ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the complexities along the migration-social change nexus in the context of the North Indian Himalayan village of Tejam in Uttarakhand. The chapter is primary data-evidence-led and draws from life stories of a wide variety of villagers, as well as from a collection of original family trees and women’s diary entries. Multidimensional migration impacts are analysed according to migration type. Different types of migration have different demographic, psychosocial and economic impacts on village households: permanent nuclear family out-migration results in complex split joint family households and high levels of affluence among the left behind elderly, but also in increased individualism and inter-generational alienation. A new class of government service personnel emerges across caste boundaries, and predominantly among the scheduled tribe hamlet. Long-term out-migration for army and private sector jobs of males is accompanied by a recent trend of wives leaving with migrant husbands, vis-à-vis traditionally left behind wives who remain in the village. The fact that women increasingly migrate impacts on agriculture and animal husbandry in the village, as elderly in-laws are unable to keep up large farm operations. In cases of long-term migration, children are taken alongside to cities in order to access quality education, hence the phenomena of left behind children does not exist. In contrast to permanent and long-term migration, seasonal migration for low-paid labour jobs of men from the village is a survival strategy involving insecurities for the left behind village household. The chapter shows that caste is an important factor in migration types and impacts as well as in occupational stratification of migrants. These differentiations have an impact on wealth and poverty levels observable among the different social groups residing in the village.
