Introduction

Ethno-Religious Conflict in the Cochin Jewish Community: An Analysis of Jewish Life in Kerala through the Life Writing of an Indian Jewish Woman

“…“‘Anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in our Indian dictionary,’ Cochin Jews like to remind visitors. Their high position in Kerala society, along with other origins in ancient Israel, constitutes the core of the community’s pride” (Katz, 2000, p.16). They were well-established and very influential in Kerala.…”

“…However, research from a linguistic and literary perspective is essential to discover the unidentified realms of Cochinim life in Kerala for rewriting or recreating history. Much research on Cochin Jewish community over a broad historical horizon has been conducted in the past decades by Nathan Katz (2000), Edna Fernandes (2008), P. M. Jussay (1991), Shalva Weil (1988), and others.…”

“…Ruby of Cochin is based on the ethnographic research conducted by Barbara C. Johnson, documenting the Cochin Jewish community and their cultural, religious and societal concerns. Johnson employs both anthropological and sociological research strategies in this auto-ethnographical work to delineate the stereotyped ethnic life of Malabari Jews as black Jews (Strizower, 1971, p. 5; Fischel, 1962, p. 53; Katz, 2000, p. 63).…”

“…World Jewry has spread out in the East and the West, and Jews have been present in the Indian subcontinent at least since 1000 CE. The experience of the Indian Jewish community, comprising of Cochinim, Bene Israel and Baghdadi Jews, is distinct compared to the anti-Semitic Jewish experiences in other parts of the world (Katz, 2000, p. 16–17). India offered a platform for the Jews to flourish and acculturate freely.…”

“…The quote above from Ruby Daniel’s narrative alludes to the traumatic experiences of the Jews in European countries, where they were traumatized and persecuted. The ruler of Cochin, Cheraman Perumal Baskara Ravi Varma (962–1020 ACE), welcomed the Jews as they arrived with warmth and hospitality (Cheraman Perumal is the title given to the most senior of the kingdom’s rulers, as it refers to the Chera dynasty itself) (Mandelbaum, 1939, p.425; Katz, 2000, p.13). While the Jews in other corners of the world encountered the holocaust, Jews in Kerala lived fearlessly, sustaining their unique ethnic and religious identity (Daniel, 1995, p.123).…”