Elijah Roggen
About
elijah.roggen@fulbrightmail.org
Elijah Roggen is a Fulbright-Nehru Student Researcher currently based in India, where he focuses on the political and national aspects of Bene Israel identity.
Affiliated with the Jindal School of International Affairs, his research investigates how the Bene Israel community has negotiated its identity within the context of Indian nationalism and global Jewish movements.
A recent graduate of Pomona College, Roggen’s work contributes to the growing field of Indo-Judaic studies, exploring the unique cultural and political position of India’s largest Jewish community during the modern era.
Lecture Abstract:
This presentation shares some reflections from the initial months of research on Jewish life in India as part of the Fulbright-Nehru Student Researcher program, combining historical and archival work with contemporary field experiences. This work is shaped by my own Bene Israel family history, which I will briefly share during the talk. Returning to synagogues, archives, and communal spaces has required both scholarly inquiry and an element of personal reconnection, considering the familial significance of relevant sites of research. Sourcing primarily from archival materials of the late colonial and early postcolonial periods—particularly the papers of Benjamin J. Israel—I examine historic forms of communal life, organized around synagogues, institutions, and transnational networks. I also consider how these historical structures might inform India’s Jewish community through forms of communal leadership and organization in the contemporary period. Being welcomed into synagogue communities in greater Mumbai has highlighted belonging fostered through hospitality, ritual participation, and interpersonal recognition, rather than being exclusively tied to more formalized communal infrastructures. While the research remains ongoing, these reflections intend to emphasize the value of considering present-day experiences alongside archival records and other historical sources, also recognizing how personal and familial connections shape both access to relevant spaces and interpretation of experiences.