ABSTRACT
In the last decade or so, there has been a renaissance in the literature on citizenship rights of internal migrants. This intense intellectual ferment in the discipline of migration studies has been characterized, among other things, by a resurgence of interest in political demography, a sub-field of population studies that found its own distinct identity in the pioneering work of Myron Weiner. The agenda for futuristic migration research stems from an unrecognized paradox that remains hitherto unaddressed in migration studies: while migration is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution under Article 19 of the Constitution, migrants’ citizenship rights are often violated; migrants are hardly recognized as citizens; and systematically excluded from exercising their political, social, and economic rights. Thus, this chapter presents various dimensions of migrant and citizenship relationship enabling policy makers, academics, and activists to recognize that migrants not only need a formal identity but also require actual realization of citizenship rights through sustained civic and political action.
