Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Neha Vora

Neha Vora is an associate professor of anthropology at Lafayette College.

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship — An Indian worker sells Indian fritters to Emiratis during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the neighborhood of Al Quoz in Dubai, UAE, 2019. Satish Kumar/Reuters

MER Article

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship

How do race and racism operate in the Gulf? Neha Vora and Amélie Le Renard closely examine how the term "Indian," as it is used in the United Arab Emirates, refers to much more than national origin. They trace the role of colonialism, capitalism and the state in creating "Indian" as a racialized cat

Neha Vora, Amélie Le Renard • 11 min read

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship — An Indian worker sells Indian fritters to Emiratis during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the neighborhood of Al Quoz in Dubai, UAE, 2019. Satish Kumar/Reuters

Current Analysis

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship

How do race and racism operate in the Gulf? Neha Vora and Amélie Le Renard closely examine how the term "Indian," as it is used in the United Arab Emirates, refers to much more than national origin. They trace the role of colonialism, capitalism and the state in creating "Indian" as a racialized cat

Neha Vora, Amélie Le Renard • 11 min read

Current Analysis

The Precarious Existence of Dubai's Indian Middle Class

Dubai, according to the conventional wisdom, is a bust. The International Monetary Fund predicts that economic growth in the United Arab Emirates as a whole will be lower in 2009 than in the last five years; the Dubai government has borrowed billions of dollars from Abu Dhabi to bail out its banks;

Neha Vora • 11 min read