Indians in the United Arab Emirates

2021-07-08T14:16:46Z

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{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Indians in the United Arab Emirates
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| image_caption =
| population = '''3,420,000'''<br>'''27.1% of the UAE's population''' (2017)<ref name="Pew research">{{cite news|title=India is a top source and destination for world’s expats|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/03/india-is-a-top-source-and-destination-for-worlds-migrants/|access-date=7 March 2017|work=Pew Research Center|date=3 March 2017}}</ref>
| genealogy =
| regions = [[Abu Dhabi]]{{•}}[[Dubai]]{{•}}[[Sharjah (emirate)|Sharjah]]
| languages = [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]]{{•}}
[[Tamil language|Tamil]]{{•}}[[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]]{{•}}[[Marathi language|Marathi]]{{•}}[[Telugu language|Telugu]]{{•}}[[Urdu language|Urdu]]{{•}}[[Odia language|Odia]]{{•}} [[Tulu language|Tulu]]{{•}}[[Kannada language|Kannada]]{{•}}[[Hindi language|Hindi]]{{•}}[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]{{•}}[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]{{•}} [[Sindhi language |Sindhi]]{{•}}[[Bengali language|Bengali]]{{•}}{{•}}[[English language|English]]{{•}}[[Arabic language|Arabic]]{{•}}[[Languages of India|Others Indian languages]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]]{{•}}[[Sikhism]]{{•}}[[Islam]]{{•}}[[Jainism]]{{•}}[[Zoroastrianism]]{{•}}[[Buddhism]]{{•}}[[Christianity]]{{•}}[[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]]
| related_groups =
| footnotes =
}}

'''Indians in the United Arab Emirates''' (UAE) constitute the largest part of the population of the [[United Arab Emirates|country]]. Over 3,420,000 [[Indian people|Indian]] expats are estimated to be living in the UAE,<ref name="Pew research"/> which is over 38 percent of the total population of the UAE.<ref name="Emirates24/7">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120728024019/http://uaeindians.org/profile.aspx Profile - Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi UAE]</ref> Indian contact with the emirates that now constitute the UAE dates back several centuries, as a result of trade and commerce between the emirates and [[India]]. The UAE has experienced a tremendous increase in the population of resident Indians who initially migrated to the country as a result of opportunities in the [[Petroleum industry|petroleum]]. Now, Indians are key to the UAE's [[construction industry|construction]], retail, financial services, manufacturing and [[Transport in the United Arab Emirates|transport]] sectors.
A sizeable minority of Indian migrants are involved in professional services and entrepreneurship. Relations between India and the UAE have traditionally been friendly.<ref name=total_pop>[https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Bilateral_Brief_for_US_DD_new.pdf India-UAE Bilateral Relations]</ref>

== History ==
[[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at the Indian Community Reception, in Dubai Cricket Stadium, UAE on August 17, 2015.jpg|thumb|200px|Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] addressing an Indian community gathering in Dubai Cricket Stadium in August 2015.]]

Countries in the [[Persian Gulf]] region have had a long-established economic and political link with India. [[Trucial Oman]] (now [[Emirates of the United Arab Emirates|UAE]]), was [[nominal independence|nominally independent]] in the 19th century but was administered by the [[British Raj]]; trade and banking sectors in the territory were administered by the [[Khoja]] and [[Kutchi people|Kutchi]] communities of India. In 1853, the rulers of the emirates signed a [[Perpetual Maritime Truce]] with the British, effectively bringing the region under Britain's sphere of influence. Administered from British India, the emirates developed commonalities with [[South Asia]]. [[Indian Rupee]]s were used as currency, as were Indian [[postal stamp|stamps]] (overlaid with the name of the emirate) for postal correspondence.<ref name=global>R Perry, B Maurer. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WWFlo6sCzbQC ''Globalization Under Construction: Governmentality, Law, and Identity''] (page 142). [[University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota Press]]. 2003 {{ISBN|0-8166-3966-3}}</ref> A fairly homogeneous society at the turn of the 20th century, the region that now comprises the UAE experienced an economic boom as a result of the [[pearl hunting|pearling]] industry; the few Indian traders emigrating to the emirates moved to the coastal towns and remained on the fringes of [[Emirati culture|Emirati]] society.<ref name=pearling>Abed, Hellyer. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QcMz3zV0qAMC&pg=PA246&as_brr=3&sig=eIc_GShmzSF7FWLyBiDLNOldij0#PPA114,M1 United Arab Emirates: A New Perspective] (page 114). [[Trident Press]]. 2001</ref> Dubai had traditionally served as an ''[[entrepôt]]'' for trade between the [[Middle East]] and the [[Indian subcontinent]] and was dominated by [[Hindu]] merchants in both gold and textile trade.<ref name=dubai_oman>King, Russel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nbsNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA245&sig=5hMl2NVYxW2iWDBEee69NDkgKMM#PPA245,M1 Return Migration and Regional Economic Problems] (page 245). Routledge. 1986</ref> Dubai was also an important trading post for Indians prior to the discovery of oil (in commercial quantities) in the UAE in 1959;<ref name=pearling /> the emirate had been at the centre of a smuggling route of gold via small boats to India, where the importation of gold was illegal.<ref name=goldimportation>[[Frank Brenchley|Brenchley, Frank]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QtRojsvBm8wC&pg=PA279&lr=&as_brr=3&sig=oqO2SnCbPRczKODLoIkzIcIbxsc Britain and the Middle East: An Economic History 1945-87] (page 279). I.B.Tauris. 1989</ref>

===Indian footprint on UAE economy===
{{Main|Gulf Rupee}}

Businesses in the largest sheikhdoms in the UAE, Dubai and Abu Dhabi continued to use the Indian Rupee even after India's [[Indian independence movement|independence]] in [[Indian Independence Act 1947|1947]]. But its popularity strained India's [[Foreign-exchange reserves of India|foreign reserves]], and so in 1959 the [[Government of India|Indian government]] created the [[Gulf rupee]], initially at par with the Indian rupee. It was introduced as a replacement for the Indian rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country, which included apart from the states making up the UAE, the nations of [[Kuwait]], [[Qatar]], [[Oman]] and [[Bahrain]].<ref>[[Reserve Bank of India]] (Amendment) Act, 1 May 1959</ref>

On 6 June 1966, India devalued the Gulf rupee against the Indian rupee. Following the devaluation, several of the states still using the Gulf rupee adopted their own currencies.

===Immigration boom===
The discovery of oil brought with it an influx of workers from India from the mid-1960s onward. Many came via sea, a trip of about three days from [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai) to Dubai. Most of the shopkeepers were from the [[States and union territories of India|state]] of [[Kerala]], or were Indian Arabs, descendants of Arabs who had previously emigrated to India. It was also in the late 1960s that the [[Hindu Temple, Dubai|Hindu Temple]] and first Indian schools were built for expatriate Indian families. Indian migration to the UAE drastically increased in the 1970s and 1980s, with the expansion of the oil industry and the growth of [[free trade]] in Dubai. Annual migration of Indians to the UAE, which stood at 4,600 in 1975, rose to over 125,000 by 1985, and stood at nearly 200,000 in 1999.<ref name=demos>G Singh, B Parekh, et al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OUlhu8dVX8MC&printsec=frontcover&sig=8C42ip-NxXPG7JowPtoM-9F8Vw0#PPA105,M1 Culture and Economy in the Indian Diaspora]. [[Routledge]]. 2003</ref>

== Demographics ==

In the 2.8 million migrants, 1 million are from [[Kerala]] and 450,000 from [[Tamil Nadu]], form the majority in Indian community living in UAE. By 1999, the population of Indian migrants in the UAE, which stood at 170,000 in 1975, was at 750,000.<ref name=demos /> The estimated population of Indians in the UAE as of 2009 is near 2 million. Indians constitute 42% of the total UAE population. There is no pathway to [[naturalisation]] and citizenship (yet).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Citizens-Dubais-Indian-Diaspora/dp/0822353938|title=Impossible Citizens: Dubai's Indian Diaspora|last=Vora|first=Neha|date=2013-03-18|publisher=Duke University Press Books|isbn=9780822353935|location=Durham London|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/middle-east/2018/02/one-abu-dhabi-s-unofficial-citizens-when-will-i-get-call-my-country-home|title=As one of Abu Dhabi’s unofficial citizens, when will I get to call my country home?|last=Naffis-Sahely|first=Andre|website=www.newstatesman.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-02}}</ref> A vast majority of Indian migrants are on employment based [[Visa (document)|visa]]s, while others are on business or trade visas. Some are also sponsored by their spouse or parents.

In addition, over 300,000 undocumented migrants, many of whom are Indian, are said to be living in the UAE.<ref name=illegal>Kapiszewski, Andrzej. [https://books.google.com/books?id=S4ksRUcbbHMC&pg=PA87&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&sig=E9tq1ZfMiuJ7cMKAhMJO8Tv_C9c#PPA92,M1 Nationals and Expatriates: Population and Labour Dilemmas of the Gulf]. [[Garnet & Ithaca Press]]. 2001</ref> Undocumented migrants, if caught, are jailed and then deported to their home countries. A federal law enacted in 1996 in the U.A.E imposed sanctions against undocumented migrants and their employers. The UAE government offers [[amnesty]] programs where foreign undocumented workers can voluntarily leave the country without facing imprisonment or having to pay fines. One such three month amnesty program in 2007 benefited 110,000 illegal Indian migrants, all of whom were either legally reabsorbed into the UAE workforce or were allowed to return to India without sanctions or imprisonment.<ref name=illegalworkers>[http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/70000_Indian_workers_benefited_from_UAE_amnesty_scheme/articleshow/2517873.cms 70,000 Indian workers benefited from UAE amnesty scheme]. [[The Economic Times]]. [[The Times Group]]. 5 November 2007</ref>

There is also a sizable population of second or third generation U.A.E-born Indians.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/dec/13/abu-dhabi-citizenship-uae-foreigner-visa-india|title=Abu Dhabi: the city where citizenship is not an option|last=Unnikrishnan|first=Deepak|date=2017-12-13|work=The Guardian|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> They share characteristics with other [[Third culture kid|third culture kids]], forming a cultural identity that blends their heritage culture and the myriad of foreign cultures they encounter growing up in the U.A.E, and a more fluid sense of home. Those who grow up in western compounds tend to be well-assimilated into western culture, whereas those who stay in Indian neighborhoods tend to be more in touch with India. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/middle-east/2018/01/nomadic-utopia-will-dubai-s-many-worlds-ever-find-common-cultural-identity|title=Nomadic utopia: will Dubai’s many worlds ever find a common cultural identity?|last=Yadava|first=Sukriti|website=www.newstatesman.com|language=en|access-date=2018-03-02}}</ref> Many U.A.E-born Indians further migrate to countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand both for greater economic and lifestyle opportunities, and due to the U.A.E's restrictive citizenship practices; many are forced to leave when no longer deemed valuable by the government, and citizenship is only given to descendants of local Emiratis.<ref name=":1" />

However, in 2020, the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] plunged many economies, including the UAE, into a [[recession]]. As of September 2020, more than 600,000 Indians applied to be repatriated amid the coronavirus outbreak, of which 400,000 left the country since repatriation flights began in May.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coronavirus: More than 50,000 Indians repatriated from Ras Al Khaimah since June|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/coronavirus-more-than-50-000-indians-repatriated-from-ras-al-khaimah-since-june-1.1082121|access-date=2020-10-14|website=The National|language=en}}</ref>

== Economic contribution ==
Foreigners comprise 99% of the UAE's labour force, of which Indians are a part.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/middleeast/06dubai.html Fearful of Restive Foreign Labor, Dubai Eyes Reforms]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 6 August 2007</ref> Some of these foreigners have lived in the country for generations. Around 40% of Indians in the UAE are [[White-collar job|white collar]] professionals.<ref name="ET">{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/939436/uae-decides-to-allot-land-for-temple-in-abu-dhabi/|title=UAE decides to allot land for temple in Abu Dhabi|work=Express Tribune|date=17 August 2015|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref> In addition to employment-based migrants from India, many Indian entrepreneurs in the UAE have established successful national franchises, the notable ones such as [[Lulu Group International]], [[Landmark Group]], [[Jashanmal]], Ajmal Perfumes,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ajmalperfume.com |title= Ajmal Perfume|publisher=Ajmal Perfume|access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> Amber Packaging Industries, Jumbo Electronics, Choithram's, [[Varkey Group]], [[Joy Alukkas|Alukkas]] and [[New Medical Centre]].

The Dubai-based Indian billionaires include [[Micky Jagtiani]] of the Landmark Group, [[Yusuff Ali M.A.]] of Lulu Group International, [[Ravi Pillai]] of the Ravi Pillai Group, the Chhabria family of the Jumbo Group, [[Sunny Varkey]] of [[GEMS Education]], [[Tony Jashanmal]] of the [[Jashanmal]] Group and [[Joy Alukkas]] of Joyalukkas Jewellery.

[[Rizwan Sajan]] of Danube Group, [[Azad Moopen]] of [[Aster DM Healthcare]], [[Ramesh Ramakrishnan|Ramesh S Ramakrishnan]] of the [[Transworld Group (Shipping and Logistic company)|Transworld Group]], and [[Shamsheer Vayalil]] of VPS Health Care are also on the list of Indian millionaires living in Dubai.<ref>[http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/dubai-emerges-as-new-hub-for-indias-superrich/article5355012.ece Dubai emerges as new hub for India's super-rich | Business Line]</ref>

The [[Gulf Medical University]] founded by [[Thumbay Moideen]] is an Indian contribution to the Higher Education scenario in the UAE. Today students from over 68 countries study in their campus in Ajman and the University is well known in the medical education circles.

[[Adnan Chilwan]], Group CEO of [[Dubai Islamic Bank]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chilwan|first1=Adnan|title=Adnan Chilwan is promoted as Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank|url=http://dib.ae/about-dib/executive-management|website=www.dib.ae}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and Kamal Puri, Founder President of [[Skyline University College (Sharjah)|Skyline University]], an influencer in the UAE Education Ecosystem,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Puri|first1=Kamal|title=Kamal Puri Founder President of Skyline University|url=http://www.skylineuniversity.ac.ae|website=www.skylineuniversity.ac.ae|publisher=Skyline University College|access-date=31 December 2015}}</ref> are also some of the few well known Indians in the UAE.

By 1996, at least 150 Indian companies were operating in the [[Jebel Ali Free Zone Area]] (JAFZA),<ref name="demos" /> and even today, more than 50% of the work force are Indian, in one of the most successful and model Free Trade Zones of the world. Over 25% of Indian workers in the UAE were engaged in [[manufacturing]], [[Transport in the United Arab Emirates|transport]] and related professions, while 20% were engaged in professional and technical fields.<ref name="workers2">K Zachariah, B Rakash, et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060407102247/http://www.epw.org.in/articles/2004/05/7249.pdf Indian Workers in the UAE: Employment, Wages, and Working Conditions]. ''Economic and Political Weekly''. 29 May 2004</ref> The 2005 [[Merrill Lynch]] report estimated that there were approximately 33,000 Indian [[millionaire]]s living in the UAE.<ref name="kt1">[http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2005/December/business_December486.xml&section=business&col= ICICI Bank: The Indian diaspora in Dubai and DIFC]. ''[[Khaleej Times]]''. 25 December 2005</ref> Indian expats typically save most of their earnings through employment benefits on accommodation and transport, and [[income tax]] free provisions of the UAE.<ref name="demos" /> As a result, a majority of the money is [[remitted]] for the maintenance of migrants' households in India. In 2005, an estimated US billion was remitted, about half of which was sent through informal ''[[hawala]]'' channels. About 70% of all remittances from the UAE (or US billion) was sent to India.<ref name="keralaremittances">[http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2006/10/11/stories/2006101103860600.htm UAE Exchange is now authorised dealer]. ''[[The Hindu|The Hindu BusinessLine]]''. 10 October 2006</ref>

A small number of Indian migrants have been involved in criminal activities in the Middle East, including [[smuggling]], trade in [[narcotics]], [[extortion]]s and other activities.<ref name=demos /> Dubai, in particular has been associated with the smuggling of gold and precious metals. [[Dawood Ibrahim]], head of the organised crime syndicate [[D-Company]], is estimated to have smuggled 20 to 30 tonnes of gold to India.<ref name=demos />

== Indo-Emirati relations ==

[[India–United Arab Emirates relations|India and the UAE]] (United Arab Emirates) have generally enjoyed cordial relations, partly due to their shared history with the British presence in [[Asia]], and partly due to the pre-colonial history of trade, commerce and settlement between the nations. In 1999, the UAE government secured the release of 25 civilian passengers aboard [[Indian Airlines]] flight IC-814 that [[Indian Airlines Flight 814|had been hijacked]] and forced to land in Dubai ''en route'' to [[New Delhi]] from [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]].<ref name=hijack>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/577965.stm Chronology of a hijack]. [[British Broadcasting Corporation]]. 29 December 1999</ref> However, several incidents, mainly concerning India's expatriate workforce in the UAE, have caused friction in Indo-Emirati relations.<ref name=globalization2>R Perry, B Maurer. [https://www.google.com/books?id=WWFlo6sCzbQC&printsec=frontcover&sig=AFJQ0vBnfTnYnYtV9GEgAPfY7qI&source=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=3_0#PPA148,M1 Globalization Under Construction: Governmentality, Law, and Identity]. [[University of Minnesota|University of Minnesota Press]]. 2003</ref>

== Culture ==

[[File:Pakvind123.JPG|thumb|[[India national cricket team|India]] vs [[Pakistan national cricket team|Pakistan]] [[cricket]] charity match at the [[Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium]] in [[Abu Dhabi (city)|Abu Dhabi]] in 2007.]]

The large segment of Indian migrants, along with comparatively lenient laws in the UAE<ref name=demos /> have allowed Indian communities to more or less practice their native cultures in the country. [[Middle class]] Indians in the UAE have established a network of cultural associations which cater to their needs. Cultural associations such as the India Club, Indian Association, Goan Cultural Society and numerous [[Keralite]] associations support cultural networks of the Indian sub-communities in the UAE. Additionally, schools such as the [[Abu Dhabi Indian School]] and [[The Indian High School, Dubai]] provide Indian curricular education to expatriate students. Dubai is the only emirate in the UAE with a [[Hindu Temple, Dubai|Hindu temple]] and [[Gurudwara|Sikh Gurudwara]]. In August 2015, in the backdrop of Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]]'s visit of the country, the UAE government decided to allot land for the construction of a temple in Abu Dhabi.<ref name="ET"/> Dubai and Sharjah are the only emirates with operating [[cremation]] facilities in the Emirates. Official permission must be obtained for their use in every instance. Churches exist in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and [[Ras Al-Khaimah]]. In 1998, the government of Dubai donated land for the construction of a facility to be shared by five congregations, four [[Protestant]] and one [[Roman Catholicism in the United Arab Emirates|Catholic]].<ref name=loc>Larkin, Barbara. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OTx1qbA8OW8C&printsec=frontcover Annual Report on International Religious Freedom]. [[United States Department of State]]. November 2000</ref>

Restaurants serving [[Indian food]] are very popular and widely available in the Emirates. Many of the hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have Indian restaurants that serve ''[[Mughlai]]'' or ''[[Tandoor]]'' cuisine, while vegetarian [[South Indian cuisine|South Indian]] are available and popular in the larger cities of the UAE.

India-Pakistan [[cricket]] matches are widely followed by the Indian diaspora in the UAE. The [[Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium]], established by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, hosted several [[India national cricket team|India]] & [[Pakistan national cricket team|Pakistan]] matches and triangular tournaments through the 1980s and 1990s, which attracted Indian and Pakistani cricket spectators from the UAE as well as from India and Pakistan. More recently, the state-of-the-art [[Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium]] in Abu Dhabi has hosted bilateral and triangular cricket tournaments featuring India and Pakistan. 2014 also marked the official entry of the Indian Premier League (IPL) into UAE with matches held in Abu Dhabi, Dubai & Sharjah.

[[Bollywood]], [[Telugu cinema|Tollywood (Telugu)]], [[Malayalam cinema]] and [[Tamil cinema|Kollywood]] are popular among Indian expatriates and are shown in most major theatres in the Emirates' main cities. Award ceremonies such as the [[IIFA Awards|International Indian Film Academy Awards]], [[South Indian International Movie Awards]], [[Asianet Film Awards]], [[Filmfare Awards South]] as well as [[Filmfare Awards]] have previously been held in Dubai; the city is also a popular destination for filming Indian films.

== See also ==

* [[Bangladeshis in the United Arab Emirates]]
* [[Pakistanis in the United Arab Emirates]]
* [[Sri Lankans in the United Arab Emirates]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{NRI-PIO}}
{{Immigration to the United Arab Emirates}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indians In The United Arab Emirates}}
[[Category:Indian diaspora in the United Arab Emirates| ]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates| ]]
[[Category:Asian diaspora in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:India–United Arab Emirates relations]]
[[Category:Emirati people of Indian descent| ]]

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Indians in the United Arab Emirates