Religions in India- Judaism

Judaism is in India for more than 2000 years and the Jews are categorized as Bene Israel, Baghdadi, Cochinis and Manipuri.

The Marathi speaking Jews comprise of the Bene Israel and they are more than the other groups. Cochinis form a petite community in Kerala.

The Jews who reached India were the Baghdadis and they came as traders. These people are settled in Pune, Mumbai and Calcutta.

Jewish settlements are found in Palayur, Kodungallur, Quilon, Pullut, Chowghat and Madayi. The Jewish community had many privileges offered by native rulers.

The Cochin Jews had all the religious freedom and the Jews reached the prosperity even under the rule of Dutch. Judaism was basically segmented into two classes the Jerusalem or white Jews and the Black Jews.

The Jerusalem or White Jews were considered to be the original settlers and the natives working for white Jews were known as the Black Jews and these were the people who were converted to Judaism.

White Jews belonged to the sector that had merchants and traders, while the Black Jews included the blacksmiths, fishermen, sawyers, tailors and others practicing handicrafts.

These Jews who were referred to as Black Jews were called as the Malabar Jews. The synagogues for these Jews were located at Ernakulam, Mattancherry, Cranganore, Parur and Chennamangalam, but now only the Mattancherry Synagogue is functioning.

The creation of Israel resulted in mass exodus in 1948 and the numbers never exceeded above 100 in places such as Parur, Mattancherry and Ernakulam.

Manipur Jews also represent a community as the Manasseh descendants. They have the appearance of Chinese and claim their ancestors were exiled and to escape slavery escaped to China.

They believe that they were coerced to ban their Jewish identity by the Christian missionaries and after the revelation to a local chief they have returned to the original religion as well as land.

They also have a belief that they are Messianic Jews and claim to be an immense group in India claiming more than 1.5 million people. The Judaism religion people are not harmful and observe their rules and policies, prayers and practices as per their own accord.

They do not disturb others activities. The Jews and Judaism is a well-known religion in India, thought the strength of the population is low. The Indian Jews are well-known to be a community that is peace-loving.

They also adhered to the Hebrew calendar. The Jews in India thank the ceremony that expresses the gratitude to Elijah.