total private trans-
and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, fer to India was $43.5 billion in 2007–2008.
Tumbe (2011) estimated that in 2007–2008, Family maintenance (50%), followed by the
the domestic remittance market was nearly local withdrawals/redemptions of deposits of
$10 billion. He further noted that 80 per cent non-resident Indians (43%) and personal gifts/
of remittances were directed to rural house- donations to charitable/religious institutions
holds, which constituted only 10 per cent of in India (6%) were three main heads in which
rural India. Also, 30 per cent of remittances the remittances were classified (RBI, 2010).
received by rural households were used in As regards, intrastate and interstate migra-
consumption expenditure. Since the 1990s, tion, the estimates from NSS 2007–2008
Table 50.3 International Migrants from India (1990–2017)

Year Total Emigrants in the World Emigrants from India Percentage Share of Emigrants from India in World
1990 152,563,212 6,717,390 4.40

2000 172,703,309 7,952,368 4.60
2010 221,714,243 13,286,337 5.99
2015 243,700,236 15,575,724 6.39
2017 257,715,425 16,587,720 6.44
Source: Computed from International Migrant Stock, 2015, United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social
Affairs.
show that 87 per cent migrants were intrastate one of the most significant forms of survival
migrants and the remaining 11.57 per cent strategies adopted by the poorest sections of
were interstate migrants. The percentage share rural India. According to the last two rounds
of international migrants was insignificant of NSS on migration, the total volume of sea-
compared with that of intrastate and interstate sonal migrants in India was 10.8 million in
migrants. 1999–2000, which increased to 13.6 million
As Figure 50.1 shows, among the union in 2007–2008 with a slight change in defini-
territories (UTs), the highest percentage share tion of the term. Studies based on secondary
of interstate migrants was in Chandigarh, data sources (Keshri & Bhagat, 2010, 2012;
followed by Delhi, Daman and Diu and Srivastava, 2012a) also show that propensity
Pondicherry. However, Goa, Arunachal of seasonal migration is more among SCs
Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal and and STs, illiterate and the less educated who
Maharashtra are the states in which percent- belong to the poorest strata of society with
age share of interstate migrants was high. One limited assets and resources. These results are
of the reasons for the high percentage share of further substantiated by microstudies based on
interstate migrants in UTs may be the exist- field surveys (Deshingkar & Farrington 2009;
ence of military bases (cantonment boards) Mosse et al., 2005; Rogaly et al., 2001). The
because of which male selective migration National Commission of Rural Labour and
is very high in these UTs. However, the high field studies indicate that magnitude of sea-
percentage share of interstate migration in sonal migration in India is very high and NSS
Punjab and Haryana can be explained by the underestimates the total volume of seasonal/
high share of agricultural and industrial work- short-term migration.
ers moving here from neighbouring states. Many studies (Connell, Dasgupta, Laishley
The reason for interstate migration in Delhi, & Lipton, 1976, Kundu & Saraswati, 2012;
Maharashtra and Gujarat can be linked to the Srivastava, 2012a) have further shown that
economic development of these states which people from adult age groups migrate more
has historically been higher than other states. compared with other age groups. Female
These states attract migrants in search of migration is higher compared with male
better opportunities from backward regions. migration as it is related to marriage migration.
Given India’s vast socio-economic and However, there are studies (Shanthi, 1991,
cultural diversity, internal migration is quite 2005) that indicate that secondary data largely
heterogeneous in character. People from underestimates employment-related female
different backgrounds migrate for different migration. Micro-level studies (Neetha, 2003)
reasons. On an average, people from higher show that the volume of female migration
socio-economic groups migrate to cities/ for employment-related reasons, especially
urban centres for better jobs/employment and as domestic maids and in care sectors, is
to enhance their educational skills. Scheduled increasing. Also, the highly educated and the
Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), least educated have high migration rates but
on the other hand, migrate primarily as a the propensity to migrate seasonally is more
part of survival strategy to cope with pov- among illiterates (Connell et al., 1976; Rogaly
erty and landlessness. Often, they are more et al., 2001). This can also be attributed to the
involved in seasonal migration as compared to caste to which a migrant belongs. The same
other groups. It is well documented in many type of relationship is found with respect to
microstudies (Deshingkar, Sharma, Kumar, land and consumption expenditure. A cluster-
Akter & Farrington, 2008; Mosse, Gupta & ing of migrants is found at both high and low
Shah, 2005) and is also reflected in the NSS ends of landholders and levels of consumption
data, the only official source which captures (Connell et al., 1976; Pandey, 2015). However,
seasonal/short-term migration, that this is the share of migrants from the poor strata of
Chandigarh
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Pondicherry
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Goa
Arunachal Pradesh
Andaman & Nicobar
Haryana
Uttaranchal
International
Sikkim
Punjab
Percentage Share of Migrants by Distance Traversed, 2007−2008
Meghalaya
Nagaland
Maharashtra
Inter-State
Karnataka
Chhattisgarh
Gujarat
Lakshadweep
All-India
Tripura Inter-District
Note: The share of interstate migration is provided in the figure in ascending order.
Himachal Pradesh
Rajasthan Figure 50.1 Intradistrict, Interdistrict and Interstate Migration
Jharkhand
Mizoram
Manipur
Intra-District
Source: Computed from unit level data of NSS, 64th round.
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
West Bengal
Uttar Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Jammu & Kashmir
Odisha
Andhra Pradesh
Bihar
Assam
0%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
100%
society is more in short- distance (intradis- (Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). The 1983
trict) category (Pandey, 2015) because long- Act is ‘outdated; it is a policy that originally
distance (interstate) migration requires certain was applicable to all emigration from India
amount of resources and networks (Srivastava, but today, by executive order, stands restricted
2012a). to just 17 countries and to emigrants that have
less than class 10 educational qualifications’
(Singh & Rajan, 2016).
As a result of exploitation and abuse of
Does India Have a Comprehensive
female workers overseas, the government
Migration Policy?
introduced an age criterion and restricted
Given the magnitude in terms of numbers mobility of low-skilled female domestic
and the changing profile of migration tra- workers below the age of 30 years. This led to
jectories at the regional, subregional and many women resorting to risky and irregular
national levels, including intrastate and inter- means to migrate. Consequently, this ‘manda-
state movements, there is a growing need for tory restriction irrespective of the nature/cate-
appropriate policy responses to manage both gory of employment’ reduced the possibilities
internal and international migration. Policy for legal migration and led to an increase in
instruments and national schemes devel- irregular migration of women (Thimothy &
oped thus far have been inadequate. They do Sasikumar, 2012). In addition, some ‘State
not meet fundamental human rights of the Governments selectively introduce their own
migrants as enshrined in the Constitution of regulations often based on moral judgment
India, especially when it comes to ensuring and continue sending women to the Gulf’. In
access to basic services. Moreover, migration short, the notion of ‘emigration clearance’ falls
policy has not been approached in a coherent far short of meeting its objective of protection
manner. There are major gaps and implemen- (Kumar & Rajan, 2014; Rajan, Varghese &
tation challenges. Many migrants, particularly Jaykumar, 2011; Varghese & Rajan, 2011).
those in low-skilled jobs, are exposed to sev- There have been several calls for revision of
eral vulnerabilities and exploitation. Female the Emigration Act, particularly after a number
migrants in particular are highly vulnerable of abuse cases that came to light from the Gulf
and face double discrimination as victims of Cooperation Council (GCC) region, involving
gender-based violence, physical and psycho- the indiscriminate practices of the private and
logical abuse, exploitation and trafficking irregular recruitment agents (Kanchana, 2016,
(UNESCO, 2011). 2018; Rajan & Joseph, 2013, 2015; Rajan,
2015). Critics point out that the legislation
has, in a nutshell, ‘reintroduced the colonial
mechanism of discrimination in the guise of
International protection’ (Rajan, 2016). The government is
The Emigration Act, 1983 is the only legal currently revising the Emigration Act which
instrument that deals with emigration matters will be shared shortly with various stakehold-
and emigrants’ welfare. The Act replaced the ers to solicit their views.
colonial-era Immigration Act of 1922 whose Another aspect that needs closer review,
objective was, primarily, to regulate the recruit- given the changing dynamics of international
ment of the unskilled agricultural workers. It migration, is the role of the states in facili-
mainly addresses temporary and contractual tating migration. Whilst prescribing to the
migration, especially of low-skilled migrants Emigration Act in principle, there is substan-
through recruitment laws which demand tial scope for state governments to set their own
the registration of recruitment agencies and direction in relation to labour migration for
provides grievance redressal mechanisms both local and overseas employment as well
as connecting with their diaspora. Given the sectors/partners before they trigger additional
size and diversity of the population in India, challenges.
as well as a move towards greater decentral- The central government has launched sev-
ization, there is an increased interest among eral initiatives for the benefit and welfare of
a number of states to compete for a share in overseas workers and for the Indian diaspora.
the overseas labour markets. State-level pol- The eMigrate Online system, for instance,
icymaking and strategizing in these areas, was designed by the Ministry of External
targeting non-resident nationals has gained Affairs to facilitate emigration of Indians for
momentum. For example, the state of Kerala, work-related purposes. Under the project, the
with a long history of migrant workers going Protector General of Emigrants, the Protectors
to the Gulf since the 1970s, has established the of Emigrants, Indian missions, employers,
Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs Department recruiting agents, emigrants, insurance agen-
to support the welfare of the non-resident cies and passport system of the Ministry of
Keralites. The department is currently devel- External Affairs (MEA) are linked electron-
oping an institutional framework to build and ically on a common platform to provide a
promote the livelihood competencies and transparent and accessible service.
marketable skills of migrants who have been Other forms of schemes for the wel-
forced to return to the state.2 Telangana is in fare of overseas workers include the Pravasi
the process of establishing a Centre for Non Bharatiya Bima Yojana, which consists of
Resident Telanganaites’ Affairs to handle the a mandatory insurance scheme that covers
issues of non-resident Indians (NRIs) from work-related travel and travel for death or per-
Telangana. The focus of the policy would be manent disability, and the Mahatma Gandhi
unskilled blue-collar workers migrating to the Pravasi Suraksha Yojana, which provides pen-
Gulf and other countries like Malaysia and sion and life insurance cover against natural
Thailand as well as students who go abroad death as well as a contribution for return and
for education. Andhra Pradesh requested the resettlement. All schemes should be fully port-
Non-Resident Telugu Society to develop a able and the central government should enter
proactive policy framework to make migra- into agreements with the state governments
tion from Andhra Pradesh a more ‘systematic, to ensure that the benefits continue to accrue
legal, pain-less process’ that would cover all to migrant workers. The government passed
non-resident Telugu migrants across the world a legislation on social security for unorgan-
and provide legal assistance, repatriation and ized workers, however, it was fragmented
relief through ex-gratia and other grants for and piecemeal and fell far short of the univer-
the eligible and the needy. Such an interest sal proposals presented by the Commission
to develop policies for overseas non-resident (UNESCO, 2011).
Indians at the local level can be observed in
other states as well. However, when it comes
to granting internal/interstate migrants their
Internal
basic rights and access to public services, not
only have the states no adequate data but they India is the only country in South Asia which
also have no policy guidance or directive on has a distinct legislation on internal migration,
protecting the rights of interstate migrants. the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, to
This is an area that needs urgent attention as protect its interstate migrant workers. ‘This
it is important that state policies are harmo- Act applies to every establishment/contrac-
nized, coherent and coordinated with all key tor employing five or more interstate migrant
2
Kerala shows an increasing number of returnees, up to 1.16 million in 2008, 1.15 million in 2011 and 1.25
million in 2014.
workers, and is aimed at regulation of recruit- of the Working Group on Migration (2017)
ment and working conditions of migrant also pointed out how schemes such as the
workers’. It has provisions regarding wages, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
entitlements and amenities to be provided, Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in rural areas
including provision of suitable housing and and the rural housing scheme—the Prime
the role of inspectors to oversee and monitor Minister’s Awas Yojana-Rural—can be seen
its implementation. However, the law is poorly as strategies to mitigate push factors and rural
implemented and most interstate migrants out-migration but do not constitute an inte-
in India are not aware of its basic principles grated migration policy approach.
(Srivastava & Pandey, 2017). Many studies Notwithstanding, the government should
converge on the view that the existing legisla- recognize the contribution of internal migrants,
tions are biased towards the formal and organ- especially their role in sustaining and building
ized sector and the 1979 Act is ‘obsolete and India’s economy and provide them with ade-
hardly enforced anywhere’ (Borhade, 2012; quate living conditions, access to healthcare
Srivastava, 2012b). There is no state machin- and education, minimum wages and free-
ery to operationalize the basic provisions of dom from exploitation and harassment. More
the Act which require registration of migrant importantly, the links between internal migra-
workers by the contractors and the employers tion and development and the need to follow
who bring them for work from another state, an integrated rights-based approach must be
and therefore, a large section of migrants are promoted.
excluded from its ambit.
The Act does not monitor unregistered con-
tractors and establishments. It does not address
Mainstreaming Migration in National
access to social protection of migrants, their
Development Plans
right to the city and the special vulnerabilities
of children and female migrants. It remains As observed by Kundu (2003), until the Sixth
silent on provision for crèches, education plan (1980–1985), India had not developed
centres for children and mobile medical units any policy on migration. Migration was cov-
for the migrant workers. Lastly, it does not ered under the framework of urbanization,
provide any guidelines for interstate cooper- with polices aimed at decreasing the rate of
ation. The multiple labour supply chains and rural–urban migration or facilitating out-
intermediaries are among the reasons cited migration. In addition, as a result of the grow-
for lack of implementation of these provisions ing concern around urbanization, the National
(UNESCO, 2011). Commission on Urbanization was established
Although ministries have established reg- in 1988 which encouraged growth in non-met-
ulations and schemes primarily in support of ropolitan centres through formation of cities
organized and unorganized migrant workers, generating economic momentum and spatial
implementation is weak with limited impact priority urbanization regions. These growth
and a comprehensive policy on migration is centres were promoted to channelize migrants
yet to be formulated. into them, thereby restricting migration to
Evaluations of different rural development existing metropolitan centres.
programmes on common property resource The Integrated Development of Small and
management, watershed management and Medium Towns scheme, launched under the
agricultural development have underlined Sixth plan, was not only a valid instrument
how the different existing schemes in real- for the development of small and medium
ity are aimed at reducing migration flows towns but also a strategy to discourage
through employment creation and resource migration to larger towns and cities. Within
regeneration (Kundu, 2003). The recent report the same approach of diverting migration to
metropolises, the Seventh Plan (1985–1990) achieving all-round development of India and
declared that private and public industrial its people. Promoting the young skilled work-
investment needed to be channelized in the force as India’s key asset and setting up of
vicinity of small and medium towns, as urban the Overseas Employment Promotion Agency
development and planning had to support the (OEPA) at the national level under the aus-
economic development of the country. The pices of the MEA were among the immediate
Eighth (1992–1997) and Ninth (1997–2002) priorities. Not only would OPEA serve as the
Plans were also aimed at reducing rural–urban nodal agency for identifying potential partners
migration by enhancing work opportunities around the globe, it would also outline areas
and minimum wages in rural areas. Under where skill gaps existed, including establish-
the Ninth Plan, the Employment Assurance ing bilateral agreements or memorandums of
Scheme and Rural Electrification Programme understanding (MoUs) with other countries.
were launched with this objective. In the OPEA was also made responsible for stream-
10th plan (2002–2007), the MGNREGA was lining the efforts of the India International
launched. It aimed at ensuring legal enti- Skill Centers being set up across the country.
tlement to 100 days of work in rural areas In addition, the action agenda called for
resulting in a decline in the pace of rural–rural formulating a diaspora strategy to engage
male migration and rural–urban migration NRIs in short-term assignments aimed at skills
(Chowdhury, 2011; Mahapatro, 2012). development and in other areas which would
The 11th Plan (2007–2012) was the first contribute to India’s development. The agenda
plan that gave greater attention to migrants’ also called for setting up dedicated commu-
rights and their conditions. In addition, the nication channels with the Indian diaspora to
Village Grain Bank Scheme provided safe- ensure effective promotion of the opportuni-
guards against starvation during the lean peri- ties that exist in India.
ods in chronically food-scarce areas. The 12th Furthermore, the action agenda called for
Plan (2012–2017) included elements aimed ‘encouraging entrepreneurs and researchers
at preventing migration by encouraging the from around the world to develop, design and
rural non-farm sector and the development of build products in India as this would encourage
khadi and village-industry products. It also integration of knowledge and propel job crea-
recommended a number of policies/initiatives tion as well as improve the quality of domestic
to make the transition for migrants smoother, skills’. Complementing this, is setting up of
for instance, by strengthening the expansion a centralized system for granting entrepreneur
of the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in visas based on criteria which include novelty
urban areas. in the technology sector, job creation poten-
In January 2015, the NITI Aayog replaced tial and ease of dissemination of the product/
the Planning Commission and was directed service, among others. International centres to
by the Prime Minister’s Office to prepare a facilitate document verification, including a
15-year Vision, 7-year Strategy and 3-year guidance mechanism, are also recommended
Action Agenda to recommend policy changes by the action agenda.
and programmes for action from 2017–2018 The action agenda, indeed, is a significant
to 2019–2020, representing the last three step forward for India but there are many
years of the 14th Finance Commission. The lessons it can draw upon. As pointed out by
Vision, Strategy and Action Agenda (2017) the Global Commission on International
was indeed a departure from the five-year plan Migration (GCIM) report, globally there are
process. indeed ‘many contradictions, constraints and
In order to fast-track the reforms, the three- challenges in existing migration policies’.
year action agenda came up with far reach- There exist:
ing proposals for policy changes aimed at
negative attitudes towards migrants in some human development can only be achieved
parts of the world despite the fact that entire by ‘lowering the barriers to movement
sectors of the economy depend on foreign
labour. States which had ratified the core UN
within and across borders and improving
human rights treaties were not implementing the treatment of movers so as to expand
the provisions of those legal instruments as a human choices and freedoms’ (UNDP,
result many migrants continue to experience 2009). Moreover, well-managed interna-
exploitation, discrimination and abuse. Some tional migration does not on its own lead
Governments admitted considerable number of
migrants into their country, but failed to invest
to a national human-development strategy
in the integration process required for migrants but policymakers need to design and imple-
to realize their potential and make a positive ment migration policies according to their
contribution to their new society. At the same national and local circumstances. In the
time, certain migrants did not respect the laws of same vein, bilateral and regional agreements
their host countries, and, as recent events have
shown, can also pose a serious threat to public
are equally important and can have signif-
security. (GCIM, 2005) icant impact on migration flows (UNDP,
2009). In short, how structural factors affect
mobility in future will very much depend on
the national migration policies that are in
Towards an Integrated Rights-based place at that time.
Policy Approach? This chapter draws upon the MGI3 frame-
Against such a backdrop, it is important to work to make recommendations across five
understand how India as a country with the policy domains identified as the building
largest diaspora population in the world after blocks of effective migration governance.
Mexico and Russia, and the second larg- MGI’s key objective is to assist countries in
est receiver of remittances after China, can developing migration policies across a com-
progress towards a more holistic, integrated prehensive set of domains so that countries are
rights-based approach in managing migration. able to assess where the gaps exist and what
Is there an appropriate policy framework and/ areas may need improvement. This section
or policy instrument that India can build on and highlights the five policy domains along with
contextualize to its local situation? What is the country examples that can be adapted to the
role of state governments in managing both Indian situation.
internal as well as international migration?
It may be argued that India should strive
towards developing a comprehensive inte- Institutional Capacity
grated rights-based approach that brings
internal and international population move- The first policy domain that the MGI high-
ments within a single mobility framework. lights for developing a robust migration gov-
It is evident that the contribution of inter- ernance system is the need for institutional
nal migration is as relevant to development capacity which implies that there should be
as international migration. Large gains to a ‘lead’ institution responsible for forging
coherence, coordination and collaboration
3
The MGI was born out of an appreciation for connections between development, migration, governance and
metrics. Commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and designed by the Economist
Intelligence Unit, it aims to provide a consolidated framework for evaluating country-specific migration govern-
ance structures and to act as a potential source for informing implementation of the migration-related SDGs. The
MGI looks at 15 countries—selected to provide a broad representation of levels of economic development, type
of migration profile (including receiving and sending countries) and geographic scope—and uses 73 qualitative
questions to measure performance across five domains identified as the building blocks of effective migration
governance.
across relevant governmental ministries and to work, residency and citizenship. These
departments. Moreover, countries with the ‘aspects determine a migrants quality of life
most advanced migration governance frame- and future prosperity’. In some countries,
works have well-established mechanisms that migrants are unable to access these basic ser-
provide clear information in a ‘transparent’ vices. In others, they may have access but lack
manner for all migrants about the laws, reg- of knowledge, fear, insecurity, and/or admin-
ulations, visas and opportunities available in istrative factors (not being registered) prevent
destination countries. Transparency is noted them from availing these services.
as ‘an essential marker of a comprehensive In India, efforts are underway but an inte-
migration policy’. grated rights-based approach in policies and
In January 2016, the Ministry of Overseas programmes is missing. Certain rights are
Affairs, established in 2004, was merged available to Indian citizens as part of their
with the Ministry of External Affairs, to constitutional fundamental rights guaranteed
ensure better synergies in dealing with mat- by Article 14 and Articles 20–28 to all per-
ters pertaining to welfare and protection of sons, including foreigners, because of which
Indian nationals abroad. The merger was in they can access some services, such as right
accordance with the government’s objec- to elementary education. However, there are
tive of maximum governance with minimum no clear guidelines related to access of other
governmental interference. With this restruc- social services for all categories of migrants.
turing, the MEA became the lead agency. The existing legislations are biased towards
Importantly, Ministries of Housing and Urban the formal and organized sector, and there-
Affairs (MoHUA), Rural Development, fore, a large section of the migrant population,
Health, Labour and Employment, Women who are part of the informal economy, are
and Child Development as well as Ministry often excluded and lack labour law protection,
of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship social benefits and have restricted access to
are all important stakeholders in the migra- public services.
tion domain. There is a need for more coor-
dination and collaboration among these
ministries, particularly whilst developing pol-
Safe and Orderly Migration
icies that have a direct or indirect impact on
migration. The third policy domain MGI highlights ‘safe
The Government of India (GoI) has also and orderly migration’, which is an integral
stepped up its efforts on sharing information component of effective and comprehensive
in the public domain. It has established portals migration management. This also includes
such as eMigrate to curb fraudulent recruit- ‘quality and efficiency of border control,
ment practices and to aid and assist workers return and reintegration support for migrants
in distress. Furthermore, the MEA has also and measures to combat human trafficking
launched the Videsh Sampark series to engage and smuggling’. Some MGI-participant coun-
state governments in various programmes of tries have made substantive efforts to improve
the ministry. the safety and orderliness of inward flows of
distress-driven migrants. However, perspec-
tives on return migration differ from country
to country, leading to variations in the for-
Migrant Rights
mulation of return migration-related policies
The second policy domain measures access and in the development and implementation
to basic social services for migrants, health- of return programmes. Countries like Ghana,
care services, education (primary, secondary Morocco and Philippines have active systems
and tertiary), family reunification and right in place to help reintegrate returning citizens.
In terms of managing its migratory flows, recently, in the wake of the killing of Indian
India has made great strides with the intro- workers in Iraq, the parliamentary standing
duction of the first comprehensive draft of committee has called for development of an
Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection appropriate legislative framework for prospec-
and Rehabilitation) Bill by the Ministry for tive emigrants with emphasis on the safety and
Women and Child Development. The Bill was security of Indian workers in conflict zones
approved on 28 February 2018 by the Union (Statesman, 2018).
Cabinet to be presented in the upcoming ses-
sion of the Parliament. It is planned to estab-
lish institutional mechanisms at district, state
Labour Migration: Acceleration of
and central levels, responsible for prevention,
Skill Development
protection, investigation and rehabilitation
work related to trafficking. The National The fourth policy domain assesses whether
Investigation Agency would serve as the nodal migration is a part of national development
authority for probing cases of human traffick- strategies and if labour markets are a key
ing under the Ministry of Home Affairs. States consideration in migration policy, particu-
like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, larly regarding decent working conditions for
Goa, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and migrant workers. Adherence to international
West Bengal have formulated laws and poli- codes and standards is also essential. For many
cies to prevent human trafficking and protect countries with ageing populations, young,
and rehabilitate rescued women and children. productive and healthy migrants can make a
All states have established Anti-Trafficking meaningful contribution to their workforce.
Nodal Cells with officers who collaborate A large number of emigrants from India are
with the Central government, share best prac- unskilled or semi-skilled contract labour. India
tices and data and discuss issues related to established the National Skill Development
trafficking (Hameed et al., 2010). However, Agency which is an autonomous body under
India still needs to develop mechanisms on the Ministry of Skill Development and
addressing international trafficking (foreign Entrepreneurship. The main role of this agency
women being trafficked into India), where is to anchor the National Skill Qualifications
cross-border trafficking is rampant given the Framework and allied quality assurance
porous borders and lack of cooperation. mechanisms for synergizing skill initiatives
On return migration, whilst there is no com- in the country. It focuses on fulfilling the skill
prehensive policy for return migrants in India, needs of the disadvantaged and marginalized
the GoI has entered into bilateral agreements groups. In particular, placement of youth, that
with several destination countries that bene- represent the bulk of the skill dividend and
fit from its workers. It has also put in place are potential migrants, needs to be accelerated
several policy initiatives aimed at fostering to complement ongoing programmes such as
dialogue and cooperation with the diaspora ‘Skill India’ and ‘Startup India’.
as well as organized repatriation of its nation- India has ratified many International
als aimed at ‘providing safety and security Labour Organization (ILO) conventions
of Indian workers in conflict zones’ (Xavier, (convention number C029, C100, C105
2016). A few states, such as Kerala, Telangana and C111) for the protection and welfare of
and Andhra Pradesh, have started formulating its workers. There are many national laws
welfare policies to reinstate returning migrants related to prevention, protection and welfare
to better utilize their knowledge, experience of workers as well in India but there is only
and skills. Indeed, India needs to focus more one law which is directly related to migrant
on this component of migration policy. Most workers—the Interstate Migrant Workmen

Act, 1979—which has been amply discussed CONCLUSION

in the previous section. These protection
mechanisms are insufficient to protect the To conclude, it is important to note that policy-
rights of migrants because of poor implemen- makers around the world need timely, reliable,
tation and low level of awareness. A more accessible and comparable data on migration
robust, holistic and integrated approach is in order to manage migration effectively and
required to promote a productive workforce protect the rights of migrants. Despite the
with decent working conditions. growing importance of migration, data to
characterize migration flows, monitor changes
over time and provide governments with a
Regional and International solid basis for the formulation and implemen-
Cooperation and Other Partnerships tation of policies is often lacking (UN, 1998).
This often results in poorly designed policies
The fifth policy domain indicates that ‘pro- and interventions and makes it much harder
ductive, safe and harmonious migration can to identify and assist migrants in vulnerable
only be achieved if there is collaboration and situations.
cooperation among sending, receiving and The report of the Commission on
transit countries’. This form of cooperation International Migration Data for Development
can contribute to strengthening of migration Research and Policy titled ‘Migrants Count:
governance by aligning and raising standards, Five steps to better migration data’ calls for
increasing dialogue among countries and pro- more censuses to include basic questions on
viding relevant structures to resolve problems. migration, the need to use administrative data
India, since 2003, has been participating on international and internal migrants more
in the Asia-based Colombo Process, which extensively, to make better use of the migra-
has contributed many concrete steps, such tion data collected in labour force surveys,
as amending legislations, creating new struc- to integrate migration modules into existing
tures for managing migrant flows and signing household surveys and to make micro data
bilateral agreements between migrant-send- from migration surveys and censuses publicly
ing and migrant-receiving countries. This available.
was followed by the launch of the Abu Dhabi In order to progress along the above policy
Dialogue in 2008 that brought together domains, India has to embark on a more robust
migrant-receiving countries and India has con- approach towards data collection, compila-
tinued to participate in the regional dialogue. tion and timely dissemination. Whilst a large
In 2016, the South Asian Association for amount of migration data is drawn from its
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) developed population censuses, when released, it tends
a plan of action to ‘collaborate and cooperate to be several years old. The census relies on
on safe, orderly and responsible management a limited number of questions on migration,
of labour migration from South Asia to ensure and thus, cannot provide disaggregated infor-
safety, security and wellbeing of their migrant mation required for a comprehensive policy
workers in the destination countries outside analysis. From a technical perspective, there
the region’. Despite the progress made, there are many challenges given the dynamic nature
remain many challenges related to human of migration. The census does not capture
rights issues and protection of workers, and or present estimation on undocumented and
all participating governments, including India, irregular migrants. International and internal
need to improve the governance of contractual migrants returning home or engaging in cir-
labour in countries of origin and destination. cular migration is another set of data that is
completely missing. Similarly, data on forced
labour and exploitation and trafficking of on Internal Migration and Urbanization, Dhaka,
women and children, internally as well as Bangladesh.
internationally, is usually maintained by min- Chowdhury, S. (2011). Employment in India: What does
istries and is not captured in the census data to the latest data show? Economic & Political Weekly,
32(6), 23–26.
be shared with policymakers and researchers.
Connell, J., Dasgupta, B., Laishley, R., & Lipton, M.
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international migration as well as disaggre- ment within and across borders: Research and policy
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51
Integration Policies for
Interstate Migrants
Va r u n A g g a r w a l
Saniya Singh
INTRODUCTION migrants, which include interstate, intrastate

and intradistrict migrants.
One of the persistent characteristics of post- Since 2000, interstate migration in India
1991 India has been the ready availability of has grown rapidly at a rate of 4.5 per cent per
cheap and largely informal labour. This infor- annum. Compared with the previous decade’s
mal labour force built the urban infrastructure rate, it doubled between 2001 and 2011, with
that powers India’s economy. Its members the number of Indians migrating between
worked in abysmal conditions for less than states averaging approximately 5–6 million
the minimum wage (that kept domestic indus- per year (Chandrasekhar, Naik & Roy, 2017;
tries competitive and investment-friendly) as Kone, Liu, Mattoo, Ozden & Sharma, 2017).
well as provided flexible and cheap services However, two-thirds of the total migration
that preserved the position of the urban afflu- flows within India remains intrastate (Kone et
ent class. In the absence of a migrant labour al., 2017). In fact, recent work by the World
workforce, the Indian economy would come Bank found that the ‘average migration
to a standstill (Rajappa, 2017). between neighbouring districts in the same
An analysis of this informal labour force state was at least 50 per cent larger than that
reveals that most of its members are migrants of neighbouring districts on different sides of
(Deshingkar & Akter, 2013; Government a state border’ (Kone et al., 2017, p. 3). The
of India, 2017). According to the latest and World Bank study involved an empirical anal-
most reliable figures, more than 400 million ysis controlling various barriers to migration,
migrants live in India (from the 2011 Census such as physical distance, linguistic differ-
of India Migration Tables). One can safely ences and regional socio-economic dispar-
assume that a large portion of them are internal ities, and demonstrated ‘the role played by
administrative barriers, particularly state bor- migrants and their needs than those of either
ders, in limiting internal migration in India’ Maharashtra or Delhi. Maharashtra, in the
(Kone et al., 2017, p. 3). second place, has a slightly better policy sce-
The movement of people from one state to nario than does Delhi. A clear need exists to
another can lead to loss of certain entitlements scale up the IPEX and cover all the states in
those people enjoyed in the state where they India. Our initial evaluation suggests that pol-
lived before migration. Even in central gov- icymakers in India have a long journey ahead
ernment schemes, benefits reach the people of them in terms of making migration a bene-
through the state or local government. Usually, ficial choice for the citizens.
such benefits are available only to permanent
residents of the respective states. In this situa-
tion, interstate migrants lose their entitlements
when they cross the border of their native LITERATURE REVIEW
state. For instance, a migrant labourer from
Bihar who has been purchasing rice, wheat In analysing policies related to interstate
and other provisions at a subsidized price migration, longstanding literature on migra-
through the public distribution system (PDS) tion in India points towards three common
in his or her home state is unlikely to benefit strands of observations that have formed the
from the PDS in Kerala (Kumar, 2017). normative basis for conducting the IPEX
Some major destination states, like Kerala study.
and Maharashtra, have taken measures to pro-
mote the socio-economic inclusion of migrants
and families by allowing them access to some Internal Migration and Development
social benefits. However, no effort has been
made to understand the extent to which the First is the centrality of migration to the devel-
state-level policy frameworks have evolved opment process. Owing to its sheer volume,
towards such inclusion. How do these policy internal migration is an important factor
frameworks vary from state to state? In the affecting the course of socio-economic devel-
absence of a cohesive migrant policy frame- opment in India. As noted in the 2017 report
work, which policy areas and institutions are of the Working Group on Migration, ‘migrants
relevant for the socio-economic inclusion of fuel the Indian economy by carrying human
interstate migrants? Finally, towards which capital to regions where it is needed and ena-
benchmark normative policy frameworks bling the acquisition of new skills and a better
should state and local governments aspire? standard of living’. Since employment is the
We address these questions through con- primary driver of migration, it is an important
struction of the India Migration Policy Index way out of poverty, a means to improve access
(IPEX). We adapted the methodology of the to basic necessities, such as education and
Migrant Policy Integration Index (MIPEX), healthcare, and also an adaptive strategy to
which was originally used to compare the escape the negative impacts of climate change
migrant integration policy frameworks of and environmental disasters on livelihood,
third-country nationals in the European Union especially in the rural context (Bhagat, 2017).
(EU), to compare the integration policy frame-
works of Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi—the
three major migrant-receiving states in south, State-Level Policies as Barriers to
west and north India.
Migration
Based on our evaluation of the prevalent
policy scenarios, we found that Kerala’s pol- However, despite this seemingly large magni-
icies are significantly more considerate of tude of migrants, a detailed district-to-district
Integration Policies for Interstate Migrants 705
migration study revealed that as per the 2001 lives of their destination state. Regulations
Census data, only one-third of all those migrat- and administrative procedures exclude
ing within India were interstate migrants, and migrants from access to legal rights, public
the rest, that is two-thirds, were intrastate services and social protection programmes
migrants. Further, it found that average migra- accorded to residents, on account of which
tion between neighbouring districts in the same they are often treated as second-class citizens.
state was at least 50 per cent higher than that For instance, even though migrants are highly
to neighbouring districts on different sides of vulnerable to health risks like communicable
a state border. This gap varied according to the diseases, undernutrition as well as accidents
education level, age and reason for migration, and injuries, healthcare access and utilization
but was always large and notable (Kone et al., rates among migrants remain extremely low
2017). This significant discrepancy in inter- (Faetanini & Tankha, 2013). National Health
state and intrastate migration can be explained Policy, 2017, National Population Policy,
by the existence of certain barriers that inhibit 2002 and many other central- and state-level
greater migration between states—the second documents outline ambitious commitments of
point of convergence among existing litera- the government to promote equitable access
ture. It is important here to note that as per to public healthcare services across the socio-
the Indian Constitution, freedom of movement geographic expanse of the country. However,
is a fundamental right of all citizens of India. these policies do not address health issues
The foundational principles of free migration specifically pertaining to migrants (Borhade,
are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article 2012).
19(1) of the Constitution, which guarantee Further, social benefits, like the PDS,
all citizens the right to move freely through- lack of portability from one state to another,
out the territory of India and reside and settle thus creating a situation where migrants lose
in any part of the territory of India (Working access to essential services when they choose
Group on Migration, 2017). to move away from their home state. Migrants
Despite this legal protection, interstate also face difficulties in accessing housing
migration is inhibited by ‘invisible walls’ that and other basic amenities, such as water and
perpetuate due to the non-portability of social sanitation, which often forces them to live in
benefits and the state-level entitlements that urban slums, facing constant threats of dis-
are only accessible to ‘residents’ and/or ‘dom- placement and eviction from government offi-
iciles’ of a state (Kone et al., 2017). So while cials (Faetanini & Tankha, 2013).
people have the freedom to move wherever Most importantly, while migration repre-
they wish, this freedom is not accompanied sents constant mobility, voting rights assume
with a guarantee of equal access to rights and stability, thus forcing migrants to choose
entitlements. between the two. Because migrants are only
entitled to vote in their home location, they are
unable to vote when they are away. Further,
their concerns are rarely raised effectively
Policy Areas Relevant to Interstate
at their destination. Overall, this limits their
Migration
political agency to a great extent (Bird &
India’s socio-political rights are based on the Deshingkar, 2009; Sharma et al., 2012). A
assumption that people are sedentary and that study conducted by the Tata Institute of Social
migration as a phenomenon should be con- Sciences (2015) for the Election Commission
tained (Dasgupta, 2018). Those who migrate of India also found that states with higher
continually face difficulties in becoming a part rates of migration were associated with lower
of the socio-cultural and politico-economic voter turnouts.
These observations and policy gaps have for greater intragovernmental and intergov-
led us to identify the eight policy areas on the ernmental coordination to improve the deliv-
basis of which migrant integration in Indian ery of these services.
states can be evaluated. These are education,
labour market, children’s rights, political par-
ticipation, identity and registration, social ben-
MIPEX as an Inspiration for the IPEX
efits, housing and healthcare and sanitation.
The MIPEX originated in a similar con-
text in Europe, where significant disparities
were noted in the level of legal integration of
Central-Level Migration Policies
third-country nationals as compared to that
Finally, this leads to the third common of EU nationals living in another EU coun-
observation—the pressing need to acknowl- try. Legal integration, that is, an immigrant’s
edge the importance of migration in India’s legal status, residence rights, citizenship and
growth story, and consequently, the need to equal access to rights, goods, services and
include mainstream internal migration as an resources, receives widespread acceptance as
important element in India’s public policy the first step in promoting societal integration.
and planning processes. Certain specialized MIPEX was designed as a tool to assess the
provisions do exist at the central level to extent to which equality principles are applied
improve the working conditions of migrant to integration policies (Niessen & Huddleston,
workers and prevent their exploitation, like 2009). For that purpose, an assessment frame-
the Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation work was developed. The rights of EU citizens
and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979; the living abroad in another EU member state
Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Contract (which allowed for free movement of per-
Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970; sons) are the ultimate benchmarks (the highest
the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; and the standards) for third-country nationals living
Building and Other Construction Workers in the EU (ibid.). These benchmarks enable
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions policy actors to assess whether the rights and
of Service) Act, 1996. responsibilities of non-EU citizens are level-
Such measures, however, have proved ling up or down in each member state, across
to be inadequate to address migrants’ socio- the EU and also in Australia, Canada, Iceland,
economic marginalization (Ashok & Thomas, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway,
2014; Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). The Switzerland, Turkey and the USA, as the
report on the ‘Social Inclusion of Internal result of domestic and global policy changes.
Migrants in India’ by UNESCO and UNICEF The observations and policy gaps noted
stipulates that ‘there is an urgent need to widely in the literature on internal migra-
develop a governance system for internal tion in India and the successful model of the
migration in India, that is, a dedicated system MIPEX gave birth to the IPEX that aims to
of institutions, legal frameworks, mechanisms rank and compare all states of India based on
and practices aimed at supporting internal their migrant integration policies. In light of
migration and protecting migrants’. Further, a the well-established lack of policy coordina-
social protection architecture should be devel- tion and information at the state and central
oped that allows for portability of services like levels, as well as the neglect of migration as a
PDS, health insurance and education in order subject among Indian policymakers, the IPEX
to ensure easy and equal access to migrants. is a first step to fill various vacuums in pre-
The recommendations of the Working Group existing research.
on Migration (2017) also highlight the need
METHODOLOGY is, accessibility for migrants to every level of

education and training, the steps taken to facil-
Policymakers choose from policy options and itate migrant access to educational institutions
bring policies closer or further from the best and measures in place to improve migrant
practices for the integration of migrants. Our educational outcomes once they are included
evaluation framework captures these options in the state’s educational system.
and choices, while setting a benchmark for the The policy dimensions are further broken
best policy practices. down into policy indicators. Each indica-
tor is framed in the form of a question to
query to what extent a particular family of
state/panchayat/municipality policy meas-
Policy Areas, Dimensions and ures, schemes or programmes is addressing
Indicators the benchmark needs of interstate migrants.
IPEX compares the state-level policy areas Using another education example, the access
impacting interstate migrants in Kerala, Delhi dimension has indicators related to state-level
and Maharashtra. The MIPEX utilizes EU measures for providing access to all levels of
and international-level policy directives on education (preschool, primary and secondary,
the integration of immigrants to derive policy senior secondary and higher education and
areas and benchmark principles (Nielsen, vocational/skill training) for out-of-state inter-
2009). Since no such directive exists for internal migrants or non-domiciles (Table 51.2
nal migration in India, we used the closest
approximation to multilateral directives, such Table 51.2 IPEX Policy Indicators on
as committee of experts’ reports and wide- Education
scale meta-analyses of internal migration and Dimension 1: Access
policy literature for the conceptualization and Are migrants able to access and/or are provided support
wording of IPEX policy areas and benchmark for accessing?
principles (see Table 51.1 for the sources 1. Preschool education/day care
utilized). 2. Primary and secondary education
Each policy area is further broken down 3. Higher/senior secondary education
into policy dimensions to understand its 4. Higher/tertiary education
granular aspects. For instance, the education 5. Vocational training/skill development
policy area is broken down into dimensions of Dimension 2: Facilitation of Access
access, facilitation of access and measures to Are the following measures to facilitate access to the
education system in place?
achieve change. These categories cover each
aspect of state-level education policies, that 1. Support to learn language of instruction or facility
for instructions in migrant’s language
2. State-supported information initiatives
3. Adapting school curriculum/daily life to migrants’
Table 51.1 Sources Referred for Deriving needs
IPEX Policy Areas and Dimensions
Dimension 3: Measures to Achieve Change
1. Report of the Working Group on Migration (2017) Once the migrants have access, are the following meas-
2. Social Inclusion of Internal Migrants in India: ures to ensure the desirable education policy outcomes
Internal Migration in India Initiative (2013) in place?
3. National Workshop on Internal Migration and Human 1. Collection of data/monitoring/support for research
Development in India (2011) on migrant education
4. Systematic Review of Various Interventions and 2. Involvement of migrants and stakeholders in policy
Approaches Used for Enhancing Poverty Reduction decision-making
and Development Benefits of Within-Country 3. Anti-discrimination policies
Migration (2016) 4. Drop-out prevention measures
illustrates the functioning of these indica- three answers generates three possible scores:
tors in more depth). Each of these indicators 0, 50 and 100. The average score of all indi-
inquires the extent to which state/local meas- cators per dimension gives a dimension score,
ures provide access to out-of-state migrants. the average score of all dimensions gives a
A full list of policy areas, dimensions and policy area score, and finally, the average score
indicators can be found in Table 51A.1. of all the policy areas gives the final state-level
It is important to emphasize that IPEX score. A visual illustration of the IPEX scor-
focuses on state- and local-level (panchayat/ ing process is given in Figure 51.A1.
municipality) policies. Often, there are also We conducted an exhaustive review of
central government policies in place that state, panchayat and municipal policies—this
address the needs of the migrants. So, for included any policy, legislation, scheme, gov-
access to primary education, the landmark ernment order, drive, campaign or programme.
Right to Education Act, 2009 (RTE 2009) We matched these policies with the relevant
ensures access to education for all children indicator answer option. So, for Access to
in India. However, if a state government goes higher/tertiary education, any state-level pol-
above and beyond the minimum requirements icies serving migrant needs, such as migrant
of RTE 2009, then IPEX will capture that. For scholarships or special quotas for out-of-state
instance, in Maharashtra, the education rules nationals, got a 100, policies that helped the
provide for hostel facilities for migrant chil- whole in-state population including migrants
dren living on remote worksites with their par- got a 50, while policies that restricted migrant
ents. In Table 51.3, we have mapped some of access to colleges, such as state domicile
the key central policies and schemes to IPEX quotas, got a 0 (see Table 51.3 for an illustra-
policy areas. The IPEX framework enables the tion of this exercise).
comparison of state-level policies with their For MIPEX, the process of matching
central-level equivalents. policy indicator answer options and policies
was guided by equality principles derived
from the various EU and international direc-
tives. The extent to which each national policy
From Policies to Scores
framework moved away from or close towards
Each indicator (framed in the form of a ques- the equality principles captured by each indi-
tion) has three answer options. Each of these cator was evaluated on the basis of the final
Table 51.3 An Illustration of How IPEX Policy Indicators Are Scored

Option A Option B Option C
Policy Indicator Description Score 100 Score 50 Score 0
Access to higher/tertiary Does support for accessing higher/ Relevant No targeted meas- Migrants face
education tertiary education—explicit measures ures for migrants, admission restric-
state-supported targeted measures exist in the migrants only tions/restrictions
(e.g., financial support, campaigns, state laws or benefit from to measures due
quotas and other means) to increase policies for general support to state residency
participation of migrant pupils exist? migrants. for all students. quotas.
State Score Matching Policy Scenario
(Option)
Kerala 0 (C) State mandates quotas for state residents in place throughout the state government/state
government-aided higher education institutions.
Delhi 0 (C) To qualify for measures, students should have passed their class 10 and 12 exams from a
school in Delhi.
Maharashtra 0 (C) State mandates quotas for state residents in place throughout the state government/state
government-aided higher education institutions.
score. IPEX follows a similar process, except by virtue of being protected under the RTE
we were guided by the policy consensus and 2009, all children in India between the ages of
prescribed best practices of the literature on 6 and 14 years are entitled to free and compul-
internal migration in India. sory education, but the state government has
not made any special provisions for migrant
children, above and beyond what is mandated
under the RTE 2009.
The Role of Central Government
Another important aspect of arriving at
Policies
indicators is the identification of certain
IPEX scores do not reflect absolute integration policy benchmarks, that is, ideal set of poli-
or deprivation of migrants in a state. Apart cies and provisions that governments should
from the state-level policies that were evalu- strive for, and on the basis of which the current
ated, central-level provisions also contribute migrant integration policies can be evaluated.
to the welfare of migrants. Table 51.4 lists a Understanding the relationship between cen-
number of central policies and schemes that tral- and state-level policies was a useful exer-
complement state-level initiatives. cise for this process as well. Taking forward
Looking at central-level schemes becomes the previous example of Education, it was
even more important when certain dimen- found that the RTE 2009 as a Fundamental
sions get low scores. For example, under the Right under Article 21-A of the Indian
policy area of Education, if a state scores a Constitution served as a key policy bench-
zero in the indicator for access to elementary mark, through which the RTE rules of each
education, it does not mean that migrant chil- state can be evaluated.
dren in that state have absolutely no access to Similarly, for children’s rights, a positive
elementary schooling. The score indicates that correlation was noted among the international-,
national- and state-level provisions. India has
Table 51.4 Policies Relevant for IPEX at the Central Level

S. no. Policy Area Relevant Central Level Laws and Policies
A Education Right to Education Act, 2009; Integrated Scheme for School Education
B Labour Market Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979;
Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,
1970; Equal Remuneration Act, 1976; Building and Other Construction Workers
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996
C Children’s Rights The National Policy for Children, 2013; Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram; Midday
Meal Scheme; National Child Labour Project Scheme; Integrated Child Development
Services Scheme; Integrated Child Protection Services Scheme
D Political Participation Universal Adult Franchise under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution
E Identity and Right to Freedom of Movement [Article 19(1)(d) of the Indian Constitution]; The
Registration Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services)
Act, 2016
F Social Benefits Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act; Antyodaya Anna
Yojana; Targeted Public Distribution System; National Pension Scheme; Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
G Housing Indira Awaas Yojana; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana; Deen Dayal AntyodayaYojana-
Urban (National Urban Livelihoods Mission)
H Healthcare and National Health Policy 2017; National Health Mission; National Rural Health
Sanitation Mission; National Urban Health Mission; Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram;
Swachh Bharat Mission; National Urban Sanitation Policy
ratified the United Nations Convention on All three states have done very little in
the Rights of the Children, which serves as a providing effective access to social benefits,
policy benchmark for many central-level pro- healthcare and labour markets. And even
visions like the National Policy for Children, when governments enacted access measures,
Integrated Child Development Services and they failed to put in policies to ensure access
Integrated Child Protection Services. These and policy outcomes.
central-level schemes have, in turn, pro- Kerala’s policies are the most considerate
vided broad frameworks for state-level child of migrants. In Kerala, both the state gov-
policies. ernment and local governmental bodies have
IPEX 2018 indicators, therefore, attempt enacted measures, which at least partially
to evaluate and analyse the extent to which include out-of-state migrants into the state’s
ideal standards (for specific migrant-related generous welfare system.
policies) have percolated, from the interna- Delhi and Maharashtra score low and this
tional and national benchmark policies, into is extremely worrying, given the significant
the state-level policies. This extent determines scale of out-of-state migration into these states.
the numerical scores that should be assigned Migrants in these states often face barriers for
to states on each of the indicators in the IPEX. accessing formal housing and employment.
They do not have access to social benefits and
support, basic healthcare and higher education
(Figure 51.1).
RESULTS AND DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS
Overall Results Identity and Registration and

Overall, all three states performed poorly in Political Participation
the IPEX 2018 evaluation exercise. On a scale
In the past 5 years, Kerala has put in place
of 0–100, none of them were able to cross 60,
measures for identifying and including
with both Delhi and Maharashtra hovering
migrant labourers (and their families) in its
worryingly in the 30s.
social welfare system. These measures are
IPEX 2018 AVG KL DL

MH
100
75
SCORE [0,100]
POLICY AREA
50

25 


0
Overall Score (0–100)
Figure 51.1 IPEX 2018 Overall Score for Kerala, Delhi and Maharashtra
reflected in Kerala’s high score for the Identity is primarily due to various migrant-specific
and Registration policy area. However, a lot provisions listed under the State Policy for
more has to be done to enable the political Child 2016 and the Kerala RTE Rules 2011.
participation of migrants at the state and local Delhi’s low scores in the same areas are attrib-
levels (see Table 51A.2 for a policy dimen- uted to the absence of migrant-specific provi-
sions level break down of the final results). sions for any of the indicators under its RTE
Maharashtra’s recent temporary ration rules and the absence of a state-level child
cards scheme is also reflected with a relatively policy document entirely.
high score. The state has also done more to Though Delhi does not have any special
engage migrant stakeholders in the policy provisions in place for migrants to access the
formulation and implementation process than labour market, it still scores higher than Kerala
Delhi and Kerala. But a combination of domi- and Maharashtra because it allows migrants to
cile quotas and extremely strict eligibility cri- benefit from general support provided to the
teria for residency lowered the state’s overall whole population. This is in stark contrast
score considerably. to the other two states where migrants face
Delhi, despite relatively liberal require- restrictions in accessing both private sector
ments for acquiring domicile status, has taken jobs and self-employment opportunities due
no measures to provide migrants with alter- to residency requirements (Figure 51.3).
native identities and to enable their political
participation (Figure 51.2).
Health and Sanitation, Housing and
Social Benefits
Education, Labour Market and
The overall IPEX score for social benefits
Children’s Rights
is alarmingly low (Figure 51.4). This is due
Kerala’s relatively high performance on the to the fact that most of the social welfare
Education and Children’s Rights policy areas schemes across the three states have residency
IPEX 2018 AVG KL DL MH
100
Policy Area Score [0,100]
75
50
86
74
69
25 47
42
33 33
25
0
Identity and Registration Political participation
Figure 51.2 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Identity and Registration and Political Participation
100
75
50
75
61
25 50 47 53
42 44 37 35
31
15 14
0
Labour Market Education Children’s Rights
Figure 51.3 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Labour Market, Education and Children’s Rights
100
75
50
79
58
25 47 50
42 42
33
25
15 6 6
0
Social Benefits Housing Health and
Sanitation
Figure 51.4 IPEX 2018 Policy Areas Score for Social Benefits, Housing and Health & Sanitation
requirements as their core eligibility criteria, Kerala faired higher in this category due to
thus excluding migrants from social security its pioneering Inter-State Migrant Workers
and benefits. There are some exceptions to Welfare Scheme (2010).
this trend. In Maharashtra, migrant workers With regard to housing, Kerala scored
have access to the PDS scheme through the the highest primarily due to its ‘Apna Ghar
issuance of a temporary ration card. Migrant Scheme’ that provides rental facilities for
construction workers in Delhi can access mul- migrant workers. Overall, however, while
tiple schemes through a registration process. Maharashtra and Delhi do not have migrant
specific housing provisions in place, migrants IPEX 2018 Insights for a Migration
in the two states enjoy a broader access to Policy Framework
general schemes for temporary and permanent
housing. While the abiding feature of most of the
Both Kerala and Delhi had migrant-specific evaluated policy areas is a complete absence
measures in place for access to state hospitals, of measures to include migrants, promising
private hospitals and clinics, targeted health initiatives do provide hints about a migra-
interventions and health and disease prevention policy framework. Even unaddressed
tion, especially for AIDS awareness and con- policy dimensions and indicators offer telling
trol. Kerala’s higher scores can be attributed insights for policymakers.
to the Awaz Health Insurance scheme (2017),
hygiene awareness drives for migrant workers
and using multiple languages to make infor- Why Did Kerala Come Out on Top?
mation available to different migrant groups
in the state. Kerala’s consistent better performance in
almost all policy areas can be attributed to
two broad trends. First is that it recognizes
migrants as a considerable force guiding the
DISCUSSION AND POLICY INSIGHT state’s demographics, and subsequently, their
recognition as a focus group in the state’s
Principles for a Migration Policy policy documents. Kerala’s high scores in
Framework areas such as Children’s Rights and Education
stem from the fact that various relevant pro-
Based on the IPEX 2018 evaluation, if states visions of Kerala’s state-level policy docu-
were to develop a migration policy framework ments, such as the Kerala Child Policy 2016
above and beyond the basic policy bench- and the Kerala RTE Rules 2011, specifically
marks that central government policies have mention migrant children, thus integrat-
established (see Table 51.4), the following ing them into larger state-level policies. The
inquiries may guide the abiding principles: second trend is the implementation of sepa-
rate policies and schemes to address the spe-
1. To what extent must migrants be integrated in cial integration needs of migrants in the state.
their destination states relative to state residents? The first example of this is the pioneering
2. Should migrants have rights in destination states Kerala Migrant Workers’ Welfare Scheme of
equivalent to those that they have (as residents) in 2010, which offers financial support to treat
their home states?
migrants’ ailments, grants for their children’s
3. Given the vulnerabilities that migrants face on
account of their unique circumstances, is it nec-
education in Kerala and retirement benefits to
essary to provide special policy initiatives to those who complete 5 years under the scheme.
migrants, separate from non-migrants? Another health insurance scheme called Awaz
was rolled out in 2017. It has a dual objec-
Because the current evaluation of IPEX 2018 tive of providing health insurance coverage to
is limited to three states, obtaining conclu- migrants and creating a comprehensive data-
sive answers to the above queries is difficult. base of the state’s migrant labourers. Kerala’s
Nonetheless, we can derive some preliminary policies provide compelling insights for two
policy insights for a future migration policy of the key inquiries guiding the principles
framework. for an effective migration policy framework.
One is the extent to which migrants must be
integrated into their destination states relative
to state residents, and two, whether migrants average score of 37). Often, barriers in the
require special policy initiatives to address form of state-level residency quotas prevent
their vulnerabilities. migrants and their families from entering uni-
versities, skill development programmes and
access almost every social scheme.
The states also ignore migrants’ political
Why Does Delhi Score Low Despite
agency. Almost no measures are in place to
It Being a Major Migrant-Receiving
facilitate and enable migrants’ political par-
State and Having Much Smaller and ticipation in state- and local-level (panchayat/
Better-Managed Administrative municipal) elections (IPEX 2018 average
Machinery? score of 33).
In general, even when access measures
In contrast to Kerala, Delhi consistently scored
are in place, no initiatives exist to facilitate
low, though it is one of the largest migrant-
access and ensure policy outcomes. This is the
receiving states in India. Delhi’s alarmingly
case across the policy areas that IPEX 2018
low scores in Education and Children’s Rights
covered.
(15 and 14, respectively) made a major con-
tribution to this result. The primary reason
for this is a lack of migrant-specific educa-
tion and children’s rights policies. The Delhi Housing
RTE Rules do not mention special provisions
for migrant children, and the state does not Kerala’s Apna Ghar scheme was implemented
have a child policy in place like Kerala and to provide safe rental facilities for migrant
Maharashtra do. The absence of such policies labourers, while Delhi and Maharashtra
drastically lowered Delhi’s score. However, enacted slum rehabilitation and relocation pol-
this trend was not recorded in all policy areas. icies, which address the concerns of migrant
Delhi can learn from its own initiatives in the families who often resort to living in slums.
healthcare and housing sectors. Initiatives However, apart from these measures, little
like the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, the has been done to understand, address and
Mobile Health Scheme and the provision of ensure migrants’ housing needs, as reflected
general access to migrants for permanent and by an IPEX 2018 average score of 47. An
temporary housing are all practices that can urgent need exists to provide and offer access
be replicated in the aforementioned areas. to safe, affordable and convenient housing for
These policies, which aim to give migrants migrants, something that any future migrant
access to general policies of the state, can be policy framework must comprehensively
interpreted as a means of lessening the inte- address.
gration gap between Delhi’s migrants and
residents—an important factor in an effective
migration policy framework.
IPEX 2018 LIMITATIONS AND NEXT
STEPS
In Which Policy Areas and Dimensions Migration policymaking has been largely
Do All Three States Struggle? ignored in India. Thus, unlike MIPEX,
no guiding principles or frameworks exist
All three states fared extremely poorly in
for the conception of policy areas, dimen-
terms of including out-of-state migrants in
sions and indicators used to construct IPEX
their social welfare systems (IPEX 2018 aver-
2018. We had to utilize the relatively limited
age score of 15) and education (IPEX 2018
literature on migration policymaking and which act as barriers for interstate migration.
internal migration in India. Even within this Evaluating policies serving the needs of inter-
literature, little consensus exists regarding nally displaced persons (IDPs), international
internal migrants’ experiences and needs. immigrants and asylum seekers is also an
The literature over-represents the issues essential goal.
of labour migrants in certain corridors. In the long term, including India in future
Internally displaced migrants, female migra- MIPEX evaluations will also be beneficial in
tion, family migration and migration within order to converge Indian policies with the best
northeast India, the Himalayan states and east global practices.
India have either been ignored or are poorly
understood.
Limitations of the MIPEX methodol-
ogy carried over to IPEX, such as the equal CONCLUSION
weightage of all policy indicators. Often, over-
laps exist between indicators, for instance, the In this study, we constructed a migration inte-
vocational training/skill indicator is present in gration policy framework, IPEX, to evaluate
both the Education and the Labour Markets. the policy frameworks of Kerala, Maharashtra
Whether an indicator should receive more and Delhi. We isolated key policy areas and
weight in one policy area over the other is an dimensions for the successful integration of
unresolved contention that future versions of interstate migrants in India. The evaluation
IPEX must address. results suggest that Kerala’s policies are the
We also need to understand the relative most considerate of migrants’ needs and inte-
importance of different policy indicators for gration. Delhi’s and Maharashtra’s policies
different migrants. For instance, the needs of largely ignore migrants.
Bengali migrants in rural Kerala are different All three states fared extremely poorly in
from the needs of Bihari migrants in urban terms of including out-of-state migrants in
Maharashtra. How can IPEX be constructed their social welfare systems (IPEX 2018 aver-
to factor in these varying needs? age score of 15) and education (IPEX 2018
Finally, how can IPEX reconcile average score of 37). Often, barriers in the
c entral-level and state- or local-level pol- form of state-level residency quotas prevent
icies in its final evaluation? Even here, migrants and their families from entering uni-
MIPEX offers few answers. Any future versities, skill development programmes and
evaluation must overcome these limitations. accessing almost every social scheme. In gen-
It is important to emphasize that IPEX is eral, even when access measures are in place,
an ex ante policy evaluation tool. The IPEX no initiatives exist to facilitate access and
2018 scores do not reflect the quality of policy ensure policy outcomes.
implementation (intermediate evaluation) or Overall, our initial evaluation suggests
the policy impact on migrant outcomes (ex post that policymakers in India have a long jour-
evaluation) (Niessen & Huddleston, 2009). ney ahead of them in terms of making migra-
IPEX 2018 will eventually cover all the tion a beneficial choice for their citizens.
states in India and provide concrete steps Nonetheless, IPEX 2018’s evaluation exercise
for an Indian migration policy framework. provides the preliminary steps for recogniz-
It will also be beneficial to empirically iso- ing the policy areas and institutional structure
late the specific policy areas and dimensions, necessary to create an Indian internal migra-
tion policy framework.
APPENDIX 51A
Table 51A.1 IPEX 2018 List of Policy Indicators

Policy Area Policy Dimensions and Policy Indicators
A Education 1. Access: Access to preschool education/day care, access to primary and secondary edu-
cation, access to higher/senior secondary education, access to higher/tertiary education,
access to vocational training/skill development
2. Facilitation of access: Support to learn language of instruction or provision of instructions
in migrant’s language, state-supported information initiatives, adapting school curriculum/
life for migrants’ needs
3. Measures to achieve change: Collection of data/monitoring/support for research on migrant
education, involvement of migrants and stakeholders, anti-discrimination policies, drop-out
prevention measures
B Labour 1. Access to labour market: Access to state/local government jobs, access to private sector
market jobs, access to self-employment
2. Facilitation of access: Information campaigns, involvement of migrant communities and
stakeholders
3. Worker rights: Access to labour unions, working conditions/minimum wage and other
worker protection policies
C Children’s 1. Measures to ensure rights: Developmental schemes/policies, safety policies, healthcare,
rights nutrition and sanitation policies
2. Facilitation of rights/policies: Information for migrant children, employers and migrant
communities
3. Measures to achieve change: Collection of data on migrant needs/outcomes and support for
research on migrant needs/outcomes, involvement of migrants and stakeholders
D Political 1. Electoral rights: Right to vote in local elections (municipal/panchayat), right to contest in
participation local elections
2. Consultative bodies: Involvement of migrants/migrant representatives in decision making
3. Implementation policies: Active information policy, public funding/support for state/local
migrant bodies
E Identity and 1. Conditions for acquisition of status: Residence period, permits considered, costs of applica-
registration tion process, maximum duration of procedure, family/dependent residency, supplementary/
alternative registration options
2. Security of status: Duration of validity of permit
3. Rights associated with state residency status: Access to employment, access to social secu-
rity, access to education, access to housing, access to healthcare and sanitation services
F Social 1. Access: Access to life insurance schemes, access to food security schemes/state public
benefits distribution system, access to state government pension schemes, state-level unemployment/
family benefits, access to disability and other adverse circumstances benefits, access to
other state-level benefits/subsidies
2. Facilitation of access: Information for migrants concerning benefits
3. Measures to achieve change: Collection of data on migrant needs/outcomes and support for
research on migrant needs/outcomes, involvement of migrants and stakeholders
G Housing 1. Access: Access to temporary housing, access to permanent housing
2. Facilitation of access: Information campaigns
3. Measures to achieve change: Collection of data/monitoring/support for research on migrant
needs and outcomes, involvement of migrant communities and stakeholders
H Health and 1. Access: Access to state and private hospitals and clinics, access to state health insurance
sanitation schemes, targeted health interventions/programmes for migrants, access to basic sanitation
services
2. Facilitation of access: Information for migrants concerning health education and promo-
tion, information for service providers about migrants’ entitlements
3. Measures to achieve change: Collection of data on migrant health and support for research
on migrant health, involvement of migrants and stakeholders
OVERALL STATE SCORE
Average Score
II
Public
Labour Children’s Social Political Registration
Education Housing health and
market Rights Benefits inclusion And identity
POLICY sanitation
AREAS
Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Average

Score Score Score Score Score Score Score Score
 Access to  Access  Measures to  Access  Electoral rights  Access  Condition for  Access/Entitlement
POLICY Labour Market  Facilitation of ensure Rights  Facilitation of  Consultation  Facilitation of Acquisition of to health and
DIMENSIONS  Facilitation of Access  Facilitation of  Access Measures  Implementation Access Status sanitation services
Access  Measures to Rights/Policies to Achieve policies  Measures to  Security of Status  Policies to facilitate
 Worker Rights Achieve Change  Measures to Change Achieve Change  Rights Associated access
Achieve Change with State  Measures to
Residency Status achive change
Average Score
II
POLICY INDICATION [QUESTION W/ SCORE OF 0,50 OR 100}
Figure 51A.1 IPEX Scoring Schematic

Table 51A.2 IPEX 2018 Final Results

IPEX 2018 Average KL DL MH
Overall Score (0–100) 42 59 31 38
Labour market 42 44 50 31
Access to labour market 33 33 50 17
Facilitation of access 17 25 25 0
Rights 75 75 75 75
Education 37 61 15 35
Access 50 80 20 50
Measures to achieve change 34 38 25 38
Children’s rights 47 75 14 53
Schemes/policies 67 100 17 83
Facilitation of rights/policies 50 100 0 50
Political participation 33 33 25 42
Electoral rights 50 50 50 50
Consultative bodies 33 50 0 50
Implementation policies 17 0 25 25
Identity and registration 69 86 47 74
Conditions for acquisition of status 47 58 50 33
Security of status 67 100 0 100
Rights associated with state residency status 93 100 90 90
Social benefits 15 33 6 6
Eligibility 28 50 17 17
Housing 47 58 42 42
Access 67 100 50 50
Healthcare and sanitation 50 79 46 25
Entitlement to healthcare and sanitation services 59 88 63 25
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India (Working Paper No. WPS8244). Retrieved from
52
Vulnerability and Social
Protection Access*
Nabeela Ahmed
INTRODUCTION in significant regional inequalities (Bhagat,

2011; Census of India, 2011). The social
Migration (and settlement) anywhere within exclusion of labour migrants is therefore a
India is constitutionally permitted for national crucial issue in discussions of social protec-
citizens without restriction,1 yet labour tion and efforts to address inequalities.
migrants moving from rural to urban areas face Internal migration is relatively under-
a ‘hostile policy environment’ (Deshingkar & studied within the contemporary migration
Farrington, 2009, p. 25). The characteristics literature (Abbas, 2016; King & Skeldon,
attributed to this environment include implicit 2010). This chapter aims to address this gap
and explicit barriers to formal social protec- and improve our empirical understanding
tion programmes that are biased towards sed- of internal migrants’ experiences and access
entary populations; exclusionary patterns of to formal social protection in urban areas,
policy implementation and schemes which through a comparison of labour migrants
actively discourage movement and settlement with their non-migrant counterparts (belong-
in urban areas (Bhagat, 2017; Deshingkar ing to the same socio-economic categories,
& Farrington, 2009; Kundu, 2014). India’s living in the same cities and engaging in the
urban population increased to 377 million in same labour sectors) in accessing the public
2011 due in large part to internal migration. distribution system (PDS)—a universal food
This rapid pace of urbanization has resulted subsidy scheme and India’s largest social
protection programme. This chapter is based
* This chapter is based on data collected as part of my doctoral fieldwork in 2014 for my PhD thesis submitted
to the University of Sussex in 2018.
1
Article 19 of the Constitution of India (1950). Retrieved from https://india.gov.in/sites/upload_files/npi/files/
coi_part_full.pdf
Vulnerability and Social Protection Access 721
on evidence2 gathered in the city of Nashik income to include multiple sources of sup-
in Maharashtra state, on labour migrants port for poor and vulnerable groups (Carney,
and their non-migrant3 or local counterparts, 1998; de Haas, 2008). Migrants face a com-
engaged in semi-, low- or unskilled labour posite of disadvantages (Buckley, McPhee &
in the urban informal sector (Breman, 1996; Rogaly, 2017; Lewis, Dwyer, Hodkinson &
Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). The labour- Waite, 2014), and exclusion from social pro-
ers typically belonged to the Scheduled Caste tection can exacerbate such disadvantages
(SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories and (Sabates-Wheeler & Waite, 2003; Srivastava
earned average wages below the poverty line & Sasikumar, 2003). This plurality of migrant
(BPL). vulnerabilities results in ‘lesser’ ‘citizenship
Labour migration in Indian cities has com- outcomes’ (Abbas, 2016, p. 150) when com-
monly been represented by pessimistic and pared with sedentary citizens.
homogenizing narratives of distress and dis- The empirics also highlight the role
advantage (Mukherji, 2001, 2006). However, of governance context at the sub-national
accounts of ‘distress migration’ are narrowly level—including the gap between policy and
based on rigid interpretations of econometric implementation—in creating a ‘hostile policy
data and fail to recognize the nuanced and environment’ for migrants (Deshingkar &
complex motivations behind migration, nor Farrington, 2009). Paying attention to ongo-
do they adequately acknowledge underlying ing migrant experiences in their specific
structural conditions which perpetuate such urban destinations, rather than on migration
‘wretched’ conditions in cities. Such accounts, outcomes in their rural source context, pro-
presented in a vacuum of structural factors and vides insight into the spatial as well as socio-
empirical understandings of migrant lives and economic inequalities of citizenship in India
decisions, fuel pessimistic narratives which (Jayal, 2009). Migrants can experience dif-
dominate Indian media and policy discourse ferent social protection outcomes in terms of
on labour migration within India and lead to accessing PDS at their places of destination,
further exclusion of migrants from their ‘right compared with in their home states.
to the city’ (Bhagat, 2017). The evidence from This chapter starts with a contextual over-
Nashik also delineates the diverse set of vul- view, first of governance in India with refer-
nerabilities experienced by different types of ence to internal migration and social protection
labour migrants, according to whether they access, and second of the city of Nashik and its
are engaged in (a) precarious sites of labour wider state context in Maharashtra. The second
or (b) casual naka labour, some of which section draws from case study evidence from
are commonly shared by local labourers and Nashik to set out a typology of social protec-
many of which are distinct to the experience tion access conditions faced by labour migrants
of labour migrants. compared with local labourers—presented
Among structural factors that gener- as a continuous spectrum of multiple degrees
ate disadvantages for migrants in the city is of vulnerability—and highlights the distinct
the lack of access to state resources such as vulnerabilities faced by migrant labourers
social protection—integral to an overall liveli- compared with their local counterparts. The
hood ‘package’ which goes beyond economic spectrum starts with migrants working in
2
Data is based on mixed methods including (in order of importance) semi-structured interviews and surveys, KIIs
and observations. Key informant and mapping interviews were also held with additional stakeholders such as
civil society actors working on migrant access and policy actors at national, state and district levels.
3
Henceforth in this chapter, I will mainly use the term ‘local labourer’ to denote non-migrant research partici-
pants. The terms are used for ease of reference in the discussion of findings rather than to reinforce normative
assumptions which serve to ‘other’ or exclude communities.
precarious site of labour, then turns to migrants vulnerable households. However, despite sig-
working in casual labour (or naka workers) nificant shifts in expanding social protections
and ends with local labourers. The final section for the most vulnerable households, labour
sets out the main findings and conclusions of migrants continue to be excluded from access-
the chapter in the context of Nashik’s iteration ing the PDS.6 This furthers the ‘hostile policy
of the ‘hostile policy environment’ as a fast- environment’ surrounding labour migrants,
growing but relatively small-scale city destina- despite the context of judicial reforms to over-
tion for labour migrants. come barriers to social protection.
The increasingly decentralized system of
India’s government has resulted in hetero-
geneous processes and outcomes of national
MIGRATION GOVERNANCE AND programmes such as the PDS across the 29
SOCIAL PROTECTION IN INDIA states of India (Chopra, 2015; Deshpande,
Kailash & Tillin, 2017; Mundle, Chakraborty,
The PDS—officially established in 19474—is Chowdhury & Sikdar, 2012). The federal
India’s oldest and largest social protection pro- system also provides fractured access to social
gramme and a fixture in India’s ever-evolving protection for migrants who cross adminis-
‘welfare architecture’ (Mehta, 2010). The trative boundaries, such as labour migrants.
nationwide programme provides subsidized However, this stratified form of government
food and cooking fuel to guarantee food secu- has opened up space for corruption, politi-
rity5 for poor and vulnerable households and cal opportunism and accountability systems
also supports farmers through high procure- which shape the patterns and structures of
ment prices (Mooij, 1998). The programme’s PDS access at the national and individual state
scope has continually changed to reflect levels. While the PDS has been critiqued for
India’s shifting economy (Mooij, 1998)— corruption and inefficiency often at the cost
shifting between universal and targeted cover- of those most in need, certain states such as
age and in its focus on pro-poor or pro-market Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
mechanisms and private and public distribu- exemplify ‘model’ states with successful PDS
tors. The programme is accessed via a docu- operations and outcomes in terms of rooting
ment called the ‘ration card’, available only to out corruption, efficient distribution mecha-
those with fixed proof of address, therefore, nisms and broadening coverage (Kattumuri,
excluding temporary and vulnerable migrants. 2011; Landy, 2017; Tillin, Saxena & Sisodia,
In 2013, the PDS was framed as a flagship 2015).
food security programme under the National Both structural and political barriers
Food Security Act, focusing on the most prevent the portability of social protection
4
The original iteration of the PDS emerged during the Second World War when pre-independence India faced
acute food shortages and initiated a system of public food distribution under a specific Food Department.
Retrieved from http://dfpd.nic.in/history.htm
5
Food security is defined as a situation when ‘all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life’ (World Food Summit, 1996). Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/forestry/13128-0e6f36f27e0091055bec-
28ebe830f46b3.pdf
6
A provision for enabling portable access to the PDS, to include migrants, was included in the original proposal
for a Food Security Bill by the RtF but this did not make it through to final legislation. Some prominent RtF advo-
cates support the ‘distress migration’ narrative calling for more efforts to stem rural to urban migration (based
on field interviews with RtF activists, Delhi, 2014). Also see Khera (2006).
access—and constitutional rights—for migrants (Bhagat, 2015; Rajan, Korra &

migrants, overall. Governance of internal Chyrmang, 2011; Weiner, 1978). However,
migration in India has historically focused on the state also has an active pro-labour civil
legalistic and penal modalities. This is ham- society and trade union sector which indi-
pered by a lack of understanding of the extent rectly supports labour migrants.7 The state has
and nature of labour migration within India, as attempted to improve inclusion for migrants
the census cannot fully capture accurate num- through ‘responsive policies’, specifically
bers on migrants, and thus inhibits the devel- with regard to the PDS, though with lim-
opment of substantive and inclusive policy ited success. Maharashtra established the
frameworks for internal migrants (Breman, Temporary Ration Card, after a state-level
2013; Srivastava & Sasikumar, 2003). Other Right to Food committee (RtF) ruling in 2001,
challenges of migration governance at the motivated by the plight of deprived tribal
time of fieldwork include the lack of polit- migrants driven in large numbers by drought
ical will at the individual state-level to ini- and deforestation (Mosse, Gupta & Vidya,
tiate and develop interstate migrant-access 2005). However, awareness about the scheme
frameworks and the lack of interstate dispute- among local officials, let alone eligible labour
resolution mechanisms, further discouraging migrants, was limited and the programme was
migrant-supportive policies. poorly implemented.8
State and City Contexts Background on Nashik

Maharashtra is a relatively wealthy state and a At the district level, Nashik shows one of
major destination for migrants predominately the highest growth rates in the state (22.3%)
from India’s poorest states, reflecting the (Census of India, 2011; Lakshmana, 2014).
sharp regional inequalities across the coun- The metropolitan population stands at 1.56
try (Bhagat & Mohanty, 2009). Urbanization million (Census of India, 2011). Nashik lies
in the state exceeds 42 per cent (Bhagat, 200 km from the state’s major cities, Mumbai
2011; Census of India, 2011). While ranked and Pune, and is Maharashtra’s fourth larg-
as the second-highest recipient of net migra- est industrial city. While traditional inter-
tion within India (ibid.) and characterized state migrant flows into Maharashtra have
by extensive industrial development, rapid been concentrated in Mumbai and Pune
urbanization and high growth, the state has (Census of India, 2001), recent demand from
shown mixed trajectories in terms of making urbanization in Nashik has made it the third-
this growth inclusive through expenditure and largest city in Maharashtra to attract migrants
attention on social protection (Deshpande (Borhade, 2007).9 The city’s landscape in the
et al., 2017). mid-2010s was marked by the visceral onset
Maharashtra appears to have a contradic- of a booming construction industry, a key
tory stance on migrants. On the one hand, factor driving in-migration (Bhamare, 2014;
the dominant political local party, Shiv Sena, Borhade, 2007).
was founded on hostility towards interstate
7
Based on fieldwork observations and KIIs (2013).
8
Information on these responsive strategies drawn from KIIs with municipal and state-level officials.
9
Press Information Bureau, Mumbai (Government of India). Retrieved from http://pibmumbai.gov.in/scripts/
detail.asp?releaseId=E2011IS3
Social tensions across Maharashtra, stoked local fixed residence to be able to access the
by largely nativist politics, played out in PDS. The second category of barriers repre-
Nashik against the background of its status as sents the ‘imperfect implementation’ (Saxena
a conservative and religious (largely Hindu) & Farrington, 2009, p. 12) that characterizes
city. Of Nashik’s population, 85.21 per cent many programmes in India, particularly those
reported themselves as Hindus, whereas 8.9 on poverty alleviation. Barriers related to
per cent reported themselves as Muslims implementation can be attributed to ‘informal’
(Census of India, 2011). Shiv Sena’s historical rules of governance according to North’s the-
stronghold has been in cities such as Mumbai orization of institutions (1990), whereas the
and Pune, but nativist politics came to the fore barriers of design can be seen as ‘formal con-
in Nashik in 2008 leading to targeted attacks straints’ (ibid.). I argue that labour migrants
against interstate migrants from Bihar and face the worst of both forms of barriers, and
Uttar Pradesh (UP), primarily working in the thereby are subject to intensified forms of vul-
autorickshaw industry. This broader context nerability and precariousness (Lewis et al.,
further illuminates the distinct, though not 2014; Sabates-Wheeler & Waite, 2003).
necessarily vocalized, vulnerabilities faced The daily experiences of barriers of imple-
by labour migrants compared with their local mentation faced by both migrants and local
counterparts. labourers are represented in my findings as
dhakkas. Dhakka is a Hindi word literally
translated to ‘push’ and used colloquially by
the labourers to signify obstacles or hostile
BARRIERS TO ACCESS—EMPIRICAL resistance from individuals, such as officials
INSIGHTS FROM NASHIK in local administrative offices and broader
institutions that represent power. Dhakkas
The comparison with local labourers— represent discretionary, corrupt and inefficient
those who have not moved from their place behaviours that deviate from social protection
of birth—provides a counterfactual of how policy norms. Though often characterized by
labour migrants experience access structures dhakkas, everyday encounters among the
at the field sites. Two overarching levels of state, informal agents and poor and vulnerable
structural barriers faced by both migrant and citizens substitute formal instruments of civic
local labourers emerged in the empirical find- engagement and entitlement—such as PDS
ings from Nashik. access—for those who otherwise lack aware-
ness or formal access (Corbridge, Williams,
1. Barriers at the level of design (structural) Srivastava & Veron, 2005). Barriers to PDS
2. Barriers at the level of implementation (structural access represent divergences between rights,
and social) laws and policies and the ways in which they
are enacted—including those represented by
Migrants and local labourers face both types dhakkas. However, local labourers are rel-
of barriers to access but to different degrees atively more empowered to identify, voice
of intensity. While migrants are locked out and pursue informal, if not formal, paths of
from access to social protection and state overcoming barriers, than labour migrants.
resources by barriers of design and implemen- Among such paths of redress is the use of
tation, their sedentary counterparts tend to social and financial capital, typically more
mainly experience the latter type of barriers. accessible when one is embedded within a
The main aspect of PDS design affects only local place and community.
migrants. This entails the need for proof of
The experience of labour migrants is not

uniform or straightforward, however, and 1. The first category consists of labour
they are not a homogeneous group (Waite, migrants working on construction sites,
2009). The ‘varieties of unfreedom’ experi- referred to in this chapter as ‘precarious
enced across different types of labourers are sites’ of labour.
2. The second category can broadly be
acknowledged in the literature (Barrientos,
defined as naka workers, typically long-
Kothari & Phillips, 2013; O’Neill, 2011)
term migrants engaged in casual or daily
and resonate with my empirical findings. labour.
Experiences and outcomes depend on mul- 3. The third category of labourers refers to
tiple factors, including temporal and spatial those who are so-called ‘local’ citizens from
status (length of time as a migrant, linkage to Nashik.
place of origin, place and distance of origin);
identity (caste, gender and religion) and type
of labour (sector, duration and contract or (Breman, 2013). This spectrum of evidence is
casual) as well as the governance context. organized according to access to the state. As
Likewise, the range of strategies available to the empirical findings detail, this indicator of
respond to such barriers is dependent upon vulnerability is by no means definitive and can
multiple factors. be redressed in various ways. However, state
While the empirical findings suggest all access can reveal important insights into the
poor urban labourers are vulnerable and face relationship between different forms of vul-
barriers to accessing the state resources and nerabilities and how they are perpetuated or
social protection such as the PDS, we can resolved by the state.
observe a subtle gradient of distinct types
of vulnerabilities faced by different types of
labourers. This chapter focuses on vulnerabil- Group 1—Precarious Sites of Labour
ity and precariousness, primarily through the
lens of governance and state-generated struc- The ‘spectrum’ starts with labour migrants
tural barriers, rather than taking on a detailed working in large-scale construction sites,
investigation into the specific relations engaged in typically precarious forms of
involved within labour itself, for example, the labour (Barrientos et al., 2013; Betancourt,
relations between contractors, employers and Shaahinfar, Kellner Dhavan & Williams, 2013;
labourers. This lens is used to broadly assess Srivastava & Sutradhar, 2016). Construction
the degree of vulnerability and precariousness is the second-biggest industrial sector in India
as experienced by different types of labourers. after agriculture and employed 50 million in
The evidence is presented accordingly as a the year 2011–2012 (Soundararajan, 2013).
broad heuristic spectrum consisting of three According to trade union estimates cited by
overlapping categories of labourers. Betancourt et al. (2013), there are 40 million
Each loose assemblage of labourers rep- interstate migrants working in the construc-
resents multiple and intersecting forms of tion sector. In some cases, as with younger and
vulnerabilities and precariousness—based on unskilled migrants, there are advance payment
labour conditions, economic deprivation and agreements where expenses are paid instead of
social discrimination among other factors. For wages to help pay off the debt accrued using
example, labour migrants may receive lower the advance. Construction workers borrow
wages than their local counterparts do but are advance loans from their thekedars10 or family
more likely to find stable work in urban settings members to finance their initial move. The
10
Hindi word for labour contractor, sometimes used colloquially to also refer to subcontractor.
high wage differential is not the only factor posing an omniscient sense of precarious-
instigating both individual and household ness for this category of labour migrants. The
migrants to enter construction work, but for migrants working in these precarious sites
many, it offers a viable, relatively stable tem- of labour are compelled to move for liveli-
porary livelihood option in the absence of hood purposes and receive a relatively higher
such options in drought-stricken villages. The wage than they would ‘back home’, though
extant literature suggests that migrants in the among construction workers, the wages vary
construction sector are relatively less poor widely according to skill, gender and regional
and vulnerable than other groups of labour background. In light of this, many accept the
migrants—many are smallholders and may trade-off that state entitlements, such as the
have had assets that are often sold to fund ration card, will not figure in their urban lives.
the initial migration (Pattenden, 2012)—and Despite requiring social protection and food
wages in this sector are relatively high. These security, lack of access to the PDS comprises
findings are true about observations in Nashik just one aspect of a range of barriers faced by
of the construction workers, but various forms such groups.
of vulnerabilities beyond economic terms are As an expanding city, construction sites,
highlighted and different levels of skills afford on individual, small- and large-scales were
differentiated wages. Among the youngest a common sight across Nashik in the mid-
and lowest-skilled migrant workers (the latter 2000s. In this chapter, I have focused on
predominately from tribal groups), wages findings from one of the largest construction
were low and comparable with other forms sites in the city ‘Site One’11, a member of the
of migrant labour in the informal sector. In Confederation of Real Estate Developers’
addition, many smallholders could not derive Associations of India board—an industrial
crops for subsistence or accumulation from group whose aims include ensuring minimum
their lands due to drought or lack of access to standards of health and safety on private con-
irrigation systems. struction sites. They are also subject to both
These migrants are typically employed state and federal laws on the protection of
collectively by ‘thekedars’ in their home vil- construction workers’ welfare, namely the
lages or towns either before migrating or upon Maharashtra Building and Other Construction
arrival at their placed of destination, for time- Workers (Regulation of Employment and
bound contracts. They are predominately lone Conditions of Service) Rules, established in
male interstate migrants, but a significant pro- 2007, under the national Building and Other
portion of family migration is also observed Construction Workers Act, 1996.12 However,
(mostly intrastate). This group of migrant various contraventions of such laws and
workers can be considered among the most principles were both directly observed and
vulnerable due to the risks, relations and spa- reported by the participants. Migrant workers
tiality of such labour. Their environments are on construction sites in Maharashtra, there-
also precarious in a literal and physical sense. fore, face a specific range of disadvantages
The construction sites observed in Nashik pre- in that they lack effective protection at both
sented multiple health and safety hazards for state and federal levels. The provisions also
labourers and their families who lived on-site. require that housing for construction workers
These sites of labour were typically isolated be provided on-site with adequate ameni-
from urban infrastructures and represented a ties and facilities, such as infrastructure for
conflation of work and residence, therefore, cooking, toilets and safe drinking water and
11
Place and participant names have been changed in line with research ethics and to protect anonymity.
12
Retrieved from https://maitri.mahaonline.gov.in/pdf/building-and-other-construction-workers-act-1996.pdf
healthcare and crèche facilities, as stated of the anganwadi would also occasionally
in the State of Maharashtra Environmental serve as a meeting place and medical clinic.
Clearance for the project. However, empir- The lanes provided an important source of
ical observations showed divergences from informal ‘protection’ and were seen to encour-
these stipulations rendering precarious sites age a sense of communality at the ‘intra-lane’
of labour. level that evoked the descriptions of similar
The barriers faced by this first group construction sites in Delhi (Betancourt et al.,
included a lack of access to basic health- 2013).
care, intensified in the hazardous and acutely Hospital visits appeared to be the most
resource-poor environments of construction common destination for the labourers and
site camps and brick-kiln sites. In addition, their families in Nashik, outside of Site One.
my findings show that in some cases, access to Though the state of Maharashtra had set up
education and childcare facilities was absent health camps for labour migrants, the district
or restricted for migrants who were compelled collector (DC) noted there was low take-up
to bring their children with them, thus, per- among the migrants themselves, particularly
petuating potential risks of intergenerational for nomadic tribes, as they were reluctant to
vulnerabilities in migrant families (Prusty & use them (key informant interview [KII] with
Keshri, 2015). The spatialization of this type Nashik Municipal Corporation, February
of labour isolates migrant groups from urban 2014). Consistent with findings on the urban
resources and spaces where they can try to poor overall (Pattenden, 2012; Rogaly et al.,
procure entitlements or develop social capital 2002; Unnithan, 2004), private medical care
(Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992; Putnam, 1995). tends to be accessed over public facilities,
The isolated settings also compound the vul- plunging labourers into longer-term debt for
nerabilities of women and children, who tend more costly treatments, particularly follow-
to be less empowered to mobilize and gain ing on-site injuries—prevalent across Site
awareness of their broader surroundings. One.
The migrant construction workers at Site Many migrants hailed from northern and
One resided in a ‘labour camp’. The camp eastern states such as UP and Bihar—two of
was adjacent to the construction site itself and India’s poorest states with historically limited
at the time of my visit consisted of approx- options for rural or urban livelihoods (de Haan,
imately over 500 resident workers. The site 2004; Keshri & Bhagat, 2012; McDowell &
was officially overseen by two safety officers de Haan, 1997). Members of these groups
and at the time of my observation, they had explained that barriers to accessing the PDS
provided support in terms of an on-site do not only thwart food security, but also
crèche (anganwadi) for labourers’ children enact legal security and identity-based bar-
and safety training and medical service inter- riers for migrants who lack documentation.
ventions. However, without strong corporate For example, both lone and family migrants
backing from the construction company itself from West Bengal articulated the heightened
and state commitment, these interventions importance of ration cards and similar docu-
were limited and occasional. The anganwadi, ments to prove their national identities in the
a vital resource in the ‘community’ of the con- face of discrimination from authorities who
struction site, faced difficulties in accessing confuse them with so-called ‘illegal’ migrants
resources and in establishing sustainability. crossing porous borders with the neighbour-
The camp was organized in a series of rows ing country of Bangladesh (Abbas, 2016;
of cramped shelters constructed from canvas Sadiq, 2008).
and corrugated metal. The lanes where mostly A ration card application—necessary for
lone male migrants lived were relatively more accessing the PDS—cannot be made with-
cramped and less sanitary. The pucca structure out proof of identity and local residence. As
Site One covered all light and electricity bills, their initial work period, increasing their
migrants lacked available proof of residence to vulnerabilities.
procure documents for accessing entitlements. The migrants were also limited in terms
This is one explanatory factor in labourers’ of mobility, particularly women, beyond the
preference for private health services, which construction and camp site. Opportunities to
typically did not require official proof of iden- venture into central Nashik seemed limited
tity. Migrants who lacked birth certificates to to healthcare visits. In family-based house-
enrol their children in local schools, relied holds, men usually took charge of shopping
upon the anganwadi which accepted children duties and any household expenditures, over-
of all ages to at the very least, occupy, if not all. Immobility—through either time and
educate their children. The knowledge and work commitments, or lack of knowledge or
management of documents was highly gen- readiness to explore a new area—also lim-
dered among migrants and their families— ited access to facilities and services as well
where the male head of the household usually as social networks, beyond the individual
managed and procured the household doc- lanes and life of the construction site. Though
uments. The limited knowledge of where local non-governmental organization (NGO)
documents are located even within domestic interventions provided some on-site services,
household contexts represents yet another bar- ‘sightings’ of the government (Corbridge et
rier to utilizing such documents for access. al.’s term [2005]) remained minimal, if at all.
The ration card is not only necessary for A lack of awareness regarding the location of
accessing the PDS, but, as conveyed in the administrative offices in town, or where to even
literature, has been regarded as a historically enquire about ration card procedures, prevailed
important proof of identity, necessary for throughout labour migrants living at Site One.
social entitlements, securing work and hous-
ing (MacAuslan, 2011; Routray, 2014). While
none of the labourers interviewed at Site One
Group 2—Naka Workers
had their original ration cards with them,
some mentioned possessing ‘xerox’ copies The second group of labour migrants—loosely
of their original ration cards to serve as proof categorized as casual or day labourers—
of identity, most commonly used for securing occupy a middle space on the ‘spectrum’
sim cards for mobile phones or in the presence and consist mainly of long-term and settled
of police authorities. migrants. These migrants are both interstate
Other barriers related to the lack of ration and intrastate. Many from the latter group
cards are directly linked to the migrants’ status originate from the most marginalized caste
as ‘outsiders’. Local labourers and relatively categories, including ST (also known as adi-
long-term migrants typically had the option vasis), in Maharashtra. These migrants gather
of purchasing groceries on credit in times of and seek work at nakas—roadside junctions
difficulty. This was also considered a ‘life- where contractors employ labourers on daily
line’ for temporary migrants who are paid in or short-term bases, typically in semi- and
an untimely manner, as was also observed unskilled labour. They often jostle directly
among construction workers based in Delhi alongside their local counterparts to seek
(Betancourt et al., 2013). However, this option work. Migrant naka workers tend to live in
is not immediately available to temporary con- urban slum settlements—on reclaimed private
struction workers when they arrive. Networks or public land—sharing spaces and resources
and relationships tend to need time to develop (or limitations of) with local populations.
and become concrete. As a result, barriers are A paradox lies in the findings related to this
temporarily posed to both the open market second group of migrants—they migrate on a
as well as ration subsidies for migrants in medium- or long-term basis (generally more
than 5 or 10 years) but are predominately long-term, or settled, migrants have certain
engaged in casual labour, usually sought advantages according to established narratives
daily at nakas. Most of the observed migrant of migrant integration (de Haas, 2005; Portes
‘naka workers’ had been settled in Nashik for & Zhou, 1993) which posit that knowledge,
a decade or more. The second-highest pro- financial stability and assimilation into local
portion among my participants was consti- social networks and state infrastructure are
tuted by those who had been settled for over accumulated over time. According to sed-
5 years. Nakas are a prominent component entary norms, both intrastate and long-term
of the ‘highly segmented casual labour mar- interstate migrants who have been settled in
ket[s]’ (Mosse et al., 2005, p. 3026) character- their place of destination for 10 years or more
izing cities in western India. Migrant workers would face less intense barriers to access.
who are not recruited through thekedars tend Over time, it is expected that they develop
to seek casual work at nakas, affording both awareness, social networks and financial sta-
a greater degree of independence in terms of bility. This is also facilitated through an offi-
spatial and employer mobility than contract cial process where settled migrant households
labourers have and simultaneously greater can delink their ration cards from their native
precariousness in terms of labour duration. places and apply for a new card in their city
While the importance of temporality in of destination. While this held in some of my
shaping experiences of precariousness and observations—particularly local knowledge
enabling migrants to develop agency has and accumulation of social and communal
been acknowledged for short-term migrants ties—in others, vulnerabilities persist in the
(Rogaly & Thieme, 2012), long-term migrants form of economic deprivations structured
were paradoxically engaged in casual, short- by informalized labour and power distribu-
term and in some cases, sporadic labour, over tions. Some long-term migrants try to pursue
prolonged durations. Labourers engaged in formal paths to access. However, such activ-
casualized relationships had relatively more ities are commonly met with dhakkas and
agency to mobilize access—by formal or are susceptible to both barriers of design and
informal means—to social entitlements and implementation.
other resources. Strategies were also avail- Naka workers typically live in slum
able to this group beyond sites of labour settlements—of varying quality in terms of
to improve their socio-economic standing. access to infrastructure—in the city, sharing
Over time, naka migrants accumulate both space and resources (or the lack thereof) with
skills, and thus wages, and social capital local populations. In these contexts, the recip-
by forging local social networks within and rocal impacts of barriers faced by local and
beyond the neighbourhoods in which they migrant populations become clear, for exam-
settle. The findings show that this group of ple, local communities blamed the diversion
migrants faced dhakkas even when seeking to of subsidized rations to the black market on
follow official routes to accessing the PDS. migrant demand, itself generated by the lack
However, learning from previous experiences of access to the PDS. Significantly, migrant
of dhakkas, either in their places of origin or groups, particularly the long-term and more
in the city, and maintaining a lack of distrust settled migrants, did not vocalize any com-
in the state, many migrants pursue informal plaints concerning local populations. This
routes—such as informal agents—or draw is an unexpected finding given Nashik’s his-
upon their native social networks to over- tory of nativist tensions and the context of
come barriers to the PDS. migrant hostility across urban Maharashtra.
In many ways, the vulnerabilities related Such views were more openly expressed by
to access are similar to those faced by local communities, implying that long-term
the migrants in precarious sites. However migrants are likely to use strategies to help
their integration, such as refraining from shar- The proximity of migrants and their local
ing experiences of hostility or emphasizing an counterparts in both labour markets and living
image of social harmony, in the face of social spaces casts these migrant-specific barriers
as well as structural barriers in the city. into sharp relief. In addition to structural bar-
One example of a slum settlement where riers, other social aspects such as caste and
naka workers reside, is located in the Satpur religion can become more prominent aspects
area and has a population of approximately of identity in the eyes of local communities,
1,115 (Bhamare, 2014). The settlement con- as the sense of migrants’ temporariness as per-
sisted of a mix of pucca and semi-pucca hous- ceived by local residents is dulled over time.
ing and is mainly populated by local residents This can make long-term migrants relatively
and long-term migrants from rural parts of more vulnerable to social discrimination and
Nashik district. They are mainly casual workers nativist resentments from their neighbours,
who find work at several of the nakas nearby, other labourers and even more intensely,
including Pett, Sakal and Gangapur. Migrants exploitation at the hands of ‘semi-institutional’
living here are typically long-term and repre- actors represented by dukandaars and agents.
sent both interstate and intrastate migration. The creation of ‘black markets’ for grains
They described the barriers to the PDS that and cooking fuel represents economic barri-
can be categorized as those related to imple- ers for poor migrants and the adverse impact
mentation. One couple explained that their of unequal PDS access in urban locales. The
household was assigned an ‘above poverty competition within labour markets at nakas is,
line’ (APL) ration card—despite the couple therefore, compounded by the competition for
earning a combined income that fell under tangible resources.
the BPL threshold. However, even in acquir-
ing an APL card, they were faced with severe
dhakkas—bottlenecks, delays and pushbacks.
Group 3—Local Labourers
The migrant couple described multiple hurdles
in the process of acquiring the card. The most The third category of vulnerability is repre-
significant of these were administrative delays sented by local labourers who can be posi-
and limited access to information. Though tioned at the lowest end of the ‘spectrum’.
they arrived in Nashik two decades ago, they Contrary to expectations that local labourers
had only undergone the process of delinking fare significantly better than their migrant
themselves from their original ration card counterparts in accessing the PDS and other
almost a decade after their arrival in the city. state resources (MacAuslan, 2011; Sabates-
According to the migrants working at Wheeler & Waite, 2003), the findings from
nakas, the easiest way of acquiring a card was Nashik show that both groups are at a disad-
through an agent, rather than directly from vantage. Both groups face barriers, though
the state, ‘because if you have an agent, he at different structural levels. While migrants
does everything: he fills out the form, asks for are locked out of access to the PDS due to
the correct documents and gets the signature, barriers of policy design as well as expe-
and cancels your name in the village. I don’t rience barriers related to implementation,
have any idea how to do all this on my own.’ local labourers’ experiences of vulnerability
However, this is not an easy or direct route to are primarily restricted to the latter. As sed-
access—some labourers reported waiting for entary citizens with fixed and local proof of
up to 2 years even with the supposed expe- address, local labourers are eligible for ration
dience of using an agent—representing pro- cards in their locality; however, they also face
tracted barriers to access, further exacerbated barriers of implementation as well as design,
by a collusion between officials and agents in representing a range of corrupt practices from
denying beneficiaries access. rent-seeking and patronage to discrimination
or negligence. Overall, local participants are labourers often indirectly, and sometimes
more readily able to identify and articulate explicitly, articulated nativist sentiments. In
state-specific grievances. They tend to be rel- their perception, the burdens they faced in
atively empowered in terms of awareness and terms of resources, such as PDS rations, and
access to social and financial capital compared labour demand was attributed to migration.
with migrants and can navigate both informal Migrants themselves are viewed as barriers
and formal routes of access. Access to social to access by local communities, in line with
capital differs along lines of caste and gender, the extant literature which highlight ‘nativist’
with certain SC and ST communities facing movements as driven by the very presence of
limitations in their social networks. Wages in migrants themselves, rather than an endoge-
semi-skilled and unskilled sectors also tend to nous aspect of local communities (Weiner,
be segmented according to gender, and less 1978).
explicitly, along caste lines, so these catego- In response to these barriers to accessing
ries of identity are also significant in mediat- the PDS, local labourers are relatively well-
ing access to entitlement outcomes. equipped, compared with labour migrants.
Local labourers face certain barriers of They can navigate informal routes of account-
design. The PDS entitlement itself is designed ability and draw upon social capital (Putnam,
in a way that is biased against children and 1995) and local resources of ‘mediation’
women. It is assigned at the household rather (Berenschot, 2010) to acquire access to ration
than individual level, and in practice, cards do cards, other entitlement documents or the
not typically register female heads of house- food and fuel provisions by themselves.
hold (such as widows or divorcees) or new However, local labourers do not escape bar-
family members by marriage or birth, such riers of design which affect vulnerable, poor
as daughters-in-law or children. This design and marginalized communities in general.
can, therefore, compound traditional patrilin- While barriers of design do not formally lock
eal biases, in terms of provision of nutrition, local labourers out of access in the same way
against such household members (Chinnakali as they do migrants, certain design elements
et al., 2014; Dancer, Rammohan & Smith, of the targeting system and PDS operations
2008). Though there is an official process as implemented in Maharashtra can inhibit
to update ration cards to include new house- access as highlighted in the findings. Certain
hold members, several participants recounted indirect barriers, or at least obstacles, to
experiences of dhakkas when seeking to access are filtered through misinformation and
follow this process. In terms of barriers of can be considered specific to those with fixed
implementation, local labourers experience place of address or being ‘in sight’ of the state
dhakkas mostly in the form of misallocation (Scott, 1998).
or non-allocation of entitlements. For exam- The experience and intensity of access bar-
ple, many households considered themselves riers are correlated with the socio-economic
as BPL according to their income, family size background and identity of the labourers them-
and (lack of) assets but were allocated APL selves. Though selected for being engaged in
entitlements, and thus were barred from ade- informal and low-income labour, living in slum
quate food rations. In response, local labourers settlements in BPL conditions and belong-
can draw from their social networks to pursue ing to ST or SC groups, variation was found
informal routes to access—using agents in the among the labourers themselves depending
informal sector—to procure ration cards or on age, specific caste group, religion, gender,
black market provisions. social connections, family background and
Local labourers observed were typically levels of education. Those who were relatively
engaged in casual and often unreliable forms well-off mainly benefitted through non-labour
of employment in a competitive setting. Local sources, for example, by belonging to higher
caste categories, social connections, inherited local community structures and could use
assets and literacy. And, although the labour these to draw upon supplementary resources.
relations are relatively less precarious than Those more confident in their residential secu-
those of migrants (Breman, 1996, 2010; Lewis rity were more explicit in reprimanding the
et al., 2014), women-headed households, who discretionary practices of officials in the pro-
do not tend to migrate (Keshri & Bhagat, cess of administering ration cards.
2013), victims of permanent injury and illness The findings show that the highest propor-
and other vulnerable groups fare the worst tion of ration card holders was represented by
in terms of access to the PDS and other state local labourers and those who were long-term
resources and face their own range of structur- migrants (more than 10 years), therefore sug-
ally embedded precarities. gesting a correlation between time and spatial
The dichotomization of labour migrants stability and access, aligning with sedentary
and their local counterparts is also fuelled by policy norms. The barriers of design are com-
perceptions—specifically nativist attitudes paratively less influential in determining local
among communities in Nashik. Migrants labourers’ experiences compared with those
themselves are perceived to be a source of of migrants. However, as the findings show,
barriers themselves in accessing the PDS by many households faced a variety of barri-
local labourers (Weiner, 1978). PDS resource ers in accessing the ration cards themselves,
burdens and grain diversions to the black despite their sedentary and locally rooted
market are recurrently attributed to the pres- status. The locals who possessed ration cards
ence of long- and medium-term migrants in a aired multiple grievances emanating from the
given locality. Though the formal and infor- dhakkas impeding the delivery of grains or
mal market dynamics involved in the PDS management of ration cards. The migrants,
are complex and extend beyond intra-urban on the other hand, spoke of the high prices of
community resource disputes, nativist per- household items (food and fuel) purchased on
ceptions stigmatize labour migrants and can the black or open market and the burden this
inhibit their access to social networks, in posed on households already suffering from
addition to state resources, thus, intensifying credit constraints. The misallocation of ration
their ‘hyper-precarious’ lives (Lewis et al., cards across India is commonly reported and
2014). Concomitantly, local labourers per- widespread (Paul, Balakrishnan, Thampi,
ceive migrants themselves as a barrier and Sekur & Vivekananda, 2006), and this was cor-
source of vulnerabilities, highlighting the roborated in my findings, where a significant
reciprocal and socially layered nature of state- proportion of the highest earners consisted of
imposed barriers to access through design and BPL ration card holders, and inversely, a high
implementation. proportion of APL card holders were found in
One of the most striking contrasts in the the lower income brackets.
experiences of local labourers and migrant The local labourers’ description of treat-
experiences was observed in the disposition ment from dukandaars (shopkeepers) and
to fluently and easily vocalize specific griev- open diversion of grains towards the black
ances regarding state resources, such as the market, focused on their hostility, corruption
PDS, compared with that of migrants. Locals and collusion with distributors and suppliers.
more confidently express their grievances in The direct impact of migrants’ lack of access
elaborate detail. Many concerns regarding to rations in local communities is clearly
the misallocation of ration cards and serial depicted in these accounts. Shifting under-
rejections by local actors to provide remedial standings and engagements with the black
action. While the impacts of no PDS access on market are also shown in these interviews—in
food security were reported by all groups— Nashik, it is clearly understood as a recourse
local participants appeared more familiar with for interstate migrants—through highlighting
the burden it causes for local residents, and CONCLUSIONS

also, through the high costs, those imposed on
vulnerable labour migrants. While migration is constitutionally permit-
Overall, the local labourers described ted, states and other institutions enact a range
in this chapter all showed indicators of of indirect or implicit movement controls,
vulnerability—low-income status, precarious including restricted access to social protec-
labour relations and conditions (though not in tion and anti-migrant city planning proce-
the worst forms), living in deprived slums and dures. Strategies at the city level to prevent
socially embedded vulnerabilities, for exam- rural-to-urban migration are usually based

ple, related to gender or caste and religious on fears of overcrowding, slums and crime
identity. Like labour migrants in Nashik, they and spurred on by a desire to become more
also face multiple barriers to accessing state investment-friendly centres (Bhagat, 2017).

social protection including the PDS. They The targeting systems and access structures
either lack access to the PDS by not having a of social protection can also be used as a
ration card at all, or more commonly, possess form of government control over migrants
a misallocated or outdated ration card. Access (MacAuslan, 2011), despite their eligibility
structures for urban poor, overall, including as poor and vulnerable citizens. With India’s
local labourers, are distorted through corrup- population (and urban migration) projected to
tion, collusion, confusion and misinformation increase (Bhagat, 2011) and increased state-
and misallocations, some of these can be artic- led efforts to innovate and mobilize technology
ulated as dhakkas from the state. to improve social and governance outcomes
However, Nashik is a small city, and ‘sight- (Sarkar, 2014), this chapter sheds light on the
ings’ between local labourers and the state importance of designing accountable and port-
seem to be more concentrated and common able social protection programmes in order
than those with migrants. Most people who to be progressive in a way that includes all
were native to the city were familiar with the citizens.
location of the Nashik Municipal Corporation While a strong dichotomy between the
office but tended to associate the institution degree to which labour migrants and local
with practices of mediation, rent-seeking and labourers experience vulnerabilities does not
a site of frequent dhakkas. The local labourers, hold, the experiences of labour migrants are
and also long-term migrants, living in Nashik distinct and variegated. Certain categories
were often unable to disentangle formal and of labour migrants face more intense forms
informal actors in the Nashik Municipal of vulnerability, overall and specifically, in
Corporation (NMC) offices, thus suggesting accessing the PDS. Both migrants and local
both an asymmetry of information between labourers who are poor face a range of barri-
the elite and the urban poor, as well as the ers in accessing the PDS and state resources.
deeply entwined and collusive relationships The findings also confirm that different sets of
between agents and government officials. access conditions exist for migrants and local
The barriers to access here can be attributed labourers.
mainly to barriers of implementation repre- Labour migrants are diverse, and thus
senting traditional forms of rent-seeking and homogenizing them according to catego-
corrupt behaviours and lack of accountabil- ries of labour and wage amounts can be
ity structures, which can enable mixed out- restrictive. As per multidimensional and
comes for citizens, depending on their local or capabilities-based approaches to understand-
migrant status. ing poverty and vulnerability, a spectrum of
vulnerabilities and of precariousness exists
and can offer a useful analytical framework
for understanding the intersectional and insecurity (Devereaux & Sabates-Wheeler,

variegated experiences of labour migrants 2004). By focusing on resource, rather than
within India. Intersecting with spatial and cash transfers, the programme can poten-
temporal categories of labour migration, var- tially alleviate the risk of malnutrition among
ious nuanced and differential experiences poor households and ensure food security in
exist depending on social identities such as households vulnerable to the prioritization
caste, religion, ethnicity and gender, as well of non-food expenditure, for example, where
as socio-political factors such as regional the head of the household is an alcoholic. The
background within India. In terms of lack- PDS can also influence broader health impacts
ing access to the PDS, the place of destina- (Bhalotra, 2002) and economic impacts (Jha,
tion can affect the vulnerabilities of migrants Imai & Gaiha, 2009). In contexts such as
in diverse ways. The impacts are more pro- the precarious sites of labour—where labour
nounced among household migrants, particu- migrants face significant health risks and
larly those with many young children, than for restricted access to healthcare services, pre-
lone male migrants. Migration can provide a carious wage payments and high debt and
stark contrast to well-resourced experiences high food costs in the absence of a ration
in migrant home states or a continuation of card—their economic and health-related vul-
poorly implemented social protections in nerabilities can increase. The findings on the
their home contexts. The gendered dimension vulnerable and precarious conditions in which
of PDS barriers is also highlighted in the find- labour migrants work and live highlight the
ings. The household unit of ration card enti- importance of PDS access in fulfilling its role
tlements does not easily accommodate for the as a social protection programme with poten-
social realities of household patterns in India, tially broad-ranging impacts.
particularly for women. Daughters-in-law The evidence also highlights the instru-
are routinely excluded from the ration cards mental value of the ration card as an identity
of the families they join as well as new chil- card—helping address gaps in ‘substantive’
dren born into joint households. The process citizenship outcomes experienced among
of separating ration cards for new families interstate migrants, and to a lesser extent,
who migrate and leave their joint households among intrastate migrant and local labour-
with in-laws is difficult and prone to dhakkas ers (Abbas, 2016; Jayal, 2009). The combi-
from the state. Discriminations and dhakkas nation of contemporary security concerns
that emerge from barriers of implementation and responsive ‘biopolitics’ (Sarkar, 2014)
can also influence individual ration card allo- and historical prejudices against so-called
cations, according to certain religious and ‘illegal’ international migrants from neigh-
caste categories. Personalized discriminatory bouring countries (Sadiq, 2008) creates pre-
targeting replaces institutional systems of tar- carious conditions for labourers from states
geting in place for programmes such as the such as West Bengal, particularly those who
PDS. These examples demonstrate the ways work in the nativist context of Maharashtra,
in which gender, regional background, caste where recent anti-migrant violence was seen
and religion can impact PDS access even in Nashik. Existing documents that constitute
within temporal and spatial categories of India’s ‘identity infrastructure’ (Sadiq, 2008),
migrants, as well as among local labourers. including the ration card, are biased towards
The role of the PDS is not only instru- sedentary rather than migrant citizens. The
mental for food security but can have indirect value represented by ration cards is linked to
impacts on broader conditions of health, safety identity and security and access to a range of
and security for the claimants. As a social pro- social entitlements and services, such as finan-
tection programme, the PDS is designed to cial services and mobile phone sim card pur-
both promote food security and prevent food chases, that extend beyond their official remit.
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53
Access to Maternal Health
Programmes
Divya Ravindranath
INTRODUCTION from access to basic services including health

and education among others (Borhade, 2011;
Internal migration is a common phenomenon Deshingkar, 2006). Although government-run
in developing countries wherein people move programmes can play a critical role in plug-
within the boundaries of their own country. ging this gap, in general, migrant workers find
Historically, people have moved from lesser it difficult to claim their legal entitlements
developed rural regions to urban centres in while living in the city (Migration Information
order to achieve economic security and social Resource Center [MiRC] and Aide-et-Action,
mobility. Though this transition has largely 2014; UNESCO, 2012). This is ironical con-
been viewed to be necessary and an inevita- sidering that these programmes have in fact
ble part of a country’s development trajectory been designed to alleviate impoverished con-
(Todaro, 1969), there is growing recognition ditions of such poor households (Government
today that migration can also have undesired of India, 2017). Against this backdrop, in this
effects, especially for poor migrant house- chapter, we examine the barriers that impede
holds who live and work on the geographic, female migrant’s access to key maternal health
economic, social and political periphery and nutrition programmes, and also reflect on
of cities (Betancourt, Shaahinfar, Kellner, the implications thereof. We specifically focus
Dhavan & Williams, 2013; Desai, Soni, Vaid on female migrants engaged in the construc-
& Mevada, 2014). Such forms of marginali- tion sector in the city of Ahmedabad, which
zation expose migrant households to various employs a significant proportion of the female
forms of vulnerabilities with complex and migrant workforce (Desai, 2017). This chap-
multiple implications. These are accentuated ter is part of a larger ethnographic study that
by the absence of migrant-friendly policy looked at the health and nutritional well-being
frameworks that further alienate households of migrant women and children.
Access to Maternal Health Programmes 739
BACKGROUND Integrated Child Development

Services
Female Migrants in Construction
Integrated Child Development Services
Work (ICDS) is a flagship programme of the
A large proportion of female migrants undertake Ministry of Women and Child Development,
circular migration wherein they move between Government of India. It was incepted in 1975
their places of origin and destination along and is considered to be one of the world’s
with their families. This pattern of migration largest programmes designed to address
is common among socio-economically mar- maternal and child health. The ICDS is spon-
ginalized communities, particularly Scheduled sored through a fund-sharing arrangement
Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs), between the central government and respec-
more so among those who experience chronic tive state governments. The programme was
poverty, landlessness and rural unemployment brought under the ambit of the National Food
(Bird & Deshingkar, 2009; Thorat & Jones, Security Act, 2013, which aims to provide
2011). Previous research has shown that while comprehensive food security provisions for
migration is an important livelihood strategy, it poor households. The programme is imple-
can also exacerbate female workers’ vulnerabil- mented through localized centres called the
ities (Premchander et al., 2014). This is because Anganwadi centres (AWC), both in rural and
poor female migrants enter into informal work urban India, and focuses on new mothers and
arrangements without access to basic social, children below the age of 6 years (Adhikari &
economic or legal protection. Consequently, Bredenkamp, 2009). In this study, we restrict
they receive less than minimum wages, under- the discussion to the services given during
take long hours of laborious and menial tasks pregnancy and breastfeeding, that is, supple-
and are exposed to poor work and living condi- mentary food, health check-ups and health
tions (Betancourt et al., 2013). Women have the and nutrition education.
triple burden of childcare, construction work
and domestic work. All these aspects adversely
affect women’s overall health, especially those Maternity Benefits Programme
in need of maternal healthcare (Ravindranath,
2018). Under such circumstances, maternal The Maternity Benefits Programme (MBP)
health programmes can play a crucial role in was launched in the year 2010 in 53 dis-
supporting their health needs. tricts and was expanded to the whole coun-
try in 2017. It was also brought under the
National Food Security Act, 2013. It is a
Key Maternal Health Programmes conditional cash transfer programme that pro-
vides compensation to women in the infor-
It is known that timely and quality care during mal sector who experience wage loss due to
pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum pregnancy and childbirth. The overarching
period is critical to secure maternal and child aim of the programme is to improve mater-
health. India has initiated several government nal health-seeking behaviour and aid mothers’
programmes in order to address these issues. ability to give childcare, especially breast-
In this section, we outline three major exist- feeding, in the postpartum period. The cash
ing programmes that provide maternity enti- amount of `5,000 is transferred to the woman
tlements which aim to collectively address after fulfilment of three conditions, early
maternal undernutrition and access to health- registration (`1,000), at least one antenatal
care (Table 53.1). check-up (`2,000) and childbirth and first
Table 53.1 Key Maternal Health Programs in India

Programme Operations and Sponsorship Key Objectives Conditions and Entitlements
ICDS Centrally sponsored scheme, ICDS is targeted towards Key services for women:
recently brought under the children below the age of Supplementary nutrition
ambit of the National Food 6 years and lactating and Health check-up and education
Security Act, 2013 pregnant mothers Referral services
Cost sharing ratio between the Scheme implemented
centre and state through AWC that are
spread all across the country
MBP Implemented by the depart- Cash incentive as partial Direct benefit transfer mode
ment identified by the state compensation for wage loss with total entitlement of `5,000
or union territory (UT), for given to women working in First instalment: Early registra-
example, Women and Child the informal sector tion of pregnancy (`1,000)
Development, Social Welfare, Covers pregnancy and lacta- Second instalment: Received
Health and Family Welfare tion period of the first child at least one antenatal care
Centrally sponsored scheme Aims to improve maternal check-up (after 6 months of
under the ambit of the National health-seeking behaviour pregnancy) (`2,000)
Food Security Act, 2013 and the ability to give child- Third instalment: Childbirth
Grant-in-aid released to states care post delivery is registered and has received
and UTs in a cost sharing ratio the first round of vaccinations
(`2,000)
JSY Under the National Health Promotes institutional deliv- Antenatal care (ANC) check-
Mission eries to decrease neonatal ups including Tetanus and
Centrally sponsored scheme and maternal deaths toxoid vaccine (TT) injections,
Linked to the ICDS pro- Provides counselling for IFA tablets
gramme for assistance institutional delivery and Integrates cash assistance
breastfeeding practices of `1,200 with delivery and
post-delivery care for first two
live births
round of vaccinations (`2,000). The compen- METHODS

sation is restricted to the first child only. The
MBP is a national scheme but is ambiguous The fieldwork for this cross-sectional study
about domicile status. was undertaken between May 2017 and
January 2018 at five construction sites in the
city of Ahmedabad in western India. Entry
Janani Suraksha Yojana to the construction sites was facilitated by
two non-governmental organizations that run
The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) was day care centres for the children of migrant
launched in the year 2005 as part of the safe workers.
motherhood initiative. It is a centrally spon-
sored programme under National Rural Health
Mission that aims to decrease neonatal and
Sample and Data Collection
maternal deaths by encouraging institutional
births through a cash incentive of `1,200. The 1. Female workers (n = 55) who had had at least one
programme covers delivery and postpartum child in the last 5 years or were currently pregnant
care for the first two childbirths, including were interviewed for this study. These interviews
counselling for breastfeeding. were in-depth and touched upon a broad range
of topics, including health experiences, migration
patterns and access to government-run health
programmes. The interviews were conducted in
the morning before workers left for work or in the Backward Classes. There was greater diver-
afternoon during their lunch breaks. The location sity in ‘place of origin’ with most coming
for interview was the day care centre or the labour from districts within Gujarat, Rajasthan and
colonies where the households lived. Madhya Pradesh that are close to the city of
2. Focus group discussions (group 1 = 8; group 2 = 10)
Ahmedabad, as well as from districts in states
were conducted with two mixed groups of men
who belonged to various parts of the country. The
like Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal,
only criterion for inclusion was that the participant which are farther away from Ahmedabad. The
should have had at least one child in the last 5 sample reflected very low levels of educa-
years or has a partner expecting a child. These dis- tion among women, with 74 per cent report-
cussions were undertaken at the labour colonies ing that they had never been to school. Most
during lunch breaks. women (69%) were unable to estimate their
3. Using snowball sampling, we also reached out age bracket.
to other stakeholders (n = 13), such as construc-
tion workers’ union leaders, doctors, academic
researchers working on health or migration,
government employees, staff of not-for-profit BARRIERS TO MATERNAL HEALTH
organizations and day care staff. Semi-structured
PROGRAMMES
interviews were conducted with this group of
people.
Knowledge of Maternal Health
Programmes
DATA ANALYSIS Most women in the study sample had never

heard about the JSY or the MBP. Of the
women who had heard about the MBP, six
Interviews and focus group discussions
had registered for it with the help of a day care
(FGDs) were conducted in Hindi and Gujarati,
staff member. Among them, one woman did
the local languages that are spoken by the
not receive compensation (reason explained
workers. The interviews were then translated
below), while the others were waiting to
and transcribed in English by the researcher
receive theirs. With respect to the JSY, seven
and her research assistant, who are both fluent
women claimed to have been registered for
in the said languages. All data was analysed
the scheme, one did not receive any compen-
using a dual-coding mechanism where at first a
sation and others were waiting for the same
priori coding—codes created beforehand were
(Table 53.2).
marked out—followed by emergent coding,
A majority of women had heard about the
that is, codes drawn from the text. This dual
ICDS programme and over three-fourths of
and iterative approach was necessary to com-
them suggested that they had visited the AWC
pare and contrast our data with the existing
at least once in the past. The following two
concepts and categories in literature and also
simultaneously develop newer themes.
Table 53.2 Knowledge of Maternal Health
Programmes among Female Workers (n = 55)
Do you know about Yes 10
RESULTS the Maternity Benefits No 45
Programme?
Do you know about the Yes 18
Sample Characteristics Janani Suraksha Yojana? No 37
A majority of the female participants in the Do you know about the Yes 42
study belonged to ST groups (76%), while Integrated Child Development No 13
Services programme?
the rest were from SC groups and Other
comments by female participants indicate I had visited the anganwadi (for ICDS services)
this— in the village during my first pregnancy but did
not go there the second time because I was in
Yes. When I was pregnant I went there. And then the city.
again after my child was born. They used to give I went there a few times. They gave me cooked
hot food. They also gave my child some medi- food. But now I am here. If I go again, maybe I
cines I think. will go. Let’s see.
Our child used to get egg, and sometimes I
would also get food. Two other women also reported that the
Anganwadi workers in their villages refused
We asked a maternal health activist why to register them after their return from migra-
according to her the ICDS programme was tion. However, they were unable to articulate
better known in comparison to the other two the reasons for this refusal.
programmes, and she attributed it to the phys- Based on her past experience of work-
ical infrastructure— ing closely with the ICDS programme, a
day care staff member provided a plausible
In every village there is an Anganwadi centre.
explanation—
Now whether that works or not is a different
story. But the fact is that there is space given to it
The Anganwadi workers are incentivized when
and there are workers appointed. If the village is
women register themselves. But if women don’t
lucky the staff is also motivated to do something.
come back for check-ups the worker gets pulled
So over time we have succeeded in making the
up by the higher ups. She would rather not reg-
general population more aware of it. With other
ister migrant women than show a drop in the
schemes it is not the same, it is more on paper
visits.
and you can’t expect the poor to automatically
become aware of these things.
With reference to the MBP, one woman who
had submitted her application said that she
was unable to fulfil the conditions outlined in
High Mobility the scheme because of migration and this led
to a cancellation of her application process,
Women reported that migration was a constant
even though she had completed the first two
feature in their lives. A majority of women
check-ups mandated under the scheme—
(n = 38) reported spending 6–10 months of
the year in the city, though only shorts spells Didi (day care staff member) registered my appli-
of time as they periodically returned to the cation. I went for two check-ups. But I had to
village for agricultural work and various return to the village to have my baby. When I
came back after a few months to the city, they
socio-cultural occasions, such as weddings or
told me I can’t get the money. [...] no, they didn’t
festivals. Others had been away from home for even give me money for the previous visits […]
several years, ranging from 1–5 years. This not sure why. I didn’t go back to ask, the lines are
latter group had also migrated to other cities very long in that office.
over time. Overall, most women reported high
mobility within the city as they moved from Another female participant shared a similar
one construction site to another, at the end of experience with reference to the JSY—
each project cycle.
I had the registration card. They said if I come back
When asked if mobility impacted their to the hospital (in the village) for delivery they will
access to the ICDS programme, most women give me money. But it (delivery) happened in the
were unsure, but a few women replied in the city. I didn’t get that money in the city.
affirmative. Two female participants shared
the following—
A maternal health activist told us that the For every benefit or scheme, the worker needs
conditions created several barriers for female to be registered in the labour department. The
workers don’t have time for it. And the contrac-
migrants— tors prefer not to register workers so that they
can get away with everything. But if you try to
The conditions are not easy to follow for migrant
register migrants (in other programmes), the first
women. How can she go back for every check-up
question they ask for is residence proof. As long
if she is not in one place? Instead of assuming
as the migrant is from within the state the officers
that it’s the women’s responsibility to keep up,
in the labour department are willing to help.
when actually it is the failure of the programme
to be more universally available.
When we sought a government official’s
response to this point, he said
Domicile Status No, it is not that (about domicile status), but

about the budgetary allocations. Most of these
Most women in our sample claimed they had schemes receive shared funds (shared by the
state-central governments), we don’t have
no information regarding ICDS centres in the
enough funds to give people from other states.
city. They also shared an implicit assumption But we try whenever we can and we do it.
that the ICDS programme was tied to domicile
status. As mentioned by this interstate migrant: A maternal healthcare activist, however,
refuted this claim suggesting that the
I don’t think so. It’s only in the village. Where will
we go looking for the centre here? I don’t think
anti-migrant prejudice was inherently deep
they will take us. We are not Gujarati. in government programmes:
It is about the domicile status clearly. There is

With respect to the MBP and JSY, day care
this whole attitude that the state government
staff members who have been trying to reg- should only look after its own people and so
ister workers for these programmes reported forth. This completely defeats the purpose of
that women needed to present a document these schemes. ICDS and MBP are national pro-
proving their domicile status in the city to grammes, so they should be available in all India.
Migrant workers are among the poorest in the
access these services:
country. They absolutely deserve to receive these
entitlements. But they make so much fuss that
They won’t accept our form without proof (dom-
workers are not motivated enough to seek it.
icile proof). I have tried it before.
Less than 10 per cent of women in the sample

had a labour card which is a document
accepted as domicile proof. The three most Limited Scope
commonly cited reasons by female partici-
pants for not having the labour card was ‘don’t A construction union leader brought to our
know about it’, ‘big lines at the labour depart- attention the limitations of the MBP:
ment’, ‘don’t know the procedure’. As pointed In my opinion, though the schemes are a good
out by one female participant who had tried to way forward, they provide very little compensa-
get a labour card— tion. How do you expect women to survive on
`6000 throughout her maternity break. That’s
We went there twice. But there were hundreds not sufficient. Same with the money given for
of people so we came back. We cannot spend an institutional birth. It’s not enough in the city.
entire day there every time.
He added:
A construction union leader said that though it
was the builder’s responsibility to register all The scheme is available only for the first two chil-
workers, it was rarely done— dren. Most of these women have 5–6 children.
And we know that with each birth their health is
likely to get worsened. The scheme should take She (wife) delivered at the construction site. We
this into account. would have gone to the doctor (private practi-
tioner), but he asked for `25,000. We didn’t
The maternal health activist also elaborated have that much money.
on this concern, suggesting that there were
loopholes in existing family planning pro- When we asked participants if they were more
grammes, which were treated independently likely to have frequent health check-ups with
from maternal health programmes: access to financial provisions under these
government programmes, we received mixed
This one-or-two-child norm is tied to the family responses as seen in the comments below:
planning agenda. And in principle it may have
some validity. But if you look closely, once again I don’t know that for sure. We will have to see.
the burden is on the woman. The question is why
Yes. If they give us money we will go (to hospital).
are families having so many kids—is it related
to failure of education? Or is it poverty? Or is
it about the inability of the family planning pro- Lack of access to the ICDS programme also
gramme to reach everyone? Then it shouldn’t it meant no access to other provisions such as
be the state’s liability? Why is it being transferred nutritious food and health counselling. As
to the women again and again? we observed during the fieldwork, pregnant
women did not increase their food consump-
tion and the two common reasons given were
‘did not have time’ or ‘did not know’. A
EXPERIENCES AND IMPLICATIONS IN maternal healthcare activist explained the sig-
THE ABSENCE OF MATERNAL HEALTH nificance of the programme:
PROGRAMMES
The first thing we think about is money. Which is
of course the central reason why women don’t
Inability to Seek Care seek care. But it’s not just that. Think about the
other kinds of care like counselling for looking
Female participants noted that access to
after the child post-delivery, or counselling and
healthcare in general was restricted because provision of healthy food which is part of the
of financial constraints and paucity of time. ICDS. Women don’t have access to all that as well.
Households noted that they preferred to seek
private medical care because they perceived
such facilities to be better. However, private
Early Return to Work
care was expensive because of which several
households reported delaying or avoiding During our fieldwork, we met several preg-
antenatal care visits. Only six women in our nant women who continued to undertake labo-
sample reported having three antenatal care rious tasks during pregnancy. The commonest
visits. The most commonly cited reason for reason was financial constraints, as explained
not having antenatal care check-up was high by these two female participants:
costs, as noted by this female participant:
When we are in the city, I cannot sit at home.
Every visit to the doctor costs `500. One-time it One person’s wage cannot run our house. I have
cost us `1000. We can’t afford that so we don’t to work as long as I can or else it’s better to go
go to the doctor. back to the village. But there is no work there.
Even if I go to the village, I will work. There are
Sixteen women said they did not have an insti- debts to pay.
tutional birth. One male participant noted that
his wife was unable to have institutional birth Day care staff members pointed out that this
because it was very expensive: was the exact reason why programmes like the
MBP and ICDS were necessary:
It is saddening to see pregnant women and lac- Our findings, however, point towards
tating women return to work this early. It affects glaring gaps that disable female migrants
their health and the child’s health too because
they are unable to take care of the child. This
from using the three key maternal health
is why the ICDS and the MBP need to be made programmes. A small proportion of women
available. in our study sample were aware of the MBP
(18%) and JSY (32%) programmes. Among
those who had registered for these schemes,
a few reported they had failed to adhere to
DISCUSSION AND POLICY the conditions because of migration. In other
RECOMMENDATIONS words, women were unable to follow up with
the same healthcare centre each time, which
Though there has been some progress in the rendered their application useless. A signifi-
past decade, poor maternal health and nutrition cant proportion of women (80%) claimed to
and inadequate access to maternal healthcare be aware of their entitlements under the ICDS
continue to remain major causes of concern programme and most of them had visited the
in India. Numerous studies in India have AWC at least once in the past. However, we
shown maternal health programmes like the found that workers had an explicit assump-
JSY and its state-level variants can improve tion of ‘ineligibility’ in the city because of
access and ability to seek healthcare, increase their domicile status, even though the ICDS
institutional deliveries as well as reduce programme is universal in nature. Most work-
out-of-pocket expenditures (Govil, Purohit, ers did not have the required document to
Gupta & Mohanty, 2016; Shah, Modi, Shah prove domicile status in the city, and women
& Desai, 2013). The National Family Health in particular expressed that it was not easy to
Survey (NFHS, 2015–2016) suggests that at acquire it.
the national level, among women who are Findings from our study and other stud-
eligible, only 36.4 per cent women received ies in India suggest that in general, migrant
financial assistance under the JSY (for birth households experience poor health outcomes
in the last 5 years) (International Institute for because of informal work arrangements,
Population Sciences [IIPS] and ICF, 2017). exposure to difficult work environments
With respect to the ICDS programme, at the and poor living conditions. In addition, their
national level, overall uptake of ICDS ser- access to healthcare services is derailed by
vices during pregnancy (supplementary food: factors like lack of familiarity with urban
51.5%, health check-up: 42.9%, health and healthcare systems, high costs, financial con-
nutrition education: 38.5%) and while breast- straints as well as time paucity which that pre-
feeding (supplementary food: 47.5%, health vent them from active utilization of maternal
check-up: 37.1%, health and nutrition educa- healthcare services (Betancourt et al., 2013;
tion: 35%) was not very high in the country. Kusuma, Kumari & Kaushal, 2013; Unnithan-
However, studies have shown that the ICDS Kumar, McNay & Castaldo, 2008). A signifi-
services can play a critical role in improv- cant proportion of women in our sample had
ing maternal health outcomes, especially poor maternal health experiences (47% were
through supplementary food services (Avula, underweight). And yet, women were unable to
Kadiyala, Singh & Menon, 2013; Saxena & stay away from work, have a better quality of
Srivastava, 2009). It is important to note here diet or engage in extended care during preg-
that while many studies have critically eval- nancy. Research has shown that these aspects
uated these programmes, to the best of our adversely impact maternal health outcomes
knowledge, they have not been reviewed from (Amugsi et al., 2016). Under such circum-
migrant households’ perspectives. stances, as pointed out by various stakehold-
ers in the study, access to ICDS is crucial as
it provides supplementary food, health check- 3. Increase outreach: while occupational health haz-
ups and health and nutrition education. It has ards are commonly experienced among migrant
been well documented that maternal coun- workers, other forms of health experiences and
selling and access to nutrition is crucial for needs are rarely acknowledged. To address mater-
nal health among this group, concentrated out-
positive health outcomes during pregnancy
reach programmes must be undertaken to increase
and in the lactating period (Kavle & Landry, awareness about health programmes and enti-
2018; Lartey, 2008). While a greater number tlements. This can be done by systematic efforts,
of women in the sample reported having such as providing access to cheaper and healthier
institutional births (over 50%), most did not food, organizing mobile health clinics and improv-
receive antenatal and postnatal care services. ing living arrangements in high-migration density
Women worked late into their pregnancy and regions in the city. Advocacy for better labour laws
were forced to return to work immediately must go hand in hand with advocacy for access
after childbirth due to financial constraints to health programmes. Migrant workers fall in the
(Ravindranath, 2018). The MBP and JSY can poorest-of-the-poor category and the state cannot
help improve access to healthcare as they cover continue to ignore this population.
the cost of care, an important factor for house-
holds experiencing financial constraints. It is,
hence, absolutely crucial that maternal health
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
programmes discussed above are fine-tuned to
address female migrants’ health needs.
Based on our findings, we provide a few Access to construction sites was provided
policy recommendations: by two not-for-profit organizations that also
engage in educating and counselling mothers.
1. Portability: Female migrants encounter a double As a result, women in our study sample may
health jeopardy as they are less likely to receive have been more aware and informed about the
healthcare in the village due to migration and are programmes mentioned here than those who
also unable to access the same in the city for rea- had no access to the information. Furthermore,
sons such as lack of domicile status. Moreover, they our study is also based on a small sample of
are unable to fulfil the conditions imposed by the female migrants undertaking informal work
JSY and MBP. These conditions must be waived or in the construction sector. Though the find-
must be made portable across various locations for ings cannot be generalized to all migrants’
female migrants. For instance, a woman may have experiences, our study provides a framework
her first check-up in the village and the second in
for similar enquiry with reference to female
the city. Irrespective of her location, she should be
able to receive the amount due.
migrants in other sectors, such as mining,
2. Sensitize officials: The current implementation domestic work, manufacturing and trade.
process has an inherent anti-migrant bias, due to
which government officials are unwilling to invest
in migrant workers who cannot prove domicile
status, especially if they are from other states. CONCLUSION
These forms of prejudices must be overcome,
especially because Article 19 of the Constitution Understanding health experiences that are
of India gives its citizens the right to ‘move freely specific to migrants is necessary in order to
within the territory of India’. Greater efforts must address maternal health concerns among these
be undertaken to ensure that the MBP, JSY and groups of women. To begin with, it is necessary
ICDS are operated as universal programmes, that
for government programmes to acknowledge
is, they are made available to all female migrants
from marginalized households, irrespective of their
migration as an integral part of households’
location. economy and life cycle and create programmes
that are sensitive to this. However, even though
migrant households contribute to the city’s Borhade, A. (2011). Health of internal labour migrants in
growth through their labour—an important India: Some reflections on the current situation and
factor of production—they continue to remain way forward. Asia Europe Journal, 8(4), 457–460.
invisible in the policy discourse (Government Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-011-
0293-z
of India, 2017; UNESCO, 2013). As pointed
Desai, R. (2017). Entitlements of seasonal migrant
by Borhade (2011), while health policies and construction workers to housing, basic ser-
programmes are based on disaggregated data vices and social infrastructure in Gujarat’s cities:
among those in the lowest wealth quintile, by Background policy paper (No. 35). Ahmedabad.
region and caste groups, migration is rarely Retrieved from https://cept.ac.in/UserFiles/File/
acknowledged as a form of vulnerability. This CUE/Workingpercent20Papers/Revisedpercent-
is peculiar, considering that the country has 20New/WPpercent2035percent20revisedpercent20-
an estimated 100 million temporary migrants percent20Entitlementspercent20ofpercent20Season-
who undertake migration for work, most of alpercent20Migrantpercent20Constructionpercent
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Ahmedabad: Centre for Urban Equity, CEPT Univer-
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Deshingkar, P. (2006). Internal migration, poverty and
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54
Challenges to Stakeholders
A n s a r i P. A .
Caroline Osella
INTRODUCTION migrants account for 40 per cent of the urban

population (movement of people from rural to
Migration is the process of leaving one’s urban areas). The Report also states that there
own home and moving towards a new area in are four times as many internal migrants in
search of work or livelihood (Ramakrishnan the world as there are international migrants
& Arora, 2015). Many academic studies focus (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009; IOM, 2015).
on situations in which the place where people India has been observed by some scholars as
come from (source area or place of origin) and a relatively immobile society (Bryan, 2007;
the place where people move to (place of des- Chatterji, 2017; Davis, 1951). Yet, as the pre-
tination) are in different nations, such as from vious studies shows, even by conservative
India to Gulf countries—international migra- estimates, three out of every ten Indians are
tion. Yet internal migrants1—people who internal migrants (Faetanini & Tankha, 2013).
migrate within national boundaries—are more Hence, as we discuss in this study, most of the
significant in number compared with interna- internal migrants are uncounted and invisi-
tional migrants. However, internal migrants ble in India. In a rare overview of migration,
are often ignored by researchers and inter- Osella and Gardner (2004) take both inter-
national organizations (Du Toit, 1990). The nal and external migrations into account and
Human Development Report (UNDP, 2007, p. under the same frame. We build upon this
2) reveals that the number of internal migrants work in this study.
was four times higher (740 million) than
international migrants in India (214 million).
In Asia, Africa and Latin America, internal
1
The Census of India defines an internal migrant as a person residing in a place other than his/her place of birth
or one who has changed his/her usual place of residence to another place. The NSSO confines itself to the UPR
definition. In both the surveys, a resident is defined as one who has been staying in a location for 6 months or
more (except newly born infants) (Srivastava, 2011).
TRENDS OF INTERNAL MIGRATION IN ‘Contrary to the conventional understand-

INDIA ing on urbanization and migration, high rates
of internal migration into the urbanized areas
In India, a large section of the population has have continued despite rising levels of (or per-
been migrating for survival. Internal migra- sistent) urban poverty. The rationalization vest
tion in India happens as a response to regional in the increasing urban informal sector which
disparities in socio-economic development symbolize a significant pull’ (Deshingkar &
within the national borders. In general, people Grimms, 2004). Whereas persistent urban
migrate from lesser developed regions to rel- poverty may not be true of Kerala, urbaniza-
atively better developed regions in search of tion and increasing opportunities in the infor-
livelihood and employment opportunities mal sector have attracted migrant labourers in
(Premi, 1998; Rogaly, 2003). Semi-skilled, large numbers. The remittance-fuelled boom
unskilled and illiterate migrants (both males in construction has been a significant part of
and females) comprise the larger sections of this (Surabhi & Kumar, 2011).
migrant workers in India, and most of them
are engaged in low-skilled work and earn very
little. According to the 2001 Census, 14.4 mil-
lion people migrated for work. The Census of TRENDS OF INTERNAL MIGRATION
India (2007) states that one-third of the total IN KERALA
internal migrants who changed their residence
in India cited better employment opportu- The early phase of out-migration from Kerala
nities and earnings as the reason for migra- to Gulf in the 1970s already began to attract
tion. Recent findings from the 64th round of a large number of workers, making Kerala
the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) emerge as an internal migration destination.
on internal migration in India bring forth the Many of the out-migrants from Kerala were
fact that nearly 30 per cent of rural migrants semi-skilled, working as electricians, heavy
and 56 per cent of the urban population had drivers, masons, carpenters and so on. Wages
migrated due to employment-related rea- in Gulf countries were significantly higher
sons (NSSO 2007–2008; Upadhyaya, 2015). than at home, making it a strong pull factor.
Internal labour migration in India has begun Socio-cultural factors also played their part,
to become a subject of widespread research as Malayalis, noted for their high educational
(Kamble, 1983; Warrier, 2001). attainments, preferred not to take up manual
At the same time, India is also one of the or blue-collar work at home, for status rea-
largest recipients of international remittances, sons. Emigration of these semi-skilled work-
where about 50 per cent of remittances are ers mopped up Kerala’s underemployment,
used for family maintenance. Kerala alone while also creating spaces and better options
accounts for about 40 per cent of Indian within Kerala for workers from other states.
household remittances. Kerala (along with While international migration has been
Punjab and Goa) reports high international discussed widely, both in public sphere and in
migration—over 10 times the national average academic study, this large inflow of migrant
(Narayana, Venkiteswaran & Joseph, 2013). workers into Kerala has not received much
This large international out-migration, a pre- attention from policymakers or in the aca-
cipitous fall in fertility and rapid urbanization demic arena. Yet, it is estimated that in 2012,
has seen Kerala attracting internal migrants in Kerala received over 25 million migrant
large numbers. Urbanization is one of the key workers from other states of India (Narayana
‘pull’ factors of migration. et al., 2013), which rose to 30–40 million
in 2017, making up almost 10 per cent of
Challenges to Stakeholders 751
Kerala’s total population (Peter & Narendran, SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
2017, p. 2). These migrant workers were from STUDY
the rest of India, attracted towards Kerala for
better wages, which were twice the national Migrants often face socio-economic chal-
average (Kumar, 2011). The wage table in lenges in developing countries like India.
Surabhi and Kumar (2011) shows, for exam- Even in Kerala, since 2012, many policies and
ple, that daily wage rate in Tamil Nadu for a initiatives have been initiated by the state and
male worker was `96, compared with `226 central governments for the migrant workers
daily rate for Kerala. While Surabhi and in the state, especially for migrant workers
Kumar do not mention discriminatory differ- from West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Tamil
entials in rates for non-locals, in our experi- Nadu. However, these workers are led further
ence, part of the attractiveness for employers into exploitation in the unorganized sectors in
of hiring non-local workers is the common the state. They are paid comparatively lower
practice in Kerala of paying a lower rate to wages and forced to stay in poor living con-
outsiders of the state. In 2017, in a rural part ditions. They also work and live in the place
of Alappuzha district, Osella was quoted without proper knowledge of their rights. A
`1,000 per day for unskilled manual work large section of workers suffers from health
for Keralites and `700 a day for ‘Biharis, issues due to poor sanitation and unhealthy
Bengalis, Tamils, workers from Odisha and environment. However, while local workers
so on’. During the field survey conducted in are in a position to secure their rights, and
October–November 2017, it was found that Kerala’s Trade Unions have been highly suc-
there are migrant workers in Perumbavoor cessful in bargaining for better pay and work-
area of Cochin, especially those who work in ing conditions, migrants remain unorganized
the plywood industry and other allied sectors, and are also treated as outsiders in the state.
who earn less than `400–500 per day, while Relatively better wages than the national aver-
a local worker earns `900–1,000 per day for age and comparatively more job opportunities
similar work. It is also interesting to note still mean that Kerala can attract migrants. In
that the lack of negotiation power makes the this scenario, Ansari conducted a study which
earning capacity of migrants more challeng- helps to understand the specific question of
ing in Kerala society. In plywood industries, the issues and challenges which take place at
migrants are often paid for their work on a the interface of Kerala state and its migrants.
weekly basis at `2,500–3,000 for 6 days of The study focuses on government officials and
work (which is equal to `450–500 per day). internal migrants in the state.
While it is also noteworthy that migrant work-
ers who have completed 8–10 years in Kerala
are able to communicate in the local language
and understand the socio-cultural differences OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
of Kerala earn `650–800 per day. Mostly,
these experienced workers are paid well and 1. To understand the issues and challenges between
selected as supervisors who assume the job government officials and migrants in developing
of handling comparatively less experienced countries like India, with a specific focus on Kerala.
workers. 2. To analyse the impact and effectiveness of policies
Figure 54.1 shows the easiest and most for migrants in the state.
convenient rail route that favour a flow of 3. To analyse the level of policy implementation and
enquire into the life of internal migrants in the
migrant labourers towards Kerala.
state.
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
Uttarakhand
Haryana
Delhi(NCT)
Arunachal Pradesh
Sikkim
Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Assam
Bihar Nagaland
Meghalaya
Bangladesh Manipur
Jharkhand Tripura
Gujarat Madhya Pradesh West Bengal Mizoram
Chhattisgarh
Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli Odisha
Maharashtra
Telangana
Goa
Andhra Pradesh
Arabian Sea Karnataka Bay of Bengal
Andaman and Nicobar
Puducherry
Tamil Nadu
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Railway Route
Major Source States
Data Source: CMID Field Survey, 2016-2017.
Rail Route: Adapted from Indian Railway Map
Figure 54.1 Movement of Migrant Workers from Northern India towards Kerala
Source: Peter and Narendran (2017).
Disclaimer: This figure is not to scale. It does not represent any authentic national or international boundaries and is
used for illustrative purposes only.
DATA METHODOLOGY information2 on the number of migrant work-

ers and very little work has been done around
In dealing with the relationship between issues such as access to legal protection or
migrant workers and government officials information about provenance and socio-
and with the aim to understand the issues and economic background of workers.
challenges of government, Ansari collected
primary data from both migrants and state
officials, as follows: Legal Protection (Rights) Available
for Migrant Workers in the State
• Observation method: Use of the observation
method helps to understand the socio-cultural and Various legal instruments derived from the
economic issues of respondents Central and State governments are meant to
• Schedule: Semi-structured interview schedules protect migrants’ rights. Among them, the
were distributed among migrants and government
most important one is the Interstate Migrant
officials, such as district/assistant labour officers,
police officials heading migrant units, judges and
advocates dealing with issues of migrants, civil Condition of Services) Act,3 1979. This act is
society and non-governmental organizations intended to regulate the employment of inter-
(NGOs). The main goal here was to understand state migrant workers and to provide guar-
awareness about rights and effectiveness of policy anteed conditions of service. It specifies that
implementation in the state, which is discussed in equality of wages should be ensured between
in the following. As most migrants speak neither migrant labourers and others—an injunction
English nor Malayalam, Ansari translated ques- that is, as we have seen, routinely ignored in
tions for them, as a Malayalam speaker who is Kerala. Other major laws and acts which are
based in north India and knows Urdu and Hindi, meant to support and protect internal migrants
Ansari was able to work between languages to
are as follows:
gather data.
• Minimum Wages Act, 1948: 4 This Act ensures mini-
mum wages for all workers in India, irrespective of
their domicile or regional status.
RIGHTS, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF • Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,
MIGRANT WORKERS 1970: This Act applies to every organization in
which 20 or more workmen are employed. It spec-
In this section, we discuss various legal provi- ifies that certain facilities should be guaranteed by
sions, issues and challenges faced by internal the contractor, such as sufficient supply of pure and
migrants. While the flow of internal migrants clean drinking water, latrines and urinals, washing
to Kerala is estimated to be in the range of facilities and first aid facilities.
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: This Act guaran-
3–4 million, the state lacks exact statistical
tees equal payment and remuneration to male and
2
During the primary survey, it was found that neither the labour department nor the government of Kerala have
the official record of migrants in the state.
3
The Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, (ISMW Act) 1979
is an Act enacted to regulate the conditions of service of interstate labourers under the Indian labour law. Please
refer to http://labour.tripura.gov.in/sites/default/files/Inter-StateMigrantWorkmenAct1979.pdf
4
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is an Act concerning Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that must
be paid to skilled and unskilled labours. The Indian Constitution has defined a ‘living wage’ that is the level of
income for a worker which will ensure a basic standard of living, including good health, dignity, comfort, educa-
tion and provide for any contingencies. However, to keep in mind an industry’s capacity to pay the constitution
has defined a ‘fair wage’.
female workers for same or similar nature of work. home state is seen as ethical justification for
This is also routinely overlooked. the ‘ethnic premium’. It might be tempting to
• Building and Other Construction Workers speculate that this practice has grown out from
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of the Malayalis’ exposure to Gulf economies,
Service) Act, 1966 5: This Act is intended for reg-
where stratification of roles and wages reaches
ulation of employment and conditions of service
among building and other construction workers in
such extreme levels of nuance it is sometimes
establishments employing 10 or more building or named as ‘ethnocracy’ (Longva, 1997; Vora &
construction workers, guaranteeing safety, health Koch, 2015). We would, more cautiously, say
and welfare measures under this Act. Employers that exposure to working practices in the Gulf
are supposed to provide free accommodation have normalized this state of affairs. There was
(temporary living spaces) to all building workers. certainly a longstanding practice, long before
• Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 6: This Act the Gulf migration boom, of bringing rural
assures a fair compensation for workers pertaining female Tamil workers into Kerala as domestic
to the issues of industrial accidents/occupational workers and caregivers. These workers were
diseases in the due course of employment, which made accessible to the Malayali middle-class
may result in disablement or death.
exactly because of wage differentials between
• Payment of Wages Act, 1936 7: This Act guarantees
regular and decent payment of wages. It also pre-
local Malayali and out-of-state workers. More
vents all other means of economic exploitation by historical research on pre-Gulf internal migra-
the employer. tion is needed.
• Factories Act, 1948: This Act is intended to ensure
adequate safety measures and to promote the
health and welfare of workers employed in fac-
Issues and Challenges of Migrant
tories using power and employing 10 or more
workers. Workers in the State
Working Conditions of Migrants
As we may expect, in spite of the above legal
framework for the protection of workers in Migrant workers in Indian states like Kerala
Kerala, lack of socio-political will leads to the face similar vulnerabilities as in any other
poor implementation of these laws. Rao (2016) state in India—notably the option of occu-
is among those who highlighted the immense pying only that workspace which is avoided
gap which exists across India between the laws by the native workers. In this, they form part
in principle and the reach of the law in prac- of India’s staggering 91 per cent of work-
tice. It is seen as quite natural among Malayali ers who are in the informal and unorganized
employers that there exists a wage difference sector (Dasgupta & Kar, 2018). In-migrants
received by the migrant labourers and the are forced to engage in comparatively low-
local labourers. The fact that wages can be so skilled and low social value jobs, which have
much higher than the minimum wages in their huge physical labour demands and exposure
5
Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 No.
27 of 1996. The aim of this Act is to regulate the employment and conditions of service of building and other
construction workers and to provide for their safety, health and welfare measures.
6
The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, is one of the important social security legislations. It aims at provid-
ing financial protection to workmen and their dependants in case of accidental injury by means of payment of
compensation by the employers.
7
Payment of Wages Act, 1936, regulates the payment of wages to certain classes of people employed in indus-
tries and its importance cannot be underestimated. The Act guarantees payment of wages on time and without
any deductions except those authorized under the Act. This Act does not apply to persons whose wages are
`10,000 or more per month.
to higher risk of accidents and death (Peter, department in the state. Moreover, almost
2016). Majority of migrant workers do not none of the labour legislations which exist in
have access to any safety measures in their Kerala are obeyed by employers in the case of
work to reduce their vulnerabilities towards migrant workers. The workers generally live
health hazards. Workers’ lack of legal aware- in makeshift camps, overcrowded rooms and
ness is often exploited by employers. The ILO other shared accommodation which would
principle of an eight-hour work schedule is come under the ‘slum’ category—with partial
not respected, with shifts running on average lights and ventilation and no separate kitchen
at anything from 10–12 hours. Workplaces or toilet. Existing studies confirm Ansari’s
rarely have restrooms, safety or first-aid kits,findings that access to safe water and sanita-
or even sufficient ventilation or lightning tion facilities are also substandard (Chandran
(Surabhi & Kumar, 2011). & Mariyam, 2017; Saikia, 2014). Even for this
shared substandard accommodation, migrants
are charged high rental rates, disproportionate
Issues: Social Exclusion and Impact of to the facilities provided. Congested living
conditions and contaminated water make these
Policies for Migrants
migrants highly vulnerable to diseases such as
In most of the unorganized sectors, migrant jaundice and tuberculosis (Prasad-Aleyamma,
workers are usually engaged through a labour 2017). Migrant access to basic health facili-
contractor to whom the work has been out- ties is constrained both by work timings and
sourced by a principal employer. This con- by language barriers; hence, practices such as
tractor is often a migrant worker himself, to self-diagnosis and buying medicines over-the-
whom payments are made on a piece-rate/ counter are widely prevalent. Most workers
bulk-basis. By working in this sub- and sub- are neither aware of organizations working
subcontracting modality, employers escape with migrant workers, nor do they have mem-
from the burden of providing workers with bership in welfare funds in Kerala (Moses &
benefits such as Employees State Insurance, Rajan, 2012). The trade unions in Kerala are
Provident Fund and Gratuity. Workers are yet to open up with any significant support for
also generally not engaged through a written the migrant workers (Nayak, 2011).
contract or any other legal means. Usually, Part of this gap between migrants and
it is simply a verbal agreement on the wages the wider population can be narrowed down
to be paid per day that takes place in negoti- to prejudice on the part of Malayalis. The
ations. As Mosse (2012) points out, internal Kerala media has significantly exacerbated
migrants are extremely vulnerable. We find this situation by projecting images and stories
that in Kerala, most often, migrants are often about migrants which portray them as a non-
forced to work in conditions of non-payment trustable population, as the creator of diseases
of wages, part-payment or payment at a rate because of their unhygienic living conditions
less than that had been agreed on. Distressed and as problem-makers or bringers of trouble
workers have very limited access to informa- in Kerala society. Severe feelings of ‘other-
tion or to mechanisms for grievance redres- ness’ have been permitted to grow in the public
sal. This, coupled with the language barrier, sphere, and this itself is a cause and basis for
means that generally, workers have no other many more hardships for migrants in the state
recourse than to accept their unfair condi- (Ramesh & Sajikumar, 2014). None of this is
tions. In the primary survey conducted by unusual, of course, as Maglen (2016) and many
Ansari, it was found that almost 70 per cent of others have shown, ‘foreignness’ and ‘disor-
workers were not registered under any labour der/disease’ have long been linked in public
and policymakers’ imaginations. But India and make it serviceable, while migrant work-
and Kerala have not yet shown much interest ers speaking Odia and Bengali have started
in following the examples of some nations, picking up Malayali words. Private sectors
which have put in place initiatives to monitor also have started to respond to the situation
the education of state officials, support regula- in many other ways. Training is provided for
tion of the press or produce legislation against government officials, such as police staff and
open discrimination. As Davies, Isakjee, and government staff, working among migrant
Dhesi (2017) remarked—speaking about the communities, for better communication and
conditions facing migrants in Europe and the towards creating a better understanding with
fact of state and public negligence and indif- the migrant community. Something now vis-
ference to their welfare—state inaction can ible in Kerala is that in areas where migrants
be treated as a form of violence itself, just as are mainly visible or travel in public transport,
much as direct state violence. now the bus stand and destination place names
are beginning to be offered in both Hindi and
Malayalam.
Linguistic Barriers
One of the principal challenges that migrant Challenge to Basic Healthcare
workers face when they reach Kerala is that
the language spoken there (Malayalam) is Article 21 of the Constitution of India guaran-
completely different from the language spoken tees right to health for every worker, irrespec-
by the migrant workers. Official languages tive of his or her religion or place of domicile.
of India are Hindi and English, while the However, these rights only exist on paper
Keralites’ Dravidian language, Malayalam, is for the migrants. Almost 90 per cent of the
very far away linguistically from the languages migrants live and work in vulnerable conditions
spoken by migrants, that is, by the people from in Kerala in overcrowded living conditions
West Bengal (Bengali), Odisha (Odia), Bihar without proper facilities and the problems are
(Bhojpuri and Hindi) and Assam (Assamese). compounded by inadequate safety measures at
Migrants may well have some knowledge of their worksites. The limitations on access to
Hindi, but Kerala as a southern state has not basic and proper healthcare due to language
been receptive to Hindi, preferring to use barriers, lack of time and lack of knowledge
English as a second language. Migrants do not about the public provisioning of healthcare
generally know English or Arabic, which may all increase migrant vulnerability. However,
act as link languages. Being unable to interact one advantage which migrants in Kerala have
or communicate with the local community or is that compared with other Indian migration
the service providers in their local language destinations, they may be able to benefit from
makes the migrants’ condition more vulnera- the relatively better healthcare system in the
ble. What we are witnessing is a newly emerg- state. The presence within Kerala of a public
ing situation within Kerala of shift towards healthcare system which is responsive to the
having to meet the requirement of state res- needs of the migrants is a necessity, given the
idents who speak different languages. Some now significant presence of migrants in the
local traders and service providers (either population (CMID, 2017).8 The healthcare
government or private) have begun to brush systems will need to work towards becom-
off their rusty high school Hindi language ing sensitive to the cultural, linguistic and
8
There are more than 4 million migrant workers, according to the recent census conducted by the Government
of Kerala. However, scholars like Binoy and Vishnu claim that the migrant population is between 3–4 million,
social background of the migrants (Ramesh through any contractor or agent, many of
& Sajikumar, 2017) and understand the con- them have paid money to a senior labourer
straints upon them due to poverty, poor living from their own state as informal fee for help-
conditions, precarious work and financial situ- ing to find a job and providing basic and nec-
ations and the temporary and transient nature essary initial support on arrival. The system
of their stay in Kerala. of brokerage exactly mirrors the system by
which many Malayali workers find work in
the Gulf (Osella, 2014).
Denial of Access to Education
A large percentage of migrants coming from Challenge to Life and Liberty
the most distant states are young and married
and bring their families with them. Most of the In the Constitution of India, Article 21 guaran-
latter’s children stay in Kerala, and thereby tees right to life and liberty for every citizen—
face a language barrier while availing basic including internal migrants. However, we
education. Very few single-teacher schools found that these migrants are denied their
have been initiated under the national school existence as the citizens of the state and
educational programme, that is, Sarva Shiksha are often termed as ‘unreliable outsiders’
Abhiyan. The difficulty of recruiting teachers and criminals by local people and media.
with knowledge in Indian regional languages, Caroline recounted several cautionary tales
such as Odia, Bengali or Assamese, is another with a distinctly mythic slant, about gangs of
challenge. non-Malayalis who allegedly roam the rural
areas with the intent to break and enter and
steal—a potent paranoia-trigger in this high-
consumption state where homes generally
Unequal Wages for Same Work
have portable and valuable electronics, not to
Ansari found that unskilled migrant work- mention large amounts of gold (Joseph, 2014).
ers receive on an average `400–650 for a The making of migrants into folk-devils and
day’s work and if any accommodation and the linking of migration with criminality is
provision for food are given, then there is another notable global representational trend,
a deduction in their daily wages to the tune certainly not limited to the Kerala experience
of about `100. These wage rates are lower (e.g., Griffiths, 2017). Sadly, Kerala police
than the wages of local labourers by almost has contributed to fostering this branding and
50 per cent. Part of this differential is about to feeding the myths rather than working to
low pay and part of it is due to the subcon- combat stereotyping. The National Crime
tractor system. For large-scale projects in Record Bureau and the criminal list, published
construction or similar unorganized sectors, on the website of the Kerala police depart-
the migrant workers are generally recruited ment, make plain a person’s provenance from
through ‘agents’. These agents make a living outside Kerala. This blurs lines in media and
by holding back a commission (around `50– public discourse between legitimate migrant
100 per person per day) out of the migrant’s workers and criminals/criminal gangs who
earnings from the payment received from the travel to Kerala for the express purpose of
employer. Even when migrants do not come criminal activity. The negative media reporting
according to a study conducted by the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development, Perumbavoor, Cochin,
2017.
on the Jisha case has exacerbated this slippage Kerala society. It is perhaps this ignorance of
in public discourse of migrant-to-criminal.9 their basic rights that is the major vulnerability
The identity of migrants is often challenged for migrants. They are accustomed to working
in the host society with mistrust and suspicion for half the wages and longer working hours
of fake names playing into migrant mobility as than the native workers do and do not realize
‘people who cannot be trusted’ because their that there could be some redress, whether by
social roots and identities cannot be verified. labour organizations or by registration and
In order to distinguish migrant workers from legal claim. Ansari’s primary survey for this
criminals who may have migrated to Kerala study found that more than 80 per cent of
from other states, there is a need to have responding migrants were not aware of their
some specific identification documents for the rights and were being exploited by contractors
migrants. The Grameen Vikas Trust (GVT) and subcontractors in various ways.
has initiated one such programme in Madhya
Pradesh. GVT has closely worked with the
local government officials in the villages
and developed a specific informal system of READDRESSING TRENDS AND
identity cards for the migrant workers. Thus, CHALLENGES BETWEEN INTERNAL
migrants will be free from official harassment MIGRANTS AND GOVERNMENT
(Deshingkar & Grimm, 2005; IOM, 2007). STAKEHOLDERS IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
Lack of Support and Social Networks The following tables are drawn from Ansari’s
research and are presented with some dis-
There is hardly any support for the migrant cussion which aims to help shed light on the
workers from either the state authorities or the trends and challenges faced by government
labour department. Moreover, even contrac- officials in the state.
tors or employers are not interested to regis-
ter them under Interstate Migrant Workmen
Act (ISMW Act), 1979,10 which ensures basic
rights for migrants. Ansari’s research shows Profile of Government Officials
that more than 70 per cent of migrant workers The following data is mainly focused on gov-
in the unorganized sector are not registered ernment officials. The study included officials
under any of the policies with government from different sections of Kerala state govern-
departments. ment departments, such as district and assis-
tant labour officers, police officers (heads,
migrant cells), judges, advocates NGO offi-
Lack of Awareness cials and researchers (engaged with the issues
Regarding Rights of migrants). Table 54.1 shows the compo-
sition of the total of 60 government officials
Most migrant workers interviewed by Ansari who were selected from three cities in Kerala,
were not even aware of basic rights in the Cochin, Calicut and Trivandrum, from where
9
The Times of India reported that the Jisha murder case convict was sentenced to death on 14 December 2017.
Such news items have created a negative attitude towards migrants in Kerala. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.
com/india/jisha-murder-case-convict-sentenced-to-death/articleshow/62064283.cms
10
To register under the ISMW Act, 1979, the employers or contractors have to register the names and details
of migrant workers with the labour department to ensure the benefits for workers. In reality, most workers are
not registered, and hence, have no formal entitlement to receive any benefits from the employers or contractors
for their work.
Table 54.1 Profile of Government Officials

Designation Institution of Respondent Number Percentage
Assistant Labour Officer (ALO)/District DLO ALO 18 30

Labour Officers (DLO)
Judicial Magistrate and Senior Advocates Judiciary 12 20
Labour/Migrants/Social activists Non-governmental organizations 12 20
Assistant sub-inspector (in charge of Police officials 10 16
migrants unit)
Researchers/Writers about internal Experts/writers on labour/internal migration 8 14
migration
Grand total 60 100
the migrant workers’ samples were also taken. were drawn from among researchers, writers
We are attempting to understand some of the and experts on labour and migrant rights in
issues and challenges faced by government order to gather their expertise and input into
officials and contributing to analyses of the suggestions for the betterment of the life of
reasons behind the lack of effective implemen- migrants.
tation of policies in the state. The study offers
some good practices and suggests measures
for inclusiveness and better socio-economic
Reasons for Migration
living conditions of migrant workers.
Table 54.1 sets out the profiles of govern- Both pull and push factors compel workers
ment officials as related to migrant workers in to move from their native state to destination
Kerala. Of the respondents, 30 were selected states like Kerala. The study interviewed both
from the labour department, who were assis- migrant workers and others about this topic,
tant labour officers or district labour officers, attempting to explore the motivational factors
in order to understand the issues and chal- behind migration. While a variety of individ-
lenges of migrants in particular districts. Of ual reasons were claimed by migrant workers,
them, 20 per cent were selected from the each of these reasons could be directly or indi-
judiciary to support understanding of the rectly related to one of two main motivational
issues and barriers faced by the judges and factors that are discussed below. Government
advocates while working to ensure legal jus- officials suggested the reasons for migration
tice for migrant workers. From NGOs, a 20 as being expectations of higher wage and
per cent sample was also interviewed in order
to gain the perspective of grassroots organi-
zations working among migrants on the chal- Table 54.2 Reasons for Migration
lenges faced. Of the respondents, 16 per cent Reasons for
were drawn from police officials, especially Migration Number of officials Percentage (%)
from those who head up and work within the Expectations 32 54
migrant labour unit of the police cell in order of higher
to catch the issues from the police perspective wages
around migrant issues and to get a sense of Better living 28 46
police effectiveness—and barriers to it—in conditions
the area of ensuring the safety and security of Grand total 60 100
workers. The final 14 per cent of respondents Source: Primary survey, 2017–2018.
better living conditions in Kerala compared of communication between migrants and

with the workers’ native states. officials, and in almost all cases of interac-
Table 54.2 reveals that 54 per cent of offi- tion, they need to call upon a translator of the
cials believe that a pull factor of better wages migrant’s native language, such as Bengali,
in Kerala compared with native states (three Odia and Assamese, which is difficult to find in
times higher than native states) is the major Kerala. At the same time, it was pointed out by
factor. However, 46 per cent of officials sug- these respondents that not all the government
gested that it is the push factor—no opportu- officials are in a position to speak native lan-
nities in the native state—along with the pull guages such as Odia or Bengali or even Hindi.
of better living conditions and huge job oppor- Of the officials, 16 per cent suggested that
tunities in Kerala’s unorganized sector which migrants are often a floating population who
attract workers from other states of India. change residence often which makes it diffi-
The previous studies of Ramesh (2014) and cult to contact them again or to trace them, for
Prasad-Aleyamma (2017) also highlight the example, to follow up any regarding any issues
same reasoning as being major motivators for around redressal sought or claims made. But
internal migration to the state. 14 per cent of state official respondents stated
openly that they rarely trust migrants and out-
siders. These respondents were keen to point
out that this mistrust works in both directions,
Barriers among Government
with migrants reluctant to share information
Officials and Migrants
with state officials due to lack of trust on
Government officials were asked about the their part towards the state and its ability to
main barriers faced while rendering services help them. Respondents reported that even
to the migrant workers. Four key responses when a major issue such as non-payment of
appeared in the interviews: a claim of no bar- wages occurs with the contractor or employer,
riers or challenges among migrants and gov- migrants do not feel confident to share fully
ernment officials, a barrier posed by linguistic the details of the problem with officials. On
factors, a (presumed) lack of trustability and the other hand, as reported by respondents
the impermanent and ‘floating culture’ of pointing to issues around trust, there are many
migrants. Table 54.3 gives the breakdown. cases where migrants are aware and feel that
Almost 36 per cent of respondents claimed they are not easily accepted in or acceptable
not to face any issues with migrant workers to wider Kerala society, which contributes
while 34 per cent admitted to a linguistic bar- to making their situation uncomfortable and
rier. There is, they told Ansari, severe lack
Table 54.4 Challenges Faced by Migrant
Workers
Table 54.3 Barriers Faced by Government Issues Faced by the
Officials and Migrants Migrant Workers
According to Number of
Barriers Faced by Government Officials Officials Percentage (%)
Government Officials
and Migrants Number Percentage (%) Wage issues 42 70
Projected as a carrier 14 24
Lack of trustability 8 14
of drugs and other
Language 20 34 unwanted things
No issues/challenges 22 36 Labelled as an 4 6
Not easily accessible 10 16 unreliable outsider
Grand total 60 100 Grand total 60 100
Source: Primary survey, 2017–2018. Source: Primary survey, 2017–2018.

Table 54.5 Measures and Suggestions for Inclusiveness (of Migrants)

Measures for Inclusion
Creating a Common Government Sensitize Both Need for Media to
Platform to Discuss the Officials Should Migrants and Local Raise Awareness about
Issues among Migrants Be Better Trained People Regarding the Situation and the Number of
Cities and Local People to Help Migrants Rights and Duties Needs of Migrants Respondents
Calicut 6 8 2 4 20
Cochin 4 4 2 10 20
Trivandrum 4 8 - 8 20
Grant total 14 20 4 24 60
Percentage 20 33 7 40 100
(%)
making it difficult for them to live in and par- themselves and onto scapegoated ‘outsiders’
ticipate properly in Kerala society. (Joly, 2016; Shannahan, 2016). Related to
this marginalization of the ‘outside’, another
6 per cent of respondents suggested that there
is a common tagline in existence for migrant
Challenges Faced by Migrants
workers (‘Unreliable Outsiders’) at large in
Following on from this, we note that migrants the host society, which is the biggest chal-
are often not treated well in host states. Some lenge for the migrants to interact with and be
of the key prejudices and issues coming from recognized as part of Kerala society.
the host society are discussed in Table 54.4.
While almost 70 per cent of the
officials-respondent group suggested that
Measures for Inclusion
wage issues are the main challenge faced by
the migrants, 30 per cent acknowledged a Suggestive measures for migrant work-
social issue and 24 per cent pointed out that, ers are discussed in the following section.
within Kerala, migrants are often labelled as Government officials in their responses to
carriers of drugs and tobacco, which makes Ansari suggested that although they face some
their life vulnerable among Kerala people. issues and challenges with migrants, they can
Malayali men do use tobacco, drugs and think of some measures which can lead to a
alcohol. But in a prevalent double standard, better life for migrant workers. Table 54.5 sets
this is not widely acknowledged in public out this material.
discourse and the social causes of it are pro- This study reveals the fact that 40 per cent
jected onto the outside: Gulf influence, west- of the respondents suggested that media can be
ernization, bad habits picked up from global used to create a strong impact in society. Media
media exposure, and so on (Osella, 2015). is ‘the eyes and ears of any society today’, and
Migrant smugglers and carriers is a subset of officials supported the idea of creating aware-
this ‘dangerous outside’ discourse. As with the ness through media and believed that this can
aforementioned discussion about links in dis- contribute to a positive impact for migrants. Of
course between ‘outsiders’ and ‘disease’, we the respondents, 33 per cent, by contrast, felt
again note the familiarity of this projection—a that the necessary change ought to start from
displacement and blame from a host society government officials themselves. A need for
of a variety of imputed social ills away from proper awareness and training was mentioned,
Table 54.6 ILO Convention and Rights (for Migrant Workers)

ILO Convention Rights and Reality
Yes, The migrants No, Rights as per the
enjoyed the rights as ILO convention are not Number of
Cities per the ILO convention followed for the workers respondents
Calicut — 20 20
Cochin — 20 20
Trivandrum — 20 20
Grant total — 20 60
Percentage (%) — 60 100
and respondents suggested that this ought to Table 54.6 reveals that the fact that most of
cover not only proper awareness about poli- the government officials, including the District
cies and rights for migrants in the society but and Assistant Labour Officers, were mostly
also socio-cultural aspects to smoothen out the unaware about the rights which are guaranteed
problems officials face in handling linguis- to the workers under ILO. They are aware that
tic and other socio-cultural differences. An no fundamental rights for workers, as par-
interesting response given by 20 per cent of tially enjoyed by native Malayalis, are gen-
respondents suggested that creation of some erally also given to migrants. As mentioned,
kind of joint platform composed of a mix of both migrant and official respondents agreed
Malayalis and migrants in order to hold open that there is widespread wage discrimination
discussions about both migrants’ issues and and discriminatory treatment on the basis of
also the social issues which migration raises language, region and state of provenance.
for the hosts. Some NGOs suggested that such When ILO norms were explained to the state
groups can be named something like ‘Friends officials in the survey, they concurred unani-
of Migrants’ to set the tone and counter stereo- mously that these norms are not followed in
typing, negative projections and scapegoating. the case of migrants in Kerala.
While 7 per cent of respondents suggested the We now offer short case studies drawn
need for sensitization about rights and duties, from Ansari’s interview notes, in order to add
these be made clear to the migrants and local some texture to the aforementioned tables and
natives. We note that Peter and Narendran claims.
(2017) and Mythri (2017) made similar and
related suggestions.
Case Study I
Mr Zachariah, 51 years old, Assistant Sub-in
International Labour Organization
charge of the Migrant Workers Unit, Calicut
Convention: Rights and Reality
Central Police Station (name and identity
While the International Labour Organization changed), pointed out that linguistic barriers
(ILO) has ensured several basic rights for create a foundational and huge divide between
labourers at international and national level, migrants and the police officials. He went on
we found that respondents were quite una- to argue that police officers are mostly unable
ware that such rights ought to be offered and to perform duties of protection or offering
admitted freely that rights were not secured redressal as they can hardly manage their reg-
for migrant workers in Kerala. ular workload. Mr Zachariah argued that there
is a lack of labour force and an overburden of simply a performance to counter public agita-
duties among police officers— tion. naatukaarude kannil podi iddaan vendi
maathram (Showing something is done like
He [an assumed officer] has to follow: Romeo powdering in the eyes of common people,
duty11 (bike patrolling), old age home visits, sta-
tion duty, constable duty, escort duty ... and if thus, they feel something is happening in the
emergency issues arise, also college strikes, polit- society, in reality it rarely exists).
ical party issues etc. (where large manpower is What he does in reality: he collects the
needed). How can the police officers engage identity cards or details of migrants from
with migrant workers after all this work in a day? their employers or shop owners who speak
Malayalam. It has been a common scenario
Mr Zachariah added that he himself does
to track and record migrant workers after the
not speak any of the local languages spoken
Jisha murder case.12
by any of the migrants—‘not even Hindi’.
Concluding, Mr Zachariah summed up his
police station’s engagement in the situation by
telling Ansari that the only thing he is able to Case Study II
do with his workforce and in the time available
Mr ‘Anil Kumar’, 42 years old, belonging
to them is to ensure collection of an identity
to Kerala and working as a District Labour
card and a photo from all migrants. These are
Officer at Cochin Labour Bhavan, opines that
gathered either directly from the employers or
there are three main issues that arise between
via the contractors who are used by employers
the government official and migrants. First,
to employ migrants. To sum up the situation,
he named linguistic barriers. Most of the
Mr Zachariah said, ‘I do not have any time to
migrants can only speak Hindi or their native
understand the problems of workers, and there
language (Assamese, Bengali, Odia and so
is no one to listen to me here. Simply by seeing
on), while state officials in Kerala rarely
this uniform, the employers and shop owners
speak Hindi. Second he named the ‘floating
are willing to provide the details of migrants
character’ of migrant workers, especially that
in their employ—and our work is done’.
of seasonal workers who come for a project
In discussion with Mr Zachariah about
lasting for 6–8 months, making it difficult to
state policy and possible shifts, he reminded
trace them for any registration or other issues,
Ansari that ‘Some policies are there for just
which then leads to a lack of registration,
name sake, like the idea of teaching Hindi to
making them vulnerable and unable to access
a police officer’. We have to agree that the
their rights. Third issue he names was health
gap between policy idea, implementation
issues. Poor drinking water access and lack
and outcome is, as ever, enormous. As Mr
of housing facilities makes their health even
Zachariah, cynically, put it, announcements
more vulnerable. It was observed in Ansari’s
of policies or even actual policies are often
primary study that migrants mostly tend to
11
During Romeo duty, police officers check the helmet and other safety measures of people particularly among
youth. However, the officer doing this duty enjoys dignity and gets respect from the local people. It is one of the
interesting works, according to police officials. It is also highly visible that some officers use this as a means of
showing power against the people and to collect pocket money unofficially/illegally from the youth.
12
In the Jisha murder case, the police accused a migrant worker from Assam as a murderer of a Malayalee (Dalit)
law student named Jisha. Without even entering the premises of the court, police and media projected the
migrant worker as the murderer. Through this case, there has been an increase in the phobia towards migrant
workers as ‘unreliable outsiders or criminals’ among most of the officials, media and native Malayalis. The sensa-
tional reporting and public discourse around the case has created fear among the Kerala people in general while
interacting with the migrant workers. Their culture, linguistic barriers and perceived lack of hygiene add criminal-
ity and violence into the mix, to produce and make their situation even more vulnerable in the present context.
live in groups of 15–20 in a single room/hall. with the native state workers. The study also
Even the state officials who are allocated to attempted to explore the reasons behind
work among migrants are unable to do any- migrant non-acceptability and for the levels of
thing about this during their squad work.13 difference in ILO rights and implementation
Recently, the Kerala government initiated in the state. The study focused on the rights
projects like Awas: Aap ka Ghar14 to try to entitled under various laws and explored the
ensure better standard of housing facilities for gap between rights and realities in Kerala, and
workers. However, the implementation of this found that state officials are not in a position
does not seem to have created any impact on to ensure basic rights or better work condi-
migrant life. tions for the migrant workers. At times, state
officials share the prejudice prevalent among
wider Kerala society towards outsiders, with
little motivation to implement rights, ensure
CONCLUSION redressal or offer protection against abuse.
Today, it is true that Keralites and migrants
This study exclusively focuses on understand- are mutually dependent on each other, one
ing the recent trends, issues and challenges for their job and the other for their service.
between migrant workers and government However, state officials are not properly
stakeholders in the state of Kerala. The first trained nor are they capable of ensuring the
section briefly described recent trends of rights of large sections of workers in the state.
internal migration in India and Kerala and The study offers some suggestions towards
introduced the discussion of rights (legal pro- providing better living and working condi-
tections), issues and challenges for migrants tions for migrants in the state, such as creat-
in the state. The second section focused on the ing a better platform to understand migrants’
objectives, data collection and analysis from issues (media responsible for reporting and
the primary survey. This revealed various involvement in awareness campaigns, set-
perceptions of differently placed government ting up ‘friends of migrants’ NGOs), proper
stakeholders. The survey found that migrants training to government officials, spreading
are often ignored by the state due to various awareness among migrants regarding their
socio-cultural and economic reasons, such rights and working for better public awareness
as linguistic barriers and lack of accessibil- to spread the importance of internal migrants
ity (precarious and temporary residence and and their service in the state. We offer a final
employment statuses), the continuous move- suggestion that organizations which, to date,
ment of migrants in search of better oppor- have been concerned with the well-being and
tunities, a lack of understanding, a lack of justice for Malayali migrant workers in the
expertise around migration issues (ironically, Gulf, be drawn into public discussions about
in this state with a very high out-migration migration and their expertise and viewpoints
rate). All of this creates difficulties in ensur- gathered and put into public discourse. Such
ing even the most basic facilities for migrants, groups have a long-standing experience of
and the study confirmed that migrant workers discussions about migrants’ issues such as
live in more substandard living conditions and what makes for a dignified migrant life or a
lower socio-economic status when compared just host society, how the practice of using
13
Squad work is the duty done by government officials, usually to check up the working and living sites of
migrants, to ensure that basic facilities are guaranteed to migrant workers.
14
Aap ka ghar, meaning your home, is a project introduced by the Government of Kerala to ensure settlement
for migrant workers, though the effectiveness of this policy still exists only on paper.
labour brokers or middlemen demands regu- in India initiative. New Delhi: United Nations Educa-
lation and monitoring, why wage differentials tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
based purely on ethnicity or language groups Griffiths, M. (2017). Foreign, criminal: A doubly damned
are unjust, the difficulties migrants face in modern British folk-devil. Citizenship Studies, 21(5),
527–546.
living far from home and a host of related
International Organization for Migration. (2007). Migra-
issues. If the very real and long-standing tion for development: Within and beyond frontiers.
expertise which exists in Kerala around migra- Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for
tion can be brought to bear upon the situation Migration.
of Kerala’s own in-migrants, and if the situa- IOM. (2015). World migration report: Migrants and Cities,
tion of the migrant worker can be viewed with A New Partnership to Manage Mobility. Geneva, Swit-
empathy and responsibly, then we may begin zerland: International Organization for Migration.
to see some improvement in what is currently Joly, D. (Ed.). (2016). Scapegoats and social actors: The
a situation of injustice and much suffering. exclusion and integration of minorities in Western and
Eastern Europe. United Kingdom: Springer.
Joseph, J. K. (2014). Consumer behaviour in the gold
jewellery market of Kerala. Journal of Business and
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55
Exclusion of Migrants in Policy
Vicky Nandgaye
INTRODUCTION provide many employment opportunities for

these workers. As we know, the construction
The term exclusion in this chapter is restricted industry is increasingly a labour-intensive
to ‘social exclusion’, which is embedded in industry. It is unlike other sectors since the
various discourses. Social exclusion is cat- product remains static and the producers (con-
egorized into three major discourses, that struction workers) change (Anand, 1998).
is, redistributionist discourse, moral under- The industry generates the largest employ-
class discourse and social integrationist dis- ment opportunity. Furthermore, as per the
course (SID). The present work is limited to Report of the National Commission on
SID that ‘focuses more narrowly on unem- Labour, 2002,1 estimates prepared by the
ployment and economic inactivity, pursuing National Building Organisation, every 1 mil-
social integration or social cohesion primarily lion rupees spent on construction generates
through inclusion in paid’ (Levitas, 2005, p. 3,000 man-days of skilled and semi-skilled
8). Moreover, this research was undertaken employment and 1,300 man-days of manage-
solely on the nature of the work setting of rial/technical employment.2 The construction
migrant construction workers. Migration is labour inter alia includes three forms of labour.
generally considered as a significant means of First form consists of naka/mandi (Report of
economic redistribution, but it can be unpro- the National Commission on Labour, 2005),
ductive for those who are at the bottom of the second is the institutional form, and third
socio-economic hierarchy (Akram, 2014). In is the intermediaries form. The former two
India, diverse working groups can be identi- forms are relatively small in size. The present
fied at the labour market. Metropolitan cities study is restricted to the naka/mandi segment,
1
https://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/1237548159/NLCII-report.pdf
2
Second National Commission on Labour report’s chapter 2: point 2.162 (size of employment) report of the
National Building Organisation.
which is interchangeably used in the research unorganized, respectively. The second group
as ‘street corner/crossroad’. Naka refers to: invariably gets rid of social securities that
are required to pursue a decent working life.
The market that caters to the mass of individual Decent work encompasses safety at work and
householders and petty contractors who need
casual labour for odd jobs. Naka/Mandis can healthy working conditions (Ghai, 2006).
be found at mid points between various neigh- Furthermore, half of the developing world’s
bourhoods of major cities. They function from workers are trapped in vulnerable jobs, work-
about 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on all days of the week. ing for themselves or in unpaid family work,
Workers, who are in search of work, present according to a report by the International
themselves at one of the locations in the morn-
ing. They come here and wait for customers, Labour Organization (ILO). However, the
needing small jobs to be done in their houses like commodification of labour vehemently rein-
masonry, plumbing, carpentry, painting, plas- forces construction workers’ precariousness
tering and tiling, waterproofing etc. The clients and loss of decent work. Moreover, violation
visit Naka/Mandis, hire the required persons after of freedom of association among workers
negotiating wage rates and take them to their
respective workplaces. on a large scale in the construction sector is
observed everywhere, though 145 countries
Further, the construction industry was the ratified convention number 873 and 154 coun-
second largest employer in 2009–2010, tries cleared convention number 98,4 out of
employing 11 per cent of India’s workforce 178 member states (Lawrence, Paredes Gil,
after agriculture (36%). In 2007–2008, the Flückiger, Lambert & Werna, 2008).
proportion of migrants among such workers
was 33 per cent in urban areas and 19 per cent
in rural areas (Soundararajan, 2013). Due to
globalization, Mumbai, as a cosmopolitan city, RURAL-TO-URBAN LABOUR
provides employment, but other social, educa- MIGRATION
tional and political issues remain unsolved. In
a research on the new emerging working class The Indian labour market is overwhelmed by
masses in the ‘global migration’, Standing the working population of unorganized work-
(2011) stressed that such workers lack a workers. Scattered and temporary residences, land-
based identity and a feeling of solidarity in the lessness, the absence of security, lack of legal
labour community. Although there is always entitlements, the absence of unionization, no
the fear of ‘shadow of the future’, undoubtedly protection and so forth are fundamental hin-
this is one of the features of the Indian infor- drances of informal workers. More precisely,
mal labour market. It is apparently applicable migration is as an indispensable part of the
due to the migratory nature of the construction labour force. There is less emphasis on their
sector. Standing focuses on a new terminology social exclusion as citizens due to the complex
for migrants: ‘urban nomad’. Similarly, the nature and least rationalization of the state
term called ‘denizen’, in contrast to ‘citizens’, machinery. Most of the Indian labour legisla-
indicate restrain from enjoying constitutional tions have been followed since colonial times.
and other human rights. Although certain amendments have been
The Indian working population in the made over the course of time, yet, the high
labour market is categorized into two broad complexity pertinent to it seems to be side-
groups, namely, formal and informal, which lined by ill-motivated ruling political parties.
are interchangeably called organized and Hence, more benefits of it taken by dominated
3
Convention number 87 refers to freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.
4
Convention number 98 refers to the right to organize and to bargain collectively.
Exclusion of Migrants in Policy 769
business firms who intentionally evade from families. Again, out of these labourers, only 20
complying with their obligations. per cent had ration cards and 80 per cent did
Extensive research works are available on not have any identity cards (Pattanaik, 2009).
construction work and migration which have Mitra (2009) stressed that the place of destina-
measured the impact of migration on the live- tion and prospects for better job opportunities
lihood of construction workers (Acharya & are imperative for male migration. The study
Reddy, 2016; Agasty, 2016; Akram, 2014; also found that natural growth of population,
Anand, 1998; Datta & Mishra, 2011; Jetley, rural-to-urban migration, and reclassifica-
1987; Mitra, 2009; Mitra & Mayumi, 2008; tion of rural areas as urban over the course of
Pattanaik, 2009; Srivastava & Sutradhar, time are three explicit factors responsible for
2016). Nevertheless, very few studies have migration (p. 37).
dealt with exclusion and labour policy per- Similarly, a large population of migrants
spectives. Migration is a major phenomenon from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled
driving the construction industry. Whether it Tribe (ST) in the informal sector is found
is at street corner or construction site, both (Mitra, 2009; Mitra & Mayumi, 2008).
are completed by employing migrant work- Migration, generally, is due to unsatisfactory
ers. Intrastate and interstate migration5 were income in agricultural production, natural
observed in the present paper. Rural-to-urban calamities and lack of housing, civic facilities
migration is imperative to understand while and infrastructure amenities. This industry
looking at the nature of SID of social exclusion provides direct employment in the unskilled
faced by a certain sector of working groups. and semiskilled nature of work, enabling
India has the world’s highest youth popula- even the poor to earn income (Dave, 2012).
tion and second highest total population after Vulnerable groups of migrants tackle many
China. South Asia contributes about 20 per challenges at the workplace regarding contrac-
cent of total unemployed youth worldwide. In tors and employers. As Anand (1998) main-
addition to that, India’s share in youth unem- tains, the principal employer largely remains
ployment remains below the regional average invisible or out of the picture to a labourer on
in 2016 (World Employment Social Outlook, site. Labour contractors recruit 84 per cent
n.d.). Even, ‘the proportion of informal work- of the construction workers out of which 99
ers among employed youth rises to over 80 per cent workers are migrants from Bihar,
per cent in India’ (OECD and ILO, 2014, cited Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and
in World Employment Social Outlook, n.d., Madhya Pradesh (Anand, 1998; Dave, 2012;
p. 9). On a similar note, a study based on an Pattanaik, 2009).
interview of 1,200 construction workers in the
cities of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali
found that more than 90 per cent young people
came from the rural areas of Bihar and Uttar MIGRANT WOMEN CONSTRUCTION
Pradesh, where friends, relatives and fellow WORKERS: CASTE AND PATRIARCHY
villagers pulled them to an urban space.
Similarly, household poverty, lack of employ- After youth, women are increasingly engaged
ment opportunities and low wage rates pushed in the construction industry. Many stud-
them out of the village and away from their ies are found on ‘women and construction
5
See Section 2 (e) of The Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service)
Act, No. 30 of 1979: ‘inter-State migrant workman’ means any person who is recruited by or through a contrac-
tor in one state under an agreement or other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another state,
whether with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such establishment.
work’ (Barnabas, Anbarasu & Clifford, 2009; city (Dave, 2012) to get adequate livelihood,
Baruah, 2010a, 2010b; Chawada, Gharat, but at the end, hope remained with them and
Bansal & Kantharia, 2012; Chitra, 2015; their dreams became a mirage (Acharya &
Choudhury, 2013; Datta & Mishra, 2011; Reddy, 2016). In addition, Dave (2012) argued
Dave, 2012; Guenther, 2015; Jetley, 1987; that a large number of female women belonged
Kumar, 2013; Manohar, Shobha & Rao, 1981; to lower caste communities inclined towards
Parveen, 2014; Shah, 2014; Thiyagarajan & this industry keeping with their role of subordi-
Tamizhjyothi, 2018). Some of the relevant nation. Again, several researchers (Chaudhary,
research works have been critically reviewed 2013; Dave, 2012) have found that the role of
in this chapter. In India, traces of caste-based women in paid employment is somehow curbed
patriarchy are apparently visible in the labour on the basis of their traditional ‘subordination’
market too (Datta & Mishra, 2011) and they role in the home. However, it exposes them to
remain hardly untouched by the diverse another form of subordination in public space
informal-sector labour market. Female work- where contractors, supervisors and co-workers
ers have to strive hard due to their under- are significant. Although paid work reinforces
privileged positions and mostly belonging to include them in mainstream society in the
to a marginalized section of the society. present socio-cultural patriarchal state context,
Mostly, female-headed households play the at large, women do not get immunity from
behind-the-scene decision makers’ roles while the exploitative and inequitable horizon. It is
behaving with a patriarchal ideology. Thus, implicitly considered that women do not per-
migration of her partner does not provide a form tougher jobs that require more exertion.
woman to prove her own agency in the poor Female workers have always been paid lower
peasant landless household (Jetley, 1987). wages than male workers have been, though
Another study (Datta & Mishra, 2011) on both male and female workers perform a simi-
the impact of migration found that although lar nature of work. In fact, men are paid twice
women are taking decisions in the household of what women are (Chawada et al., 2012;
and managing finances, they come across bar- Dave, 2012).
riers in accessing credit and getting credit, on More than 90 per cent of working women
terms favourable to them, on behalf of their active as daily wage earners in the informal
men. The study concludes that patriarchy and sector belong to the socio-economically back-
caste continue to be challenging institutions ward and depressed groups of the society.
that further define women’s role in a funda- Extreme poverty, homelessness and under-
mental way. employment greatly expose them (Parveen,
A study by Shah (2014) on labour through 2014). In India, more than 35 per cent of the
a sexual and gendered angle in three different construction workers are women who have
locations in Mumbai, that is, naka, commuter always been poorly paid and discriminated
side (near railway station) and Kamathipura against in payment of wages (Kumar, 2013).
(a red light area) explored that employment at Female workers are subject to gender dis-
naka is a complex process for women, where crimination, harassment and unequal wages
contractor hires women provided they are paid by the employer. Barnabas et al. (2009)
willing to offer sex. Rural female migrants further found that there is an inherent gender
are unable to find decent work in the labour bias on about women and a general belief that
market, hence, they often accept these condi- female construction workers are not suitable
tions. Moreover, a recent Delhi-based study to become masons (Kumar, 2013). Similarly,
on ‘migrant women workers in construction incapacity, lack of skills and absence of desire
industry’ revealed that 80 per cent of SC and ST to work as masons deprives them in the indus-
population migrated to the urban metropolitan try. They are noticed to be engaged highly in
activities like carrying bricks, cement, sand books, labour ministry, labour journals, arti-
and water, digging earth, mixing cement and cles,
newspapers, published and working
breaking stones. research papers. Semi-structured interview
Gupta (2014) observed that health issues schedules, non-participative observations and
are increasing in female workers because focus group discussions were used to gather
they are exposed to work at the lower level primary data. Snowball sampling technique
in the industry as unskilled workers or head- was adopted to reach the respondents. The
load carriers which often results in extreme study covered 15 participants (10 males and
health complaints regarding fatigue, back- 5 females) as sample size. Besides this, other
ache, cough, fever, skin itching and diarrhoea stakeholders including Board members, union
(Chawada et al., 2012, p. 21). On the other members and officials were interviewed.
hand, due to inadequate social security, family
support and absence of basic healthcare facil-
ities, they become vulnerable to addiction
and violence (Chawada et al., 2012, p. 21). MAHARASHTRA BOCW WELFARE
Migratory conditions, unhygienic and narrow BOARD
living spaces and lack of healthcare facilities
increase manifold the burden of occupational Since ‘labour’ comes under the concurrent
diseases on the migrant workers (Akram, list, central as well as state governments are
2014). free to make laws in order to safeguard labour-
ers. Therefore, welfare boards have been set
up to redress labourer grievances under differ-
ent Acts. For instance, the BOCW Act came
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY into existence ‘to regulate the employment
and conditions of service of building and
The present study was conducted in differ- other construction workers and to provide
ent parts of Greater Mumbai. It included for the safety, health and welfare measures
one construction site and three street cor- and for other matters connected therewith or
ners/nakas. The street corners were located incidental thereto’ (BOCW (Regulation of
at Chembur naka, Vashi naka (new Mumbai) Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
and Ulhasnagar, whereas the construction 1996).
site was situated at Cotton Green. The site In order to achieve the aforementioned
and nakas were selected where construction objectives of the Act, welfare boards were
work was taking place on large scale. Those established at the division level. Mumbai has
construction-site workers were selected who the head office of such boards. Table 55.2
had earlier worked as naka workers. Similarly, shows the total number of registered ben-
naka workers were also a part of site work eficiaries, registered workers and other
once upon a time. The study adopted a qual- accidents-related information.
itative approach and exploratory analytical From Table 55.1 it is clearly observed that
design to achieve the set objectives. In addi- until 2010–2011 there was no expenditure
tion, efforts were made to explain the issues on welfare schemes for construction work-
of exclusion of migrant workers and loopholes ers though nearly `890 million cess amount
in welfare schemes and policies directed by was collected. Again, on 30 June 2015, cess
the Building and Other Construction Workers amount of `32.0854 billion was deposited
(BOCW) Act. The secondary data was col- with the Board, whereas, only `1.9473 billion
lected from sources like the ILO reports, was utilized on welfare schemes. Similarly,
Table 55.1 Total Cess Amount Collection, Expenditure and Other Expenses at the End of June
2015
Amount of Expenditure Administrative Expenses (e.g., Salaries,
Cess Collected on Welfare Allowances, Other Remunerations,
S. No. Year (In Million) Schemes Other Administrative Expenses)
1 2007–2008 7.7 0 0
2 2008–2009 6 0 0
3 2009–2010 94.8 0 0
4 2010–2011 890.1 0 0
5 2011–2012 4,259.7 0.01 0.05
6 2012–2013 7,776.9 3.75 0.06
7 2013–2014 7,886 56.34 0.47
8 2014–2015 8,021.1 118.16 0.19
9 2015–2016(Up 3,143.1 16.47 0.01
to 30 June 2015)
Grand total 32,085.4 194.73 0.78
Source: Maharashtra BOCW Welfare Board, Mumbai.
The Hindu6 reported that ‘2,859.86 crore identified, whereas the total number of reg-
rupees (about 17.63%) have been spent for the istered workers was 423,427, out of which
welfare of the construction workers out of the 358,839 (84.75%) were male workers and
total cess amounting to `16,214.51 crore (from 64,588 (15.25%) were females workers,
state governments) collected till December which is insignificant compared with their
31, 2014’. Thus, a large part of the cess nationwide contribution to this form of
amount remained unused on welfare schemes employment. In addition to that, registered
for workers. However, Soundararajan (2013) beneficiary workers were barely 59.69 per
explicitly found loopholes in the current Acts cent, that is, 252,737 (males 206,656 and
applicable to crossroad workers and sought females 46,081). Of the workers, 218,945
amendment7 in the BOCW Act to simplify (51.71%) got death benefits and out of
the registration process because barely 12 them, 181,094 were male workers and
per cent construction workers are registered 37,851 were female workers. Moreover,
nationwide, the cess amount remains unspent about 95 accidents took place until October
in 13 states,8 including Maharashtra, where no 2015. Hence, it may be concluded that
registration of construction workers was done due to inefficiency on the part of Board
until August 2011 and no expenditure on any members, the benefits did not reach target
welfare scheme under the same Act was found masses to whom this Act is applicable. It
(Table 55.2). seems that this sector is beyond the scope
Table 55.2 apparently projects that in of labour laws.
Maharashtra at the end of October 2015, Construction workers working with the
there were 7,354 registered establishments company are treated as organized workers
6
`1.4 lakh crore cess money lies idle. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rs-14-lakh-crore-
cess-money-liesidle/article8022477.ece
7
Amendment proposed in the Rajya Sabha to remove eligibility of 90 days’ work in construction activity and the
upper limit on age of workers for registration.
8
Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu, Lakshadweep, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir.
Table 55.2 Total Number of Registered Beneficiaries, Registered Workers and Other Accident-related Information at the End of October 2015
Total Number of Beneficiary Registered Beneficiary Workers Registered Beneficiary Workers Total Number of
Workers (Alive) (Death) Accidents
Name of Total Number of
S. No. Divisions Registered Establishments Females Males Total Females Males Total Females Males Total Females Males
1. Mumbai 1,661 1,873 64,594 66,463 1,006 22,618 23,624 — — – — 66,463

2. Pune 3,107 21,147 127,264 148,411 11,666 46,711 58,377 25,272 78,963 104,235 6 148,411
3. Nagpur — 5,730 46,198 51,928 — — — — — — — 51,928
4. Nashik 343 5,328 49,846 56,178 5,118 35,581 40,699 — – – 6 56,178
5. Aurangabad 689 29,510 70,937 100,447 22,757 54,052 76,809 5,602 13,515 19,117 — 100,447
Total 5,800 64,588 358,839 423,427 46,081 206,656 252,737 37,851 181,094 218,945 12 83
Source: Maharashtra BOCW Welfare Board, Mumbai.

and those who engage at naka come under PROFILE OF THE STREET-CORNER
the unorganized sector. Representatives WORKERS
from the Board frequently visit various
construction sites to disseminate informa- In all, there were 15 workers (10 males and
tion pertinent to the Board and available 5 females) in our sample from the nakas and
legal entitlements therein. The contractor besides, different stakeholders were inter-
and the principal employer should pro- viewed. Most workers were between the
vide necessary documents and pay the cess ages of 30 and 50 years and three male par-
amount to the Board on time. The process ticipants were under 30 years of age. Except
includes mainly prescribed format of regis- for two male participants, all are married and
tration, three passport size photographs and two were widowers. Religion-wise major-
90 days’ work prior to registration. Naka ity of them were Hindus followed by three
workers, however, face difficulties in man- Buddhists and one Muslim. Undoubtedly,
aging the documents and are often unable all belonged to the lower strata of the soci-
to produce them. On the other hand, com- ety, comprising lower castes such as Mahar,
pany workers manage to get the same from Mang, Namoshudra, Matang, Dhangar and
respective employers and contractors. Now, Banjari. Hence, these historically backward
according to a newly framed notification, communities still predominantly occupy a
local self-governments also have the author- major stake in the ‘informal nature of work’.
ity to provide a certificate to street-corner In addition, all the site workers who were
workers. Since, as per definition9 of ‘con- interviewed stayed at the worksites itself.
struction/building worker’, naka workers However, naka workers stayed in rented
perform all the tasks enlisted in the defi- houses and four participants had land (barely
nition of ‘building or other construction 1–2 acres) in their village. Others were mar-
work’.10 However, they have been denied ginalized landless workers.
legal entitlements in lieu of providing the Further, 50 per cent of participants were
requisite procedure. Even, the Municipal illiterate and remaining people had not
Corporation refuses to serve them required passed the SSC and HSC examination and it
certificates which are frequently asked was revealed that no female participants had
for by the Board. Again, Nirman Majdoor been enrolled in school by their parents. No
Sanghatana’s11 office bearers strive hard workers were educationally qualified, though
across the state to pursue the rights of these some graduate workers were identified at a
workers since the inception of the Act. street corner. Education can be considered as
9
As per Section 2(e) ‘Building Worker’ means, ‘a person who is employed to do any skilled, semi-skilled or
unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment
be expressed or implied, in connection with any building or other construction work but excludes a person who
is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity. Even a person, who employed in a supervisory
capacity, draws wages exceeding `1,600 per mensem, or exercises, functions mainly of a managerial nature’.
10
As per section 2(d) ‘building or other construction’ work means the construction, alteration, repairs, main-
tenance or demolition of, or in relation to, buildings, streets, roads, railways, tramways, airfields, irrigation,
drainage, embankment and navigation works, flood control works (including storm water drainage works),
generation, transmission and distribution of power, water works (including channels for distribution of water), oil
and gas installations, electric lines, wireless, radio, television, telephone, telegraph and overseas communications,
dams, canals, reservoirs, watercourses, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, aqueducts, pipelines, towers, cooling towers,
transmission towers and such other work as may be specified in this behalf by the appropriate Government, by
notification but does not include any building or other construction work to which the provisions of the Factories
Act, 1948 (63 of 1948) or the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952), apply.
11
An organization working for organizing street-corner workers across Maharashtra.
a means of development, especially for under- hold the government’s Slum Rehabilitation
privileged and marginalized communities Authority responsible as it reduced their
across the world. In fact, female workers do employment probability. Before the scheme,
not get employment opportunities at build- people from slums would approach the naka
ing sites through contractors and principal workers. However, now builders are engaged
employers due to security reasons. Moreover, highly in capturing all the contracts.
all the participants were natives of small vil- Sandesh,12 a naka worker, expressed—
lages in rural India. At naka, ratio of intrami-
Here people live in a dire situation. Activists are
grants (within the state) was higher than that
busy making their own benefits. Do not know
of intermigrants (different state), whereas where Cess amount goes. There are many unem-
local workers were treated as intramigrants ployed here in this Naka. If Naka workers’ chil-
because they did not own any assets (like dren qualify enough then inevitably they could
own house and land). Therefore, they pre- not be here. Our children go to the municipal-
ity school. Children of Naka workers should not
ferred to stay in a nuclear family, as majority
become engineers and doctors. Hardly a person
of the participants were staying in this kind of from a Naka worker’s family is well educated.
family structure. Two widow workers single- Nobody is here to guide our children as they go
handedly took care of the entire family due in that direction where his or her friends choose.
to the early deaths of their husbands. It was
found that these two widows did not have sup- High unemployment among street- corner
port from either relatives. workers makes them aggrieved against the state
policies which deny them their rights. Absence
of compliance of the Interstate Migrant
PRECARIOUSNESS AND DECENT Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, the BOCW
WORK: CASTE AND GENDER-BASED (Regulation of Employment and Conditions
EXCLUSION of Service) Act, 1996 and the Unorganised
Workers Social Security Act, 2008 has led to
Narratives of the street-corner workers were deteriorating conditions not only for workmen
coded as per predetermined themes of precar- who stand at crossroads but also for the entire
iousness (Standing, 2011) and decent work household.
(Ghai, 2006), which further explained the dep- Migrants have limited scope to commu-
rivation and social exclusion of migrant work- nicate and share their concerns with others.
ers from the very labour policies that aim to Under worker category, almost all work-
safeguard the rights of the workers. Workers ers are recruited through a contractor at the
mainly lack labour market security that is a site. Consequently, distress among intrastate
major concern for their survival. It is related to migrants due to the entry of interstate migrants
adequate income earning opportunities availa- had a negative influence on their employment.
ble to the workers. It also indicates the govern- Intrastate workers claimed to have spent many
ment’s policy regarding a commitment to full years of life at this naka. A worker argued:
employment. By contrast, different working Migrants come here on a seasonal basis and
conditions were observed during an interview captured all our employment. We lose our work.
with the workers. They get barely 7–8 days’ We work for 500 to 600 rupees a day wages,
work in a month. This situation has existed for migrants go in fewer wages. They come with-
the last 10 years. At Chembur naka, workers out their family because they do not have any
12
All the names of the participants have been changed to maintain anonymity and for ethical concerns.
residential place; they sleep on roads or footpaths FINDINGS

since they have to spend barely 2 to 3 months. As
soon as monsoon begins, they go back to their
native places. However, being a residential of Unutilized Cess Fund
this state we have to manage our family; further
includes medical expenses, ration, children’s edu- There are two broad reasons for unspent allo-
cation, electricity, water bill and so many. Besides cated cess funds. First, it is outnumbered by
during the monsoon there is no work. migrants, and second is understaffing at the
Board office. The number of outside work-
Meanwhile, petty contractors give them work ers is high, for instance, migrants from other
in the tender. Contractor goes to their village states are registered in the Board barely for
and takes them to the construction site by few months but during the disbursement of
giving only `1,000–2,000. Manual workers benefits, they are not present at the office.
get housing facility at the site that saves them However, their representative union asks to
shelter expenses. They cook their food at the give their benefits but due to least guarantee
workplace, hence, on an average, contractor to reach actual benefits to the worker’s, the
may pay them barely `100 a day. However, Board snubs to do that. Thus, it is problem-
it reduces the chances to recruit local work- atic on the part of the Board to catch them
ers as they ask for more wages per day. Thus, to allocate benefits. Similarly, lack of human
hapless naka construction workers are hugely resource in the Board offices creates hin-
disappointed about the state government’s drances in operations.
policies which coerce them to move to another
state. If the state provides employment facility
to migrant workers, then it will increase the
probability of the street-corner worker’s find- The Complexity of Acts and
ing employment. Inefficiency of the Statutory Board
Furthermore, the absence of a contract There are many loopholes in the Acts
between worker and contractor affects applicable to street-corner workers, and
workers. Sometimes contractors run away especially, the BOCW Act has been found
from the workplace. They deceive innocent that needs to be reformed at the earliest.
workers often. They also take workers to Similarly, there should be an easy mech-
distant sites and then disappear without con- anism with provisions enshrined in it.
veying anything to them. Even some of the Bureaucratic procedures perpetually side-
alcoholic employers beat female workers. line the major stakeholders of the scheme.
Vulnerable groups of workers tackle numer- Being a socially and educationally back-
ous market-related problems. They do not get ward section, workers face difficulties while
extra pay for overtime and often it lies upon following administrative procedures. Naïve
the employer. For instance, some workers workers now and then wonder how to get
narrated that an employer says, ‘Do this much benefits of policy but the complexity of pro-
work’ but then they invariably escape from the visions and inappropriate implementation
working place never to return. Hence, these from the government have often been inef-
multiple levels of deprivations land them into ficient in mitigating plights of workers. The
precarious conditions, which is literally based government officers always say directly to
on their caste and gender position. Similarly, people that ‘it’s not my work’.
decent work is a myth for them as no employ-
ment has been observed for long.
Invisible Existence of Caste in the BOCW Act came into existence because of
Labour Market successive movements that lasted years, yet
the implementation is poor. Hence, the pres-
Majority of workers at street corners ence of different communities can be noticed
belong to lower castes. It seems naka work in the labour market. It may conclude that the
is reserved for particular communities. invisible existence of caste negatively influ-
Repercussions of caste-based social order, ences the marginalized communities on a
which subjugates deprived sections, were massive scale.
analysed in hidden forms in the informal
segment. Since upper-caste communities
uphold businesses and enterprises, labour
is predominantly part of the service class Chain of Contractors and
among weaker sections. Similarly, groups of Subcontractors
workers served higher-caste people at their In India, the unorganized sector is in danger
colonies, buildings and bungalows. This is a due to the shadow of globalization. We can
‘service sector’ in my view. The service pro- clearly visualize a long chain of contrac-
viders are slum dwellers in various parts of tors and subcontractors in the diverse labour
Greater Mumbai. Ostensibly, slums are part market, which is reducing the obligations of
of the service sector. Moreover, through this principal employers. Besides, at crossroads,
study, it may culminate that Indian informal temporary relationships between workers and
construction workers are endangered since employers prevail. More interestingly, at street
they work in ‘more than precariat’ situa- corners, on 30 days, workers are employed
tions. Besides, ‘other dimensions’ inter alia with 30 different employers. Thus, unstable
caste, class, gender, region and religion are relationships deprive workers from getting
decisive factors increasingly developing regular employment chances and required
‘precariat class’ situation in the informal documents to prove their eligibility to exploit
setup. benefits of labour policy.
Caste-based Influence of Lobbies

CONCLUSION
It was observed that political system and
different lobbies working under the pur- The construction industry is observed to be
view of the informal sector may be liable driven by employing migrant working popu-
to create unfavourable situations before lation. Outside labourers fail to secure legal
a disadvantaged section of workers. For rights despite having citizenship of the nation.
instance, Maratha, an upper dominant caste Indeed, ‘decent work is a myth’. The defini-
in Maharashtra lobbies and succeeded to tion of workers should be rationalized again.
commence their Act, namely the Maharashtra Accessibility and registration should easily go
Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers without demanding more documents. Informal
(Regulation of Employment and Welfare) sector workers merely seem like an element of
Act, 1969. Shortly, the workers appear as profit maximization for the employer class.
being close to a political nexus and get bene- Oppression is commonly observed. The state
fits out of it. By contrast, prior to the BOCW government, employers and trade unions
Act, construction workers strived hard to get are imperatively responsible and answera-
the Bill passed. Perhaps it deprives a group ble to underprivileged workers. The working
of construction workers since they did not framework of crossroad limits the duties of
have any political connection. Though the
employers. Hence, the workers do not have Agasty, M. P. (2016). Impact of rural-urban labour
a permanent employer. At the crossroads, migration on education of left behind children:
different workers are assigned different roles Evidence from rural India. Arthshastra: Indian
through different contractors, therefore, they Journal of Economics and Research, 5(4), 48–56.
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56
Migration and Financial Transfers
S. Irudaya Rajan
U. S. Mishra
INTRODUCTION overpopulated with greater density of popula-

tion. Such a feature is common to the internal
Migration is one of the three basic components mobility of Indian population as well which
of population change in any area (Lusome & showed a remarkable positive shift during the
Bhagat, 2006; Singh, Kumar, Singh & Yadava, 1990s. The facts on Indian mobility based
2011). Internal migration plays a vital role in on the 1931 Census of India made Kingsley
the process of development in any country/ Davis (1951) observe that Indians are less
region. Migration affects and is affected by mobile. After a few decades, the mobility of
socio-economic conditions prevalent at both Indian population stands close to 30 per cent
places of origin and destination. The in-flow which is counter to the observation of Davis
and out-flow of migration have a bearing on on Indian mobility. Megacities of India, like
the labour market, housing, healthcare, edu- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, shaped
cation and welfare of different communities. the pattern and flow of migration and urbani-
India has a long history of migration which zation in India that intensified urban mobility.
has shaped its social history, culture and The Census of India has been a vital source
pattern of development (Bhagat, 2014). The of information on internal migration in India. As
study of internal migration is pertinent in per the 2001 Census, almost every third (Rajan,
understanding population redistribution and 2011) person in India is a migrant and one out
its consequences on economic and social fac- of 10 migrants is an interstate migrant, based on
tors (Rele, 1969). the criteria of place of last residence (UNESCO,
Migration to a particular place of destination 2012). The 2011 Census of India reported that
is conditioned by its socio-economic, cultural there were 454 million migrants based on the
and other characteristics, apart from its size, place of last residence that constitutes about 37
as it is often seen that migration destination is per cent of the total population. The number of
migrants has nearly doubled as the number of
Migration and Financial Transfers 781
migrants recorded in the Census of 1971 was trend in intradistrict migration with increasing
around 159 million (Lusome & Bhagat, 2006). trend of interdistrict and interstate migrations.
As per the latest reports, about two out of Though the volume of intrastate migration
10 Indians are internal migrants who have is higher than that of interstate migration,
moved across district or state lines (Abbas & there has been a noticeable decline in the
Varma, 2014). Significant shares of internal overall trend. Interstate migration increased
movements are driven by long-distance and from 11.8 per cent in 1971 to 13.31 per cent
male-dominated labour migration. Labour in 2001. It is largely because of the develop-
mobility has become one of globalization’s ment imbalances across regions. There are
defining features, and there are an estimated regions attracting migrant labour from regions
150 million migrant workers around the world with surplus labour, and they are often across
today (IOM, 2017). Data from the National states, inducing the flow of mobility across
Sample Survey Office (NSSO) 64th round states more than within states.
shows an increase in short-term out-migration When one compares the shares of intradis-
notwithstanding a slight modification in the trict, interdistrict and interstate migrations, it
concept. According to data from the National is evident that there is a rise in the interstate
Sample Survey (NSS) 64th round, there were, share of migrants. Intradistrict migration is
in 2007–2008, an estimated 15.2 million decreasing with a rise in interstate migration
short-term out-migrants in India. Construction among male and female migrants. However,
has emerged as the principal industry that there are gender differences in these types of
employs short-term out-migrants. The share migration. Female migration is predominantly
of interstate migration is going to be a signif- of short distance when compared with male
icant component in India’s internal migration. migration; therefore, male migrants account
This movement involves people from different for a disproportionate share in interstate
socio-cultural backgrounds and with different migration as against intradistrict migration by
skills. Though the volume of interstate migra- female migrants. This trend can be observed
tion is lesser than other types of migration, the even in developed countries (Smith, 1941).
quality of migration in this category, such as Women migrate within shorter distances with
educational levels and professional skills of the reason behind such mobility being mar-
migrants, is reasonably distinct and better. riage. On the contrary, male migration fre-
This chapter is an attempt at presenting a com- quently qualifies to be long-distance (i.e., of
prehensive account of interstate migration in the interdistrict or interstate variety) with the
terms of quantity and quality of migration and reason being in search of better employment
its changing trends since 1971. opportunities.
As per the 2001 Census, majority of
the women (67%) migrate within the dis-
tricts, with only 10 per cent of them moving
TRENDS OF MIGRATION TYPES, between states, which amounts to 20 per
STREAMS AND REASONS cent among male migrants (see Table 56.1).
Since 1981, interstate migration is more fre-
While migration can be short or long distance, quent among male migrants than it is among
this particular feature can be comprehended female migrants. It has been observed that
with interdistrict or intradistrict as well as women migrate to shorter distances, whereas
interstate or intrastate migrations. The most men migrate to much longer distances.
distant among these categories can be inter- With regard to the stream of migration,
state migration. Migrations within these cat- there is a domination of the rural–rural stream
egories based on internal mobility have been since 1971 (see Figure 56.1). However, there
changing since 1971. There is a declining is an increasing trend of migration towards the
Table 56.1 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Type of Migration, 1971–2011

1981 1991 2001 2011
Reason for
Migration Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
Work/ 10.67 30.98 1.93 8.8 27.8 1.8 9.5 28.1 1.7 10.2 27.7 2.4
employment
Business — — — 2.3 7.1 0.5 0.9 2.6 0.2 1.0 2.3 0.4
Education 2.23 5.36 0.89 2.0 5.0 0.8 1.1 2.5 0.4 1.8 3.4 1.0
Marriage 51.51 3.06 72.36 57.3 4.1 77.0 49.6 2.3 69.6 49.4 4.3 69.7
Moved — — — — — — 5.0 9.9 2.9 10.6 20.2 6.2
after birth
Moved 19.23 30.23 14.49 15.0 26.5 10.7 13.7 19.4 11.3 15.4 22.3 12.3
with
household
Others 16.36 30.37 10.33 14.2 28.4 8.9 20.2 35.2 13.9 11.7 19.8 8.1
Source: Based on Various Censuses.
70.0
60.0
50.0
Percentage of
40.0
Migrants
30.0
20.0
10.0
00.0
Rural to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Rural Urban to Urban
1971 1981 1991 2001
Figure 56.1 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Stream of Migration in India,

1981–2001
Source: Census of India, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001.
urban areas. In 1971, 13.8 per cent of migrants Sample Survey 2007–2008, migration rate in
moved from rural to urban areas, which urban areas is 35 per cent, which indicates the
increased to 16.7 per cent in 2001. At the same migrant population in urban areas.
time, urban-to-urban migration also witnessed Based on the analysis of the type of migra-
an increase of 9.8 per cent to 11.8 per cent. tion and stream of migration, it is apparent that
In these two streams of migration, majority male migration is predominantly long distance
of increase was among male migrants. From and urban-bound as against female migration
1971 to 2001, in each census, more than 65 which is short distance and rural-centric.
per cent of the women migrated between An enquiry into the reasons behind mobil-
rural areas (see Table 56.2). An increasing ity over time and across gender reveals a
number of people, especially men, with insuf- common pattern that marriage is the most
ficient economic opportunities in rural areas, common reason for internal migration in
moved to cities and towns. As per the National India. Nearly half of the migration takes place
Table 56.2 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Stream of Migration, 1981–2001

1971 1981 1991 2001
Stream of Migration Males Females Males Females Males Females Males Females
Rural to rural 50.8 76.8 45.2 73.3 43.3 72 28.8 66.6

Rural to urban 24.0 10.2 27.7 12.0 29.8 13.2 27 12.4
Urban to rural 7.5 5.1 7.6 5.5 7.4 5.4 5.0 3.9
Urban to urban 16.6 7.5 19.2 9.1 18.9 9.0 18.2 9.2
Source: Census of India, 2001.
Table 56.3 Percentage Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Reasons for Migration, 1981–2001
1981 1991 2001
Reason for Migration Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Persons Males Female
Work/employment 10.67 30.98 1.93 8.8 27.8 1.8 9.5 28.1 1.7
Business — — — 2.3 7.1 0.5 0.9 2.6 0.2
Education 2.23 5.36 0.89 2.0 5.0 0.8 1.1 2.5 0.4
Marriage 51.51 3.06 72.36 57.3 4.1 77.0 49.6 2.3 69.6
Moved after birth — — — — — — 5.0 9.9 2.9
Moved with household 19.23 30.23 14.49 15.0 26.5 10.7 13.7 19.4 11.3
Others 16.36 30.37 10.33 14.2 28.4 8.9 20.2 35.2 13.9
due to marriage (see Table 56.3). However, migrants vary widely due to their diverse
there are differences between male and educational levels, incomes, skills and even
female migrants. Nearly 70 per cent of female in terms of individual profiles, such as family
migrants stated marriage as the reason for composition, age, gender, religion, caste and
migration in all censuses since 1981. In case of other characteristics (Abbas & Varma, 2014).
male migrants, work/employment and moved Interstate migration is gradually increas-
with households are the two major reasons for ing over the decades, though in limited size.
migration. Nearly 30 per cent of men migrate In 1951, there were 10.5 million interstate
due to work/employment reasons. One impor- migrants constituting only 3 per cent of the
tant thing to notice here is that the reasons for total population (Chaudhry, 1992), and the
migration among male migrants are diverse figure increased to nearly 42 million in 2001
than those among female migrants. constituting around 4 per cent of the total pop-
ulation. These percentages appear minor but
have bigger implications on the redistribution
of Indian population.
INTERSTATE MIGRATION: AN Interstate migration increases even further
EMERGING CONCERN due to the changing demographic trends, such
as increasing ageing population in some states,
Long-distance migration has diverse impli- young and rising population in few states and
cations than short-distance migration. For growing employment opportunities along
example, the former one comprises migrants with cheaper communication and transporta-
with different socio-cultural and economic tion facilities (UNDP, 2009). The north Indian
backgrounds moving to a place which is dif- states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the larg-
ferent from their place of origin. Internal est migrant-sending states (Table 56.4). It has
Table 56.4 Percentage of Lifetime Interstate Migrants, 1971–2001

States 1971 Census 1981 Census 1991 Census 2001 Census
Jammu & Kashmir 8.60 13.62 NA 8.86

Himachal Pradesh 13.06 21.05 13.11 16.35
Punjab 14.90 26.14 17.31 19.72
Haryana 31.27 43.63 32.14 36.31
Rajasthan 11.47 17.92 11.73 10.68
Uttar Pradesh 5.88 11.61 6.37 6.88
Bihar 6.24 13.23 4.84 7.99
Sikkim 46.60 37.92 20.91 27.28
Arunachal Pradesh 25.67 36.55 34.96 34.54
Nagaland 43.48 36.94 35.91 21.81
Manipur 10.35 19.80 13.92 3.94
Mizoram NA 11.59 9.76 13.93
Tripura 9.35 11.51 9.44 9.11
Meghalaya 21.92 26.60 27.77 22.48
Assam 11.46 NA 9.47 6.11
West Bengal 20.27 31.91 13.24 10.91
Jharkhand NA NA NA 23.35
Odisha 7.61 14.33 7.08 6.02
Chhattisgarh NA NA NA 13.61
Madhya Pradesh 11.84 15.72 11.42 11.94
Gujarat 9.07 15.20 10.79 11.39
Maharashtra 17.97 22.63 16.06 17.61
Andhra Pradesh 5.13 6.34 5.08 4.41
Karnataka 12.43 15.93 11.99 12.56
Goa NA 39.78 30.09 29.52
Kerala 5.91 7.32 5.38 4.97
Tamil Nadu 6.74 8.50 6.44 4.65
been observed that there is a shift in the migra- increasing number of international migrants
tion process from northern to southern parts of from these states.
India. The recent Economic Survey of India Composition of migrants also differs by
(2017) estimated that the magnitude of interstate their places of origin and destination. Majority
migration in India was close to 9 million annu- of migrants, who migrate between rural areas,
ally between 2011 and 2016, and the major des- are illiterates and in all other counterparts
tination states were Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, majority of the migrants are literates (see
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Table 56.5). As per the 2001 Census, more
The percentage of interstate migrants is than 60 per cent of rural to rural migrants were
higher in northern and western states of India illiterates compared with nearly 70 per cent of
and has increased over the decades since 1971 literate migrants from rural to urban areas. An
(see Figure 56.2). Interstate migration in South urban area attracts more literate migrants than
Indian states, except Karnataka, has declined it does illiterate migrants.
over the decades. It might be because of the Interstate migrants do not necessarily
migrate to cities. There were some proportions
35.00
30.00
Percentage of Migrants
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
sh
h
r
u
l
ra
ha
es
a
ga
la
at
es
ad
de
ak
ht
ra
jar
Bi
ad
en
ad
il N
as
at
ra
Ke
Gu
Pr
tB
Pr
rn
rP
ar
m
Ka
ya
ah
es
ra
Ta
ta
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M
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An
M
1971 1981 1991 2001
Figure 56.2 Percentage of Lifetime Interstate Migrants of Major States of India, 1971–2001
Table 56.5 Percentage of Lifetime Migrants by Their Educational Level and Stream of
Migration, 2001
Illiterate Literate
Stream of Migration Persons Males Females Persons Males Females
Rural to rural 62.3 34.5 67.4 37.7 65.5 32.6

Urban to rural 34.8 24.5 40.4 65.2 75.5 59.6
Rural to urban 31.2 19.3 41.9 68.8 80.7 58.1
Urban to urban 19.2 14.2 23.3 80.8 85.8 76.7
of interstate migrants who migrated from rural WORK AND EMPLOYMENT AS A MAIN
areas and ended in rural areas of other states REASON FOR MIGRATION
(see Table 56.6). However, this differs based
on their educational levels and professional Migration, especially due to work and
skills. Skilled migrants prefer to migrate to employment, has played an important
urban areas. Interstate migration to urban role in the process of development around
areas reflects migration of people from lower the world. In 2001, there were around
socio-economic classes from rural areas. As 30 million internal migrants in India that
per the 2001 Census, there were 15 million migrated due to work and employment rea-
interstate migrants who migrated from rural sons (Table 56.7). Of them nearly 40 per
areas to urban areas, and interestingly, two cent migrated to other states (interstate)
out of five of these migrants migrated due to and remaining 60 per cent migrated within
work and employment reasons. These results their state (intrastate). Migration due to
showed the importance of interstate migra- employment is consistently high in case of
tion, especially from rural to urban areas due male migrants. Nearly 30 per cent of men
to work and employment.
Table 56.6 Percentage of Interstate Migrants Table 56.7 Percentage Share of Interstate
and Their Migration from Rural to Urban Migrants with Duration of 0–9 Years Who
Areas, 2001 Stated Their Reason for Migration as
‘Work/Employment’, by Place of Origin and
Percentage of
Educational Levels, 2001
Interstate Migrants
Interstate from Rural to Percentage Share of Interstate Migrants
Jammu & Kashmir Migration Urban Areas State/Union
Territory Rural Urban Illiterates Literates
8.86 65.12
Jammu and 76.85 23.15 40.40 59.60
Himachal Pradesh 16.35 27.14
Kashmir
Punjab 19.72 53.25
Himachal 75.30 24.70 27.25 72.75
Haryana 36.31 40.43 Pradesh
Rajasthan 10.68 28.52 Punjab 83.58 16.42 41.41 58.59
Uttar Pradesh 6.88 26.96 Haryana 80.97 19.03 40.25 59.75
Bihar 7.99 10.13 Rajasthan 66.14 33.86 28.17 71.83
Sikkim 27.28 26.19 Uttar 70.85 29.15 42.21 57.79
Arunachal Pradesh 34.54 35.74 Pradesh
Nagaland 21.81 52.86 Bihar 59.14 40.86 31.66 68.34
Manipur 3.94 29.53 Sikkim 68.92 31.08 29.16 70.84
Mizoram 13.93 54.30 Arunachal 75.28 24.72 37.74 62.26
Tripura 9.11 12.31 Pradesh
Meghalaya 22.48 41.25 Nagaland 64.14 35.86 34.14 65.86
Assam 6.11 49.40 Manipur 62.76 37.24 23.66 76.34
West Bengal 10.91 67.09 Mizoram 56.71 43.29 16.26 83.74
Jharkhand 23.35 61.56 Tripura 73.19 26.81 43.70 56.30
Odisha 6.02 41.51 Meghalaya 58.64 41.36 19.17 80.83
Chhattisgarh 13.61 53.15 Assam 65.48 34.52 22.98 77.02
Madhya Pradesh 11.94 45.84 West Bengal 80.62 19.38 43.09 56.91
Gujarat 11.39 77.34 Jharkhand 69.63 30.37 13.61 86.39
Maharashtra 17.61 79.94 Odisha 60.47 39.53 20.51 79.49
Andhra Pradesh 4.41 32.46 Chhattisgarh 63.14 36.86 17.69 82.31
Karnataka 12.56 46.09 Madhya 57.86 42.14 17.91 82.09
Pradesh
Goa 29.52 65.25
Gujarat 82.28 17.72 20.13 79.87
Kerala 4.97 30.27
Maharashtra 75.46 24.54 23.48 76.52
Tamil Nadu 4.65 63.47
Andhra 54.53 45.47 24.51 75.49
Source: Census of India, 2001. Pradesh
Karnataka 55.44 44.56 21.77 78.23
migrated due to work and employment Goa 64.09 35.91 30.58 69.42
reasons. Interstate migration is witnessing Kerala 69.11 30.89 23.55 76.45
increasing migration from rural to urban Tamil Nadu 41.36 58.64 11.73 88.27
areas. Majority of the interstate migrants
Sources: Census of India, 2001.
are from rural areas with low to high educa-
tional levels. Interstate male migration was
mainly due to employment reasons, and it Except from Tamil Nadu, from all other
increased during the period from 1981 to states, interstate migrants were more from
2001. As per the 2001 Census, of the 41 rural areas than from urban areas. Literate
million interstate migrants, 26 per cent people tend to migrate more than illiterate
migrated due to employment reasons. people because of their skills required in
out-of-state urban areas. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, However, the size and share of population
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are facing brain across regions continues to remain diverse
drain, which means out-migration of edu- presenting a demographic divide within the
cated and skilled personnel (Chandrasekhar country. This would take longer to converge
& Sharma, 2014). There are more interstate than imagined given the emerging disparity in
migrants from urban areas of South Indian development. In this milieu, internal mobility
states compared with northern states. has gained significance, and there is a grow-
Variations in the growth rate of interstate ing share of migrants in India than in the past.
migration are a function not only of differ- Hence, migration has become a dominating
ences in birth and death rates but also of the force in reading population change. The count
levels and directions of migration, which can and share of population across states remains
both alter or strengthen the changes in the crucial for planning exercises wherein
rates of natural increase (Visaria & Visaria, resource allocations are made in keeping with
1981). Migration rate indicates the number the structure and composition of population
of migrants to the population of a particular across regions. The differential pace of demo-
region (Bhende & Kanitkar, 1978). A posi- graphic transition in India across regions pre-
tive sign indicates in-migration and a negative sents a varied population composition across
sign indicates out-migration. Migration cre- regions. Growing internal mobility plays a
ates fluctuations in the interstate population vital role in balancing the varying population
growth rate (see Table 56.8). Migration rate composition across regions with gaining states
has not been the same in all states of India over (positive net migration) and losing states (neg-
the decades. However, there are some states ative net migration). While mobility is largely
which have been consistent in maintaining a among the working age population, it is all the
negative migration rate, such as Kerala, Uttar more important to consider migration in the
Pradesh and Bihar. These three states have calculus of population change.
maintained their consistence in being major The aforementioned discussion on the
migrant-sending states in India. Over the dec- structure, composition and characteristics
ades, Andhra Pradesh changed from being a of internal migration serves a noble purpose
migrant-receiving state to a migrant-sending beyond a diagnosis of the migration phenom-
state. The migration rate of Andhra Pradesh enon. In recent times, there is a discourse
decreased from a positive migration rate of on considering population size and compo-
3.69 per cent in 1971–1981 to negative 0.53 sition in the decision regarding allocation of
per cent in 2001–2011 (see Table 56.8), which resources that would serve towards a larger
indicates a change in the state’s migration goal of convergence in growth and develop-
levels and directions. Migrants’ characteris- ment of regions. However, it may be naïve to
tics play an important role in the study of the consider mere population size to serve as a key
quality of internal migration. in setting principles of allocation, ignoring its
compositional and characteristic features. The
compositional aspect of population beyond
age and sex is relevant in the current con-
MIGRATION: THE NERVE OF READING text as there is a reasonable share of migrant
POPULATION CHANGE population across regions. Regions ahead in
demographic transition do not merely have
With the advances of demographic transition, greater mobility or scarcity in the workforce
the fertility response to mortality reduction but also have an advantage in human develop-
is almost near convergence across regions in ment. This emerging scenario evolves into an
India and it is being revealed through natu- environment of aspiration with greater expec-
ral growth rate of population across regions. tation of wages that often creates a vacuum in
Table 56.8 Percentage of Decadal Growth Rate, Natural Growth Rate and Migration Rates in India, 1971–2001
Percentage Decadal Growth Rate Natural Growth Rate Migration Rate
State/Union Territory 1971–1981 1981–1991 1991–2001 2001–2011 1971–1981 1981–1991 1991–2001 2001–2011 1971–1981 1981–1991 1991–2001 2001–2011
India 24.78 23.38 21.90 17.64 19.81 21.16 18.60 16.10 4.97 2.22 3.30 1.54
Jammu & Kashmir 28.37 29.91 31.74 23.71 20.70 23.50 14.20 13.20 7.67 6.41 17.54 10.51
Himachal Pradesh 22.49 20.34 19.17 12.81 20.34 21.09 16.70 11.90 2.15 −0.75 2.47 0.91
Punjab 23.02 21.18 20.59 13.73 20.85 20.56 16.72 11.64 2.17 0.62 3.87 2.09
Chandigarh 75.10 33.33 50.11 17.10 28.34 19.21 13.57 12.00 46.75 14.12 36.54 5.10
Uttarakhand NA NA NA 19.17 NA NA NA 12.65 NA NA NA 6.52
Haryana 28.04 26.84 29.72 19.90 25.74 25.90 21.46 17.60 2.30 0.94 8.26 2.30
NCT of Delhi 52.39 51.71 47.35 20.96 21.19 21.30 16.78 13.40 31.20 30.41 30.57 7.56
Rajasthan 32.36 28.73 28.72 21.44 21.80 24.21 23.80 21.61 10.56 4.52 4.91 −0.17
Uttar Pradesh 25.49 25.21 19.74 20.09 21.47 23.04 23.49 21.32 4.02 2.17 −3.75 −1.23
Bihar 23.90 23.60 −3.83 25.07 — 23.62 21.84 22.18 — −0.02 −25.67 2.89
Sikkim 50.48 26.58 35.21 12.36 — 22.01 15.94 14.41 — 4.57 19.27 −2.05
Arunachal Pradesh 34.19 43.31 22.00 25.92 — 20.53 17.11 16.16 — 22.78 4.89 9.77
Nagaland 49.81 55.24 65.84 −0.47 — 16.54 15.45 12.47 — 38.70 50.39 −12.94
Manipur 33.64 25.52 27.44 18.65 21.49 19.44 14.04 10.77 12.15 6.08 13.40 7.89
Mizoram 46.99 43.44 26.94 22.78 — — 10.82 12.55 — — 16.12 10.23
Tripura 32.39 31.07 18.49 14.75 19.67 17.72 13.43 9.84 12.72 13.35 5.06 4.91
Meghalaya 31.23 28.01 36.40 27.82 19.88 24.36 21.11 17.40 11.35 3.65 15.29 10.42
Assam 36.08 12.04 19.53 16.93 18.18 21.20 18.93 16.18 17.90 −9.16 0.60 0.76
West Bengal 22.96 24.80 17.91 13.93 — 20.63 15.67 12.33 — 4.17 2.23 1.61
Jharkhand NA NA NA 22.34 NA NA NA 18.44 NA NA NA 3.91
Odisha 19.72 19.90 16.84 13.97 16.85 19.00 15.45 12.71 2.87 0.90 1.39 1.26
Chhattisgarh NA NA NA 22.59 NA NA NA 19.66 NA NA NA 2.93
Madhya Pradesh 25.15 26.79 −8.70 20.30 21.74 23.30 21.17 20.04 3.41 3.49 −29.87 0.26
Gujarat 27.21 21.32 22.99 19.17 22.76 21.34 18.41 16.33 4.45 −0.02 4.57 2.84
Daman & Diu — — 58.20 53.54 — — 16.88 14.03 — — 41.32 39.51
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 40.54 34.62 57.49 55.50 21.27 27.35 23.58 23.06 19.27 7.27 33.91 32.44
Maharashtra 24.36 25.53 23.10 15.99 17.44 20.62 16.16 12.01 6.92 4.91 6.94 3.98
Andhra Pradesh 22.76 24.15 14.95 11.10 19.07 19.43 14.74 11.63 3.69 4.72 0.21 −0.53
Karnataka 26.43 20.94 17.97 15.67 17.44 19.87 15.98 13.40 8.99 1.07 1.99 2.27
Goa 27.14 10.91 12.31 8.17 13.89 11.00 7.33 6.80 13.25 −0.09 4.98 1.37
Lakshadweep 25.00 25.00 21.30 6.23 — 23.15 18.90 11.78 — 1.85 2.40 −5.55
Kerala 19.00 14.16 9.80 4.86 19.83 16.38 11.68 8.90 −0.83 −2.22 −1.89 −4.05
Tamil Nadu 17.23 15.12 12.24 15.60 16.29 15.06 11.50 9.45 0.94 0.06 0.74 6.15
Puducherry 27.97 32.45 21.79 27.72 18.47 14.93 11.17 9.48 9.50 17.52 10.62 18.24
Andaman and Nicobar 21.29 59.57 18.72 6.68 26.87 20.84 13.97 11.67 −5.58 38.73 4.75 −4.99
Islands
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Visaria, P., & Visaria, L. (1981). Indian population scene
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Online Journal of the Migration Policy Institute. Pub-
Index
Aajeevika Bureau, 643–644 antenatal care (ANC) services, 499–502

Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, 714 assets, 618
above poverty line (APL), 454 Association for Liberation of Peasants, 518
accommodation, 674 audiometry tests, 648
Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), 501 automobile industry in India, 22
adverse incorporations Automotive Mission Plan (AMP), 22, 545
case of Tamil Nadu, 533–534 Average dependency on mobile labour (ADML),
dimensions of adverse incorporations, 536–542 610
forms of manifestation, 536 average monthly per capita savings, 661
globalization, impact of, 534–535 awareness regarding rights, lack of, 758
interstate migration in contemporary India, 531–533
survey and data collection, 534 Bagri region, 606
age of rural-to-urban migration, 454–455 basic healthcare, challenge to, 756–757
age profile, 643–644 bathing, 466
agriculture activities, 629 Battle of Aberdeen, 517
agriculture-supported livelihoods, 532 begars, 644
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), 464 Beliaghata Circular Canal, 513
alienation and resistance, spaces below poverty line (BPL), 454
AMP, 545 bhim pachad workers, 644
MSIL, 546 binary logistic regression, 143
production biopolitics of development, displacement and
Company Trainees (CTs), 547 developing body, 510–512
cultural and regional differences, 547 extinct body, 514–518
high work intensity, 546 sovereign body, 518–519
Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), 546 vulnerable bodies, 512–514
motive behind, 547 bivariate analysis, 144–148
MSWU, 546 brick making, 672
self-realization, 547 brick-kiln industry, 672–673
wage, 546 Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act
workers, 546–547 1996, 444, 463
reproduction Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of
landlords, 548 Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
migrants, 547 1966, 754
restrictions, 548 building construction work, 611
workers, holidays, 548 building resilience
resistance background and selection of study area, 165–166
migrant, 548 compulsions and challenges, 164–175
motives, 548 discussion, 171–175
movement, 549 experiences and outcomes of migration, 168
MSIL, 549 hanging, 168–169
MSWU, 548 livelihood background of study villages, 166–167
SIAM, 545 sliding down, 171
anganwadi, 727 stepping up, 170–171
Anganwadi worker (AWW), 501 building rooftops, 470–471
capitalist and subsistence, 33–34 freedom of association, 648–649

caste system recruitment process, 644
based influence of lobbies, 777 remuneration, 644–645
caste and migration social protection, 646
Konkan case study, 260 wage payment, 645
diasporas, 259–260 work contracts, 645
gender and migration, 258–259 working hours and leaves, 645
gender-based exclusion, 775–776 constitution of Gujarat state social security board, 649
macro-level evidence construction, 23
Adivasis, 254 sector, migrant labour in, 463
caste selectivity and out-migration, 255 and services, 125
evidence, 255 Construction Welfare Boards, 444
groups, 253–254 Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970,
India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 254 753
indigenous populations, 255 contractors, 777
longer-term migrations, 255 cooking, 465
National Sample Survey (NSS), 254 criminal tribe, 515
micro-level evidence cultural factors, 623
business communities, 257 cyclical mobility
caste-based networks, 258 data collection tools and methodology
Dalits, 258 pattern from Murshidabad district, 607–608
education and employment, 257 socio-economic and demographic profiles,
inequalities, 258 608–620
migration, 256
nomadic tribes, 258 debt of households, 614
Patidar migration, 257 decent work, 775–776
quality of employment, 256 delivery services, 502–503
residential segregation, 258 demographic and social profile, 186–196
studies, 256 Department for International Development (DFID), 576
Vaishyas, 257 developing body, 510–512
migration, 16–17 dichotomization of labour migrants, 732
resistances and remittances, 260 Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), 464
dalit migrants, 261 dispute resolution, 446
migration experiences, 262 distress driven migrants, 631, 697
People’s Archive of India (PARI), 261 distress migration, 445
caste-based social networks, 491 brick-kilns
casual contracts, 130 KBK region of Odisha, 236
casual jobs, 130 labour practices, 237
central government policies, 709–710 child migrant trafficking and labour rescue
central-level migration policies, 706 CWC, 245–246
Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, 7 domestic servitude, 246–247
circular migration, 4, 8, 605 ILO, 244
housing spaces Rayagada district, 244–245
floating migrant construction workers, 463–464 tribal regions, 247
migrant naka workers, 464–472 conflict, 248
migrant labour in construction sector, 463 construction
circular movement, 605 Dongria Kondhs, 237
city contexts, 723–724 movement of tribal people, 237
city of Prayagraj, 497–498 fishing and seafood
civil inclusion, 446 District Labour Officer (DLO), 239
class of rural-to-urban migration, 454–455 intensive management, 238
cluster-wise industrial classification, 489 Labour Commission of Odisha, 239
collective bargaining, 648–649 processing units, 239
colonization, 515 Savara tribal, 238
complexity of acts, 776 tribal people, 238
conditions of work KBK region, 235
collective bargaining, 648–649 Kondh tribals, 235
Index 793
textile and apparel sector census villages, 577

IL&FS Institute of Skills (IIS), 240 exposed group, 577
industrial units, 239 Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), 577
Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA), Department for International Development (DFID),
240 576
Odisha State Employment Mission (OSEM), 240 household assets possession and migration, 582
Scheduled Tribes (ST), 240 financial capital, 583
SEAM training centres, 240 human capital, 583
sewing machine operations, 241 livelihood promotional index (LPI), 586
skill training programmes, 241 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
trade, 240 Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, 586
training status, 243–244 natural capital, 583
distress-driven migration, 15–16 physical capital, 585
domestic migrant labour (DML) social capital, 583–584
state of Kerala, 409 sustainable livelihood model (SLM), 585–586
domestic migration, 12–13, 93 Indian Ocean, 575
domestic remittances, 93 IPCC; 2007a, 574
characteristics of migrants, 101–103 legislation
data source and conceptual issues, 95–96 gradual implementation, 575
gender perspective, 102–106 out migration, 576
magnitude in India, 96–101 places of destination, 579
market, 12–13 processes of migration
methodology, 96 Bardhaman district, 577
multiple classification analysis, 104 substantial proportion of migrants, 577
pattern and magnitude, 99 risk perception
role in India, 95 farming, 581
scatter plot of mean amount, 102 fishing, 582
state-wise interstate, 98 sea level, 575
volume against employment-related reasons, 100 sources to find jobs, 584
domicile status, 743 studies, 575
dominant category of work, 649 Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, 579
environmental threat on farming and fishing,
economic factors, 636–637 581–582
economic inequality/migration non-timber forest products (NTFPs), 582
GINI index, 668 occupational issues, 580
identifying non-native households, 653 schematic plan of sampling, 578
measurement of, 662–668 surface water temperature, 575
MPCE income quintile classes, 656–662 sustainable livelihood approach (SLA), 576
socio-economic characteristics, 654–656 sustainable livelihoods framework, 576
education work status of respondents, 580
attainment in migration, 65–69 yield rate of rice, 575
denial of access to, 757 Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, 753
inclusion, 446 ethnic-linguistic segmentation, 539–540
labour market and children’s rights, 711 e-waste, 523
MPCE on, 660 exclusion from social protection, 540–541
eMigrate Online system, 693 exclusion of migrants in policy
Emigration Act, 1983, 692 caste and gender-based exclusion, 775–776
eminent mobility transition theory by Zelinsky, 13–14 caste-based influence of lobbies, 777
emotional needs, 678 complexity of acts, 776
employers minimum working conditions contractors and subcontractors, 777
collective bargaining, instituting mechanisms, 650 inefficiency of statutory board, 776
pay and stay homes, 650 invisible existence of caste in labour market, 777
recognition and notification, 650 Maharashtra BOCW welfare board, 771–774
employment-related male migration, 606 migrant women construction workers, 768–771
environmental migration, 23, 574 precariousness and decent work, 775–776
climate change and out-migration, 575 research methodology, 771
data source rural-to-urban labour migration, 768–769
street-corner workers, 774–775 absence, 376

unutilized cess fund, 776 developing countries, 373
expenditure economic migrants in Delhi
food items, 669 factors, 377–381
non-food items, 669 role of network, 376–377
extinct body, 514–518 employment status
activity status, 376
Factories Act, 1948, 754 unpaid family workers, 376
family migration, 437, 441 NSS, 376
characteristics, 636 Principal Component Analysis (PCA), 374
data and method, 632 probit model, 382
duration of stay at destination, 634 reasons
general education level, 637–638 last place of residence, 375
interstate and intrastate flows, 633–634 role of networks
limitations and scope, 636 model for, 381–382
magnitude of, 632–633 sex and residence
means of migration to destination, 635 total internal migration in India, 374
monthly per capita consumption expenditure, social networks
636–637 role, 373
occupational status at destination, 635 societies, 373
religious groups, 638 survey-based studies, 373
short-term family migration, 631–632 trends and reasons
social groups, 638 decline in male economic migrants, 375
state-level analysis of, 635–636 percentage, 374
stream of, 633 rural–urban, 375–376
theoretical understanding, 630–631 fetching water, 467
usual principal activity status, 637 financial inclusion, 446
farm mechanization, 454 workers, 650
federal system, 721 floating migrant construction workers, 463–464
female caste-based labour migration focus group discussions (FGDs), 498, 741
enabling factors, 364 food expenses, 438
families, 366 food/non-food items, MPCE on, 659
kinship networks, 365–366 forced migration, 527
migration from Kerala formal citizenship, 536
education and female migrants, 363–364 forms of manifestation, 536
single women and work, 364 freedom of association, 648–649
migration networks Fundamental Right under Article 21-A, 709
defence establishments, 360–361
influential communal networks, 361–362 gains from migration, 111
Malayali migrant community in, 363 analysis of households, 113–115
South Indian migrants, 360–363 analytical framework, 112–113
personal motivations, 366 comparative analysis, 117–118
government jobs, desirability and availability, data and methodology, 112
368–369 evaluation at origin, 115
midduki penne, 367 gap in consumption expenditure, 118–119
Pune, 369 methodological illustration, 115
well-groomed, appeal, 367–368 objectives, 111–112
respondents and self-reflexivity odds ratio analysis, 119–121
education, 359 relative weightage
historical location, 359 position, 116–117
limitations in, 359 share, 115–117
multiple privileges, 359 remittance
female migrants. see feminization of migration receiving households, 115
construction work, 739, 768–771 utilization and saving/investment, 118–119
workers, distribution of, 458 share of households, 114
female-headed households, 770 garbage collection service, 647
feminization of migration, 372 gender and migration, 17–19
Index 795
Gender Development Index, 652 Hindi language speakers

gender-based exclusion, 775–776 growth of, 623–624
gendered spatialities in South Indian states, 624–625
conventional datasets, 332 Hindu community, 613
decline of agriculture, 332 homeless migrants, 468
disaggregated analysis, 333 settlements in public spaces, 467–468
large-scale data collection, 332 shelters, 468, 471–472
large-scale surveys, 331 household labour
masculinized migration streams, 332 circular migration, 220
migrant workers data and methods, sources
distribution by sex, 337–339 agricultural and non-agricultural activities, 229
migrant I and migrant II, 337–338 destination, 226
migrant III, 338 educational achievement, 228
migrant IV, 338–339 government schemes, 231
National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) data, India Human Development Survey (IHDS-II)
331 data, 223
The New Economics of Labour Migration, 331 labour force, 223, 225
NSS and census data, 332 lowest propensity, 225
resident workers Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
distribution by sex, 336 Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 227
resident I (RI), 335–336 number of activities, 229
resident II (RII), 336 social groups, 224
rural mobilities, 331 studies, 223
worker typologies definition, 632
distribution by sex, 333 development optimists, 221
migrant I (MI), 333–335 employment, 221
migrant II (MII), 333–335 information, 652
migrant III (MIII), 333–335 livelihood
migrant IV (MIV), 333–335 different sectors, 230
resident I (RI), 333–335 diversification of, 221–222
resident II (RII), 333–335 living conditions, 616–620
gender-induced marginalization, 541 matrix, 230
general education level, 637–638 mean and median income, 230–231
GINI index (GI), 668 migrant and non-migrant workforce
Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM), age structure, 229
695 educational status, 229
global migration, 768 structure, 228
globalization, impact of, 534–535 multi-country surveys, 222
Government of India (GoI), 697 National Commission for Enterprises in the
UNDP project, 42 Unorganised Sector (NCEUS), 222
government officials National Sample Survey (NSS), 222
migrants, 760–761 New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM), 221
profile of, 758–759 non-native, 653
gross state domestic product (GSDP), 199 number of activities, 229
growth prediction, 200 occupation categories, inequality, 232
industry-wise, 199–200 out-migration, level, 223
percentage share, 200 employed, occupational status, 227
Gujarat Building and Other Construction Workers Rules employment status, 227
2003, 464 propensity from states, 226
Gujarat model, 24, 642 state-wise distribution, 223–225
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, 692 substantial proportion, 227
Rural Income Generating Activities (RIGA), 222
health benefits, 711–713 housing
health needs, 678 benefits, 711–713
healthcare, MPCE on, 660 spaces
high mobility, 742–743 floating migrant construction workers, 463–464
higher urbanization and work participation rate, 42–43 migrant naka workers, 464–472
typologies of survey respondents, 465 Kerala, 750–751

Human Development Index (HDI), 652 lack of employment, 415
Human Poverty Index, 652 macro perspectives, 11–13
macro view, 5–8
identifying non-native households, 653 micro studies, relevance, 8–9
identity/registration/political participation, 710–711 neo-bondage of migrants, 9
inclusive citizenship, 531 neoliberal policies, 4
income data, 143 policies, 25–27
increase outreach, 746 politics, 21–22
in-depth interviews (IDIs), 498 poverty, 3–4
India Migration Policy Index (IPEX), 704 relationship with labour, 3–4
Indian economy, 449 remittances transferred, 3
Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS), 632 smart cities, 9–11
Indian labour market, 768 sources of data, 6
Indian mainland, 514 state and migrants, 11
India’s domestic remittance market, 13 state-level perspectives, 13–16
industrialization, 198, 430 studies, 422
industry sector employments, 451 trajectory, 3
industry-wise classification, 484–486, 488 trend of, 415
inefficiency of statutory board, 776 trends in India, 81, 451
informal citizenship, 536 UNDP Human Development Report 2009, 5
informal street-side labour markets, 463 urbanization, 9–11, 19–21
informality, 521–522 workers, 3
in-migrants internal remittances, 443
age structure, 180–181 international cooperation partnerships, 699
economic profile in Kashmir Valley, 181–182 international labour migration, 563, 686–687
impact on local labour market, 183–184 dominance, 140
locality, sex and gender identity, 179–180 International Labour Organization (ILO), 244
marital status, 181 convention, 698, 762
reasons for, in Kashmir Valley, 182–183 International Organization for Migration (IOM), 622
social profile in Kashmir Valley, 179 international remittances, 443
institutional capacity, 696–697 intersectoral migration flow in India, 452–454
integrated child development services (ICDS), 739 interstate family migration flows, 633–634
Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns Interstate Migrant Survey, 2012, 409
scheme, 694–695 average wages, 411
integrated rights-based policy approach, 696–698 daily wages
integration negotiations, 412
inclusion of migrants, in urban areas, 446 sex and employment sector, 412
occupational mobility, 477 Kerala
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; average age of female migrants, 410
2007a), 574 mean age of female migrants, 410
internal labour migration in India, 54 migrant workers
internal migration, 3, 35, 530, 622, 671, 686–687, 720 majority, 410
caste and, 16–17 mode of remittances of migrants, 411
cause of shift, 4–5 Muttatara Sewage Plant work in, 410
1991–2011 census, 6–7 possession of bank account, 411
2001 census of India, 5 remittance and savings with, 411
circular migrants, 4 remittances, 410
defined, 415 sectors, 410
development, 704 sex and employment sector
Economic Survey 2016–17, 7 daily wages with, 412
emerging issues, 22–25 mode of remittance by, 413
gender and, 17–19 Inter-State Migrant Workmen Regulation Act 1979
growth of cities, 4 (ISMWRA), 444, 693
importance of social networks, 8–9 interstate migrants, 444
India, 750 integration policies
informalization of labour, 9–11 central government policies, 709–710
Index 797
central-level migration policies, 706 systems for accessing work, 210–211

dimensions and indicators, 707–708 wages and quality of work, 211–213
education, labour market and children’s rights, kin-based social networks, 465
711 Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), 518
health and sanitation, 711–713 kutcha shelters, 465
housing, 711–713
identity and registration, 710–711 labour force participation (LFP), 342
internal migration and development, 704 labour migration, 14, 521–522, 698–699, 721
IPEX 2018 limitations and next steps, 714–715 casualization and spatial mobility, 125
migration policy framework, 713 case study and data, 126–127
MIPEX as inspiration for IPEX, 706 casual labour, 130–132
from policies to scores, 708–709 fares and time taken for travel, 135
policy areas, 705–708 occupational status of commuters, 133
political participation, 710–711 occupational structure, 130
social benefits, 711–713 percentage of agriculture, 128
state-level policies, 704–705 primary and secondary occupations of migrants,
Tamil Nadu, 194–196 133
interstate migration spatial distribution and connectivity, 134–135
contemporary India, 531–533 structural transformations, 127–130
family, flows, 633–634 ties to village and return migrations, 136–137
intra-rural mobility, 10–11 trends and patterns over time, 132–134
investments, 669 workplace of migrants, 134
IPEX 2018 insights for migration policy framework, 713 change in rate, 66–67
IPEX 2018 limitations/next steps, 714–715 consumption quantile, 63
iron folic acid (IFA) tablets, 501 contractors, 542
issues of leaves, 676 data and methodology
Centre for Development Studies (CDS), 286
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), 740 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),
Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters, 479–480, 484 285
National Skill Development Council (NSDC),
Kalahandi–Balangir–Koraput (KBK), Odisha’s 285–286
agrarian structure and relations, 567 Survey of Inter-State Migrants, 286
distress migration, 566 World Gold Council (WGC), 286
field survey definition, 51–52
focus group discussions (FGDs), 568 economic and socio-religious characteristics, 57–65
out-migration process, 567 education attainment, 65–69
questionnaire, 568 education gap, 69
halia or goti systems, 567 employment and unemployment rates, 71
migration, process estimate, 53
brick-kilns, 568–569 globalization in India, 279
festival of nuakhai, 569 capital–labour organization, 281
streams, 568 economic upheaval, 280
unfreedom, question force of transition, 280
debt-mediated labour contracts, 570 gems and jewellery business, 280
employer, 571 industry, changes in, 281
interviews, 571 largest gold market, 280
labour, interviews, 570 policy changes, 280
seasonal migration, 569 production regimes, reorientation, 281
voluntarily, 569 government policies and gold jewellery industry
worksites, 570 consumer’s purchasing, 285
Kashmir Valley, 184 current account deficit (CAD), 283
Kerala Migration Survey, 14 Foreign Exchange Management Act, 282
accommodation and living conditions, 214–216 Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1947,
actual wages and relative wages, 212 281
Malayali workers, 212 Gold Control Act, 1968, 281
migration, 214 jewellery manufacturing, 282
new occupational choices, 214 legal and illegal channels, 283
licensed dealers, 281 migrated husband, 420–421

non-resident Indians (NRIs), 282 mobility of lower classes, 419
retail outlets, 283 monetary situation, 420
retailers, 284 patriarchal bargaining, 420
Tarapore Committee on Capital Account structural violence, notion of, 419
Convertibility, 282 patriarchal bargaining, 423
wholesalers, 284–285 social security, 423
industrial distribution, 73–76 social values and, 422
industry, policy changes and implications socio-cultural values, 423
Goods and Services Tax (GST), 287 upper and lower caste, 418
Kashmir Valley, 14 legal aid resolution, 446
male migration, 53 legal protection (rights), 753–754
market Lewis model, 442
inclusion, 446 life and liberty, challenge, 757–758
invisible existence of caste, 777 lifestyle migration, 631
outcomes, 69–73 linguistic
MGNREGS, 54–55 barriers, 756
mobility, 622 conflicts, 626–627
nature and type of employment, 72 literature
percentage distribution, 68 caste and occupations, 40–41
sector, sex and PLR, 57 migration and urban poverty, 40
precarious sites, 725–728 lived citizenship, 531
rate percent living condition needs, 674–675
economic class, 62 local labour, 730–733
socio-religious group, 65 impact of migration on markets, 178–184
recruitment, 644 long distance migrants, 608, 616
changes, organization and intake, 286–287 Lorenz curve, 664
rural percent of streams across states, 58–59 low-skilled labour force, 533
share of female migrants, 53 migrants, 455
state-wise rate and distribution in India, 55
trends and patterns in general and across regions, Maharashtra BOCW welfare board, 771–774
53–57 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
upper (Q5) and lower (Q1), 63 Act (MGNREGA), 227, 452, 586, 619, 672,
urban percent of streams across states, 60–61 694
Uttar Pradesh, 141–142 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
land possession, 613 Scheme (MGNREGS), 54–55
languages mainstreaming migration
hindi language speakers national development plans, 694–696
growth of, 623–624 Malayali workers
South Indian states, 624–625 actual wages and relative wages, 212
left-behind women demographic profile, 213
absence in migration data, 422 male migrant workers, 416
aspirations, 423 distribution of, 458
baat se baat methodology, 418 occupational structure, 36
Chakkamarali village marginalization, 531
landholding capacity, 417 economic and labour market, 536–538
male migrants, age groups, 417 gender-induced, 541
study, 417 reproductive realms, 539
couple migration, 418 through debt, 538
cultural activities, 422 Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), 546
Dalit and upper-caste women Maruti Suzuki Workers’ Union (MSWU), 546
differences in, 422 maternal health programmes
data collection methods, 418 data analysis, 741
identity, 422 domicile status, 743
narrative analysis, 418 early return to work, 744–745
irregularities, 419 female migrants in construction work, 739
lower classes, 420 high mobility, 742–743
Index 799
inability to seek care, 744 housing spaces of, 464–472

India, 740 Migrant Policy Integration Index (MIPEX)
integrated child development services, 739 methodology, 704
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), 740 migrant streams
limited scope, 743–744 construction workers
maternity benefits programme, 739–740 social groups, 593
slums source areas and, 593
data source and methods, 498 living conditions
rationale of study, 497–498 construction sites, 598–599
maternity benefits programme (MBP), 739–740 rented accommodation, 599
mechanization, in agriculture, 449, 451, 456 temporary shelters or open spaces, 598
messes, 647 policy uptake
middle class women migration amenities at labour nakas, 602
agency crèche facilities for children, 602–603
mediating the structures, 400–402 curative healthcare facilities, 603
data collection and respondents, identification dignified housing, provision, 601–602
family members and relatives, 387 fast track legal dispute, 603
daughters’ education, value, 385 high-quality safety, 602
dual-earner families, 385 low-cost diagnostic, 603
field evidence measures to address, 601
catalysts, 398–400 protection gear, 602
family, 391–394 registration of construction workers, 600–601
macroeconomy, 389–391 worker facilitation centres, 600
marriage, 394–395 work conditions
social capital, 396–398 collective bargaining, 598
informations, 388 freedom of association, 598
living and coping recruitment processes, 594–595
adaptation, 404–405 remuneration, 595
new environment, 405 risk, 596–597
opportunities and challenges social protection, 597–598
accommodation, 404 type of work, 595
gender-based crimes, 402 wage payments, 596
PG accommodations, 403 work contracts, 596
strict entry and exit timings, 404 working hours and leave, 596
unawareness of roads and routes, 403 workplace safety, 596–597
verbal and physical abuse, 402 migrant wage earnings, 76
qualitative data, analysis real daily wages in rupees, 77
migration to urban, 387 migrant women
theoretical propositions set, 387 maternal healthcare services among, 504–505
research design, 386–387 migrant workers, 3
respondents assimilation, 216–217
demographic profile of, 389 background and characteristic, 202–204, 481–482
educational profiles and incomes, 388 conflicts, 626–627
socio-cultural–economic transition process, 385 definition, 542
structuralist theories dependent variable, household assets, 206
challenges, 386 distribution of, 458
theories and empirical studies emotional needs, 678
agency mediates and arbitrates, 386 employment availability, 210–211
Giddens’ framework, 386 health needs, 678
information and communication technologies high consultation fees of doctors, 216
(ICTs), 386 impact of policies for, 755–756
types of service-sector jobs, 388 information, 81
migrant labour international and internal migrants, 671
construction sector, 463 issues of leaves, 676
industrial distribution, 73–76 living condition needs, 674–675
spectral presence in market, 522–525 mean difference in working and financial condition,
migrant naka workers 205
methodology, 673 economic profile of in-migrants in Kashmir

nature of unfreedom, 563 valley, 181–182
capitalism, 565–566 impact of in-migration on local labour market,
crisis of survival, 565 183–184
economic reasons, 564 local labour markets, 178–184
farmers, 564 on local labour markets, 178–184
informal economy, 565 marital status of in-migrants, 181
international labour migration, 563 migrants, 178
Kalahandi–Balangir–Koraput (KBK), Odisha’s, reasons for in-migration in Kashmir valley,
566–571 182–183
labour processes, 565 research questions, 179
neoliberal growth process, 564 sex and locality of in-migrants, 179–180
prolonged agrarian crisis, 564 social profile of in-migrants in Kashmir valley,
small and marginal cultivators, 564 179
standard neoliberal framework, 563 influence on migrants’ household assets, 205–206
nature of work, 676–677 informal sector employment, poverty, 42–45
policy efforts, 671–672 job search strategies, 45–49
primary and secondary occupations, 133 migration–poverty nexus, 87
probability to with marginal effects, 43 nature of data, 431
profile, 209–210 new occupational choices in Kerala, 214
reasons for migration, 673–674 policy, 25–27, 445
rights, 697 case of India, 687–692
social exclusion, 755–756 challenges of, 444–446
social needs, 678–679 comprehensive, 692–694
social security needs, 679 framework, 713
sources of advance payment integrated rights-based policy approach, 696–698
processes in study region, 571 interlinkages between internal and international
systems for accessing work in Kerala, 210–211 migration, 686–687
understanding needs, 672 labour migration, 698–699
wages and quality of work in Kerala, 211–213 mainstreaming migration, 694–696
welfare aspect, 677 regional and international cooperation, 699
women construction workers, 768–771 probability to migrate with marginal effects, 43
work conditions, 677, 754–755 reasons, 82–83
work needs, 674–676 regional variation in flow, 85–87
working and financial condition, 204–205 research covered, 202
workplace, 134 rising migration trends in India, 450–456
migration, 80, 111, 186 rural-to-urban migration
accommodation and living conditions growth of urban population in India, 456–458
places, 214–216 urban employment in India, 458–560
changes scale, 33–34
forms of labour, 525–528 sectoral distribution and geography, 33–34
streamwise distribution, 84–85 sex and place of residence, NSS, 1983–2008, 82
to cities, 439–442 socio-economic correlates, 90
crisis, 527 spatial variation, 83–84
data, 416, 432 structural transformation, 450–456
on data and methods, 450 theory, 201–202
distribution of workers, 46 trends and vulnerable populations, 81–82
economic status of migrants, 87–88 argument, 272
education challenge, 37–38 data from population census, 269
employment employment opportunities, 272
challenge, 35–36 growth rates, 271
pattern, 88–90 macro-level indicators, 272
factor analysis, 44 marriage mobility of women, 272
factors influencing, survey results, 42 mobility, 268
geography and scale, 34–35 Muslim population, 274
impact on local labour markets, 178–184 Muslims, percentage share, 273, 275–277
age structure of in-migrants, 180–181 NSS surveys, 269–270, 274
Index 801
Other Backward Castes (OBCs), 273 preserving notions, 291

percentages of decadal, 270–271 refashioning, 291
population as per decennial censuses, 269 self-definitions/self-narratives, 291–292
rural and urban areas socio-religious groups in, self-veneration and admiration, 293
273 social distinctions, 295
rural to urban migrants, 271 socio-economic process, 295
sectors of residence, 274–275 spiritual DNA, 296
women workforce, 273 Syrian Christian family, 292, 293, 294
urban growth Western Christianity, 292
challenge, 36–37 National Capital Territory of Delhi, 431
contribution of, 436–437 National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganised
poverty and, 40 Sector (NCEUS), 222, 672
widening labour divide, 208–217 national development plans, mainstreaming migration in,
Migration’s Mega-Challenges, 11–12 694–696
migratory occupational mobility, 477 National Food Security Act, 2013, 739
Minimum Wages Act, 1948, 753 National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), 222, 430–431,
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), 693, 697 450, 476, 532, 605, 631
Ministry of Overseas Affairs, 697 nature of work, 676–677
MIPEX as Inspiration for IPEX, 706 needs
Mobile Health Scheme, 714 emotional, 678
mobile labour, 522 health, 678
mobility, 521–522 living condition, 674–675
population, demographic profile of, 609–612 social security, 678–679
respondents, 611, 612–616 understanding, 672
mobility—spatial and occupational, 13, 125 work, 674–676
monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE), 353, neo-bondage mechanism, 679
431 neoliberal policies, 4
monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE), net land, 669
636–637 net migrant, 34
income quintile classes, 656–662 net rural-to-urban migration, contribution of, 437
multi-storey building construction, 464 New Economics of Labour Migration (NELM), 221, 630
multivariate analysis, 148–150 new mercantilism, 526
municipal status, definition, 430 NITI Aayog, 695
Muslim community, 613 noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), 648
non-agricultural activities, 442, 629
naka workers, 728–730 non-farm employment
Nashik, 723–724 share of rural females, 73
Nasrani family histories and migration urban male workers, 73
ahistoricity, 293 non-food expenses, 438
alien land of obscurity, 297 non-governmental organizations, 444
analysis, 294 non-market activities, 630
colonial enterprise, 295 non-migrant workers, 442
dalit-bahujan religion, 292 industrial distribution, 73–76
economic prosperity, 295 maternal healthcare services, 504–505
economic prowess, 291 non-native
economic welfare and conceives, 298 household, 653
family histories, 297 languages, 626
Jaati recognitions, 297 non-recent migrant women, 504
Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR), 291, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), 693
294 Non-Resident Telugu Society, 693
Kudumba charitrams, 295–296
kudumbini, 298–300 occupational mobility, in migrants
Kulathakal historian, 298 objectives, methods and materials, 478–480
Matheckal Family Journal, articles, 296 status at destination, 635
metaphors, 297 theoretical framework of employment, 477–478
Metropolitan Archbishop of Changanassery, 295 odds ratio analysis
Muslims, 295 empirical results, 119–121
Odiya migrants, 643 poverty-reducing effect, 443

open defecation, 470–471 power loom workers, in Surat
orderly migration, 697–698 age profile, 643–644
out-migrants (OMIs), 186 major source areas and migration patterns, 643
age and sex composition, 191–192 social groups, 643
demographic and social profile, 191–194 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, 470
educational attainment, 193 Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana, 693
employment status, 193–194 precarious employment, in power looms
occupations, 194 living conditions, 647
religion-wise distribution, 192–193 policy uptake, 649–650
Overseas Employment Promotion Agency (OEPA), 695 in poor health, 647–649
work conditions, 644–647
paired samples t-test, 205 workers in Surat, demographics, 643–644
pay-and-use toilets, 467 world of work, 644
Payment of Wages Act, 1936, 754 precarious sites of labour, 725–728
Pearson chi-square value, 609 precariousness, 775–776
permanent male migrants, 442, 444 pre-liberlization
petty business, 608, 611 census, 532
phi coefficient, 609 pre-migration
place of birth (POB), 431 employment status, 482–484
place of enumeration (POE), 431 status, 480
place of last residence (POLR), 431 public distribution system (PDS), 539, 619, 644, 704,
policy issues 720
challenges of, 444–446 public health inclusion, 446
efforts, 671–672
indicators, IPEX 2018 list of, 716 questionnaire, 653
political inclusion, 446 quintile method, 657
politics and migration, 21–22
population mobility, 80, 605 Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, 619
portability, 746 reasons for migration, 673–674
postcolonial condition, 522 recruitment
post-marriage employment channels, 463
on data and methods process, 644
National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), regional
343 inequality, 442
employment status, 347 partnerships, 699
female migration in India, 343–344 regular salaried workers, 458
labour force participation, 347–348, 350 Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service
reasons, 345–346 Act, 1979, 542, 753
labour force participation rate (LFPR), 348 relative weightage share, 115–117
age group, 351 relief organizations, 527
demographic and socio-economic groups, religion-wise distribution, 482
350–352 religious groups, 638
determinants, 352–354, 356 remittances, 93–94
economic group, 353 Chami, Fullenkamp and Jahjah, study, 94
level of education, 354 domestic, 93
MPCE, 353 macro level aspect, 94
probit estimates for, 355 micro level aspect, 94
social group, 352 Taylor’s views, 94
LFP, 342–343 remuneration, 644–645, 675–676
migration and employment status, 349 rental arrangements, 470
post-migration rental rooms, 468–470
employment status, 484–488 rental spots on lands, 470–471
status, 480 rented accommodations, 647
postnatal care services, 502–503 respondents
post-reform Tamil Nadu, 535 family size and family type, 612
Index 803
religion and Social Groups of, 613 study

Right to Education Act, 2009, 708 Disha Foundation, 315
Right to Food committee (RtF), 723 household questionnaire, 315
Rural Income Generating Activities (RIGA), 222 results outline, 315
rural India survey design, 315
socio-economic structure, 416 types of residences, 321
rural migration, 202 sampling design, 479–480
rural out-migration Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 540
impact, 198–207 seasonal migration, 438, 443, 619, 680
rural-to-urban labour migration, 56, 416, 768–769 Second World War, 153
development policy and planning, 445 second-class citizens, 705
distress migration, 445 sectoral employment pattern, 450
employment in India, 458–560 semi-permanent male migrants, 442, 444, 619
growth of urban population in India, 456–458 semi-skilled contract labours, 698
migration-specific unit data, 450 semi-skilled labours, 678
role of education on, 455–456 semi-structured interview schedule, 498
sensitize officials, 746
safe migration, 697–698 service sector employments, 451
SAGA of tribal livelihood migration sex of rural-to-urban migration, 454–455
caste profile of population, 317 shelter, in squatter settlements, 465
demographic characteristics Shelters for the Urban Homeless (SUH) scheme, 471
age–sex representation, 315 shirtless fellow citizens, 514
annual family income, 318 short-term family migration, 631–632
economic profiles, 316 short-term migrants, 436
farming, 319 commuters, 125–126
housing conditions, 321 single male migrants, 647
landholdings, 319 slum category, 755
Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee slums in Prayagraj city, 499
Scheme (MGNREGA), 323 snowball sampling method, 607
Navsanjeevani Yojana, 322 social
occupation, 318 aspects of migration, 415
primary healthcare centre, 321 benefits, 711–713
distribution of households, 316 groups, 638
education levels of, 317 occupational mobility across, 491–493
family occupations, 318 movement of individuals, 623
internal migration needs, 678–679
number of migrant households, 314 networks, lack, 758
Scheduled Caste (SC) population, 314 occupational mobility, 477
Scheduled Tribe (ST) population, 314 protection access, 646
short-term migrants in India, 314 barriers to access—empirical insights from
measures, 320 Nashik, 724–733
medical care, 321 migration governance and social protection in
methods of cultivation, 320 India, 722–724
occupation of individuals, 317 remittances, 444
ownership of livestock, 320 seclusion, 41
primary healthcare centre, 320 security, 445, 679
profile and characteristics programmes, 444
destinations of out-migrants, 324 social integrationist discourse (SID), 767
income earned, 326 Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM),
issues with, 325 545
no benefits availed, 323 socio-economic
out-migration, 324 capitals, 478
respondents, 325 demographic profiles
season-wise migration, 323 households living conditions, 616–620
size of landholdings, 319 mobile population, demographic profile of,
source of water, 319 609–612
mobile respondents, 612–616 socio-economic and demographic profile,

factors, 623 157–158
transformation, 12 reason for, 162
socio-economically marginalized groups, 449 trends in interstate migration from Kerala, 153–155
sons of soil, politics subcontractors, 777
ethnography, 551 subnational welfarism
findings, 554–555 case of Tamil Nadu, 533–534
migrants versus local, 558 dimensions of adverse incorporations, 536–542
cases, 558–560 forms of manifestation, 536
migration and trajectories of city life globalization, impact of, 534–535
cases, 555–557 interstate migration in contemporary India, 531–533
Mumbai survey and data collection, 534
cult of violence, 550 subsidized cooking gas, 539
and migrants, 551–553 support, lack of, 758
survival circuit sustainable livelihood approach (SLA), 576
case, 555 Syrian Christians, 290, 292
studies, 555
taxi drivers Tamil Nadu
cases, 557–558 agriculture sector, 200
data analysis, process, 551 destination between OMIs and ROMs, 196–197
thematic analysis, 551 district-level analysis on OMIs, 187
taxi industry interstate migration, 186–187, 194–196
black-and-yellow taxis, 553 mean difference in working and financial condition,
horse carts, 553–554 205
migrants, 553 motivation and causes of out-migration, 204
private aggregator companies, 554 OMIs, 187–190
registered metre taxis, 553 reasons for migration among OMIs and ROMs, 191
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), students, rural labour market, 201
554 states receiving internal migrants, 190–191
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation structural changes of economy, 199
(SAARC), 699 structure of rural economy, 201
sovereign body, 518–519 taluk-level on OMIs, 187–190
squatter settlements, 465–467 total main workforces, 201
stakeholders, challenges trends of main workforce by sex in, 202
data methodology, 753 temporary accommodation, 464
developing countries, 758–764 temporary labour migration, 140, 150–151
internal migration in India, 750 labour migration in Uttar Pradesh, 141–142
internal migration in Kerala, 750–751 materials and methods, 142–144
migrant workers results and discussion, 144–150
issues and challenges, 753–758 results of logistic regression analysis, 149
rights, 753–758 socio-economic determinants in Uttar Pradesh,
state and migrants, 11 148–150
state contexts, 723–724 temporary migration, 438, 443, 605, 609
state economics The Mandal Commission (1990), 41
structural transformation, 199–201 theoretical understanding, 630–631
state-level analysis of family migration, 635–636 tied-movers, 630
state-level policies as barriers to migration, 704–705 timely antenatal check-ups, 497
state-wise employment patterns of migrants, 459 toilets, 674
street-corner workers, 774–775 squatter settlements, 466
structural transformation, 33, 198 Total Sanitation Campaign or under Nirmal Bangla
hastening, 33 Mission, 618
student migration, 153, 158–160 trajectory of migration, 3
district-level analysis, 155–157 transnational migration, 290
out-migrants defined, 415
from Kerala, 154 tribal migration
data and methods
Index 805
district-wise tribal population, 305 urban context, 429–430

division-wise tribal population, 305 trends, 431–436
duration, 305 urbanization, 198, 429
linear regression method, 304 to cities, 439–442
literacy and educational level, 306–307 on data and methods, 450
place of last residence (POLR), 304 data, nature of, 431
reasons, 305–306 growth of urban population in India, 456–458
scheduled tribes’ migrant within the state, 305 migration, 19–21
sex ratio, 307–309 policy issues, challenges, 444–446
district-wise sex ratio, 309 process, 41
literacy and educational level, 308 rising migration trends in India, 450–456
literature review rural-to-urban migration, 456–458, 458–560
population segregation, 303 structural transformation, 450–456
push factor for, 304 urban employment in India, 458–560
Maharashtra to urban growth, contribution of, 436–437
district-wise percentage of tribal population, 306 urban-to-urban migration, 432
division-wise tribal population of, 306 U-shaped pattern of occupational mobility, 478
percentage distribution, 307 usual principal activity status, 637
reasons for scheduled tribes’ migration, 307
scheduled tribe population, 305 Village Grain Bank Scheme, 695
regression analysis, 308 village-based social networks, 465
socio-economic and migration variables, 310–311 villages, definition, 431
twisting workers, 644 vocation education and training (VET), 38
Two for One (TFO) vulnerability
operation, 644 barriers to access—empirical insights from Nashik,
724–733
unavailability of jobs, 456 migration governance and social protection in India,
under-construction building, 464 722–724
understanding needs, 672 vulnerable bodies, 512–514
unequal wages for same work, 757 vulnerable migrants, 445
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 651
unorganiszed sector, 679 wage payment, 645
unskilled contract labours, 698 water
unskilled labours, 678 access, 467
unutilized cess fund, 776 squatter settlements, 466
urban centres, 429 welfare aspect, 677
urban context, 429–430 women economic migration
urban corridors, 441 factors, 377
urban housing spaces community attitude, 380–381
floating migrant construction workers, 463–464 idea and motivation received, 380
migrant labour in construction sector, 463 information about job opportunity, 378
migrant naka workers, 464–472 know person at the destination, 379–380
urban informal sector reference used to obtain job, 379
economic structure, 47 women migrants, inclusion of, 446
women workers, 47 women migration
urban local bodies (ULBs), 445, 563 contribution in, 417
urban migration feminist theory, incorporation, 416
opportunities of, 442–444 hierarchies of power and domination, 416
policy issues pseudo empowerment, 417
challenges of, 444–446 stereotypes affect, 417
cities, 439–442 studies, 417
data, nature of, 431 women workers
growth, contribution, 436–437 Centre for Development Studies (CDS), 409
opportunities, 442–444 economic liberalization, 408
reasons and characteristics, 437–439 internal migrants
trends, 431–436 exploitation, 408–409
studies in India work contracts, 645

Assam, 409 work needs, 674–676
DML, 409 Working Group on Migration (GoI, 2017)
Odisha, 409 report on migration, 34–35
state of Kerala, 409 working hours/leaves, 645
Uttar Pradesh, 409 Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923,
West Bengal, 409 754
work conditions, 677
of migrants, 754–755 younger workers, 644

S. Irudaya Rajan (Editor), Sumeetha M. (Editor) - Handbook of Internal Migration in India-SAGE Publications (2020)

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S. Irudaya Rajan (Editor), Sumeetha M. (Editor) - Handbook of Internal Migration in India-SAGE Publications (2020)

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Handbook of

Internal Migration in India

Internal Migration in India

First published in 2020 by

SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019951351

ISBN: 978-93-532-8560-9 (HB)

SAGE Team: Rajesh Dey, Vandana Gupta and Rajinder Kaur

Vivek Mehra, Managing Director and CEO, SAGE India.

For orders and enquiries, write to us at

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This book is also available as an e-book.

PART II: MACRO PERSPECTIVES

2 Employment, Urbanization and Education: Migration’s Mega-Challenges 33

3 Rural Migrants with Urban Jobs 40

4 Labour Migration: Trends and Characteristics 51

5 Internal Migration: Emerging Patterns 80

7 Associated Gains from Migration 111

PART III: STATE-LEVEL PERSPECTIVES

8 Labour Casualization and Spatial Mobility 125

9 Temporary Labour Migration 140

10 Student Migration 153

11 Building Resilience: Compulsions and Challenges 164

12 Impact of Migration on the Local Labour Markets 178

13 Demographic and Social Profile 186

14 Impact of Rural Out-Migration 198

15 Migration and Widening Labour Divide 208

16 Diversification of Household Labour 220

17 Distress Migration 235

PART IV: MIGRATION AND CASTE

18 Migration and Caste 253

19 Migration Trends and Vulnerable Populations 268

20 Labour Process in Migration 279

21 Nasrani Family Histories and Migration 290

22 Tribal Migration 303

23 The Saga of Tribal Livelihood Migration 313

PART V: MIGRATION AND GENDER

24 Gendered Spatialities 331

25 Unexplored Facets of Female Migration 342

26 Female Caste-based Labour Migration 358

27 Women’s Economic Migration 372

28 Middle Class Women’s Migration 385

29 Women Workers on the Move 408

30 Narratives of Left-Behind Women 415

PART VI: MIGRATION AND URBANIZATION

31 Urban Migration and Policy Issues 429

32 Migration and Urbanization 449

33 Circular Migration and Urban Housing 462

34 Occupational Mobility in Migrants 476

35 Maternal Healthcare in Slums 496

PART VII: MIGRATION AND POLITICS

36 Displacement and the Biopolitics of Development 509

37 Migrant, City and Changing Lives 521

38 Adverse Incorporations and Subnational Welfarism 530

39 Spaces of Alienation and Resistance 545

40 Politics of Sons of Soil 550

PART VIII: EMERGING ISSUES

41 Nature of ‘Unfreedom’ among Migrants 563

42 Climate Change and Migration Nexus 574

43 Behind the Shining Brick and Mortar 592

44 Cyclical Mobility 605

45 Migrant and Language 622

46 Family Migration 629

47 Precarious Employment in Power Looms 642

2 Employment, Urbanization and Education: Migration’s Mega-Challenges 33

3 Rural Migrants with Urban Jobs 40

4 Labour Migration: Trends and Characteristics 51

5 Internal Migration: Emerging Patterns 80

7 Associated Gains from Migration 111

8 Labour Casualization and Spatial Mobility 125

9 Temporary Labour Migration 140

10 Student Migration 153

11 Building Resilience: Compulsions and Challenges 164

12 Impact of Migration on the Local Labour Markets 178

13 Demographic and Social Profile 186

14 Impact of Rural Out-Migration 198

15 Migration and Widening Labour Divide 208

16 Diversification of Household Labour 220

17 Distress Migration 235

18 Migration and Caste 253

19 Migration Trends and Vulnerable Populations 268

20 Labour Process in Migration 279

21 Nasrani Family Histories and Migration 290

22 Tribal Migration 303

23 The Saga of Tribal Livelihood Migration 313

24 Gendered Spatialities 331

25 Unexplored Facets of Female Migration 342

26 Female Caste-based Labour Migration 358

27 Women’s Economic Migration 372

28 Middle Class Women’s Migration 385

29 Women Workers on the Move 408

30 Narratives of Left-Behind Women 415

31 Urban Migration and Policy Issues 429

32 Migration and Urbanization 449

33 Circular Migration and Urban Housing 462

34 Occupational Mobility in Migrants 476

35 Maternal Healthcare in Slums 496

36 Displacement and the Biopolitics of Development 509

37 Migrant, City and Changing Lives 521

38 Adverse Incorporations and Subnational Welfarism 530

39 Spaces of Alienation and Resistance 545

40 Politics of Sons of Soil 550

41 Nature of ‘Unfreedom’ among Migrants 563

42 Climate Change and Migration Nexus 574

43 Behind the Shining Brick and Mortar 592

44 Cyclical Mobility 605

45 Migrant and Language 622

46 Family Migration 629

47 Precarious Employment in Power Looms 642

48 Economic Inequality and Migration 651

49 Needs of Migrants 671

50 Migration Policy: Where Do We Stand? 685

51 Integration Policies for Interstate Migrants 703

52 Vulnerability and Social Protection Access 720

53 Access to Maternal Health Programme 738

54 Challenges to Stakeholders 749

55 Exclusion of Migrants in Policy 767

56 Migration and Financial Transfers 780

5.1 Trends of Internal Migration in India, 1971–2011 (%) 81

6.1 Pattern and Magnitude of Domestic Remittances in India (2007–2008) 99

7.1 Analytical Framework 113

10.1 Trends in Estimated Number of Out-Migrants, 1998–2018 155

20.1 Structure of the Gold Jewellery-Making Industry 284

22.1 District-wise Percentage of Tribal Population of Maharashtra 306

25.1 Migration Trends in India, 1983–2008 344

31.1 Net Interstate Migration in India, 2007–2008 435

32.1 Internal Migration Trends by Sectors in India, 1971–2011 451

35.1 Location of Slums in Prayagraj City 499

42.1 Sustainable Livelihoods Framework 576

42.2 Schematic Plan of Sampling, Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve 578

44.1 Age Distribution of the Sampled Respondents 610

45.1 Percentage of Hindi Speakers in India, 1971–2011 624

48.1 Percentage Distribution of Remittances from Out-Migrants 658

50.1 Intradistrict, Interdistrict and Interstate Migration 691

2.1 Occupational Structure of Short- and Long-term Male Migrants 36

3.1 Probability to Migrate (Binomial Logit) with Marginal Effects 43

4.1 Internal Labour Migration in India (in %) 54

10.1 Estimated Number of Out-Migrants by Districts, Kerala, 1998–2018 154

11.1 Characteristics of Households in Study Villages 167

13.1 Districts with Most Number of OMIs and ROMs 190

14.1 Structural Changes of Economy in Tamil Nadu 199

16.1 Socio-economic Background of Out-Migrant Households 224

19.1 Percentage of Migrants in the Population as per Decennial Censuses 269

22.1 Maharashtra Scheduled Tribe Population in 2001 305