8.2. Socio-Cultural & Political Factors

Besides these push and pull factors, social and cultural factors also play an important role in migration. Sometimes family conflicts also cause migration. Improved communication facilities, such as, transportation, impact of the radio and the television, the cinema, the urban-oriented education and resultant change in attitudes and values also promote migration.

Sometimes even political factors encourage or discourage migration. For instance, in our country, the adoption of the jobs for ‘sons of the soil policy’ by the State governments will certainly affect the migration from other states. The rise of Shiv Sena in Bombay, with its hatred for the migrants and the occasional eruption of violence in the name of local parochial patriotism, is a significant phenomenon. Even in Calcutta, the Bengali-Marwari conflict will have far reaching implications. And now Assam and Tamil Nadu are other such examples. Thus the political attitudes and outlook of the people also influence migration to a great extent. There have also been migrations from Kashmir and Punjab because of the terrorist activities.