District in Dubai renamed as ‘Hind City’

The latest decision of Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to rechristen the Al Minhad area and its surroundings as 'Hind City' shows that the Dubai ruler respects Indians' contribution to the Arab kingdom's fledgling economy.

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indo-UAE ties have gone deeper and deeper in the last couple of years, especially after the arrival of Narendra Modi as India's Prime Minister. He has paid huge attention towards bridging the gaps and developing personal rapport for better Indo-UAE relations. In consequence of all these bilateral meetings and friendly advances, UAE has become a second home for lot many Indians. Now, UAE has further admitted the contribution of Indians in its economy.

The latest decision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, to change the name of the Al Minhad area and its surroundings of Dubai, which forms a district, to 'Hind City' shows that the ruler of Dubai respects Indians' contribution to its economy quite favourably. A huge chunk of Indian workers live in Dubai and contribute to the building of the city and nearby districts that have become centres of economic activities of the world over the decades.

Spread over 84-km area

The Hind City is spread over more than 83.9-km area and comprises four zones, e.g. Hind 1, Hind 2, Hind 3 and Hind 4. Since it is well connected with the major cities of the UAE through roadways, people living here don't have any issues commuting to any part of the small nation. Major highways of the UAE like Emirates Road and Dubai-Al Ain Road as well as Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road connect 'Hind City' to other major cities of the gulf nation.

Looking at the demographics of UAE, the picture becomes quite clear that Indians are the largest ethnic group in the gulf country. Although there are people from more than 200 countries who have all come for employment and other activities, Indians take the giant's share in the demographics.

Over 2.75 mn Indians in UAE

According to the latest data available, there are more than 2.75 million Indians living in the UAE alone. There are millions of others in the other gulf nations like Qatar, Yemen, Oman, etc. Interestingly, UAE also has a huge number of Pakistani population and as per the latest data, there are more than 1.27 million Pakistanis living in the UAE.

Similarly, there are nearly 0.75 million Bangladeshi nationals living in the UAE. However, for the UAE or any Islamic country in the gulf region for that matter, people from the Indian subcontinent are known as 'Hindi'. So, people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all called as Hindi. The change in the name of Al Minhad district to 'Hind City' is just an indication that a small representation of the Indian subcontinent is also there.