A thousand years ago, on India’s Malabar Coast, a Hindu ruler granted a Jewish community rights, status and a place to belong. The promise was written on copper. Centuries later came the Paradesi Synagogue, Jewish life beside palace and temple, and a bond between India and the Jewish people that long predates modern diplomacy. This is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever written about friendship, memory and belonging. Read: The Copper Plates - A Thousand-Year-Old Indian Promise to the Jews. Link in 1st comment!

I came across this post and I highly recommend the read: mravinderreddy.substack.com/… A lovely piece of Indian history too few people know: India’s first Miss India, crowned in 1947, was Jewish. Esther Victoria Abraham, better known as Pramila, was a Baghdadi Jew from Calcutta who became an actress, producer and one of the early stars of Indian cinema. ynetglobal That matters because it says something enduring about India at its best: a civilisation confident enough to make space for difference, and generous enough to let minorities belong without first asking them to disappear. The India–Israel relationship is often discussed in terms of defence, technology and strategy. Its deeper foundation is human: old Jewish communities in India, cultural exchange, shared experience, and a long memory of coexistence. That is what makes the bond special. India did not merely tolerate Jewish life. It helped make it visible.