"Proud and historic," wrote Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a post on X, as he shared that the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai has unveiled plans to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel. The announcement coincided with Shivrajyabhishek Din, the anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's coronation. Shivaji was crowned more than 350 years ago, on June 6, 1674.
During centuries when Jews endured external threats in many parts of the world, India stood out as one of the few places where they could live without persecution, maintaining their religious traditions while actively contributing to the surrounding society. From the Marathi-speaking Bene Israel community along the Konkan coast to the Jewish merchants who traveled India’s western shoreline, connections between India and the Jewish people stretch back thousands of years. Yet, the 16th century emerges as a particularly pivotal era in the history of their relationship.ship.
With a statue of Shivaji set to be installed in Israel, attention is turning to a lesser-known chapter in the shared history of the Maratha Empire and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
How Certain Jewish Communities in India Came to Be Known as 'Shanivar Telis'
According to HS Kehimkar, a prominent 19th-century educator, author, and civil servant, in his 1937 work History of the Bene Israel of India, the Bene Israelis, one of the oldest Jewish communities in India escaped from Galilee during the persecution carried out by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes and arrived on India’s western coast in the early 2nd century BCE, following a shipwreck near Navagaon, located south of present-day Mumbai.
Community tradition holds that the Bene Israel survivors consisted of seven men and seven women, who settled in the Konkan region and slowly became an integral part of the local society.The Bene Israel worked in trades such as oil pressing and grocery business, yet they rigorously kept the Jewish Sabbath on Saturdays. Their refusal to work on that day led to their being called Shanivar Telis (Saturday oil-pressers).
This stood out in Maharashtra’s social setting, where Hindu oil-pressers were known as Somwari Telis because they took Mondays off, and Muslim oil-pressers, who observed Friday prayers, were referred to as Shukrawar Telis. Over many centuries, the Bene Israel community embraced the Marathi language and numerous local Indian traditions, while maintaining their Jewish identity. Their extended residence in Maharashtra gave rise to a distinctly Indian Jewish culture, which flourished without the anti-Semitic oppression seen in other regions.
BENE ISRAELIS SERVED IN MARATHA ARMY AND NAVY
A less widely recounted aspect of their history is the community’s connection to the emergence of the Maratha Empire. Renowned for their martial heritage and combat expertise, members of the Bene Israel joined various regional forces, among them armies associated with the Maratha state. In the 17th century, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj recognised the martial skills of the Bene Israelis and enlisted some of them into his forces, integrating them into his army. As the Maratha ruler established a kingdom that contested Mughal supremacy and created the basis for a strong Swarajya (a state under indigenous rule), Jewish soldiers were among the various communities that bolstered its military power..
The Bene Israel community’s standing as capable soldiers persisted long after the Maratha period. In his research paper titled 'Bene Israel Soldiers in the Indian Army', West Bengal-based scholar Kaustav Chakrabarti observes that the Jewish Bene Israel in India demonstrated exceptional military zeal, serving with equal distinction in both indigenous and colonial forces. Their service ranged from pre-colonial Indian kingdoms to the armies of the British Raj, reflecting a long-standing martial tradition.
As Israel gets ready to unveil a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the initiative goes beyond paying tribute to the Hindu Hriday Samrat (Emperor of Hindu Hearts). It also brings back into focus a remarkable chapter of shared history, connecting the Jewish community’s centuries-long presence in India with the emergence of the Maratha Empire and the enduring legacy of a ruler venerated well beyond Maharashtra.
SHIVAJI STATUE: A SYMBOL OF INDIA-ISRAEL'S LONG-STANDING FRIENDSHIP
The Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai announced plans to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel as a gesture to strengthen India-Israel ties.
"To make the memorial worthy of Maharaj's legacy, we sought cooperation from Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, and he immediately agreed to provide it," Yaniv Revach, Consul General of Israel in Mumbai, posted on X on Saturday.
"We believe that a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel would serve as a powerful symbol of the close ties between Israel and India. Such a monument would be especially meaningful given the historical links between Maharashtra and the Indian Jewish community, many of whose descendants today contribute significantly to Israeli society," Revach said in his letter to Fadnavis.
"This is huge news! On the auspicious occasion of Shivrajyabhishek din, heartfelt thanks to the Israeli Consul General Yaniv Revach for this historic announcement of installing a grand statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Israel," Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis posted on X, reacting to Revach's announcement.
"The Maharashtra government will extend complete support for this historic initiative," Fadnavis added.
"At the peak of their population, the Bene Israelis used to number around 75,000. There are about 4,000 Bene Israelis left in India currently," Reuben Israel, a member of the Bene Israel community and Delhi-based publisher, told India Today Digital in 2023. Reuben also noted that the Jews who remained in India at that time did so because they were comfortable and saw no reason to leave. “They had no difficulty practising Judaism in India. They faced no persecution here,” he said. This reflects the deep sense of connection that Jews in India feel toward the country.
BENE ISRAELIS WORKED IN THE MARATHA EMPIRE'S ARMY
The Bene Israel worked as traders and oil-pressers, but they were not limited to these works. Community traditions and historical evidence suggest that many members of the community developed a strong martial tradition and served in the armies and navies of regional powers along India's western coast, including the Siddis of Janjira, the Angrias, and the Marathas.
Various community stories and historians claim that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj recognised the military capabilities of the Bene Israelis and recruited some of them into his army and naval forces operating in the Konkan region. An article by historian and Supreme Court advocate Arunansh B Goswami, in The Times of Israel, suggests the participation of Bene Israel soldiers and sailors in the rise of the Maratha state.
The English Christian missionary and author, Reverend James Henry Lord's early 20th-century work 'The Jews in India and the East', mentions figures such as Aaron Churrikar, who is said to have been appointed a Nayek, or naval commander, in the Maratha fleet and granted land for his services.
The book also recounts that members of a Bene Israel family who had earlier served the Siddis of Janjira, were captured by the Marathas and later inducted into Maratha service.
Two members of the family, identified in community accounts as Samuel (Samaji) and Abraham (Abaji), were reportedly entrusted with naval responsibilities after demonstrating loyalty. Ancestors of several Bene Israeli families are also said to have commanded forts in the Konkan region.
Bene Israeli servicemen were not limited to Shivaji's forces. Historical accounts indicate that they also served under the famed Maratha naval commanders of the Angre family, whose fleet dominated much of India's western coastline in the 18th century.
Nevertheless, there is broad agreement that the Bene Israel possessed a strong military tradition. Kaustav Chakrabarti notes the active participation of Bene Israel soldiers in the military expeditions of indigenous rulers, including the Angrias and Shivaji. Chakrabarti argues that the community earned a reputation for military service long before the colonial era, a legacy that later continued in British Indian forces.
Thus, although some of the specific stories surrounding Bene Israel officers in Shivaji's army remain rooted in community memory, historians generally acknowledge that members of the Jewish community served in the military establishments of the Marathas and other coastal powers, making them a little-known part of the history of the Maratha Empire.
BENE ISRAELIS' CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE BRITISH INDIAN ARMY
While the Bene Israelis' association with the Marathas is remembered largely through folklore and some historical work, their service in the British Indian Army is far better documented. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, members of the small Jewish community joined the Bombay Presidency Army of the East India Company in disproportionately large numbers and built a reputation for military discipline and leadership.
Among the earliest documented recruits were the Divekar brothers, notably Samuel Ezekiel Divekar, who joined the Company’s service in the late 18th century. Community narratives referenced by The Hindu newspaper state that Samuel was captured in 1786 during the Anglo-Mysore wars by Tipu Sultan’s forces. A widely recounted tradition maintains that his life was spared once his Jewish identity was revealed.
Over the following century, Bene Israel soldiers took part in numerous major campaigns waged first by the East India Company and later by the British Raj. They fought in the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the Anglo-Maratha Wars, the Anglo-Afghan Wars, the Anglo-Burmese Wars, the Sind campaigns, the Punjab Wars, and were also involved in the Revolt of 1857.
Despite forming only a tiny fraction of the Bombay Army's overall manpower, the Bene Israelis became significantly overrepresented among native commissioned officers. Their literacy, familiarity with English education, and long military tradition helped many rise through the ranks. Scholars have noted that by the mid-19th century, the community produced a remarkable number of Indian officers relative to its small population.
In his study of the community's military history, Chakrabarti argues that the Bene Israelis established a reputation for courage and loyalty that made them one of the most distinguished military communities of their size in colonial India. Their record in the Bombay Presidency Army ensured that a community numbering only a few thousand left a footprint in Indian military history far larger than its demographic strength.
THE MIGRATION TO ISRAEL AND THE SITUATION OF BENE ISRAELIS TODAY
The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 marked a turning point in the history of the Bene Israeli community in India. Drawn by the idea of returning to the Jewish homeland, thousands of Bene Israeli families migrated from India to Israel in the years that followed. By the late 1960s, more than 12,000 members of the community had settled in Israel, transforming what had long been an Indian Jewish community into an important part of Israeli society.
The transition, however, was not without challenges. In the early years, some Bene Israel immigrants faced questions from religious authorities regarding their personal status and Jewish lineage. These disputes led to protests and community campaigns, before the Israeli government and religious establishment formally recognised the community's full Jewish status during the 1960s, helping ease their integration into mainstream Israeli life.
Today, the descendants of the Bene Israel number more than 50,000 in Israel, where they have contributed to the country's military, politics, education, and cultural life while preserving elements of their Indian heritage. Marathi songs, Indian cuisine, and community traditions continue to be celebrated by many Bene Israel families across Israel.
A much smaller community remains in India with nearly 5,000 people, concentrated mainly in Mumbai, Thane, and parts of the Konkan coast. Though their numbers have declined dramatically, synagogues, cemeteries, and community institutions continue to stand as reminders of a Jewish presence in western India that stretches back many centuries.
The Bene Israeli community, even after being a migrated population in India, inherited the culture and has shown immense respect for the Indian land. The plan to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the symbol of Swarajya, courage, and visionary leadership, will be a tribute by the Jewish community to the Indian warrior-king.