[quote = Una Due Tfc]Because as a non British resident, I thought there may be a large enough population of people with Indian descent in Manchester to tempt them out. Apologies if this comment was made in ignorance.[/quote]
Una, the Asian population in Birmingham is mainly of Indian descent/origin, but in Manchester (and certainly here in Yorkshire) the population is mainly Pakistani.
A huge number of connections are offered by the ME3 & Turkish across all of Asia. Many passengers would have to connect onwards at BOM/DEL/ISB etc anyway, so DXB/DOH/AUH really make no difference and probably a better & more reliable schedule.