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As a study on the Indian migration indicates, Saudi Arabia has been the
most favourite destination for the Gulf migration from India. The size of the
migrants going to the Kingdom has been progressively increasing since
1975 and this is especially true for the ECR category migrants (Jain 2005 ).
Under this category, for example, more than 99,000 emigrated to the
Kingdom in 2002; this number rose to 121,000 in 2003 and to 134,000 in
- In the following year close to 200,000 sought emigration clearance
for employment in Saudi Arabia and the number increased to 228,000 in
2008, 281,000 in 2009 and to 275,000 in 2010. It peaked at 357,503 in
2012, a year after the introduction of Nitaqat, and slightly dropped to
354,169 in 2013 and to 329,937 in 2014.^3 Since then the number of Indian
expatriates arriving in the Kingdom has been severely restricted due to the
economic slowdown brought by low oil price. Hence, in 2016 the number
of Indians seeking emigration clearance for travel to Saudi Arabia came
down to 165,356 or just 50 per cent of the 2014 figures (Bagchi 2017 ).
The economic slowdown in the oil-rich Gulf Arab countries and the fall
in the number of Indians emigrating to the region have an adverse impact
upon the remittances that India receives from its expatriate workforce.
India has been one of the highest recipients of remittances from abroad,
and with about US$68.9 billion in 2015, it reached the top slot (PTI
2016a). In the past, the Gulf remittances enabled the Indian government
to tide over the balance of payment problems. The economic conditions
facing Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries had affected the flow.
Though India retained the top slot, the flow dropped to US$62.7 billion
or a drop of nearly 9 per cent in 2016 (PTI 2017a). A large chunk of this
remittance came from the Gulf and in 2015 Indian workers in Saudi
Arabia alone sent home US$11.25 billion, the third largest flow after the
UAE and the US (The World Bank 2017 ).
One of the major irritants in the Indo-Saudi relations has been the
treatment of Indian workers. While most of them have a satisfactory expe-
rience, they have to suffer hardships due to geographical conditions, cul-
tural differences, harsh working conditions and unfamiliarity with the
Arabic language. There have been unpleasant experiences due to exploita-
tion and ill-treatment of domestic workers or sexual harassment. At times,
qualified migrants are forced to work as farmers, industrial labourers, con-
struction workers, drivers or even as shepherds. There are frequent media
(^3) Figures are taken from various annual reports published by the Ministry of External
Affairs, Government of India.
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR