Jews and India Perceptions and Image [Paperback]

Exploring the image of Jews in India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this book looks at both the Indian attitudes towards the Jewish communities of the subcontinent and at the way Jews and Judaism in general have been represented in Indian discourse.

Despite the fact that the Indian Jewish population constitutes one of the countrys tiniest minorities, the relations of the local Jews with other communities form an integral part in the history of Indian multiculturalism. This has become increasingly apparent over the last two centuries as Judaism and its image have been incorporated into the discussions of some of the most prominent figures of different religious and nationalist movements, leaders of independent India, and the Indian mass media. Furthermore, recent decades witnessed mass adoption of Israelite identity by Indians from two different regions and religious groups.

Being a topic that has received little attention,Jews and Indiaseeks to rectify this situation by examining these developments and providing a fascinating insight into these issues. This volume will be of interest to scholars of Jewish and Indian cultural studies.

1. Introduction  2. Jewish Topics in British India  3. Indian Attitudes Towards Anti-Semitism  4. Jews, Politics and Society in Independent India  5. Jews as an Indian Minority  6. Varieties of Jewish Expression in Independent India  7. Conclusion

Yulia Egorova received her doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. At the moment she is a Research Fellow at Cardiff University. Her research interests focus on conceptual implications of science including the impact of genetic anthropological studies conducted in India and among different Jewish communities of the world.