You sometimes see missiles being intercepted at night, but it isn't scary. Our daily life goes on as usual.
Prasannan, an Indian working at an oil and gas facility inspection company in Dubai, remained calm despite the war clouds hanging over the Gulf in recent days. As some wealthy Westerners chartered private jets to flee Dubai, most Indians—the largest foreign community in the region—appeared to be staying put.
◇ "A paycheck heavier than life"… going home means bankruptcy
The biggest reason Indians have not returned home amid the flames of war is economic reality. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 67,000 Indians have returned since the war broke out. Considering there are about 10 million Indians in the Gulf, that is less than 1%.
The Financial Times (FT) analyzed that Indians working in Dubai see job insecurity as a bigger threat than personal safety. Income levels in Dubai are incomparably higher than in India. Options are especially limited for low-income workers. Even if they return, it will be hard to find work immediately, and it will be difficult to expect the same income as now. A worker in the logistics industry told the FT, "So far, I am more worried about job insecurity from a prolonged war than threats to life."
◇ A bond forged in the rupee era… a "second hometown" rooted for three generations
For Indians, the Gulf is not just another country. A centuries-long historical bond holds them there. Until the 1960s, the Indian rupee was legal tender in the Gulf, underscoring deep economic ties.
Now into the third generation of migration, they have built dense networks centered on religion, caste, and school ties. This foundation is why they do not easily leave even in times of crisis. Migration expert S. Irudaya Rajan said, "Indians have far older networks than Europeans," adding, "Even in wartime, these human networks serve as a psychological bulwark that sustains them."
◇ An inseparable symbiosis
Indians who once filled construction sites are now evolving into Dubai's "core brains." The share of professionals in IT and finance has surged, and India's tycoons, including Asia's richest Mukesh Ambani, operate out of Dubai. Kabir Taneja, head of the Middle East program at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an Indian think tank, said, "While the share of manual laborers is declining, IT professionals who have hitched onto Dubai's growth are increasing rapidly," adding, "A vast talent pool and diligence are why Indians are preferred."
The Indian government, for its part, quietly hopes they stay. Remittances from the Gulf account for about 1% of India's gross domestic product (GDP). And with more than half of India's international passengers transiting through the Middle East, an exodus of migrant workers would inevitably deal a severe blow to India's broader economy.