Sephardim in Mumbai

I read on a blog a reference to the Sephardim in Mumbai.

I do not know if there were sephardic casualties in the recent Mumbai terrorist attack, but can state that India had for centuries a very large Sephardi presence. The term "Sephardic" is used here in a wider sense to include most Jews of Asian and African origin, who use a Sephardic style of liturgy.

From the late 18th century, many Sephardim from the former Ottoman Empire (Iraq and Aleppo, Aleppo) and what is now Iran and Afghanistan traveled to Bombay, Calcutta and many other India (then a British colony) cities for trade. From there they established commercial posts in Rangoon, Singapore, Shanghai, Japan.

Their legacy and small communities in these cities still exist.


Alain