Life as a Jew in India

Life as a Jew in India was no different to the lives of people of other faiths.  India is the only country in the world where anti-semitism never existed.  Jews were full citizens with the same rights and duties as everybody else.

Jews from other parts of the world are usually surprised to discover the level of religious tolerance in a country they believed was ‘backward. It is difficult for them to believe that the Beni Israel have been in military service for generations. We did not live in ghettos. We could live and work wherever we wanted. We owned the land we worked on – something European nations forbade their Jews.

Thalas of sweets that arrived on Diwali and Christmas were never turned away. Mutton sent on Eid was welcomed. This was not ‘compromise’ but respect for other people’s feelings.

My Jewishness was brought home to me in many small ways.  As Jews, we were part of the Indian nation but remained on the outside. When I spoke about the Holocaust to my friends, I discovered that nobody was really interested. There were expressions of horror but then the conversation turned to other things. The reaction to the genocide of the Armenians in Turkey was the same. “It was far from our country and did not affect our lives,” one of my classmates explained. “You are a Jew so you feel the way you do. You cannot expect other people to feel the same.” I told him that I felt equally bad for Hindus and Muslims who suffered during the partition of India.

“I don’t,” he replied.  “I hate the Muslims. They killed part of my family.”

“And they hate you for the same reason.”

My father was displeased when I told him that I wanted to come to Israel. We argued. He believed that religion had never been an issue in India. I spoke of the Hindu-Muslim riots that erupted from time to time. Dad had seen the worst of these when he accompanied refugees to both sides of the border during ‘Partition.’ He insisted that it was all in the past. Things had changed.

“India is a safe place for Jews,” my father insisted. “They have never been persecuted here and will never be.

confuzzled dude wrote:

Life as a Jew in India was no different to the lives of people of other faiths.  India is the only country in the world where anti-semitism never existed.  Jews were full citizens with the same rights and duties as everybody else.

Jews from other parts of the world are usually surprised to discover the level of religious tolerance in a country they believed was ‘backward. It is difficult for them to believe that the Beni Israel have been in military service for generations. We did not live in ghettos. We could live and work wherever we wanted. We owned the land we worked on – something European nations forbade their Jews.

Thalas of sweets that arrived on Diwali and Christmas were never turned away. Mutton sent on Eid was welcomed. This was not ‘compromise’ but respect for other people’s feelings.

My Jewishness was brought home to me in many small ways.  As Jews, we were part of the Indian nation but remained on the outside. When I spoke about the Holocaust to my friends, I discovered that nobody was really interested. There were expressions of horror but then the conversation turned to other things. The reaction to the genocide of the Armenians in Turkey was the same. “It was far from our country and did not affect our lives,” one of my classmates explained. “You are a Jew so you feel the way you do. You cannot expect other people to feel the same.” I told him that I felt equally bad for Hindus and Muslims who suffered during the partition of India.

“I don’t,” he replied.  “I hate the Muslims. They killed part of my family.”

“And they hate you for the same reason.”

My father was displeased when I told him that I wanted to come to Israel. We argued. He believed that religion had never been an issue in India. I spoke of the Hindu-Muslim riots that erupted from time to time. Dad had seen the worst of these when he accompanied refugees to both sides of the border during ‘Partition.’ He insisted that it was all in the past. Things had changed.

“India is a safe place for Jews,” my father insisted. “They have never been persecuted here and will never be.

http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2015/01/02/life-jew-india/