Rural Labour Exodus from Assam: Exploring the Trends and its Causes

Migration is not a new process in Assam; as it has been recorded since the dawn of the history. From the pre-colonial period to this time, labour migration into the state shows different contextual streams mostly after the British annexure, which has brought changes in almost every sphere in the state. But in last two and half decades, the labour exodus from Assam has been evident to other states of the country. In this light, the paper focuses on the socio-economic characters of the migrants hailing from Assam to make an understanding of who do migrate. It also seeks to examine the directions and causes of this long-distance migration from the research areas. This paper is based on qualitative data collected primarily in three districts of Assam considering 90 respondents through purposive sampling. The exodus of labourers from Assam caused by various factors such as unavailability of diverse employment, low wages, poor livelihood, natural calamities, socio- psychological tensions and others.