The Murti: How Hindu Merchants Shaped Oman

In the 19th century, a small but influential community of Hindu merchants from Kutch and Sindh — known as the Murti — became the financial backbone of Muscat. They managed customs, lent money to sultans, and controlled the pearl trade. This episode explores their arrival under the Busaidi dynasty, their role as financiers and diplomats, and their gradual decline after Oman's oil revolution. We meet figures like the merchant Ratansi Purshottam and see how a Hindu temple stood in the heart of Muscat until the 1970s. It's a story of trade, tolerance, and forgotten diversity in the Indian Ocean world. #Murti #HinduMerchants #Oman #Muscat #Busaidi #IndianOcean #PearlTrade #Kutch #Sindh #RatansiPurshottam #HinduTemple #19thCentury #TradeDiaspora #Zanzibar #OmanHistory #FexingoHistory #History #IndianOceanTrade #OmaniEmpire #YarubaDynasty Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo