1. What is the Need to Study Migration? What is its Significance?

Migration is the third component of population change, the other two being mortality and fertility. However, migration is different from the other two processes, namely, mortality and fertility in the sense that it is not a biological factor like the other two, which operate in a biological framework, though influenced by social, cultural and economic factors. Migration is influenced by the wishes of persons involved. Usually each migratory movement is deliberately made, though in exceptional cases this may not hold true. Thus migration is a response of human organisms to economic, social and demographic forces in the environment.

The study of migration occupies an important place in population studies, because, along with fertility and mortality, it determines the size and rate of population growth as well as its structure and characteristics. Migration also plays an important role in the distribution of the population of any country, and determines the growth of labour force in any area. India has witnessed the waves of migrants coming to the country from Central and West Asia and also from Southeast Asia. In fact, the history of India is a history of waves of migrants coming and settling one after another in different parts of the country. Similarly, large numbers of people from India too have been migrating to places in search of better opportunities especially to the countries of the Middle-East, Western Europe, America, Australia and East and South East Asia. Migration is thus an important symptom of social change in society.