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Pattern of Migration in India
Geography Honours
Creighton University
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PRC Report Series 2017-
Pattern of Migration in India
Dr. Nanzy P
Population Research Centre
Sponsored by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India
University of Kerala,
Thiruvananthapuram
Contents
Foreword i
Executive summary ii
List of Tables iii
List of Figures iv
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter II Pattern of migration in India 7
Chapter III Reasons for migration in India 15
Chapter IV Summary and Conclusions 26
References 30
i
Executive summary
Migration is a global phenomenon. The decision to migrate is usually taken by the individual to better their social conditions and improve the prospects for themselves or their family. The expansion and developments in transport and communication along with industrialisation have accelerated large-scale movement of people. Census of India has been the main source of information on migration. Using this data the migration pattern during the last decade, reasons for migration and the extent of labour migration in Kerala were analysed.
India has high levels of regional disparity in terms of population distribution and development indicators. The proportion of total population to the migrant population is highest in the States Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala. Maharashtra is industrially developed State that attracted more people. Punjab has high density of agriculturally prosperous rural population and large number of industrial towns attracted poor areas of all North Western States as well as Eastern and Central States. In Kerala a significant number of people migrate to the Gulf countries leading to the shortage of unskilled labour and the wage rate are double that in the North, Central and North-Eastern India. The 2011 census shows that the rural- rural stream constitute largest portion of the migrants in the country. One reason could be that the employment opportunities in the Indian agricultural sector are limited and people move to other rural locations in search of new or improved employment. Mean time people’s mobility from rural to urban stream decreased compared to the previous census years.
The reason for migration shows that work or employment was the most important reason for migration among males (27 percent) where as marriage was the most important reason for female migration (56 percent) in India. In Kerala employment as a reason for migration reduced over the decades. Demographic contraction of the working age population in the State, increasing competition from other states in India and the other countries and the wage differentials between Kerala and the Gulf countries are the major factors behind the decreasing level of migration for employment. Due to high urbanization and easy access to education, females also acquire high education and employment. They usually marry within this locality and
settle at that place. So the marriage migration in Kerala decreased over the decades. The Migrant labourers have become one of the Kerala’s wealth creators. Kerala being the largest supplier of global migrant workers in the world also seem to be the destination point of many migrant workers from economically poor regions. There is a need for balanced development across all region. More focus is needed on the development of rural areas and better schemes should be designed to overcome the negative effects of migration.
iii
List of figures
Figure No. Page No.
2 Trends of migration in India based on place of last residence by sex
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2 Trends of migration in India based on place of last residence by sex-Rural
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2 Trends of migration in India based on place of last residence by sex-Urban
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3 Reason wise migration in Kerala by sex with duration of residence 0-9 years
22
v
Chapter Introduction
Migration is a worldwide phenomenon. It implies the mobility of a group or individual, from one region to another, mostly in search of better economic prospects. The nineteenth century was a great period of worldwide migrations, especially from European countries to the USA and Canada. In tune with global economic change, India also witnessed several patterns of internal and external migrations in the modern era. British colonisation of India and opening of cash crop plantations in the country and abroad attracted immense number of Indian labourers. In the latter part nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century thousands of Indians left their home for work in British Rubber plantations in Singapore, Malaysia and Burma, sugar plantations in the Caribbean mines and other work sites in South Africa and other colonies. Apart from this international movement of workers from India, coffee, tea, rubber and other cashew plantations in different parts of the country as well as construction activities and industrial enterprises in big cities like Madras, Bombay and New Delhi generated a stream of internal movement of skilled and unskilled workers. The later half of the twentieth century was chiefly marked by migration of Indians to Gulf countries as more employment opportunities have been opened with the development of petroleum industries. Moreover, several thousand of skilled and professionally qualified people of India preferred to emigrate to England, United States of America, Canada and Australia in this period.
Globalization has increased the demand for workers from other countries and states in order to sustain national economies known as economic migrants, these individuals are generally from impoverished developing countries migration to obtain sufficient income for survival. This income is usually sent home to family members in the form of remittances and has become an economic staple in a number of developing countries. The movement of population from one region to another region is termed as migration. Migration is commonly of two types:
Dyson and Visaria (2004) observed that India is experiencing several changes in its pattern of migration. The authors opined that migration would become urban oriented, but increasingly would happen within expanding regional urban system. Movement to reside in a million plus city would be over shorter distances than was applied in the past. Deshingkar and Start (2003) contended that seasonal and circular migration of labour for employment was one of the most durable components of the livelihood strategies of people living in rural areas. Migration is not just by the very poor during times of crisis for survival and coping but has increasingly become an accumulative option for the poor non-poor alike.
India embarked upon the new economic policy in the year 1991- popularly known as liberalization of the Indian economy. The basic features of the new economic policy were to reduce the governmental expenditure in order to reduce the fiscal deficit opening up of the economy for export oriented growth, removal of governmental control and licensing and encouraging private participation for competition and efficiency. Both the supporters and critiques of the new economic policy believed that economic reforms would increase internal migration. The proponents believed that the new impetus would boost economy and job opportunities leading to increased pull factors conducive for accelerated rural-to-urban migration. On the other hand, the opponents held that economic reforms would adversely affect the village and cottage industries and impoverish rural population leading to increased rural-urban migration (Kundu 1997)
Census of India have been the main source of information on migration basically in wo types- Migration by Birth place and Migration by place of last residence. When a person is enumerated in Census at a place, i., village or town, different from her/his place of birth, she/he would be considered a migrant by place of birth. A person would be considered a migrant by place of last residence, if she/he had last resided at a place other than her/his place of enumeration.
Historically, information on migration has been collected since 1872. It was confined to seeking information only on place of birth till 1961 census. The scope of collecting information on migration was enlarged by including the rural or
urban status of the place of birth and duration of residence at the place of residence in 1961. An additional question on place of last residence was introduced during 1971 Census, to collect migration data. Both place of birth and place of last residence question were canvassed in last consecutive censuses, to obtain level and pattern of migration in India. The question on ‘Reason for migration’ was introduced in 1981. The following reasons for migration from place of last residence are captured: Work/Employment, Business, Education, Marriage, Moved after birth, Moved with household and any other.
Migration can be divided in to the following types on the basis of origin and destination.
- Rural to rural R-R
- Rural to urban R-U
- Urban to urban U-U
- Urban to rural U-R
In some cases, the population moves from villages to towns and then to a bigger metropolitan city: this may be termed as ‘step-wise migration’.
Migration owing to a number of attractions offered by a city is interpreted as migration due to ‘push’ factors; on the other hand, people move out of villages due to ‘pull’ factors- such as better opportunities of employment, education, recreation, health care facilities, business etc.,outside villages ‘push’factors are unemployment, poverty,social insecurity, political instability and ethnic conflicts.
The census defines a 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 usual direct questions on internal migration in Indian census cover the following items: place of birth (village or town),place of last residence, duration of residence(stay) at the place of residence and the duration of residence at the place of enumeration were included in the schedule of Indian census. In 1981,all reasons have been grouped into five broad categories, viz., emploment, education,
- To study the extent of labour migration in Kerala in particular.
Data and Method
The population census is the most important source of migration data in India. The present study considers migrants by place of last residence — those who have last resided at a place other than their place of enumeration are deemed to be migrants. Now the birthplace statistics of migration yet not published. So the place of last residence have been taken for the analysis. The Census of 2011, however, has not yet released the data on interstate or intra state migrants. Hence last two decadal Census data of 2001,1991 was also analysed. Besides, the data from Kerala Migration Survey 2014 conducted from Centre for Development Studies and Gulati institute of Finance and Taxation has been taken for the analysis.
Migration Streams are analysed here.
Rural to Rural Migration = (Rural to Rural Migrants/Total Rural Population)*
Rural to Urban Migration = (Rural to Urban Migrants/Total Rural Population)*
Urban to Urban Migration = (Urban to Urban Migrants/ Total Urban Population)*
Urban to Rural Migration = (Urban to Rural Migrants/Total Urban Population)*
Chapter 2 Pattern of migration in India The recent changes in Indian economy are likely to have impact on pattern of migration. The gap between agriculture and non-agriculture widened and it has concentrated in few areas and a few states. The level of education improved and that of transport and communication facilities, shift of workforce from agricultural to industry and tertiary activities etc. increased the mobility pattern of people. The growing spatial inequalities in economic opportunities also have impact on the pattern of migration. 2 Migration Trends in India One of the commonly used measure of rate of mobility is the share of migrants in a population at a given time point. The 2011 census reported that there are 453. million migrants in India. Table 1 presents the share of migrants in India over the last five decades. About 37 percent of India’s population are classified as migrants in 2011 census and further females are more mobile than males in the country. Table 2: Percentage of migrants to total population in India,1971- (As per place of last residence criterion) Cens us Year
Migrants All Areas Rural Urban Total Male Fema le
Total Male Fema le
Total Male Fema le 1971 Lifetime 29 17 41 27 12 42 36 35 39. 1981 Lifetime 30 17 44 28 12 45 36 33 40. 1991 Lifetime 26 14 40 25 9 42 30 26 36. 2001 Lifetime 30 17 44 27 11 45 35 31 39. 2011 Lifetime 37 22 53 37 18 56 27 22 32. Note: Migration figures for 1981 exclude Assam and 1991 figures exclude J&K The migration rate peaks in 2011 among both the males and females and more than half of females migrated during the last decade. Compared to previous decades the mobility of people from rural areas are higher than its urban counterparts. As against 37 percent of population classified as migrant in rural areas, in urban areas it is 27 percent. In the previous census years, population
Figure:2 Figure:2.
From the above figures it is clear that the people’s mobility to rural areas increased over the decades. Mean time, in the urban areas, people’s mobility decreased after 2001 census period. The development of villages and small scale industries in the rural areas has provided employment to the unskilled and semiskilled workers in the rural areas. Females migrate more than males both the rural and urban areas.
2 State Level Volume of Migration
India has high levels of regional disparity in terms of population distribution and development indicators like per capita income, industrial growth and agricultural production. Most of the north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar have poor infrastructure facility and high density.
Table 2:Proportion of total migrants by total population State Persons Male Female India 37 22 53. Jammu & Kashmir 22 11 34. Himachal Pradesh 41 21 62. Punjab 48 33 66. Chandigarh 67 65 69.
0 5.
10 15.
20 25.
30 35.
40 45.
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Trends of migration in India based on place of last residence by sex - Urban
Total Male Female
1971 1981 1991 2001 2011
Trends of migration in India based on place of last Residence by sex - Rural
Total Male Female
State Persons Male Female
- Uttarakhand 44 30 58.
- Haryana 42 24 63.
- Delhi 45 44 47.
- Rajasthan 32 12 53.
- Uttar Pradesh 29 11 49.
- Bihar 28 8 49.
- Sikkim 43 36 51.
- Arunachal Pradesh 44 40 48.
- Nagaland 28 27 28.
- Manipur 25 17 34.
- Mizoram 34 34 35.
- Tripura 33 23 44.
- Meghalaya 26 27 24.
- Assam 32 20 45.
- West Bengal 36 20 53.
- Jharkhand 31 13 50.
- Odisha 34 16 53.
- Chhattisgarh 35 18 53.
- Madhya Pradesh 34 17 53.
- Gujarat 44 31 58.
- Daman & Diu 63 68 56.
- Dadra& Nagar Haveli 53 51 55.
- Maharashtra 51 40 61.
- Andhra Pradesh 39 27 51.
- Karnataka 41 29 52.
number of people from Kerala migrate to the Gulf countries leading to the shortage of skilled and unskilled labour due to high education levels. Now Kerala is an attractive destination for workers from North, Central and North-Eastern India.
The proportion of migrants to the total population is lowest in Jammu & Kashmir (22 percent) followed by Manipur and Meghalaya. The political instability and terrorism may be the reasons for the lowest level movement of people in these states.
For considering the gender wise migration the proportion of male migrants to the total population is highest in Delhi (44 percent), Maharashtra (40 percent) and Kerala (40 percent). Delhi is the capital of India with better infrastructural facilities. People are normally attracted towards to these States in search of better employment opportunities and infrastructural facilities. The proportion of female migrants to the total population is highest in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The proportion of migrants to the total male population is lowest in Bihar (8 percent), Uttar Pradesh (11 percent) and Jammu Kashmir (11. percent). These states are economically backward States with poor infrastructure and are also densely populated. The proportion of female population to the total migrants is lowest in Meghalaya (24 percent), Lakshadweep (26 percent) and Nagaland (28 percent).
2 Migrants by Streams
There are different streams of migration generally relating to the degree of economic and social development in the area of origin as well as area of destination. A migration stream is the total number of moves made during a given migration interval, having a common area of origin and destination. Census of India has classified migrants into four streams viz to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban and urban to rural.
Table 2:Percentage distribution of internal migrants in India by different streams
Census Year Rural - Rural Urban - Rural Rural - Urban Urban-Urban
1981 25 2 28 15.
1991 23 2 25 12.
2001 23 1 28 12.
2011 27 2 21 21.
Compared to last three census periods, the 2011 census shows that the rural- rural stream constitute largest portion of the migrants in the country. One reason could be that the employment opportunities in the Indian agricultural sector are limited and people move to other rural locations in search of new or improved employment. Mean time people’s mobility from rural to urban stream decreased compared to the previous census years. This shows the reversal direction of movement of the people which may be due to the congestion of industry that leads to pollution and also the living cost of urban centres are high. The better transport system reduces the travel time between the rural to urban areas.
The movement of one urban centre to another urban centre increased by 12. percent in 2001 to 21 percent in 2011 census period. People move from one urban centre to another with a view to improve their employment prospects and for availing better facilities. In developing countries this stream of migration is commonly known as ‘Step Migration’.
Urban to rural migration is a less important phenomena in the country. Even though people’s mobility from urban to rural were increased compared to previous census years. The high cost of living in urban areas has pushed people to reside in the periphery of urban areas. Also people retiring from Central and State Government services move to their native places. Population pressure on land, increased opportunities for work, and better facilities for education coupled
Pattern of Migration in India
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