Khan Asma, Arokkiaraj H
Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
Eastern Europe - Global Area (EEGA) in Leipzig - Halle - Jena / Saxony, Leibniz Science Campus, Leipzig, Germany.
Comp Migr Stud. 2021;9(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s40878-021-00260-2. Epub 2021 Nov 3.
In India, the major drivers of both internal and international migration are the prevailing unemployment, competitive labour market and enhanced livelihood prospects in the destination state or country. However, the nationwide lockdown and the sealing of inter-state and international borders to control the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the reverse migration of informal migrant workers. This requires the central and state governments to collectively forge strategies to enable their reverse migration and smooth reintegration in the post-COVID economy. In this paper, we have focused on the inter-state migrants in India and returnee migrants only from Gulf countries as they account for two-thirds of Indian migrants living abroad. This study conducted a comparative analysis of the Indian government's varied approach towards its internal and international migrants during their reverse migration, repatriation and reintegration after the announcement of the lockdown. Firstly, the paper compares the challenges faced by internal and international migrant workers during these stages with the help of in-depth interview data collected from migrants and social workers. Secondly, the varied governmental responses towards their repatriation are discussed. Thirdly, it analyses the obstacles in their economic reintegration to help frame suitable welfare policies for the Indian migrant community.
在印度,国内和国际移民的主要驱动因素是普遍存在的失业问题、竞争激烈的劳动力市场以及目的地邦或国家更好的生计前景。然而,为控制新冠疫情而实施的全国封锁以及对邦际和国际边境的封锁引发了非正规农民工的逆向迁移。这就要求中央和邦政府共同制定战略,以实现他们的逆向迁移,并使其在新冠疫情后的经济中顺利重新融入。在本文中,我们聚焦于印度的邦际移民以及仅来自海湾国家的归国移民,因为他们占印度海外移民的三分之二。本研究对印度政府在封锁宣布后,在国内和国际移民逆向迁移、遣返和重新融入过程中采取的不同方式进行了比较分析。首先,本文借助从移民和社会工作者那里收集的深入访谈数据,比较了国内和国际移民工人在这些阶段所面临的挑战。其次,讨论了政府对他们遣返的不同反应。第三,分析了他们经济重新融入过程中的障碍,以帮助为印度移民群体制定合适的福利政策。