Don Bosco Degree College Golaghat

Migration is not a new phenomenon. Since ages, people migrate from one place to another for so many reasons like better opportunity, climate change, drought, displacement, employment etc. Regional imbalances in development within the country have led people to migrate from a few states of India more often and high in number. Tamil Nadu receives more such migrants on a daily basis and employs them in almost all the fields. As TN is in its development phase, the construction field gives more opportunity to the migrant workers. It's evident that migrant workers are major contributors to economic and social development. Once the migrants hail to the new land, it may get harder for them to adjust to live in accordance with interpersonal, social and cultural norms. Social adaptation of the migrants will increase communities' resilience and support economic development. Meanwhile they adapt to the migrated place, survive and contribute back to their family and home state, their struggle is huge. This article constitutes an empirical view of social adaptation analysis based on a field study among construction migrant workers at Grantline, Chennai. The main aim of this study was to examine how migrant workers from other States adapt to the new work environment with less basic facilities and not knowing the language of the workplace. The method of data collection used for this study was case study. Based on the observation, the article throws light on the living conditions of the migrant workers and recommends the policy makers to take necessary measures to protect the human rights of the migrant workers.

Key words: Migrants, Interstate Migrants, labourers, unorganised workforce, construction workers, social adaptation, Tamil Nadu.