

Rare images document the centuries-long history of Africans in India - benbreen
http://scroll.in/article/682635/Rare-images-document-the-centuries-long-history-of-Africans-in-India

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srean
Another not so widely known fact is the history of Jewish population in India.
They predate their settlement in Europe. If you visit Cochin, Kerala you would
find one of the oldest synagogues there, inlaid with beautiful porcelain tiles
imported from China, all hand made and hand painted, and hence unique - a must
visit.

People make a great leap of generalization when they make the case for anti-
semitism (I do dislike that word, it does not mean what it literally means) to
be a uniform phenomena. It was categorically lacking in India. In fact many a
Indian not so educated in world history would go "Huh!" in bewilderment if one
makes such a claim. I find many Jewish people in US are unaware of this
history, particularly the right wing kind.

I remember attending a Jewish student gathering organized to mourn the death
of a Mumbai Rabbi killed in the Mumbai terrorist attack. Us new Indian
students left with a lot of head scratching because of the strong singular
rhetoric that permeated the gathering. It was that of Jewish population being
persecuted everywhere (hinting that the same is true in India and in
particular was true for the Rabbi) and the need to stand up, resist and
confront that. Not a word about others who lost their lives in that terrorist
incident.

It was a bit awkward. No ill feelings, just a bit of head-scratching "OK, if
you say so" bizarre.

~~~
chimeracoder
Ironically, the Bene Israel (Indian Jews) often face severe discrimination
from other Jewish groups when they go to Israel[0] .

Because they have been in India for so long, they don't "look" Jewish (ie, not
like Ashkenazi or Sephardic or Mezrahi groups), so they aren't considered
"real" Jews. Only recently have they been able to "prove" their status with
blood tests.

It's all very sad.

[0]
[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bene_Israel](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bene_Israel)

~~~
IkmoIkmo
> It's all very sad.

Indeed, ironic perhaps because Israel commits some of the same mistakes
against minorities as many Israeli citizens experienced as a minority group
themselves in other countries.

The plight of the Ethiopian jews in Israel (Beta Israel) for example is
riddled with controversy. Just recently there was the birth-control issue[0]
which is quite shameful.

[0]
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/eliseknutsen/2013/01/28/israel-f...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/eliseknutsen/2013/01/28/israel-
foribly-injected-african-immigrant-women-with-birth-control/)

~~~
wozniacki
It is almost astoundingly comical how the xenophobia & generally retrograde
thinking of some elements in Israel, barely gets a mention, in mainstream
American media narratives.

Racist Israelis Protest Against African Refugees! "N*ggers Go Home"

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohJD7-zi7U](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohJD7-zi7U)

(Israelis, in Tel Aviv, protest a High Court ruling that declared internment
camps for African refugees are unconstitutional)

Edit: Reversed word choice

~~~
curiousDog
Wow, that is messed up. I though Israel as a society was way more aware of
such issues. I don't think you'd see something like that in Europe today
either.

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sremani
This is great, I think we get so caught up with the caricatures and stereo-
types, such authentic collection that tells stories and sets context opens our
mind to the distances people traveled even in those old days and how open
minded people were even then.

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cturner
"Rare images" and "rare footage" are common phrases in linkbait. It's a
particularly ham-fisted attempt to sensationalise a topic. The idea fails to
make sense at a very basic level. An image can be duplicated. Scarcity doesn't
apply. So images can't be rare. In time to come we'll see awkward attempts to
redefine the meaning of 'rare' so as to contain this awful usage.

~~~
pessimizer
You can't have ever had a difficult time finding a particular image, or
sometimes _any_ image of a particular thing before. In the case of footage,
I've spent years trying to find footage that I knew existed at some point
(based on somebody's writing, or from stills in a book), but short of getting
access to some archive and flying (internationally) there to search through
boxes, I not only can't find it, but can't even verify that it still exists.

Just because a thing can be duplicated doesn't mean it has been, and just
because something was once available doesn't mean you'll have any luck finding
it today.

