A FRANCHISE COMMITTEE OF THE COCHIN GOVERNMENT TODAY RECOMMENDED DROPPING OF THE LONE JEWISH SEAT IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON THE GROUND THAT THE SMALL JEWISH POPULATION, PUT AT 1,451 IN A TOTAL POPULATION OF 1,205,016, DID NOT WARRANT ITS CONTINUANCE.
THE COMMITTEE EMPHASIZED THAT ITS DECISION WAS NOT MOTIVATED BY LACK OF APPRECIATION OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY’S VALUE. THE LONE JEWISH COUNCILLOR IS SHABDAI S. KODER, 35-YEAR-OLD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE.
COCHIN IS LOCATED IN THE SOUTHERNMOST PART OF INDIA, ON THE MALABAR COAST, AND IS RULED BY THE MAHARAJA OF COCHIN. THE LARGEST PART OF THE COCHIN JEWS ARE KNOWN AS “BLACK JEWS,” WHO DATE THEIR SETTLEMENT IN INDIA BACK TO THE THIRD CENTURY OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
