ABSTRACT

Globalisation in Asia has impacted on existing lifestyles and development processes in multiple ways: Asian economies have traditionally been agricultural, with almost 60-70 per cent of the population living in rural areas (FAO 2014: VI). In India, existing marginalised groups like the scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, girls, disabled and ethnic minorities are bearing the brunt of the state’s inability to ensure rights and undertake affi rmative action. International pressure for further opening of the economy to trade, the destruction of many traditional livelihoods, specifi cally agriculture and artisanal trades, and the inability of the local markets to compete with international imports have all combined to destroy sustainable life and livelihoods. This has contributed to near-continuous migration of families belonging to these social categories. Migration in India has been a regular phenomenon, especially from rural to rural based on seasonal cycles; in 1961 there were about 144 million migrants by place of birth, however by 2001, it was 307 million (GOI 2001). The distribution of migrants by migration streams is generally associated with the degree of economic and social development of sending and destination areas. Population pressure on land, increased opportunities for work, education and marriage, in the case of females, contribute to rural and urban migration. However, the number of migrants taking the rural to rural path is estimated at 53.3 million (GOI 2001). This migration is high because of the requirement for particular kinds of skills and a systemic kinship pattern of migration based on the particular cropping pattern (Nandy 2012; Choudhury 2014).1