India’s demographic story is no longer one of uniform population growth but of sharp regional variations. While the southern states are ageing rapidly and outward migration from them is slowing, the northern states are experiencing a youth bulge that is reshaping labour outflows. This emerging north-south divide could redefine India’s migration dynamics and it holds economic implications, particularly for remittances and labour supply to West Asia.

Overall, as India’s internal demographic divide deepens, the key challenge will be to ensure that the migration potential of the north’s youth is matched by the skill and policy support once enjoyed by the south. Unless this is addressed, India’s next migration story may be one of quantity without quality, where we will still see a flow of workers but without the same economic multiplier that once made Kerala’s Gulf connection a global success story. https://thewire.in/labour/youthful-north-ageing-south-the-demography-reshaping-indias-gulf-story 

by Akshat Sogani

30/10/2025

A political drama for the ages, opening soon in New York City: Zohran Mamdani v Donald Trump. What could go wrong?  https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/10/28/a-political-drama-for-the-ages-opening-soon-in-new-york-city  

“It’s not your job to change their mind,”  “It’s your job to leave them thinking that Zohran’s people are classy.” Meeting sceptics with smiles...    He has made his affordability platform—rent freezes, housing investment, free child care, free buses—the main story of the election, while avoiding culture-war traps and shouting matches with Donald Trump, who calls him a communist.   

At a minimum, if Mr Mamdani is elected, the White House will probably make a midterms-focused spectacle of the mayor’s unabashed socialism, to undermine suburban New York Democrats running for closely contested seats in the House of Representatives next year, races that may help decide whether Democrats regain control of the lower house of Congress. Yet if Mr Trump freezes more federal funds .. or if he sends soldiers and border-control agents to his former hometown, he would be taking on his own political risks.

“In the Indic worldview, work is not merely a means of livelihood but a contribution to the broader order of dharma (righteous duty). This perspective recognises every worker — whether an artisan, farmer, teacher, or industrial labourer – as an essential participant in the cycle of social creation,” says the policy, reported The Telegraph.

https://thewire.in/labour/draft-national-labour-and-employment-policy-inspired-by-manusmriti-draws-criticism 

“Ancient texts such as the Manusmriti, Yajnavalkyasmriti, Naradasmriti, Sukraniti and Arthashastra articulated this ethos through the concept of rajdharma, emphasising the sovereign’s duty to ensure justice, fair wages, and the protection of workers from exploitation.”

Experts have questioned the reasoning behind the policy drawing from ancient Hindu texts, citing the fact that in ancient times, workers had no rights and there was no wage system.

29/10/2025

“To glorify the concept of srama (labour) as promoted by the Hindu texts is nothing but an attempt to reinforce the same caste-based hierarchical division of labour in which the Brahmins would enjoy the highest status for their ritualistic practices in religious ceremonies,” Pradeep Shinde, a faculty member at the Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU told the newspaper.