Migrants are often blamed to be depriving locals of their rights and opportunities, how far is it justified? Explain and suggest measures for establishing a concordant relationship between migrants and locals

India is a large country and the problem of imbalances in Regional Development among states is
inevitable. Therefore it is natural that people move from their home state to other states of India in
search of employment opportunities.
Of late few states in India have looking at this issue as the one that snatched employment
opportunities of the locals. But the true story is that the migrants take up the jobs which the locals
are not willing to take up at the cost offered by the employer. The present move by the few states
will jeopardize their economic growth and development in the near future.
Migration will likely remain a long term challenge for the countries’ politics, institutions,
governments and values. Even with the drop in numbers and the development of institutional
capabilities to manage it, its pros and cons will always remain attached to it.
Nowadays, many people decide to migrate to have a better life. Employment opportunities are the
most common reason due to which people migrate. Except this, lack of opportunities, better
education, construction of dams, globalization, natural disaster (flood and drought) and sometimes
crop failure forced villagers to migrate to cities.

Impacts of Migration
Migration is becoming a very important subject for the life of cities. Many opportunities and
attraction of big cities pull large numbers of people to big cities. Migration can have positive as well
as negative effects on the life of the migrants.
Positive Impact
 Unemployment is reduced and people get better job opportunities.
 Migration helps in improving the quality of life of people.
 It helps to improve social life of people as they learn about new culture, customs, and languages
which helps to improve brotherhood among people.
 Migration of skilled workers leads to a greater economic growth of the region.
 Children get better opportunities for higher education.
 The population density is reduced and the birth rate decreases.
Negative Impact
 The loss of a person from rural areas, impact on the level of output and development of rural
areas.
 The influx of workers in urban areas increases competition for the job, houses, school facilities
etc.
 Having large population puts too much pressure on natural resources, amenities and services.
 It is difficult for a villager to survive in urban areas because in urban areas there is no natural
environment and pure air. They have to pay for each and everything.
 Migration changes the population of a place, therefore, the distribution of the population is
uneven in India.
 Many migrants are completely illiterate and uneducated, therefore, they are not only unfit for
most jobs, but also lack basic knowledge and life skills.
 Poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy life.
 Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper nutrition, education or health.
 Migration increased the slum areas in cities which increase many problems such as unhygienic
conditions, crime, pollution etc.
 Sometimes migrants are exploited.
 Migration is one of the main causes of increasing nuclear family where children grow up without
a wider family circle.
 Nativism, the cry for job protection of locals, is rearing its head again in India.
Thus there needs to be a balanced approach in handling the issue of migrants so as to ensure mutual
benefit between the locals and the migrants.

Following are few initiatives that can be taken to ensure concordant relationship between the two
Provide for reservations to local in selected sectors. And at the same time the best way to grow
out of nativism is to ensure economic recovery and provide enough job opportunities for youths.
 Skill training and proper education should be the key focus for the states to prepare their
masses to compete in the free market.
 Instead of nativism, states need to create a framework where safe interstate migration for work
is facilitated and fiscal coordination is pursued to enable the portability of social security
benefits. If this is done, interstate migration would rise and provide more opportunities to
remedy regional disparities.
Matching skills seamlessly across geographies within India would also facilitate the ease of doing
business, a much valued goal continually emphasized for faster growth.