Unheard Voices of Migrants: A Sentiment Analysis Approach to Rural Labour Migration

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Year	2025 50 Downloads
Volume/Issue/Review Month	Volume-XVIII \| Issue-II \| Jul.-Dec.
Title	Unheard Voices of Migrants: A Sentiment Analysis Approach to Rural Labour Migration
Authors	M.Vasuki, Dr.S.Ganapathy, Dr. P. Amarjothi
Broad area	Rural Management
Abstract	This article investigates the forces of rural labour migration in Ramanathapuram district, with emphasis on both structural motivations and emotional aspects. Historically, rural-urban and foreign migration has been influenced by economic push factors like poverty, job insecurity, inadequate wages, and absence of opportunities, as well as pulls factors like improved income, enhanced living conditions, and availability of quality health care and education. But this study builds on the analysis by adding sentiment analysis to capture the emotional dynamics of migration choices.Qualitative information was gathered among 150 migrant workers with open-ended interviews augmented with local stories from social media and regional news outlets. Sentiment analysis based on VADER and Text Blob Python tools yielded overwhelmingly negative emotional polarity (average sentiment score = -0.23). Around 58% of the responses were negative, 27% were neutral, and 15% were positive, with a score on subjectivity of 0.64, reflecting high emotional content. Migrants regularly complained about long working hours, separation from family, low wages, and abusive work conditions. Typical expressions of emotion were fear, helplessness, and loneliness.In spite of the hardships; some positive feelings were expressed, with migrants mentioning skill acquisition, improved remuneration, and readiness to return under better circumstances. The findings reinforce that migration is not solely an economic process but also a highly subjective and emotional experience. The research identifies the necessity for migration policies that include mental health counseling, emotional resilience training, and reintegration programs to promote integral migrant well-being.
DOI	https://doi.org/10.63340/SAMT/10000007
File	Click here to download
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