Migrating in search of better lives

Naresh Patil, a 28 years old tea vendor, came to Pune in 2010 from his village in Rajasthan after completing his 9th.

He worked at MIT college canteen alongside his uncle and sold tea. But he never restricted his potential there. Throughout the span of seven years, he started accumulating all the necessary financial resources.  After all those years of hard work, around five years ago he finally was able to rent a small tea stall in a roadside alley on FC road and he named it ‘Sudarshan Tea Corner’.

One would always find people around his stall with their “chai ka cup” in hand talking with their friends, family, and colleagues about how good or bad their day was or discussing some political or social, or economic topics. The tea-drinking culture of India helped his small business grow a lot that now he earns Rs 25,000 per month. After a sip of his tea, you could find the joy on people’s faces which is enough proof for Naresh to know that his hard work is paying off.

Although Naresh’s success might be small but it is inspiring enough how a young boy from Rajasthan with no experience in this line, with his constant hard work and dedication, is now an independent businessman running his own tea stall selling a cup full of love with cutting chai. 

Mumbai kulfi 

FC road is also known Namdar Gopal Krishna Gokhle is full of numerous shops, especially women’s shopping. 

Amidst the crowded lanes, there is a kulfi wala named Mumbai kulfi who also gives you falooda in three flavors – strawberry, mango and pista. 

“My name is Balbir Singh and I came from Madhya Pradesh,” he says. He started kulfi selling in Mumbai and after two years working in India’s financial capital, he came to Pune just six months back. “ I am 12th pass and earn Rs 10,000 per month,” he says. 

Being a migrant, Balbir continues to work hard as he knows that hard work is the only capital he has to survive.

Migration Track 

According to the government migration of workers from one place to another is a continuous process. The workers migrate out of their native places in search of livelihood. 

The migration of agricultural labour from rural to urban areas is a general phenomenon and a natural part of the development process.  The reasons for this shift include, inter alia, better employment opportunities in industry and services, increasing urbanization, low income in agriculture etc. In a market economy like India, the movement of the people for better economic opportunities is inexorable, according to the government. 

The Constitution of India guarantees the right to every citizen to move and reside in any State/UT in search of an Occupation/Job. According to the Economic Survey 2016-17 the size of the workforce as per Census 2011, was 482 million (48.2 crore) people and based on extrapolation, this figure could have exceeded 500 million (50 crore) in 2016. 

If the share of migrants in the workforce is estimated to be even 20%, the size of the migrant workforce can be estimated to be over 100 million (10 crore) in 2016 in absolute terms.

(Sudharsana Jain & Ritvik Nair are students of SYBAJMC at Vishwakarma University, Picture – United Nations Population Division)