Page 170 - DILMUN NO 20
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Historical Links between lndia and the Gulf ٩٩٨ ﺭ٠ ٠٣ ﻟﻲ٠
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١t must be asserted here that Britain's striving to protect the indians in the ﺍ
Gulf was not because of its preference for them. It stemmed from the
perception that such policy would assist the reinforcement of Britain's
position and give it an excuse to interfere in the Gult's domestic affairs. What
further encourage Britain to adopt this policy was the readiness on the part
of some lndians to serقe British interests in the GuIf through representing
British commercial firms or running some of the colonial departments.
Through maximum exploitation of the protection and facilities extended to
them by the British, and through employing their position as money-lenders
to the ruling families in Oman, Bahrain, and the Truical Principalities 9l, the
lndians could establish themselves firmly and dominate a large segment of
business in the region.
The oldest and strongest lndian merchant communities in the Gulf were in
Muscat and Matrah where a wide range of business was-and still is
dominated by the Luwatias; members of an lndian Muslim sect from near
Bombay, many of whom crossed to Oman some 200 years ago. Outside
Oman, the largest of these communities were in Bahrain and Dubai, and the
smallest were in Kuwait and Qatar. The reason given for the modest lndian
influence in the latter was the resistance shown by their rulers to any
prominent indian role in businesses as these rulers, themselves, were
merchants and feared competition, For example, the ruler of Kuwait
attempted in the 1930s to exclude all lndians from his state and, as a result,
he entered into a dispute with the British Political Agent. 92 However, one
must not underestimate here the fact that, unlike the kقuwaitish, te natives of
Oman, Bahrain, and the Trucial Sheikhdoms were in those days reluctant to
be involved in any business other than pearl trading, giving the lndians plenty
of opportunity for commercial dominance.
It is interesting to note that some lndian merchants, probably from Bahrain,
extended into the coast of Alahsa in the period prior to the rule of Alsaud.
According to Lorimer, a smlal lndian community involved in the import of
general merchandise from lndia and the export of dates settled in Qatif as
early as 1864. And when its members began to withdraw under the pressure
