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Accepted Paper:

Narratives of Migrant Women Agricultural Labourers in Rural Punjab: Mapping the experiences of female migrants' work, well-being and changes in migrant-native relationship  
Sabina Singh (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Paper short abstract:

The present paper is based on an ongoing ethnographic research in Punjab. The narratives of migrant women agricultural labourers in Punjab are used to deal with the holistic understanding of factors related to work, well-being and migrant-native relationship. The narratives are being used so as to corroborate the lived experiences of migrant women agricultural labourers in an ethnographic study.

Paper long abstract:

The uneven development often fosters migration from less developed regions of the country to more developed regions. This movement of people in India from certain less developed states like Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Orissa to green revolution state of Punjab, primarily in search of work, has brought together people from different cultures and socio-economic background at a common place. This labour migration inevitably involves a majority/minority relationship, wherein conflict and competition are inherent. The cultural and spatial diversity along with the ethnocentric views of the majority (natives) often hampers the work and well-being of migrants. Gender and power relations also play an important role in determining the burden of work and consequent well/ill-being. The present paper is based on an ongoing ethnographic research in a village of Punjab and deals with the lived experiences of female migrant agricultural labourers. Our understanding from the literature suggests that women represent a vulnerable group among agricultural labourers partly due to the burden of production- reproduction activities and also due to their overall position in the system. There is a need to understand the interaction of various structural inequalities which leads to devaluation of women's work and consequent impact on women's well-being yet from their own perspective rather than imposing our understanding onto them. The narratives of migrant women agricultural labourers in Punjab are thus used to deal with the holistic understanding of factors related to work, well-being and migrant-native relationship and also to corroborate the lived experiences of migrant women agricultural labourers in an ethnographic study.

Panel P32
The ethnographic framing of the migrant subject
  Session 1