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8. Migrant Labour – Problems of the Invisible

There are two explanations for labour migration. The first centres on the rational decision of an individual. An individual makes a decision, based on free will, to migrate to centres where there is a demand for labour. Migration is thus associated with urbanisation and modernisation, as well as with development. However, rational individual choice is not the only factor which affects labour migration in India. The second explanation emphasises the fact that capitalist development has always needed cheap labour. In this sense migration is analysed as a class phenomenon and uneven development is seen as the basic cause of labour migration. There are two important reasons for rural labour migration: (1) migration for survival and (2) migration for subsistence. The first indicates the severe social and economic hardships faced by rural labourers, a situation where migration becomes necessary to stay alive. These communities are generally landless, illiterate and drawn largely from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other depressed castes. The second reason for migration is also rooted in subsistence and arises because of the need to supplement income in order to fill the gaps of seasonal employment. Such communities often migrate for shorter periods and do not ordinarily travel very far from their homes. Migrants have been coming to Punjab ever since opportunities in agriculture were created by the state’s agricultural leap forward. But even before the Green Revolution, the agricultural economy in areas of Malwa was a very dynamic one. The Green Revolution brought general prosperity and increased household incomes. The Punjabi farmer no longer had to labour on his own lands, was able to raise the level of mechanisation and hire labour. The new agriculture created a new demand for labour, which was met by states across northern and central India. There also occurred a simultaneous growth in small manufacturing,...