The Baghdadi Jews in India

Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity

• Author(s): Shalva Weil,
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 202
• ISBN_10: 042953387X
  ISBN_13: 9780429533877
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies , Social Science / Regional Studies , History / Asia / General , Religion / General , Religion / Judaism / General , Social Science / Sociology / General , Social Science / Ethnic Studies / General , Political Science / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism , Social Science / Human Geography , Social Science / Jewish Studies ,

Description:...

This book explores the extraordinary differentiation of the Baghdadi Jewish community over time during their sojourn in India from the end of the eighteenth century until their dispersion to Indian diasporas in Israel and English-speaking countries throughout the world after India gained independence in 1947.

Chapters on schools, institutions and culture present how Baghdadis in India managed to maintain their communities by negotiating multiple identities in a stratified and complex society. Several disciplinary perspectives are utilized to explore the super-diversity of the Baghdadis and the ways in which they successfully adapted to new situations during the Raj, while retaining particular traditions and modifying and incorporating others. Providing a comprehensive overview of this community, the contributions to the book show that the legacy of the Baghdadi Jews lives on for Indians today through landmarks and monuments in Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, and for Jews, through memories woven by members of the community residing in diverse diasporas.

Offering refreshing historical perspectives on the colonial period in India, this book will be of interest to those studying South Asian Studies, Diaspora and Ethnic Studies, Sociology, History, Jewish Studies and Asian Religion.