Internal migration in India: distress and opportunities, a study of internal migrants to vulnerable occupations in Delhi

"Centre for Equity Studies undertook a study to investigate the lived experiences of internal migrants to vulnerable occupations to Delhi, one of the most powerful magnets for such migration in the country. The study enquires who these people are, what factors propel them to the metropolis, how do they organise their movement to the city, and for what periods do they stay in the city? What is the nature and frequency of their interactions with their families in the village they have left behind? What are their experiences of living and work in the city? What are their conditions of work: wages, work hours, security, safety and dignity? What is the extent they are able to access legal protections, and food, social security and livelihood schemes to which they are entitled as citizens? The study aims also to identify distress, if any, which motivates such internal migration for villages to vulnerable occupations in cities...The occupations we chose for inclusion in the study are waste picking, rickshaw pulling, domestic work, construction labour and other casual labour.