India's Jews: Surviving Against the Odds

India's 6,500 Jews may well be one of that country's smallest and least visible minorities, yet their contribution to India throughout the ages is certainly not to be ignored. Around 5,000 are settled in Bombay, a bustling metropolis of over 14 million people. The remainder live in Cochin in the southern state of Kerala, or scattered in some of the bigger cities.

In the last few decades, most Indian Jews have emigrated to Israel and today there are 30,000 living there. Some Indian Jews went to the United States or other countries. Singapore's small Jewish community--in its heyday numbering 5,000, now only 300--once consisted largely of Jews from India.

Similar to caste-conscious Hindu society, India's Jews are also divided into various groups. There are three: the Beni-Israel, living mostly in Bombay, the Baghdadi Jews, who are the descendants of Jewish immigrants from Iraq, and the Cochin Jews from Kerala. The Beni-Israel and the Cochin Jews are further divided into "Black" and "White" Jews, the latter commanding more respect. How exactly this division came about is a matter of dispute--possibly, the "White" Jews are the descendants of the original, fair-skinned Jewish immigrants, whereas the "Black" Jews are the descendants of local converts or half-breeds. This division into different "colours" is reminiscent of the Hindu caste system, which originally was also based on colour. The Sanskrit term varna means colour as well as caste.

The first Jewish contact with India was established in King Solomon's time, around 1000 B.C., when Jewish traders sailed from Hormuz to the Malabar Coast in South-West India. They left no permanent settlements. According to Jewish lore, the first permanent Jewish colony was established in 69 A.D., but other sources may assume earlier or later dates.

The Jews settled in Kodungallur (Cranganore) on the Malabar Coast, where they traded peacefully, until 1524 when their quarter was razed by invading Muslims. The surviving Jews initially scattered and later rebuilt their settlement. A few decades later they got caught up in the fight between the Dutch and the Portuguese for hegemony in the region. The Jews sided with the Dutch, as under the intolerant Portuguese their religious freedom and even their lives were at stake. The Portuguese usually treated non-Catholics with varying degrees of cruel contempt. True to fashion they soon took revenge on the Jews, destroying their settlement and desecrating the synagogues. All historical documents, which might throw light on the early history of the Jews in India, were destroyed. The now twice-beaten community moved to establish new settlements in the twin towns of Ernakulam and Cochin. Today, there are only twelve Jewish families left in Cochin.

Bombay made Jewish history only much later. Though occasionally it is assumed that Jews settled in the Bombay area as early as the 6th century, it was not until the 18th century that they made any notable impact. After many Jews had moved to Bombay from villages in the Konkan coastal belt (south of Bombay), the city's first synagogue was built in 1798. In 1832, David Sassoon, a wealthy Jewish merchant from Baghdad, emigrated to Bombay, followed soon after by many more Baghdadi Jews, creating a dynamic business community. Jews from other parts of India joined in, until in 1947, there were 24,000 Jews in Bombay. The figure would never be as high again. Following an Israeli government ruling in 1964 stating that the Beni-Israel of Bombay were to be regarded as genuine Jews in all respects, the doors were open for large-scale immigration. By 1969, 12,000 Indian Jews had emigrated to Israel.

Today, the remainder of the community seems somewhat forlorn. True, there may still be the impressive looking David Sassoon Library and the busy Sassoon Docks, but only a few non-Jews would know whom they were named after. Most Bombayites are not aware that there are still Jews in their midst. Yet, the community has produced some illustrious citizens--journalist Bunny Reuben for example, theatre personality Pearl Padamsee, and poet Nissim Ezekiel, who in 1983 was presented with the Padma Shree, a national award of merit.

As their numbers dwindle, the Jews find it increasingly difficult to marry within their community and thus infuse new blood into it. The synagogues remain depressingly empty on Sabbaths. Bombay's main synagogue, the Keneseth Eliyahoo (Knesset Eliahu) Synagogue, built in 1883, opens its doors for Sabbath prayers every Saturday at 7.30 a.m. But as per religious rule, proceedings will only start when at least ten worshippers are present--by which time it may be 9 a.m. or even later. Often Jewish tourists staying in the nearby tourist district of Colaba join in, warmly welcomed by the local flock.

The three-storey Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue is located in a dingy back lane off Mahatma Gandhi Road, in an area called Kala Ghora ("Black Horse"), halfway between the landmark Taj Mahal Hotel and Bombay's booming stock exchange. Tourists, who sometimes come upon the building unawares, are usually intrigued by its elaborate and well-preserved colonial architecture. Painted a soft, light blue on the outside, the inside is reminiscent of a colonial church, with rustic wooden balustrades, lots of wooden pillars, opulent chandeliers and some ancient electrical fans burring away overhead. The maintenance of the building is largely financed by Jewish donations from abroad.

Altogether there are still nine synagogues in Bombay, some in an advanced state of disrepair. One of the better preserved is the Magem Hassidim Synagogue (built 1861) in the Muslim-dominated, rundown Madanpura district, one of the worst affected areas during the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992. Amongst all the architectural eyesores and the general filth in the area, the freshly-painted building makes for an unexpectedly pleasant sight. Still, on Sabbaths hardly a dozen worshippers will gather there.

Though there is no hope that the community's number will ever increase again, sometimes a lost sheep does find its way back home. Chubby and soft-spoken Chaim, 34, works as a head waiter in an upmarket vegetarian restaurant at Bombay's Chowpatti Beach. As a Baghdadi Jew, one of only 150 left, he spent his earlier years in a Jewish housing estate in Bombay's Byculla area. Then, suddenly everybody just seemed to disappear. One by one, his neighbours emigrated to Israel, until his family were almost the only Jews around. So, a few years back, Chaim decided to try his luck in Israel, too. But things didn't work out. He couldn't find a proper job, and everything was very expensive in the 'Promised Land'. After two years of trying to get a foothold, he returned to Bombay - "for health reasons", as he explains not very convincingly.

Still, he says, he liked the Israeli girls very much, and maybe one day - maybe - he will go back again to get married. For the time being though, "Bombay isn't too bad". In effect he has resigned himself to a life in the Jewish Diaspora - but at least it's a way of life he's familiar with.

Sarah, a thirty year old businesswoman, is an altogether different case. Born into a well-to-do Hindu family in Bombay, she felt strongly attracted to Judaism while still in her teens. Young Sarah, being of a very pensive and somewhat solitary nature, spent every free minute studying the Torah, at an age when most Indian girls pore over movie magazines and ponder the antics of their favourite stars. Finally, in 1984, she took the logical step: she converted to Judaism and exchanged her Hindu name for a Jewish one. Ever since then, Sarah has hardly missed a Sabbath at the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue. The front door of her house is adorned with a Star of David.

According to a spokeswoman at the Israeli Consulate in Bombay, conversions like Sarah's are "very, very rare", without being able to provide any exact figures. However, the grapevine has it that quite a few more Indians have converted to Judaism - if only as a ploy to facilitate their emigration to Israel or the US.

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