On the questions of migration in India: Challenges and opportunities

This is an exploratory study made on the basis of migration data of two censuses of 1971 and 1981. It tries to compare some of the important variables of mobility in terms of POB (place of birth) and POLR (place of last residence) which have reacted into the change of usual residence of people causing thereby shift of population. The subject being complex and vast, it may be difficult to project all possible situations at one place. However, the readers may try to test some of the findings more fruitfully by field oriented investigations specially leading to establish various social-economic fall outs. Migration study is processional in the evaluation of population problems which has folded into its orbit, in real sense of the term — idealised migration policies. In the country, like ours, it is essential to really spell out some policy to check urban swelling of population and to strengthen the rural space to reduce regional imbalances at the individual level so that real development is achieved. Some of these questions on migration have been posed in this paper to take up further to promote policy formations and to organise the migrant manpower for a better India.Views expressed in this paper are personal and have no relations with Government and the organisation of author's affiliation in any way.