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Uttarakhand lets in: Migrants bring city, drop sustainability -Romola Butalia

-Down to Earth

Scarcity, conservation, equitable and fair use of limited resources does not apply to them.

Migration is an important phenomenon with considerable social, economic and cultural implications. The ‘ghost-villages’ of Uttarakhand are well-known, abandoned by the local population who had left in search of employment, education, health, water and food security, and basic infrastructure.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is not just a health crisis. It has highlighted the underlying economic and social inequities that are part of the fabric of our living.

It has precipitated a series of other shocks, one of which is a crisis in human movement. The current COVID-19 crisis has clearly demonstrated that migration is an important response to stress, shock and uncertainty.

Several districts in Uttarakhand received a disproportionate influx of in-migration from Delhi and other states. This has led to a skewed population profile, with non-residents seeking properties to buy, lease and rent. The impact of this has not been studied but pragmatic, humanitarian and community-oriented responses are urgently needed.

The Himalayas had always attracted the social ‘outsider’, fringe people — those seeking a natural, reclusive or ascetic life. Mostly, these individuals did not disturb the prevailing equations in their chosen homes, primarily because their lifestyle was simple, rustic, lacking ostentation and overt luxury. They were neither trying to transform the social fabric nor were they insensitive to the extremely fragile ecosystem of these young mountains.

The new migrants to Uttarakhand have, for the most part, not chosen to live in the Himalayas because they are mesmerised and humbled by nature. They come to escape the pollution and confinement of the cities, and have little idea or inclination to understand the history and culture of Kumaon or the unique particularities of Himalayan living.

They introduce, in their wake, a screensaver of privileged urban living that the rural people are confused by and seek to emulate — a potent concoction for social upheaval.

Usually, migration and its analyses have been of the disadvantaged migrating towards hope. Their immediate response is to try to blend into their new environment, making ends meet and gradually attempting to improve their lifestyle.

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