Migrants from Bangladesh and land-use change in the Brahmapura Valley of India

Bijay S. Mipun, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU)

Large segment of the Muslim migrants from Bangladesh have settled in the Char (small islands) areas of Brahmaputra Valley, India and have engaged themselves in agricultural activities. Though immigration creates problem, it also needs appreciation particularly in its rural economy, landuse change where their contribution is very significant. Main objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of Bangladesh immigrants on the development of land and labour market. The paper also aims to understand occupational structure and mobility of the non-migrant ethnic Assamese people. The study is based on data available in census and other government reports. Data has also been collected from the field through a socio-economic survey of the households from selected villages. For the sake of comparison, field data has been collected from villages in an area dominated by immigrant population and also from an area where the impact of immigrant population is only marginal.