A visitor walking through Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda district may see the David Sassoon Library as little more than an impressive Gothic building from the colonial era of Bombay. Yet behind its arches, clock tower and historic reading room lies a much larger story.
It is a tangible reminder of a period when a Jewish refugee family from Baghdad turned India into the centre of a commercial network connecting the Persian Gulf, Bombay, China, Britain and markets across the world.
The library is not merely a monument to philanthropy. It represents a business philosophy that was far ahead of its time. True capital is measured not only by the wealth an individual accumulates but also by the trust he builds, the institutions he leaves behind and the society he chooses to make a partner in his success.
The Sassoon family invested in schools, hospitals, libraries, infrastructure and community institutions, some of which continue to serve the people of India to this day.
Not One Community, but an Entire Indian Mosaic
The term ‘Indian Jews’ can be misleading because India’s Jewish population was never a single, uniform community.
It included the Bene Israel, whose main centre was Maharashtra; the Cochin Jews of Kerala; the Baghdadi Jews who settled primarily in Bombay and Calcutta; and, in a later period, the Bnei Menashe of northeastern India.
Each community developed in a different environment, spoke different languages, adopted local customs and operated within its own economic and social reality. What united them was a remarkable ability to preserve their Jewish identity while developing a deep sense of belonging to India.
Some traditions trace the Jewish presence in India back nearly two thousand years. The clearest historical evidence of an organised Jewish presence on the Malabar Coast, however, comes from the copper plates of Cochin, generally dated to around the year 1000.
In this royal charter, Joseph Rabban, a Jewish leader and merchant, was granted commercial rights, social status and privileges associated with a local merchant guild. The fact that one of the earliest surviving documents concerning Indian Jews deals with trade is hardly accidental.
From an early stage, the Jewish presence in India was not built on isolation. It was built on participation in the trading routes of the Indian Ocean and on the ability to operate across cultures, languages and political systems.
Globalisation Before the Word Was Invented
The Indian Jewish merchant was not merely a seller of goods. He was a cultural intermediary, an interpreter of commercial norms and a manager of risk in a world where contracts were often enforced through personal reputation and family trust rather than through sophisticated legal and digital systems.
Jewish communities across the Middle East and Asia created networks based on family ties, shared traditions, language and mutual confidence. India offered these networks something equally valuable: strategic ports, vast markets, a sophisticated commercial culture and an environment in which minorities could become important economic actors.
The Baghdadi Jewish community provides one of the most prominent examples.
Arabic-speaking merchants arrived in India from Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, settling mainly in Bombay and Calcutta. From there, they established commercial centres that expanded into Southeast Asia and the Far East.
They became part of a network linking ports, communities and centres of capital long before multinational corporations became the accepted model of international business.
The Sassoons and the Complex Morality of Success
David Sassoon arrived in Bombay in the 1830s after his family was forced to leave Baghdad. He did not speak English, but he was fluent in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and several other languages. In India, he also learned to conduct business in Hindustani.
From Bombay, he built a commercial empire that sent family members and representatives to China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, the Persian Gulf and Britain. The Sassoons became synonymous with international Asian trade and were eventually known as the ‘Rothschilds of the East.’
History should not be romanticised.
A significant part of the family’s fortune was generated through the opium trade under the British colonial system, alongside trade in cotton, textiles and other commodities.
This was a morally troubling chapter that should neither be erased nor concealed. Acknowledging it allows us to examine the Sassoon story in its full complexity, not as a legend about flawless businessmen, but as a case study in capital, empire, power and social responsibility.
The important lesson is not that wealth is inherently moral. It is that any business seeking to establish deep roots in a new country must invest beyond its financial balance sheet.
The Sassoons directed part of their wealth towards public institutions, education, healthcare, culture and infrastructure. In doing so, they created not only assets, but also social legitimacy, public trust and an enduring urban legacy.
Even today, the Sassoon name does not belong only to history books. It appears on a library in Mumbai, docks, educational institutions and a hospital in Pune. Private wealth was transformed, at least in part, into public value.
Flora Sassoon, the Business Leader Ahead of Her Time
The Sassoon family story also includes a woman who was exceptional even by modern standards.
Flora Sassoon, born in Bombay, assumed responsibility for the family’s Indian business interests after the death of her husband in 1894. She managed them until 1902 and was directly involved in trade, finance, contracts and real estate in a business world dominated almost entirely by men.
Flora was not merely a wealthy heiress or a ceremonial figure. She managed a complex international commercial enterprise and made significant business decisions decades before terms such as ‘female leadership’ and ‘boardroom equality’ entered public discourse.
For twenty-first century India, which seeks to promote female entrepreneurship and increase women’s participation in management and global markets, Flora Sassoon is more than a historical Jewish personality. She is part of India’s own business history.
A Tiny Community That Left a Major Mark on Calcutta
Calcutta also witnessed a striking contrast between the small size of its Jewish community and the scale of its influence.
At its height, the city’s Baghdadi Jewish community numbered only a few thousand people. Yet its members played an important role in commerce, real estate, philanthropy and urban life.
Families such as the Ezras were involved in the development of properties and buildings that became part of the city’s architectural landscape. The name Ezra Street remains a visible reminder of that period.
The story of Calcutta’s Jews demonstrates that economic influence is not necessarily a function of numbers. A community may be very small, but when its members possess international connections, cultural fluency and a reputation for reliability, it can play a role far greater than its demographic weight.
It would, however, be inaccurate to suggest that Jews alone built Bombay or Calcutta.
These cities were shaped by Parsis, Gujaratis, Marwaris, Muslims, Armenians, Europeans and many other communities. India’s greatness did not come from favouring one group over another. It came from its ability to transform human diversity into economic strength.
From the Indian Ocean to the Port of Haifa
Following the establishment of the State of Israel, many Indian Jews emigrated there. Today, more than 100,000 Israelis are of Indian Jewish origin, most of them descendants of the Bene Israel community of Maharashtra, alongside Jews from Cochin, the Baghdadi community and the Bnei Menashe.
They are not merely an emotional link between the two countries. They represent a living reservoir of language, culture, family memory and intimate familiarity with Indian society.
The modern economic relationship between India and Israel extends far beyond the Jewish community, but its historical continuity cannot be ignored.
Commercial relations have expanded from diamonds, chemicals and traditional commodities to technology, communications, agriculture, water management, medicine, energy and defence.
Few symbols illustrate this historical reversal more powerfully than the acquisition of the Port of Haifa by a group led by India’s Adani Group.
Two centuries ago, Jewish merchants used Bombay as a gateway to Asia. Today, Indian capital uses Haifa as a gateway to the Mediterranean.
History does not repeat itself precisely, but it often finds remarkable ways to rhyme.
Agricultural cooperation also demonstrates how the relationship has evolved from the exchange of goods to the transfer of knowledge and technology.
Dozens of agricultural centres of excellence have been established across India through cooperation with Israel. They focus on areas such as fruit, vegetables, flowers, dates, pomegranates and beekeeping.
Yet the significance of this relationship extends far beyond trade figures or the number of joint projects.
The deep historical connection between India, Israel and the Jewish people continues to carry great meaning in the present.
It is a relationship built over generations on loyalty, friendship, mutual respect and trust. These historical foundations now support political, economic and defence cooperation that serves strategic interests of great importance to both nations.
In a world where many alliances are formed out of temporary convenience and change under political pressure, the relationship between India and Israel is also sustained by historical memory and by a friendship that has repeatedly demonstrated its resilience.
Trust Was the Most Valuable Capital
The business story of India’s Jewish communities should not be remembered merely out of nostalgia.
It remains highly relevant today, as Israeli companies seek to enter the Indian market and Indian corporations expand their presence in Israel and across the world.
The first lesson is that there is no substitute for cultural understanding.
A company cannot enter India armed only with a strong product and an impressive presentation. India is built on relationships, patience, hierarchy, regional diversity and trust developed over time.
The second lesson is that a successful business network cannot be based solely on exploiting opportunities. It must create local value, employ local workers, train professionals, support communities and demonstrate that it views India as a home and a partner, not merely as a market of more than a billion consumers.
The third lesson is that the power of a diaspora extends far beyond the movement of money.
A successful diaspora transfers knowledge, relationships, languages, experience and trust.
More than 100,000 Israelis of Indian origin could serve as an even stronger bridge between the two countries. To achieve this, governments, industry associations and private companies must begin to regard them as a strategic asset, rather than merely as a cultural symbol displayed at ceremonial events.
India should continue to preserve the synagogues, archives, schools and buildings left behind by its Jewish communities. This should not be viewed as a gesture towards Israel, but as the preservation of Indian history.
The stories of Jewish merchants, the Sassoon family, the Ezra family and Flora Sassoon also deserve a place in the teaching of India’s commercial and economic history.
The Jewish heritage of India does not merely tell the story of how a minority survived in a distant land.
It tells the story of how India allowed a small community to become Indian, to prosper, to remain loyal to its identity and, at the same time, to contribute to the country that embraced it.
This may be one of the greatest gifts India gave its Jewish citizens.
It is also one of the most important gifts Indian Jews gave India in return.