Page 171 - DILMUN NO 20
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Historical Links between india and the Gulf

‫ﻭﻑ‬,٩‫ﻭ‬٩‫ﺍ ""ﺍ‬

                      ln Bahrain, protective duties were assigned first to lndians from Baluchistan,
                      many of whom were recruited in Muscat in the early 20th centu.yr ln the wake
                      of an assassination attempt against the British Poliitcal Agent,Major Daly,by
                      a Baluchi soldier in 1926, security duties were assigned for some time to two
                      lndian regiments. Until 1932 the entire police of Bahrain consisted of Punjabi
                      soldiers who were recruited by the adviser to the Government of Bahrain, Sir
                      Charles Belgrave, with the assistance of the lndian military authorities. 88
                      Thereafter, Bahrainis were included but one third of the force remained
                      lndians for security reasons as justified by the British Resident. To prepare
                      the Bahrainis for undertaking their duties in the police force, they were trained
                      by instructors brought from the lndian army in Karachi. Some of the very first
                      among them received advanced training and military know0edge at
                     academies in Karachi and Bombay.

                     The hndian Presence in the Gulf

                     With British hegemony over the Gulf states, the position of the lndian
                     merchants in the region was reinforced, the number of these merchants
                     increased, and their activities stretched to include businesses other than
                     those related to the pearling industry.

                     Among the factors leading to this new situation was the protection which the
                     lndian merchants came to enjoy under British rule in the Gulf due to the fact
                     that they were considered to be British subjects. ١n all treaties conducted
                     between the British lndian Authorities and the Gu‫ﺇ‬f Principalities there were
                     articles asserting such protection and privileges. Prior to these treaties, the
                     lndian merchants faced insecurity which restricted their existence in large
                     numbers in the region. Their businesses and commercial vessels were, on
                     many occasions, victims of domestic instabilities in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain,
                     and the Trucial Sheikhdoms or victims of tribal wars between the ruler of this
                     states. 89 On other occasions, they were victims of the struggle for
                     dominance by such forces as the Wahhabis, the Ottomans, and the Persians.
                     so.
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