Jewish Diaspora: India

The history of Jews in India dates back to antiquity.  Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in in India in recorded history.  Indian Jews are a small religious minority who have lived in In Indian since ancient times.  The 2,000 year history of Indian Jews was marked by a total absence of antisemitism from the Hindu majority and a visible assimilation in the local languages and cultures.

The more established ancient Jewish communities have assimilated many of the local traditions through cultural diffusion.  While some Indian Jews have stated that their ancestors arrived during the time of the Biblical Kingdom of Judah, others claim descent from the Ten Lost Tribes of the pre-Judaic Israelites who arrived in India earlier.  Some other Indian Jews contend that they descend from the Israelite Tribe of Manasseh and they are referred to as the Bnei Menashe.

The Jewish population in British India peaked at around 20,000 in the mid-1940’s, with others putting the number as high as 50,000, but the community declined rapidly due to emigration to the newly formed Israel after the Partition of Palestine at the end of the British mandate in 1948.  The Indian Jewish community is now estimated to number no more than 5,000 people. 

In addition to Jewish expatriate and recent immigrants, there are seven Jewish groups in India.

1. The Malibar component of the Cochin Jews arrived with Hebrew King Solomons’s merchants.  Settled in Kerala.  They are European-Jewish of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic.
    
2. Chennai Jews: The Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Paradesi Jews, British Jews, arrived at Madras during the 16^th century.  They were in the diamond business and of Shephardic and Ashkenazi heritage.  They maintained trade connections to Europe.
    
3. Nagercoil Jews: The Syrian and Musta’arabi Jews were Arab Jews who arrived in Nagercoil and Kanyakumari District in 52 AD along with St. Thomas.  By the turn of the 20^th century, most of the families made their way to Cochin and eventually migrated to Israel.  Most of them were merchants.
    
4. Jews of Goa: These Jews were Sephardic from Spain and Portugal who fed to Goa after the beginning of the Inquisition.  This community consisted mainly of Jews who had falsely converted to Christianity, but wanted to be declared Portuguese subjects so they could practice Judaism.  They fled to India that were not part of Portuguese control.
    
5. Many of the Bene Israel community resided in Karachi until the partition of India in 1947, when they fled to India, in particular, Mumbai. 
    
6. Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city of Surat from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan about 250 years ago, in the mid 18^th and 19^th centuries.
    
7. Bnei Menashe meaning “Sons of Manassah” in Hebrew, are Mizo and Kuki tribesman in Manipur and Mizoram who are recent converts to the modern form of Judaism.  They claim ancestry reaching back to one of the lost tribes of Israel, specifically, one of the sons of Joseph.
    
8. Bene Ephraim or Sons of Ephraim also claim ancestry from Ephraim, one of the sons of Joseph and a lost tribe of ancient Israel.  Also called “Telugu Jews,” referring to their language, have observed modern Judaism dates to 1981.
    
9. European Jewish immigrants to India escaping persecution during World War II account for a small portion of Jewish Indians today.  From 1938 to 1947, about 2,000 Jews fled from Europe and sought asylum in India.  Over 70 years later, the descendants of these Jewish migrants have made their own Jewish-Indian community and culture within India.