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Indian Express
15-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
The last Jews of Calcutta: A community on the brink of disappearance
'We were a community of five thousand in the 1940s; now we're just 20 odd members, aged 60 or above,' says Jael Silliman, scholar and author of Jewish Portraits, Indian Frames: Women's Narratives from a Diaspora of Hope (2001). One of the last remaining Jews in Calcutta, Silliman reminisces about the time when the Jewish community met in synagogues for service, in Jewish clubs for sports and leisure, and came together to celebrate New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the holiest day of all — Yom Kippur. But colonialism and circumstances reduced Calcutta's Jewry to a mere handful. Today, only remnants remain: a few synagogues, schools, and a cemetery. The Jewish Girls' School (JGS) on Park Street still runs, but without a single Jewish student. Synagogues remain scattered across the city, but regular services have ceased. 'They cannot gather a minyan, the required number of ten males necessary to hold a service,' says Silliman. Nahoum & Sons in New Market is still the city's beloved Jewish legacy, but its menu has evolved to cater to modern tastes. This is the story of Calcutta's Jewish community and their descent into oblivion. The first Jews to arrive in Calcutta belonged to the Baghdadi community, one of the three Jewish communities in India. The other two — the Bene Israel of Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the Cochin Jews — had settled in India long before the Baghdadis. According to Navras Jaat Aafreedi, assistant professor of Modern Indian History and Jewish History at the Presidency University, 'The oldest written reference to the presence of the Bene Israel in the Konkan strip belongs to the year 1734.' The community, Aafreedi says, was described as one that was monotheistic, that refused to indulge in idol worship, that observed Sabbath on Saturday, and a community that refrained from consuming pork and circumcised their male offspring on the eighth day of birth. Sayan Lodh, whose PhD focuses on the Judaizing Movements in India at Presidency University, says that Baghdadi Jews arrived in Calcutta in several waves, beginning in 1798 with Shalom Ovadya HaCohen from Aleppo, Syria. HaCohen was joined by family and other merchants from Iraq, Syria, and Persia who traded in jewellery, indigo, spices, opium, and silk. 'They gradually established a thriving commercial network stretching from West to East Asia, extending across all major ports such as Basra, Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, and Hong Kong,' notes Lodh. This, according to him, came to form 'Jewish Asia'. These merchants rented and purchased houses from Armenians, with whom Calcutta's Baghdadis maintained a close relationship for centuries. 'Until the Baghdadi elite moved to southern Calcutta between 1900 and 1950, they shared the city's grey town with Armenians, Anglo-Indians, Greeks, Portuguese,' writes academic Nathan Katz in Who Are the Jews of India? (2000). The next wave of migration was in the 1830s when there was flooding in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. A large number of Jewsmoved to Calcutta and set up trading houses. In a short time, they made a great fortune. Lodh says, 'They, in turn, re-invested their wealth in real estate, owning some of the prominent landmarks in Calcutta [Esplanade Mansions (built in 1910), Chowringhee Mansions (1907)]…' The final waves of Jewish immigration to Calcutta occurred in the early to mid-twentieth century, 'driven in part by the Ottoman Empire's policy which made it compulsory for all males to serve in the army as World War I approached, and later by the horrors of Holocaust during World War II,' says Lodh. Commercial opportunities, according to Silliman, were another driving factor. 'As the British presidencies of Calcutta and Bombay developed, Jewish merchants came here in search of fortune,' she says. By the 1940s, there were over 4,000 Jews in the city. Several Jewish institutions had also been established, including three synagogues, the Jewish Girls' School (1881), and the Jewish Ezra hospital (1887). 'There's also the Ezra House and the Gubbay House in the Alipore zoo, housing birds and reptiles. It is named after Jewish philanthropists,' says Silliman. The Calcutta Jews strictly observed their Baghdadi practices, including speaking Arabic, eating regional cuisine, and wearing traditional clothes. However, the Mutiny of 1857 came as a significant turning point. As Katz notes, 'This traumatic event propelled India's Baghdadis to abandon their familiar Middle Eastern cultural roots and to seek European status and identity.' Part of that process was to imitate the British and shed their Indianness. The 'anglicisation' of Calcutta's Jews, as described by Lodh, began with language. English replaced Arabic in Baghdadi homes and offices. 'By 1915, this transition had been effected among the elite and by 1930, English was the language used for all community records, correspondence, and education,' adds Katz. The elites of the Jewish community sent their daughters to Loreto House, a Catholic school. While earlier residing in the greytown district of Burrabazar, Baghdadi Jews now began moving closer to the white town districts of Bow Bazar, Park Street, and Ballygunge. Jewish architecture, too, resembled British style. 'The Maghen David Synagogue, for instance, externally resembles a church with a tall spire and a clock tower,' observes Lodh. Baghdadi Jews also served as sheriffs, municipal councillors, and honorary magistrates in Calcutta. In 1879, Elia David Joseph was appointed Sheriff, an honour later conferred on his two sons. 'The Baghdadi Jews, in fact, adopted a Judeo-British identity,' asserts author Suparna Ghosh Bhattacharya in The Baghdadi Jews in India (2019). The anglicised women of the Baghdadi community played sports such as badminton, hockey, and basketball, emulating the lifestyle of British women. 'Their clothing changed, and so did their religious rituals,' says Lodh. He also mentions the practice of cutting cakes during weddings and wearing European suits and wedding dresses. However, mimicking the rulers proved fruitless. The revision of electoral rolls for Central and Provincial (Bengal and Bombay) Legislatures between 1929 and 1935 eliminated the Baghdadis from the European group and categorised them as 'non-Mohammedan' along with the Bene-Israel and Cochin Jews. 'The Baghdadis finally understood their predicament in siding with the British, and gradually started to come closer with the other two Jewish communities in India…from the 1930s,' writes Lodh in his journal article The Role of Baghdadi Jews in India's Freedom Movement (2024). A Jew, Bernard V Jacob, attempted to establish an 'All India Council' to bring the three Jewish communities together. However, a cohort comprising all the factions remained a distant dream. The Baghdadis refused to assimilate with their co-religionists. They did not participate in politics either, and barely understood the nationalist sentiment of fellow Indians. Partition in 1947 deepened the crisis. 'Questions of their ethnic and communal identity became urgent, and they could no longer define themselves in terms of their Jewishness alone,' argues academic Joan G Roland in The Baghdadi Jews in India. Many Baghdadis recognised that being both Indian and Jewish was possible and compatible. When the Constitution of India was adopted on 26 January 1950, notes Roland, the Jews also celebrated. 'They declared their allegiance to India, participated in Indian elections, and most accepted Indian citizenship…even though they felt their economic future was uncertain,' she adds. Still, life after the British worried the community. With the departure of the colonial rulers and the emergence of the State of Israel a year later, Baghdadis made up their minds about leaving Calcutta. 'It is also possible,' reckons Lodh, 'that what they witnessed in Calcutta, the communal riots during the partition period, made them uneasy about living in independent India.' He mentions the account of Flower Silliman, a beloved member of the Baghdadi community who passed away last year, recalling how she witnessed the riots as a teenager and was deeply traumatised by the experience. Socialist policies issued by the Indian government further discouraged the Jews. The regulations restricted imports and controlled the export of foreign exchange, hampering the business of many wealthy Baghdadis. 'As Calcutta's Jews began emigrating in increasing numbers to Israel, the UK, America, Canada, and Australia, JGS, in its new premises, became all but devoid of Jewish students,' says Silliman. In 1953, the school administrative body decided to admit non-Jewish students. The identity of Calcutta's Baghdadi Jews remained ambiguous, neither British nor Indian. They were always worried about assimilation and strived to distinguish themselves from the Hindu, Muslim, and Christian communities of the city. Katz says, 'These Jewish immigrants were attracted to India largely because of the opportunities the British presence afforded, and they left India soon after the British did.' He adds that they were never intrinsically Indian as the Bene Israel or Cochini Jews – truly, 'an identity aloof.' Today, only a few Baghdadi Jews remain. When asked about their numbers, Aafreedi says: 'How do you count Jews?' Jewish identity, he explains, is passed through the mother. 'Anyone born of a Jewish mother is Jewish, irrespective of what the person's faith is. Conversely, someone with a Jewish father but a non-Jewish mother would typically need to undergo conversion.' The heritage buildings spread across Calcutta are among the last remaining links to the city's Jewish past. 'What I've learned from studying Calcutta's Jewish community,' says Lodh, 'is that several communities, other than the Bengalis, have played a role in shaping the city far out of proportion to their numbers. The Jews are one such community.' Who are the Jews of India? by Nathan Katz Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta edited by Himadri Banerjee, Nilanjana Gupta, Sipra Mukherjee The Jewish Community of India: Identity in a Colonial Era by Joan G. Roland Nikita writes for the Research Section of focusing on the intersections between colonial history and contemporary issues, especially in gender, culture, and sport. For suggestions, feedback, or an insider's guide to exploring Calcutta, feel free to reach out to her at ... Read More
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Travel + Leisure
04-06-2025
- General
- Travel + Leisure
How a Once-thriving Jewish Community Helped Shape Kolkata, India
Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is a city layered in history. There are colonial palaces next to street markets, and winding lanes that take you through the centuries on a stroll. Among the many communities that helped shape its identity is the Baghdadi Jewish diaspora, a small but influential group that arrived from the Middle East in the late 18th century, drawn by the promise of acceptance. "We were not tolerated in India, we were not accepted in India, but we were embraced by India," says Jael Silliman, a writer, educator, and lifelong Calcutta resident whose family came from Aleppo and Iraq, in the episode. "Jews rose to every level of society. Whatever they sought to do, they could do that." Jewish traders made their way east from the Middle East, following commercial routes to Calcutta, which was just emerging as a hub for British colonial trade, though, as Sillman says, "India has always been a place where Jews came. We've been here since the time of King Solomon, from the time of the Bible." They brought with them Hebrew prayer, Arabic foods, and Judeo-Arabic dialects. "A lot of Baghdadi Jews started to come to Calcutta because of the trade opportunities," journalist and tour leader Rahel Musleah shares in the episode. "And the fact that there was no anti-Semitism in India, which is a very, very big deal." Here, they thrived, building businesses, schools, and synagogues, some of which still stand today, including the grand Magen David Synagogue, a stunning building with Italian marble floors, stained glass, and a striking steeple known by locals as the lal girja , or "red church." By the early 20th century, the Baghdadi Jewish population had peaked at nearly 5,000. However, even with a solid diaspora in place, much of their legacy remains hidden in plain sight. You can still find pieces of the culture in places like Nahoum & Sons bakery, founded by a Baghdadi Jewish family, which sells Christmas cakes to lines of customers that include Hindus, Muslims, and Christians alike. "Only in Calcutta, do you have Muslims baking Christmas cakes where there are lines of Hindus lining up to buy them," Silliman says. However, this deep interfaith connection wasn't incidental. "We always had Muslim cooks in our home because we knew that they would never bring ham, pork, or bacon," Silliman says. "The caretakers of our synagogue today are still Muslim." By the 1960s, however, global migration and changing economic conditions saw many Jewish families leave Calcutta for London, New York, or Israel. Today, fewer than 30 remain. But efforts to preserve the community's legacy are ongoing, including Silliman's own extensive digital archive and Musleah's guided heritage tours through her organization, Explore Jewish India. "We are carrying on our traditions wherever we are," Musleah shares. "Whether we live in the places where we were born, we still have the responsibility to carry on where we came from." The community may have grown smaller, but its legacy remains monumental. Learn more about the Baghdadi Jews in Kolkata on this week's episode of Lost Cultures: Living Legacies to unravel it all. It's available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Player FM, or wherever you get your podcasts.
