This article covers the spiritual, educational and people-to-people links between India and Iraq, including pilgrimage, Iraqi students in India, scholarships, commemorations of Mahatma Gandhi, and the Indian community in Iraq. It uses only the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.

Spiritual ties

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, Iraqi philosophers and Sufi saints had such an impact on spiritual movements in India that Guru Dev Nanak Saheb came personally to Baghdad to deliberate on ontological and epistemological questions with Sheikh Behlul, who hosted him for nearly three months.

The brief describes centuries old spiritual ties between the two peoples. Thousands of Indians visit the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in Karbala every year, as well as the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Baghdad.

Religious pilgrimage

A large number of Indian pilgrims visit the holy shrines in Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala every year. The brief records that about 1,00,000 Indians visited Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf for pilgrimage during 2025. Several Indian tourists also visit the holy shrine of the Sufi Saint Sheikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani in Baghdad. India's plan to open a consulate in Najaf, intended in part to facilitate pilgrims, is described in this guide's practical article.

Education

The brief describes India as a preferred destination for Iraqis to pursue higher education. More than 10,000 Iraqi students have obtained PhD, Masters and undergraduate qualifications in India.

Under its General Scholarship Scheme (GSS), run by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), India offers Iraqi students the opportunity of higher studies in Indian universities. The brief lists these scholarships under capacity building:

  • 75 scholarship slots have been allocated for the academic year commencing from 2026-27.
  • 49 out of 50 scholarships were availed by Iraqi students during the academic year 2025-26.

Training courses for Iraqi officials, diplomats and yoga students are covered in this guide's development partnership article.

Medical travel

The brief states that people-to-people and institutional contacts have made India one of the most preferred destinations for Iraqis seeking quality medical treatment. The arrangements with Indian hospitals are described in the development partnership article, and visa figures in the practical article.

Mahatma Gandhi busts

A bust of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in the largest public park, Hawary Shar, in Sulaymaniyah on 09 April 2022. Another was unveiled at the American University in Baghdad on 25th January, 2023.

In all, there are four Mahatma Gandhi busts in Iraq: two in Kurdistan, one in Baghdad and one in the Embassy premises.

The Indian community

The brief traces the changing size of the Indian community in Iraq since before 1991:

  • Before the Gulf war in 1991, there were more than 80,000 Indian nationals in Iraq. Most of them left before the war started.
  • After the 2003 invasion, thousands of Indian workers were recruited by contractors to provide various services to foreign military bases in Iraq. Many left as the security situation deteriorated.
  • With the lifting of the ban on Indians travelling to Iraq in May 2010, the number of Indian workers steadily increased in the Kurdistan region, comprising Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk governorates, with better salaries and working conditions in steel mills, oil companies and construction projects.
  • When ISIS took over large parts of Iraq in 2014, the Government of India evacuated thousands of Indian nationals from Iraq.
  • There has been an influx of Indian workers to Iraq since the revision of the travel advisory in February 2019.

As of the brief, the total number of Indians in Iraq is estimated at around 25,000. They live mostly in Baghdad, the Kurdistan region, Basra, Najaf and Karbala.