The Kerala Gulf diaspora refers to the people of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

living in the West Asian

Arab states of the Persian Gulf The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emir ...

. In 2008, they numbered more than 2.5 million. Nearly 80 percent of Indians living in Kuwait are from Kerala according to the 2008 survey commissioned by the Department of Non-resident Keralite Affairs.

The Gulf Boom

The "Gulf Boom" refers to the mass migration of a large number of people from the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n state of

to the GCC states from 1972 to 1983. Largely consisting of the migration of

Malayalis The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predom ...

, the dominant indigenous ethnic group in Kerala, the movement of many migrant workers from Kerala to the GCC states continues to the present day, although in smaller numbers after the 2008 international financial crisis began to affect the GCC region. This initial wave of migration is usually referred to as the ''Kerala Gulf Boom''. In 2010, the GCC states contained a total Keralite population of more than 3.5 million, who annually sent home a sum of around $6.81 billion (US), which is more than 15.13% of the total Remittance to India in 2008. In 2013 the remittance was more the 60,000 crore (600 billion) rupees.

Background

Huge

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

reserves were discovered in the

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...

region (

) in the 1930s, with large-scale commercial extraction beginning in the early 1950s. Soon, these countries became major world oil-exporting countries, amassing huge riches within a matter of years, a feat that perhaps has no historical parallel. However, these nations were disadvantaged by small populations and labour forces, with commensurately small skills levels. To meet the challenge they faced, they had to substantially increase immigration at all levels.

, which faced very high

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

rates, quickly saw the opportunity for its citizens to gain a share of the new work opportunities, with manual workers from

at the forefront. Historical ties and the religious identity of

Indian Muslims Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...

—many Keralite migrants are Muslim.

Effects of the Gulf Migration on the economy and society of Kerala

Remittances are a key source of income for Kerala's economy. In 2003 for instance, remittances were 1.74 times the revenue receipts of the state, 7 times the transfers to the state from the Central Government, 1.8 times the annual expenditure of the Kerala Government, and 15 to 18 times the size of foreign exchange earned from the export of cashew and marine products.Remittances and its impact on the Kerala Economy and Society, S Irudaya Rajan and K.C. Zachariah Gulf migrants, many of whom were from the working and the lower-middle classes, gradually gained social status. A myth was in the making: that of the 'Gulf man'. Gulf migrants were highly sought after as bridegrooms. Their attractive earnings, irrespective of their shortcomings, enabled them to marry into wealthy and respected families when they returned home. The Gulf Dream has also found its expression in Malayalam cinema and literature.

M. Mukundan Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...

Daivathinte Vikrithikal ''Daivathinte Vikrithikal'' () is a 1992 Malayalam-language film co-written and directed by Lenin Rajendran based on M. Mukundan's novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Alphonso, a man who chooses to suffer a slow, torturous lif ...

draws out in detail the socio-economic impacts of Gulf migration on the enclave of Mahe.

Pathemari Pathemari () is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language period drama film written and directed by Salim Ahamed and starring Mammootty in the lead role, with a supporting cast that includes Jewel Mary, Siddique, Sreenivasan, Salim Kumar, Shaheen Siddi ...

(English: Dhow) is a 2015 Malayalam-language period drama film written and directed by

Salim Ahamed Salem Ahamed is an Indian film director, screen writer and producer. After working for a long time as a travel consultant, he joined as a creative director and script writer in a television channel. His directorial debut, '' Adaminte Makan Abu' ...

whose plot follows the life of Pallikkal Narayanan (

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, H ...

) who migrated to the Middle-East in the early 1960s, when the Kerala Gulf boom was just beginning.

Notable personalities

M. A. Yousuf Ali Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, popularly known as Yusuff Ali M. A (born 15 November 1955) is a UAE-based Indian businessman and billionaire. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group International that owns the LuLu Hyp ...

- Retail & Money Exchange - Lulu Group of companies * Joy Alukkas - Jewellery, Fashion & Lifestyle, Money Exchange - Joyalukkas Group * B. Ravi Pillai - Diversified - RP Group * Azad Moopen - Healthcare -

Aster DM Healthcare Aster DM Healthcare Limited is a publicly-traded multinational conglomerate healthcare company founded by Azad Moopen in 1987. The company has its corporate headquarters in Dubai, UAE, and is registered in Bangalore, India. Aster DM Healthcare ...

* R.Harikumar - Aluminium Extrusion - Elite Group * P. Mohamed Ali - Construction & Oilfield Supplies - Galfar Engineering and Contracting SAOG *

P. V. Abdul Wahab P. V. Abdul Wahab (born 1 July 1950) is an Indian politician and social worker from Nilambur, Malappuram. He currently serves as a Member of Parliament from Kerala in the Rajya Sabha (the Council of States or the Upper House). He is also a non-r ...

- Diversified - Peevees & Bridgeway Group * Shamsheer Vayalil - Healthcare -

VPS Healthcare VPS Healthcare is a multinational healthcare group headquartered at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The group was founded in 2007 by Indian-born businessman Shamsheer Vayalil. The healthcare group now runs 23 hospitals and about 125 medical cent ...

P. N. C. Menon Puthan Naduvakkatt Chenthamaraksha Menon, also known as P. N. C. Menon (born 12 December 1948) is an Indian-born Omani billionaire businessman hailing from Palakkad district, Palakkad in Kerala. He is the founder and chairman of Sobha Ltd., Sob ...

- Construction -

Sobha Ltd. Sobha Limited (formerly Sobha Developers Limited) is an Indian multinational real estate developer headquartered in Bangalore, India History SOBHA Limited was founded on 7 August 1995 by P.N.C. Menon. The company has also executed projects ...

* Sunny Varkey - Education -

GEMS Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 * ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 * ''Gems'' (Michael Bolton album), 2011 *Gems TV, a ...

References

External links