Courtesy: NewsDrum
Eighteenth century Bombay was home to two Jewish communities: Marathi-speaking Bene-Israel Jews and Judeo-Arabic-speaking Baghdadi Jews. The city was a a major hub for employment, business, religious, community, and cultural life. These activities were formerly dispersed among many hubs across the Middle-East for the Baghdadi Jews, and among the villages of the North Konkan for the Bene-Israel.
Courtesy: India TV News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Cairo on 24-25 June en route home after a successful state visit to the U.S., has highlighted the presence of the small but flourishing Indian community in Egypt. Comprising just 4,300 today, these Indians built businesses over the decades when Egypt was a British Protectorate, and after, and are important to the current upswing in the bilateral
Courtesy: ANI
On a recent visit to Tanzania, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced the establishment of the first overseas campus of the premier Indian Institute of Technology Madras on its islands of Zanzibar in Africa. The choice of Zanzibar is significant: 180 years ago, it was the very first interface between Indian merchants and the East African mainland.
Courtesy: T20 India
On 10-12 May, 2023, Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House participated in the T20 Mid-year Conference hosted by Think20 and G20 in Mumbai. She delivered a special address on the integral position of Mumbai in the Indo-Pacific, pointing out the city’s historical, geopolitical, maritime, and commercial linkages with the Indian Ocean world.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The Banganga Tank in Mumbai’s Walkeshwar is one of the city’s oldest sites of worship. Its location on the main island of Bombay is evidence of the city’s roots in Hindu mythology and folk tradition. Recent efforts to restore and culturally revive it offer a blueprint for incorporating Mumbai’s pre-colonial heritage sites within its contemporary cityscape.
Courtesy: The Marg Foundation
India’s famous cultural icon, Marg magazine, has turned 75 along with the nation. It has republished some of its path-breaking articles, adding an introduction with a contemporary rethink. The outcome is an intellectual inquiry, with clues on how a confident 21st-century India must shape its global and regional positioning.