Rohit Kumar Sharma
About
monsharma74@gmail.com
Rohit Kumar Sharma is a Research Analyst at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi.
A law graduate with an M.A. in International Relations, his research covers cybersecurity, Internet governance, and Israeli domestic politics.
He also holds a diploma in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
Sharma’s work provides a strategic perspective on the digital and political challenges facing modern states, with a particular focus on the intersection of security policy and the political landscape of Israel within the broader context of international relations.
Lecture Abstract:
Esther David, an Indian author and a member of the Jewish community herself, writes extensively about the lives and experiences of Jews in India, capturing their history and culture through her books. Her books offer a rare window into the lives of Bene Israeli Jews, exploring themes such as what it means to be an Indian Jew, the idea of home, and the complexities of cross-cultural identity. Through her stories, readers gain insight into how this small yet significant community has preserved its dietary laws while blending Indian traditions with its own customs. Even though the Bene Israeli Jews are scattered across different parts of the country, they remain connected through shared threads of food, faith, and cultural memory. Her work also features strong women characters, such as in the ‘Book of Rachel’, where the protagonist’s struggle to save a synagogue becomes a powerful metaphor for memory in action- showing how heritage survives not through numbers, but through the protection of sacred places and the preservation of culinary rituals. The paper aims to examine how Esther David’s literary works offer a distinctive lens through which to understand the dwindling Indian Jewish community, particularly the Bene Israel. Her books are not just creative narratives but function as custodians of the community’s memory, preserving its cultural practices, histories, and identities. This study will draw on four of her works- Book of Rachel, Book of Esther, Bombay Brides, and her recent Bene Appetit: The Cuisine of Indian Jews. Through these texts, the paper explores how non-fiction and literary works can be used to document everyday life, culinary traditions, and the lived experience of a small but resilient community, turning literature into an archive of Bene Israel heritage.