The Jewish Heritage of Calcutta is an account of the Jews of Charnock’s City who have almost become part of the history of India. The Jews were part of the Raj scenario and have left behind a heritage that is rich and colourful. The community in Calcutta was always a microscopic minority, but their contribution to the economic life of Bengal was considerable. The community was never homogenous. The Baghdadi Jews were the leaders of the Calcutta Jewry, but the Cochinites and Bene Israels were not absent here. The genesis of the Calcutta Jewry, their socio-cultural and political life, exodus, marriage and demography etc. are reconstructed in this study with the help of authentic documents, both archival and contemporary. The focus of the study is on the contribution of the Jews to the cultural panorama of Calcutta and as an objective study of the community, the work breathes an air of originality and sincerity of purpose. No marginal community has contributed so much to the Metropolis of Calcutta as the Jews. The Jewish heritage of Calcutta is enduring and let us preserve it for the posterity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dalia Ray
Dr. Dalia Ray, daughter of late Hon’ble Justice Bankim Chandra Ray retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India (1985-1991) and late Banalata Ray, is the chip of the old bloc. After taking her M.A. degree in Modern Indian History from the Jadavpur University, she took her Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Calcutta. She was a Junior Research Fellow of the University and took her Ph.D. from the Jadavpur University in Modern Indian History under the supervision of Prof. Amitabha Mukherjee., Her thesis was published under the title The Bengal Revolutionaries and Freedom Movement (1902-1919) from Delhi in 1990. After working as a First Class Judicial Magistrate and Munsiff in the West Bengal Judicial Service for 8 years. Dr. Ray returned to the Bar of the Calcutta High Court in 1998. She is a practicing lawyer and is doing well at the bar. Dr. Ray has published a number off papers in the academic and research Journals. Her papers on the Jews of Calcutta in the Proceedings of the Indian History Congress and the All India Oriental Conference etc. have been well received and appreciated. She is a frequent contributor to the daily Press of Calcutta. She has written a few papers in Bengali. Apart from social service, Dr. Ray is a gifted singer of light classical music and has released two cassettes off her songs in 1997 and in 2001.
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