Study title

The data contains the survey data of 226 low-income migrant wokers in Guwahati and Jalandhar cities in India on more than 60 variables that include: socio-economic background, migratory experience, access to services, ill-treatment and access to justice.Indian cities attract a considerable number of low-income migrants from marginal rural households experiencing difficult economic, political and social conditions at home who migrate in search of livelihoods and security. These migrants come from around the country as well as across the border from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar to work in low-income manual occupations in a range of small-scale petty trade, service sector work, transport and construction work. Low-income migrants live and work in precarious conditions and are often denied basic amenities and fundamental rights. Poorly-paid intermittent and insecure jobs make them vulnerable to abuse, extortion or bribery. Many such migrants, both internal and international, lack documentation and proof of identity, whether for basic services such as health care and schooling or electoral voting. Their marginal position entails poorer access to health care provisions and other determinants of health than general (non-migrant) populations, thereby enhancing their vulnerability to ill-health, abuse and ill treatment whilst simultaneously compromising their ability to access protection, legal support or redress, and forms of accountability. Language, appearance and cultural differences exposes many low-income migrants from interior parts of the country or across the border to harassment and political exclusion. Moreover, despite their ubiquitous presence, their precarious livelihoods, informality and invisibility keep them unnoticed in urban planning, in the work of civil society organisations and in social science research. In this context, this collaborative project was designed to generate evidence to advance the rights and protection mechanisms that must be planned...