INVOLUNTARY MIGRATION WITHIN

INDIA CAUSES AND EFFECTS

Introduction

The i mportance of migration in econo mic

development and social change cannot be under mined
especiall y in the context of developing countries like
India. It pla ys a major role in ma npower planning and
urbanization thereb y wielding great influence on
socioeconomic processes.
The genesis of mi gration lies in the
dissatisfaction with the conte mporar y environ ment.
Migration involves a change of residence fro m one
environme nt to another. An internal migrant mo ves
from one regional unit to another for a certain mi ni mu m
period of ti me. Such a mo tion is rooted in his
disgruntle me nt with his existing situation, which he
hopes to overcome b y migrating towards an apparentl y
better setup.
Internal mi gration ma y be voluntar y or
involuntar y, te mporar y or per manent. Although the line
of distinction between voluntar y and involuntar y
migration is thin, for the purpose of our stud y, we
include under involuntar y migration, the mo bilit y
resulting from such crises as war, violence, riots,
environme ntal cala mities like floods or earthquakes. In
situation where econo mic constraints result in
move ment for earning live hood, the voluntar y or
involuntar y nature or migration, re mains a ma tter of
se mantic difference. Thus, interest traders, laborers,
artisans, shifting cultivators and indeed most job
seekers in general can be classified under either
categor y depending on the mo tivational factors behind
such migration. The present stud y focuses on migration
that is forced b y circu mstances be yon d a person’s
control. Te mporar y mi gration differs fro m the
per manent in the length of the period of the ti me
involved in ma intaining the changed situation. It is the
kind of distinction, which segregates a ‘native’ fro m a
‘visitor ’.
An in-depth anal ysis of the burgeoning proble m
of involuntar y migration within India is of great

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significance due to the increased di me nsion of this
proble m in recent ti mes. It needs to major de mographic
changes, which trigger a set of econo mic, social and
cultural proble ms as evident in the big cities of Delhi
or Bomba y. As hoards of job seekers or refugees fro m
places like J&K, Punjab, Bihar etc. crowd into slu ms in
other places, a potentiall y explosive mine is created.
There are the aspects of ethnicit y, political
exploitation, and ps ychological consequences like
alienation or apath y, civic or municipal proble ms,
which threaten the ver y sea ms of the cit y fabric.
Organized cri me, delinquenc y, prostitution or beggar y
proliferate in these pockets and pose her clean
challenge to the administrator and town planners of
toda y.
The present paper first takes a look at the causes
and consequences of involuntar y migration and
subsequentl y atte mpts to search for solutions to these
threats of migration. The cases of mi gration fro m J&K
or Punjab due to the prevailing situation are exa mined
in detail and Bomba y is put under the mi croscope, as an
exa mple of the ill effects of involuntar y mi gration.

Causes
The factors leading to involuntar y mi gration are
man y the chief a mo ngst the m being the econo mic
incentive and the hope for better living standards.
These factors can be crudel y classified under the
following heads: - (i) political (ii) econo mic and (iii)
socio-cultural. Involuntar y migration ma y be due to one
or a combination of these factors.

i) Political
India is a de mocratic polit y in which the people
–on account of their vote in the political ma rket-
influence decisions, policies and progra mme s of the
government. The superi mp osition of the west minister
model of parlia me ntar y de mo crac y on the traditional
socio-cultural setup in India meant the persistence of
the use of traditional group identities to influence to
awa y of the popular vote and to ensure people’s
participation. Commu nalis m has been largel y an

2
offshoot of this tendenc y to exploit the e motions or
mind set of the voter to further narrow political gains.
Now whenever there is friction of the co mmunal son it
affects the ps yc he of the people to the extent that the y
are forced to migrate towards a pro mise of securit y.
The recent case of Bo mb a y riots substantiates this
proposition as also the mi gration of the mi norit y after
the 1984 riots.
The ra mifications of political i mbalances in our
countr y are visible in the countr yside where a new
kulak class has replaced the old, landed aristocrac y.
The redistribution of land has catal yz ed the process of
transfer of political power fro m one class to another.
This noveau riche class is tenacious in protecting its
socioeconomic status even as the winds of change bring
awareness and consciousness of rights to the hitherto
suppresses sections of societ y. The volatile nature of
the conflict between this stubborn tenacit y and
newfound assertion of rights, results in caste wars and
carnages. Such a pheno me non is frequentl y observed in
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh etc. and breeds a stead y strea m
of involuntar y migrants who flee the menace in the
areas for the quietude of the cit y.
The ‘Son of The Soil’ slogan is a mu ch-flaunted
slogan these da ys and beco mes a convenient garb
behind which ethnic divisions, prodded b y econo mic
competition, operate. Whenever, these are a
competition for scarce econo mic resources the
traditionall y powerful caste clan surfaces and the ‘sons
of the soil’ identit y is intensified b y such events as the
Linguistic Reorganization of states during 1956. The
myopic regional/sectarian identities often fuelled b y
economic or political considerations force people to
vacate the area for want of a feeling of belongingness.
This phenomenon is manifested in Maharashtra (Shiva
Sena), in Assam (ULFA) where rising militanc y has
induced a series of involuntar y mi gration.
The Indian political s yste m has also failed to
provide an effective foru m where people can raise their
grievances let alone store the m efficientl y. This has
alienated the large mi norit y of co mmon people who are
filled with a feeling of helplessness or apath y. This
chronic deficienc y in the govern ment machiner y breeds
terrorist or secessionist forces, which in turn lead to

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involuntar y mi gration of one section of people or
another.

ii) Economic
If the involuntar y mi gration is not a flight to
save the dear life then mo st likel y it is in search of
bread-une mplo yment or undere mplo yme nt being its
genesis.
In a developing countr y like India, despite the
government’s active intervention through the
instrument of planning in achieving distributive justice
there are large, glaring and persistent inequalities not
onl y between different states or between different
regions in the sa me state. Thus while so me states or
zones have been able to create a super-abundance of
jobs, these are utterl y lacking in so me other
i mpoverished states. This invariabl y and quite
predictabl y leads to mi gration – a stead y trickle that
converts itself to a torrent under adverse conditions.
This t ype of mi gration can reall y be ter med as either
voluntar y or involuntar y – voluntar y because the y
migrate on their own accord and involuntar y because
economic necessit y or deprivation forces the m to leave
their home s and wonder in search of jobs. A visit to
Bihar brought us face to face with reality – able-
bodied me n in village had left as migrant labour in
search of employ ment.
There could be two broad divisions in this
capacit y – far m or unskilled labour and educated and
skilled job seekers.

Terrorism – Violence Related Migration

Over the ye ars the Indian federation has
witnessed an alar ming trend – a growing tendenc y
towards terroris m and secessionis m. This terroris m
related violence forces people to mi grate fro m that
affected area because the most funda me ntal of all rights
the right to live is threatened. Mass exodus fro m these
regions as in case of J&K and Punjab is certainl y an
exa mple of the extre me for m of involuntar y mi gration –
where people leave behind flourishing businesses and
opulent lifest yles and beco me refugees packed in
makeshift tents like so ma n y sardines. This is the most
tragic of all migrations.

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 Victi ms Of Developme nt
Large-scale mu ltipurpose projects and da ms
result in larger displace me nts and dislocations. Though
it is ma ndator y for the govern ment to rehabilitate and
resettle the people so affected such resettle me nt, which
is more often than not involuntar y and often coercive
results in leaving these people rootless. Though this
move ment is not strictl y migration, we call it coercisive
if not involuntar y migration. The affected population
are compulsoril y evicted fro m their villages etc. and
resettled in areas alien to the m and having no
connection with their occupational structure. Moreover
the host population is hostile to the people so settled.

It is pertinent to cite in this connection the World

Bank safeguards on resettlement and rehabilitation:

1. To improve or at least regain the standard

of living they were enjoying prior to their
displace ment
2. To be relocated as village units, village
sections or families in accordance with the
ouster preference.
3. To be freely integrated in the co mmunity
into which they are resettled.
4. To be provided with appropriate
compensations and adequate social and
physical rehabilitation infrastructures.

Natural disasters like floods, earthquakes and droughts

also result in involuntar y migration.

Effects Of Involuntary Migration

The phenomenon of involuntar y mi gration leads
to far reaching effects. Like a pebble thrown into a
pond there are an i mme diate splash and the circle of
i mpact slowl y but surel y spreads to a larger area.

Economic
A ma jor causative factor of involuntar y
migration is the endless search for bread or for
better ment of economic conditions. These people when
migrate do so a last resort. On mi gration the standard
of living deteriorates for so me ti me but over a period of
ti mes as e mplo yment beco mes assured the standard of

5
living generall y i mproves. It is seen to go up over
generations as well. If there is a mass influence of
people there is a pressure on e mplo yment and there is a
download pressure on wages. But this also results in
une mplo yment proble ms. Man y big cities are not able
this mass influence in ter ms of e mplo yme nt
opportunities.

If the migration is rural-urban as is the case mo st

of the ti mes, it results into regional and sectarian
dislocations an overcrowding of our cities and under
population in the rural areas. Also another effect of this
rural urban mi gration could be change in the techniques
of production. The rural sector seeks a mo re capital-
intensive technique and the urban sector adopts more
labour intensive technique of production.

Socio – Cultural
1. Alienation – The mi grants having left their roots
behind find the ms elves alienated fro m the
mainstrea m of there adopted land. The y feel that
the y are losing their cultural identit y.

2. Homogeni zation – there is a reverse trend of an

inter mingling of cultures over ti me as mi grants
adopt the life codes and the culture of the
natives.

3. Breaking of the caste identities - and fa mil y

units takes place as people mov e into broader
groups and identities. The traditional caste
structure has lost its rigidit y pri maril y due to
migration, both voluntar y and involuntar y.
Si milarl y the age-old concept of a large joint
fa mil y is also breaking and nuclear fa milies
come up instead.

4. Ethnocentricity – it is also possible that

migrant group seeks to perpetuate its cultural
code and identit y a mong its progen y and seeks to
build or s mall cultural ho meland in an alien sea.

6
 5. Along with the breaking of the fa mil y the
separation of the living couple, there develops an
alternate institution, that of prostitution. The
migrant ma le fuels this institution which has
wide ra mifications in changing ideological
structures, health, sanitation and even the status
of wome n which also witness a proble m of
migration.

Political
There are widespread political effects of migration
which are enumerated below

1) The son of the soil concept has co me about the

natives as competition for resources increases due to
migration. More and mo re people co mpeting for the
sa me jobs, sa me co mmodities, sa me a menities causes
heart burn a mong the actual residents of the place who
feel that the scare resources which should have been
rightfull y theirs are being wasted on the fresh entrants,
aliens, who do not reall y deserve it. This senti me nt
over a period of ti me has acquired political overtones,
as some groups have been able to highlight this
injustice, perceived or otherwise, and mobilize the
people against the present s yste m on this plank of sons
the soil.

Health
Migration affects health in the following wa ys: -

1) Fertilit y Ratios in the fa milies that have

involuntar y mi grated goes up, especiall y in the big
cities Bomba y, Banglore, Calcutta etc. the
proliferation of slums leads to ma n y diseases, due to
lack of sanitation; there is also this scars of the
deadl y disease AIDS and other sexuall y trans mitted
diseases which co me about due to the presence of
ghettos, slums and prostitution.

De mographic
1. Cities expand and slu ms proliferate
2. De mographic profiles of both cities and villages
change.

Case Study: Punjab

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 When a population, prosperous and flourishing is
compelled to leave its ho meland due to fear of death or
destruction the ensuing migration, we feel is the most
tragic of all the involuntar y mi gration. The knott y
Punjab had resulted in such a situation where the non-
Sikhs were forced to leave Punjab. It was all the part of
well thought out deliberate strateg y to oust the non-
Sikhs from Punjab so that onl y the Sikh population is
left behind and this was sought to be achieved b y
selective ma ss killings of the potential mi grants.
Punjab has been a state which has not onl y seen the
inter state out migration (Hindus mov ing to neighboring
states of Har yana and Rajasthan and to Delhi) but also
intra-state mi gration – of the rural urban kind. In this
kind of mi gration the skills as well as the non-Sikhs
migrated from rural to urban areas. Majorit y of those
who migrated were far mers – it was perceived that
cities and towns were safer and the villages to that
extent more vulnerable.
The inter-state migration has created man y
dislocations not onl y econo mic but also socio-political.
The out-migrants called refugees who having left rather
prosperous lifest yles back ho me had to begin fro m a
scratch. The y are often not able to reconcile with the
charged situation and environ ment and often suffer a lot
both on the ps yc hological and e motional front. While
new proble ms in the land mi grated to see m be yo nd
solutions the proble ms back ho me re main unattended
and uncared for.
The most disastrous and lasting effect and also
the most conspicuous is the Hindu Sikh polarization.
The two communities, which had shown exe mplar y
fraternit y in all these ye ars, were on the warpath. The
forced out mi gration of the Hindus fro m Punjab and the
consequent ill feelings between the two co mmunities
was what profoundest of khalisthan wanted. The y
al most did succeed in this.

Bombay
Involuntar y mi gration, which is a ra mpant
phenomenon in India, leads to various distortions and
dislocations. Bomba y metropolis is perhaps the cit y
where the proble m is most grave and acute. Such is the
proble m that the Maharashtra legislature and the
Bomba y municipal corporation are in fact

8
conte mplating a legislation, which would restrict the
number of migrants entering Bo mba y. In Bo mba y till
recentl y around 500 migrants entered the cit y. Man y of
the m were from the villages of Maharashtra. But ma n y
more ca me from Uttar Pradesh, Madh ya Pradesh and
Bihar. In most of these cases mi gration is involuntar y
especiall y for those who co me fro m drought strikes
villages or landless fa milies. It is perceived and rightl y
so that e mplo yment especiall y in the industrial sector
abounds in Bomba y. A huge portion of Bo mb a y’s
industrial work force co mp rises, the mi grants.
Moreover in Bo mba y, it is also relativel y eas y to find
some sort of casual work. The mi gration to Bo mb a y
could thus be explained b y (i) job opportunities that the
cit y has to offer. (ii) Perceptions that such
opportunities are a legion and the standard of living in
Bomba y would be muc h higher than in the native town
and villages.
Thus most migrants who co me to Bo mba y are
able to eke out a living. The y do get jobs or
e mplo yment but their life in the cit y is pathetic and
deplorable. The y live in ghettos and shant yt owns and in
chawls, a s mall roo m shared with fift y others. And
these are the fortunate people. Man y do not get
accommodation. This explains the proliferation of the
encroachme nts.
The proble ms than Bo mba y faces toda y ma de the
BMC appoint a committee to go into the question of
migration and whether it could be stopped or at least
controlled. The said co mmittee after giving a detailed
account of the proble ms ca me with a proposed
legislation, which would initiall y restrict and
eventuall y stop all involuntar y mi gration to the cit y.
But the law judiciar y depart ment has raised objections
to the bill sa ying that it would reach the funda mental
right to move freel y thought the countr y. Opinions are
still divided.
Man y feel that the proposed bill will well fall within
the reasonable restrictions. The bill however is still
pending.

Proble ms Faced By The City

1. Over population: the population is increasing at a
stud y pace. And this indeed the root factor to which
most other causes are related. Not onl y do the

9
 migrants add to the cit y’s existing population but
also the rate of growth of population is the fastest in
this class, since the y all belong to the lower mo st
strata. A surve y has observed that on an average each
migrant fa mil y has 5 to 6 children. These children
are invariabl y ill fed, barel y literate and are going to
pose a tre mendous proble m in the da ys to co me,
povert y and illiterac y coupled with rising
une mplo yment in the cit y itself conspire to mak e
these children cri minals.

2. Criminalisation: first the triggered riots and then

the bomb explosions. Though international terrorists
are said to be involved in this, these two episodes
have also compelled the police and the
administration to view the increasing cri me rate of
the cit y with greater concern. Gang war has also
become a characteristic of the cit y.

3. Failure of civic facilities: but perhaps the cause for

the gravest concerns both for the ad ministration and
the common ma n alike is the near collapse of the
civic facilities. Housing is a major proble m. The
drainage s yste m is unable to cope up with the
increasing cit y population causing health proble ms.
The biggest proble m perhaps is that of
transportation. The suburban local service and the
BEST buses are required to carr y more nu mber of
passengers than the y were designed for, this
resulting in overcrowding, traffic ja ms and sound
and air pollution. The existing health facilities are
just not enough.

4. Prostitution and AI DS: prostitution flourishes when

the migrant enters a new cit y leaving behind his
fa mil y. This socio-mo ral evil gets an added
di mension as it is seen to be the reservoir for the
AIDS virus.

5. Regionalism and sons of the soil mo ve ment: while

regionalis m is also a cause of involuntar y migration
it is also an effect of migration. The genesis of Shiv
Sena in the late sixties can be traced to the

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 increasing mi gration trends- both voluntar y and
involuntar y.

6. Encroachments and illegal settle me nts:

highlighted in the judg ment of supre me court in Olga
Tellis Vs BMC, a public interest litigation, where the
sc tried to reconcile the hu ma n considerations of
encroachers and the ad ministrative exigencies of the
BMC. BMC had re moved, but SC did e mphasis those
encroachme nts especiall y on pave me nts cause
proble ms to the cit y and the ad ministration alike.

Man y ti mes re mo val of encroach ments have also led

riots, including communal riots in Bhiwandi
.
Suggestions And Reco mme ndations
An y worthwhile stud y of such a h yd ra headed
proble m as that of involuntar y mi gration and its
consequences, would be inco mplete without appropriate
recommendations to tackle it. Essentiall y, however,
migration is linked like most other conte mporar y issues
to the process of develop me nt or the lack of it.
Lopsided progress and the si mmering desire to
transcend one’s existing conditions i mpel mov e ment
towards apparentl y greener pastures.
Therefore the need of the hour is all pervasive
development wherein i mbalances are done awa y with
and one is not constrained b y one’s surroundings.
To ste m the tide of job seekers, greater bread
earning opportunities mu st be created in rural, far-flung
areas, which have been left out of the develop ment
process. For this, cottage industries, rural growth
centers and e mplo yme nt sche mes must be initiated.
Industrial belts must be dispersed rather than restricted
to large cit y areas so that population would fan out over
a greater area. People mu st be encouraged to mi grate
back from the congested slu ms to their place of origin,
which must offer the m greater opportunities for earning
their livelihood and increasing their standard of living.
Artisans and crafts ma n especiall y those in possession
of rare and d yi ng skills should be provided incentives
for continuing in their professions instead of giving
the m up for Sundr y jobs in me tropolis. Encourage ment
of folk artists, troupes, skilled crafts men, traditional
workme n, would go a long wa y in achieving this

11
motive. The develop ment of touris m industr y would
bring more occupational opportunities to hoteliers,
shopkeepers, entertainers etc. another aspect is the
proper fillip to agriculture in ter ms of mo netar y and
resource inputs so that agriculturists do not flee fro m
the vicissitudes of the countr yside and into the illusor y
securit y of the cit y. Awareness progra mmes mu st be
started to acquaint the people with the real proble ms
that mi gration to distant drea mlands entails. The
benefits of creating opportunities and tapping the
potential of their habitat should be mad e known to the
people.
Such economic develop ment would go a long
wa y in controlling other causative factors of
involuntar y migration such as law and order related or
violence forced migration. Once an at mosphere free of
communal tension or fissiparous tendencies is attained,
people will automaticall y have confidence in their
circumstances and those who have been forced to leave
their home s for instance in J&K, Punjab and Bo mba y
would return to work in peaceful settings. For this,
terroris m must be curbed with a fir m hand and anti-
social ele ments, which drive people awa y, must be dealt
with fir ml y.
To battle the multifarious proble ms of the slu ms
and ghettos, the working of slu m develop me nt boards
and municipal authorities mu st be refurbished. Special
sche mes for promoting literac y, teaching e mplo yment
oriented skills must be encouraged so that slu m
dwellers can ma ke maxi mu m use of these and rise
above their conditions. Living condition in cra mp ed
localities must be i mproved b y giving proper attention
to drainage, sanitation, providing adequate medical
facilities etc.
The involuntar y mi grant and the prospective
migrant must be educated and mad e aware of the
ps ychological and sociocultural proble ms turning in the
te mptations of fared b y the mo ve to cities. The y must
realize the i mpending sense of alienation and loss of
identit y that such a move has in the store. The y mu st be
acquainted with the delusions created b y migration to
an alien surrounding and the plight of their dependents
–like aged parents, wives and children back ho me. No
doubt the economic i mperatives forces harsh decisions
down a person’s throat, but the central assu mption of

12
all recommendations is the develop me nt led prosperit y
of the areas.
Lastl y people who are displaced fro m their
habitat due to large da ms and other projects mu st be
carefull y resettled in other areas and dul y co mp ensated
so that the y do not beco me helpless victi ms to what is
be yond their lines of control.

REFERENCES

Majumdar, Prasanta S Rural Migrants in an Urban

setting; Stud y of two shant y colonies in the capital
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1. Todaro, Michael F
Internal Migration in Developing Countries; Review
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2. Singh, Ram Nath

I mpact of out mi gration on socio-econo mic
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3. Raju, B.R.K.
Developme ntal migration; processual anal ysis of
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6. Joseph, K.V.
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8. Nair, K.S.
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