Socially Represented Image of the Bihari Migrants

The present paper is based on the findings of an empirical study of
the socially represented image of the Bihari migrants by the people of
Mumbai (India). The study comprised 307 respondents, of which 152
were Bihari migrants and 155 were local people of Mumbai. Additionally,
26 respondents were selected for participation in four focus group
discussions, and 8 respondents were interviewed individually. Both
qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the research. Content
analysis of the descriptive data helped arrive at some shared themes
that socially represented the migrants as ‘job takers and low wage
workers,’ ‘pressure on the city’s amenities and resources,’ ‘not clean/
dirty,’ ‘dominant,’ ‘people with bad life style,’ and ‘negative personal
characteristics.’ The local respondents also perceived a few positive
attributes of the migrants, such as ‘hard working’ and ‘relationship
orientated.’ The overall socially constructed image of the Bihari
migrants was, nevertheless, negative.