Abhishek Kumar Singh /Patna/Varanasi

Habibullah, a resident of Bindusar Bujurg village, would have never imagined that his initiative would change the fate of many in his area. Habibullah was in school in 1979, when he learned about good work opportunities abroad and left for to Qatar work as a driver.

Back then Habibullah was the first person from Siwan district to go to the Gulf.

Once settled Habibullah called his four brothers to Qatar. Today four decades later, he is the proud owner of a small glass manufacturing industry in Dubai and with his brothers, he runs his business.

His son Shahid has a management degree from Amity University, Noida.

Habibullah’s success spread around in his and neighbouring village settlements like Chakia, Chandpalli, and Bhada people started exploring the option of going abroad.

The Gulf boom is visible in the region as almost in every family one member of a close relative works in the Arab countries. The expatriates are keen on using money also to provide higher education to their children.

In the village Indarawa Abdullah of the Gopalganj district adjoining Siwan a magnificent four-storey house stands tall amidst clusters of small and kutcha houses. The house belongs to Bhim Singh, 40, and his younger brother Ashu.

This house is the talk of the town as villagers remember Bhim Singh and Ashu Singh growing up in a mud house.

Workers displaying their tools at a placement agency

According to a report published in the English newspaper Business Today, Ashu and Bhim Singh's father owned a grocery shop in the village through which he earned Rs 4,000 monthly. This was hardly enough to support a large family. 

In 2006, Bhim Singh got a job abroad. "There was no income here," says Singh, who has five sisters.

He got a job as a pipe fitter with Consolidated Contracting International Company in Doha, Qatar. He borrowed money from friends and a local moneylender to meet the expenses of about Rs 62,000 on travel agents, visas, etc. 

"I clear the loan amount in two months," he says. His initial salary was Rs 35,000. To supplement his income, he opened a snack counter and it earned Rs 10,000 in his spare time.

Since Singh's company paid for lodging and boarding, he ended up saving all his earnings which he sent home.

Later, in 2009, Ashu also left the village and went to Saudi Arabia to work in a national construction company for Rs 32,000 salary.

Today all the siblings in this family are married. One of their elder sisters says, "At that time, we spent at least Rs 5 lakh on each sister's wedding. This was possible with the money earned abroad."

Singh is not the only one building a new house in his village with his foreign earnings. Today, construction activity can be seen on every street in this village. 

This change is visible among Muslims, who are increasingly using the money earned abroad also to educate their children. People working abroad are sending their children to English medium schools and cities for professional courses.

Mohammad Ilyas of Akhopur village went to Doha as a driver in 1989. Today, his son has a management degree from a private university. 

Though education among girls is not so popular, villagers hope that this trend will also change. Mohammad Ali Imam Rain, a community leader and businessman in Mirganj, Siwan, says, "We want to educate them. The mindset will change with all-round development."

According to media reports, an estimated 80 percent of the local economy in Gopalganj and neighbouring Siwan is dependent on remittances. Bihar has emerged as a new hotspot for immigrants, especially those headed to West Asia.

“Every household has at least two members in the Gulf countries. Most of them work as masons, helpers, carpenters, fitters, and drivers,” says Mohammad Saddam, an engineering student from Bindusar.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, the number of migrant workers from Bihar was 36,493 in 2006 which has increased to 2.13 lakh people working abroad in 2022.

In this district alone, the money sent from abroad is estimated to be Rs 4,800 crore annually, which has seen a rise in the last few years. Money transfer shops have grown rapidly, and people have built properties like large luxurious mansions and farmhouses there. Many houses have a fleet of cars and many types of firearms.

Shops of various brands have sprung up in the markets here. Women are spending money on cosmetics and farmers are buying tractors and other agricultural equipment. Sales of TVs and other consumer goods are also increasing.

A labour placement agency coaching workers who want jobs abroad

According to the latest World Bank report on migration and development, Indians sent an estimated $100 billion (Rs 8 lakh crore) as remittances. Bihar at $4 billion ranks fifth in terms of remittances. 

According to the report 'Bihar: Capital Remittances' published in CEIC, about Rs 100 million was sent from abroad to Bihar in 2023, while it was Rs 16.4 in the previous year.

As per estimates Gopalganj and Siwan account for 70 percent of the remittances to the state.

According to Kiran Shetty, regional vice-president, and MD, South Asia, Western Union, Siwan, and Gopalganj have emerged as the highest receiving districts of foreign remittances with the maximum remittances coming from Saudi Arabia, followed by the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.

The influx of money is changing the landscape of the remote villages of Siwan and Gopalganj with palatial buildings, money transfer shops, and currency exchange centers opening there.

The number of post offices in these districts that have contracted with Western Union is around 400.

Anil Kumar, who was recently transferred from Bihar to Jharkhand as Post Master General (Business Development and Marketing), says that the Siwan-Gopalganj General Post Office (one zone) received 62,000 international money orders through Western Union in 2014-15.

A local banker says, more than 1 lakh people send money there through Western Union.

Ali Imam tells the story of a poor woman to whom he used to give a rupee or two occasionally. He says, she was not seen for about six months and then she came to my shop and I took out a coin for her. She looked into my eyes for the first time and said, "Babu, I don't want this now, my two sons have gone to the Gulf countries of Arabia."

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On the other side, elders say young men are neglecting their studies as all of them want to go abroad to work and also there is a shortage of labour locally.