South Asia

All types of migration flows are visible in South Asian countries – within and beyond borders, forced and voluntary, regular and irregular as well as for temporary labour or for permanent settlement. They participate mostly as source countries, nonetheless almost all of them are also destination for certain groups of migrants.

Colonization and decolonization to a great extent shaped the migration patterns amongst the South Asian countries. Except between India and Nepal, a regime for labour migration became almost non-existent once these countries became independent from colonial rule. However, cross-border informal movements continue to date. Work opportunities in the British Merchant Navy during the 1930s’ paved the way for migration from South Asia to developed western countries. Short-term contract migration to the Gulf, other Arab and Southeast Asian countries began in the early 1970’s with the oil price hike and massive infrastructural growth that followed in those countries. Labour migration was mostly dominated by male workers. Since 1990s’ feminization of labour migration has occurred in certain sectors. Over time, migration policies of destination countries, unethical practices in recruitment, etc., have created a situation in which a large segment of the flow has become irregular. High migration costs, contract substitution, non-payment of wages, lack of social protection particularly charactarizes the short-term labour market. Dynamics of migration from South Asia cannot be generalized. They differ between and within the nations. Class, ethnicity, age, and gender determines who could participate in which type of labour market.