Migration and Changing Family Structure in India

Ram Bhagat, International Institute for Population Sciences, India

The origin of the family shaped by the institution of marriage was a great civilization force. The nuclear family has been the nucleus of family formation historically. It has expanded or contracted depending upon the social, economic and demographic changes. However, the transition from agrarian to industrial societies in various parts of the world led to the belief that the joint family system has been breaking. Notwithstanding, the most important challenges of post-industrial society have been rising single member households and fragmentation of the nuclear families impacting children’s well-being. Declining fertility, rising marriage dissolution and increasing migration have been playing an important role in this family transition. The emerging dimensions of family change include rising Single Member Households, rising Female Headship Rate, Broken Nuclearization, and Federated Joint Families, etc. It is important to realise that migration has created multi-locational families in a rapidly changing world. Adequate data on migration linking to family change is lacking in demographic and social surveys, and the national statistical system cannot afford to ignore this important dimension of changing family system.This paper collates information and data from different sources in India to understand the changing family structure influenced by migration among other factors.

Keywords: Families, Unions and Households, Internal Migration and Urbanization, Gender Dynamics, Children, Adolescents, and Youth

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