Indians in Bahrain

History

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. This figure has increased to 101,556 in 2011, forming the majority of Indian nationals in the country.

Indians in the country have predominantly blue-collar jobs; 70% of the Indian community work in the construction sector of the country, with others working as barbers and carpenters. Around 15,000 more Indians work as domestic workers; these are almost exclusively women. Most Indian women in the country work as teachers in the country's private schools. Despite the vast number of Indians working as blue-collar workers, white-collar Indian workers are present in the country, often working as pharmacists, physicians and accountants. In recent years, a large number of Indians have committed suicide, leading to a public outcry in Bahrain and India, with community leaders asking for greater reach of counselling and support services.

The Indian embassy in the country was first opened in January 1973. Prior to that, India's Ambassador to Kuwait was concurrently accredited to Bahrain.