Social Remittances of Keralans in Neoliberal Circulation

This chapter examines the diverse sociological experiences of Kerala’s migrants based on field interviews with returnees in Kochi, Malappuram, and Kozhikode; and Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) in Dubai. Returned contract workers recount gruelling and exploitative employment conditions in the Gulf, though drivers appreciate the higher wages and safer driving conditions relative to India. Returned professionals often miss the more cosmopolitan lifestyle that they had in the UAE and report reverse culture shock by their families upon returning to India. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs in Kochi view the Gulf-inspired consumption habits of upper-middle-class returnees as a promising niche market for Kerala’s urban centres. In the migrant-sending Gulf pockets of Kozhikode and Malappuram, experiences span the full socioeconomic spectrum, ranging from unemployed returnees and widowed Gulf wives, to wealthy returnee entrepreneurs that have become prominent politicians and philanthropists. In Dubai, Malayalis live in occupational enclaves, mirroring the communal cultural practices and social stratification of Kerala. Health care professionals bemoan long hours and the rising cost of living (rent, international school fees, value-added tax); yet second-generation NRKs who have tried working in Kerala find themselves returning to Dubai or moving on to Bangalore. Despite differences among various types of returnees and NRKs, interviewees concur that the state of Kerala does not provide adequate support for returnees, NRKs, or non-migrant Keralites for that matter. Kerala’s brain-drain and on-going circulation of its population is widely viewed as a symptom of local state neglect.