Jews were here 180 years ago

Jews were here 180 years ago
Bangalore has been a cosmopolitan city for centuries. The first Jews probably came in the 1820s, followed by a large number in the 1950s
Prashanth G N | TNN

Bangalore: A Chabad Jewish Centre may open in Bangalore in 2008, but the city’s Jewish connection goes back to 1898.
Two members of the Jewish community were laid to rest in a corner of the Hosur Road cemetery about 100 years ago. One grave is dated 1898 and the other, 1917.
Researcher Ronnie Johnson says the cemetery was always known as the European cemetery. “There are two Jewish graves here. Interestingly, by the side of one of them is an English grave — cricketer Colin Cowdrey’s brother or nephew. In those times, people from over the world came to Bangalore.”
The earliest Jewish grave belongs to an Australian, M Horvitz, born in Runoleff, Australia. He died on June 20, 1898. Johnson says the grave has been laid in the East-West direction with the headstone — engraved with Hebrew writing — facing West. “The grave is the first one at the end of the central passage of the cemetery, near a gap in the wall leading to the second level. It is on the right side. The grave, made of granite, is grey in colour.”
Johnson points out that while the grave is 120 years old, Horvitz would naturally have come much earlier.
“I believe that the first of the Jews may have come around the 1820s and 1830s. In that case, the city’s Jewish history would go back 180 years.”
The second grave belongs to Rose Hickey, an Englishman who died on February 9, 1917, aged 48 years. This means Hickey would have been born in 1869. Johnson describes its location: “This grave is the last plot (Plot 5) and on the left. The original location was Plot 5, Row 1. A new row has been added so it is now on Row 2.”
Johnson says while the city’s Jewish connection may go back almost 180 years, Jews began settling in large numbers here in the 1950s and 60s. “My research tells me a few Jewish families settled here then. I remember one family in Austin Town. I don’t think they are there anymore. Now, there are probably a few youngsters and a family or two with elders aged about 50 years. This means they must have come in the sixties.” Johnson traces the arrival of Jews to their first landing at Kochi almost 200 to 250 years ago. “Trade brought them from far. Settling in the port city, they built one of the finest synagogues in India. The Kochi synagogue is still held in esteem.”
Jews in India
A significant portion of the Jewish population in India lives in Manipur, Mizoram and Mumbai. While there are about 4,000 of them in Mumbai, the exact number in southern cities is not known. In the South, Kochi even has a Jew Street and a synagogue.
Many Jews in India are known as Cochin Jews, Bene Israel Jews, Baghdadi Jews in Mumbai, Bnei Menashe (Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in Manipur and Mizoram coming from the tribe of Menasseh). Bene Ephraim Jews (also called ‘Telugu Jews’) are a small group which speaks Telugu.

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