Circulatory Migration
Context:
- When people migrate repeatedly, they relocate from their country of origin to their destination country based on the availability of job. This pattern of migration is known as circular migration.
The explanation:
- This essentially indicates that people relocate to different locations for a limited length of time when work is available, rather than moving permanently or temporarily (moving for a period of time to fulfil any contract based job) to another location. This problem usually affects low-income groups who relocate to another nation, city, location, etc. in order to take advantage of jobs that are accessible seasonally.
- With the onset of globalisation and development in the 1960s and 1970s, circular migration gained significant popularity. Circular migration has been facilitated by the expansion of multinational enterprises, social networks, and increased accessibility to contemporary modes of transportation and communication.
If migration satisfies the following requirements, it can be classified as circular:
- a brief residence at the intended place
- potential for several entrances into the country of destination
- freedom of travel throughout the residency period between the country of origin and the country of destination
- a legitimate right to remain in the country of destination
- defence of the rights of migrants
- a strong need for temporary workers in the nation of destination.
- If a person has completed at least “two loops” between two countries, they are considered circular migrants.
As a public directive:
- One of the main global policy discussions these days is immigration policy in light of the growing ease with which individuals are migrating. Brain drain for the nations of origin and competition for the residents of the destination countries result from people from the Global South moving to the West in quest of better job opportunities or a higher standard of living.
- In a similar vein, the migration of people within a country from rural to more urban locations causes infrastructural failure and agrarian stagnation. As a result, migration in general has turned into a risk to policy.
- Circular migration, on the other hand, is currently thought to be the optimum course of action because it allows for the balance of individual economic success with development demands. It is seen as a balanced migration approach that considers migration from both the sending and the receiving countries’ points of view.
- Migration, particularly international migration, benefits the country of origin since it generates remittances that support and strengthen the native economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI) will boost the economy and lead to increased infrastructure, employment, and living standards.
- Large-scale international migration will, however, also cause a phenomenon known as “brain drain,” in which your nation’s most gifted citizens leave to advance the interests of another nation.
- From the standpoint of the host countries—particularly the Western ones—fewer people and greater educational opportunities have led to a significant shortage of low-skill, low-paying positions that migrants can fill.
- The majority of the host populations, however, now demand limits or an outright ban on migration as a result of the inflow of migrants, which have led to a variety of fears and cultural tensions. The goal of circular migration is to allay these worries.
- The detrimental consequences of brain drain will lessen, and a kind of cerebral circulation will be promoted, allowing the person to utilise his skills in both nations while continuing to make remittance contributions.
Movement in circles within India:
- Internal migration, or mobility within a nation or state, has nearly always been circular in India. The emergence of employment opportunities in the manufacturing, construction, and services sectors has resulted in a significant migration wave from rural to urban areas.
- The construction industry saw one of the biggest net increases in employment for all workers between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, especially for males living in rural areas. Because they can no longer accommodate the influx of people, urban areas are experiencing a structural collapse while rural populations are declining and their economies are collapsing.
- India has experienced significant inter-state mobility as a result of the uneven growth that followed liberalisation, with West Bengal, Odisha, and Bihar having some of the highest rates of outmigration. The majority of the movement used to be to Delhi, however now days it has also expanded to the southern States.
- According to several reports, the absence of men who migrate gives women in the household greater autonomy and decision-making ability.
Problems pertaining to circular migration in India:
- However, rural cyclical migrants are frequently at the mercy of intermediaries or brokers in such travel, particularly to southern States where the language barrier is a major hurdle. They are designed to operate in hazardous and unclean environments with little to no protective gear.
- Furthermore, these migrants are disliked by native wage groups and unions since they perceive them as stealing their jobs by accepting lower pay.
- According to the study, this type of movement is the very minimum required for subsistence. With no room for additional asset creation or savings, the migrants can hardly support themselves and their families.
COVID-19 Pandemic:
- These professions also carry a certain amount of precarity because they are seasonal and frequently irregular. They will have to return home or hunt for work in other large cities because there aren’t enough jobs in the host country.
- When a lockdown was declared during the pandemic in 2020, a large number of migrants began to walk back to their hometowns, putting this precarity on full display.
In summary:
- States need to take the initiative to actively formulate policies in order to comprehend the scope of circular migration. More work has to be done to protect the rights of migrants, even though certain States, like Kerala, have launched health insurance plans for migrant workers (Awaz Health Plan). Workers’ precarity must be addressed, and greater attempts must be made to integrate them into the destination states.
