Conditions of Work and Political Consciousness Among Migrant Daily Wage Workers : A Study of Three States

Migration is a central part of India society today. However, despite the importance of migration to India's economy, and an increasing number of studies and media reports, the debate around migration in the country has remained conceptually limited.

In this study, our focus is on addressing two lacunae: the geographical limitations of prior literature and the lack of attention to migrants' own political consciousness. Our study covered three field areas - one urban conglomeration where migration has already been studied to some degree, namely Delhi; and two areas where migration has received almist no academic attention, namely the city of Dehradun in Uttarakhand and the districts of Coimbatore and Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. In all three areas we sought to examine both primary and secondary data to understand both the working conditions of migrations and the political dynamics that develop around them. (jacket)