ABSTRACT
Zachariah made detailed investigations into internal migration in the Indian subcontinent during 1941-51 and 1901-31 in order to measure and describe its magnitude, assess its contribution to the process of population redistribution, and indicate areas of population gain and loss. The main objectives of this chapter are to examine the magnitude of internal migration in India, to discern the patterns of rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-urban and urban-rural migration, to identify areas of in- and outmigration, and to predict likely trends. Also, the new data on duration of migrants residence at the place of enumeration make it possible to discern the temporal-spatial patterns of mobility. Thus, the data offered by the 1961 census have given new dimensions to the study of migration in India. An overwhelming majority of India’s massive population spends the entire cycle of life in or near its place of birth. The 1961 census data show that 73.7% of the migrants moved within rural areas.
