Migration among the Madia of Bastar: Assessing its Worth

Describing the risks in migration and the burden it places on those left behind as well as the changes it has brought about in the people and their lives, this article explores options for generating a similar income within the village itself while acknowledging the lure of migration

I llo Mandavi from Dondarguda was working in a stone quarry near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh with her husband, Sahibo, when she fell ill and was hospitalized for a few days. She succumbed to her illness, which was not diagnosed. Her mother-in-law, Sukti, now regrets having quarreled with Illo last month, making her flee to Andhra Pradesh, just a month before her death.

Sukti lives in a small house at one end of the hamlet. Her husband died ten years ago when her two sons were still very young. Their entire land-holding was snatched by relatives, and with nothing left, even for shelter, Sukti was forced to ask for help. Her sons had to stop going to school and, instead, spent their childhood helping her herd the cattle of the hamlet in exchange for food. Sukti raised her two sons and her orphaned nephew, who stayed with the family.

When they grew up, Sukti’s sons, Sahibo and Maso started working as seasonal migrant labourers in Andhra Pradesh, to supplement the family income from cattle herding and the local wage labour. Just two years ago, they managed to save enough through their seasonal migration work to acquire an agriculture plot on lease and buy a pair of bulls to plough that plot.