Indian Diaspora in Saudi Arabia: The Problems of Reverse Migration
Keywords:
Diaspora, Reverse migration, Nitaqat, Covid 19, Unemployment, Foreign remittanceAbstract
Oil rich Gulf countries became more attractive destination for temporary labor from south Asia since 1970s. The scale of labor movements to Gulf linked to the exploration of oil revenue, investment in domestic industry and the shortage of domestic labor. Saudi Arabia is an important destination for unskilled and semi-skilled labors from India, especially Kerala. Remittance from host countries played crucial role for the development of sending countries in the form of creating employment, labor market and livelihood prospects. But, the worldwide oil market crisis, the Nitaqat program, the countrywide lockdown and the closing of international and interstate borders in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic all contributed to the informal migrant workers’ reverse movement. In this context, this article discusses Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia and the impact of reverse migration.
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