ABSTRACT
Migration within the country and across the borders is a fact of life which tends to expand opportunities for productive work and wider interaction among peoples and cultures. However, it is not free from problems for the migrant population, their employers and the communities which receive them. For a large country like India with uneven distribution of development opportunities and availability of resources, people in distress and otherwise have been migrating in large numbers across districts and states in search of better employment and livelihood even prior to independence. The makers of the Constitution gave sanctity to such movements by guaranteeing freedom of movement and freedom to settle in any part of the territory of India as a fundamental right of all citizens [Article 19(1)(d) and (e)]. This freedom helps to integrate the country and secure its unity by removing internal barriers against movement and settlement.
