Puru DubeyAIR 86 · CSE 2025 · 269 wordsTheir whole copy
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Migration in India, especially rural-urban migration is a livelihood strategy and is rooted in the changing agrarian settings, industrialisation, caste & kinship networks.
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CHANGING RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION
Circular Migration: Rural labour migrates to urban centers during lean seasons in agriculture returning back in sowing seasons. This enables them to enhance livelihood, maintain their rural lines.
CHAIN MIGRATION: Migration is driven by caste & kinship networks. Caste networks enable labourers to find work as well as urban shelters in slums.
Youth migration: is driven by aspirations primarily for education and occupation. Lack of education facilities often forces families to migrate to urban centres.
Feminisation of migration: of late, migration has shown gendered character. While traditionally women migrated due to marriage, today they migrate in search of employment and education;
Reverse migration: Reverse migration first became visible during COVID-19 (but) remains a consistent feature due to (i) slowedown in growth, loss of jobs & retrenchments (ii) Declining ecological condition of Indian cities due to pollution, (urban heat island effects). (iii) Eviction of slums as a developmental strategy of state; (iv) saturation of government schemes in rural areas like Jal Jeevan Yojana, PM Awas Yojana. (v) Increasing opportunities in rural space due to markets; Reverse Migration, as Rogaly et al argue becomes a livelihood strategy to invest; (vi) seasonal reverse migration as in the case of footloose labour
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Reverse migration also reflects the pressures on the urban spaces and the inability to support the rural migrants.
Rural-urban migration in India thus remains a livelihood strategy shaped by factors like caste, class and the developmental strategy of State.