Marginal Nation

The Marginal Nation analyses the realities of transborder migration in the South Asia region going beyond the domains of economics and demography. It provides an in-depth look into the historical, cultural and geographic dimensions of migration across the India–Bangladesh border that challenges fixed definitions of borders, nations and identities.Drawing from extensive fieldwork, the author encapsulates the lives and aspirations of migrants exploring the social affinities and historical ties that bind people across territories and ‘marginalises’ national identity. The book chronicles the lived experiences of migrants and their everyday lives, conflicts and contradictions. It pits these narratives against ‘national’ concerns over security, statehood, and demarcated borders interrogating their immutability in the South Asian context. This revised edition reflects upon the significance and relevance of the book to migration and refugee studies in South Asia and beyond twenty-five years after it was first published.A classic, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of political science, sociology, history, human rights studies, refugee studies, demography and South Asian studies.

Ranabir Samaddar is currently the Distinguished Chair in Migration and Forced Migration Studies at the Calcutta Research Group and Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). He belongs to the critical school of thinking and is considered as one of the foremost theorists in the field of migration and forced migration studies. His writings on migration, forms of labour, urbanisation, and political struggles have signaled a new turn in post-colonial thinking. Among his popular work are Karl Marx and the Postcolonial Age (2018), Migrants and the Neoliberal City (2018), The Postcolonial Age of Migration (2020), A Pandemic and the Politics of Life (2021), Imprints of the Populist Time (2022), Alternative Futures and the Present: Postcolonial Possibilities (2023).