Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1850495947

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-233603

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Off.

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: xviii, 580 S.; graph. Darst., Kt.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter II. - Migration and the factory worker

Collection:: Economics Books

MIGRATION AND THE FACTORY WORKER, 17 every opportunity of returning there and must cherish constantly the hope that, sooner or later, he can leave the city finally behind. (6) EFFECTS OF MIGRATION. A Strange Environment. The effects of migration can be traced in nearly every phase of industrial life, and it will be necessary to refer to them In con- nection with various subjects. It is convenient here to give a brief analysis of the main results which migration produces, with a view to considering the attitude which should be taken towards it. The first fact to be noted is that the industrial worker is living in an environment which is strange to him, and the contrast between his original home and the scene of his work may be tremendous. We have already noted that some of the most important streams of migration cross language boundaries ; many sections of factory workers form, as it were, foreign colonies, surrounded by a language and a culture largely alien to them. This alone would tend to give an artificial character to industrial life ; the people have been uprooted and find themselves in a milien of strange traditions, or no traditions at all. The customs and sanctions, good and bad alike, to which they have been accustomed are all weakened. The ties which give village life its corporate and organic character are loosened, new ties are not easily formed, and life tends to become more individual. Dangers to Health. The health of the worker who is transported to the new environ- ment is often subjected to severe strain. In the first place, the climate bo which he is accustomed may be radically different from that in which he has now to live. The untravelled villager is very sensitive to climatic changes ; differences between one area and an adjacent one can be acutely felt by families that have known no change for centuries. The climatic differences between the Deccan plateau and the island of Bom- bay, or the United Provinces and the Bengal delta, are striking. At the same time as the change in climate is experienced, a change in diet has to be faced. We deal with the whole subject of diet and health in detail later, but it may be noted here that the change is not one from a diet suited to one climate to a diet suited to another. It is rather the re- duction, under economic necessity, of valuable elements of diet, and it accentuates the effect of the change from the wide fields and fresh air of the village to the cramped and often insanitary streets and lanes of the town. The habits of the villager in respect of sanitation and other matters are not easily altered and are fraught with peril in his new surroundings. There are additional dangers from sickness and disease. These are enhanced by the fact that many men are living singly although most of them have been and are married. To such the life of the city brings with it new and insidious temptations. Alcohol offers its dan- gerous relief to a fatigued body and an over-stimulated mind while gambling has an attraction not previously experienced for many who have few healthy distractions oven to them.

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