Indians in Bahrain
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (400,000 31% of Bahrain's population) |
|
| Languages | |
| Hindi • Malayalam • Tamil • Telugu • Urdu • Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Islam • Roman Catholicism • Protestantism • Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pakistanis in Bahrain |
The history of Indians in Bahrain dates back to the time of the Dilmun civilisation in 3000 BCE when the civilisation served as a trade link between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilisation. Proper immigration of Indians to Bahrain first started in the late quarter of the 19th century, with Banyan merchants arriving from the British Raj. Today, Indians number at an estimated 400,000 people out of the country's total population of 1.3 million, making them the largest expatriate group in the country.
Initially, Indian merchants in Bahrain traded dates, though most later entered the pearling business and helped to export pearls to the world market. These merchant families originated from the Sindh province and the Kathiawad region of Gujarat. By 1925, it was estimated that there were 2,500 Indian families settled in the country, most of whom were involved in the retail sector. With the discovery and refinement of oil in Bahrain in 1932–1945, there was a demand for manpower in the oil sector, which led to greater number of Indian workers to immigrate to the country. Following the Second World War and the subsequent expansion of Bahrain's economy as a result of the oil boom, greater number of Indians emigrated to the country to set up their own businesses and to fill in manpower demands as workers, managers and salesmen. By the 1950s, the Bahrain Petroleum Company, which was the country's sole oil company, had employed more than 600 Indians. A rough estimate suggested that the number of migrant workers, from the state of Kerala, in Bahrain increased from 1,000 in 1958 to almost 5,000 in 1981.
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