The Plight Of Indians In Kuwait

One of the places that Indians have flourished and thrived is in Kuwait. Currently, Indians in Kuwait is the largest expatriate community in Kuwait. As of 2008, there are about 579,058 Indians and Persons of Indian Origin or descent in the country.

This growing community of Indians in this small emirate that was once the subject of American military action against its neighboring Iraq is the strong political-economic and cultural ties. The Kuwaiti emirate views India as a great source of highly qualified technical and professional manpower. In turn, Kuwait is seen as one of the best places for NRIs to earn a living to send home to the sub-continent as a ticket out of poverty. Over time, this mutual recognition allowed the Indian population in Kuwait to increase. Also, there are also a significant number of Kuwaiti citizens with one parent of Indian descent. This shows the respect afforded by the host country upon non-Resident Indians in the growth and development of Kuwaiti society.

It is not hard to find an Indian staffer in the many companies that operate throughout this tiny but oil rich country. They are employed as engineers, scientists, software technicians, and architects as well as in professional services as doctors, nurses, accountants and management consultants. The greater number of the Indians in Kuwait though is employed as semi-skilled and unskilled workers. All these employees send their earnings back home to Kuwait, making remittances from the country to India one of the largest amongst all remittance sources throughout India.

Despite being a Muslim country, Indians in Kuwait are allowed to practice their religion. The majority of Indians are practicing Hindus and a good number are Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians. In accordance with the Quran, those religions not mentioned or recognized by Islam are not allowed to build places of worship or other religious facilities. What the Kuwaiti government allows though is the practice of their worship in their homes and allowance for celebration of religious activities, such as marriage and other festivities.

In its latest move, the Kuwaiti government is now considering the placement of a cap on the number of visas issued to Indians. The Immigration Directorate observed a significant increase in the number of visas to Indian nationals. This ceiling though would not affect visa applications for professions as well as those who are university degree holders. The goal is to limit the entry of unskilled Indian workers into the country. This provision is to be made effective at a future date and would not affect those visa holders already in the country.