By Jerry Klinger
COCHIN, India — A remarkable historical plaque was recently presented in the Kalikotta Palace here in Cochin, India. It honored His Highness, Rama Varma Pareekshith Thampuran, the Last Maharaja of Cochin. The brass, 2’x3’ plaque, in English and Hebrew and mounted on rosewood, hangs below the Maharaja’s portrait.
Jewish Indian tradition believes Jewish merchants reached the shores of Cochin while King Solomon sat on the throne in Jerusalem. Perhaps. Physical evidence of Jewish presence in Cochin dates from the 9th Century.
For thousands of years, Jews settled as minorities in foreign lands. The yearning for Jerusalem and the prudent and pragmatic words of the prophet Jeremiah 29:7 remained intimately if not always consciously, intertwined.
“Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
In the 9th Century, Cochin, Maharaja Bhaskara Ravi Varma, in appreciation for the many positive contributions and benefits the Jews brought to his Kingdom, bestowed special rights and privileges on his Jewish subjects. The rights and privileges were inscribed on Copper Plates. The Copper Plates are kept today in the Paradesi Synagogue in Jewtown, Cochin (Kerala), India.
Western Jewish eyes are quick to misinterpret “Jewtown” as an epithet. It is not.
Jews have lived for millennia amidst their Hindu neighbors without the long, vicious, antisemitic, subjugating history characteristic of Europe and the Islamic world. Animus to Jews was and remains rare in Cochin. The Portuguese conquests in the 1500s brought the Inquisition to India. Jewish heretics, and even their disinterred bones, were tried and burned in public Autos-da-Fes. Islamic conquests during the same period by the Moguls from Afghanistan brought new challenges to Jewish life in Cochin.
The Maharajas of Cochin interceded, protecting their Jewish subjects.
In August 1947, British control of India came to an end. Three new countries emerged: Islamic Pakistan, Hindu India, and, in a breakaway from Pakistan in 1971, Islamic Bangladesh. Deep historical and socio-economic tensions between Hindus and Muslims festered. The only resolution necessitated the largest population transfer in history. Hindus moved from Muslim-controlled lands to India, and Muslims moved from India to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Less than a year later, in May 1948, the reconstituted Jewish state of Israel was reborn after nearly two thousand years. Almost all the Jews of Cochin voluntarily made a choice. The Jews of Cochin had never forgotten Jerusalem. They chose to return to Israel.
As Jewish departure preparations were being made, the Maharaja went to the Paradesi Synagogue to address his Jewish subjects with honor, respect, and love.
In the same context, the historical plaque was proposed to the Cochin Royal Family Heritage and Historical Society with honor, respect, and love.
The Society chose to site the plaque below the portrait of the Maharaja. The plaque was presented before hundreds of guests, many members of the Cochin Royal Family and other families. Guru Shri Hariprasad, Swami Ji, of the Vishnu Mohan Foundation attended.
The plaque is the initial effort of an Indian Jewish historical marker trail system. It is being developed across India. The system is funded by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. Markers, in Jewtown for A.B.Salem, the “Jewish Ghandi,” in Chendamangalam for the Paliath Community, and in Delhi for Hannah Sens, are in fabrication.
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The Speech of the Maharaja of Cochin, Paradesi Synagogue, 1949
“…A glorious chapter of unbroken love and affection on the one hand, and deep devotion and loyalty on the other, between the Maharajas of Cochin and their Jewish subjects…. The memory of your early association with this country has always been pleasant. Your people began to visit this coast as early as the days of King Solomon. In the early centuries of the Christian era, some of them left their hearts and homes and settled in Cochin. The people of Cochin welcomed you with open arms, and the Ruling Family protected you from plunder and persecution. My grandmother used to tell us of the very pleasant hours she and the other princesses of her age spent in the company of your womenfolk who usually gathered at the palace in the afternoon. This temple of historic importance is a standing monument of religious tolerance and hospitality that has prevailed here since time immemorial. I am glad to say no other people deserved such treatment better. You have, on occasions, more than one shown your unflinching loyalty to the King and country that adopted you and gave you shelter. I assure you that all legitimate interests of the minorities shall be scrupulously safeguarded…
The Prophet Jeremiah instructed the Jews in Jeremiah 29:7 (Hebrew)
“Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
With sincere appreciation to His Highness, Rama Varma Pareekshith Thampuran, the Last Maharaja of Cochin.
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
Psalm 72 of King David, verses 15-17 (Hebrew)
Presented in 2025 by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, Jerry Klinger, President, and Dr. Kenneth X. Robbins, M.D.”
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Jerry Klinger is president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.