More than 1,000 migrant workers gather together every year in Bengaluru for a harvest festival that celebrates their Adivasi culture and helps them forget about their hardships for a while Rosey Mukherjee Women from the Oraon tribe dance to the beat of a drum to celebrate the Karam festival at St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru. Rosey Mukherjee/The Migration Story BENGALURU, Karnataka: For David Baxla, the harvest festival of Karam is not just a celebration – it is a connecti

Bhiwandi’s powerloom sector, previously battered by demonetisation, GST and Covid, could take another beating from the U.S. tariffs, which is worrying migrant workers and factory owners Hepzi Anthony Girijesh Prajapati, 25, from U.P.’s Gorakhpur district, hopes he can save enough money from working in Bhiwandi and eventually move to Dubai. Rukmani Pujari/The Migration Story  BHIWANDI, Maharashtra:  This city of powerloom factories wasn’t Qadir Sheikh’s first choice. He had wo

In Bihar, many farmers of makhana or the global “superfood,” leave for cities to make up for the shortfall in agricultural income.  Shaba Manzoor Nuzhat Khan Large lotus leaves spread across a narrow water channel running along the fields in Murli Basantpur village, Saharsa. Shaba Manzoor/The Migration Story SAHARSA, Bihar:  Every year, when the makhana, or foxnut, season draws to a close in the ponds and wetlands of Bihar, several men and women employed in the arduous farmin

Thousands of diamond workers have left Surat as the processing hub grapples with sanctions on Russia, falling exports, and U.S. tariffs. Bansari Kamdar A worker at a diamond workshop in Surat. File picture SURAT, Gujarat: Bapu Ganpat, a diamond polisher from Una, Gujarat, lived in Surat for more than two decades, scraping together enough to support his two children. Over the last five months, after his monthly wages were halved, rent, school fees, and daily expenses had eaten

Even as thousands of informal-sector workers struggle amid the construction slowdown in Gujarat, the government spent less than 20% of its labour cess funds for workers’ welfare last year Bansari Kamdar Young labourers wait at Gurukul naka, hoping to be hired for the day’s work as dawn breaks at the labour market in Ahmedabad. Bansari Kamdar/The Migration Story  AHMEDABAD, Gujarat: Every morning at 7 o’clock, Jitubhai Somdhi walks to the Gurukul labour centre or kadia naka, o

Many young migrant workers are signing up to construct renewable energy parks in India, but wage delays and lack of amenities is forcing them to quit their jobs within months Anuradha Nagaraj An under construction solar park in Kachchh district of Gujarat. Anuradha Nagaraj/The Migration Story KHAVADA, Gujarat:  A month into his new job at the world’s largest renewable energy park in Khavada in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, Anawar Alam was planning his escape. Hired along with 17 o

Workers ensure a flow of funds home to Kalahandi from Kerala, transforming lives of their families, with many aiming to save enough to...

In the Mangalajodi wetlands of Odisha’s, men migrating for work turn conservationists and guides for birding enthusiasts during tourist...

More than 7,000 auto-sector workers have suffered severe workplace injuries since 2016, mostly in the supply chains of India’s top...

Urban centres offer anonymity and community, yet migrants grapple with high costs, job precarity, discrimination, and isolation. Chapal...

Speaking the local language is a safety net for migrant workers in a linguistically-charged metropolis, but learning it in a classroom is...

India’s financial capital has been a migrant magnet for decades and despite rising political tensions around the language ‘outsiders’...

Mansi Bhaktwani The Migration Bulletin is a monthly round-up that compiles news and developments pertaining to India’s migrant workforce....

Migrant workers from Bihar are spending weeks' wages and sacrificing festival visits to ensure their names remain on the electoral rolls...

Many felt that Delhi’s heatwave this year was not so intense but the workers in the wholesale vegetable and fruit market - Azadpur Mandi...

Indigenous communities like the Misings, living near the river banks for centuries, are particularly vulnerable.  Sanskrita Bharadwaj...

For Assamese migrants in Bengaluru, trauma caused by floods is an annual ritual. Maitreyee Boruah Koyes Ahmed Laskar from Assam's...

Aishwarya Mohanty From right to left: Kamala Kanhaiyalal, Badhu Narji, Kanku Laxman, and Ramila Ninama sit with their collection of...

River erosion in Assam renders tens of thousands landless every year. Rehabilitation is a solution, but the state’s promises and policies...

Surging tourism brings income and migrants — but also crowds, traffic, and climate strain — prompting new restrictions in a town...