Reply #4: The Indian Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world

[Vehl]

The first Jews came to India as Traders and later as refugees fleeing the destruction of their temple. Hindus have welcomed the Jewish Diaspora with open arms and India was/is one of the very few countries where the Jewish people have never faced anti-semitism.

some info from the web/wiki

The Cochin Jews arrived in India 2,500 years ago and settled down in Kerala as traders.
The Bene Israel arrived in the state of Maharashtra 2,100 years ago.
The Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city Mumbai from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Arab countries about 250 years ago.

The oldest of the Indian Jewish communities is in Cochin. The traditional account is that traders from Judea arrived in the city of Cochin, Kerala, in 562 BC, and that more Jews came as exiles from Israel in the year 70 C.E. after the destruction of the Second Temple.The distinct Jewish community was called Anjuvannam. The still-functioning synagogue in Mattancherry belongs to the Paradesi Jews, the descendants of Sephardim that were expelled from Spain in 1492

Unlike many parts of the world, Jews have historically lived in India without any instances of anti-Semitism from the local majority populace, the Hindus. However, Jews were persecuted by the Portuguese during their control of Goa.

In 379 CE, The Hindu king Sira Primal who was also known as Iru Brahman, issued what was engraved on a tablet of brass, his permission to Jews to live freely , build synagogue, own property without conditions attached and as long as the world and moon exist

In 1524, the Muslims, backed by the ruler of Calicut (today called Kozhikode), attacked these wealthy Jews of Cranganore (Kodungallur) on the pretext that they had an advantage with the pepper trade. The Jews fled to Cochin and went under the protection of Perumpadapu Swaroopam. The Hindu Raja of Cochin, Bhaskara Ravi Varman II (979— 1021) gave them asylum. Moreover, he exempted Jews from taxation but bestowed on them all privileges enjoyed by the tax-payers



Btw, here are some pictures of Indian jews

An Indian Jewish wedding



Lt General J.F.R Jacob


General Jacob, as the Indian Army's Eastern Command Chief of Staff watches on as Pakistan surrenders to India in 1971, Ushering in the new nation of Bangladesh from what used to be east Pakistan


Lt Gen Niazi(the one with the dark beret), Commander of the Pakistani Forces in East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) signing the surrender document for Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora. Watching the ceremony are Vice Admiral N Krishnan (FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Command), Maj Gen K V Krishna Rao (GOC, 8 Div - Behind the Vice Admiral), Air Marshal H C Dewan (AOC-in-C, Eastern Command) , Lt Gen Sagat Singh (GOC, IV Corps), Maj Gen J F R Jacob (Chief of Staff, Eastern Army Command) and Maj Gen Gandharv Nagra (GOC, 101 Communication Zone)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._F._R._Jacob


some of the earliest Bollywood actresses were also Indian Jews, especially int he 1920s,30s

Actress Sulochana ( Ruby Myers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Myers