Migration (Excursions)

Workout

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.

1. People in villages are engaged in the ............. sector.

a. organized. [ ]

b. industrial. [ ]

c. public. [ ]

d. unorganized. [✓]

2. ................. migration leads to depopulation in the areas around the cities.

a. Internal. [ ]

b. External. [ ]

c. Rural to rural. [ ]

d. Urban to urban. [✓]

3. Migrating from one's home country to a new country is called .................

a. brain drain. [ ]

b. internal migration. [ ]

c. external migration. [✓]

d. emigration. [ ]

4. .................... is the money sent by the migrants to the source country.

a. Remittance. [✓]

b. foreign exchange. [ ]

c. Service tax. [ ]

d. Loans. [ ]

B. Write T for true and F for false.

1. Push factors are living conditions of people at the original place. [T]

2. Unemployment is one of the major causes for international migration. [T]

3. Migration always has a positive impact on society. [F]

4. Urban sprawl increases due to internal migration. [T]

C. Answer these questions in brief.

1. Explain the geographical factors that cause human migration.

= People often migrate because of geographical reasons such as unavailability of fertile land and harsh terrain. The Magyar tribes were people who once lived in the mountainous regions of the Urals in Russia until they migrated to present-day Hungary. Many agricultural communities who could not make a living in their own country because of shortage of land or infertile land migrated to regions that had fertile land. The 19th century witnessed many such migrations. European farmers migrated to the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand and South America in search of farms or huge plots of land for cultivation because they were landless peasants.

2. Differentiate between external and internal migration.

=

3. What are the two types of internal migration?

= The two types of internal migrations are - Rural to urban migration and Urban to urban migration.

4. How are overpopulation and underpopulation related to migration?

= The place from where the people migrate, has underpopulation. The place to where the people migrate, has overpopulation.

5. What is brain drain?

= The migration of highly qualified or skilled people to another country leaving their own country is called brain drain.

D. Answer these questions in detail.

1. Explain the push and pull factors of migration.

= Push factors are living conditions of people at the original place. These are the reasons why people move out of a particular geographical region.

Pull factors are the conditions or circumstances of the new place that attract people to settle there. Poverty and lack of employment opportunities are examples of push factors. Better infrastructure and educational institutions are examples of pull factors.

2. What are the causes of rural to urban migration?

= Rural to urban migration is the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas. This is caused by a number of factors such as employment opportunities, marriage, better wages and better social and civic amenities. People living in villages often engage in jobs in the unorganized sector. These are mostly contract jobs such as those of labourers and farmers. In cities, people working in the unorganized sector find jobs which provide security and a steady income. In big cities, we can see small jhuggis made by rural migrants. Education is also an important factor that causes rural to urban migration. Young people often migrate to cities to avail quality education.

3. How does migration cause urban sprawl?

= People first migrate from villages or rural areas to local towns. From local small towns, they migrate to urban regions, that is, big cities. Urban migration is one of the major reasons for urban sprawl or rapid expansion of urban areas. Population growth, industrialization, lack of affordable housing, demand for more living space and transportation are some of the main reasons for urban to urban migration.

4. Explain the impacts of migration.

= The impact of migration is very significant and changes a region economically, socially, culturally, politically and demographically. Migration has both positive and negative consequences.

❐ Economic impacts : When migration takes place, it affects both the region of origin and the region to which people migrate. Reduce unemployment in the region of origin is one of the positive outcomes of migration. Immigration impacts the human resources of the region. New skills and talent are a boost to the economy of a region. When people migrate, they send money to their families. This money is called remittance. Remittance is an important source of foreign exchange for a country.

❐ Social impacts : Social change is an inevitable outcome of migration. Migration leads to the intermixing of people of diverse cultures. This is beneficial for a society as ideas and thoughts from different cultures creates a broader outlook among people. The acceptance of migrants by native people is an issue that can bring about a positive or a negative change in the society. Sometimes, migrants face rejection within the society, which is turn gives rise to other social evils.

❐ Demographic impacts : Migration causes the redistribution of population and changes the demography of a region. Internal migration leads to the expansion of towns and cities. Urban sprawl is a direct consequence of internal migration. External migration leads to depopulation, especially in developing regions. Migration increases the population of developed nations. Countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand have huge migrant population.

❐ Environmental impacts : Environmental deterioration is probably the bigger negative aspect of migration. Migration causes overcrowding of urban regions. This puts tremendous pressure on the resources and infrastructure of a place. Over-exploitation of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, also affects the environment adversely.