Betting on small enterprise, Bihar's migrants are returning; here's why

Shifting migratory patterns are reshaping the state's social, economic and political orders

Over the last 10 years, the bazaar at Udhwantnagar has undergone major changes.

Walk down the market, from the village school in the north to the block office in the south, and you see two kinds of establishments. One kind has been around for a long time – farm equipment workshop, grocery, confectioner.

The other comprises a clutch of new businesses – three chemists and as many beauty parlours, a video-photography store, a cell phone repair shop and another selling recharge vouchers, a banking correspondent, a store each for footwear and garments.

Along the way, the caste composition of the market, eight kilometres