MIGRANT WORKERS: LONG-TERM ADVERSITY CONTINUES DEALING WITH SHORT-TERM COVID-19

MIGRANT WORKERS: LONG-TERM ADVERSITY CONTINUES DEALING WITH SHORT-TERM COVID-19

Relevance: Sociology: Work and economic life:  Formal and informal organization of  work; Labour and society; Social Change in Modern Society: Agents of social change;  Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:  Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.Components of population growth: birth, death, migration. & G.S paper II Governance

CONTEXT

Since the nation-wide lock down on March 24th, the reverse-migration of semi-skilled and unskilled workers ‘on foot’ — from cities back to their villages — have received wide attention. Poignant, heartbreaking images are all over the media and there are reports suggesting that as many as 22 workers have died while trying to get back home.

Internal Migration Challenges

The Indian Context

Free movement is a fundamental right of the citizens of India and internal movements  are  not  restricted.

The  Constitution  states  “All  citizens  shall  have the right (…) to move freely throughout the territory of India; to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India”.

Article 19(1)(d) and Article 19(1)(e), Part lll, Fundamental Rights, The Constitution of India, 1950.

 India’s total population, as recorded in the recently concluded Census 2011, stands at 1.21 billion. Internal migrants in India constitute a large population2: 309 million internal migrants or 30 per cent of the population (Census of India, 2001), and by more recent estimates 326 million or 28.5 per  cent  of  the  population  (NSSO  2007–08). 

Lead  source  states  of  internal  migrants  include  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Rajasthan,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Andhra  Pradesh  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Odisha,  Uttarakhand  and  Tamil  Nadu,  whereas  key  destination  areas  are  Delhi,  Maharashtra,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Punjab  and  Karnataka. 

There  are  conspicuous  migration  corridors  within  the  country:  Bihar  to  National  Capital  Region,  Bihar  to  Haryana  and  Punjab,  Uttar  Pradesh  to  Maharashtra, Odisha to Gujarat, Odisha to Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan to Gujarat (UNESCO/UNICEF, 2012b).

Further, internal migration remains grossly underestimated due to empirical and conceptual difficulties in measurement. Despite the fact that approximately three out of every ten Indians are internal migrants, internal migration has been accorded very low priority by the government, and existing policies of the Indian  state  have  failed  in  providing  legal  or  social  protection  to  this  vulnerable  group.

This  can be attributed in part to a serious data gap on the extent, nature and magnitude of internal migration. Migration in India is primarily of two types: (a) Long-term migration, resulting in the relocation of an individual or household and

(b) Short-term or seasonal/circular migration, involving back and forth movement between a source and destination. Estimates of short-term migrants vary from  15  million  (NSSO  2007–2008)  to  100  million  (Deshingkar  and  Akter,  2009).

Internal  migration  patterns  and  dynamics  intersect  with  two  developments  in  India’s  current  human  development  context.

First,  rapid  urbanisation  and  the  growth  of  second  tier  cities  and  towns:  increased  levels  of  migration  cause  cities  to  face  many  socio-economic  and  environmental  challenges  that  exacerbate  urban  poverty  and  intensify  inequalities  in  access  to income and services, and thereby deepen social exclusion.

Second, the expansion of rights based approaches – increasingly enshrined in law – to ensure that basic services are accessible to  all  citizens  is  a  process  in  the  making,  transforming  India’s  social  policy  landscape  from  welfarism to rights-based development.

Due  to  the  lack  of  analytical  refinement  in  the  way  that  internal  migration  is  defined,  design  and  delivery  of  services  for  migrants  is  hampered.

Migrants  continually  face  difficulties  in  becoming a full part of the economic, cultural, social and political lives of society. Regulations and  administrative  procedures  exclude  migrants  from  access  to  legal  rights,  public  services  and social protection programmes accorded to residents, on account of which they are often treated  as  second-class  citizens.

Internal  migrants  face  numerous  constraints,  including:  a  lack of political representation; inadequate housing and a lack of formal residency rights; low-paid, insecure or hazardous work;  limited access to state-provided services such as health and education; discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, class or gender; extreme vulnerability of women and children migrants to trafficking and sex exploitation (UNESCO/ UN-HABITAT, 2012).

Internal migrants, especially seasonal and circular migrants, constitute a “floating” population, as  they  alternate  between  living  at  their  source  and  destination  locations,  and  in  turn  lose  access to social protection benefits linked to the place of residence.

There remains no concerted strategy to ensure portability of entitlements for migrants (Deshingkar and Farrington, 2009). Planning  for  migrant  families  who  are  not  settled  but  on  the  move  warrants  a  fundamental  rethinking of development approaches and models (Smita, 2007).

Understanding Internal Migrants’ Exclusion

Migrants  are  looked  upon  as  ‘outsiders’  by  the  local  host  administration,  and  as  a  burden  on  systems  and  resources  at  the  destination.  In  India,  migrants’  right  to  the  city  is  denied  on  the  political defence of the ‘sons of the soil’ theory, which aims to create vote banks along ethnic, linguistic and religious lines.

Exclusion and discrimination against migrants take place through political  and  administrative  processes,  market  mechanisms  and  socio-economic  processes,  causing  a  gulf  between  migrants  and  locals  (Bhagat,  2011).

This  leads  to  marginalisation  of  migrants in the decision-making processes of the city, and exacerbates their vulnerabilities to the vagaries of the labour market, poverty traps, and risks of discrimination and violence.

Women  migrants  face  double  discrimination,  encountering  difficulties  peculiar  to  migrants,  coupled  with  their  specific  vulnerability  as  victims  of  gender-based  violence,  and  physical,  sexual or psychological abuse, exploitation and trafficking.

Migrants are further marginalised through negative portrayal in the media, and stigmatisation by municipal and state leaders who exploit communal divides and prejudices.

Myths and Facts about Internal Migration

A  fundamental  misunderstanding  and  lack  of  recognition  of  the  migratory  phenomenon  is  increasingly  at  the  root  of  misconceived  policies  or  stubborn  inaction  regarding  internal  migration.

Policies and programmes facilitating migrant integration at the destination remain weak at best or non-existent.

Further, migrants are subjected to hate propaganda from local fundamentalists  who,  motivated  by  fear  and  parochialism,  blame  them  for  all  civic  and  social  unrest at the destination. Clear   and   consistent   data   on   migration   is   urgently   required   to   dispel   myths   and   mis-understanding about internal migrants, as displayed on the opposite page.  Benefits of Migrants’ Inclusion in Society“In our increasingly diverse societies, it is essential to ensure harmonious interaction  among  people  and  groups  with  plural,  varied  and  dynamic  cultural  identities  as  well  as  their  willingness  to  live  together.  Policies  for the inclusion and participation of all citizens are guarantees of social cohesion, the vitality of civil society and peace.”

From Article 2, UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, 2001 Internal  migration  is  an  integral  part  of  development  and  cities  are  important  destinations  for  migrants.

The  rising  contribution  of  cities  to  India’s  GDP  would  not  be  possible  without  migration and migrant workers. Some of the important sectors in which migrants work include: construction, brick kiln, salt pans, carpet and embroidery, commercial and plantation agriculture and  variety  of  jobs  in  urban  informal  sectors  such  as  vendors,  hawkers,  rickshaw  puller,  daily  wage workers and domestic work (Bhagat, 2012).

Estimates  of  the  domestic  remittance  market  are  roughly  USD  10  billion  for  2007-08  (Tumbe,  2011). Evidence reveals that with rising incomes, migrant remittances can encourage investment in human capital formation, particularly increased expenditure on health and, to some extent, on education (Deshingkar and Sandi, 2012).

 Many positive impacts of migration remain unrecognised.

Migrants are indispensable and yet invisible  key  actors  in  socially  dynamic,  culturally  innovative  and  economically  prosperous  societies.

An  independent  study  examining  the  economic  contribution  of  circular  migrants  based on major migrant employing sectors in India revealed that they contribute 10 per cent to  the  national  GDP  (Deshingkar  and  Akter,  2009).

 In  particular,  women  migrants’ , Social Inclusion  of Internal Migrants in India contribution at the destination remains unacknowledged, despite the fact that they shoulder the  double  burden  of  livelihood  (being  often  engaged  as  unregistered,  unpaid  and  therefore  invisible  workers)  and  household  work,  in  the  absence  of  traditional  family-based  support  systems.

Migrants bring back to source locations a variety of skills, innovations and knowledge, known as  ‘social  remittances’,  including  changes  in  tastes,  perceptions  and  attitudes,  such  as  for  example,  a  lack  of  acceptance  of  poor  employment  conditions,  low  wages  and  semi-feudal  labour  relationships,  and  improved  knowledge  and  awareness  about  workers’  rights  (Bhagat,  2011).

Migration  may  provide  an  opportunity  to  escape  caste  divisions  and  restrictive  social  norms,  and  work  with  dignity  and  freedom  at  the  destination  (Deshingkar  and  Akter,  2009).

Women left behind enjoy empowerment effects, with increased interaction in society, including their  participation  as  workers  and  as  household  decision-makers  (Srivastava,  2012a).

Internal  migration can expand people’s freedoms and capabilities, and make substantial contributions to human development in terms of improved incomes, education and health (UNDP, 2009).

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