Delhi runs on the labour of nearly a million migrant construction workers, toiling outdoors even as pollution peaks each winter. But when authorities halt building activity to curb toxic air, these workers are the first to lose their livelihoods. Vipul Kumar

The One Nation One Ration Card scheme, initiated in 2019, is still to deliver on its promise of food security to itinerant workers Niyati Shah Anoushka Srinivas Ration cardholders, mostly from Karnataka, line up to receive their allotted foodgrains at an FPS shop in Bengaluru. Niyati Shah/The Migration Story Bengaluru, Karnataka : In a neighbourhood in Southeastern Bengaluru, a queue stretched from the Fair Price Shop (FPS) to a tea stall in the adjacent block. The dealer, Ha

An 800-kilometre journey across Jharkhand’s coal-affected districts took the idea of Just Transition directly to communities, opening conversations on life beyond coal. Madhav Sharma

South Asian migrants form the backbone of Saudi Arabia’s low-wage workforce as the kingdom prepares to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup. But labour rights campaigners are warning of risks: dangerous working conditions, debt-laden recruitment, and forced labour. Namrata Raju

The dependence of farmers on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, a road prone to landslides, has long been a point of concern. It’s closure for three weeks due to record rainfall and landslides earlier this year left seasonal migrants stranded without work and farmers with damaged crops Tauseef Ahmad Sajid Raina Migrant workers remove rotten apples from consignments that could not be transported because of the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in August. Umaisar

Fickle weather destroying farmlands and eroding livelihoods fuel rural to urban migration but some rural communities are finding ways to adapt. Faraz Rupani Pavan Khadse File picture Recent estimates from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) suggest that over   400 million  (EAC-PM, 2024) people in India have migrated internally, from both rural and urban areas. While the report does not provide a rural-urban split, the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PL

Violence in Manipur has forced thousands to flee their homes. More than two years later, families continue to live in relief camps with the uncertainty of what the future holds, the struggle for daily-wage work and the emotional toll of living without a home Shanti Salam

From unpaid care work to the lowest-paid factory jobs, labour of migrant women is unacknowledged. With the home becoming an extension of work, over time this bodily overuse leads to the inability to work, produce, care, or even sustain itself Ambuja Raj Chulha or earthen hearths in Perumbavoor where women cook food. The fire is fed with spare wood from the plywood factories. Pic credit: Ambuja Raj Look inside, what we live inside is barely even a room. You really think cleani

South Asians form a bulk of Saudi Arabia's low-wage workforce and any news around the country's labour norms are tracked keenly, including the recent fake news around the employer-tied visa sponsorship of workers . Namrata Raju

The migration of women from coastal Odisha to other states over the years reflects the thousands of livelihoods lost to cyclones, floods, and sea erosion. The women who migrate for work risk everything --- they travel far from their community, uprooting themselves from their culture, language and families. Will Odisha government’s newly launched mobile migrant resource centre be able to arrest distress migration? Shobha Surin Nolia Nuagaon, a fishing village in Ganjam distric

Cases fuelled by cramped, unsanitary living conditions in factory-provided accommodations, and also visits to villages, say campaigners and doctors. Migrants seek Hindi-language medical camps. Prasanth Shanmugasundaram A stretch of asbestos-roofed coir factory migrant labour shelters near Kinathukadavu area in Coimbatore district. Prasanth Shanmugasundaram/The Migration Story. COIMBATORE, Tamil Nadu:  Arjun migrated from Bhaisamau village near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, five yea

The government’s skill development schemes encouraged youth in Raichur to migrate to cities for ‘better jobs’, but they only found low-paid work in urban areas and have been returning to their villages ? Vishaka V. Warrier Supriya RoyChowdhury An industrial skills training centre for rural youth in Muranpur village, Raichur district, Karnataka. Vishaka V. Warrier/The Migration Story i “I was really excited about working in Bangalore. I went there to attend a sales managemen

At a Mumbai convening, campaigners speak about the many welfare schemes available for migrants that exist mostly on paper, as accessing them is extremely difficult due to lack of awareness and cumbersome documentation. Hepzi Anthony

Understanding India’s migration patterns is critical but a re there any systematic ways to measure and record the counts, reasons, destinations, and timing of movement to understand migration patterns? And why should citizens and governments care? Yashita Singh Migrant women working and living in a construction site in Bengaluru. Pic credit: Yashita Singh In India, migration is impossible to ignore and has been part of our culture . While the Census says most migration is due

Working up to 12 hours a day for meagre wages, labourers from Bihar, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh operate looms in Bengaluru. But behind every metre of fabric lies a story of exploitation — unsafe working conditions, long shifts, and lives spent in debt and silence. Miriam Rachel Mathew Karuna Sarasuwathi Kumarappan Grishma Mate Lavanya M Nandi Mugdha Mathur Deekshith R Pai

The closure of a thermal plant disrupted small businesses in Odisha’s Talcher, serving as a cautionary tale for what lies ahead for regions dependent on fossil fuels if India doesn’t start work on a post-coal future now Roli Srivastava The shuttered storefronts near the gate of the thermal plant that shut down in 2021, in Talcher, Odisha. Roli Srivastava/The Migration Story TALCHER, Odisha: Roadside shops selling steaming hot chai and samosas were among the first to down thei

Tribal villages in Similipal Tiger Reserve have for decades been relocated outside the reserve to protect its wildlife, but 43 gram sabhas are opposing these evictions and demanding development Nidhi Jamwal “In our village in the forest, we were kings,” recalls Arjun Murmu, whose family had to relocate outside the Similipal Tiger Reserve’s core area. Nidhi Jamwal/The Migration Story SIMILIPAL TIGER RESERVE, Odisha:  “Is it possible to go back to our village in the forest?” as

Human-wildlife conflicts are intensifying globally. In the world’s most populous nation, managing the overlapping pressures of population growth, extreme weather, energy transition, and shifting wildlife patterns has never been more urgent. These challenges demand strategic and nuanced conservation measures. The Migration Story and Climate Narrative Hub anchored by Dasra are organizing a two-day, in-person workshop for regional journalists in Nagpur that seeks to strengthen c

Shubham Sabar was working at  a construction site in Bengaluru when he learned he had cracked NEET exam. As he prepares to join the medical college in Odisha, the 19-year-old's family celebrates, but also worries about the years ahead without his income Rakhi Ghosh

Journalist-writer Basharat Peer's op-ed in New York Times in 2020 inspired the film Homebound, which is now India's official entry to the Oscars. On this podcast he talks about his connection with the story and the families of the two friends, now immortalised on the big screen Roli Srivastava