Everything about History Of The Jews In India totally explained
Indian Jews are a religious minority of
India.
Judaism was one of the first non-
Dharmic religions to arrive in India in recorded history. 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 arrived during the time of the
Kingdom of Judah, others are seen by some as descendants of Israel's
Lost Ten Tribes. Of the total Jewish population in India, about half live in Manipur and
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've been victims of anti-Semitism from the
Portuguese(External Link
) and the Christian
Goa Inquisition during their colonial rule). Jews have held important positions under Indian princes in the past and even after independence from British Rule, have risen to very high positions in government, military and industry.
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
The oldest of the three longest-established Jewish communities, traders from
Judea and
Israel arrived in the city of
Cochin, in what is now Kerala, 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 practicing Cochin Jews in Kerala.
There are said to be 3 categories of Jews in Cochin; "white", "brown" and "black". They all claim to be exiles from Palestine from the year 70 C.E. It is believed that the "black" Jews came after the Islamist conquest of Persia in the 7th century and that the "white" Jews came from their expulsion from Spain in 1492 C.E.
Bene Israel
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
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
An estimated 9,000 people in the northeastern Indian states of
Mizoram and
Manipur started practicing Halachik Judaism in the
1970s, being the descendants of the
Tribe of Manasseh. They have since been recognized by Israel as a lost tribe, and most have left, or plan to leave India and emigrate to Israel after undergoing a conversion to Orthodox Judaism. However, India, under pressure from
Christian Missionaries, has since halted conversions to Judaism and exodus to Israel.
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, in this going back only to
1981.
Today
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
(External Link).The majority of Indian Jews have "made
aliya" (migrated) to
Israel since the creation of the modern state in
1948. A totalt of 75,000 Indian Jews now live in Israel, (1% of the nations total population).
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