Migration Habits and Economic Links
For young men like Saroj Nevarbani, the decision to leave is emotional: "My parents are there. The situation is grave." Others like Pesal and Lakshman Bhatt expressed similar uncertainty. For many, migration from Nepal to India has always been a part of life; economic migration, due to the open 1,750km border under a peace and friendship treaty forged in 1950. Nepalis who enter India, particularly for this season and contingent work, live without acquiring Indian identity cards overseas; others have Nepali families relocating while maintaining citizenship ties; some come for studies: out of approximately 47000 foreign students, more than 13000 are Nepali students in India. Nepali students, just like the young migrants, often aged between 15 and 20, tend to work in hotels, farms, factories and also religious sites, and are never paid well for their efforts, leading to permanent labour in India's cities from Delhi to Mumbai. Moreover, cash remittances from foreign people working abroad generate about 27 -30% of the GDP of Nepal, and it is estimated from the last study before the recent Ban imposed by the Nepal government's social media that India produced about a fifth of the total.
Precarious Lives and Political Connections
While they help to underpin the economy of Nepal, many Nepali migrants in India live precariously - living in the crowded housing epitomised by poor cleanliness and low or no upward mobility. Some migrants, like long-time security guard in his 60s Dhanraj Kathayat, had worked in numerous Indian cities, sending money home to Nepal from his job while achieving little personally over decades. Political engagement from migrants, as scholars pointed out before, has ebbed and flowed in multifaceted ways at different points in history: migrants once supported exiled leaders and movements. Today, scholars point out that the migrants activity is reduced to voting during an election. The difference, however, is found among the Nepali students attending universities in India, still active as a collective youth democratic hope but freely communicating their denouncements of violence. Furthermore, many analysts in Canada warn that any instability in Nepal due to the particular political violence and unrest could mean more youth enter India's informal sectors, but given the current crisis, many young people appear to be headed back home or are undecided. For most Nepalis, the open boundary between India and Nepal provides both the conditions of the safety net and the link to the politics and future of their parents' and home country.
