Patterns of rural-urban migration : a case study of four villages in Rajasthan, India

Abstract

The broad objective of this study is to draw together, on a comparative basis, the rural-urban migration patterns from a set of rural communities in order to answer some questions about the motives and social structural constraints that lie behind the decision to migrate. This study has grown out of field research. Four villages, at different levels of agricultural development, In Rajasthan, generally considered one of the fast-developing states in India, are the subject of this study. The study population constitutes in effect a total male 'migration universe*. The investigation combines broad quantitative measures of migration with a case study approach from the perspective of the area of origin, with some use of data collected at the area of destination by tracing the migrants. The main argument of the study is that a deeper understanding of the migration can be gained by an examination of certain village-level factors or group level variables. It is because men do not migrate for the same reasons. People from different social groups follow different patterns. So do people from developed and less developed rural areas. Two of the major issues addressed in this study are: the relation between migration patterns and level of rural development and the relation between migration patterns and caste structure. Rural-urban migration was found to be the most important strategy among migrants in the reconstituted mover households. More than 90 per cent of contemporary migrants go to urban areas, especially to metropolitan areas. Thus, migration from the sample villages had undeniably contributed to the growth of large urban centres. Migration is a means by which some rural households maintain or improve their economic position in the rural setting by sending members, usually the younger ones, to the city; though it is strange that most migrants come from comparatively prosperous households. This pattern cannot completely be understood without linking the survey findings to temporal change and regional variation in socio-economic development. This study suggests that not only is it important to learn of the nature of migration and the characteristics of migrants, but it is equally important to realize that migration is also used as a means to cope with the problems of 'survival1 and of assuring the well-being of family members in a situation of continual socio-economic crises. The study argues that migration patterns are seldom the result of economic and ecological pressures alone; normally they cannot be explained satisfactorily without proper reference to the social structures of the areas of origin. Show more