Despite being here for over 200 years, the Jewish population in India may be one of our most invisible minorities, but in a momentous turn of events the state cabinet in Maharashtra approved for the Jewish community to receive minority status.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Maharashtra now has 2466 members of the Jewish faith, a far drop from the 15,851 Jews that lived here during 1961. The current population of Jews in India stands at 4650 though the numbers began to dwindle as more and more people began to move back to Israel or intermingle.

The push to label the group as a minority is likely to prove advantageous, as it will “help to sustain the community for another generation or two,” according to chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, Jonathan Solomon. The new change will allow Jewish communities to apply for government programs and scholarships, as well as restore monuments that help preserve the long heritage of the community in India. This also alters marriage laws where previously, marriage forms did not allow for a Jewish option under the list of religions, even though many couples chose to marry with Jewish customs and traditions. Jews can now even apply for leave from work to observe holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah, when previously they had to send letters to schools and institutions.

“The Jews feel very connected to India, which is our motherland, while Israel is our fatherland. Our loyalty also lies with India, this being the country that accepted us almost 2,500 years ago, and one of the only countries in the world which never persecuted the Jews in all these years.” said Mr. Judah Samuel to the New York Times. Mr. Samuels is the president of the Shaare Rason Synagogue and collected the data to submit to Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla for minority status consideration.