From the Margins: Exploring Low-income Migrant Workers’ Access to Basic Services and Protection in the Context of India’s Urban Transformation

Duration: 05/18 – 05/20

Millions migrate every year to Indian cities from rural areas and border regions, driven by poverty and lack of opportunities, in search of work. Yet for many, this journey poses new hardships as migrant populations find themselves subject to exploitation, abuse and exclusion.

From the Margins: Exploring Low-income Migrant Workers’ Access to Basic Services and Protection in the Context of India’s Urban Transformation seeks to shine a light on the specific challenges that these groups experience on arrival in cities, with a particular focus on Guwahati (Assam) and Jalandhar (Punjab). Among other issues, the research will examine health care, violence, access to justice and civic rights, drawing on the first-hand testimony of migrants themselves.

As a key challenge migrants face is their invisibility, which reinforces their vulnerability to discrimination, the project aims to raise awareness among policy makers, academics and others of their situation in cities across India. These findings in turn will support the design of more targeted, inclusive urban policies that ensure the protection of these groups.

Jeevan Sharma (Principal Investigator, Senior Lecturer in South Asia and International Development)
Radhika Chopra
Patricia Jeffrey (Professor of Sociology)
Anuj Kapilashrami (Lecturer in Global Health Policy)

• Comprehensive mapping of legal, developmental, human rights and welfare environments in case study cities of Guwahati and Jalandhar.
• Participatory fieldwork involving successive multi-stakeholder consultations and workshops.
• Dissemination activities, including local exhibitions with partners, to raise awareness of key rights issues.