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If your ancestors were baptised, married or buried in a European church in British India, then the [[church records]] should have been transcribed and you can access these records at the [[British Library]] in London, or at [[LDS]] [[Family History Centres]]. The FIBIS database contains many transcribed BMD records.  
If your ancestors were baptised, married or buried in a European church in British India, then the [[church records]] should have been transcribed and you can access these records at the [[British Library]] in London, or at [[LDS]] [[Family History Centres]]. The FIBIS database contains many transcribed BMD records.  


If your ancestors were married in a [[Registrar marriages|Registry Office]], then these records will be included with the church record indexes. However, the full details of Registry Office marriages are not available on microfilm through the [[LDS]], so if you find an index reference to a Registry Office marriage, you will need to visit the British Library, or have someone visit there on your behalf.  FIBIS volunteers have transcribed the Registry Office index and this is on the [http://www.search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=4&s_id=102 FIBIS database].
If your ancestors were married in a [[Registrar marriages|Registry Office]], then these records will be included with the church record indexes.   FIBIS volunteers have transcribed the Registry Office index and this is on the [http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=4&s_id=102 FIBIS database]. Further details with images of regsitry pages ca be found on the subscription website [http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id=201071 findmypast]. Details of Registry Office marriages are not available on microfilm through the [[LDS]].  


Some records of the births of Jewish people were included in the [[church records]] for the Bombay Presidency. It would seem that Jewish parents submitted a letter from their Rabbi or other figure of authority certifying that the individual was born on a certain day at a certain place. These letters were then included with the regular church records. Later, this 'registration' could then be used as proof of British citizenship. This does not seem to have been a very widespread practice. However, if you are at a loss to find a record of your ancestor, it may be worth examining the indexes to the [[church records]] of the Presidency in which they resided.  
Some records of the births of Jewish people were included in the [[church records]] for the Bombay Presidency. It would seem that Jewish parents submitted a letter from their Rabbi or other figure of authority certifying that the individual was born on a certain day at a certain place. These letters were then included with the regular church records. Later, this 'registration' could then be used as proof of British citizenship. This does not seem to have been a very widespread practice. However, if you are at a loss to find a record of your ancestor, it may be worth examining the indexes to the [[church records]] of the Presidency in which they resided.  
Also see [[Jewish#External Links|External Links below]] for some record references
==National Archives of India==
Search [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/ National Archives of India] website abhilekh-patal.in. Particularly for the Second World War period there are known to be some records from the Aliens Advisory Committee which have either already been digitised, (Digitized Collection : Digitized Public Records, Home Political) or can be requested to be digitised for a fee. A 1946 Naturalisation request was seen: [https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2718179 Application from ... For A German Jew, For Nationalization Under the British Nationality Status of Aliens Act 1914]. [Should be Naturalization].


== Names ==
== Names ==
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== Directories ==
== Directories ==
Many European, Anglo-Indian and other businessmen were named in the [[Directories]] of their day. The most prominent Directory was Thacker's, which originally only covered Bengal, but eventually encompassed all of British India. If your Jewish ancestors were merchants or businessmen, there is a good chance that they would have been listed in Thacker's Directories. A complete set is now housed at the Asian & African Studies Reading Room at the British Library, but most major libraries will hold a few copies for given years. For a comprehensive description, and lists of where they can be located, visit the informative [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~poyntz/India/directories.html Thacker's Directories webpage].
Many European, Anglo-Indian and other businessmen were named in the [[Directories]] of their day. The most prominent Directory was Thacker's, which originally only covered Bengal, but eventually encompassed all of British India. If your Jewish ancestors were merchants or businessmen, there is a good chance that they would have been listed in Thacker's Directories. A complete set is now housed at the Asian & African Studies Reading Room at the British Library, but most major libraries will hold a few copies for given years. For a comprehensive description, and lists of where they can be located, visit the informative [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~poyntz/India/directories.html Thacker's Directories webpage]. Some Thacker's Directories are available online, refer [[Directories online#Thackers's Indian Directory|Directories online-Thackers's Indian Directory]].


== Books ==
== Books ==
The following books related to Jews in India are currently available :


'''Who Are the Jews of India '''
*[http://bnb.bl.uk/  British National Bibliography] Search catalogue of British Library Books.  
By Nathan Katz. Publication date November 2000. Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This readable study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the Jewish community in Cochin, the Bene Israel from the remote Konkan coast near Bombay, and the Baghdadi Jews, who migrated to Indian port cities and flourished under the British Raj.  


'''Ruby of Cochin : An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers'''
==Also see==
By Ruby Daniel. The autobiography of a Jewish woman from Cochin.  
*[[Sardhana]] for a brief mention of Jewish mercenaries.


'''The Jewish Communities of India : Identity in a Colonial Era'''
== External links ==
By Joan G. Roland.  
*[https://www.jgsgb.org.uk Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain] Site for all information relating to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdadi_Jews Baghdadi Jews] Wikipedia
*[http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl101.htm  "The Last Jews In India And Burma"] by Nathan Katz and Ellen S. Goldberg. ''Jerusalem Letter No. 101  15 April 1988''. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Includes  an overview of the historical details.
*[http://www.jacobsassoon.com Sassoon Synagogues of Mumbai & Pune]. Three synagogues, two in Bombay  and one at Poona, are still ongoing, and contact details for the group are provided on the website.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110219144254/http://sephardiclibrary.org/genealogy.html Online records from Rangoon and Calcutta Grave records]  from the National Sephardic Library (Genealogy) of the  American Sephardi Federation, now archived. Five datasets of birth records from Rangoon, see [[Burma]], and [[Cemeteries in Calcutta]] for individual links.
*[https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/mizrahi-jewish-genealogy "Mizrahi Jews: A Minority of a Minority"] May 8, 2022 FamilySearch Blog. Advises "The term Mizrahi describes Jews from North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, including parts of India and Turkey. Mizrahi Jews are of Babylonian and Persian heritage", and "Among Mizrahi Jews was the Sassoon family of Baghdad", who immigrated to India and important financial centers in other eastern countries.
*From the catalogue of the [http://search.cjh.org:1701/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?menuitem=0&fromTop=true&fromPreferences=false&fromEshelf=false&vid=beta Centre for Jewish History], New York and available through the American Sephardi Federation:
**Birth Register Book: Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue Rangoon. Published 1979 In English, available from  1896. In Hebrew, available from 1888. The English records may be  the same as the online Rangoon records in the previous link.
**Death Register Book: Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue Rangoon. Published 1979. Available from  1888. In Hebrew with Sephardi Script.
*[http://www.sephardicgen.com/databases/CalcuttaCemeterySrchFrm.html Calcutta Cemetery database from SephardicGen]
*[http://hdl.handle.net/10603/164753 ''The Jewish world of Calcutta 1798 to 1948''] by  Kaustav Chakrabarti, 2010 thesis University of Calcutta. shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
*[http://www.jewishcalcutta.in  Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories Of The Jewish Community In Calcutta] Retrieved 25 August 2014. Developed by Jael Silliman
**Includes Exhibit 09 Jewish Cemetery In Calcutta, Narkeldanga, which in turn includes a list of the graves.
***[https://web.archive.org/web/20160404120142/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131017/jsp/calcutta/story_17389837.jsp "Digital lifeline for legacy and lore of the Jews - Online museum to preserve community’s city connection"]  by Showli Chakraborty October 17 , 2013 ''The Telegraph Calcutta'', now an archived webpage.
*[https://breakingmatzo.com/philosophy/calcutta-jewsish-community/ "Traders From The Middle East : The Jewish Community In Calcutta"] by Jo Cohen. January 3, 2015 breakingmatzo.com
*[http://haruth.com/AsianIndia.html Jewish India] is a comprehensive website with a wealth of links to sites related to the Jewish communities of India.
*[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1zzMQb_blgHeaKaYP9pderjhov0E&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=24.600241000000008%2C72.699666&z=8 Locations of Jewish cemeteries in India], with photographs and descriptions by Isaac Solomon. Google  Maps. Click on the cemeteries on the left hand side of the webpage for the descriptions and photos.
*[https://jewishphotolibrary.smugmug.com/ASIA/ASIAcentral/INDIA  HaChayim HaYehudim Jewish Photo Library: India]. Includes photographs of Jewish Cemeteries. Click on the initial photographs  for further images. As an example, Mumbai (Bombay). Chinchpokli Jewish Cemetery.
*[http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/india/index.html International Jewish Cemetery Project: India]
*[http://www.jewsofindia.org Jews of India] is the website of the  Indian Jewish Congregation of USA.  Its newsletters may be read online, some contain details of people born in India. There is a page [http://www.jewsofindia.org/genealogy.html Genealogy of the Bene-Israel Community], one of the communities in Bombay.  There is mention of  the foundation in India called the Bene Israel Heritage Museum and Genealogical Research Center, Mumbai, which is detailed in the article [http://genblog.myheritage.com/2010/02/india-a-remarkable-community-p/ India: A remarkable community project] (Genblog.myheritage.com) Its address appears to be 5 Purnima, 20 Nepean Sea Road Mumbai 400036 and the contact email address <nowiki>beneisraely@yahoo.com</nowiki>
*Details of [http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/2013/06/a-judeo-arabic-serial-issued-in-bombay.html  ''The Hebrew Gazette''] , a magazine issued in Bombay 1856 to 1866. "The language used throughout is the Judeo-Arabic dialect of the Baghdadi Jews penned in their distinctive Hebrew cursive script... Each issue imparts a wealth of information, ranging from general news such as the movement of ships in and out of Bombay harbour, to notices relating to the local Baghdadi Jewish community, such as for example weddings and philanthropic acts". Available at the [[British Library]]. British Library Asian and African studies blog (Hebrew and Christian Orient Studies) dated 06 June 2013
*''Nehardea, Journal of the [http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/index.html Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center'']:
**[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/nehar10.htm Issue No. 10, 1997] contains the articles
***[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/10/m1.htm "The Baghdadi Synagogues in Bombay and Poona"]
***[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/10/m2.htm The Jewish Community in Shanghai], which states that the Sassoon family began trading with the Far East and then trained young men of their community in Bombay to be sent as clerks to work for the Sassoon firm in Shanghai.
**[http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/nehar16.htm Issue No. 16, Spring  2008]: [http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/nehardea/16/44.htm Dr. R. Fredman-Cernea talks about her book ''Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma''].
*[http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/baghdadi-jewish-women-in-india "Baghdadi Jewish Women in India."] by Joan G. Roland and Tamar Marge Gubbay, ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'' 1 March 2009.
*[http://asiasociety.org/countries/religions-philosophies/jael-silliman-bringing-indias-jews-light?page=0%252C1&order=DESC Jael Silliman: Bringing India's Jews to Light] Asiasociety.org. Mainly about the Baghdadi Jewish community
*[http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina51.html Jewish China and Jewish Asia Resources on the Web Compiled by Joy Katzen-Guthrie]
*[http://jewishmag.com/162mag/jews_of_india/jews_of_india.htm "In Search of the (happy) Jewish Story – in India"] by Irene Shaland February 2012 jewishmag.com.
** One of the references quoted is ''Jewish exile in India, 1933-1945'' , edited by Anil Bhatti, Johannes H. Voight, published 1999 New Delhi. Available at the [[British Library]], where the catalogue entry says "Papers presented at a symposium held at New Delhi during 15-16 March, 1995. Includes bibliographical references".
*[http://forward.com/culture/306429/searching-for-my-indian-jewish-family-from-secret-societies-to-bollywood/ "Searching for My Indian Jewish Family, From Kabbalah to Bollywood"] by Sigal Samuel April 27, 2015 ''Forward''. The author's family was from Bombay. 
*[http://www.sefarad.org/publication/lm/041/5.html "The Portuguese Jewish Community Of Madras, India, In The Seventeenth Century"] from ''Los Muestros'' numéro 41, Décembre 2000  Sefarad.org
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030818051542/http://www.thehindu.com:80/thehindu/mp/2002/09/30/stories/2002093000180300.htm "Will Chennai's Jews be there?"] by S. Muthiah Sep 30, 2002 ''The Hindu'', now archived. A Jewish settlement first established itself in Madras to export the diamonds of Golconda to London.
*[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-40221002 "Uncovering a story of ill-fated romance and tragic death"] by Andrew Whitehead 11 June 2017. BBC News Magazine. A Jewish cemetery in Madras "tucked away on a busy market street not far from Marina beach, with stalls obscuring the entrance". Includes photographs.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131204132011/http://www.jewishtimes-sj.com/news/2012-10-19/Columns/Jews_and_Jewish_Communities_in_India.html?print=1  "Jews and Jewish Communities in India"]  2012-10-19 www.jewishtimes-sj.com, now an archived page. Reporting a lecture by  Kenneth X. Robbins
**[http://www.maharashtrastudiesgroup.org/documents/RobbinsPLFeb2012.pdf  List of books and articles by Kenneth X. Robbins: Published articles Dealing with India]  maharashtrastudiesgroup.org
** Catalogue entry at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn502298 Kenneth X. Robbins collection] Documents illustrate that there were at least some Jews among the Polish camps at Valivade in Kohlapur state and Balachadi in Nawanagar state. Also see [[Polish Refugees in India 1942-1948]]
*[http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/06/27/3099346/seeking-kin-a-maharajah-comes-to-the-rescue  Seeking Kin: A maharajah comes to the rescue] by Hillel Kuttler  June 27, 2012. www.jta.org.  Also see [[Polish Refugees in India 1942-1948]].
*[http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/india.htm "The Jewish Community of India"] by Daniel J. Elazar 1986 jcpa.org
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochin_Jews Cochin Jews] Wikipedia
*[http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles/cochin-pref.htm "Foreword to ''The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India''"] by Daniel J. Elazar 1993 The book is by Nathan Katz and Ellen S Goldberg 1993 jcpa.org
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121224021918/http://www.thehindu.com:80/life-and-style/society/step-into-history/article4222045.ece  "Step into history"]: Jew Street, Mattancherry, Cochin by Priyadershini S. December 20, 2012 ''The Hindu'', now an archived webpage.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160404121608/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090524/jsp/calcutta/story_10951040.jsp "The Jews of Agarpara"] ''The Telegraph'' (Calcutta), 24 May 2009, details a jute connection. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160404121631/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090531/jsp/calcutta/story_11006900.jsp  Part 2: "By the lazy river"] ''The Telegraph'' (Calcutta), 31 May 2009, now archived webpages.
*[https://stb.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/i_istb/NE_Vortraege/2016-03-04_-_Franz_-_German-speaking_medical_exile.pdf "German-Speaking Medical Exile to British India 1933-1945"] by Margit Franz. Website of Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde, Universität Wien. From the 2010 book  Helmut Konrad, Stefan Benedik (eds.), ''Mapping Contemporary History II. Exemplary fields of research in 25 years of Contemporary History Studies at Graz University/Exemplarische Forschungsfelder aus 25 Jahren Zeitgeschichte an der Universität Graz''. [https://books.google.com.au/books?id=AasnFTQrUmcC&pg=PA65 [Limited selection from<nowiki>]</nowiki> pages 61- 86] Google Books.
:These doctors were mainly Jewish. Between the years 1933 and 1938, there were three waves of forced emigration to British India. The first started in the year 1933 with German doctors.  A second wave started with Jewish refugees coming from Italy. The Austrian exodus after the German occupation in March 1938 formed the third wave of medical refugees coming to British India, at which point Czech and Hungarian Jewish medical refugees started joining the population of refugees.
:Margit Franz is the author of ''Gateway India. German-speaking Exile to India between British colonial rule, Maharajas and Gandhi''. There is an interview with Dr. Margit Franz in the following article  "From the Reich to the Raj".
*[https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/from-the-reich-to-the-raj/ "From the Reich to the Raj:  Uncovering the story of German refugees in India"] by Meylekh Viswanath April 13, 2017 jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com
*[http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0398/india1.html  India Inkings] by Max Freidlander 11 March 1998 Jewish World Review. The author arrived in Calcutta in 1939 and lived in India for 30 years
*[http://rangandatta.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/synagogues-of-calcutta-kolkata/  Synagogues of Calcutta (Kolkata)] and [http://rangandatta.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/jewish-cemetery-kolkata-calcutta/ Jewish Cemetery, Kolkata (Calcutta)]  by Rangan Datta rangandatta.wordpress.com
*[http://forward.com/articles/128073/ The Last Jews of Calcutta] by Robert Hirschfield 17 May 2010 forward.com
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160808095023if_/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130308/jsp/calcutta/story_16645665.jsp  Death of  the leader of Calcutta’s dwindling Jewish community, David Nahoum in March 2013] ''The Telegraph'' Calcutta Friday, March 8, 2013, now archived.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190930194146/https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/the-last-jews-of-kolkata/  "The Last Jews of Kolkata"] by Zach Marks October 24, 2013 ''International New York Times India'', now archived.
*[http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0152056 "The Genetics of Bene Israel from India Reveals Both Substantial Jewish and Indian Ancestry"] by Yedael Y. Waldman et al. March 24, 2016. PLoS ONE 11(3): e0152056. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152056
*Food
**[http://www.jewishcalcutta.in/exhibits/show/food  "Calcutta Jewish Cuisine"] Exhibit 15 from  “Recalling Jewish Calcutta: Memories Of The Jewish Community In Calcutta”. jewishcalcutta.in
**[https://web.archive.org/web/20150526163218/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/11/garden/nothing-says-kosher-like-chicken-livers-in-the-tandoor.html Nothing Says Kosher Like Chicken Livers in the Tandoor] by Florence Fabricant September 11, 1996  nytimes.com, now archived. With two recipes
**This [http://theshiksa.com/2011/12/08/potato-bhajee  link] from "The Shiksa in the Kitchen" describes Jewish life in Calcutta c 1945 and includes a potato recipe from a vintage Jewish cookbook published in 1922 in Calcutta
**Rahel Musleah’s [http://www.rahelsjewishindia.com/index.html  A Passage to Jewish India and Beyond] "From Baghdad to Calcutta". Includes some [http://www.rahelsjewishindia.com/page13/page12/page12.html recipes]
**[http://www.momentmag.com/talk-of-the-table-jan-feb-2013 "The Spicy Tale of India’s Jewish Cuisine"] by Sala Levin January 15, 2013 www.momentmag.com. Includes a potato recipe.
***[http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/the-cuisine-connection/article5451867.ece  The cuisine connection] by Esther Elias December 12, 2013 ''The Hindu'' Kochi. The food of Cochini Jews.
*[http://www.thejewishnews.com/jews-in-burma-we-are-still-here Jews In Burma: “We Are Still Here!”]  13 January  2012 thejewishnews.com
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160404062609/http://www.timescrest.com/society/tombstone-to-kitchen-slab-5882 "Tombstone to kitchen slab"] July 23, 2011 The Times of India Crest Edition, now archived. Details the neglect and destruction of Jewish cemeteries.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120801111244/http://www.indulgedtraveler.com/destinations/destinations-asia/remnants-of-jews-in-singapore/  Remnants of Jews in Singapore] by Barbara Kingstone  January 17, 2011 indulgedtraveler.com, now an archived webpage (retrieved 29 May 2014)
*[http://www.bh.org.il/jewish-community-singapore/ The Jewish Community of Singapore] bh.org.il.  Retrieved 19 November 2014
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141028163855/http://www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/rart_doc/RaimyCheRoss.pdf "A Penang Kaddish: The Jewish Cemetery In Georgetown. A case study of the Jewish Diaspora in Penang (1830s-1970s)"] by Raimy Ché-Ross 2002.  ''The Penang Story''-International Conference 18-21 April 2002.  Now an archived webpage. Includes some transcriptions from tombstones.
*Pakistan
**[http://web.archive.org/web/20060519101358/http://fletcher.tufts.edu/news/2005/09/najam091605.shtml  Where have Pakistan’s Jews gone?] by Adil Najam September 16, 2005  The Flecther School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA, now archived; [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-9-2005_pg3_3 Alternative version]
**[http://www.dawn.com/news/522452/no-more-in-karachi  No more in Karachi] 27 February  2010 Dawn.com [http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2010/03/ashkenazi-hotel-owners-living-in.html  Alternative version]
**[http://issuu.com/etribune/docs/february-6 The Express Tribune Magazine for 6 February  2011] contains the article  "In Search of the Jews of Karachi", pages 18-25. Click to page 18.
**[http://www.jewishtimesasia.org/main-news-topmenu-48/359-2010-08/1732-jewish-cemetery-in-karachi-documented-for-first-time Jewish Cemetery In Karachi Documented For First Time]  Jewishtimesasia.org  [http://www.cemeteryofthelosttribe.com  View the documentary film]
**[http://website.thejc.com/home.aspx?AId=54702&ATypeId=1&search=true2&srchstr=karachi&srchtxt=0&srchhead=1&srchauthor=0&srchsandp=0&scsrch=0 Karachi’s forgotten Jews] The JC.com
**[http://www.dawn.com/news/1046956/karachis-yahoodi-masjid/1  Karachi's 'Yahoodi Masjid'] by Akhtar Balouch 2013-10-03 Dawn.com. The Jewish presence in Karachi
**[http://labs.tribune.com.pk/hazel-lahore/  "Yearning for home: A Jewish woman’s memories of Lahore"] by Taha Anis, 14 February 2016 ''The Express Tribune''/Tribune Labs. Hazel Kahan was the daughter of Dr Herman Selzer, and his wife Kate, both doctors who studied in Germany, who settled in Lahore  c 1938. The family was interred during WW2.
::For Dr Selzer’s account of the years of internment, see [[POW Camps in India#German prisoners of war|POW Camps in India- Second World War- German prisoners of war]].
*[https://www.ija.archives.gov  Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage].  Records from Iraq which are, or will become. available online on the website of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
*Bollywood connections
**[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/41319/bollywoods-bad-girls-jewish-actresses-lit-up-screen-in-indian-cinemas-early/ Bollywood’s ‘bad girls’: Jewish actresses lit up screen in Indian cinema’s early years] 11 February 2010 Jweekly.com
**Sammy Benjamin’s  [http://b-inet.com/sammy/indian-jewish-actors/ (Lesser Known) Pioneering Indian Jewish Bollywood  Actresses & Actors]
*[http://scroll.in/article/685009/Remembering-the-Jewish-refugee-who-composed-the-All-India-Radio-caller-tune Remembering the Jewish refugee who composed the All India Radio caller tune] by Naresh Fernandes, October 24, 2014 Scroll.in. Walter Kaufmann arrived in [[Bombay]] in 1934,  where he founded the Bombay Chamber Music Society. He stayed 14 years in India.


'''Bene Israel of India : Some Studies'''
===Historical books online===
By Benjamin J. Israel. Ranges over the history, religious evolution, some social and deomographic aspects of the life of the community.  
*"The Jewish Merchant-Colony in Madras (Fort St. George) during the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Contribution to the Economic and Social History of the Jews in India" by Walter J. Fischel  ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Apr., 1960)'', pp. 78-107 and ''Vol. 3, No. 2 (Aug., 1960)'', pp. 175-195 may be read online for free on the website JSTOR, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596030 Part 1], [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3596295 Part 2]. Registration with JSTOR is required, or some card holders of participating libraries  may have access, and limits may apply, refer [[Miscellaneous tips]]. Also available at the [[British Library]].
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.55396/page/n19/mode/2up "The Racial Affinities of the Jews of Cochin"] by Eileen W Erlanson Macfarlane  page 1, ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal  Letters'' Volume III 1937 Archive.org.
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.461583 ''The Origin And History Of The Calcutta Jews''] by  I S Abraham, 1963. Archive.org


'''India's Bene Israel : A Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook'''
By Shirley Berry Isenberg.
'''The Sephardic Table : The Vibrant Cooking of the Mediterranean Jews-A Personal Collection of Recipes from the Middle East, North Africa and India'''
By Pamela Grau Twena. From her Iraqi husband's extended family, Pamela Grau Twena coaxed out recipes that had been passed through generations but never written down. The result is an inviting collection of more than 125 Sephardic Jewish favorites for everyday meals, Sabbath suppers, and holidays. These inspired kosher recipes will appeal to all food lovers.
== External Links ==
*[http://haruth.com/AsianIndia.html Jewish India] is a comprehensive website with a wealth of links to sites related to the Jewish communities of India.
*[http://shwepla.net/index.mv?which+France+/Books/Reviews5.mv Link] to a book review of ''Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma'' by Ruth Fredman Cernea 2007


[[Category:Non-British Ancestors]]
[[Category:Non-British Ancestors]]

Latest revision as of 08:27, 14 May 2022

Non-British Ancestors:
Armenian
Danish
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Indian
Jewish
Portuguese

There were three main communities of Jews in India : the Bene Israel (near Bombay), the "Black Jews" of Cochin and the "White Jews" from Iraq. The Virtual Jewish History Tour has a summary of the History of Jews in India online.

General information about Jewish genealogy can be found at JewishGen InfoFiles, which has a host of links providing guidance on researching Jewish family history throughout the world.

Religious Records

If your ancestors were baptised, married or buried in a European church in British India, then the church records should have been transcribed and you can access these records at the British Library in London, or at LDS Family History Centres. The FIBIS database contains many transcribed BMD records.

If your ancestors were married in a Registry Office, then these records will be included with the church record indexes. FIBIS volunteers have transcribed the Registry Office index and this is on the FIBIS database. Further details with images of regsitry pages ca be found on the subscription website findmypast. Details of Registry Office marriages are not available on microfilm through the LDS.

Some records of the births of Jewish people were included in the church records for the Bombay Presidency. It would seem that Jewish parents submitted a letter from their Rabbi or other figure of authority certifying that the individual was born on a certain day at a certain place. These letters were then included with the regular church records. Later, this 'registration' could then be used as proof of British citizenship. This does not seem to have been a very widespread practice. However, if you are at a loss to find a record of your ancestor, it may be worth examining the indexes to the church records of the Presidency in which they resided.

Also see External Links below for some record references

National Archives of India

Search National Archives of India website abhilekh-patal.in. Particularly for the Second World War period there are known to be some records from the Aliens Advisory Committee which have either already been digitised, (Digitized Collection : Digitized Public Records, Home Political) or can be requested to be digitised for a fee. A 1946 Naturalisation request was seen: Application from ... For A German Jew, For Nationalization Under the British Nationality Status of Aliens Act 1914. [Should be Naturalization].

Names

Common Jewish surnames in India include Sassoon and Joseph. Since many Indian Jews were of Baghdadi origin, other surnames tend to be of the Shephardic style. It is rare to hear of Ashkenazi surnames in India. Other surnames include biblical names.

Directories

Many European, Anglo-Indian and other businessmen were named in the Directories of their day. The most prominent Directory was Thacker's, which originally only covered Bengal, but eventually encompassed all of British India. If your Jewish ancestors were merchants or businessmen, there is a good chance that they would have been listed in Thacker's Directories. A complete set is now housed at the Asian & African Studies Reading Room at the British Library, but most major libraries will hold a few copies for given years. For a comprehensive description, and lists of where they can be located, visit the informative Thacker's Directories webpage. Some Thacker's Directories are available online, refer Directories online-Thackers's Indian Directory.

Books

Also see

  • Sardhana for a brief mention of Jewish mercenaries.

External links

These doctors were mainly Jewish. Between the years 1933 and 1938, there were three waves of forced emigration to British India. The first started in the year 1933 with German doctors. A second wave started with Jewish refugees coming from Italy. The Austrian exodus after the German occupation in March 1938 formed the third wave of medical refugees coming to British India, at which point Czech and Hungarian Jewish medical refugees started joining the population of refugees.
Margit Franz is the author of Gateway India. German-speaking Exile to India between British colonial rule, Maharajas and Gandhi. There is an interview with Dr. Margit Franz in the following article "From the Reich to the Raj".
For Dr Selzer’s account of the years of internment, see POW Camps in India- Second World War- German prisoners of war.

Historical books online

  • "The Jewish Merchant-Colony in Madras (Fort St. George) during the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Contribution to the Economic and Social History of the Jews in India" by Walter J. Fischel Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Apr., 1960), pp. 78-107 and Vol. 3, No. 2 (Aug., 1960), pp. 175-195 may be read online for free on the website JSTOR, Part 1, Part 2. Registration with JSTOR is required, or some card holders of participating libraries may have access, and limits may apply, refer Miscellaneous tips. Also available at the British Library.
  • "The Racial Affinities of the Jews of Cochin" by Eileen W Erlanson Macfarlane page 1, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Letters Volume III 1937 Archive.org.
  • The Origin And History Of The Calcutta Jews by I S Abraham, 1963. Archive.org