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Blurring Rural–Urban Boundaries Through Commuting

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Mobilities in India

Part of the book series: The Urban Book Series ((UBS))

Abstract

Rural–urban interaction is a much focused issue in studying rural/urban development. Different scholars have studied this relation in different ways. There are a number of theories and models proposed in support of this interaction. Of different forms of linkage, commuting is a significant component. Commuting across rural and urban areas increases the interaction between the two areas not only through the daily flows of people but also through flows of goods, capital, ideas, information, culture, etc. It helps to blur the rigid boundary between villages and cities. In this chapter, this sort of interaction is explained with the help of empirical data. It shows the transformation of villages into small towns through commuting. Finally, it selects Pandua, a census town, to explain the nature of this interaction.

All movement is a form of interaction. The term movement denotes the action of changing position. That is to say, it involves the progression of an object, idea, or energy from a point, either permanently or temporarily, or perhaps not. In this manner, two or more points will interact; some phenomenon either tangible or intangible is transported from at least one point to at least one other point. It is this interaction that makes social and physical reality as we know it possible; without it, ‘existence’ would be stagnation on a crystallized orb.

—Coffey (1981, p. 152)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The federalism of India balances on the relation between state governments and central government of the Union of India. The Registrar General of India defines the character of the settlements as urban or rural. However, the administrative transformation of a rural settlement into urban is manifested by the concerned state governments. Thus, any settlement defined as urban in census reports but still not declared as urban by the state government are referred to as census towns.

  2. 2.

    Nadi is the Bengali word-meaning river.

  3. 3.

    Chikon is a traditional style of embroidery that originated in Lucknow.

  4. 4.

    Periodic market.

  5. 5.

    On the basis of population size, Indian urban areas are classified into five categories. Class-III towns refer to urban areas having population size in between 20,000 and 49,999. These are also referred to as medium size towns.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Rampurhat College, Birbhum, West Bengal, India

    Bhaswati Mondal

  2. Department of Geography, The University of Burdwan, Bardhaman, West Bengal, India

    Gopa Samanta

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  1. Bhaswati Mondal
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  2. Gopa Samanta
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Mondal, B., Samanta, G. (2021). Blurring Rural–Urban Boundaries Through Commuting. In: Mobilities in India. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78350-1_3

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