Abstract

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon that will likely continue in the foreseeable future. It has been an important factor determining population change throughout human history. Individuals and groups migrate (more or less permanently) over symbolic or political boundaries into new residential regions and communities . In earlier times, on exhausting the resources of a particular region, humans migrated to other regions where they could find the means of sustenance in abundance – this nomadic practice virtually ceased when our ancestors, well-versed themselves with the nuances of agriculture and started the tradition of settling near the riverbanks, for perpetuity. This is exactly how the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates and the Harappa along Indus. Although the basic needs of humanity were assured owing to such settlements, the ideologies of expansionism, trade and the greed for securing more resources led to several tribes and later, the religious groups to left their homelands, plundered foreign nations, exploited the natives and quite audaciously settled among themselves, attempting to be one. Likewise, a few groups, who fell prey to the wrath of nature or against the savage members of their community, escaped to places where they could expect a dignified treatment – labelled as refugees, these migrants, either legal or illegal, have had a substantial impact on the civilizations where they settled. If the Aryan-Migration theory holds , then, for 5000 years, Refugees, in some form or the other, had been instrumental in crushing the very cultural values for which India has stood for.

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