Article summary
Abstract
South Bihar — the Magadh and southern Bhojpur belt comprising districts such as
Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Jehanabad, Arwal, Rohtas, Kaimur and Nalanda — has
for decades been one of India’s most significant source regions for seasonal and circular
labour migration. The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown of March
2020 triggered an unprecedented reverse-migration event, with an estimated three
million migrant workers returning to Bihar within weeks. This paper examines the
pre-pandemic migration baseline, the scale and nature of reverse migration, its socio
economic consequences for source households, and the extent to which migrants have
since re-migrated or found local alternatives. Drawing on household surveys conducted
by the Institute for Human Development, rapid assessments by ActionAid, district
level studies from Kaimur, and the Bihar Economic Survey, the paper finds that over
ninety per cent of migrant households suffered an adverse livelihood shock, that local
employment guarantee schemes absorbed only a small fraction of returnees, and that
most workers eventually re-migrated once destination-area economies reopened —
underscoring the continued structural dependence of South Bihar’s rural economy on
out-migration. The paper concludes with data-based recommendations and an
assessment of the Government of Bihar’s policy response, including skill-mapping
drives, the Bihar Skill Development Mission, and expanded MGNREGA provisioning.