Expat Indians are permitted to vote in the upcoming Assembly elections. However, expecting them to fly down just for that may be too optimistic
Bliberalisation levelled the global consumer-world, a visiting non-resident Indian enjoyed the status of a rock star in Kerala, which accounts for a fifth of non-resident Indians (NRIs).
Serpentine queues of friends and family used to wait longingly for the bell-bottomed “Gulf Malayalee” to show up at the airport carrying suitcases laden with perfumes, exotic chocolates and electronic gadgets. After 1991, those goods began to be sold in India and the queues dwindled.
(This story appears in the 25 March, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)