This pioneering study will be conducted by the CDS team in cooperation with Indian diplomatic missions in the GCC countries.
“The project has already been kicked off in other Gulf states except Saudi Arabia,” said R. Muraleedharan, president of the Federation of Kerala Association in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA).
Muraleedharan pointed out that the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs had established a unit at the CDS campus in the south Indian city of Thiruvanathapuram to study various topics and issues related to the foreign migration from India.
He called on the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah to “extend all possible help” to the CDS team. A copy of the letter sent by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh was made available to Arab News by FOKASA.
The CDS study, according to the ministerial communication, would go a long way in formulating appropriate policy measures for workers, including the policy of rehabilitation for the Gulf returnees.
Referring to the problems faced by the workers, the FOKASA chief said the number of Indian workers in the Gulf exceeds 5.5 million, of which about two million live and work in Saudi Arabia alone.
“We are very grateful to the Saudi government for the warm welcome we have received in the country,” said Muraleedharan.
The problems range from nonpayment of salaries by the Gulf employers to irregularities committed by recruiting agencies, exploitation and abuse of workers as well as lack of proper medical insurance. This is in addition to the problems faced by Indian expatriates in sending back the mortal remains of their kith and kin, who die in the Gulf. Only in 2009, about 610,000 Indian workers emigrated from India and 90 percent of them went to the Gulf countries, said a report published recently.
The CDS, which has undertaken the project, is a an autonomous institution of India with a mandate to promote research, teaching and training in disciplines relevant to development. The CDS draws financial support from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the government of Kerala.
The Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Planning Commission have also instituted endowment units for research in selected areas at CDS.
