Out-Migration and Agrarian Crisis in Uttarakhand: Permanent Migration,
Land Abandonment, and the Decline of Hill Agriculture

Mohit Pandey

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.008

Title: Out-Migration and Agrarian Crisis in Uttarakhand: Permanent Migration, Land Abandonment, and the Decline of Hill Agriculture
Authors: Mohit Pandey
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 10 Publication Date: October 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.008
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Mohit Pandey PhD Student, School of Development Studies, Dr B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi, India.
MLA 8 Pandey, Mohit. "Out-Migration and Agrarian Crisis in Uttarakhand: Permanent Migration, Land Abandonment, and the Decline of Hill Agriculture." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 10, Oct. 2026, pp. 5499-5514, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.008. Accessed Oct. 2026. APA 6 Pandey, M. (2026, October). Out-Migration and Agrarian Crisis in Uttarakhand: Permanent Migration, Land Abandonment, and the Decline of Hill Agriculture. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(10), 5499-5514. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.008 Chicago Pandey, Mohit. "Out-Migration and Agrarian Crisis in Uttarakhand: Permanent Migration, Land Abandonment, and the Decline of Hill Agriculture." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 10 (October 2026), 5499-5514. Accessed October, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.008.
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ABSTRACT: Agrarian distress in India's Western Himalayan states has received far less scholarly and policy attention than in the high-farmer-suicide states of central and southern India, even though its consequences for mountain livelihoods are severe and, in important respects, poorly understood. This paper examines the ongoing out-migration and agrarian crisis in Uttarakhand. A defining feature of Uttarakhand's agrarian crisis, and a central concern of this paper, is the changing nature of its out-migration. Historically, long-term, employment-driven male migration has increasingly become permanent household-level migration, a pattern that differs in important ways from the circular, short-duration labour migration long associated with states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The paper situates this shift historically, tracing the origins of hill outmigration through the colonial and post-colonial periods, and examines how Uttarakhand’s migration trajectory correlated with the state’s agrarian crisis. For the analysis, this paper draws on secondary literature, government reports, and Census and Agriculture Census data. The paper examines land reform, landholding structure, and economic diversification before turning in detail to migration patterns and the current state of its agricultural sector, including its declining share of state income, its continuing dominance of the hill workforce, and its exposure to climate-related hazards. The paper argues that rural out-migration, particularly land abandonment and the emergence of ghost villages, are core expressions of a possible agrarian crisis in Uttarakhand. The paper closes with policy recommendations, addressing land consolidation, economic diversification, and the resilience of hill agriculture.

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