Economic Times
Migrants
should get a better deal, enjoy the same rights as locals and have access to
basic services such as shelter, medical treatment and education, says the UN
Development Programme’s latest Human Development Report.
We
agree. Migration is a fact of life, and has been taking place since the
beginning of history. The early man moved from place to place in search of food.
The basic instinct that drives people to migrate from their place of birth has
not changed, only the circumstances have. Even the rise in the number of nation
states and of border police posts, racial discrimination and regional chauvinism
have not really limited the movement of people.
Migration and
development are closely linked. The originating region of the migrants as well
as the destination gains from migration. This is why migrants deserve all
support. By no means is that an easy task, given the size of the migrant
population across the world.
The UNDP estimates that one in seven
persons is a migrant, meaning about one billion of the world’s estimated
6.7 billion people have migrated. Most of the movement happens within the
borders of a country, only 214 million are international migrants. Further,
contrary to popular perception fewer than 70 million (just about 7% of all the
migrants and 33% of the international migrants) move from developing to
developed countries.
India is a country that has a large mass of
people on the move, thanks to changes in the structure of the economy. People
will move from primary activities to secondary and tertiary activities that are
more urban-centric. So people will move from country to town. Ideally, new, and
better planned, towns should house the bulk of them as well as the burgeoning
industrial and service establishments. The migrants will need new skills. In
their interest, and in the interest of the economy’s higher productivity,
migration management policies should also involve teaching people skills that
are in short supply and would help them earn a better living.
Most
importantly, migrants should be empowered as citizens to seek their due, without
resorting to or being threatened with violence.
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