Due to the scarcity of water, frequent crop failure and low returns from cultivation, agriculture in the state of Maharashtra is in a distressed condition. With a semi-arid topography, below average rainfall and limited irrigation infrastructure, Beed—a predominantly rural district—subsists through rainfed agriculture and wage employment. Every year, during dry season (November to May), villages in the district are face with severe seasonal unemployment. To tide over the lean season, thousands of small and marginal peasant households migrate to other districts of the state, and even outside the state, to work in sugar factories and brick kilns. The social experience and consequences of migration are far from uniform, but shaped by class, caste and gender. Drawing connections between seasonal migration and rural crisis, our narrative show how seasonal migration compensates for the lack of employment opportunities and reduces seasonal income variability of the poor households in Beed district. At the same time, this article also explains how seasonal migration traps these households in the vicious cycle of economic and social backwardness.

由于缺水，频繁的农作物歉收和耕种收益低，马哈拉施特拉邦的农业处于苦恼状态。由于半干旱的地形，低于平均降雨量和有限的灌溉基础设施，主要是农村地区的比德（Beed）通过雨养农业和有薪就业得以生存。每年的旱季（11月至5月），该地区的村庄都面临严重的季节性失业。为了度过淡季，成千上万的小农和边缘农户移民到该州的其他地区，甚至到州外，都在制糖厂和砖窑中工作。移徙的社会经验和后果远非统一，而是由阶级，种姓和性别决定的。在季节性移民和农村危机之间建立联系，我们的叙述表明，季节性迁徙如何弥补失业的就业机会，并减少了比德地区贫困家庭的季节性收入差异。同时，本文还解释了季节性移民如何使他们陷入经济和社会落后的恶性循环。