ABSTRACT
South Asia’s long historical and cultural links with the Gulf date back to ancient times when West Asian ports were a key element in maritime trade. The discovery of oil and the economic rise of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries attracted a huge influx of migrant workers from South Asian countries, particularly India, to the Gulf. At present, out of 15 million expatriates in the Gulf region, South Asians constitute around 9.5 million (Ozaki 2012). Of these, Indians are the largest group. The historical linkages, colonial domination, religious and cultural proximity, poverty, unemployment, political instability and insurgency in the South Asian countries are some of the factors that have led to this large influx to GCC countries. Kapiszewski (2006) argues that in the international milieu, West Asia has always been a major destination for labour migration, particularly the GCC countries. In Gulf countries, migrants constitute one-third of the total population.
