Abstract
South-South migration has been a largely neglected subject matter in migration studies, although it constitutes an important part of overall migration flows. Especially labour migration to the Gulf region occupies a central position in this regard. The aim of this chapter is to analyse Indian labour migration to the Gulf region, one of the most important migration paths to the region, by emphasising on the whole process of migration, from its initiation to return migration which gained less academic attention. The chapter proposes an analytical framework covering the dimensions of entry, stay, work and exit of migrant workers, allowing incorporating the reasons for and the process of migration, the working and living conditions of migrant workers in host country and the process of return migration. Based on semi-structured interviews with Indian migrant workers, the chapter analyses these different dimensions and critically discusses the results with reference to the already existing literature on these different dimensions. On many occasions, the interviews confirm findings already presented in different studies. But they also highlight many points which did not gain much academic interest, especially regarding differences between skilled and low-skilled migrant workers. The chapter concludes by discussing three less-analysed topics for further research emanating from the interviews, namely, (i) the importance of intra-class differences within the Indian migrant working class, (ii) the role of the Indian state in the context of Indian labour migration and (iii) the need for an approach incorporating the mobility of both capital and labour from India to the Gulf region.
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Notes
- 1.
This is the reason why Arar et al. (2016) critically note that the real refugee crisis due to the civil war in Syria is in the Middle East and not in Europe.
- 2.
It is important to note in this context that female migration to the Gulf region is out of the analytical scope of this study. Yet, it is worth mentioning that this aspect of Gulf migration has not gained adequate attention. For female migration from Asia and India to the Gulf region, see Rajan (2015), especially Rajan and Joseph (2015), Kodoth (2015) and Potnuru (2015).
- 3.
If thought together with the analysis of Sigha (2006) on the aim of Britain to introduce passports in India and to control and to redirect the flows of people out of India it becomes obvious that Britain was actively involved in regulating migration flows on both sides of the Arabian Sea.
- 4.
See on this also the different reports of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs on international migration.
- 5.
The Indian state of Kerala can be considered as one of the most important migrant source regions in India. There are, however, not only important migration-related changes within Kerala but also increased migration from other Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as employers in the Gulf have started to gain knowledge about the capabilities of workers from different regions of India (Breeding 2012; Zachariah and Rajan 2012).
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
Breeding (2012) notes that beyond the legal recruitment agencies, there are also unlicensed recruitment agencies and thousands of informal “subagents” working for the recruitment agencies and that most of the recruitment agencies have increasingly started “fishing for candidates” in remote rural areas by making use of “subagents”.
- 10.
See on this also Keane and McGeehan (2008) who, in the case of the UAE, illustrate how difficult and expensive it is for migrant workers to approach labour courts.
- 11.
Note in this context also Gardner’s (2010a) note that even “the Hindu/Muslim tensions that South Asian men often report as paramount in their home countries are extremely muted in the labor camps. As the men have noted to me, the difficult working conditions they often face in the Gulf states allow no time or energy for these conflicts. As one Indian migrant noted to me, ‘politics is a luxury we cannot afford here’” (p. 56).
- 12.
Apart from the economic slowdown in the Gulf countries, the decline of Indian (and Pakistani) migration to the Gulf should also be seen in the context of increased migration from Bangladesh to the Gulf from 2013 onwards due to the lifting of earlier restrictions on recruiting Bangladeshi workers (Wadhawan 2018).
- 13.
Weiner (1982), for instance, reports from two cases in the 1970s and 1980s, where the Indian state has attempted to restrict migration to the Gulf due to the working and living conditions as well as due to the mistreatment of workers. He notes that this attempt has been criticised by those Indians who wanted to migrate to the Gulf, so that the restrictions were eased again. Davidson (2014: 276) reports from the case of the Nepalese ambassador to Qatar who has criticised the situation of their nationals in Qatar “was, however, promptly recalled to Kathmandu within days”. Important economic linkages through investments, oil and remittances are some of the reasons put forward for the reluctance of the sending states to deal effectively with migrant workers’ problems.
- 14.
Heller (2015) argues that whereas Indian embassies “safeguard” Indian companies operating in the Gulf, they do not visit labour camps with the excuse of not having enough staff. He further notes that “In a reply under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI) dated 18 June 2013, the EoI [Embassy of India] in Kuwait admitted that if a complaint is received from an Indian worker working in a reputable company, and if no previous complaints have been received against the company, then there will be no labour camp visits to investigate the complaint lodged by worker(s).This practice by the EoI clearly showed how far the EoI distanced itself from workers in getting out of trouble” (Heller 2015: 711–712).
- 15.
Personal communication with Prof. T. V. Sekher from the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India, 15.06.2016.
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Acknowledgement
The interviews used in this chapter were conducted during my research affiliation at the Tata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India, which was enabled through the programme “A New Passage to India”, organised by the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) at the University of Kassel, and funded by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). I would like to thank the DAAD and the ICDD for enabling my research affiliation and Prof. Christoph Scherrer for his generous support. I also would like to thank Prof. Bino Paul at the TISS and Prof. S. Irudaya Rajan and his research assistants at the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram for their generous support for my fieldwork.
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Yalçın, S. (2019). Approaching Different Dimensions of Indian Labour Migration to the Gulf. In: Rajan, S.I., Saxena, P. (eds) India’s Low-Skilled Migration to the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9224-5_7
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