International Journal of Research in Geography (IJRG) Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021, PP 09-27 ISSN 2454-8685 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-8685.0701002 www.arcjournals.org International Journal of Research in Geography (IJRG) Page| 9 Internal Migration in India and Its Implications: A Gender Perspective Rekha Das 1* , Kapil Kumar Gavsker 2 1 Ph.D. Scholar. Department of Applied Geography Ravenshaw University, Cuttack 2 Assistant professor, Department of Applied Geography School of Regional Studies and Earth Sciences Ravenshaw University, Cuttack (Odisha) India 1. INTRODUCTION Human population and its dynamics are influenced by multiple factors and components of change. In India, although there has been a considerable drop in the birth rate, a much more rapid decline in the death rate accounted for the rise in the country‟s rate of population growth. Along with the two components of population change namely fertility and mortality, migration plays an important role in population dynamics of a region. So as in India one of the most important aspects of social research remains human migration in relation to the changes in demography, economy and urbanization. The United Nations Multilingual Demographic Dictionary notes that “migration is a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility between one geographical unit and another, generally involving a change in residence from the place of origin or place of departure to the place of destination or place of arrival” (1958). It is movement of people from one geographical area to other with permanent and semi- permanent change of residence. Among all, a stream of migration is one of the significant elements in the population and its composition in a region. Combined effects of economic, cultural and technological factors play an important part in migration and in its spatial pattern. In the words of Zelinsky, migration is a cultural phenomenon and a dynamic element, probably more than fertility and mortality, in population. Migration is a result of over-all design of a society within which economic, social, demographic and other types of behaviour are enfolded (see, 1966: 43-44). A study of migration help in better understand population and its constituent components. Chaudhuri noted that “[M]igration plays a very crucial role in the process of urbanization. The role of migration in the context of social changes and economic development has been noted by a number of scholars who have observed that large scale migration, whether between nations or among different social and ecological zones of single nation has played an important role in social change” (2007:1). Migration process has become an emerging issue in the „Third World‟ countries like Indi a where people generally move for economic reasons followed by the others. The developed part of the world witnessed that, people move from small and less important urban centers to medium and bigger cities for a better life and livelihoods (see, Carr 1987:27). In these developed the major components and Abstract: Migration has become an important research aspect in transition country India. People migrate for economic reasons now more than ever. Females often migrate with their households, a recent trend shows that they also move independently in search of livelihoods and employment in India. Pattern of migration is changing, so it’s spatial manifestation. In terms of streams of migration, females now move more to urban areas than ever before. There seems a reciprocal relation between women empowerment and changes in migration in contemporary context. The present paper is an attempt to study and analyse gender dimension in internal migration and spatial variations across the states in the country. The study offers an analysis of changing nature of internal migration in a comparative perspective largely based on the Census of India reports. A change in reasons of mobility of population and particularly of females also has wider implications on issue of women empowerment and in transformation of social landscape of the country. Keywords: Internal migration, female migration, urban areas, women empowerment, social change *Corresponding Author: Rekha Das, Ph.D. Scholar. Department of Applied Geography Ravenshaw University, Cuttack