Indian Migrants Research Articles

Rupture or continuity? : the impact of globalisation on cultural identity and education in Indian immigrant families in Australia

This paper argues that the notion of identity amongst Indian migrants has not ruptured as a result of globalization or Westernization. Given the focus of this paper, to understand the global reframing of cultural identity in immigrant communities, globalization theories from the perspective of the social sciences and empirical evidence from studies on Indian migrant families were analyzed. The aspects of globalization considered to have an impact on cultural identity included westernization, cultural change, global media, consumerism and communication technologies. The analysis points toward the trends of homogenization and hybridization of culture which have become the features of the Globalized era in the 21st century.

Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State by Radhika Mongia

Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State by Radhika Mongia

Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State by Radhika Mongia, and: Singapore, Chinese Migration and the Making of the British Empire, 1819–67 Stan Neal

Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State by Radhika Mongia, and: Singapore, Chinese Migration and the Making of the British Empire, 1819–67 Stan Neal

Subaltern Mobility and Labor Contract: Indian Indenture in New World History

Recent work in global history has defined the long-distance labor migration of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, following the demise of Trans-Atlantic slavery, as a global phenomenon. Though an important component of migration studies as well as the history of globalization, this framework struggles to consider the significance of indentured migration from India to the sugar plantations overseas. In the view of Adam McKeown, the indentured were insignificant to global historical change, given that they constituted less than ten percent of global migration between 1846 and 1940. In order to establish the significance of indenture, this essay highlights the uniqueness of the indenture system in terms of workers' rights and welfare as well as the legal framework that provided a new language of freedom and contract. Under this system, laborers bargained with colonial authority, a process, which was fulfilled through the amendment in the legislations. By highlighting this element of the history of indentured labor, this essay aims to inspire further research into the detailed legal history of the process.

Effectiveness of a mobile phone text messaging intervention on dietary behaviour in patients with type 2 diabetes: a post-hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial.

Evidence suggests that mobile phone health (mHealth) programs may improve healthy behaviours and clinical outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, data on mHealth dietary behaviour is scarce in low-and-middle-income countries. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a text messaging program on dietary habits in patients with T2DM. We performed a post-hoc analysis of a randomised controlled trial of text messaging intervention in 236 patients with T2DM recruited from a tertiary hospital. Data were collected on socio-demographics, mobile phone use, family and medical history, self-reported diseases, medication use, health-seeking behaviour, diet and physical activity. Dietary behaviour was assessed using a modified version of WHO STEPS and the Indian Migration Study Food Frequency Questionnaire. Intervention participants received one message/day over six months focusing on lifestyle modification. Dietary intake of fruits, vegetables, sugar beverages and teaspoons of sugar in tea/coffee were determined in serves-per-week and were analysed using Chi-square tests. Poisson regression models, adjusted for age, sex and baseline values following an intention-to-treat approach were performed and expressed as an estimate of effect size. At 6 months, the adjusted difference in vegetable consumption was -0.02 serves/week [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.11-0.06, P>0.05] and fruit intake was 0.02 serves/week (95% CI: -0.15-0.21, P>0.05). Consumption of sugar beverages reduced in both groups at 6 months with an adjusted difference of -0.34 serves/week (95% CI: -1.10-0.42, P>0.05). Teaspoons of sugar in tea reduced to 0.1±0.3 teaspoons/week in the control group, however, remained the same at 0.2±0.6 teaspoons/week in the intervention group with an adjusted difference of 0.94 teaspoons/week (95% CI: 0.04-1.84, P<0.05). Our results suggest that a text messaging program did not significantly improve dietary behaviour in patients with T2DM. Further studies are warranted to explore the effectiveness of text messaging on dietary behaviour in adults with T2DM. German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00005188, http://www.drks.de.

SAGA OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN INDIA: MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY

COVID 19 pandemic has thrown up bitter colors when India witnessed the large scale gory sage of reverse internal migration of unorganized workforce. As compared to intercontinental migration the degree of internal migration is twice. Displacement, lockdowns, loss of employment, starvation and social distancing provoked a frenzied course of mass return for internal migrants in India and other parts of the world. In India there is a peculiar trend of unorganized workforce migration. Out of 29 states and 7 union territories, few states dominate where migrants flock for seeking livelihood. The fleeing of migrants to their inherent origin has weakened the economic activities towards slowdown in the economic growth. This thematic review paper discusses the problems of the internal migrants and their state during and post lockdown announcements in India. The data included extracts of articles, opinions and reviews for which codes were recognized which lead to formulation of research themes. The review also highlights government interventions in addressing the challenges confronted by the internal migrants with social security. This study proposes an arrangement as migrant exchange at state level for efficient policy formulation and accomplishment of social security standards.

Nepali Migrant Workers in Tourism Sector of India: A Case in Kerala and Goa

This paper examines how tourism employment and workplace experiences influence migrant workers' adaptation in the host society. Nepali migration to India is age-old phenomena. Most of literatures depicts to Nepali migrants in India are low-skilled, manual labourers. It is argued that tourism employment provides access to multiple social networks, which subsequently supports the improvement of foreign workers’ social and cultural competencies. Such networks also help to compensate for the negative aspects of migrants and migration. Contrary of negative portraying, it resulted that Nepali migrants in tourism sector of India are in better off position. In addition, the paper considers how relationships among international workers inform chain migration and influence subsequent recruitment practices and migration experiences. The findings stem from study of the experiences of Nepali migrant workers employed in the India tourism sector using qualitative data.

Effect of Rural Roads on Migration Patterns in India: An Instrumental Variable Approach

This paper examines the impact of PMGSY (hereafter, PMGSY) on pattern of migration in India. Roads are the main means of transport for the people who migrate for better opportunities. The PMGSY was a key step in ensuring all-weather road connectivity to all the villages. The literature has mostly documented the large influx of people from rural areas to urban centres because of fewer employment opportunities. While the rural to urban migration has captured the attention of the researchers, what has not been noted is the role that rural road construction has played in affecting the pattern of migration. Using the data from Census and PMGSY, during 2001 to 2011, we investigate the role PMGSY has played in migration. We first find that the construction of rural roads has led to an overall fall in the migration. Further, we separate the migration into two types, rural to urban migration and rural to rural migration. We note that rural to urban migration has witnessed a significant decline with the building of roads under PMGSY. However, the interesting point to note in our results is the pattern of rural to rural migration. We find a significant increase in the rural to rural migration caused by PMGSY. For robustness, we use a geography-based instrument 2SLS analysis as well. The results are still identical and statistically significant.

Caste-based migration and exposure to abuse and exploitation: Dadan labour migration in India

ABSTRACT This article examines the relationship between an exploitative labour migration system and the social stratification system in India. Every year, thousands of people migrate from rural areas to work in brick kilns, construction sites and textile industries in Indian cities. This article analyses interview and questionnaire data from a sample of Scheduled Caste Dadan migrants. High levels of abuse, injury and disability are reported. The researchers conclude that efforts to regulate employment conditions and implement caste reforms have failed to protect many workers. The findings underscore the need for much more attention from public authorities, employers, job brokers, NGOs, and international organisations.

Work visas and return migration: how migration policy shapes global talent

ABSTRACT The recruitment and retention of foreign talent are crucial dimensions of the global education and labour markets. This paper examines how entwined migration policies and corporate practices shape the development and flow of international skill. I pair an original dataset of employment histories with 105 interviews with skilled migrants and institutional actors to examine the process of skill and knowledge formation among foreign-born workers in the United States and return migrants in India. The findings show that employer-sponsored visas constrain the development of foreign skill and inefficiencies in the implementation of H-1B visas andgreen cards are contributing to return migration. Return migrants leave the United States with knowledge and skills in STEM and business that they developed while studying and working in the United States. At the same time, multinational employers are increasingly conceptualising migration experience as a skill, giving return migrants an advantage in their home labour markets. The findings of this paper illustrate how interactions between state and corporate institutions shape the process of skill formation throughout the migration journey.

“Behind the white curtain”: Indian students and researchers in Australia, 1901–1950

PurposeAcademic scholarship on the White Australia Policy (WAP) has highlighted the history of Asian migration, early perceptions and policy-making initiatives. Prominent scholars have also pointed out the impact of the British Empire and WAP on Australia–India relations and early Indian migrants in Australia. Drawing on the debate concerning international students in Australia, our purpose in this article is to recover the role of Indian students in the story of Australian–Indian connections.Design/methodology/approachThe article aims to highlight the reasons behind the involvement of the Australian government in the provision of scholarships and fellowships to Indian students and researchers at Australian universities during the period of WAP. To achieve this, it uses contemporary Australian newspaper reports to explore the popular representations of sponsored Indian students and researchers in Australia from 1901 to 1950.FindingsThe article concludes that the prevalence of this racially discriminatory immigration policy created a dissatisfaction among Indians, and some Australian sources of agitation, that helped chip away at the Australian government’s admission policies and the gradual demise of WAP.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the historiography and the effects of colonialism on Australian–Indian relations and debates on policy formation based on ideas of whiteness.

MIGRATION: CAUSES AND TRENDS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN INDIA

Migration is the barometer of changing socio-economic and political conditions at the national and international levels” (Razi, S., p. 3, 2014). There are various factors which has compelled people to migrate from one place to another. However, these factors may vary from country to country and from place to place. It may also vary from state to state within a country. In a developing country like India, migration mostly take place due to some factors like poverty, unemployment, natural calamities and underdevelopment at the place from where people migrate to some other places. In India internal mobility is still seem to be very critical to the livelihoods of many people, especially those living in rural parts of the country. People from rural areas migrate to nearby urban centres or cities mostly in search of better earning opportunities. It is expected that the percentage of urban population in India which was only 17 per cent of the total population in 1951 would jump to around 42.5 per cent of the total population by 2025 (Razi, S., 2014). The present paper, therefore, is an attempt to study the various causes and trends of migration with a special focus on rural-urban migration in India.

Not all Lockdowns are Created Equal. Indian Migrant Crisis in Times of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic in India laid visible the stark disparity and unequal distribution of resources in the Indian society. With the imposition of one of the harshest lockdowns in the world , the migrant workers in the country (both interstate and intrastate) have taken the cruel brunt of this pandemic. These internal migrant workers were left in the urban economic centres (cities) with no proper housing, jobs (most of them being employed in informal sectors) and any form of income generation. This led to a mass exodus of migrant workers from urban centres to their rural homes in the hope that they may not go hungry and will have a roof over their heads. The global crisis brought to the forefront that the pandemic is being experienced differently by different economic strands of the Indian society. By severing the public transportation (buses and trains), to mitigate the risk of spread of the virus across districts and states , the migrant workers were denied the only means of affordable movement. This paper will chronicle the many obstacles and hardships that were faced by the migrants when public transportation was denied, on their long journey 'home', without any certainty of reaching their villages alive.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Internal Labour Migration in India: A 'Crisis of Mobility'.

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migration. The rapid spread of the pandemic caught countries across the world off guard, resulting in widespread lockdowns that clamped down on mobility, commercial activities and social interactions. In India, the pandemic precipitated a severe ‘crisis of mobility’, with migrant labourers in many major cities seeking to return to their hometowns. Their desperate attempts to return home by any means available rendered the lockdown ineffective in several areas, prompting clashes with authorities, last-minute policy relief and, eventually, the arrangement of transport measures. This paper aims to shed light on the vulnerability of India’s internal migrants in terms of their mobility, gender and mental health. In addition, it critically analyses the limitations of public policy in addressing migrants and suggests recommendations for the way ahead.

The Poor and the Migrant in India

The ninth part of the Social Change Indicators series gives an account of the poor and migrants in different states of India by focussing on the following aspects: Percentage of population belonging to the lowest two wealth quintiles, percentage of households (rural and urban) without any agricultural land, percentage composition of inter-state migration in India by source states, percentage composition of inter-state migration in India by destination states, per cent composition of employment as the reason for migration in inter-state out-migration of source states and the per cent unemployment rate (rural and urban) according to the usual status.

Circular Migration and Precarity: Perspectives from Rural Bihar.

Migration and mobilities are vastly underestimated in India. In particular, circular migration remains poorly captured as circular migrants move back and forth between source and destination regions. Based on survey data from rural Bihar, an important source region of migration in India, this paper finds that a vast majority of migrants work and live in precarity in predominantly urban and prosperous destinations across India. However, those at the lowest rungs of the social and economic ladder in source regions—the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, other backward classes I and the labouring class—are the worst off at destination; they are part of the most precarious shorter-term migration streams, earn the lowest incomes, have the poorest conditions of work, and live in the harshest circumstances. The paper shows that social and economic hierarchies, and in turn, precarity in source region is reproduced at destination, and, thus, there is little evidence that spatial mobility is associated with social mobility. Focusing on migrants’ location, work, employment, income, housing, and access to basic services at destination, the paper foregrounds migrant precarity and adds to a small body of empirical literature that is significant in understanding the spatial and structural elements of circular migration in India and in turn, the migration crisis that emerged as a result of the economic shock of the COVID 19 pandemic.

A job in Dubai and an apartment in Bangalore

This article engages migration studies and urban studies to examine the differentiated roles of highly skilled Indian migrants in the metropolitan real estate markets of the UAE and India. It aims at highlighting their transnational engagement in the property market ‘back home’ in the absence of conditions for a real cosmopolitan social fabric in the UAE. Despite the demographic significance of Indian migrants in the UAE, the illiberal politics of migration management prevailing in the UAE have relegated them to transience. Dubai has been at the forefront of certain reforms to encourage foreigners to invest in the local property market, with uncertain results so far. Conversely the Indian real estate sector has developed techniques to capture migrant remittances and channel them into the booming metropolitan property markets of India. I will explore these mechanisms with a focus on the fast-growing South Indian metropolis of Bangalore through a qualitative multi-sited research project conducted in Bangalore and Dubai. It aims at highlighting the importance of transnational connexions between the urban fabric of these two cities, and more generally the significance of international migrations and remittances for urban dynamics in the Global South.

A delectable set of offerings to close off 2020

A delectable set of offerings to close off 2020

India's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Frontal Assault on the "Historically Dispossessed".

During the nationwide lockdown as part of the state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the predicament of interstate migrant laborers in India, caught in crowded cities without means of livelihood and basic resources needed to sustain life, gained national and international attention. This article explores the context of the current migrant crisis through the historical trajectories and political roots of internal migration in India and its relationship with the urban informal labor market and the structural determinants of precarious employment. We argue that the both the response to the pandemic and the disproportionate impact on migrant laborers are reflections and consequences of an established pattern of neglect and poor accountability of the state toward the employment and living conditions of migrant workers who toil precariously in the informal labor market.

‘Buddhism Has Been Insulted. Take Immediate Steps’: Burmese fascism and the origins of Burmese Islamophobia, 1936–38

AbstractIn light of the current Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, this article investigates the emergence of Islamophobia in colonial Burma. Focusing on the under-examined Islamophobic riots that broke out countrywide in 1938, my research reveals that a nascent fascist movement used Muslims as a scapegoat for political and economic crisis. The colonial agribusiness economy had collapsed during the Great Depression, while the vast contract labour system of the Indian Ocean had brought millions of low-wage Indian migrants to Burma, causing a glut in the labour market. Burmese socialism provided a popular response to these issues. To compete, Burmese fascism emerged to appeal to a rising sense of nationalism, racially scapegoating Indians and the religion of Islam as the exploiters, colonizers, and invaders behind Burma's problems. Using the racialized termkalato conflate the ideas of colonizer, Indian, and Muslim, Burmese fascists inflamed hatred against Indian Muslims, Indian Hindus, and even indigenous Muslims, such as the Rohingya. By revealing the origins of this racialization, this article both deconstructs the lasting Burmese perception of the Rohingya as ‘Bengali immigrants’ and provides a generalizable case study into how races and racisms develop from specific historical factors and political movements. It also argues that the British amplified fascist ideas in Burma by focusing repression on movements that directly challenged their material control, such as socialism and communism. Therefore, it highlights how ruling classes often prefer nationalistic movements because they redirect popular unrest from the project of overthrowing structural factors to that of eliminating scapegoated minorities.