Preface / A message / Introduction / Conceptualizing India-West Asia Relations: the macro-historical perspective / Kuwait and India: historical, cultural and social bonds / Afro-Asian relations: the Sudanese perspective / Contemporary Indo-Sudanese relations / Indo-Arab relationship: the Syrian perspective / Yemen and India: development of historical relationships / Egypt: a link between India and the Mediterranean / India and West Asia: sharing history and future challenges / India and the Arab world: retropsect and prospects / Personal reflections on Indo-Arab relations / Enduring relationships: maritime contacts in the Western Indian Ocean / Cultural implications of trades between South Asia, the Gulf and Mesopotamia in the Bronze Age / Arabian Gulf during the British era: the impact of India / India and West Asia relations: the changing economic matrix / Population dynamics in West Asia and North Africa / Minorities in the Middle East: an inquiry / Globalisation and literature / Exploring composite culture in India / Sanskrit's legacy to the Arab intellectual heritage / Indo-Arab cultural relations: glimpses of Medieval Arabic texts / South India and the Gulf: trade and diplomacy during the late eighteenth century / Medieval West Asian critical appreciation of India / India-West Asia interaction / Unitary histories, epistemological divides: a summing up