A Rigorous Journey – Bhil Labour Migration to South Gujarat

Findings of a Survey Conducted by Dhas Gramin Vikas Kendra

in association with Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath
Analysis and Writing by Rahul Banerjee

Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1
2. The Objectives of the Study ............................................................................... 2
3. The Methodology and Limitations of the Study ................................................. 3
4. The Findings of the Study .................................................................................. 4
5. Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................. 14
6. References ....................................................................................................... 15

DHAS GRAMIN VIKAS KENDRA

KHEDUT MAZDOOR CHETNA SANGATH

74, Krishnodayanagar, Khandwa Naka, Indore, Madhya Pradesh -452001

email: aarohini@yahoo.com, cell no: +919926791773
 A Rigorous Journey – Bhil Labour Migration to South Gujarat
1. Introduction
Chovria Pirla, a Bhilala tribal resident of Darkali Village in Sondwa Block of Alirajpur district
of Madhya Pradesh fell from the fifth storey of a building under construction in Navsari town in
South Gujarat and died immediately on 12.10.09. A case of accidental death was registered at the
Police Station and the contractor paid his family only the transportation money to take the dead
body home. This is the stark reality of the insecurity under which the lakhs of migrants from
Alirajpur district work in various destination areas in Gujarat. Before this in 2006 it came to light
that hundreds of Bhil tribal workers from the districts of Alirajpur, Jhabua and Dhar were
working in the quartz crushing factories in Godhra district of Gujarat without any protective
apparels and in conditions in which there were no exhaust systems to remove the quartz dust
from the air. Consequently this dust was being inhaled by the tribal workers and soon they
became affected with silicosis which is a terminal disease. Hundreds of workers both male and
female had died leaving their children orphaned (Baviskar, 2008).
The need to migrate arises from the fact that the average landholding per household in Alirajpur
district is less than 1 hectare and the land also is mostly of low quality (GoMP, 2009). Forests
too have been decimated drastically reducing the supplementary incomes from minor forest
produce and animal husbandry. Development schemes are not implemented properly and are
mostly riddled with corruption and have been so for the past few decades (Aurora, 1972).
Moreover, literacy levels are low and so there is little scope of skill upgradation. Thus, the tribals
have perforce to migrate seasonally to make ends meet. This phenomenon has come to be called
circular migration (Breman, 1996). Circular Migration has been distinguished from permanent
migration not only because it takes place seasonally on a continuous basis over a number of
years but also because of the specific problems that are associated with it due to the general
disregard of the rights and entitlements of the migrants in the destination areas.
The Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath, a trade union of Bhil tribals of Alirajpur district, has tried
to intervene on behalf of these migrant tribals but has made little headway. With regard to those
affected by the quartz crushing units a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court which has
resulted in an order that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was to arrange for
compensation to be paid to the victims. The NHRC finally issued a recommendation on
12.11.2010 that a compensation of Rs three lakhs each should be paid to the next of kin of those
who have died of silicosis and that those who are still alive should be properly rehabilitated.
However, the governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have still not implemented these
recommendations. This after both the Supreme Court and the NHRC deemed these governments
responsible for the deaths because of negligence on their part in implementing the various laws
that protect the rights of the labourers.
The owners of the quartz crushing units themselves have escaped any legal action because they
do not keep any records of the people they are employing and make only cash payments to the
casual tribal labourers. So the affected labourers cannot prove their employment in these units.
Moreover, the labour court for the districts of Jhabua and Alirajpur is in Ratlam which is two
hundred kilometers away from Alirajpur. Thus, it is very difficult to file cases there under the
Workmen's Compensation Act and then follow them up. The Interstate Migrant Workers Act on
the other hand does not have any provisions for the protection of individual labourers who have
migrated on their own without the mediation of a contractor. Thus, it is very difficult to get its
provisions implemented in Gujarat in a scenario in which the government there has no intention
of providing any security to the tribal migrants. As will be detailed later the government officials
in Gujarat refused to be interviewed with regard to the implementation of various labour laws for
the migrant tribal labourers.
Rigorous Journey – Bhil Tribal Labour Migration to South Gujarat

There is a total reluctance on the part of the government and the administration in Madhya
Pradesh to recognise the fact that a substantial population of Bhils is migrating for work for long
periods of time and that they are having to work in abysmal conditions in Gujarat. Consequently
the government has no authentic data regarding seasonal migration at all let alone any plan of
action for support and protection. The Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath conducted a survey of a
sample of all the 2528 households spread over fifteen villages in the three blocks of Sondwa,
Katthiwada and Alirajpur in Alirajpur district in 2008 to get a rough idea of the extent and
pattern of this migration. The survey revealed that 85.2 % of the families surveyed migrated for
work and 60% of these migrated for more than three months a year. The migrants to Surat and
Navsari districts in South Gujarat constituted 45% of the whole and this was the destination at
which the highest wages were paid in the building construction industry. Therefore, it was
decided to undertake a more detailed study of the migrants to South Gujarat at their places of
work so as to get some hard data for planning future support action.

2. The Objectives of the Study

South Gujarat is the most economically dynamic region of the state with a strong agricultural and
agro-processing base combined with heavy investments in industrial sectors such as
Petrochemicals, Textiles, Diamond processing, Engineering and Logistics it is also emerging as a
potential hub for IT/ITeS and Biotechnology industry. The Hazira LNG Terminal project is one
of the largest greenfield projects in India and overall this district has the second highest industrial
growth in the state of Gujarat after Bharuch (GoG, 2010). Moreover, with the onset of
globalisation from the turn of the century onwards there has been more and more informalisation
of the work force with even established formal sector units farming out unskilled and skilled
labour to contractors (Mitra, 2004). Consequently, there is a huge demand for informal labour
which cannot be met locally in Surat. Thus, the region acts like a magnet drawing in labour both
skilled and unskilled in large numbers from other parts of Gujarat and other states who work as
informal labourers without any of the statutory benefits that are there right. (Das & Sahu, 2008).
The heavy ongoing economic development in Surat has generated a tremendous amount of
building and road construction work. Despite mechanisation this is the industry where the
demand for unskilled workers to do hard physical labour is at the highest. This is primarily the
sector where migrant Bhil tribals from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
work. Apart from this they also work in rice and sugarcane cultivation which are two agricultural
activities that require hard unskilled labour. There are no reliable estimates based on detailed
sample surveys of the number of people involved in circular migration. The estimates based on
the decennial census and National Sample Surveys conducted by the Central Statistical
Organisation are flawed because of definitional problems. A different calculation based on
statistics of informal labour collated by the departments of industries of various states gives a
figure as high as 100 million for the whole of India (Deshingkar & Akter, 2009). However, it is
not possible to estimate the number of tribal migrants working in Surat and it can only be said
that this must be in many hundreds of thousands. While there have been some detailed studies of
the tribal migrants in their source areas (Mosse et al, 1997, Mosse et al 2002, Shah & Sah, 2004)
there has been only one in the destination areas by the Bandhkam Mazdoor Sangathan in
Ahmedabad and Vadodara based on its support work among migrant construction workers
(BMS, 2006). Thus, there is a need to do more in depth studies of the migrant tribal workers in
the destination areas and especially in South Gujarat where they form a large part of the
workforce in the construction industry and agriculture. Given the near total neglect of the rights
and entitlements of the migrant workers by the government and employers, such studies will help
to build up an authentic data base for bringing about a change in this sorry state of affairs.

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Rigorous Journey – Bhil Tribal Labour Migration to South Gujarat

The present study focuses on the migrant tribal workers in the construction and agriculture
sectors in South Gujarat. The objective is to get reliable information from these tribal migrants at
the destination areas regarding –
1. Their economic status
2. The methods of recruitment
3. The conditions of work
4. The emoluments received
5. The living conditions
6. Access to public services
7. Status of women
8. Relationship with administration and politicians
9. Awareness of legal and policy provisions
10. Difficulties faced

3. The Methodology and Limitations of the Study

The respondents of the survey are migrant labourers who are available for discussion only late in
the evening as in the morning they go away to work early and are not in the mood to answer a
lengthy set of questions. Moreover, since the respondents stay in groups it is better to hold group
discussions with them instead of asking them questions individually. So it was decided to adopt
quantitative participatory analysis (QPA) as the primary data collection methodology. The QPA
is a hybrid between questionnaire surveys which yield quantitative data and Participatory Rural
Appraisals (PRA) which mostly yield qualitative data (James, 2003). Detailed questionnaire
surveys of individuals are costly and difficult to administer especially in this case where the
migrants have to be surveyed in alien surroundings. Thus, the use of focus group discussions are
more appropriate to elicit qualitative data based on the perceptions of the migrants. Focus group
discussions also give the participants greater freedom to express their opinions than for an
individual in a questionnaire survey. This is especially true when the respondents are mostly
illiterate tribals. A predetermined format of questions were administered to groups of
respondents in group discussions at the place of their residence. The advantage is that the
predetermined format allows the answers to be assigned codes amenable to statistically analysis.
This yields both quantitative and qualitative information regarding the subject being researched.
The study was also used as a means to improve the knowledge and skills of the Bhil tribal
activists of the Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath. So these activists were given training in filling
the formats and it is they who have collected the information. This prolonged the data collection
somewhat and in some cases due to bad data collection resurveys had to be conducted but overall
the survey experience enhanced the capacities of the activists. Most importantly it made them
intellectually engage with the life of the migrant workers in Gujarat in a critical manner.
A total of 809 focus group discussions were held with the formats. The agriculture worker
respondent groups were 184 in number. The number of construction workers groups surveyed in
Surat city was 293 and the number in Navsari town was 332. Overall these groups were
constituted by 2878 families with 7389 members of whom 2913 were adult males and 2512 were
adult females. Given the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in Surat
and Navsari and there is no reliable data regarding their distribution at the various places of work
it was not possible to adopt a systematic sampling strategy. Instead given the financial resources
allocated for the survey it was worked out that about 800 focus group discussions would have to
be held. The rough distribution was to be 300 in Surat city, 300 in Navsari town and 200 among

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the agricultural workers. The surveyors then visited at random the various locations where the
migrants were residing and began surveying them. Eventually numbers varied slightly from the
predetermined shares due to the vagaries of the work and the need to resurvey about 35 forms
which had to be rejected for poor data quality. Even though the groups were chosen randomly
there was an inherent bias because the surveyors being from Alirajpur tended to survey the
Alirajpur tribals more. This also happened because the construction workers in Navsari are
overwhelmingly from Alirajpur. So the survey can be said to be primarily of the Alirajpur tribal
migrants in Gujarat who constituted 53.9% of the total respondent groups surveyed.
The study is an exploratory one that relies solely on the perceptions of the migrants as expressed
to the surveyors and these have not been triangulated with interviews of government officials
and employers because the surveyors could not elicit any reliable information from the latter.
Moreover, the sample is heavily skewed towards the Alirajpur tribals and this too further reduces
the generalisability of the findings. The study in the end provides some valuable first time
indications regarding the experience of the Alirajpur tribal migrants working in Surat and
Navsari that can provide pointers towards future planning and action. A more detailed research
has to be undertaken to get generalisable findings regarding all tribal migrants to the region.
The map of the study area showing the three districts of Surat, Tapi and Navsari and there
location in relation to India is shown in Fig 1 below.

Fig. 1: Map of Study Area showing Surat, Navsari and Tapi districts of South Gujarat

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4. The Findings of the Study

The basic statistical analysis of the responses to the questions have been given below in tabular
form with critical comments in this section. The tabulation has been done separately for the
Bhilala tribal agricultural workers and the Dubla tribals who are from Tapi district so as to be
able to compare their separate situations. The responses of the construction workers in Surat and
those in Navsari too have been tabulated separately for the same reason.
4.1 Distribution of Migrants by Source Area
Agricul- Construc-
ture Agricul- Construc- tion
State District Bhilala ture Dubla tion Surat Navsari Total (%)
Madhya Alirajpur 45 71 320 436 53.9
Pradesh Jhabua 54 1 55 6.8
Dhar 20 2 22 2.7
Ratlam 58 58 7.2
Rajasthan Banswara 63 1 64 7.9
Amalner 1 1 0.1
Maharashtra Nandurbar 1 7 8 1.0
Dhulia 1 1 0.1
Gujarat Amreli 2 2 0.2
Dahod 42 1 43 5.3
Tapi 119 119 14.7
Total 65 119 293 332 809 100.0
(%) 8.0 14.7 36.2 41.0 100.0
A considerable number of tribals from as far as Banswara in Rajasthan and Ratlam in Madhya
Pradesh are labouring in Surat. As mentioned earlier the number of tribals from Alirajpur in
Navsari is very high. The tribals surveyed from Tapi are Dubla tribals while those surveyed from
Alirajpur engaged in agriculture in Gujarat are Bhilala tribals. The Dubla tribals of Bardoli in
Surat district have been studied in detail (Breman, 1996) but the phenomenon of the Dublas from
Tapi district also migrating is one that has not been studied yet. The tribals engaged in
construction labour are Bhils, Bhilalas, Pateliyas and other subtribes of the generic Bhil tribe.
There is a very large number of tribals from Dangs, Dhulia and Nandurbar involved in sugarcane
cutting and crushing but since their situation has already been studied extensively (Breman,
1990) they have not been surveyed here.
4.2 Composition of Respondent Focus Groups
Agriculture Agriculture Construction Construction Total
Bhilala Dubla Surat Nav
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
Families 255 491 1083 1049 2878
Members
833 100.0 1487 100.0 2692 100.0 2377 100.0 7389 100.0
Adult Females 213 25.6 502 33.8 898 33.4 899 37.8 2512 34.0
Adult Males 265 31.8 485 32.6 1147 42.6 1016 42.7 2913 39.4
Adolescent Males 112 13.4 75 5.0 110 4.1 67 2.8 364 4.9
Adoloscent Females 130 15.6 65 4.4 87 3.2 69 2.9 351 4.8
Male Children 45 5.4 169 11.4 238 8.8 133 5.6 585 7.9
Female Children 47 5.6 139 9.3 192 7.1 103 4.3 481 6.5
Infants 28 3.4 52 3.5 90 3.3 77 3.2 247 3.3

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The high proportion of adult female workers almost on par with adult male workers is notable in
fact adolescent females are more in number than adolescent males. The proportion of children
and infants together too is quite high at 17.7% and as many as 322 of the focus groups or 39.8%
had children or infants with them making things difficult for them as will become clear later.
Children and infants in fact outnumber adolescents. The proportion of infants and children are
comparatively less as compared to migrants in the brick kiln industry because here the migration
is mostly of a short duration of about a month or so.
4.3 Average Productive Resource and Debt per Household

Land- Buffa-
holding Irrigation Oxen Cows loes Goats Chicken Debt
Hectares Hectares (%) number number number number number Rs
Agriculture Bhilala 1.972 .402 20 2 1 1 4 4 13368

Agriculture Dubla .008 .003 33 1 3353

Construction Surat .913 .143 16 2 1 2 3 17014

Construction Navsari .989 .185 19 2 1 2 3 6110

Total .896 .160 18 2 1 2 3 10242

The Bhilala migrants working in agriculture have an average household landholding of close to 2
hectares which is the upper limit for the small farmer otherwise all the other categories have
landholdings less than 1 hectare which is the upper limit for the marginal farmer. The Dublas
from Tapi district are mostly landless. The overall irrigation percentage is also very low at 18%.
Overall 20% of the families are landless. Among the rest of the landed households as high a
proportion as 85% reported having bad quality lands. The ownership of other productive assets
like animals and chicken is also minimal. The average debt burden is Rs 10242 sourced mainly
from moneylenders who served 65% of the respondents and only 10% of households took loans
from banks and cooperatives. Thus, the level of debt is high given the lack of other resources and
access to cheap credit is also limited. Consequently, it is safe to assume that all the migrants are
economically poor and unable to meet their livelihood expenses from agriculture on their farms
and that is why they have had to migrate. The Dublas of Tapi district are mostly landless and so
have no other choice but to do labour. The overall literacy rate is about 7% and this too precludes
most of these migrants from doing skilled work and they have to do unskilled labour only. While
the Dublas paid only Rs 50 as one way fare for reaching their places of work the average one
way fare for others was a very high Rs 200.
4.4 Method of Finding Work
Recruited from Searched &
Naka Home by Owner Found Relatives Contractor Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture
Bhilala 19 29.2 46 70.8 65
Agriculture Dubla 115 96.6 4 3.4 119
Construction
Surat 147 50.2 0.0 114 38.9 11 3.8 21 7.2 293
Construction Nav 290 87.3 0.0 9 2.7 33 9.9 332
Total 456 56.4 46 5.7 238 29.4 15 1.9 54 6.7 809
The overwhelming majority of workers are employed from the informal labour markets called
"Naka". Many workers also find work by themselves by visiting the work sites. A small
proportion of workers have found work through their relatives who are already working in the
destination areas. It is interesting to note that some workers are recruited from their homes by the

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Rigorous Journey – Bhil Tribal Labour Migration to South Gujarat

land owners or contractors who have their mobile phone numbers and vice versa. Cell phones in
fact are an indispensable accessory for migrant workers as they keep in touch with their villages
as well through these. The migrants are now extremely mobile and there is a constant movement
to and fro of individual workers from a group while the others stay on. This helps to keep
continuity both at the work place and also at the temporary shelters that they reside in.
4.5 Place of Work
The places of work have been given separately in the tables below for construction labourers in
Surat and Navsari and the Agricultural Labourers in Surat. The number of migrants for each
work place from the different source districts has been shown.
4.5.1 Places of Work for Construction Labour in Surat

Place of Source District of Migrant

Sl. Work Total
No. Alirajpur Amalner Amreli Banswara Dahod Dhulia Jhabua Nandurbar Ratlam Migrants
Bhagwan 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 0 26 34
1 Nagar
2 Bombay Gate 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 5 18
Bonda 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 Borasa
4 Dindoli 35 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 38

5 Kabutara 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Lajmani 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
6
7 Mota Bangla 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

8 Navagaon 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

9 Nawagaon 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13

10 Parvat Patia 1 0 0 27 29 1 12 0 6 76

11 Poona 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2

12 Puna Gaon 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

13 Sara Darwaja 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Sartana Jakat 0 0 0 2 5 0 17 0 3 26
14 Naka
15 Udna 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16

16 Varasa 0 0 0 31 4 0 5 0 17 57
Total 71 1 2 63 42 1 54 1 58 293
Migrants

The places of work are quite varied and seem to indicate that the migrants have a fairly wide
choice due to the system of nakas and also due to the massive construction work going on that
increases employment opportunities. Some places like Parvat Patia, Varasa, Dindoli and
Bhagwan Nagar have more migrants working there.
4.5.2 Places of Work for Construction Labour in Navsari
Source District of Migrants
Sl. Place of Work
Total
No. Alirajpur Banswara Dhar Jhabua Nandurbar Panchmahal Migrants
1 Ambavadi 4 0 0 0 0 0 4
2 Athgaon 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 Bijalpura 19 0 0 0 0 0 19
4 Chhapra Road 26 0 0 0 6 0 32
5 Galtekri 38 0 1 0 0 0 39
Girawal 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
6

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Source District of Migrants

Sl. Place of Work
Total
No. Alirajpur Banswara Dhar Jhabua Nandurbar Panchmahal Migrants
7 Jalalpura 61 0 0 1 0 0 62
Lakshminagar 35 0 1 0 0 0 36
8
9 Lalpur 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

10 Mith Kua 10 0 0 0 0 0 10
11 Muhrigava 7 0 0 0 0 0 7
12 Nagarpalika 8 0 0 0 0 0 8
13 Navagaon 4 0 0 0 0 0 4

14 Navdurganagar 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

15 Panchkoti 18 0 0 0 0 0 18
16 Rajatpur 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
17 Sindhi Gate 84 0 0 0 1 2 87
Total Migrants 320 1 2 1 7 1 332

Once again like in Surat in the table before in Navsari too the places of work are quite varied
offering the migrants a wide choice due to the naka system and the increased employment
opportunities due to heavy construction work going on. Sindhi Gate, Jalalpura, Galtekri and
Lakshminagar are the places that are more favoured by the migrants. Overall the construction
industry offers much more to the migrant labourers in terms of choice of places of employment
and wages as will become clear later.
4.5.3 Places of Work for Agricultural Labour in Surat
Source District of
Migrants
Sl. Place of Work
Total
No. Alirajpur Dhar Tapi Migrants
1 Bardoli Bhatlav Falia 0 0 42 42

2 Bardoli Khara Falia 0 0 43 43

3 Bardoli Koli Basti 0 0 34 34

4 Asarma 1 0 0 1

5 Haripur 4 3 0 7

6 Kareli 0 2 0 2

7 Kim 2 0 0 2

8 Kosamba 22 0 0 22

9 Kudsad 0 3 0 3

10 Murdar 0 7 0 7

11 Olpad 11 0 0 11

12 Ranakpur 5 0 0 5

13 Sayalda 0 2 0 2

14 Vadda 0 3 0 3
Total Migrants 45 20 119 184

The Dublas from Tapi district are concentrated in Bardoli where there are also resident Dubla
labourers competing for work resulting in wages being depressed as will be seen later. Whereas
the Bhilalas from Alirajpur and Dhar have a wide choice of places of work where they earn
much more than the Dublas. This wide variety in places of work, however, means that the
labourers are spread out thinly and cannot be easily organised to demand their rights under the
provisions of the various laws.

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4.6 Type of Work

Banana Cotton Sugarcane Rice Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture Bhilala 10 15.4 20 30.8 35 53.8 65
Agriculture Dubla 2 1.7 117 98.3 119
Total 10 5.4 20 10.9 37 20.1 117 63.6 184
Cons. Tractor Pipeline
Labour Driver Loading Roadmaking Digging
Construction Surat 234 79.9 1 0.3 25 8.5 19 6.5 14 4.8 293
Construction Nav 328 98.8 0.0 2 0.6 2 0 0.0 332
Total 562 89.9 1 0.2 27 4.3 21 3.4 14 2.2 625
While the Bhilala tribals are mostly engaged in Sugarcane, Banana and Cotton Cultivation, the
Dubla tribals are employed in rice cultivation. Among the construction labourers whose total
number is 4293 only 30 are skilled masons or steel reinforcement binders which is a telling
commentary on the situation of these tribals at the bottom of the labour market.
4.7 Hours of Work
Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture Bhilala 0.0 0.0 0.0 65 100.0 65
Agriculture Dubla 0.0 113 95.0 6 5.0 119
Construction Surat 1 0.3 1 0.3 6 2.0 269 91.8 2 0.7 14 4.8 293
Construction Nav 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 320 96.4 10 3.0 2 0.6 332
Total 1 0.1 1 0.1 6 0.7 702 86.8 12 1.5 87 10.8 809
Apart from the Bhilala tribals engaged in agriculture most of the migrants seem to be aware of
the daily eight hour work regulation.
4.8 Days Worked in a Week
Two Three Four Five Six Seven Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture Bhilala 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 9 55 84.6 65
Agriculture Dubla 1 19 16.0 64 53.8 34 1 0.8 119
Construction Surat 1 0.3 11 3.8 67 22.9 177 60.4 32 10.9 5 1.7 293
Construction Nav 0 0.0 5 1.5 14 4.2 55 16.6 178 53.6 80 24.1 332
Total 1 0.1 17 2.1 100 12.4 297 36.7 253 31.3 141 17.4 809
The tremendous demand for unskilled labour in Surat and Navsari is revealed by the fact that
95.4% of the migrants work for five days or more a week. However, except for a handful most
workers complained that the work was hard and they frequently fell ill as a result.
4.9 Residence at Place of Migration
In the Open PolytheneTent Work Place Hired Rooms Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture
Bhilala 40 61.5 21 32.3 4 6.2 0 65
Agriculture Dubla 4 3.4 63 52.9 47 39.5 5 4.2 119
Construction
Surat 186 63.5 102 34.8 2 0.7 3 1.0 293
Construction Nav 293 88.3 16 4.8 0 0.0 23 6.9 332
Total 523 64.6 202 25.0 53 6.6 31 3.8 809

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An overwhelming 64.6% of the migrants reside in the open and another 25% in polythene tents.
Only some of the groups having masons mostly are able to hire rooms. Thus, along with the hard
work this lack of a proper shelter is also a major contributing factor to the migrants being prone
to illnesses.
4.10 Source of Drinking Water
Handpump Borewell Standpipe Well Bought Borrowed Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture Bhilala 0.0 12 18.5 7 10.8 46 70.8 65
Agriculture Dubla 103 86.6 0.0 13 10.9 3 2.5 119
Construction Surat 1 0.3 5 1.7 98 33.4 2 0.7 58 19.8 129 44.0 293
Construction Nav 104 31.3 2 0.6 92 27.7 0.0 19 5.7 115 34.6 332
Total 208 25.7 19 2.3 210 26.0 51 6.3 77 9.5 244 30.2 809
Sourcing of water is a big problem for the migrants. Often the public sources like handpumps,
standpipes and wells from which most people get their drinking water are situated at a distance
from their place of stay and so considerable amount of time has to be expended in getting water.
A very high 30.2% of the migrants have to borrow their water from neighbours and this is an
uncertain situation as they have to go to different neighbours every few days given the general
under supply of water that affects all poor urban residents. What is of the greatest concern is that
9.5% of the respondent groups had to buy water sometimes at as high a price as a rupee a litre.
Under the circumstances both the quality and quantity of drinking water supply is very poor and
this too affects the health of the migrants.
4.11 Source of Bathing and Washing Water and resultant Health Situation
Handpump Borewell Standpipe Well Bought Workplace Total
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Agriculture Bhilala 15 23.1 13 20.0 4 6.2 33 50.8 65
Agriculture Dubla 103 86.6 0.0 13 10.9 3 2.5 119
Construction Surat 2 0.7 5 1.7 99 33.8 4 1.4 58 19.8 125 42.7 293
Construction Nav 105 31.6 3 0.9 92 27.7 0.0 19 5.7 113 34.0 332
Total 225 27.8 21 2.6 208 25.7 40 4.9 77 9.5 238 29.4 809
The situation with the supply of bathing and washing water is as constrained as that with
drinking water and in this case as many as 29.4% of the groups bathe and wash at their
workplace itself due to lack of water at their residence places. This, when seen along with the
fact that 96% of the respondent groups reported that both women and men bathe and defecate in
the open, presents a horrifying picture of the living environment of the migrants. Not
surprisingly the level of illness in the groups was very high and only the Dublas were able to
access government health services. Among the rest of the migrants, a high proportion of 99%
had to rely on private quacks and the per family average cost of medication during one migratory
season as reported by the respondents came out to be Rs 415. Some migrants fall seriously ill
and have to go back to their homes.
Apart from 7 groups who said that they visited cinemas to see films the rest of the 802 had no
entertainment facilities. 76% of the groups had their children with them and there were no
facilities for looking after them or educating them so they went along with their guardians to the
workplace. Some groups reported that they had to keep their smaller children tied with ropes,
tethered like animals, while they worked. Consequently even if the proportion of children and
infants is less due to the fact that there are a number of single males and females in the groups
nevertheless for those children the situation is extremely hostile. Not only do they lose out on
their education but they also have to bear extreme conditions which almost certainly have a
negative psychological effect on their development.

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4.12 Awareness Level of the Migrants

None of the Bhilala agricultural labourers knew the names of the contractors or the principal
employers for whom they worked. The Dubla labourers were better in that 75% knew the names
of their employers. Among the construction labourers 88.4% did not know the names of their
contractors while 98.1% did not know the names of the principal employers. All the respondents
said that they did not have any contact with the police, administration, labour department
officials and politicians in the destination areas. A handful of groups said that they were harassed
by the police at night in their residence areas. The groups also said that they had no contact with
the police and labour department officials in their own villages. Most people had contacts with
their village sarpanches and only a handful with the Member of the Legislative Assembly from
their area. The most disturbing finding was that none of the migrants surveyed had any
knowledge of the laws, policies and institutions that were in place for their protection. This is
one of the principal reasons for their not being able to get compensation for loss due to accidents
at the workplace that happen quite frequently. Attempts by the surveyors to interview the lower
level officials in Gujarat were fended off by the latter and they were asked to file applications
under the Right to Information Act instead. Thus, there is a serious lack of awareness among the
migrants and a near total neglect of their rights and entitlements on the part of the government
and administration both in the source and the destination areas.
4.13 Economic Evaluation of Migratory Employment
A rough evaluation of the economics of tribal migration for the present study has been done here
on the basis of the information provided by the migrants. The basic unit considered here is a
family with one male and one female earning member and the average income and costs for such
a family and the net income calculated by assuming a migratory cycle of four weeks are as given
in the table below. The daily family food cost includes other side costs also.
Table 4.13 Economics of Migratory Employment (Rs)
One Total
Days Total Daily Four Four Way Fare Net
Male Female Worked Four Family Week Week Fare Cost Income
Daily Daily per Week Food Food Health per per per
Wage Wage Week Income Cost Cost Cost Person Cycle Cycle
Agriculture Bhilala 102 102 7 5712 60 1680 250 238 952 2830
Agriculture Dubla 51 48 5 1980 50 1400 300 50 200 80
Construction Surat 176 145 5 6420 80 2240 500 176 704 2976
Construction Nav 137 118 6 6120 70 1960 300 182 728 3132
While the Dublas seem to be just making ends meet due to the low wages they receive the other
tribal migrants are making a good income relative to their subsistence agriculture back home. If
one takes into consideration the fact that each grouping has single adults also who add to the
income apart from the basic family unit it becomes clear why the tribals migrate despite the
tremendous hardships and dismal living conditions that they have to put up with.
Here it may be appropriate to discuss briefly the situation of the Dublas. The Dublas of Bardoli
have been studied extensively over thirty years and it has been established that they have not
been able to break out of the stranglehold that the upper castes have had on the rural economy
(Bremen, 1996). Even when some of them have migrated to as far places as Mumbai they have
had to work as menial labourers and so have not been able to improve their socio-economic
status. However, they have over the years moved away from agriculture to other occupations
mainly in the factories that have come up. This is the reason why now there are migrant Dublas
coming in from Tapi district to work in the agricultural fields but they too are getting very low
wages as compared to the Bhilalas mainly because they do not work as hard as the latter.

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4.14 The Gender Situation

A special set of questions were asked of the women in the focus groups separately by women
surveyors relating to problems that were specific to them. All the women said that the lack of
privacy was a serious problem especially during menstruation. Nine women reported that they
had suffered molestation either by masons or contractors. The women said that they were not at
all in touch with government health workers or doctors in the destination areas.
In their villages back home also at most they were visited by the Auxiliary Nurse Medic (ANM)
once in a while mainly for pulse polio vaccination. They do not receive other support even
though the Janani Suraksha Scheme has been running for over five years now. In fact they have
to arrange for their own transport to go to hospital for delivery and then pay bribes to the doctor
and nurse there. Payments under this scheme were also not made on time and in full to the
pregnant mothers. The care of children and cooking are a heavy burden in the destination areas
where there is no domestic support. Due to the hard work and unhygienic conditions the women
suffer from a variety of reproductive health problems and the details of those reported by them
are given in the table below.
Table 4.14 Reproductive Health Problems suffered by Women Migrants
Agriculture Agriculture Construction Construction
Bhilala Dubla Surat Navsari Total
Women No. 29 72 95 87 283
Reporting
Problems % 44.6 60.5 32.4 26.2 34.9
Dizziness No. 10 1 1 3 15
Vaginal
Itch No. 12 10 1 2 25
Lower
Abdomen
Pain No. 19 9 28 34 90
Waist
Pain No. 17 8 27 17 69
White
Discharge No. 24 44 46 43 157
Deilivery
in the
Open No. 14 14
Menstrual
Disorder No. 2 3 5
Burning
during
Urination No. 12 71 71 154
The overall proportion of women who have reported having reproductive health problems is
34.9% with the highest being among the Dublas at 60.5%. This is not surprising that
innumerable studies have established that there is a strong correlation between poverty and
reproductive health problems (Parikh et al, 1996) and as we have seen earlier the Dublas are
economically poorer and earn much less than the other tribals. Studies have also established that
women generally under report their problems because in many cases they are not even aware that
they have gynaecological problems and even if they are aware the patriarchal taboo against
talking about these problems prevents them from expressing themselves freely (Dixon Mueller &
Wasserheit, 1991). Thus, there is a high chance that the actual number of women suffering
reproductive health problems is much higher. The women reporting problems have reported

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having at least two and sometimes three and that is why the total number for the various
problems is more than double the number of women reporting problems. The three most reported
problems are that of white vaginal discharge, burning during urination, lower abdomen pain and
waist pain which all result from infections of the reproductive tract arising from lack of
menstrual hygiene. Given the lack of privacy and the unsanitary conditions in which women
have to live in the destination areas this is the most serious problem. Apart from this 14 women
in Surat have reported that they had to deliver babies in the open. This is an extremely disturbing
revelation. Pregnant women in the final months of their pregnancy too are forced to migrate
because their is no one to look after them if left behind and then they cannot access the health
system in the destination area even in a city like Surat and have to go through labour and
parturition in the open. Overall the picture that comes through of the gender situation of the
migrants is horrifying to say the least. A detailed reproductive health study of migrant women
involving clinical testing will almost certainly provide an even more disturbing picture.
4.15 Difficulties Faced
Given the dismal situation of the migrants revealed by the findings so far it is only to be
expected that they were quite vocal about the many difficulties that they face. These have been
given below –
1. Many of the respondents complained about their extreme poverty back home which
forced them to migrate. They said that often they did not even have the money for the
fare and so they had to borrow this money and some initial living expenses at an
exorbitant interest rate from the sahukar and make the trip.
2. The farms and work places are often very far from the places of residence and so people
have to wake up very early and return very late from work.
3. The work is very hard and results in illnesses. Spraying of pesticides for agricultural
workers and lifting heavy sacks of cement up ten storeys for construction workers are the
most dangerous of occupations that sometimes lead to fatalities.
4. Wages are paid late and sometimes only at the time of returning and so the labourers get
short changed due to deliberate wrong calculations by the employer or contractor who
take advantage of the former's lack of numeracy.
5. Cooking of food is a big problem. Fuelwood is expensive and the wood fire dies out in
the open when there is a strong wind blowing.
6. The scarcity of water and lack of sanitation facilities are a serioius problem especially for
women who have to do their ablutions in the night.
7. Care of children is a problem and they have to be taken along to places of work where
they sometimes meet with accidents.
8. The lack of free medical care is a persistent problem. The labourers frequently fall ill
living as they do in the open and then they have to spend a lot of money on private
treatment. Sometimes they have to return home.
9. Due to their lack of legal knowledge and non-functioning of government support systems
they are unable to get proper compensation from the contractor or principal employer in
cases of loss of limbs or death in the course of work.
10. The police often bother the migrants and implicate them in false cases apart from siding
with the employers and contractors when there are occupational accident cases.

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5. Conclusions and Recommendations

The study provides further confirmation of the violation of the rights of circular migrants
evidence of which has been provided by other studies (Deshingkar & Akter, op cit). More
importantly it provides solid evidence of the sorry situation of the Bhil tribal migrants in South
Gujarat and especially the women and the neglect of their rights by the governments of Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. While the first is both a source and destination
area the latter three are source areas. Significantly the economic evaluation also shows that
despite the apalling working and living conditions the migrants are able to take back with them a
net income which would not be possible if they stayed back and this is why there is so much
migration. On the basis of the findings of this study and the experience of the Khedut Mazdoor
Chetna Sangath over the past five years or so in trying to improve the condition of the tribal
migrants the following recommendations are being made –
1. The Government of Gujarat must pro-actively implement the provisions of the Inter State
Migrant Workers Act (ISMW), The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, The
Workmen's Compensation Act. Mechanisms must be put in place to enable migrants to
easily lodge complaints against the rampant violations of these laws that are taking place
with impunity at present.
2. Under the provisions of the ISMW Act the contractor or principal employer is reponsible
for providing shelter, water, sanitation and health facilities and creches for their children
to the migrant labourers and this has to be strictly implemented through the registration
and regulation of all establishments in which migrant labour are employed. This is
something that the Government of Gujarat has to ensure as on their own neither the
contractors nor the principal employers will do this.
3. The Gujarat Government must ensure that the police and other government staff do not
harass the migrants as they do at present. This is one of the main reasons for the migrants
not organising to demand their rights.
4. The source area governments too are lax in providing support to the migrants. The
surveys by the Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath in Alirajpur have established that 85%
of the families there are migrating for work to Gujarat. Even at a conservative estimate of
two people per family and a rough count of about 1,25,000 families in the district this
comes to about 1,15,000 families who are migrating. As calculated earlier each family
brings back about Rs 3000 in net earnings which they then spend in Alirajpur district.
This works out to a total consumer expenditure of Rs 34.5 crores a year which is not only
a boost to the rural economy but also through taxes a contribution to the coffers of the
state and central governments. A similar contribution is being made by the labourers
from Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Under the circumstances this neglect of the rights and welfare of the migrants by the
source state governments is nothing short of criminal. The apathy of the source state
administrations to the plight of the migrants was poignantly revealed by the residents of
Tembli village in Nandurbar district where the first Unique Identity Cards were
distributed. The residents have to migrate to Saurashtra in Gujarat to make ends meet but
were prevented from doing so for a month because the Prime Minister was to come and
give them the identity cards. Immediately after receiving the cards they went off to
Saurashtra for their customary migration saying that the cards would not get them
anything in Maharashtra (Devasia, 2010). Thus, the source area governments need to set
up migrant worker facilitation centres to make the migrants awares of their rights and
entitlements and take action on their behalf with the Government of Gujarat.

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5. Women migrants face severe problems with child care and reproductive health and so the
Gujarat Government must make special provisions for them. The women and child
welfare programmes are largely non-functional for the migrants in the destination areas
and even in the source areas they are sputtering along somehow. There has to be a
concerted effort to weed out corruption and ensure greater participation of NGOs and
mass organisations. A special effort has to be made to ensure that the new Right to
Education Act is implemented for migrant children in Gujarat also.
6. The respondents have clearly stated in the survey that they mostly have contact only with
the Sarpanch of their village among government officials and politicians. Thus, there is a
need to set up Panchayat level facilitation centres for the migrants where they can get
legal aid and be made aware of their rights and entitlements. This is crucial as the present
mechanisms for redressal of grievances are too far off from the tribals for them to even
contemplate approaching them.
7. To facilitate all this the ISMW Act has to be amended drastically. This will only be
possible if there is a civil society initiative in this direction. There has first to be a
consultation between organisations working on migration followed by the formulation of
a draft bill and policy.
8. NGO facilitation centres have to be set up in Surat and Navsari where migrants can
register complaints. At present the members of the Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath even
after being made aware of their rights find it difficult to get them implemented. Primarily
because they are distributed thinly over many locations in Gujarat and so cannot coalesce
into a critical mass that can put pressure on the employers and the Gujarat Government.
The surveyors too could not get any information from the lower level government staff
they approached given the reluctance of the Gujarat Government to help the migrants.
9. Detailed research has to be carried out primarily by the concerned governments but also
by NGOs to determine correctly the extent and character of the migration that is taking
place and the problems the migrants are facing so that appropriate institutional, legal and
policy measures can be taken to improve the sorry situation that prevails at present. The
present survey provides only indicative pointers and due to sampling problems cannot be
made the basis of any projections regarding the number of migrants as a whole and their
living and working conditions.

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