Samuel Hallegua, 79, died in his Fort Kochi home. The Hindu, which reported Mr. Hallegua’s death yesterday, described him as a ‘community leader’ and, more poignantly, as someone who resented, not without reason, Cochin’s once-thriving Jewish community’s transformation into a tourist attraction. Mr. Hallegua’s family is said to have been in Cochin since 1592, and it was his family members who assisted in the mid-eighteenth century reconstruction of the famous synagogue in Mattancherry, which Mr. Hallegua had been showing to the tourists flocking to Cochin as the Warden of the Cochin Jewish Synagogue.
Several scholars, including Nathan Katz and Joan Roland, have done an excellent job of chronicling the remarkable history of the Jewish presence in India. The story of Jews being sheltered in Shanghai – which I previously discussed – while they were being butchered wholesale in the home of what is endearingly described as the Enlightenment is remarkable enough, especially given that their protector was the Japanese ghetto commander who refused to carry out orders for their final extermination, but even more remarkable is their centuries-old sojourn in India. India is one country where they were not only not persecuted, but also where much like adherents of many other religions have discovered, they could openly practice their faith and demonstrate their unique contributions to the development of Indian civilization. India continues to be unique in the global Jewish experience, and Professor Katz correctly stated in his book Who Are the Jews of India? several years ago that “Jews navigated the eddies and shoals of Indian culture extremely well.” They have never encountered anti-Semitism or prejudice.” He continues by describing how India could have served as a model for the rest of the world: “Indian Jews lived as all Jews should have been allowed to live: free, proud, observant, creative and prosperous, self-realized, contributing citizens of their host country.”
Source: https://www.southasia.ucla.edu/religions/practices/cochins-jews/
