Courtesy: NewsDrum
Eighteenth century Bombay was home to two Jewish communities: Marathi-speaking Bene-Israel Jews and Judeo-Arabic-speaking Baghdadi Jews. The city was a a major hub for employment, business, religious, community, and cultural life. These activities were formerly dispersed among many hubs across the Middle-East for the Baghdadi Jews, and among the villages of the North Konkan for the Bene-Israel.
Courtesy: Twitter : Narendra Modi
Indians are the largest expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their contribution to building that nation is being celebrated this year, which is also the UAE’s golden jubilee year. Cultural fluency built on centuries-old trade and migration makes it easier for Indians and Gulf Arabs to collaborate.
Courtesy: Rupa Publications
This book by the former Indian Ambassador to Israel, Navtej Sarna, traces the history of a centuries-old Indian hospice, located in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter. In May 2021, the outbreak of an armed conflict between Hamas and Israel raised tension throughout the walled city, particularly within the Muslim Quarter. This is not the first time the hospice has been caught in armed conflict due to its location. In light of these recent events, the book has become an extremely relevant piece to read.
Courtesy: Alvazarat
The Dawoodi Bohra diaspora is present in over 40 countries that are home to 500 sizeable communities. From a predominantly Indian Ocean merchant diaspora in the past, today, its young prefer to seek educational and professional opportunities in developed countries, like the United States. What remains unchanged is the Bohras' traditional way of life, as lived through its rich and composite cuisine and its unique, ever-evolving language – Lisan-ul-Dawat – both of which connect the community across continents.
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
India-Iran ties span culture, economics and geopolitics. Iran is one of India’s most important neighbours and must be viewed on its own standing, not through a Western prism. Gateway House has an extensive repository of research and reporting on Iran, ranging from India-Iran historical ties, Iran’s role in India’s energy security and the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran and on India, which helps to better understand this crucial nation.
Courtesy: Ruhi Nooreyezdan
India has the largest number of Baha’is in the world today, followers of the world’s newest religion, which was founded in 19th-century Persia. Persecuted in their own country, they came to Bombay, which was already home to many Iranians, to purvey the message of their faith
Courtesy: LBB
Bombay’s trade with the Persian Empire grew rapidly in the 19th century because of regular steamship services between the city and prominent Iranian ports such as Bushire. The wealthy and public-spirited Persian merchants, who settled in Bombay, endowed their community with a religious and social infrastructure, in use even today
Courtesy: Flickr/MEA India
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu’s official visit to India from January 14 to 19 will lay accent on the many commercial ties that bind the two countries. Equally important, if less visible, is Israel’s Indian Jewish diaspora, that has benefited greatly ever since full diplomatic relations were established
Courtesy: Dr. Sarah Israel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel (July 4-6) marks 25 years of India’s diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. Forging political and economic ties with it has not been smooth sailing, and it’s the Indian Jewish community that has kept a tenuous relationship going
Courtesy: Cibin Varghese
The Khilafat movement started in Mumbai nearly 100 years ago in response to the dismantling of the Caliph-headed Ottoman Empire by the Allied powers. The present revival of the office of the Caliph by the Islamic State in West Asia, although rooted in a different context, evokes this sliver of Mumbai’s history