Journal of Migration Affairs
Vol. 1(1) : 1, September 2018

Pdf Issue: Editorial Statement

Migration Affairs is an interdisciplinary journal aiming to promote original research on migration in India. Migration has emerged as one of the most important issues in contemporary times, globally as well as in India. It is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon. Actively promoted by the Colonial State in India, in recent decades migration has accelerated on an unprecedented scale, diversified and increasingly encompassed socio-economic, spatial, legal, political, and cultural relations and dynamics at various levels. At the same time, migration has generated serious, scholarly debates and also come about as a distinct disciplinary field. The distinctiveness of migration studies as a separate discipline lies in its emphasis on the study of a wide array of issues that have historically caused and promoted emigration and immigration
– social relations and local power dynamics, conflicts, wars, redrawing of borders, communal/racial strife, ecological disasters, development induced displacements, urbanisation, disparity in livelihoods as well as employment and other opportunities, labour processes, citizenship, state policies with respect to the above, and so on.

The journal invites high quality scholarly contributions that explore the complexities of migration, both historical as well as contemporary, by looking into the relationship between migration and various other social dynamics such as labour processes, ethnicity, memory, autonomy, climate change, gender, citizenship, access to services, vulnerability, urbanisation, state policies, violence, and, importantly, migrants’ struggles. It also intends to explore political and literary representations of the migrant figure. The journal will promote theoretical as well as empirical investigations into different dimensions of migration and methodological innovations. It welcomes papers that provoke critical thinking and interrogate conventional and received wisdom. The journal will put special emphasis on labour migration. We look at labour migration in the informal sector as a force that holds the potential of bringing about far-reaching, structural changes in the relationship between labour and capital.

The subsequent issues of the journal will have sections on Book Review and Commentary on contemporary issues of labour migration. Occasionally, we also intend to bring out thematic issues.