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The history of the Jews in India reaches back to ancient times.

Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history. Indian Jews are a religious minority of India, but unlike many parts of the world, have historically lived in India without any instances of antisemitism from the local majority populace, the Hindus. The better-established ancient communities have assimilated a large number of local traditions through cultural diffusion. The Jewish population in India is hard to estimate since each Jewish community is distinct with different origins; some allegedly arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah, others are seen by some as descendants of Israel's Ten Lost Tribes. In addition to Jewish expatriates and recent immigrants, there are five native Jewish communities in India:

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

Cochin Jews

The oldest of the Indian Jewish communities is in Cochin. The traditional account is that traders from Judea arrived in the city of Cochin, Kerala, in 562 BCE, and that more Jews came as exiles from Israel in the year 70 CE. after the destruction of the Second Temple. The distinct Jewish community was called Anjuvannam. The still-functioning synagogue in Mattancherry belongs to the Paradesi Jews, the descendants of Sephardim that were expelled from Spain in 1492.

Central to the history of the Cochin Jews is their close relationship with Indian rulers, and this was eventually codified on a set of copper plates granting the community special privileges. The date of these plates, known as "Sâsanam", is contentious. The plates themselves provide a date of 379 CE, but in 1925 tradition was setting it as 1069 CE, The Jews settled in Kodungallur (Cranganore) on the Malabar Coast, where they traded peacefully, until 1524. The Jewish leader Joseph Rabban was granted the rank of prince over the Jews of Cochin, given the rulership and tax revenue of a pocket principality in Anjuvannam, near Cranganore, and rights to seventy-two "free houses". The Hindu king gave permission in perpetuity (or, in the more poetic expression of those days, "as long as the world and moon exist") for Jews to live freely, build synagogues, and own property "without conditions attached". A link back to Rabban, "the king of Shingly" (another name for Cranganore), was a sign of both purity and prestige. Rabban's descendants maintained this distinct community until a chieftainship dispute broke out between two brothers, one of them named Joseph Azar, in the sixteenth century.

In Mala, Thrissur District, Jews have a Synagogue and a cemetery.

Bene Israel

The Bene Israel claim that their ancestors arrived 2,100 years ago after a shipwreck stranded seven Jewish families from Judea at Navagaon near Alibag, just south of Mumbai. They were nicknamed the shanivār telī ("Saturday oil-pressers") by the local population as they abstained from work on Saturdays, Judaism's Shabbat. Bene Israel communities and synagogues are situated in Pen, Mumbai, Alibag, Pune and Ahmedabad with smaller communities scattered around India. The largest synagogue in Asia outside Israel is in Pune (Ohel David Synagogue). Mumbai had a thriving Bene Israel community until the 1950s to 1960s when many families from the community emigrated to the fledgeling state of Israel. The Bene Israel community has risen to many positions of prominence in Israel. In India itself the Bene Israel community has shrunk considerably with many of the old Synagogues falling into disuse.

Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without any instances of antisemitism from the local majority populace, the Hindus. However, Jews were persecuted by the Portuguese during their control of Goa.

Bombay/Mumbai

Baghdadi Jews

Despite the name, the Baghdadi Jews are not exclusively of Iraqi origin; many came from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen.

The first known Baghdadi Jewish immigrant to India, Joseph Semah, arrived in the port city of Surat in 1730. He and other early immigrants established a synagogue and cemetery in Surat, though most of the city's Jewish community eventually moved to Bombay (Mumbai), where they established a new synagogue and cemetery. They were traders and quickly became one of the most prosperous communities in the city. As philanthropists, some donated their wealth to public structures. The David Sassoon Docks and Sassoon Library are some of the famous landmarks still standing today.

The synagogue in Surat was eventually razed; the cemetery, though in poor condition, can still be seen on the Katargam-Amroli road. One of the graves within is that of Moseh Tobi, buried in 1769, who was described as 'ha-Nasi ha- Zaken' by David Solomon Sassoon in his book ‘A History of the Jews in Baghdad’.

Baghdadi Jewish populations spread beyond Bombay to other parts of India, with an important community forming in Calcutta (Kolkata). Scions of this community did well in trade (particularly jute and tea), and in later years contributed officers to the army. One, Lt-Gen J. F. R. Jacob PVSM, became state governor of Goa (1998–99), then Punjab, and later served as administrator of Chandigarh. Pramila (Esther Victoria Abraham) became the first ever Miss India, in 1947.

Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe are a group of more than 9,000 people from the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur who practice a form of biblical Judaism and claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Many were converted to Christianity and were originally headhunters and animists at the beginning of the 20th century, but began converting to Judaism in the 1970s.

Bene Ephraim

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, dating only to 1981.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "History of the Jews in India" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

They were few families in Andhra Pradesh who follow Judaism. Many among them follow the customs those followed by Orthodox Jews like hair customs of having unshaved long side locks, having head covering all the time etc.,

Delhi Jewry

Judaism in Delhi is primarily focused on the expatriate community who work in Delhi, as well Israeli diplomats and a small local community. In Paharganj, Chabad has set up a synagogue and religious center in a backpacker area regularly visited by Israeli tourists.

Chennai

Jews also settled in Madras (now Chennai) soon after its founding in 1640. Most of them were coral merchants from England who were of Portuguese origin and belonged to the Paiva or Porto families. In 1688, there were three Jewish representatives in the Madras Corporation. Most Jewish settlers resided in the Coral Merchants Street in Muthialpet. They also had a cemetery in the neighbouring Peddanaickenpet. The Jewish population in Madras began to dwindle at the turn of the 18th century and it is not known whether there are any Jews still residing in the city. The last of the tombstones in the cemetery date to 1997.

Today

The majority of Indian Jews have "made Aliyah" (migrated) to Israel since the creation of the modern state in 1948. A total of 75,000 Indian Jews now live in Israel (over 1% of Israel's total population). There are reminders of Jewish localities in Kerala still left such as Synagogues. Majority of Jews from the old British-Indian capital of Calcutta (Kolkata) have also migrated to Israel over the last six decades.

Notable Indian Jews

• Eli Ben-Menachem - Israeli politician.
• Jacqueline Bhabha - Lecturer at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School.
• Ranjit Chaudhry-Bollywood actor
• Anil Machado-Kalaripayattu Indian martial arts & Fitness professional.
• David Abraham Cheulkar - Bollywood actor.
• Esther David (March 17, 1945— ) is a Jewish-Indian author, an artist and a sculptor
• Karen David - British-Canadian actrss
• Nissim Ezekiel - poet, playwright, editor and art-critic.
• Lieutenant General J F R Jacob - Former Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command; Former Governor of Punjab and Goa.
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Writer.
• Gerry Judah - Artist and Designer.
• Ellis Kadoorie and Elly Kadoorie - Philanthropists.
• Horace Kadoorie - Philanthropist.
• Anish Kapoor - Sculptor.
• Samson Kehimkar - Musician
• Ezekiel Isaac Malekar - Bene Israel Rabbi.
• Ruby Myers, Bollywood actress of the 1920s known as Sulochana.
• Farhat Ezekiel Nadira - Bollywood actress.
• Pearl Padamsee - Theatre personality.
• Joseph Rabban - Was given copper plates of special grants from the Chera ruler Bhaskara Ravivarman II from Kerala.
• David and Simon Reuben - Businessmen.
• Abraham Barak Salem - Cochin Jewish Indian nationalist leader.
• Lalchanhima Sailo - Rabbi and Founder of Chhinlung Israel People's Convention.
• David Sassoon - Businessman.
• Albert Abdullah David Sassoon - British Indian merchant.
• Sassoon David Sassoon - Philanthropist and benefactor of greater Indian Jewish community.
• Solomon Sopher - Jewish community leader in Mumbai.
• Bensiyon Songavkar - Professional cricketer.
• Ruby Myers - aka Sulochana. Bollywood actress.
• Esther Victoria Abraham - aka Pramila. First ever Miss India.

See also

• Syrian Malabar Nasrani Christian community in India of Jewish descent
• Indo-Israeli relations
• Religion in India
• Sephardic Jews in India
• Synagogues in India
• The Indian Jewish community and synagogues in Israel

References

1. ^ P. 125 The Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia By Mordecai Schreiber
2. Burnell, Indian Antiquary, iii. 333–334
3. Katz, Nathan (2000). Who are the Jews of India?. University of California Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780520213234.
4. taken from WP article on Rabban, which appears to rely on Ken Blady's book Jewish Communities in Exotic Places. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson Inc., 2000. pp. 115–130.
5. Three years in America, 1859–1862 (p. 59, p. 60) by Israel Joseph Benjamin
6. Roots of Dalit history, Christianity, theology, and spirituality (p. 28) by James Massey, I.S.P.C.K.
7. Who are the Jews of India? - The S. Mark Taper Foundation imprint in Jewish studies. University of California Press. 2000. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-520-21323-4.; "When the Portuguese arrived in 1498, they brought a spirit of intolerance utterly alien to India. They soon established an Office of Inquisition at Goa, and at their hands Indian Jews experienced the only instance of antisemitism ever to occur in Indian soil."
8. "More than 7,200 Indian Jews to immigrate to Israel". The Times Of India. September 27, 2011.
9. ^ Muthiah, S. (2004). Madras Rediscovered. East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd. p. 125. ISBN 81-88661-24-4.

Further reading

• India's Bene Israel: A Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook Isenberg, Shirley Berry; Berkeley: Judah L. Magnes Museum, 1988
• Indian Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle Dr. Shalva Weil (ed). Mumbai: Marg Publications, 3rd ed. 2009
• Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A Perspective from the Margin, Katz N., Chakravarti, R., Sinha, B. M. and Weil, S., New York and Basingstoke, England: Palgrave-Macmillan Press. 2007  
• Karmic Passages: Israeli Scholarship on India,Shulman, D. and Weil, S. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.2008

External links

• TheJewsOfIndia.com, Comprehensive Site of Jews in Inda
• Bneimenashe.com, Bnei Menashe Jews of North East India
• Haruth.com, Jewish India
• Indo-Judaic: Philosophy, Research, Studies and Cultural Community
• Tripod.com, Jews in India
• Jewsofindia.org, Jews of India, includes a Photo Gallery & a Forum
• Kulanu.org, Kulanu's Indian Jews page
• Abhishiv Saxena, "The Jews of India", Merinews.com (July 2, 2007)
• Indjews.com, The Indian synagogues in Israel
• Indian Jews - Jewish Encyclopedia
• Bene Israel - Jewish Encyclopedia
• Cochin Jews - Jewish Encyclopedia
• Calcutta Jews - Jewish Encyclopedia
• Indian Jews - Jewish Virtual Library
• Photos of Synagogues of Calcutta

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• Jewish Indian history