Opinion | Vasu Dada Shroff To Yusuff Ali MA, The Indian Entrepreneurs Helped Build Dubai

Updated: Jun 09, 2026 11:58 am IST Published On Jun 09, 2026 11:51 am IST Last Updated On Jun 09, 2026 11:58 am IST

Published On Jun 09, 2026 11:51 am IST

Last Updated On Jun 09, 2026 11:58 am IST

On June 6, 1966, India had devalued the Gulf rupee against the Indian rupee. The Gulf Rupee (the official currency used in several Persian Gulf states, including the present-day UAE, Qatar, etc) was issued by the Reserve Bank of India and pegged to the standard rupee. Refusing to absorb the massive drop in value, these Gulf states abandoned the Gulf Rupee and began issuing their own independent currencies.

Sixty years later, Indians remain the country's largest expatriate community, accounting for around 40% of the population. Indian schools, temples, mosques, and cultural associations are woven into Dubai's social fabric. Bollywood premieres fill cinemas and regional Indian restaurants flourish across the city.

During the recent Iran-Israel-US conflict, there is a greater bond between Dubai and India. Bilateral harmony remains robust, celebrated by major cultural festivals like "Emirates Loves India"  and 'Everyone in UAE is Emirati' billboards catch attention of all visitors and residents alike. Last year, in Dubai's Zabeel Park, over one lakh tourists from India had celebrated "Ghar Jaisi Diwali".

Other than diplomatic and political efforts to strengthen Indo-UAE ties, many Indian residents have made immense contributions to develop Dubai as a 'home away from home'.

Recently, when Vasu Shroff died at the age of 85 on April 26, Dubai did not simply lose a businessman. It lost one of the early figures who had helped give the Indian community in the city a sense of permanence. The tributes that followed his passing remembered not only the chairman of Regal Group, but "Dada" - the elder who advised, connected, reassured, and opened doors.

Shroff's own beginning had the simplicity of a migrant legend. In 1960, at 19, he left........

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