Sayan Lodh
About
sayan.rs@presiuniv.ac.in
Sayan Lodh is a PhD candidate at Presidency University, Kolkata, researching Judaizing movements in India.
His thesis focuses on "new" Jewish-identifying communities among socio-economically marginalized Christian populations.
A recipient of the AJS Scholar of Color Fellowship, Lodh has previously worked on the Baghdadi Jewish community of Kolkata.
His research interests encompass Indo-Judaic studies, antisemitism, and mass violence in South Asia.
Lodh has published in international outlets such as Haaretz and Tablet Magazine, contributing to the scholarly and public understanding of the diverse and evolving Jewish landscape in the Indian subcontinent.
Lecture Abstract:
The Baghdadi Jewish community of India, established in the early 1800s, functioned as the “two pearls” of a vast maritime network—luminous centers of wealth, culture, and influence that anchored the eastern reaches of the diaspora. With Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata) as its Indian hubs, this transnational network extended across ‘Jewish Asia,’ linking port cities from Basra and Aden to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Goods, people, and ideas circulated freely, creating diasporic homes across the region. Initially Arabic-speaking, the Baghdadis gradually transitioned to English, marking a century-long shift from Judaeo-Arabic to Judaeo-British culture, led by elite families.
This paper examines the evolving identity of the Baghdadi Jewish diaspora through its Indian branches, focusing on their role in the opium trade—a venture that enriched Britain while deepening economic distress in China and India. Following the trade’s prohibition, Baghdadi families diversified into industry and real estate, leaving a lasting architectural imprint. In Bombay, the Sassoon family emerged as dominant patrons, while Calcutta saw equal influence from the Gubboy, Ezra and Elias families.
Today, the luster of these “pearls” has faded as the community has dwindled to fewer than 100 members in Bombay and under 20 in Calcutta. Both branches face near-certain extinction by the next century. However, Bombay’s Baghdadi institutions continue to serve the Bene Israel Jews, preserving a living legacy. In contrast, Calcutta’s Jewish structures stand as silent witnesses to a once-vibrant past, narrating the city’s layered history of migration, commerce, and cultural transformation.