Socially Represented Image of the Bihari Migrants
Jyoti Verma1
Verma, J. (2021). Socially Represented Image of the Bihari Migrants. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 8(1), pp. 26-47. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.8.1.21.26.47
Abstract
The present paper is based on the findings of an empirical study of the socially represented image of the Bihari migrants by the people of Mumbai (India). The study comprised 307 respondents, of which 152 were Bihari migrants and 155 were local people of Mumbai. Additionally, 26 respondents were selected for participation in four focus group discussions, and 8 respondents were interviewed individually. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the research. Content analysis of the descriptive data helped arrive at some shared themes that socially represented the migrants as ‘job takers and low wage workers,’ ‘pressure on the city’s amenities and resources,’ ‘not clean/ dirty,’ ‘dominant,’ ‘people with bad life style,’ and ‘negative personal characteristics.’ The local respondents also perceived a few positive attributes of the migrants, such as ‘hard working’ and ‘relationship orientated.’ The overall socially constructed image of the Bihari migrants was, nevertheless, negative.
Keywords: Bihari migrants, social representation, migration experience, intergroup perception
1Jyoti Verma, PhD, is a former professor of psychology at Patna University, India. Correspondence regarding this article must be directed to: vermaj46@gmail.com