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Jewish Cemetery, New Delhi, India
The Jewish Cemetary of New Delhi
Introduction: Next to Khan Market and bordering Judah Hyam, the city’s only synagogue, New Delhi’s Jewish cemetery is a testimony to the history of Indian Jews. Located on Humayun Road and founded in 1930, it encloses the tombstones of 42 Indian Jews.(1) Visually, the tombstones appear to be quite similar, with arched steles which frequently display stars of David. We will now enter the history of this cultural and religious hallmark of Indian Jews.
Description
History of the Jewish Community in New Delhi: Of the Indian Jewish communities, the Bnei Israel, are most relevant to Jewish life in New Delhi. The Bnei Israel community claims that it is one of the “lost” tribes of Israel, which was shipwrecked off the Indian coast in 175 BCE. Although they originally settled along the Konkan coast, in the nineteenth century, they moved to Bombay and to other cities, including New Delhi.(2) According to their tradition, the Jew David Rahabi in 1000 C.E. recognized their ancestral Jewish customs. They were surnamed the “Shanwar Tells” (or Sabbath-observing oilmen) due to the fact they refrained from work on Shabbat, the Jewish weekly day of rest.(3)
In the 20th century, some Bnei Israel partook in the Indian nationalist movement. Hence, on Independence Day, some received the Padma Shri, one of the greatest awards of the Indian government. One such person was Ezra Kolet, prominent in the New Delhi Jewish community, who is buried in its cemetery. Ezra Kolet worked for the government in the Finance Ministry, and later in the Ministry of Shipping and Transport as chief comptroller of chartering. He founded the Delhi Symphony Orchestra in 1964.(4) He was the President of the Indian Council of Jewry, the leader and cantor of the New Delhi Jewish community, and frequently served as a liaison between Jews and the government.(5)
Additionally, “Baghdadi” Jews who arrived in India in the eighteenth century also lived in new Delhi.(6) Few Jews from Europe seem to live in New Delhi, since their culinary customs are not observed during certain Jewish holidays, such as Hanukkah.(7)
Today, the Jewish community in New Delhi is very small, counting 5 to 6 families, most families having immigrated to Israel.(8)
New Delhi, India
© Mapbox, © OpenStreetMap
Sources
FOOTNOTES:
1-Mayank Austen Soofi, “Your Gateway to Alternate Delhi, the City of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Arundhati Roy,” The Delhi Walla, April 6, 2016, accessed June 11th, 2017, http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2016/04/06/city-list-the-everlasting-jews-of-delhi-jewish-cemetery/.
2-Shalva Weil, “Bene Israel,” Encyclopedia of World Cultures (Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1996).
3-Walter Joseph Fischel et al., “Bene Israel,” ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, Encyclopaedia Judaica (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 335, accessed June 11th, 2017, http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=mlin_m_wellcol&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX2587502450&asid=ccf15180e0f04e80844ae0778047241e.
4-Ibid., 337.
5-Siddharth Gaur, “Ezra Kolet,” HH Shri Bhola Nathji Memories, December 22, 2012, accessed June 11th, 2017, http://hhshribholanathjimemories.blogspot.fr/2012/12/ezra-kolet.html.
6-Michael Chlenov, “Jews of India: Past and Present,” Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, April 17, 2012, accessed June 11th, 2017, https://www.thejewsofindia.com/jews-india-present/.
7-Swati Chopra, “Jews in City Celebrate Hanukkah,” The Times of India, November 29, 2002, accessed June 11th, 2017, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Jews-in-city-celebrate-Hanukkah/articleshow/29800211.cms?referral=PM.
8-Ezekial Malekar, Delhi Jews, interview by Fred De Sam Lazaro, October 7, 2011, accessed June 11th, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2011/10/07/october-7-2011-delhi-jews/9667/.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Austen Soofi, Mayank. “Your Gateway to Alternate Delhi, the City of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Arundhati Roy.” The Delhi Walla, April 6, 2016. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2016/04/06/city-list-the-everlasting-jews-of-delhi-jewish-cemetery/.
Chlenov, Michael. “Jews of India: Past and Present.” Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, April 17, 2012. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. https://www.thejewsofindia.com/jews-india-present/.
Chopra, Swati. “Jews in City Celebrate Hanukkah.” The Times of India, November 29, 2002. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Jews-in-city-celebrate-Hanukkah/articleshow/29800211.cms?referral=PM.
Fischel, Walter Joseph, Shirley Berry Isenberg, Benjamin J. Israel, Yulia Egorova, Naftali Bar-Giora, and Shalva Weil. “Bene Israel.” Edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=mlin_m_wellcol&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX2587502450&asid=ccf15180e0f04e80844ae0778047241e.
Gaur, Siddharth. “Ezra Kolet.” HH Shri Bhola Nathji Memories, December 22, 2012. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. http://hhshribholanathjimemories.blogspot.fr/2012/12/ezra-kolet.html.
Malekar, Ezekial. Delhi Jews. Interview by Fred De Sam Lazaro, October 7, 2011. Accessed on June 15th, 2017. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2011/10/07/october-7-2011-delhi-jews/9667/.
Weil, Shalva. “Bene Israel.” Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1996.
PHOTO:
The site photo is from the Diarna archive, courtesy of Alex Shaland. It was accessed on June 15th, 2017.
SEE ALSO:
The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories: Seeking Jewish Narrative All Over the World by Irene Shaland, 2016 http://globaltravelauthors.com/