Editorial
Nearly three in every ten persons in India were migrants as of 2020-21 as revealed by Multiple Indicator Survey (NSS Round 78). As of 2020-21 over a third of Indian populations living in urban areas have migrated from elsewhere as compared to rural parts of the country. This urban migration is creating tremendous pressure on life and livelihood of urban residents, including migrants. Emerging structural transformations of demographic character in India, of urban and rural divide is a great cause of concern. Economic Survey of 2023-24 has cited that by 2030 more than 40 percent of India’s population will live in urban areas. This estimate is based on the basis of studies and reports of NITI Aayog. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revealed in its survey report of July 2020-June 2021 that the percentage of internal migration in India are of four types: (i) rural areas to rural areas which is 55%; (ii) urban to rural areas is 10.2 %; (iii) rural to urban areas is 18.9 %; and (iv) Urban to urban areas is 15.9 % of the total migration that has been taking place internally in India. Most migration in India is internal to the tune of 99% and only 1% of the migration happens to be international.
India’s demographic landscape is unique though not much different from rest of the world. It is largely determined by concentration of economic opportunities, social modernization, penetration of education, and scale of living standards available. Hence, it makes it obvious that the rural-to-urban migration is often driven by the search for better job opportunities and living conditions. However, other three types of migrations mentioned-above are also on account of same reason. Rural to rural migration which is highest is also for same reason that some rural areas are becoming increasingly better than the others.
Migration has both positive and negative impacts on the place where it happens. Mostly migration happens from areas with low levels of development and infrastructure to the places where there are comparatively better infrastructure, opportunities and levels of development. Group of people always move from grey to greener pastures. Scholars also claim it on account of lop-sided and uneven development whereby the center or the core of territorial expanse develops at the cost of peripheral areas. It happens both intra-country and inter-country; while the former is called as immigration, later is termed as emigration. According to UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs India has the world’s largest emigrant population, with over 18.5 million people of Indian origin living overseas in 2024. Such emigrants from India account for 6% of the total international migrant world-wide. This is considered to be good for country that send people across the globe as it creates remittances in foreign currencies, thereby giving a boost to economy of the parent country. Hence, emigration is beneficial.
However, most disturbing is the immigration when population becomes the victim of internal displacement on account of several reasons. Approximately, 29% of the population was considered migrants in 2020-21, with a higher rate in urban areas (34.6%) than in rural areas (26.8%). Irrespective of the reason for migration, the fact remains that migrant population creates numerous challenges: the influx creates heavy burden on existing infrastructure including housing, transportation, water supply, and sanitation to name a few; gives rise to ghettos as most migrants find affordable accommodation difficult so they end-up in such overcrowded areas with modicum of basic amenities and services; most such migrants end-up in informal sector for their livelihood and are subjected to exploitation; such migrants are found outlandish on account of their cultural and behavioural differences making social integration next to impossible and also give rise to crime; migrants have also been found contributing to environmental degradation; they suffer on account of poor and costly education and healthcare facilities in urban areas; these are to name a few of the social, economic and political tensions on account of migration. Urbanization is an indicator of development in any country but it must spread to countryside rather than urban areas itself become centre of attraction and opportunities for people of lesser world.
B.K