In his foreword to Hindi author Sheela Rohekar’s novel, Miss Samuel: A Jewish-Indian Saga (Speaking Tiger), translated by Dr Madhu Singh, Professor HW Wessler poses a significant question: “How much diversity does the modern nation-state allow?” It is part meditation and part observation about Rohekar’s book, which explores this idea through the story of a family belonging to the Bene Israeli Jewish community in India. Although her novel was originally written in 2013, its recent English translation only necessitates us to think if much has changed in the last 12 years. While there is awareness of the existence of the community, its population has only declined. Moreover, as Rohekar notes, “They have no voice of their own... they have remained either mute or short-sighted outsiders.”

The Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue (above) in Kala Ghoda is the second oldest Sephardic synagogue in Mumbai