Nexus of migration and differentiated livelihood mobility among scheduled tribes in West Bengal

Migration has emerged as a livelihood strategy among Scheduled Tribe households in India, particularly in regions characterised by agrarian insecurity, landlessness, and limited local employment opportunities, as they are predominantly marginalised with limited resources. The study aimed to examine the relationship between migration and livelihood diversification among the Scheduled Tribe, while considering the influence of sociodemographic factors, using household-level data from an eastern state of India. This study utilizes 450 household-level information for the analysis. The chi-square (ꭓ 2 ) statistic was used to test the hypothesis and to assess the association in bivariate analysis. The livelihood diversification strategies and Simpson Diversification Index (SID) are considered to measure and quantify livelihood diversification among tribes. Further, a multinomial logistic regression model (MNLR) and a Tobit censored model were used to examine the association between migration and livelihood diversification and identify the factors associated with livelihood diversification. The results showed that migrant households had a higher SID value of 0.420, and 39.23% of migrant households adopted a combination livelihood strategy, with higher incomes across all livelihood strategies than non-migrant households. Migration was associated with a 2.389- and 6.502-fold higher likelihood of opting for non-farm and combination livelihoods, respectively, compared to non-migrant tribes. Similarly, wealth index (0.173), availed SHG assistance (0.201), and participation in MGNREGA (0.149), also significantly determined livelihood diversification. The result underscores that livelihood diversification is influenced by migration, selection of livelihood strategies, economic status, and institutional support; hence, policy efforts and targeted interventions should be integrated to stabilize household income and welfare.