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According to different migration streams, it can be divided into four parts: 1. From Rural to Rural Migration 2. From Rural to Urban Migration 3. From Urban to Urban Migration 4. From Urban to Rural Migration.
1. From Rural to Rural Migration (Rural Turnover):
Out of the four types of migration, the migration from rural to rural is very important because in 1961 this constituted 73.7 per cent of the total internal migrated population. This size decreased to 64.5 per cent in 1991. In an agricultural country like India, this type of migration is obvious because almost 70 per cent of the population lives on agriculture and migrates to the area of cultivable land.
During 1961-91 migration was higher in females as compared to males. The total migration in 1961 was 73.7 per cent, of which 81.3 per cent were females. In 1991, the total size of migrated population was 64.5 per cent, of which 72.2 per cent were females.
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Thus, the main reason for female migration is marriage because a female migrates to her husband’s village. In the rural to rural migration, the size of males in 1961 was 56.7 per cent while in 1991 it was 43.4 per cent.
2. From Rural to Urban Migration (Rural Push):
This type of migration is very important from the view point of urbanisation. During the process of industrialisation, the migration of rural population occurs in search of jobs in the industries centred round urban areas. This type of migration is caused by the process of going out of rural areas to settle in the cities.
The number of males is higher in cities because males alone go to cities in the beginning in search of jobs and bring the family for settlement later. This type of migration occurs due to repelling forces in cities from agricultural fields in villages. In most developing countries, such migration is the obvious result of the process of economic development.
On the basis of Table 2, it can be stated that in 1961, 25.7 per cent males migrated from rural to urban areas due to repelling forces which increased to 31.6 per cent in 1991. But the percentage of female migrants increased from 9.7 in 1961 to 13.5 in 1991.
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Thus as compared to male migrants, the percentage of female migrants from rural to urban areas was low. This is because more employment opportunities are available to males in urban areas as compared to females. Moreover, in the Indian social set up single unmarried females do not migrate to urban areas.
3. From Urban to Urban Migration (Urban Turnover):
According to the 1961 Census, the size of urban to urban migration was 8.1 per cent which increased to 11.2 per cent in 1991. This percentage indicates that during the process of development, the main cause for urban turnover is pull factors towards metropolitan cities.
People from towns and small cities are attracted towards metropolitan cities for better jobs prospects, trade, business, establishment of new industries, educational facilities, modern life-style, etc. Consequently, the population of metropolitan cities increases rapidly due to migration. This number in 1991 was 17.8 per cent for males and 8.8 per cent for females.
4. From Urban to Rural Migration (Push Back):
This type of migration is the least important. In terms of percentage, there was push back migration of 3.6 per cent population in 1961 while in 1991 it reached 5.9 per cent. The main causes for such migration are the increasing size of unemployment and underemployment, the increasing problems of housing, origin of slums and many other problems, particularly in metropolitan cities, which force people to go back to their villages.
According to the 1991 Census, the male migration from urban to rural areas was 7.2 per cent and the female migration was 5.5 per cent.
Conclusion:
Of the above types of migration in a developing economy the rural-push migration is an important economic event from the viewpoint of distribution of population. This is because the population from rural areas migrates and settles in urban areas which causes structural changes in the economy and is also a measuring rod for economic development.
