'Needs Serious Introspection': Shashi Tharoor On Report Of Gulf Returnees Importing Conservative Gender Norms To Kerala

Kerala: A new research report by World Bank Group has alleged a new trend in Kerala, claiming that the gulf migrants returnees, especially from countries like Saudi Arabia, bring back social norms along with huge remittances that have boosted the state’s economic growth for the past few decades.

The study, titled ‘Beyond Money: Does Migration Experience Transfer Gender Norms? Empirical Evidence From Kerala’ alleged that migrants from Saudi Arabia is more conservative and less exposed to international workers than the UAE, Qatar and other Gulf states. ‘Return migrants from Saudi Arabia were more conservative by 3.0 standard deviations on GBV and 2.6 standard deviations on extreme attitudes than non-migrants,’ the study claimed. Meanwhile, the report pointed out, returning migrants from other Gulf countries were less conservative by 0.5 and 0.7 standard deviations and more open-minded.

Sharing the reports, Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor called it ‘disturbing’. Stressing the need for introspection, the former UN diplomat recalled that Kerala has long been host to a liberal, progressive practice of Islam, fully in tune with the coexistence and communal harmony prevalent across the state.

Pointing out that Kerala is proud of its record of educating Muslim girls and women to the same levels as boys and men, Tharoor said the import of conservative and even reactionary attitudes and customs from abroad, as suggested by this report, is fundamentally at variance with what Kerala has long been about.

“This requires serious introspection and internal discussion within the Muslim community as well,” the MP wrote in an post.

These are disturbing reports. Kerala has long been host to a liberal, progressive practice of Islam, fully in tune with the coexistence and communal harmony prevalent across the state. Kerala is proud of its record of educating Muslim girls and women to the same levels as boys… https://t.co/mzcBfWXaNp

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 23, 2026

The post gained traction on X, with several users labelling as a decline of Indian cultural values, praising Tharoor’s view. Several discarded the report calling it just like another Kerala story, asserting that Muslims returning from Saudi Arabia and Qatar are more progressive than those living at home.

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The paper claimed it studied returning migrants from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries and the transfer of gender attitudes back to Kerala. The study found that money was not the only thing that returns, highlighting that the migration experience can transfer conservative gender norms, especially from highly conservative destinations like Saudi Arabia.

The paper noted that migrants returning to Kerala from Saudi Arabia tend to exhibit conservative values re: gender-based violence & extreme attitudes pertaining to the perpetration of physical violence against women, when compared with those who have no migration experience. The study claimed that Saudi returnees were significantly more conservative on general and decision-making.

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‘This has major implications for gender equality and migration policy in Kerala and other large labor-sending states,’ the study stated.