75 Lakh Leave Bihar for Work: Why Migration Has Become an Election Flashpoint

Why do Biharis migrate? Where do they go? How Bihar's population, poverty, per capita income contribute to migration

It is clear that out-migration remains one of Bihar’s most pressing challenges, as it also underscores the state’s deep economic distress. But is there a solution to this challenge?

(Image: The Quint/@Vibhushita Singh)

As Bihar votes on 121 seats on Thursday, 6 November in the first phase of Assembly elections, all political parties in the fray are seen raking up the issue of outward migration from the state, primarily due to unemployment.

During an election rally in Sitamarhi last week, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor said that if people voted for his party, they would “never have to go outside Bihar” for jobs. “The youth of Bihar want employment in Bihar itself,” Kishor asserted.

Last month, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav lambasted the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in Bihar for not addressing the alarming rate of migration from the state.

“Despite the Nitish-Modi government being in power for 20 years in Bihar and 11 years at the Centre, the NDA government has made Bihar the main centre of unemployment, migration and poverty,” Tejashwi reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi linked “the real beginning of mass migration” to two-and-a-half decades back, when the “education system was devastated” and “millions of children were forced to leave Bihar. BJP national president JP Nadda too recently attacked RDJ supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav over migration. He said, “Lalu Yadav used to say that our people from Bihar go out wearing a towel and return wearing a tie and suit. He viewed migration this way."

It is clear that out-migration remains one of Bihar’s most pressing challenges, as it also underscores the state’s deep economic distress. But is there a solution to this challenge?

7% of Bihar’s Population Moved Out of the State

Migration is not a new phenomenon in Bihar. Let’s take you back to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and PM Modi’s announcement of a nation-wide lockdown, when thousands of migrant workers were seen walking hundreds of kilometers to go back to their native villages from big cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

As per the Census 2011 data, there were more than 2.7 crore migrants in Bihar, up from 2.04 crore in 2001. During this time, the population of Bihar grew from 8.30 to 10.41 crore, a decadal increase of 25.42 percent; while the number of migrants grew by 32.3 percent.

This number includes both migrants who moved to other villages and cities within Bihar as well as those who moved out of the state. Census 2011 data can be used to estimate that over 74.53 lakh people migrated out of the state, indicating that the lion’s share of migrants in Bihar was internal, and possibly seasonal.

Even then, the data shows that over 7 percent of Bihar’s population left the state. In fact, Bihar is second only to Uttar Pradesh in sending the maximum number of migrants to other states.

Number of out-migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

It is important to note here that as the Election Commission conducted the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar, names of around 68.6 lakh voters were struck off. Of these, over 38 lakh names were deleted due to permanent migration.

At the same time, data from the National Sample Survey 2013 underlines the magnitude of circular migration in Bihar—when workers repeatedly move between their home and destination areas for employment. Both UP and Bihar have the largest number of rural households, recorded at 17 lakh, with at least one circular migrant.

This also signifies that while rural poor and marginalised households adopt circular migration as a livelihood strategy; urban, affluent and more educated households resort to long-term or permanent migration.

Why Men & Women in Bihar Migrate? Where Do They Go?

While men in Bihar migrated primarily to find work, women migrated due to marriage, as per the D Series of Census 2011 data. It also shows that more women migrated out of Bihar as compared to men.

This data is consistent with the more recent Migration in India July 2020-June 2021 report, which indicates that the migration rate among women is higher in both rural and urban areas across India. Migration rate is defined as the percentage of migrants in the total population.   

Other reasons for migration include natural calamities, such as floods particularly in the Kosi region, political instability, better living standards, better social security in the destination states.

As per the Census 2011 data, the maximum outflow of migrants from Bihar was towards Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana and Punjab. 

However, between 2001 and 2011, Delhi, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Maharashtra emerged as the top destination for migrants in Bihar, indicating the shift in migrants’ focus on wages and common language from geographical proximity.  

It is clear that migrants preferred states with either higher urbanisation or higher concentration of industrial units— i.e. more employment opportunities for them.  

Underlying Reasons – Population, Poverty, Per Capita Income

Bihar is the third most populous state in India and has the highest population density with 1,106 people living in every square kilometer of the state, as per the 2011 Census. More than 88 percent of Bihar’s population lives in rural areas, and less than 12 percent resides in cities—indicating one of the lowest urbanisation rates among Indian states, which, in turn points toward a weak industry and services sector.

As a result, most employment is dependent on agriculture and informal work. In fact, more than 2.85 crore workers from Bihar had registered on the e-SHRAM portal, which maintains a record of the unorganised workforce, as of 31 January 2023.

High population density combined with limited livelihood choices leads to distress migration and poverty. As per NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 2021-22, about 51.91 percent of Bihar’s population was multidimensionally poor. Although, it improved to 33.76 percent as per NITI Aayog’s 2023 Progress Review report, Bihar continued to house the maximum multidimensionally poor population in the country.

Bihar has the highest proportion of multidimensionally poor.

(Screenshot: NITI Aayog 2023 Progress Review Report)

As per Bihar’s Caste Census, the state is home to about 2.97 crore families, of which more than 94 lakh or a third live on Rs 6,000 or less a month. Again, the per capita income in Bihar is among the lowest when compared to other states. 

Bihar’s overall literacy rate stands at 74.3 percent, falling below the national average of 80.9 percent. Specifically, male literacy is at 82.3 percent, while female literacy is lower at 66.1 percent, as per latest PLFS data. In addition, 33.1 percent or one in three people in Bihar are illiterate.

On the one hand, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has promised one crore jobs to Bihar’s youth in the next five years; on the other, the RJD-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan has pledged a government job to each household in the next 20 months after coming to power. And though these parties have acknowledged creation of jobs to “solve the problem of migration,” they can’t completely ignore the socio-economic indicators that contribute to the mass exodus from Bihar.

The second phase of voting is set to take place on 11 November, while the counting of votes is scheduled for 14 November.

Read our coverage of Bihar elections here.