http://www.riazhaq.com/2016/06/why-dont-indian-muslims-migrate-to.html
"One of the more intriguing nuggets about the Africa emigration story is that far from fleeing poverty, migrants out of the continent are likely to be relatively well off, and are rarely from the most destitute families"
Mail and Guardian Africa
The above quote comes to mind when answering an oft-repeated question: "Why don't Indian Muslims migrate to
Pakistan?" This question of why don't all of the Muslims migrate out of India to Pakistan and other Muslim nations is most often asked by the
Hindu Nationalists who seek to make their country 100% "Hindu Rashtra".
Indian Muslims Most Deprived:
Muslims in India are the most deprived among various groups. In fact, they are
worse off than even the lowest caste Hindus called Dalits or untouchables, according to data available from multiple sources, including Indian government report. They suffer from
widespread discrimination at the hands of the Hindu majority in education, employment, housing and in the criminal justice system. They have significantly lower levels of development than their Hindu counterparts. So why don't they all migrate out of India?
Why Don't Indian Muslims Leave India?
This question of why don't all of the Muslims migrate out of India to Pakistan and other Muslim nations is most often asked by the Hindu Nationalists who seek to make their country 100% "Hindu Rashtra".
The question, however, does deserve an answer. And the answer is: Poorest and least developed people tend to stay put where they are; they do not migrate. It's only people who have a certain level of income and skills who are more likely to migrate to other countries for better opportunities. This fact has been well-established by multiple studies conducted in Africa.
Here's an except of
African Development Bank report on migration:
"Results show that despite increase in the absolute number of migrants, Africa, particularly SubSaharan Africa has one of the lowest rate of emigration in the world .... Poorer countries generally have lower rate of emigration ......Bad socio-economic conditions generally seem to lead to higher rate of emigration by highly skilled individuals. Generally, migration is driven by motives to improve livelihoods with notable evidence on changes in labor market status. Often, self-employed or unemployed émigré ended up in wage employment. The paper outlines policy issues emerging from the migration trend in Africa."
Migration vs Human Development Source: Hein de Haas
The Poorest Least Likely to Emigrate:
Data shows that increased human and economic development is initially associated with increasing emigration. Any form of development in the poorest countries of the world is therefore likely to lead to accelerating emigration. Such findings contradict conventional thinking and force us to radically change our views on migration. Such rethinking can be achieved by learning to see migration as an intrinsic part of broader development processes rather than as a problem to be solved, or the temporary response to development “disequilibria”, according to
The Conversation, a US publication.
Summary:
There is a strong inverse correlation between poverty and emigration. The poorest citizens of a developing country are least likely to emigrate. People with higher education and better skills are most likely to leave developing nations for better opportunities abroad. This data explains why Indian Muslims, most of whom are worse off than the untouchables, tend to leave India in proportionally much smaller numbers than their Hindu counterparts.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Muslims Are the New Untouchables in India
Pakistan: A Blessing for Muslims of Sindh and Punjab
Modi's Pakistan Policy
Hinduization of India
Indian Muslims Worse Off Than Dalits
Gujarat Muslims Ignored By Indian Politcians
Are Muslims Better Off in Jinnah's Pakistan?
India's Guantanamos and Abu Ghraibs
http://www.riazhaq.com/2016/06/why-dont-indian-muslims-migrate-to.html