Migration, Isolation, and Belonging: The Social Reintegration of Return Migrants in Post-COVID Rural Communities

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented reverse migration of workers from urban industrial centres to their rural places of origin across India. While much scholarly attention has focused on the immediate humanitarian crisis of this movement, comparatively less is known about the longer-term social reintegration experiences of return migrants within their home communities. This study examines the social reintegration of return migrants in rural Madhya Pradesh, focusing on community belonging, social support, economic reintegration, and re-migration intentions. Drawing on a survey of 260 return migrants, the study finds that reintegration outcomes vary substantially by duration since return, pre-migration social ties, and local economic opportunity. A significant minority of respondents report persistent social isolation and weak community belonging, particularly among those who had spent extended periods away prior to return. Regression analysis identifies duration of prior urban residence, availability of local livelihood opportunities, and participation in community/religious institutions as significant predictors of social reintegration. The paper argues that return migration does not automatically restore pre-migration social embeddedness, and that reintegration is a contingent social process shaped by both individual migration history and the receiving community's economic and associational capacity. Implications for rural livelihood policy and social reintegration support are discussed.