An Analysis on Rural to Urban migration in India, its Causes and Remedies

Abstract

Migration is the oldest action against poverty. Thus, temporary labour migration from rural to urban areas is a very common phenomenon in the developing world. In various developing countries, labour migration from rural to urban or from backward region to developed region is a household livelihood strategy to cope with poverty. The present paper explores the impact of labour migration stream in India. The major subject of rural-urban migration and its near association with the question of rural development has been studied over a long period of time. The discussion over this phenomenon has largely been framed by the theory of urban bias in development policies and strategies; and migration has on many instances been seen as merely the spatial transfer of poverty from rural to urban areas without having any significant positive impact on income poverty and overall living conditions. However, the form of migration that has been dominant in academic interest is long-term or permanent migration. Internal temporary migration is a relatively less studied phenomenon that has evoked interest only in the recent times. The aim of the paper is to discuss trends, causes and consequences of this type of migration in present day India