Rural India’s urban transition challenges western models of urbanization

India’s villages are undergoing a profound social transformation not through mass relocation to cities, but through patterns of male migration that are altering households, gender relations, and caste structures in unprecedented ways.

A new study, Urbanization and Social Change in Rural India, published in Urban Studies, examines how rural society is changing as agriculture declines and urban labor markets pull men away while families remain anchored in villages.

How is urbanization unfolding without mass migration?

The research challenges long-standing Western theories of urbanization that tie rural-to-urban shifts to permanent migration of entire households. Using geospatial analysis of 600,000 villages alongside fieldwork in Bihar and West Bengal, the authors show that India’s transition follows a different trajectory. Agriculture’s role in employment is shrinking sharply, but instead of families relocating to urban centers, men often migrate alone or seasonally for work, leaving their households behind in the villages.

This form of urbanization, the study argues, is a distinctive South Asian pattern in which labor markets stretch deep into rural India without uprooting families. Villages remain the social and residential base, while income increasingly comes from cities. The result is a hybrid reality: rural households tied to urban economies, creating new pressures and opportunities.

The research documents that household numbers are growing faster than population, as extended families split into smaller units. Yet these new households do not always conform to the Western nuclear family model. Instead, families often live under one roof but divide finances, food, and responsibilities, generating unique household forms.

How are gender roles and household relations changing?

One of the most striking findings is how migration reshapes gender dynamics. Wives of migrant men often gain unprecedented financial autonomy. With remittances sent from cities or abroad, women increasingly manage household budgets, make decisions on education, and take on responsibilities once handled by men. This shift expands women’s authority in many families, marking a subtle but significant transformation in rural gender relations.

However, autonomy comes with new burdens. Women must shoulder the pressures of managing children’s health, negotiating with local institutions, and sustaining agricultural or domestic work in the absence of men. The study highlights that in households that remain embedded in large extended families, women may gain less freedom and sometimes even lose autonomy, as in-laws assume greater control.

These dual dynamics show that migration is not simply liberating or constraining but situational, reshaping gender roles differently depending on family structure. The research underscores that rural women are at the heart of India’s urban transition, navigating both newfound independence and heavier responsibilities.

How is migration restructuring class and caste hierarchies?

The effects of migration extend beyond households into the broader social hierarchy of caste and class. Fieldwork in Lalgola, West Bengal, reveals that domestic migration typically generates modest remittances, which reinforce existing inequalities. Scheduled Caste and Muslim households, already disadvantaged, remain behind General Caste families in income and opportunities. Here, migration reproduces rather than disrupts traditional hierarchies.

On the other hand, Barharia in Bihar shows how international migration to the Persian Gulf can upend social order. Substantial remittances from overseas work enable Muslim and Scheduled Caste families to surpass General Castes in household income. This represents a rare reversal of entrenched hierarchies, with marginalized groups achieving upward mobility.

The research therefore points to a dual reality: migration can reinforce inequality in some contexts while dismantling it in others, depending on its scale, type, and destination. It is not migration itself but the nature of income flows that determine whether rural India’s class structures are hardened or reconfigured.

Why these findings matter

The study offers critical lessons for understanding India’s development trajectory. By revealing that rural-to-urban change is occurring without large-scale household relocation, it challenges policy assumptions built on Western urban models. It highlights that rural India is not being left behind but is actively reshaped by urbanization, albeit in ways that are uneven, gendered, and socially complex.

For policymakers, the findings underline the importance of recognizing migration as a structural feature of India’s economy. Infrastructure, education, and health services in villages must adapt to populations that are socially present but economically tied to cities. For gender policy, supporting women who manage remittance-driven households becomes essential, as they are increasingly central to rural governance and welfare.

The research also raises deeper theoretical questions. Are these changes temporary positional shifts or permanent structural transformations? Will rural India evolve toward more nuclear households, or will hybrid forms persist? And will remittances continue to reconfigure caste hierarchies, or will inequalities adapt and endure in new ways?