Awareness and Information Dissemination: Lessons from a publicity campaign in the Punjab

Abstract

Even as the overwhelming majority of international migration is fully authorised1, a considerable amount of attention is paid to irregular migrants, who form around 10-15% of the estimated 214 million international migrants worldwide.2 The data on irregular migrants is an estimate and there is “a lack of comparable data, both over time and between locations”.3 Curbing irregular migration, therefore, assumes priority, both in the sending and the receiving countries. This is emerging as an important component of ‘migration management’, which results in the institution of laws and regulatory mechanism, punitive measures and awareness generation campaigns. Such steps can be taken by countries, in their individual capacity or through bilateral or multilateral arrangements. Attention to irregular migrants in the media is, however, justified, as it has both human and security implications that political leadership cannot afford to overlook, especially in a democratic polity. The paper broadly sets out the background to the awareness generation campaign held in Jallandhar district in 2009, the processes involved and content of road shows, the target audience and stakeholders involved. In doing so, the paper is primarily an effort to document the awareness generation campaign in the Punjab for curbing irregular migration, highlight the challenges faced and conclude with lessons that can be drawn for possibly larger such campaigns in India against irregular migration.