Labour Mobility and Rural Society by Arjan de Haan Ben Rogaly

Author:Arjan de Haan, Ben Rogaly [Arjan de Haan, Ben Rogaly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Human Geography, History, Military
ISBN: 9781317845027
Google: SYXYHAAACAAJ
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-12-22T05:00:00+00:00

Security

The lack of secure labour market places, overcrowding of buses and poor road conditions combine to make the journeys involved in seasonal migration particularly risky to labourers. If migrants are stuck during a journey they often have to stay at a bus stand or railway station. For example, at Dumka bus stand in the bangla calak’ stream, migrant workers sleep under the open sky without basic sanitation or access to drinking water. On the return journey in particular there is a risk of theft in all the migration streams, as workers are known to carry accumulated earnings. Non-state actors have also intervened to provide security to seasonal migrants. For example, bus owners at Siuri bus stand in Birbhum District claimed to have organised bus stand security for business reasons when night time attacks on migrants led to fewer bangla calak’ migrants taking that route. Like the involvement of the Bus Workers’ Union and an associated NGO in state-led action on migrants’ health at Bankura bus stand this is a rare example of civil society action which is likely to improve welfare outcomes for seasonal migrants.

For migrants of the rarhe jawa stream, insecurity at the major labour market-place of Katwa railway station has been further enhanced by the state. On several occasions both in the seasons for recruitment of workers for transplanting and harvesting monsoonal rice, we witnessed workers being lathi-charged by the railway police. For these, mainly Muslim workers, many of whom are from the border areas, such treatment added to a sense of alienation, a lack of citizenship (see section VII).

BOX 7: DESH

RH, a 70-year-old man, spent 30 years in Barddhaman District after migrating there for agricultural work at an early age. He earned much higher wages and had more job security than others from his home village in Dumka District. Yet RH preferred not to remain in Barddhaman District and has come back to his home village, saying tinan din bideshre tahenak’– how long can I stay outside the motherland. He always mentions abo disum – our homeland and ignores his dilapidated house and poor living conditions. Bidesh do cet ona in’ ge barai – I know well what the country outside the motherland is (as I have seen it).

Like many other Santals of former Santal Pargana, HR’s father settled in a Barddhaman village following regular seasonal migration. HR is a wage labourer, but he is proud of being rich through having a village home in Dumka district as well, unlike some well to do Santals of the same Barddhaman village. Kisan huyu kate hon unku ak’ cet hon banu, aleak’ do disum re ora menak’ ak’ – they are rich, yet they possess nothing, we have our village home. Disumredo duk re hon suk – At the homeland living in hardship is also pleasing. HR carries the idea of his home in Dumka as capital.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.