ABSTRACT
A special feature of emigration from Kerala is that much of it is temporary. Kerala emigrants tend to return to the state. Nearly 90 per cent of emigration from Kerala is directed towards the Gulf countries. Unlike emigration to the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or other countries, almost all emigrants to the Gulf countries return to Kerala. As a result, Kerala has a huge stock of return emigrants (REMs). They have become a demographically, politically, economically, and socially significant component of Kerala’s population. With their financial and human resources and the business contacts they establish abroad, REMs could be the foundation for Kerala’s modernisation efforts.
