Examining Well-being: Lived Experiences, Individual Agency, and Epistemic Inclusion of Marginalized Voices

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19483991

Ritwik Saha¹ and Anindita Chaudhuri² (Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta & Assistant Professor, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Govt. College, Kolkata, West Bengal¹ and Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal²)

The twenty-first century is witnessing a massive influx of human mobility, and India is not apart from the trend. Therefore, from a psychological perspective, we are drawn to the life associated with migration, subjective lived experiences, and the psychological process behind living, particularly when the journey reveals a distinctive story. However, migration has become a life strategy since the onset of globalization. Therefore, migration has a substantial impact on psychological health and well-being, emphasizing the need to adjust to new surroundings after relocation. The experiences of members of marginalized groups and how they maintain their sustainability in the face of various difficulties and uncertainties may be more fascinating. While many studies concentrate on temporal lives and their shortcomings on marginalization, the qualitative aspects of life and the process of negotiating or reframing life are mainly disregarded. Specifically, how migration results in a qualitative change in one’s sense of self and identity, and how migrants adjust to achieve well-being. Thus, the current study seeks to investigate the lived experiences of migrants, especially those from our society’s socioeconomically disadvantaged segments. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with 20 participants (The participant counts for each group are: Bhunjawala: 6, Fuchkawala: 7, and water supplier/Bhari: 7) to examine lived experiences and perceptions of self/identity and well-being. Four themes-dedication to God, futurization, transcendence, and sociocultural rootedness/spirituality-have emerged from the data analysis, for which Charmaz’s three-layer coding of the qualitative method was followed. These themes have positively impacted their sense of well-being in life.