The Global Migration Process - Case Study Example

The Global Migration Process (Three Case Studies) Case Study Patterns of Migration in India The phenomenon of migration has evolved into a worldwide occurrence in the modern times. The process has gained impetus owing to the growth of industrialisation and urbanisation, and it has been further facilitated by the expanding network of transport and communication. In most of the Asian nations including India, the process of industrialization and economic development has led to a large-scale migration of people. The migration in India includes the movement of masses from the villages to the cities and towns, from one city to another city or from one country to another country. If seen from a demographic point of view, migration is one of the three elements (apart from fertility and mortality) that are responsible for the growth of population of a given region. Migration has a remarkable impact on the size, composition and distribution of population of any given region. Moreover it has large-scale effects on the social, political and economic life of the populations. In fact, when there is a decline in the regional fertility and mortality variances, migration emerges as the most crucial factor determining the population redistribution. The Constitution of India provides to all its citizens the freedom to move to and settle down in any part of the country. The citizens enjoy the freedom to reside in any region of their choice and earn a livelihood. Hence the migrants do not need to register themselves either at the region of their source of origin or at their destination region. The decision to migrate is governed by a number of social, economic, political and cultural factors, the impact of which varies across time and places. (Singh, 1998) Amongst all the patterns of migration in India, the most dominant is that of the migration of women across short distances, from one village to another, from village to city, from one city to another. This can be accounted to the traditional view of marriage in India under which the bride has to relocate to the groom’s place after marriage. Migration of males and females from rural to urban areas has also seen an increasingly upward trend ever since independence. Though there has been a steady decline in the rural to rural migration trend, the urban to urban migration is on a steady rise from 1991-2001. A careful overview of the reasons for migration will yield marriage as the dominant reason for migration in case of females and employment in case of men. Going by the current trends, the rural to urban and the urban to urban movements are most likely to be established as the prevalent migration pattern in future. (2001 Census Data) The most dominant migration pattern in India over the last few decades has been the movement of populations from the rural areas and small towns to the metropolitan cities. The reasons for this phenomenon are manifold. Explosive growth of population in the rural regions creates great pressure on the environment and civic amenities of the villages. To feed the ever-growing population there has been a rise in the use of machines for agriculture which in turn has led to more rural unemployment. Moreover, the practice of sub-division of agricultural land reduces the loanable assets and cultivable land received by the successors, which makes subsistence very difficult for the villagers. In stark contrast to the miserable rural life, the cities in India flaunt better living conditions, better amenities and health care provisions. Owing to these features the cities have lower mortality rates and longer life expectancy. This compels the rural people to migrate to the cities in search for better employment and better living conditions. Another compelling factor is that the wage rates in the cities are almost six times of that in the rural areas. In addition to this, the natural disasters such as those caused by the annual monsoons are also a major source of immigrants from neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh and Nepal. (Premi, 1990; Lusome, 2006) Migration to the cities has both favourable and unfavourable consequences for the migrating populations. Moving to the cities enables them to get rid of the rigid and demeaning caste system still prevalent in the villages of India. It offers them a better livelihood and better civic amenities, even though the employment they receive often lies in the unorganised informal sector in the form of delving into heaps of garbage to search for discarded materials that may be used for recycling. But it has its own disadvantages as well. Owing to the space constraints in Indian cities, the immigrants have no choice but to occupy the least desirable stretches of urban land for habitation. These lands are prone to landslides and floods and are usually located in the vicinity of industries and factories which pose problems of polluted air, contaminated water and toxic industrial effluents. Most of the migrants are deprived of proper shelter and have to instead reside in squalid surroundings in slums and sleep on the streets. They add to the increasing urban population and add to the pressure exerted on industry to meet the needs of the population. This results in greater exploitation of non-renewable sources like fuel, wood, petroleum etc. and also leads to a rise in air and water pollution. Increased pollution leads to various health hazards for both the native population and the immigrants. Migration is the most volatile and unpredictable component that contributes to population growth. It is also the component that is most responsive to social, economic, political and cultural changes. Hence a time-to-time analysis of the migration patterns is very essential to acquire an in-depth understanding of the shifts or changes in the trend of population growth and movements of masses within the country. An exploration of the migration patterns also helps a great deal to make estimations and proactive decisions about future population redistribution (Beck, 1985). However, the validity and reliability of such estimations depends on the holistic consideration and evaluation of all the involved factors of fertility, mortality and internal migration, which together play a deciding role in defining population growth (Chakravarty, 1997). Case Study 2: Human Trafficking in India The illegal and inhumane practice of human trafficking within and across the Indian borders is a crucial and dominant problem associated with the phenomenon of migration in India. According to a report published by the Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based organization that works to curb forced servitude, it is established that out of the total 30 million “modern slaves” in the world, more than half are from India. (2013 Global Slavery Index) Every year thousands of people, especially women and children, are illegally trafficked out of India chiefly for the purposes of forced labour and sexual exploitation. The children thus trafficked are exposed to forced labour in the form of agricultural workers, factory workers, domestic helps and beggars. Some of them are even trained into becoming armed militants by some antisocial and terrorist groups. The women and young girls are usually smuggled within the borders especially to those regions where the male to female ratio is very high. These women are then subjected to either forced marriage or commercial sexual exploitation. Indian women are taken over to the Middle East in large numbers were they are sexually exploited for commercial gains. (Aronowitz, 2009; Warhurst, 2011) In addition to this, many Indian migrants who willingly travel to Europe and the Middle East in search of employment as unskilled or semi-skilled labourers often end up as a prey to the human trafficking industry. These people are fraudulently recruited for overseas jobs by fake agencies and middlemen, in exchange for exorbitantly high fees, who finally lead them directly into the cobwebs of human trafficking. In some cases, these people are forced to incur high debts in order to pay the recruitment fee. Failure to pay back the debts makes them susceptible to exploitation by the moneylenders and employers in the destination countries. This gives rise to situations such as forced and bonded labour, unauthorised seizure of their passports, loss of their wages, constraints on their movements, physical abuse and sexual exploitation. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2008) Another shocking fact is that with respect to human trafficking, India is not only a source but also a destination for human traffic. Women from Bangladesh and Nepal are brought into India in large numbers with the intention of commercial sexual exploitation. Children from abroad especially from Nepal are brought into India to serve as forced labour, most often in the circus shows, shops and households. (Sarkar, 2008) There are many prosecution laws laid down by the Government of India to prevent and prohibit illegal human trafficking within the country. Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is prohibited by the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA). Under this Act, the penalty for this illegal activity ranges from seven years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment. The practice of bonded or forced labour is also prohibited by the Child Labour Act, the Bonded Labour Abolition Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. Section 366(A) of the Indian Penal Code specifies the penalty for kidnapping of minors, while Section 372 prohibits the selling of minors for sexual exploitation. The punishment for these crimes ranges from a fine to a maximum of ten years’ rigorous imprisonment. (Ghosh, 2009; Tucker, 1997) There are a variety of protection services offered by the government for the rehabilitation and welfare of the victims of human trafficking. Though the Central government has devised a comprehensive plan for the rescue and welfare of the victims, the benefits of the plan are not evenly distributed to all the victims as there are many regional disparities in the distribution of these benefits. As per the central government’s policy, the victims of bonded labour are entitled to Rs.10, 000 (equivalent to $185) for their rehabilitation. But in actual practice they receive only a fragment of this amount. The authorities and the officials seldom take a proactive stance to identify and rescue the victims, as a result of which only very few of the victims have an access to the offered assistance. The child victims of forced labour are entitled to Rs.20, 000 ((equivalent to $370) and relocation to the government shelter homes. But the disbursement of the restoration funds is highly erratic and uncertain. Moreover, the condition of the shelter homes is miserable and squalid. But fortunately in some states, the Non-Governmental Organisations take up the charge of protecting and reviving these victims, in the event of the government’s negligence. However, all these benefits and welfare activities are intended only for the Indians who are trafficked within the borders of the country. None of these apply to those who are repatriated or trafficked abroad. To those who have migrated outside the national borders, neither the government nor the NGOs offer any sort of legal, financial or medical aid to the victims. (Nair, 2005; Ghosh 2009) The government has also taken certain proactive and preventive measures to check the problem of human trafficking. These include the publishing of full-page advertisements protesting against child labour in leading national dailies by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. This is done with the intention to arouse the general public against this menace. An Anti-Human Trafficking Portal has been launched by the government in 2014 with the aim of more efficient information sharing and for effective enactment of the Anti-Human Trafficking measures. (Press Information Bureau, 2014) Pre-departure counselling sessions are arranged for Indian workers migrating abroad to apprise them of the risks of exploitation. It is further ensured by differentiating between the Emigration Check Required (ECR) and Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) while issuing the passports. The primary reason that makes the Indian migrants vulnerable to trafficking is extreme poverty coupled with the lack of education and shortage of employment. Another factor that acts as a catalyst in the growth of this unlawful practice is the absence of efficient migration policies and the ineffective implementation of the government’s minimum wage policy in rural areas. Besides this, the perpetrators of bonded labour and sex trafficking in India are often facilitated and even safeguarded by the corrupt officials. These corrupt officials lend impetus to these heinous crimes by defending them against law enforcements and protecting them from being exposed. Many of these officials are involved in the trafficking of Indian migrants by luring them with overseas jobs. This is facilitated by the migrating workers who prefer to circumvent the official emigration procedure by seeking easier and faster unofficial channels and agents. They overlook the dangers prevailing in the destination countries while being lured by their dreams of a better and financially prosperous future abroad. Case Study 3: Migration Policies in India The most popular migration policies and foreign employment regulations adopted in various countries across the world can be broadly categorised into four types: Laissez-faire, Regulated system, State-managed system and State monopoly. In a laissez-faire system, found mostly in high income countries, the decisions regarding the methods and conditions of employment are completely left to the market forces of demand and supply. In a regulated system, as in the case of India, the source country frames rules and regulations to govern the recruitment of natives for employment overseas. In a State-managed system, as used in Philippines, the State not only regulates foreign employment, but also takes the initiative to actively help in the recruitment and placement of workers abroad. In a State monopoly system, the full and singular charge of arranging for labour migration is borne by the State, as in China (Abella, 1997). With respect to its foreign employment policy, India follows a regulated system that governs temporary and contract migration. The migration policies in India are aimed at the advancement and sustenance of international labour migration from India as well as the protection of the rights of migrant workers. The labour migration outflows from India since 1990s have recorded a positive growth with reference to the conventional migration destinations like the USA, the UK, Canada and the Gulf countries. Besides it has also shown marked diversification in terms of expanding over to the newer migrant destinations in continental Europe, Australia, East Asia and South-East Asia. Keeping in view these progressive trends, it can be inferred that a well-thought out migration policy would help to further fortify these recent developments. (Srivastava, 2003) In this respect, a detailed analysis of the Emigration Acts would yield a better understanding of the regulations that govern the migration of Indians for contractual employment in overseas job markets. The first and foremost instrument in India’s migration policy was the Emigration Act, 1922 which regulated the migration of Indians across national boundaries. The Act focussed mainly on the recruitment and emigration of unskilled agricultural workers in India. It laid down the rules concerning the procedure for emigration and the corresponding role of the foreign agents who facilitated this process. According to this Act, emigration of the workers to some specific countries required notifications from the government. But no such notifications were issued by the government during the period from 1923 to 1947. As a result, the rate of emigration of unskilled workers during this period declined steadily. Another shortcoming of the Act was that it was solely confined to the provisions for unskilled workers and contained absolutely no set rules pertaining to the emigration of workers having professional qualifications and technical expertise. This resulted in a complete lack of regulations or monitoring by the policy regime in the period starting from the 1950s which saw a flux of the permanent migration of skilled workers to the industrial nations. (Khadria, 2008) The limitations of the Emigration Act, 1922 came to the forefront in the mid-1970s, an era marked by a boom in the migration of Indian workers to the Middle East. This era saw the emergence of innumerable private recruiting agencies that began to handle the supply of Indian workers to the labour markets in the Middle East. Due to the absence of any controlling measures, these agents often exploited their consumers and charged unreasonable fee for their recruitment services. Exorbitant fees, breach of contracts and illegal migration became very common under this flawed migration policy. (Sasikumar, 1995) All these factors together made it necessary for the government to rescind the tenets of the Emigration Act, 1922 and then make new rules to regulate the emigration of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers. It was under these circumstances that the Emigration Act, 1983 was enacted. The new Act was meant to ensure the employment of Indian workers overseas with the best possible terms, conditions and welfare provisions. It was also intended to safeguard the dignity and esteem of the Indian workers who go abroad for employment, at the same time ruling out any need to compromise the honour and international image of the country. The Emigration Act, 1983 is the legislative framework that currently supervises the emigration processes, secures the interests and ensures the welfare of Indian workers for employment abroad on a contractual basis. (Sasikumar & Hussain. 2008) However, many experts feel that the Act needs to be revised and reframed to meet the needs of the current times, to provide a better legislative platform for protection and welfare of the Indian migrants and thus to offer active encouragement to international labour migration from India. Apart from firming up and reworking the Emigration Act, another vital aspect that seeks review is the system used to monitor the implementation of the Act. This includes enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the grievance redressal system. The loopholes that prevail in the execution of the existing Act permit the entry of corrupt middlemen. These loopholes must be mended, so as to render it impossible for the corrupt agents to deceive the Indian workers looking for better jobs overseas. It is a fact that India is the worlds largest receiver of migrant workers remittances. (Hussain, 2007) Keeping this fact in mind, there is an utmost need to figure out an information-based plan of value generation so as to ensure an optimum use of the available funds. In addition to reviewing its internal migration policy, India should also review the immigration policies working in the major destination countries. This would serve as the foundation that would help India to develop more satisfactory mutual agreements on labour migration with the destination countries. On the whole, the Indian government needs to assume the additional role of a promoter and facilitator of external labour flows from India, rather than being confined to the traditional role of a regulator and protector with respect to international labour migration policy. All these changes and reforms are not only preferable but also absolutely essential for transforming the phenomenon of migration into a resourceful, systematic and organised process. References  "Launching of Web Portal on Anti Human Trafficking". (2014). Press Information Bureau. Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved from: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104002 Census Data: Migration. (2001). Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved from: http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/migrations.aspx Abella, M. (1997) Sending workers abroad: A manual for low and middle income countries (Geneva, International Labour Office). Aronowitz, A. A. 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