Corollary of Migration of Tribes in Tamil Nadu, India: Boon or Bane?

Migration is a global issue that is rightly attracting more and more global attention. In the context of migration in India, internal migration is far greater than international migration. India’s total population, as recorded in Census 2011, stands at 1.21 billion. Internal migrants in India constitute a large population. Of these, the tribes occupy a significant proportion. The consequences of migration of tribes are innumerable when compared to others. Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu was sampled for the study owing to its enormous migration rate. Four forest ranges, inhabited by the Kanikaran tribes were considered for the study. From each forest range, the tribal settlement with maximum tribal population was sampled and the respondents were selected by adopting proportionate random sampling technique. The sample for the study consisted of 100 respondents. The data were collected with a well-structured and pre-tested interview schedule and examined using factor analysis. It was evident from the results that though moving out from their locality is positively influencing the development of tribes, it is also severely affecting the forest resources. The tribal migrants were recorded higher in socio-economic indicators than the non-migrants. The policy implications drawn out of the findings of the research study such as fencing of tribal settlements, encouragement of self-employment among tribes, introduction of successful agricultural technologies, implementation of forest act, 2006 and formation of migrant labour unions can be considered for limiting the distress migration of tribes and hence retain them for the betterment of traditional agriculture.