22 Definition and Types of Migration

1. LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Help the learners to get an overview of the concepts and terminologies pertaining to migration which is complex.
• Help students to capture the different forms of migration and the complexities arising out of the issue of migration in the context of human rights.

2. INTRODUCTION

The issue of migration in not a new phenomenon and it has its roots from prehistoric era. Migrations have occurred due to factors like wars, conquest, invasions, climate issues such as natural calamities, etc. There have been mass migrations around the world, for example the Aryans moved to India during the Harappan Civilization; the Israelites move out from Egypt to Canaan. Further, we have also seen large migrations during the Industrial revolution and the World Wars.

Migration has occurred due to social, economic and cultural factors both during the ancient, medieval and modern times wherein human beings have moved from one place to another individually, as a group and even mass migrations have occurred since the recent past. There have been a number of factors that have caused migration which will be discussed in detail in the next module. There have been different avenues leading to migration such as unemployment, better quality of life etc.

The issue of migration is not wrong but there are some restrictions in the context of sovereignty of the countries which have their own laws governing migrations.

The issue of human rights arises in the context of migration when the element of freedom in movement is restricted or subjected to exploitation and deprives the rights of the migrants whose dignity, justice, equality, security and liberty is at stake.

There have been a number of issues regarding the human rights of the migrants hence this module will help the learners to understand the concepts and factors relating to migration in detail and opportunity to know the issues in a larger perspective.

3. MEANING OF MIGRATION AND A MIGRANT

The term migration is an act of an individual or group who cross their traditional boundary: within a state, from one state to another or one county to another which is part of sovereign or administrative unit for a certain period of time. Migration includes the movement of individuals, refugees, people affected by disasters or victims of war affected country and mainly the economic migrants which can be internal or external in nature. In the process of migration an individual moves from his/her own original place of residence to a destination they chose to go due to a number of factors causing such migration. Similarly a migrant means an individual who temporarily or permanently moves away from one place to another which can be within and outside the state or the country where he/she was not born.

Under the Indian law there is no specific definition to refer who is a migrant. However there is a very narrow definition made in the Inter State migrant Workers Act, 1979 referring to who is an Interstate migrant worker: “any person who is recruited by or through a contractor in one State under an agreement or other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another State, whether with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such establishment” which is limited to economic activity.

In the Indian federal system there is only one citizenship to all citizens hence it is a Constitutional right given to the citizens under Article 19 (1) (d) & (e) to move freely, to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. For specific purposes such terminology is put use for e.g. Census of India, National Sample Survey etc. Under the Foreigners Act, 1946 any person who is not a citizen of India will be considered as a ‘Foreigner’. This definition is applicable to people who legally migrates to the Indian territory. In the same way if an individual enters or resides inside the country may lead to illegal migration due to reasons like expiry of visa, overstaying, crossing the territorial border without permission. This issue will be discussed in detail in chapter 5.

4. FORMS OF MIGRATION

There are different forms of migration that take place within and outside the country. Some of the important forms of migration are listed below in detail.

4.1 Intra-state Migration, Inter-state Migration and Inter country migration

Migration occurs in a variety of scales. One form of migration pattern is discussed below:

The Intrastate migration is a type of migration that takes place between two parts of the same State by an individual or group. For e.g. Bidar (district in North Karnataka) farmers migrate to Bangalore (district in south Karnataka) and are residing and working in construction sites for daily wages is termed as intrastate migration.

The Interstate migration on the other hand means migration between two states within the country i.e. along the border between two states for e.g. construction labourers from the state of Andhra Pradesh migrate to state of Karnataka for employment is part of interstate migration.

Number of Intra-State and Inter-State Migrants in the Country [Duration of Residence (0-9 Years)] by Rural Urban Status – India 2001

Migration streams and internal migrants: In the internal migration people move either within their own state or move out of the state to another as well as in other forms.

The streams he/she migrates to include rural/urban areas, same district/other district, same State/other State or from other countries. It may be noted that migrants in any area may be

• From within the State
• From other States, or
• From another country.

Total migrants considering the migration streams (i) and (ii) together constitute the volume of internal migrants. The following table gives details of the migration stream in India documented during the 2001 census.

Migration strea

ms in India

Migration not only occurs within the country but also between two countries which are known as Inter country migration. There are two terminologies often connected to Inter Country migration i.e. Immigration simply means he/she coming in from one state or country which they originally do not belong to in order to settle their temporarily or permanently and Emigration is the opposite where he/she moves out to new state or country and are called emigrants.

The “Emigration Act, 1983” passed by the Government of India, defines emigrant as “any citizen of India who intends to emigrate, or emigrates, or has emigrated but does not include- (i) a dependent of an emigrant, whether such dependent accompanies that emigrant, or departs subsequently for the purpose of joining that emigrant in the country to which that emigrant has lawfully emigrated; (ii) any person who has resided outside India at any time after attaining the age of 18 years, for not less than three years or the spouse or child of such person” (Sec.2 (1) (d)). Emigrate meaning any person who make a departure from his/her home state with a view to taking up any employment in any country or place outside India.

4.2 Rural – Urban migration

Internal Migrants are commonly classified into the following four migration streams:

(a) rural-to-rural

(b) rural-to-urban

(c) urban-to-urban

(d) urban-to-rural

From the above streams the most important pattern that has been a concern in India especially is people migrating from rural to urban for a number of reasons such as failure in agricultural activity, increase in debt. Such reasons force people to move to urban areas which provide attracting opportunities such as employment, better living standards etc. and is closely connected to forced migrations. Rural to urban migration argument is evident from the table below taken from the 2001 Census of India report.

Major Net Internal Migration Flows in India from Census 2001

4.3 Labour Migration

The term labour or economic migration is generally understood as people moving from one place to another which can be Intra state, Interstate or Inter country migration for the purpose of employment to accept and perform different kinds of activities which can be better or menial work which can be temporary or permanent. Since few decades there is an increase in this form of migration due to a number of reasons like economic crisis, globalization, demographic shifts, ethnic and armed conflicts, income inequalities, failure in agriculture in the rural economy which push people to migrate in order to secure an employment.

Labour migration has both positive and negative consequences. Positive aspects include better job, income, standard of living, education etc. However, the negative consequences are higher especially in India which is discussed in module 3 with special reference to the

‘Inter State migrant workmen Act, 1979’ which was specially enacted to look into the rights of the migrant workers in India. The vast majority of migrant labourers fall in the unorganised sector who mostly have been recruited from various parts of the country through contractors or agents commonly known as ‘sardars,’ who move these labourers to other State where national and multinational projects are available which involves various kinds of abuses which is elaborately discussed in chapter 5. Even immigrant labourers who move to other countries for employment especially in the unorganised sectors like construction, domestic workers etc. face serious physical, physiological and sexual abuse. Immigrant labourers who seek temporary employment opportunities abroad face challenge initially from the recruitment agents and at their work sites. Both internal migrants and immigrants are abused in many forms including exploitative working conditions, poor living accommodations, restrictions on freedom to organize or bargain collectively, poor wages, non-payment of salaries, sexual abuses etc.

The emigrant workers moving out of the country are vulnerable to rampant exploitation due to their limited knowledge of relevant laws and procedures for going out as an emigrant worker. The increase in migration as well as the unhealthy policies of the host countries further reduces the emigrational benefits to the worker, who also face poor systemic interventions at the national, bilateral as well as multilateral fronts even though there are international legal framework and respective national legislative interventions these issues are been ignored.

4.4 Seasonal migration

The seasonal migration is a process wherein people move for a specific time period mainly for alternative job which is common in the rural areas especially in the agricultural cycle. For e.g. in the Indian coastal regions 45 day deep sea fishing ban is put in place annually for the purpose of fish breeding during which fishermen go in search of alternative jobs.

4.5 Forced or involuntary Migration

Forced or involuntary migration is defined as “any person who migrates to escape persecution, conflict, repression, natural and human-made disasters, ecological degradation, or other situations that endanger their lives, freedom or livelihood” (International Organisation for Migration). It is also commonly known as internally displaced person or forced displacement and cannot be categorised as a refugee because they do not cross over to another country but within. This form of migration invites number of human rights violations even though they are taken care by the government. For example in India forced migration are happening especially by setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), construction of Dam etc.

5. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

The terms migration and refugee may look similar but they are different. A migrant is a person who makes his/her own personal decision to leave his native state or country for a variety of factors and reasons legally according to their rights provided by the state and they can move back to the original place at any time if they want to return. Refugees on the other hand are forced to leave their native country as they are under risk of persecution.

The term refugee is defined as “Any person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.” (Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951) The refugees are moved in order to protect their human rights and can return only when the situation improves from where they have come. Under the Indian Law, there is no direct reference to refugees and they are considered as foreigners who are not citizens of India (Section 2 of Foreigners Act, 1946) and their issues are dealt on a bilateral discourse. Some examples: refugees from Bangladesh during the liberation war; Sri Lankan Tamils in India during the civilian war in Sri Lanka. This is to note that Article 14 of UDHR, 1948 gives right to asylum that is the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

Refugee status in India*

2010	2011	2012	2013
184821	185118	185656	188395

5. ILLEGAL MIGRATION AND TRAFFICKING

Any migration by an individual from the country of origin to another country without any legal permission from the concerned authorities from both sides is considered as illegal migration and will not be considered as a refugee and be tried for illegal entry under the laws in force in the country. For e.g. in India they will be tried under the Citizenship Act, 1955, Foreigners Act 1946, Indian Passport Act 1967, Indian Penal Code 1860 etc. Illegal migration can happen through border crossing, overstaying after the expiry of visa period etc.

The Citizenship Act, 1955 defines an illegal migrant as “a foreigner who has entered into India-

• (i) without a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf; or
• (ii) with a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf but remains therein beyond the permitted period of time”.

Human rights issues are a concern in the context of illegal migration, problems faced by the host or receiving country. Some of the major violations include human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, slave trade, procuration of minor girl, buying and selling of children and women for prostitution and criminal activities like smuggling of drugs and weapons etc., which is evident in many countries even though there are stringent laws in force. The problem of human trafficking specially children and women has become a major social issue around the world.

7. SUMMARY

Migration is a movement of people from one place to another within or outside the country for the purpose of residing permanently or temporarily in a particular place and the considerable part of such movement involves a number of purposes which can be due to unemployment, better opportunities in urban settings, failure in crop cultivation in rural areas etc., to name a few. Migration is not restricted to the distance of the movement, voluntary or forced act or external and internal migration because the reasons and consequences of such moves are always different. Any act of migration involves an origin and a destination with challenges.

Reference

• Friebel, Guido and Sergei Guriev: Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, February 2002
• Korra, Vijay: Labour Migration in Mahabubnagar- Nature and Characteristics, Economic & Political Weekly January 8, 2011 Vol xlvi No 2, Pg. 67-70
• Long, kart: From Refugee to Migrant?, Transatlantic Council on Migration, Migration Policy Institute, May 2015
• Maharatna, Arup: ‘Brighter Side’ of Seasonal Migration, Economic and Political Weekly, August 30, 2003, Pg. 3723-3738.
• Nair, Arjun: National Refugee Law for India-Benefits and Roadblocks, IPCS Research Papers, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, India, December 2007.
• Rodgers, Gerry and Janine Rodgers: Inclusive Development? Migration, Governance and Social Change in Rural Bihar, Economic & Political Weekly June 4, 2011 Vol xlvi No. 23, Pg. 43-50
• Srivastava, Ravi and S.K. Sasikumar: An overview of migration in India, its impacts and key issues, Regional Conference on Migration, Development and Pro-Poor Policy Choices in Asia, 2003
• Zetter, Roger: Protection in Crisis-Forced Migration and Protection in a Global Era, Transatlantic Council on Migration, Migration Policy Institute, March 2015
• Census and you, Migration-http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/migrations.aspx
• International labour standards on labour migration, ILO: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/standards/lang–en/index.htm