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Migration Narratives: The SHRAM Blog

Travelling terms: The semantics of migration discourse

Radhika M. Chakraborty on September 3rd, 2015

migrant crisis

 

The world has been forced to take notice of the plight of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean and Andaman Seas. Al Jazeera recently announced its decision to stop using the word ‘migrant’ in its reportage of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. They insist that “The umbrella term migrant is no longer fit for purpose when it comes to describing the horror unfolding in the Mediterranean. It has evolved from its dictionary definitions into a tool that dehumanises and distances, a blunt pejorative.” Since then, many influential voices have entered the debate, to argue the semantics of mobility.

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Legal literacy camp: PEPUS

Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 25th, 2015

Last month, PEPUS organised a legal literacy camp for migrant workers at Patti Pervejabad, Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh.

Due to the lack of basic legal knowledge, migrant workers are unable to fight for justice. In order to educate workers about different legal safeguards provisioned by the Constitution and by law, a legal literacy camp was organised, to be held on a regular basis in the project area.

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Six months at PEPUS: A photo-essay

Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 17th, 2015

A visual snapshot of PEPUS (Paryavaran Evam Prodyogiki Utthan Samiti) and their interventions in the last six months. This photo-narrative presents an insight into the communities PEPUS works with, and the day-to-day interventions such organisations undertake.

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Unpacking the black box of skilling

Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 13th, 2015

Skill development in India has become a key focus area for the new government. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was created in 2014, and in July the Prime Minister launched the Skill India mission, which is targeting 40 crore workers by 2022. However the massive drive to expand vocational training has come into criticism from those who claim that the demand for skilling has been overestimated, and that separating skilling from education is a flawed model.

Radhika M. Chakraborty from SHRAM interviewed Prerit Rana, Co-founder and CEO of SHRAM Partner Agrasar, to discuss the issue of skill development for the youth, the way forward for sustainable skill development models, and the merits and flaws of the Skill India Mission.

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Violence, exploitation and lives lost: Parda case study

Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 15th, 2015

Parda shares the story of the death of a migrant worker at a brick kiln from Nuapada. Such narratives of vulnerability must serve as impetus for proper inquiry into working conditions and redressal mechanisms. Names have been changed to protect identities.  

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Agrasar Bachpan: Prerit Rana

Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 14th, 2015

Prerit Rana, CEO and co-founder of Agrasar shares the story of how Agrasar Bachpan, their latest initiative, came into being. Agrasar is located in 1173, Sector-45, Gurgaon, Haryana, and works with education, employability, and migration. 

 

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Can Uttarakhand fight out-migration with development?

Mukta Naik on July 14th, 2015

The hilly states of India have had a long history of out-migration. In Uttarakhand, officials in the smallest towns and district capitals cite palaayan (migration) as a top concern. Farmers talk about falling productivity, climate change and poor connectivity to markets and youth rue the lack of employment opportunities for them in and near their villages. The sense one gets from conversations is that migration is not always a matter of choice, the city is not necessarily seen as a place of opportunity and that there are many young men (and increasingly women) who would rather live closer to home if they were able to access non-farm jobs.

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Interrogating stereotypes about migrant populations

Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 10th, 2015

Yesterday, DNA reported that the Health Minister of Kerala suggested that migrant workers from across the country bring new diseased to the state, and for this reason “as part of ‘Safe Kerala’ campaign, nearly 25 lakh work force from other states, staying in different labour camps, would be screened”. The Indian Express published a report today titled ‘Kerala: Rising Rural Crime Linked to Migrants‘, which contained data on links between migrants and the crime rate in Ernakulam. Statements and news reports like these, without proper context, contribute to negative stereotypes about migrant labour.

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Migrant labourers rescued in Telangana: A case for source-destination linkages

Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 9th, 2015

Coordinated efforts on the part of SHRAM Partners Yugantar and DSS, and Human Rights Law Network and the Labour Department of Telangana resulted in speedy action towards the rescue of seventeen migrant labourers. Source-destination linkages and coordination played a vital role in enabling this effort. 

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Women at Work: An insight into the workspace of a ‘gajra’ vendor in Mumbai

Radhika M. Chakraborty on June 26th, 2015

This piece draws from informal interviews with a ‘gajra’ vendor in a residential colony in Mumbai. Jharna* is 46 years old, and has been vending flowers in the same spot since the year 2000.

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