Who Returned Home During the Pandemic? A Study on Migrant Workers, India
Return migration is not a new concept in the migration framework. Ravenstein, in the year 1885, postulated a counter-current to the mainstream of migration in his migration laws (Ravenstein, 1885). However, our understanding of this topic remains fuzzy owing largely to a lack of reliable large-scale data and not so much due to neglect of the subject (Cassarino, 2004). Most literature pertaining to the subject is based on inter-country experiences, not internal return migration. Additionally, with growing urbanization and modernization, the geographical movements of people are seen as static, one-dimensional movements from rural to urban areas (Rhodes, 1978).
There is no systematic study on return migration in India (Dhar and Bhagat, 2020) and it is a major gap in knowledge on migration. India’s internal labour migration during the pandemic provides a unique experience of involuntary return migration. The COVID-19 and the resultant lockdown have created a situation of involuntary return migration among workers. It provides a stage for conducting a retrospective study to analyze determinants of return behavior among internal migrant workers upon their return. The study aims to carry out an empirical verification on the socio-economic profile, information on destination, determinants and the future aspirations of the return migrants. We did a quick telephone-based survey among 238 internal migrants from the Sonitpur district of Assam within one year after the lockdown was first introduced in India. Out-migration is particularly acute among young single males from households with no or little cultivable lands. These characteristics point to economic deprivation that spurs distress migration. The majority migrants have a low level of education; return migration further amplifies the negative selection process. The return decision is determined by level of income and education; both are statistically significant and have a negative relationship.
Mots clés : internal migration |return migration |pandemic and mobility|India
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