Effects of transnational migration on the intergenerational contract for ageing parents left behind: an Indian case study

This paper examines the effects of transnational migration on the families left behind, focusing on the experiences of ageing parents and strains placed on the intergenerational contract. This study draws on qualitative fieldwork initially conducted in in Chennai, India with 30 sets of parents, whose children were residing abroad as software engineers, as well as their non-migrant children. Semi structured interviews explored the effects of migration on family dynamics, with a specific focus on the experiences of ageing parents over time.

I find that the intergenerational contract in the context of traditional Indian society is strained by migration, making the analogy to a give-and-take spring where the parents are more accommodating, balancing force as the ‘givers’ supporting their children’s ambitions abroad. Parents are adopting strategies to prevent an irreversible damage to the culturally implicit contract between the generations, such as taking on new duties like becoming transnational carers to grandchildren and their children’s capital assets, as well as putting in place survival strategies such as keeping a child behind. However, as frailty and ill-health move in, there is increased demand for absent children to return to fulfill their dutiful obligations placing strain on intergenerational relationships.