Aspirations, Negotiation, And Urban Marginality: A Sociological Overview Of Climate Migration In India

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the most profound structural drivers reshaping internal population mobility across the Global South. This paper provides a comprehensive sociological overview of climate-linked internal migration in India, moving beyond simplistic narratives of deterministic environmental displacement to examine the complex intersections of ecological vulnerability, livelihood precarity, agency, and human aspirations. Utilizing multi-source data triangulation from primary national datasets, including the Census of India, National Sample Survey (NSS), Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), India Human Development Survey (IHDS), and state-level climate vulnerability metrics, the study synthesizes empirical patterns through a critical sociological framework. It examines how climate-induced agrarian distress triggers rural-to-urban trajectories, and how migrants actively negotiate informal labor markets, precarious housing, kinship networks, and exclusionary urban institutions upon arrival. The analysis demonstrates that while migration operates as an adaptive survival strategy, structural barriers in Indian cities reproduce differentiated forms of urban marginality heavily mediated by caste, class, and gender hierarchies. Finally, the paper evaluates the existing policy landscape, revealing a stark disconnect between climate adaptation strategies and urban migration governance.