Today the most visible example of these links are the large numbers of Indians who live and work in the Gulf countries. This too has its origins in Harappan times. Mesopotamian inscriptions mention that the Meluhhans were numerous enough to have their own ‘villages’ or exclusive enclaves in and around Sumerian towns. We do not know for sure what these Indians were doing there— they could have been a mix of merchants, artisans and mercenaries—but they seem to have been an important part of the bustling economy of Bronze Age Mesopotamia. We also have a handful of references to individuals. For
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