John Samuel
It is estimated that approximately more than ten percent of the population of Kerala live outside Kerala today- in different parts of India, in the Gulf region, USA, Europe and different parts of the world. In spite of various estimates, there is no agreement among various researchers about the exact number of people of Kerala origin living in different parts of India and the world. The estimates vary from 3 to 4 million. It is partly due to the fact it is not easy to count the second and third generation people of Kerala origin settled in different parts of India or the world for many years.
However, there is more clarity about the number of migrants to the Gulf region and the pattern of migration in the last forty years. Migration has been a significant factor in reducing poverty, unemployment and relative deprivation in Kerala. For more than three decades, there has been a steady migration to the Gulf countries, different parts of India and the world. A recent survey (Migration and Development: Kerala Experience) S. Irudaya Rajan, KC Zacharia, CDS, 2007) by the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, point out that there are around 2.27 3 million Non-resident Keralite workers. The proportion of migrant workers to Gulf countries have decreased from 95 percent in 1998 to 89 percent in 2007. As per the study, International migrants have sent about Rs 24.525 thousand crores as remittances to Kerala in 2006-07. Remittances in 2006-07 were about 20 percent of the state’s NSDP
Following are the highlights of the study by the team of researchers (S. Irudaya Rajan, KC Zacharia- Kerala Migration Survey 2007) of the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum:
1) The number of emigrants had been 18.4 lakhs in 2003; it was 18.5 lakh in 2007. The number of return emigrants had been 8.9 lakh in 2003; it was 8.9 lakh in 2007 also. The number of non-resident Keralites had been 27.3 lakh in 2003; it was 27.4 lakh in 2007 also. Migration rates, however, experienced some significant decline. The emigration rate declined from 26.7 per 100 households in 2003 to 24.5 per 100 households in 2007.
2) The proportion of Kerala households with an NRK each in them has remained more or less at the same level as in 2007; it had been in 2003, 25.8 percent.
3) The northern districts of Kerala are gaining importance as areas of emigration. As years pass, more and more Kerala emigrants emanate from districts such as Malappuram, Kannur and Kasaragod. In Malappuram - 71 percent of the households have in them either an emigrant or a return emigrant each. Malappuram district had the distinction of sending out the largest number of emigrants from Kerala in 1998 and in 2003. It has retained the distinction in 2007 also. In fact in 2007, Malappuram district was the place of origin of 336,000 emigrants or about 18.2 percent of the total number of emigrants from Kerala.
4) Nearly half the number of emigrants was Muslim. Among the Muslims, 3 out of every 4 households (74 percent) have an NRK each, but among the Hindus less than 1 in 5 households (22 percent) only have an NRK each in them
5) The Muslim community that forms nearly 25 percent of the state’s population received 50 percent of the total remittances during 2006-07. The share of the seven northern districts of the state in the total remittances (61 percent) was almost double the share of the seven southern districts (39 percent).
6) The number of “Gulf Wives” that is married women living in Kerala whose husbands are emigrants living in other countries, is estimated to be about 1.2 million. They form about 10 percent of the currently married women in the state.
Migration has been a key engine of social, political and economic change in Kerala in the last thirty years. The pattern of migration and the resultant socio-economic consequences influenced the culture and political process of Kerala in a significant manner. On the one hand the high remittance helped to decrease unemployment and poverty, and on the other hand it also paradoxically gave rise to a consumerist culture, and commoditisation of public good such as education and health. In a way the remittance income from more than 2 million migrant workers also hep to provide indirect employment to another 4 to 5 million (as per various estimates) people within Kerala. The remittance economy – also changed the pattern of the ownership of the land, pattern of agriculture, and also influenced environment- and ecology- largely due to the unprecedented rise of construction sector (and pressure on land and paddy fields for new constructions). It would be important to understand the cause and consequences of migration. Over a period patterns of migrations have changed.
Kerala is also at the cross-road of a transition and the consequences (positive and negative) of migration would play an important role in shaping the future of Kerala. The remittance income would begin to get saturated and the extent of migration to the Gulf States would significantly decrease due to the labour- market saturation in the region. Three would be more completion for skilled and semi-skilled jobs in India and elsewhere. Hence, a remittance-based and largely service –sector oriented growth process may not be sustainable for Kerala in the long run.
It would be important to understand five different waves of migration from Kerala and how each of those patterns influenced the social and political process of Kerala
There are three issues here.
1) Socio-cultural shifts due to migration.
2) Economic and social consequences of Remittance based economy
3) Political consequences of Migration.
1) Among the various states of India, people from three states tend to migrate more across the world: Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala. And this has some historical influence as these states were exposed to cultures and people from outside through trade relations. Kerala has a history of more than 2300 years of trade exposure to different cultures through the maritime trade; Gujarat may have more than 3000 years of exposure. Punjab was at the cross roads between south Asia and central Asia-- on the cusp of major trade routes and war zone. There was a different kind of migration from Tamil Nadu-Andhra- east coast- to the present south-east Asia: the present day Cambodia, parts of Thailand Indonesia, south of Vietnam etc And there were chola trade- based kingdoms in the south of present day Thailand. All these cultural exposure shaped our historical sense of world view and influence.
2) The first generation of migration in the early twentieth century from Kerala was the migration of semi-skilled or quasi-professional workers to Ceylon and parts of Malaya( to work in the plantations) Burma and to Madras,Calcutta, Karachi and Bombay in the early twentieth century. The knowledge and money they brought back influenced our architecture( houses) and recipes to some extent.
The second wave of migration after the Second World War was to Singapore, Malaysia, and to different parts of India- to big cities like Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, and Bangalore. Most of the people who migrated in the second wave from 1945 to 60 were high-school educated semi skilled workers( typist, secretaries, office workers and armed forces). The third wave of Migrations from 1960 to 1975 was people with more technical skills and professional trainings( ITIs, Nursing, Clerks, technicians etc). These three waves of migration and the consequent remittance helped to influence land relationships - and more sense of 'indianess'- as there was a significant number of malayalies who joined the pan-Indian middle class: with relatively urbanised- cosmopolitan identity of Indiness.
It is during the fourth wave- from 1975 to 1992( till Kuwait war) there was mass migration to the Gulf, USA, Germany and other countries in Europe and elsewhere. This was due to the increased income of gulf countries- earned from high oil prices in the 1970s- and lack of skilled labours required for the construction and infrastructure development for oil based economy. Those who economically transformed Kerala are those with ITI and Nursing education. The increasing demand for Nurses in the health sector prompted a chain of migrations to US, Germany etc. In fact, one nurse would have been responsible for the migration of at an average of twenty people. The fifth wave of migration (from 1993 onwards) had two or three streams. These included: a) the relatively large migration of semi-skilled and unskilled labour force from northern part of Kerala, particularly Malappuram and Kannur. b) Immigration of highly qualified professionals ( Engineers, doctors, IT experts, academics ) to different parts of Europe( particularly UN), USA and other parts of the world c) Increasing emigration to the USA by the family networks of Nurses who migrated to the USA and Europe in during the fourth wave of migration in the 1980.
3) There was indeed a cast and community connotations for the migrations. People from Christian community migrated relatively early more- partly due to the access to early education and less stigma associated with skilled work and professions like Nursing. It was also due to the fact that most of the Christians were marginal farmers. With the population growth in the first half of the 20th century, the land, and people ratio changed and hence they had to migrate within in Kerala- in search of land- or outside Kerala in search of labour. So many of them could have been quasi-economic refugees- who had less stake in feudal system or the ruling elites of princely kingdom- largely controlled by a Brahmin- Nair Axis.
4) It is in the fourth wave of migration, there was significant migration of Muslims, Ezhavas and from other communities. While the second generation of the first and second wave of migrants became professionals( doctors, engineers etc), the fourth wave of migrants belonged to lower-middle class of the society. While the first three waves of migration was confined to few areas of Kerala( Palghat, Central Travancore, some parts of Malabar and Kochi)- the fourth wave of migration was much more widespread across cast, communities and regions. It is the fourth wave of migration that had maximum impact in terms of social and political relations, cultural landscape and economic consequences. The fifth wave of migrations - from 1995 onwards- had three layers- upper-elites consisting of highly skilled professionals across the world, b) middle class skilled and semi-skilled workers c) lots of unskilled labour in the second half of the 1990s.
5) The pattern of migration and its consequences influenced all aspects of the society: land relationships, decline of agriculture, growth of consumer and service sectors, rise of education as an industry- ( capitation fees, self-financing etc), and relatively less skilled and knowledge-based young leadership pool for political parties. This has a deeper impact also in terms of the structure and leadership of the political parties. Those communities who had relatively better stake in the power-structure of Kerala( Nair- Namboothiri) - and who were economically well off - through access to land and feudal relationship- got in to the leadership of political parties.
So there was relatively a high prevalence of people from few communities in the political leadership of Kerala. There were relatively very less number of Muslims in the political elites of Kerala till 1970s- but by the end 1990s, the economic status , educational profile and land-relationship changed significantly among Muslim communities- and this has resulted in a new understanding and assertion of political process. Such politicisation and revival of identity has a direct connection with the pattern of migration: And the response included a very strange mix of mainstream reformist politics and a more radical politics that combined critique of imperialism and assertion of a new pan-islamist politics.
6) Most of the Christians- who belonged to the first three waves of migration- had better access to information, money and network resources. So the next generation of these migrants moved to the upper-middle class elite sections of the society. And since many of the relatively more educated and skilled( largely nurses) among them migrated to the US, and other European countries, their politics too was partly shaped by this. These are the sections of people who were less politically conscious ( largely non-Left) and inadvertently promoted the painkilivalkaram- a new popular titilating consumer culture which began in central Travancore- spreading across Kerala.
7) Various patterns of migrations from various communities also seem to have influenced the political sociology and the sociology of political leaders. This has influenced the film industry- as remittance money and gulf-based business men began to invest in films. The -painkilivalkaram- or popularisation also can be seen as the dissolution of feudal relationships in Kerala. The feudal relationship was significantly challenged by the fourth wave of migration and the pattern of remittance. Though feudal relationships changed, the feudal mindset was not completely changed. The feudal mindset- along with consumerist status-quo and the vanities of neo-rich created a conducive environment of paninkilivalkaranam: and this can be partly seen as a popularisation and democratisation of literature from high class 'culture' to products for mass consumptions.
( to be continued)
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