Internal Migration Within South Asia: Contemporary Issues and Challenges

267 Pages·2022·6.512 MB·English

by  Ujjaini Mukhopadhyay (editor)

Internal Migration Within South Asia
Ujjaini Mukhopadhyay
Editor
Internal Migration Within
South Asia
Contemporary Issues and Challenges

Foreword
Internationalmigrationoflabour,orinterregional,hasalwayscaptivatedmyatten-
tionasanacademic.Acquaintancewiththisfieldofresearchispartofacontinuous
efforttofathomthemyriadbehavioural,economic,sociological,politicalandspatial
implications.Albeit,aconsiderableamountofresearchonmigration,usingrespec-
tivedisciplinaryrigour,presentsthemselvesfortheenrichmentofthoseinterested,
the thirstfor finding a comprehensive core does not quench so easily. About three
yearsback,whenDr.UjjainiMukhopadhyayonbehalfofhereducationalinstitution
approachedtheEasternRegionalCentreofICSSRforaconferencegrant,Iwasmore
thanhappytoreviewandextendfinancialandtechnicalhelpthroughtheorganisation,
especiallysothatafewdaysofunbridleddialoguesonmigration,forcedandother-
wise,couldbecarriedoutwithdueacademicrigour.Obviously,neitherthefunding
northeorganisationalcapacityallowedthelevelofthediscussiontobepushedtothe
frontiersofthesubject—ageneraldeficiencythatsocialscienceresearchtreatedas
asecond-gradecitizeninthecountryburiedundertheweightsofheavilyendowed
butnot-so-successfulresearchinnaturalsciences,commonlysuffersfrom.Except
for the achievements of a few elite institutions, research in natural sciences and
far less for social sciences in India, has not been able to indigenously empower
thecommonmanafterall.Notwithstanding,discussionsonlabourmigrationoften
stretch the boundaries of disciplines in social sciences as the conference demon-
strated by drawing in a number of important topics in economics, political theory
andsociologicalstudieswithpotentialforrelevantdiscourseonpolicyformulation.
More importantly, a conscious effort followed towards transforming a handful of
thesearticlessuitablycomplementedbyseveralmoresolicitedpapers,intoaworthy
compendium,which,anybodyeverengagedwitheditingavolumeofcollectedarti-
cleswouldreadilyacknowledgeandappreciateasoneofthemostdauntingexercises
inacademics.
Indeed, an edited volume on labour migration dealing with complex and sensi-
tivetopicslikerefugeemovementsandsettlementsborderingissuesofcitizenship,
displacementsowingtopoliticalorethnicstrifeaswellasenvironmentaldamages
across vast regions of South Asia and all these in an ever-escalating situation of
regional mistrust and antagonism should posit an enormous challenge in view of
v
vi Foreword
continuityandsynchronisation.Dr.Mukhopadhyayhasbeenabletosurmountmost
ofthesebarriersasapparentfromthecollectionathand.Itseems,however,thatthe
mostnoteworthyelementofthiscollectionisessentiallyaboutthespiritoftakingthe
disparatecontributionsforwardandnottryingtosettleforanythingless.Itiswell
knowninthedomainofknowledgecreationanddisseminationthatindividualsoften
deliver less than the potential, simply because one is imperfectly informed about
theoutreachandspilloverofone’sownaction.Consequently,majorityoftheedited
volumesinIndiadonotstrivetoattainthatlevelatwhichthecontributionswouldbe
visibletoalargeraudienceandattracttheattentionofthosewhomakedifferencesin
therespectivedisciplines.Individualstypicallyconsiderthatextraeffortandperse-
veranceneededtogetthevolumechosenbyafrontlinepublisherasaninadmissible
cost.Thiscreatestwodistinctmarkets—onewheretheeditorsandthecontributors
workextremelyhardtoreachaninformedandcriticalsetofreadersandtheother
wherethecollectionchoosesalesserpathtowardsoblivion.Observations,although
limited, suggest that awareness about quality and outreach for research output are
notpublicgoods—theseevolveaspartofanacquiredcultureandacademicintegrity
asimportanttraitswhichthisbookdemonstratesprofusely.
SaibalKar,Ph.D.
Director(Hon.),EasternRegional
Centre,ICSSR;
ReserveBankofIndiaChairProfessor
ofEconomics
CentreforStudiesinSocialSciences
Calcutta,India
ResearchFellow,InstituteofLabor
Economics
Bonn,Germany
Preface
In the recent years, South Asia has undergone a significant transformation with
respect to migration dynamics within the region. Persistent forced migration from
neighbouringcountriesandtheensuingrefugeecrisisareconcernsthatplaguesmost
of the South Asian countries. The concern over influx of minority Rohingyas into
BangladeshandIndia,challengesfacedbytheAfghanrefugeereturnees,crisisfaced
bySriLankanTamilrefugeesinIndia,resettlementofBhutaneserefugees,etc.posea
criticalpolicydilemma.Althoughthecountriesoftheregionsharehistoricallegacies
andcommonborders,eachhasdistinctcharacteristicswithregardtopoliticalunder-
currents, economic position, developmental status and demography. This renders
crucialdifferencesinthenatureandpatternofmigration,withdiverseimpactonthe
socio-economicandpoliticalambienceofboththesourceanddestinationregions.
Inordertocomprehendthecriticalmulti-dimensionalissuesconfrontingtheSouth
Asianregion,thisvolumeendeavourstodelveintotheissuefromaninterdisciplinary
viewpoint. Attempts have been made so that the collection of articles assesses the
different facets of migration—both internal as well as international—from histor-
ical, political and economic perspectives, evoke stimulating debates and present a
systematicandcoherentanalysisofsalientissues.
IwasenthusedtopreparethisvolumesubsequenttoconveningtheInternational
Conference on ‘Migration and Displacement: Global Perspectives on Issues and
Challenges’ organised by Behala College, Kolkata and sponsored by the Indian
Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) held in January 2019. Though the
purviewoftheconferencewasmuchwider,Ifeltthenecessityforanintenseacademic
exercisetodisentanglethecomplexmigrationconundruminSouthAsia.Thevolume
isaconsciouscompilationofselectedfourpapersthatwerepresentedintheconfer-
ence while eight papers were solicited from veteran researchers working in this
particulararea.Effortshavebeenmadesothatthearticlescovermostoftheperti-
nentmigrationissuesfacedbytheSouthAsiancountries.Thevolumeisexpectedto
bebeneficialforgraduate,postgraduatestudentsandresearchersincoursesrelating
tolabourstudies,institutionsandgovernance,SouthAsianstudies,migrationstudies,
peaceandconflictanddevelopmenteconomics.
vii
viii Preface
Iamthankfultoallthecontributingauthorsandreviewersofthisvolume.Iamalso
indebted to those who have been directly or indirectly involved with this volume.
I am extremely grateful to Saibal Kar, Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor of
Economics,CentreforStudiesinSocialSciences,forinspiringmetoeditabookon
thisissueandalsowritingtheforeword.IremainindebtedtoShibashisChatterjee,
Professor, Shiv Nadar University for not only contributing in this volume but also
for his academic support throughout the journey of publishing this book. I thank
Sharmila Mitra, Principal, Behala College, for her constant encouragement. I also
thank Nick Wolterman of Emerald Publishing, UK for his help. Special thanks to
RamamoorthyRajangamandSatvinderKaurofSpringerforbeingalwayssohelpful
andsupportive.Ialsothankmyfriends,colleaguesandwell-wishersforhavingfaith
inme.Finally,nothingwouldhavebeenpossiblewithouttheblessingsofmyparents
andencouragementandcooperationofmyhusband,RatnakarPani,andmydaughter,
Mayurakshi.
Kolkata,India UjjainiMukhopadhyay
Contents
PartI Conceptualising the Complexities in Cross-Border
Movements
1 Perspectives on Intra-region Migration in South
Asia—AReorientation ......................................... 3
UjjainiMukhopadhyay
2 Refugees in South Asia: Political Membership,
Nation-BuildingProjectsandSecuritisationofHumanFlows ...... 27
ShibashisChatterjeeandUdayanDas
3 OrdealofStatelessnessinSouthAsia ............................ 51
AnasuaBasuRayChaudhuryandAmbarKumarGhosh
PartII Refugee Crisis, Repatriation and Resettlement: The
PoliticalImbroglio
4 TheRohingyaCrisis:ALongRoadAhead ...................... 71
TrijitaGonsalvesandAbhijitPathak
5 Statelessness, Marginality and Influx of the Rohingyas:
ImpactsonEnvironmentandHostCommunitiesofBangladesh ... 91
MesbahKamalandMrittikaKamal
6 Caught in the Crossfire: A Historical Case Study of Sri
Lanka’sTamilRefugeesinIndia ................................ 111
SreyaMaitra
7 ChallengestoReturneesinAfghanistan:APost-2014Analysis .... 131
ArnabDutta
8 The Impact of Resettlement on the Bhutanese Refugees:
ACriticalReflection ........................................... 149
WangchukDukpaandIshaniNaskar
ix
x Contents
9 PandemicandIndia–NepalMigration ........................... 163
SanjayPulipakaandMohitMusaddi
PartIII Socio-economicPerspectivesofInternalMigrationin
India
10 IntheMidstofDireHopelessness:AnAnalysisofPoverty,
SocialCapitalandMigrationBehaviourofKolkata’sRural
In-Migrants .................................................. 183
SaswatiChaudhuri
11 Health and Quality of Life of Seasonal Migrant Women
WorkersEngagedinSugarcaneHarvestinMaharashtra,India .... 205
AbdulC.P.JaleelandAparajitaChattopadhyay
12 Male Out-Migration and Left-Behind Women in Uttar
Pradesh,India ................................................ 221
BhaswatiDasandSardaPrasad
13 Emigration, Economic Reform and Wage Distribution
inaSmallEconomy ........................................... 239
BiswajitMandalandAlakaShreePrasad