1st Edition
COVID-19 and Labor Migration in India Evidences from the Pandemic
List of Figures vii
List of Tables ix
List of Contributors xii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xvi
1 Introduction 1
KUNAL KESHRI, S. IRUDAYA RAJAN, AND KIRTI GAUR
SECTION A
Evidences of Labor Migration from Gender Perspective 17
2 Geography of Out-migrant Husbands of Left-behind Women in India: An Exploratory Study from the NFHS-4 Data 19
KIRTI GAUR AND KUNAL KESHRI
3 Indian Mothers in Abroad: Examining Healthcare Access among Factory Workers in Nepal during COVID-19 41
TUSHAR DAKUA, KAILASH CHANDRA DAS, AND KUNAL KESHRI
4 Migration, Agrarian Change, and Gender Implications: Recent Trends in Bihar 61
BIPLAB DHAK
5 Middle-class Women Labor Migrants in Contemporary Urban India: A Profile Sketch 75
TINA DUTTA AND ANNAPURNA SHAW
SECTION B
Evidences of Labor Migration from Country as a Whole 93
6 International Migration in Contemporary India 95
RIKIL CHYRMANG AND KISHLAY KIRTI
7 Job Security and Vulnerability of Low-skilled Migrants in India 106
JAJATI KESHARI PARIDA
8 Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Livelihoods, Transport, and Food Security 119
ARAVINDA MEERA GUNTUPALLI, SANDHYA RANI MAHAPATRO, KUNAL KESHRI, JENNIFER MACDIARMID, WILLIAM JOE, BENOY PETER, AND SUTAPA AGARWAL
9 Development, Distress, and Youth Migration: Some Sociological Implications of Demographic Dividend in Neo-liberal India 137
MUNEER ILLATH
10 Moving to a New Location for Work: How Easy Is It to Get It Right? 151
DEBASIS BARIK, MANJISTHA BANERJI, AND DINESH KUMAR TIWARI
SECTION C
Evidences from Different Regions and States 169
11 Social Exclusion through the Lens of Fragmented Social Capital: A Study of Migrants in Slums 171
NISHIKANT SINGH AND DEEPAK K. MISHRA
12 Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Migrant Laborers from Kalahandi 194
BENOY PETER, LIBY JOHNSON, SHACHI SANGHVI, AND JOBIN CHACKO
13 Experiences of Migrant Workers in Marine Fisheries: Glimpses from Two Fishing Villages in Kerala 205
NIDHIN K. P.
14 COVID-19, Lockdown, and the Plight of Return Migrants of Jharkhand 219
HARISHWAR DAYAL
Index 238
Biography
Kunal Keshri, faculty at International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai’s Department of Migration and Development, is a leading scholar on internal, temporary, and seasonal migration. His research spans caste, nutrition, ageing, urbanization, and public health, with notable work including Socio-economic Determinants of Temporary Labour Migration in India.
S. Irudaya Rajan is Chair of the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Kerala, India. Dr. Rajan is the editor of two Routledge series – India Migration Report and South Asia Migration Report and the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Migration and Development (Sage).
Kirti Gaur Manager – Research and M&E at Salaam Bombay Foundation, Mumbai, has 15+ years expertise in population and development. Her research spans migration, adolescent well-being, and public health, with acclaimed publications, including her recent NFHS-5 based study on paternal migration and child stunting.
