Dr. Rajdeep Singha (Assistant Professor: Labour Studies Program) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Campus As far as India is concerned, the region of eastern Himalayas and Northeast India remain under-developed in terms of infrastructure, industrial development and employment opportunities in the backdrop of the long drawn armed conflict situation. Under the political instability and continuing militarization of the region, industries in this region can be broadly classified into two types: agro-based industries (tea industry, sugar industry, grain mill products industry of rice, oil and flour mills, food processing industry and the textile industry) and forest-based industries (plywood industry, saw-mill industry, paper and paper pulp industry). In recent years, the “Look East Policy” of the Government of India has made North East more important and strategic in context of industry. The process of labour market development in the region is leading to shiftof labour force from rural to urban on the one hand and from farm activity to non-farm activity in the rural areas on the other hand. This is evident of structural changes that are taking place in the labour market in the region.With low industrial growth and shrinking agricultural land and opportunities, informal sector is the only recourse for the workforce to derive livelihood. Despite having a number of industries in the region, the issues of labour in the industries remain unaddressed (except labour in tea industry and agricultural sector including the status of the subsistence agriculture in the hill states). And, so have been the case with growing informality in the labour markets too. In this context, the labour markets in the region of eastern Himalayas and Northeast India have increasingly become dependent on migration of youth within the region (to the coal mines, plantations, and cash crop farms) and also from the region to other parts of the country (as manual workers or semi skilled professional), given how large number of tribal population are unable to sustain their households solely through agriculture. What does the national data have to say in this context? According to 2011 census, 68.84% of India’s population lives in rural areas, out of which 31 per cent population was in 0-14 age group, 28 per cent in 15-29 age group, and 33 per cent in the 30-59 age group. Large portions of rural population are primarily engage in agriculture. As per the census, out of 467 million persons comprising the total work force, 228.3 million (49 per cent) of the work force are involved in the agriculture sector. On the one hand, low return from agriculture and on the other hand, the limitations of infrastructure in rural areas have caused youths to migrate in search of jobs and opportunities. Thus, rural youth find it difficult to earn their livelihood in the rural area that meets their aspirations and dreams to succeed in life. Migration to urban areas, in this context, appears attractive. This is the trend among youth from who are migrating from Northeast India to others parts of the country. They are also increasingly exposed to urban values through the education systems and by social media. Urban centers are slowly becoming employment hubs for the youth. In addition, youth migration is also driven by socioeconomic conditions such as low wages, high rates of unemployment, and underemployment in rural areas and poverty.
