Dhruv Khurana(189101037)

South Asian Studies

Assignment

1. Differentiate Between inter-regional and intra-regional migration in South

Asia with suitable examples?

Inter-regional migration in South Asia refers to movement of migrants from another region to
the South Asian Region and visa versa. There are several examples of such occurrences :
South Asia as a region has a long history of emigration, due to strong colonial influence.
Colonial expansion led to labour requirements in other parts of the massive British Empire,
leading to a sizeable South Asian population moving to other regions in the colonies. E.g.
Indigenes of the Indian subcontinent moving to Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya,
Tanzania, the West Indies etc.
The oil price shock, post 1974 saw the rapid development of the Middle East Region. Labour
and white collar people in the form of economic migrants flocked to this area for the last 50
years from South Asia.
While economic factors play a significant role in inter regional migration, conflict and natural
disasters also play a major role. Afghanistan has witnessed a large migration of war refugees
to Iran. Tibetan refugees left their homeland and moved to India.
The most popular destination for skilled South Asian migrants is Europe, North America
Australia and New Zealand, the migration of low skilled labour (temporary) to South East
Asian and Gulf Countries.

Intra-regional migration in this context refers to the movement of migrants within the South
Asian region.
One of the largest and most tragic such migrations was the one of 1947, during the partition
of the Indian subcontinent.
The open border between Nepal and India sees the regular intake of many economic migrants
each year.
Civil war in Sri Lanka saw India absorbing refugees from Northern Sri Lanka.
Over the years, India has absorbed large numbers of migrants from Bangladesh due to wars,
fleeing religious persecution, and those displaced due natural disasters such as cyclones,
droughts, floods and riverbank erosion. These have largely been low income group people
from border regions.

2. Has Globalisation really impacted South Asia in a positive way? Substantiate

your answers with suitable examples

ASSIGNMENT 1
Globalisation has largely had a positive impact on the South Asian region reflecting in its
economic growth rates. However there is some negative impact as well.

Economic :
This has been one of the main impacts of globalisation in the region, It has been able to
provide a massive economical boost. Lifting millions out of poverty every year and
significantly increasing the GDP growth rates of the countries in South Asia. Suitable
examples are:
Globalisation in Bangladesh has benefited the country for the better as the poverty rate in the
country is slowly declining due to the fact that many overseas companies are moving their
business manufacturing to that location, absorbing significantly large indigenes. However
such expansion has led to exploitation of labor. An infamous example of this is the Rana
Plaza factory collapse, resulting in the deaths of thousands of workers. Furthermore, there
have been widespread reports of sweat shops and other such illegal practices being
commonly occurring in Bangladesh.
India has become one of the worlds fastest growing economies and globalisation is seen as a
major reason for it. The benefits of the effects of globalisation in the Indian Industry are that
foreign companies have set up industries in India such as in the mobile telephone and auto
sector. and this helped to offer great opportunities for employment to Indian people. This
helped to reduce the level of unemployment and poverty in the country. The major
globalisation effect in India has been in the development of outsourced IT and business
processing services. However despite 6.5 per cent annual growth in the GDP, there is only
a marginal fall in rural poverty. Globalisation has in fact led to inequalities and
disproportional distribution of wealth, widening imbalance between the rich and the poor.
Cultural:
On a positive note, this increased economic inter reliance has the been followed by an
increase in human exchanges such as migration, expatriation and travel. These human
exchanges have contributed to the development of cultural exchanges.
However this comes with a significant negative effect. This cultural intrusion and the
resultant sense of insecurity are considered main causes behind the rise of religious
fundamentalism in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Hindu nationalism in India, or Sinhalese
nationalism in Sri Lanka.
As a result of globalisation, many indigenous groups are being more widely exploited
through the tourism industry. The increasing ease of access to these cultures by Western
tourists allows for a greater interaction between the two threatening their individuality. As
highlighted by the killing of an American National in the North Sentinel Islands by the
indigenous tribe there in 2018.

Environmental:
Economic growth and industrialisation are the driving force and the major consequences of
globalisation. They have a big environmental impact, as they contribute to the depletion of
natural resources, deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems, loss of biodiversity,
greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and air pollution etc. India and Pakistan have
some of the worst air quality levels in the world. This has resulted in thousands of people

ASSIGNMENT 2
dying every year due to respiratory issues and millions of dollars being spent on healthcare
by citizens.

Political:
Political Globalisation has helped spread awareness amongst the South Asian countries
especially with regard to Human rights,Women rights, Human trafficking, labour laws etc.
It has helped extradite offenders that fled out of the region and the International Court of
Justice has been active settling issues between South Asian nations. Interpol has been
involved in such cases. One South Asian country appears on the FATF grey list, in a bid to
curb terrorism. Unfortunately, some areas within the South Asian region have become
exporters of terror to the world.

Technological:
The surge in smart phone ownership and internet connectivity has been a monumental and
historic happening in South Asia, opening the floodgates of virtually every aspect of human
existence to a previously relatively isolated South Asia. Be it for example, the export of
entertainment from Bollywood, or the inflow of drip irrigation knowledge from Israel, the
internet is indeed made the world flat, South Asia being no exception.

Geographical:
Flying has become accessible and affordable, and apart from a few countries not easily
issuing visas, it is possible to travel to South Asia very conveniently, greatly boosting tourism
sectors in countries such as Sri Lanka and India. India has significantly liberalised the
issuance of tourist visas.Nepal has it’s fair share of tourists too especially for sports such as
mountaineering. Spiritual tourism is growing rapidly in India.

ASSIGNMENT 3