Understanding the Distress Migration - Whose Fault It Is?

Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in the new location. The movement is typically over long distances and from one country to another, but internal migration is also possible. Migration may be individuals, family units or in large groups.

There are different types of human migration. Depending upon the nature of migration, it has been divided in different types. Broadly categorized as, international, national or internal all depending on the distance covered. Then there is something called voluntary and involuntary migration. While voluntary migration can be understood as in sake of betterment of human luxury, involuntary migration is for the sake of basic needs of human.

Let us forget about the voluntary migration, that is not our concern, nor it should be! May be, I will discuss this type of migration in some next post. Involuntary or distress migration is what which should be our priority here.

According to June 2011 issue of Yojana Magazine, "More than 100 million workers migrate seasonally in search of livelihood, a number that makes for almost one-tenth of the country’s population. Sixty five per cent household in the tehsil have at least one member migrating seasonally."

Distress migration has its roots deep in the system. It is a gift of corruption further aggravated with the natural environmental causes. The so called equality which is a political disguise further makes the condition worse (This should be kept in mind that there is a difference between equality and equity. While equality is to have equal rights, term equity is to have rights given to people in a manner that it gives them equal opportunity to reach the same level as their counterparts).

So, the question is where these people go? Where they come from? Why do they migrate? Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Lots of questions! Lots of answers!

Let us try to understand the rural to urban migration due to distress push factors at relatively small level, let us say, single village. Since India is a diverse nation, it is quite obvious to expect the reasons of migration could neither be mutually exclusive nor exhaustive.

Migration

A photo showing people working near a construction site at Gandhinagar, Gujarat , source: myself

Migrating under distress conditions, is something nobody likes. The basic human needs compels the person to. In rural areas, sluggish agricultural growth and limited development of the rural non-farm sector raises the incidence of rural poverty, unemployment and underemployment. Thus many of them migrate to urban areas. Non-viable subsistence farming, deforestation, displacement and loss of land, mechanization, unequal access to water, credit and markets, lack of skills and information and rural indebtedness compel the rural poor to migrate.

So, there are a lot of reasons for the migration. I would rather say, forceful distress migration. A condition where the person is compelled to leave his family behind (sometimes the whole family moves) in search of employment. With no idea of where they are going or if they will get something to earn their livelihood or not, they just go on. When we so called high class people are worried about a single sniff, these people sleep on roads, footpaths, work sites welcoming a number of diseases each day, each second.

I have heard people saying, "pata nahe kahan se aa jaate h, hamare sehar ko ganda karne" (meaning, do not know, where these people come from thus making over city look dirty). Nobody likes to migrates to distance places leaving their dear families behind. These people are resilient by force and not by choice. In a good faith, remember, each and every brick of our sweet home is as a result of hard work of these people. Yes, of course, we might have paid them well, but imagine the situation, if these people were not there.

The lack of proper jobs at their village, region, district or even state compels them to. One can find a farmer, a person who is responsible for satisfying our hunger, working at such condition. Such a pity!

If only the help could reach the right hands, could satisfy the needy ones. The conditions would have been much better. I would rather, blame our system, where everybody is greedy for more lavish style, the money! The poor are becoming poorer while rich, richer. Reminds me of the line from poem "Let my Country Awake" by Rabindranath Tagore as

"Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

"Although there has been some decline in the incidence of beneficiary households, seasonal and distress migration continues to take place. This is primarily because of the non-availability of jobs when needed, and lack of awareness about the details of the provisions and entitlements under the scheme among the potential beneficiaries of the scheme", according to Kurukshetra, Vol. 60, No. 4, Feb 2012

Some school of thoughts says the migration phenomenon is not bad since we have the right to move and work in all parts of India. To my understanding, when migration is imposed on the people and they are compelled to migrate, it is certainly unacceptable. We must agree that when we have freedom of movement we should also enjoy the same for not moving unless we desire so.

Understanding The System

Why do we stick up for a system or institution we live in—a government, company, or marriage—even when anyone else can see it is failing miserably? Why do we resist change even when the system is corrupt or unjust?

Does system justification, system threat, system dependence, system inescapability, low personal control in separate or as a whole are responsible for such a behavior?

A lot of people are corrupt just because they think it is the system. They feel, they can do nothing about that. While there are people who try to change it in good faith but ultimately gets involved in the system themselves.

Thinking of the scenario, reminds me one of those childhood stories. I call it the 'Typically Corrupt and Inefficient System', Story!

"There was a banana hanging on a string inside a cage. Below it were stairs. Say some six monkey were allowed to enter the cage. A monkey touched the stairs, to get hold of the banana. All of the other monkeys were then sprayed with cold water. After a while, another monkey made an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys were sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tried to climb the stairs, the other monkeys tried to prevent it.

Now, the cold water was put away. One monkey was removed from the cage and was replaced with a new one. The new monkey saw the banana and wanted to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attacked him. After another attempt and attack, he knew that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, another of the original five monkeys was removed and was replaced with new one. The newcomer went to the stairs and was attacked. The previous newcomer took part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, third original monkey was replaced with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth.

Every time the newest monkey took to the stairs, he was attacked. Most of the monkeys that were beating him had no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they were participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys had ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approached the stairs to try for the banana."

Why not?

Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

Take this story as our system. The "cage" is the organization/system,  "banana" is the objective/assignment, the stairs are the "procedures",  the "cold water" is the system pressure, and the "monkeys" are employees.

When we’re threatened we defend ourselves—and our systems. In times of crisis, we want to believe the system works. Say, it is the inflation! Eyes on the Government!

When we feel we can’t escape a system, we adapt. That includes feeling okay about things we might otherwise consider undesirable.

The strange thing which I realized is that most of the people do not want to be a part of such a system. They do it because they have to give their share to their senior officials. If they will not take the bribe, they have to give it from their pocket. And so the cycle goes on.

You would think that when people are stuck with a system, they would want to change it more. But in fact, the more stuck they are, the more likely are they to explain away its shortcomings.

The so called "SYSTEM"

People don’t rise up in what would seem their own best interests. This could be witnessed in day to day life. Take up any scenario, say, you are driving a two wheeler motor vehicle. In the middle of nowhere traffic police appears. They scrutinize your documents. Suppose you forgot your driving licence. What will you do? Ask me, 70 out of 100 will bribe the police and much surprise to this, almost 60 policemen out of 70 will accept your "generous gift"!

If you want to understand how to get social change to happen, you need to understand the conditions that make people resist change and what makes them open to acknowledging that change might be a necessity.

This is the grand illusion: that "decent people" will make all the difference. We know that in corrupt systems, decent people end up with two options: conform or be crushed. Happily for human nature, there are always good, moral people who look at what's happening around them and decide that they can't live with themselves if they go along with it. Unhappily for human society, such people are almost always bullied, marginalized and destroyed.

They say, if you want to change the system, be the part of the system, reach the top of it and then change it. It requires a greater personal control. The less control people feel over their own lives, the more they endorse systems and leaders that offer a sense of order.

And I hope, the people sitting at the top of the system have a greater personal control or will develop. Because Hope Never Dies...