Jews in India

suchandra · January 18, 2007

History of the Jews in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first religions to arrive in India and assimilate with local traditions through cultural diffusion. The Jewish population in India is hard to estimate since each Jewish community is distinct with different origins; some arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah, others are descendants of Israel's Lost Ten Tribes. Of the total Jewish population in India, about half live in Mizoram and a quarter live in the city of Mumbai. Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without anti-Semitism from Indians (though they have been victims of anti-Semitism from the Portuguese [1] and the Christian Goa Inquisition during their colonial rule). The majority Hindu community have been very tolerant towards most other religions in India. Jews have held important positions under Indian princes in the past and even after independence from British Rule, they have risen to very high positions in government, military and industry. Anti-Semitism in India has manifested itself through the rhetoric of Islamist outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, who have declared Jews and Hindus to be enemies of Islam [2][3][4].

In addition to Jewish members of various diplomatic corps, there are five native Jewish communities in India:

The Cochin Jews arrived in India 2,500 years ago and settled down in Cochin, Kerala as traders.
The Bene Israel arrived in the state of Maharashtra 2,100 years ago.
The Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city Mumbai from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Arab countries about 250 years ago.
The Bnei Menashe are Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from the tribe of Menasseh.
The Bene Ephraim (also called Telugu Jews) are a small group who speak Telugu; their observance of Judaism dates to 1981.

Cochin Jews

<DL><DD>Main article: Cochin Jews

</DD></DL>The oldest of the three Jewish communities, traders from Judea and Israel arrived in the city of Cochin 2,500 years ago. Assimilated with the local population, the community built synagogues and colonies there. The synagogue in Cochin, is a protected heritage site and is a popular tourist destination although it actually doesn't belong to the Cochin Jews, but rather to Pardesi Jews. There are currently 53 Cochin Jews in Kerala.

Also see Paradesi Jews and Desi Jews.

Bene Israel

<DL><DD>Main article: Bene Israel

</DD></DL>The Bene Israel arrived 2,100 years ago after a shipwreck stranded seven Jewish families from Judea at Navagaon near Alibag, just south of Mumbai. The families multiplied and integrated with the local Maharashtrian population adopting their language, dress and food. They were nicknamed the shanivār telī ("Saturday oil-pressers") by the local population as they abstained from work on Saturdays which is Judaism's Shabbat. The Bene Israel claim a lineage to the Cohanim, which claims descent from Aaron, the brother of Moses. In 2002, a DNA test confirmed that the Bene Israel share the same heredity as the Cohanim.

Baghdadi Jews

<DL><DD>Main article: Baghdadi Jews

</DD></DL>Despite the name, the Baghdadi Jews are not exclusively of Iraqi origin: many came from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen as well. These Jews emigrated to India around 250 years ago and settled down in the city of Mumbai. They were traders and quickly became one of the highest earning communities in the city. As philanthropists, some of them donated their wealth to public structures. The David Sassoon Docks and a Sassoon Library are some of the famous landmarks still standing today. As well as Mumbai, Baghdadi Jews spread to other parts of India, with an important community in Kolkata. Scions of this community did well in trade (particularly jute, but also tea) and, in later years, contributed officers to the army. One, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob PVSM, becoming state governor of, first, Goa and then Punjab.

Bnei Menashe

<DL><DD>Main article: Bnei Menashe

</DD></DL>An estimated 9,000 people in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur started practicing Judaism in the 1970s, claiming to be descendants of the Tribe of Manasseh. They have since been recognized by Israel as a lost tribe.

Bene Ephraim

<DL><DD>Main article: Bene Ephraim

</DD></DL>The Bene Ephraim are a small group of Telugu-speaking Jews in eastern Andhra Pradesh, whose recorded observance of Judaism, like that of the Bnei Menashe, is quite recent, in this going back only to 1981.

Today

Image:Indian Jews in Israel.jpg 12 post-college Jewish Indians came to Arad, Israel in 2006 to learn about their own Indian Jewish history. Some plan to stay and live in Israel.

Jews in India typically have not intermarried with gentiles. In recent years, however, Indian Jewish Rabbis such as Ezekiel Isaac Malekar have presided over inter-faith marriage [5].The majority of Indian Jews have made aliya to Israel since the creation of the modern state in 1948.

See also