Question 4(a) · 25 marks · 390 words written
Opening
Migration in India is a phenomena observed due to socio, economical and environmental factors. Its of following types:
Body · points and prose
(1) Transductionary: people migrate to stay at one place for long (2) Circulatory: people may move to some or other place after a period of time (3) Step-Growth: people move to greater distance in sequence for better opportunities.
Close · a summary
In recent times, distress migration has evolved as a type due to lack of resource. In drought, people from Telangana migrated to Maharashtra in search of livelihood.
However, this migration may or may not last long. Mary Chatterjee notes that people migrating to longer distance tend to come back. Also if nature of job has less prestige, people migrate back.
Migration in India has been due to development being concentrated in pockets. Urbanisation is a leading cause for migration from rural to urban areas. But Anderson notes that in migration led by urbanisation, there is not only movement of people but also values.
Other developmental projects like mining, hydroelectric plants also cause 'displacement migration'. Odisha's bauxite rich hills are mined causing tribal inhabitants to look for new homes. The Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujrat caused wide-scale migration of people to high-lying areas.
In terms of societal factor, migration occurs due to kinship. Milton Singer, Sylvia Vatuk noted strong kinship bonds in urban areas of migrant population that causes fellows in other areas to move closer. This also gives them a sense of protection.
Religious communities/minorities migrate to live together due to trust deficit from the majority and fear persecution. The recent refugee crisis in Europe has reported 2mn migrants from war-torn countries of Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea.
The Marxist like AR Desai in his book 'Sociology of slum' calls migration from rural to urban areas as a pure economic driven reason as a cause.
Harrington terms slums a result of uncontrolled migration and unplanned urbanisation. MSA Rao, however, is more comprehensive in his book 'Urban sociology in India' and calls Urbanisation led by modernisation the cause for migration. For some it may be needed but others come to explore.
In case of India, the causes of migration are as diverse the land itself. Some developmental reasons are supported by social pattern like bonds of kinship while others are obstructed like communalism. Environmental factors like drought and flood too have become commonplace with climate change.