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Paper short abstract

This ethnographic study of Nepalese migrant farm workers in remote Garhwal Himalaya reveals how migrants perceive education as a key mobilizing force. It demonstrates how their long-term settlement fosters uninterrupted schooling and paves the way for intergenerational occupational mobility.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores how migration, education and aspirations intersect in the remote and rural regions of Garhwal Himalaya. It centres on Nepalese migrant farm workers, primarily from Nepal's far western provinces, who revive the land left behind by locals through vegetable farming. Unlike short-term or circular migration, their engagement in agricultural work promotes stability and supports family reunification in the Garhwal region. This, in turn, enables their children's access to government schooling and serves as a key motivator in their extended retention. In this context, migrants reimagine mobility as a long-term investment oriented in education and future possibilities rather than mere wage earning. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the study traces how migrants perceive education as a social and emotional investment and how they negotiate constraints to secure their children's continuous schooling in host rural settings. Further, it shows that their children’s academic attainments open possibilities for intergenerational occupational mobility, indicating that sustained residence enables uninterrupted schooling and that 'staying put' can itself be a pathway to upward mobility for migrants.