Which of the following did M.S.A. Rao find about the migrants from Madhopur, a village in north central India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Most sent money regularly and visited the village from time to time
Option (1) Most sent money regularly and visited the village from time to time — Correct. Rao found that about 75 percent of Madhopur's migrants send money regularly. Some 83 percent visit the village, from four or five times a year to once in two years, so their ties with home stay strong.
Option (2) Most took their families along and seldom visited the village — Incorrect. This reverses the pattern. Madhopur's migrants leave their family members behind in the natal village, and most of them keep visiting it.
Option (3) Most returned each harvest season to cultivate their own land — Incorrect. These migrants have taken jobs in far-off cities such as Bombay and Calcutta. Their link with home is through money sent and visits made at intervals.
Option (4) Most built fashionable houses and funded educational trusts in the village — Incorrect. Fashionable houses and gifts to educational institutions and trusts mark the overseas migrants from Gujarat villages. Rao does not report this for Madhopur.
NCERT (2026-27): “Urbanisation in Independent India … “Firstly, there are villages in which a sizeable number of people have sought employment in far-off cities. They live there leaving behind the members of their families in their natal villages. In Madhopur, a village in north central India, 77 out of 298 households have migrants, and a little less than half of all the migrants work in two cities of Bombay and Calcutta. About 75 percent of the total migrants send money regularly, and 83 per cent visit the village from four to five times a year to once in two years... A considerable number of emigrants reside not only in Indian cities but also in overseas towns. For instance, there are many overseas migrants from Gujarat villages living in African and British towns. They have built fashionable houses in their natal villages, invested money on land and industry, and have donated literally to the establishment of educational institutions and trusts... …” |