Reimeingam Marchang
North East (NE) people migration to the mainland cities of India was considerable during pre-covid-19 pandemic period. It is evident from Census of India data that the shares of migrants from eight NE states in the total migrants in mainland India has increased from 1.47% in 1991 to 1.87% in 2001 and further slightly increased to 1.89% in 2011. NE people were not very mobile to mainland India because the share of migrants living in mainland India remains lower when compared to the share of NE population in India of 3.78% in 2011.
Generally, the nature of out-migration from NE states was mainly chain-migration. The level of social and economic development at origin and destination determines the magnitude of migration rate. Various opportunities of selected new employment or higher studies in migration destination cities attract the migrants from NE states. The prominent push factors of migration include unemployment issues especially for the educated. During 2011-12, according to NSSO, the educated unemployment rates ranges from 2.8% in Meghalaya to 78% in Nagaland for rural females, 5.0% in Meghalaya to 71.2% in Tripura for urban females, 1.4% in Meghalaya to 41.8% in Nagaland for rural males and from 3.6% in Meghalaya to 27.5% in Nagaland for urban males. Besides lack of educational infrastructures, social unrest, political tension and other issues pushes people from NE as migrants to ameliorate livelihood, studies and social security. Concurrently, the availability of better job opportunities, better environment for education and better educational infrastructures among other various pull factors of mainland Indian cities attract the NE migrants.
NE people increasingly migrated to cities in search of opportunities despite problems and racial discrimination that were usually encountered every day. NE migrants in the mainland constituted mostly youth and largely educated (class 10+). Many of them come from relatively rich segment, better economic condition and better educational background. NE migrant workers work in both formal and informal sectors of government and private organisation. They largely work in the private sector of organised and unorganised sectors such as services, retail, hospitality, BPO, etc. They also engage in business activities or as students and others.
The nature of NE migrant workers that is evident from the study in Bangalore city (2020) is again largely chain-migration. NE people migrated largely voluntary and some involuntarily primarily because of inadequate education and employment opportunities at the origin. Clearly, migration is to maximise social well-being and improve economic pursuit. Migrants in Bangalore mainly originated from urban areas who were better-off in education and financial condition. Some of the NE migrants in Bangalore were forward migrants. The unique features of NE migrants, unlike others, in the city were largely in their prime age, educated and never married who were flexible in choosing a job and having a high job expectation that forms an inevitable and intrinsic feature of a migrant.
Another important associating characteristic of migrants is their education background that constituted largely of arts and humanities subjects. This need to change the paradigm, orientation and pursuance of education towards more specialised and professional subjects that are job oriented. As such NE migrants appeared to be attracted or inclined and have higher employability trait in the occupations of retail executive or manager, teacher, corporate, banking, hospitality, security among others.
Migrant workers commonly faced a job security issue despite most of the workers claimed to have a permanent job especially in private sector. Most of them do not enter any job terms and conditions agreement between them and their employers that is the major reason for their job insecurity. During the current pandemic situation such migrant workers were severely affected through job lost, uncertainty of getting their job back and misery and uncertainty of livelihood means. Therefore, it is crucial to enter a job agreement before accepting and joining their aspired job.
Indeed there is a wide earning difference between the educated and others among the migrants. Educated earn relatively more than uneducated that is attributed by the differences in their acquired and possessed skill and knowledge, and bit of job experiences. Lower income group among the migrants are relatively more vulnerable than the higher earners. The previous group are extremely more vulnerable due to absence of savings and dependence on monthly regular income for minimum sustenance during the lockdown caused by covid-19 pandemic.
There is an intense prevalence of job issue because many migrant workers usually keep on changing their job due to job insecurity, job dissatisfaction, issues relating to working environment, remuneration, work timing etc. It implies they do not have a steady and secured job. Moreover, they find difficulty in obtaining a stable employment. Thus, availability of job opportunities in the city is undisputed but problematic. As such many workers tend to leave their job voluntarily when dissatisfied or involuntarily when the establishment is closed or employers laid-off after certain years of employment. Workers in Bangalore usually left their job owing to low remuneration and working environment problem. Under the pandemic situation such migrants would have mostly lost their job and might have returned to their origin.
Currently, the woe caused by covid-19 pandemic has immensely affecting the migrants who are vulnerable due to the characteristic of being a migrant in general and being racially different from mainland people of India. The pandemic has eventually led to a closure of establishments, retrenchment of work force, economic hardship among other many uncertainty of getting back of their lost job or livelihood means for both migrants who continue to stay at migration destination and who have gone back to their origin of migration.
Covid-19 pandemic has taught few morals for migrants’ livelihood strategy such as engagement in stable job, entering contract or job agreement for securing certain period of job, making concrete medium-term if not long-term financial planning for unanticipated situation through a habit of regular savings or investment with the help of financial adviser and obtaining health insurance. Lastly, averting “demonstration effect” of migration is inevitable.
The writer is an Assistant Professor in Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangaluru.
