In May 2025, I had the opportunity of visiting India’s high commission in Central London, just weeks after the Islamist terror attack in Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists. Whilst I was there, I listened to harrowing testimonies of those that had lost friends or family as a result of terrorism in India’s disputed Kashmir region. Having never been to India or Pakistan, I was certainly no expert on the conflict between the countries, yet I started to see a parallel reality.

Almost day-after-day, pro-Pakistan protestors, including students from my university, gathered outside India’s high commission, in protest of its ‘occupation’ of Kashmir and its government. There was no sympathy for the innocent lives stolen that day. Not even a minute of silence. It was just straight condemnations of India, its government and its policies. I found this to be almost identical to how many in the pro-Palestine movement acted in the wake of Hamas’ deadly attack on Israeli civilians. Whilst Hamas was still in Israeli territory, butchering civilians, protestors in London were already on the streets chanting.

But, the threat of terrorism is not the only thing Hindus and Jews have in common. Both religions share rich cultural traditions, that have been practiced for centuries. For example, Hannukah and Diwali, two beautiful festivals of light. Both holidays have been celebrated for over 2000 years and both celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, lighting Menorahs and Diyas respectively. In true Jewish and Indian fashion, these festivals involve lots of food, family and fun.

As I found out, however, the Jewish-Hindu bond stretches even further than similar traditions and customs. In fact, Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to reach the Indian subcontinent over 2000 years ago. Many settled in cities like Kerala after the destruction of the Second Temple in 20 CE. This community of Jews, known as Cochin Jews, developed close ties with Hindu rulers, sharing the same rights and privileges as their Hindu neighbours. Unlike many Jewish communities, Cochin Jews experienced no expulsions or pogroms under Hindu rule. For centuries, the few Jews in India were able to practice their religion free of persecution and expulsion, even under British colonial rule.

The only time Indian Jews were under threat was during the Portugese Inquisition, which forced many Jews, Hindus and Muslims in Goa to undergo forced conversion to Orthodoxy in the 16th century.

The rich story of Indian Jews reflects how prosperous, welcoming and diverse Hindu culture truly is.  Jews arrived in India before the existence of Islam and Christianity over 2000 years ago. Yet, unlike medieval Europe, the Middle East and Africa, there were no mass expulsions, no ghettos and no pogroms.

Instead, Jewish communities such as the Cochin Jews of Kerala and the Bene Israel of Maharashtra were permitted to live openly as Jews, building synagogues, preserving Hebrew liturgy, observing Shabbat and maintaining their communal courts. In Kerala, copper plate charters granted Jewish leaders land and trade privileges, a rare sign of royal recognition in diaspora history.

For centuries, Jews became an integral part of India’s commercial and cultural life: trading spices along the Malabar coast, serving in the armed forces of the Maratha and later British administrations, and contributing to the development of cities like Mumbai and Kolkata. Their distinct identity was preserved not through isolation, but through peaceful integration within a wider civilisational mosaic.

The Jewish experience in India stands out in global history. It demonstrates that strong religious identity and pluralism need not be in tension. In India, Jews did not merely survive – they flourished.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)