Rural Male-Out-Migration and Its Dynamic Links with Native Villages: A Study of Selected Villages of Rarh Region of West Bengal, India

Bankura district is drought-prone in nature from where rural people regularly migrate to the nearby agriculturally and economically developed districts. In the paper, regional pattern, nature, distance, duration, mechanism of this rural male-out-migration and linkages of migrants with the native villages have been analyzed. The study is primarily conducted on the basis of information collected from door to door survey through a structured questionnaire. These collected data indicate that the landless people, especially from drought-affected villages, experience a higher proportion of out-migration. They normally migrate during the absence of agricultural activities at their native villages and a large portion of these migrants also return to their village during the short agricultural season. It is also found that the frequency of visiting the native village has an inverse relation with distance. Those who regularly visit their native village, most of them move from a short distance.