Causes and consequences of out-migration: a study in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India

The scenario of development and poverty in Murshidabad district make it as critical example of the peripheral region in the entire space of development. Entire district is considered as the pocket of chronic out migration. The backwardness of the district of West Bengal is reflected in the lower agricultural output, skewed distribution of land and higher incidence of landlessness, higher dependency on agriculture and lack of industrialization and several socio-economic and institutional barriers. The stagnation in all sectors of economy in the past led to lower per capita income and higher incidence of poverty in the state as well as India. The lack of infrastructure, institutional barriers and poor governance in the state has developed a milieu of underdevelopment. This situation is considered as the leading factor of heavy out-migration from the district of West Bengal. The current phenomenon of labour migration from the district can be traced back to recent few decades. This region started to experience labour out-migration at the earliest. This phenomenon is largely attributed to the pattern of regional inequality and underdevelopment. The migrants are reinforced to other district particularly Kolkata, other states in India and most recently to abroad. The level and trends, stream, duration, where to go, remittances, reasons of out migration and their socio-economic impact on environment are discussed in this paper.