This book reconceptualizes migration studies in India and brings back the idea of citizenship to the center of the contested relationship between the state and internal migrants in the country. It interrogates the multiple vulnerabilities of disenfranchised internal migrants as evidenced in the mass exodus of migrants during the COVID-19 crisis. Challenging dominant economic and demographic theories of mobility and relying on a wide range of innovative heterodox methodologies, this volume points to the possibility of reimagining migrants as ‘citizens’. The volume discusses various facets of internal migration such as the roles of gender, ethnicity, caste, electoral participation of the internal migrants, livelihood diversification, struggle for settlement, and politics of displacement, and highlights the case of temporary, seasonal, and circulatory migrants as the most exploited and invisible group among migrants. Presenting secondary and recent field data from across regions, including from the northeast, the book explores the processes under which people migrate and suggests ways for ameliorating the conditions of migrants through sustained civic and political action. This book will be essential for scholars and researchers of migration studies, politics, governance, development studies, public policy, sociology, and gender studies as well as policymakers, government bodies, civil society, and interested general readers.

How did states come to monopolize control over migration? What do the processes that produced this monopoly tell us about the modern state? In Indian Migration and Empire Radhika Mongia provocatively argues that the formation of colonial migration regulations was dependent upon, accompanied by, and generative of profound changes in normative conceptions of the modern state. Focused on state regulation of colonial Indian migration between 1834 and 1917, Mongia illuminates the genesis of central techniques of migration control. She shows how important elements of current migration regimes, including the notion of state sovereignty as embodying the authority to control migration, the distinction between free and forced migration, the emergence of passports, the formation of migration bureaucracies, and the incorporation of kinship relations into migration logics, are the product of complex debates that attended colonial migrations. By charting how state control of migration was critical to the transformation of a world dominated by empire-states into a world dominated by nation-states, Mongia challenges positions that posit a stark distinction between the colonial state and the modern state to trace aspects of their entanglements.

Myron Weiner's study of the relationship between internal migration and ethnic conflict in India is exceptional for two reasons: it focuses on intercultural and interstate migration throughout the nation, rather than on merely local or provincial phenomena, and it examines both the social and the political consequences of India's interethnic migrations. Professor Weiner examines selected regions of India in which migrants dominate the modern sector of the economy. He describes the forces that lead individual Indian citizens to move from one linguistic-cultural region to another in search of better opportunities, and he attempts to explain their emergence at the top of the occupational hierarchy. In addition, the author provides an account of the ways in which the indigenous ethnic groups ("sons of the soil") attempt to use political power to overcome their fears of economic defeat and cultural subordination by the more enterprising, more highly skilled, better educated migrants. In addressing the fundamental clash between the migrants' claims to equal access to their country and the claims of the local groups to equal treatment and protection by the state, Professor Weiner considers some of the ways in which government policy makers might achieve greater equality among ethnic groups without simultaneously restricting the spatial and social mobility of some of its own people. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Handbook of Internal Migration in India is an inter-disciplinary, multi-faceted and thought-provoking book on internal migrants and their dynamics among the states in India. The first of its kind, this handbook provides novel information on processes, trends, determinants, differentials and dynamics of internal migration and its inter-linkages with individuals, families, economy and society. Most of the chapters have been written by scholars of repute who have spent their lifetime working on migration and the factors associated with it. This handbook is an attempt to address the lacunae in internal migration studies using both big data, such as Indian censuses, National Sample Surveys, India Human Development Surveys and Kerala Migration Surveys, and micro-level data collected by enthusiastic researchers in most parts of India to explore the unknown facets of internal migration. This book employs interdisciplinary and mixed methods to examine issues such as climate change, gender, urbanization, caste/tribe, religion, politics and emergence of migration policies. It addresses the crucial question as to why temporary and short-term migration continues to be an important livelihood strategy for millions of migrants thereby having an everlasting impact on the sociopolitical and economic structure of the country.

Migration presents a stark policy dilemma. Research repeatedly confirms that migrants, their families back home, and the countries that welcome them experience large economic and social gains. Easing immigration restrictions is one of the most effective tools for ending poverty and sharing prosperity across the globe. Yet, we see widespread opposition in destination countries, where migrants are depicted as the primary cause of many of their economic problems, from high unemployment to declining social services. Moving for Prosperity: Global Migration and Labor Markets addresses this dilemma. In addition to providing comprehensive data and empirical analysis of migration patterns and their impact, the report argues for a series of policies that work with, rather than against, labor market forces. Policy makers should aim to ease short-run dislocations and adjustment costs so that the substantial long-term benefits are shared more evenly. Only then can we avoid draconian migration restrictions that will hurt everybody. Moving for Prosperity aims to inform and stimulate policy debate, facilitate further research, and identify prominent knowledge gaps. It demonstrates why existing income gaps, demographic differences, and rapidly declining transportation costs mean that global mobility will continue to be a key feature of our lives for generations to come. Its audience includes anyone interested in one of the most controversial policy debates of our time.

The growing scale of international migration has reshaped the debate on the social rights and social protection available to people outside their countries of origin. This book uses conceptual frameworks, policy analysis and empirical studies of migrants to explore international migrants' needs for and access to social protection across the world.

This handbook marks a key intervention in refugee studies in India—home to diverse groups of refugees, including an entire government in exile. It unravels the various socio-economic, political, and cultural dimensions of refugee issues in India. The volume examines the various legal, political, and policy frameworks for accommodating refugees or asylum seekers in India, including the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registry of Citizens. It evaluates the lack of uniformity in the Indian legal and political framework to deal with its refugee population and analyzes the grounds of inclusion or exclusion for different groups. Drawing from the experiences of Jewish, Tibetan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Afghan, and Rohingya refugees in India, it analyzes debates around marginalization, citizenship, and refugee rights. It also explores the spatial and gendered dimensions of forced migration and the cultural and social lives of displaced communities, including their quest for decent work, education, and health. The volume will be an indispensable reference for scholars, lawyers, researchers, and students of refugee studies, migration and diaspora studies, public policy, social policy and development studies.