Migration Trends in India: The Role of Education, Employment, and Social Factors

Migration is a global phenomenon. Today, it is seen as a response to technological progress, industrialization, and urbanization due to enhanced transportation and communication. In the most basic terms, it is the movement of people from one region to another, mainly in search of better economic prospects.

Migration patterns reflect the economic divide. The latter half of the twentieth century showed the migration trends in India, which were marked by the migration of Indians to Gulf countries because of employment in petroleum industries. The migration of skilled professionals to Canada and England is another example of a deep economic divide.

What is Migration and its Types?

Individuals generally migrate based on better social conditions or other prospects for themselves or their families. However, such decisions affect the national economy and society on a larger level. There are two main types of migration: Internal and External. Internal migration is when individuals move from one region or state to another. External migration is when individuals move to another country. The census of India is the main source for studying migration trends in India. 

Both poverty and prosperity play a significant role in prompting migration. Poverty induces people from less developed countries or those from rural centers to migrate to more developed countries and urban centers, respectively. Prosperity acts as a pull factor to more developed regions. Within countries, poverty is a more prevalent factor in lesser developed countries, whereas prosperity is more frequent in more developed countries.

Migration Trends in India

There are mainly four streams of migration trends in India: rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-rural, and urban-urban. Compared to the last three census periods, the 2011 census shows that the rural-rural stream of migration constitutes the largest portion of migrants.

• Rural-rural: One of the reasons for this being the largest stream is the low employment opportunities in Indian agriculture sectors. Although most of India’s population lives in the rural sector, they have to keep migrating to different areas to continue their occupation of agriculture.

• Rural-urban: Mobility from rural to urban has decreased from the previous census periods, which is in reverse from what happens in developed countries. This is because of the congestion of industries in urban areas, which results in a high pollution rate and risks serious health conditions. The high cost of living coupled with industrialization discourages people from moving to urban areas.

• Urban-rural: This migration stream has also increased significantly from the past census periods due to the development of villages and small-scale industries in rural areas. These industries provide employment to both unskilled and semi-skilled individuals. Due to the high illiteracy rate in India, such employment provides employment to a large number of individuals.

• Urban-urban: Less from the previous periods, this stream is referred to as “step migration” in developing countries, where people migrate from one region to another in search of better economic prospects and other opportunities, such as moving from a small city to a bigger metropolitan area.

Reasons of Migration

There are several reasons for the diverse migration trends in India:

• Economic: Work or employment is the main economic reason for migration among males in India due to the entrenched gender labour division and also because people migrate in large numbers from rural to urban areas in search of employment. Men are the breadwinners of the family, so they migrate to areas that are more profitable from an economic point of view (27.28 percent). 

• Social: Marriage is the most common social factor of migration. Due to the marriage culture in India, women usually shift to the husband’s place after marriage, resulting in large-scale female migration (56.07 percent).

• Educational: Rural areas do not have adequate facilities for higher education, so people interested in diverse educational opportunities move to urban areas for better prospects. They tend to settle there because of better salary packages to realize the benefits of this education.

• Occupational divide: The Indian economy is based on agriculture; however, it does not provide enough employment opportunities to compensate for the large population that is dependent on it. Conversely, urban areas provide employment in industries, trade, service, and transport. The gap between agriculture and non-agriculture has widened, and because of this, the percentage of people migrating has increased from 8.77 percent during the 1991 census period to 10.22 percent in the 2011 census period.

• Environmental: Environmental tragedies such as droughts and floods occur in some areas of India, and they are a reason for people to migrate, but the ratio is small.

• Developmental projects: Some governmental projects meant for developing selective regions prompt people to migrate to other places in search of alternative homes. For example, the Narmada Bachao Andolan launched a protest against the building of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, protesting the unfair displacement of families whose households were damaged in the name of development.

ALSO READ: The Economic and Social Causes of Migration in India

Conclusion

The economist J.K. Galbraith describes migration as “the oldest action against poverty.” Migration not only results in the development of the lives of migrants but also leads to significant economic and social transformation in the regions of origin and destination of the migrants, as evident from the migration trends in India.

The expansion and developments in transport and communication, along with industrialization, have accelerated the large-scale movement of people from villages to towns, from towns to other towns, and even from one country to another country in search of new job opportunities.

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