Author: Staff Reporter

The ancient Ellora Caves in the state of Maharashtra will become the first monument in India to have a hydraulic lift to facilitate easy movement of people in wheelchairs, according to a statement by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). 

The invaluable ensemble of 34 caves at Ellora in the Charanandri hills of western India’s Maharashtra State not only symbolize a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India. 

The caves, which have temples dedicated to Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, also house the largest rock-cut Shiva temple, called Kailasa Temple in Cave 16. Since it’s located in village Verul in Maharashtra, with Leni being the local word for caves, they are also called Verul Leni.

The 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff, not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. 

As per traditions, the rock-cut activity was carried out in three phases from the 6th century to the 12th century. The earliest caves (caves 1–12), excavated between the 5th and 8th centuries, reflect the Mahayana philosophy of Buddhism then prevalent in this region. The Brahmanical group of caves (caves 13–29), including the renowned Kailasa temple (cave 16), was excavated between the 7th and 10th centuries. The last phase, between the 9th and 12th centuries, saw the excavation of a group of caves (caves 30–34) reflecting Jaina philosophy.

The UNESCO sates: “The ensemble of Ellora is a unique artistic achievement, a masterpiece of human creative genius. If one considers only the work of excavating the rock, a monument such as the Kailasa Temple is a technological exploit without equal. However, this temple, which transposes models from “constructed” architecture, offers an extraordinary repertory of sculpted and painted forms of a very high plastic quality and an encyclopaedic program.”

According to analysts, the authenticity of Ellora Caves is expressed through the architectural forms and designs such as the viharas (monasteries), chaityagriha (sanctuary), and monolithic temples belonging to three different faiths. The materials, locations, and natural setting also play significant roles in determining the authenticity of the property. The Ellora Caves are authentic in terms of the forms and designs, materials and substance, and locations and setting of paintings, rock-cut architecture, sculptures, and unfinished temples of three different faiths, i.e. Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Jainism.

A new report by researchers at Rutgers University at New Brunswick and the non-profit Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) has found that there is a rapid increase in anti-Hindu hate speech on social media platforms in the United States and that this potentially puts thousands of people of the Hindu community at risk.

“Our analysis demonstrates that there is an alarming, recent rise in the use of key terms — particularly, anti-Hindu slurs and slogans — that both connote and disseminate Hinduphobia on popular social media platforms,” the report said. “Accompanying this increase is the proliferation of anti-Hindu genocidal memes in Islamist, white nationalist, and other extremist sub-networks online. While such developments are often mistakenly categorized as anti-Indian xenophobia, we show that the specific content of these memes, hashtags, and derogatory messages very clearly targets decidedly Hindu symbols, practices, and livelihoods. In so doing, these online communities are adapting a pre-existing, albeit understudied, playbook of Hinduphobic tropes to a new sphere of communication.”

The research was led by Prasiddha Sudhakar, an analyst at the Network Contagion lab. Her co-authors were Dr. Joel Finkelstein, Chief Science Officer and Director, Network Contagion Research Institute and Senior Research Fellow, Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience, Rutgers University; Dr. Lee Jussim, Chair, Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University; Dr. Parth Parihar, Postdoctoral Fellow, Wallis Institute of Political Economy, University of Rochester;
Denver Riggleman, Former Congressman and Fellow and Visiting Scholar, Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience, Rutgers University.

In its executive summary, the report says, “Hinduphobic tropes such as the portrayal of Hindus as fundamentally heretical evil, dirty, tyrannical, genocidal, irredeemable or disloyal — are prominent across the ideological spectrum and are being deployed by fringe web communities and state actors alike. Despite violent and genocidal implications of Hinduphobia, it has largely been understudied, dismissed, or even denied in the public sphere. This report applies large scale quantitative methods to examine the spread of anti-Hindu disinformation within a wide variety of social media platforms and showcases an explosion of anti-Hindu tropes. Though confined largely to street-level groups and enthusiasts in the recent past, Hinduphobia is now exploding across entire Web communities across millions of comments, interactions and impressions in both mainstream and extremist platforms.”

Sudhakar was quoted by KQED, “I wouldn’t say I was surprised, given that there’s been a massive rise in all forms of ethnic hatred, whether it’s antisemitism, or Islamophobia, or anti-Asian hate.”

The report found that there is a spike in anti-Hindu phraseology in the United States, beginning in the fall of 2021 on social media platforms such as 4chan, Gab, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram.

The report said that NCRI detected recent surges in derogatory posts toward Hindus present in subcultural social media platforms including 4Chan, Telegram, and Gab.

“We found anti-Hindu memes, hashtags, and slogans growing prolifically across these fringe online platforms as well as Twitter. NCRI’s previous analysis shows that extremist content targeting specific vulnerable communities on social media are upstream predictors of real world violence against those communities. State actors use Hinduphobic tropes as part of large scale information operations. (Courtesy: Indica News)

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has said on July 14th that he is not seeking separation of his homeland from China but is seeking meaningful autonomy inside China rather than independence as he arrived in Jammu from Dharamshala. 

The Dalai Lama said only a few Chinese hardliners considered him to be a separatist. “Some hardliners in China think I’m a separatist,” Dalai Lama said, adding that there are now more and more Chinese people who are realizing that the Dalai Lama is not seeking independence but only a ‘meaningful’ autonomy inside China to preserve Tibetan Buddhist culture.

“People in China are increasingly realizing that I am not seeking the independence of Tibet, but autonomy and preservation of its Buddhist culture,” he told the media in Jammu.

The Nobel Peace Laureate traveled to Ladakh in India on Friday, July 15th, where he is going to stay for a month to deliver discourses and meet followers.

After a long hiatus, the Dalai Lama is making his first visit outside his headquarters in Himachal Pradesh’s Mcleodganj since leaving Bodh Gaya in January 2020 ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic’s outbreak. 

In response to a query about China objecting to his journey to Ladakh, the spiritual head of Tibet responded and denied the claims made by Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, who had told the media that the 14th Dalai Lama was an anti-China separatist.

The visit of the Dalai Lama is expected to enrage China because Beijing recently chastised Prime Minister Modi for sending birthday congratulations to the Dalai Lama, who just celebrated his 87th birthday, saying that India should cease interfering in China‘s domestic affairs using Tibet-related matters.

The famed Thiksay monastery in Leh is among the places the Dalai Lama is scheduled to visit on his journey.

The Dalai Lama is treated as a guest in India, according to the government’s consistent policy, the External Affairs Ministry stated in response to China’s complaint.

Ever since the Dalai Lama sought refuge in India, Beijing has been critical of him. The Tibetan spiritual leader had to seek refuge in India in the 1950s when China invaded Tibet and called it as part of China. The Dalai Lama wanted to promote a halfway settlement with China to settle the Tibet problem amicably.

India and China have been at odds since April 2020 about Chinese Army violations in the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, and Kongrung Nala, among other places. After intense battles with Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the situation deteriorated. It is important to note that the 16th round of Corps Commander-level discussions between China and India, which are scheduled to begin on July 17, is taking place just three days after this visit.

The fundamental issue at stake in abortion debates is personhood, which is viewed differently around the world, an anthropologist writes. Opponents and proponents of abortion rights often frame their positions in terms of two fundamental values: “life” or “choice.”

However, many defenders of “life” are comfortable with taking human life in situations such as war or capital punishment. Many on the side of “choice” advocate for government regulation of guns or mandates on masking and vaccines.

As I see it, “life” and “choice” are not, in and of themselves, really the issue. The central question is what – or who – constitutes a person. 

This question has long preoccupied anthropologists, particularly those like me who specialize in the study of non-European religions. Some ideas usually taken for granted in the United States and Europe about what it means to be a person are, quite simply, not shared with followers of other religious traditions and cultures.

Ideas about personhood in U.S. culture are largely a product of Christianity, in which personhood is inextricably tied to the notion of the soul. Only a being who possesses a soul is a person, and personhood is treated as a black-and-white matter: Either a being has a soul or it does not.

As a specialist of religion in Africa, I have become aware of religious traditions that treat personhood in very different and more nuanced ways. The majority of people in Africa identify as Muslim or Christian, but indigenous religions remain widespread, and many view personhood as a process rather than a once-and-for-all phenomenon.

Gradual personhood

This is well illustrated by beliefs about babies in the Beng culture of Côte d’Ivoire, which anthropologist Alma Gottlieb details in her remarkable 2004 ethnography, “The Afterlife Is Where We Come From.”

For Beng, all babies are reincarnations of people who recently died. They emerge from a place called “wrugbe,” which is simultaneously the afterlife and a sort of before-life.

The idea that babies are reincarnations, especially of ancestors, is hardly specific to the Beng – or to African religions, for that matter. Indeed, a newborn has not really left “wrugbe” until her cut umbilical cord has dried out and fallen off. Only then is the infant considered in any sense a person. If she dies beforehand, she does not receive any sort of funeral. Even afterward, until children are several years old, people believe they remain poised between “wrugbe” and the world of ordinary humans.

For Beng and many other peoples, rituals mark the development of personhood. Some cultures believe children do not fully have a gender until they have undergone initiation. The process of initiation itself is a symbolic death and rebirth, as though the initiate becomes a new person. In some societies – for example Tallensi of northern Ghana – if an individual ever achieves full personhood, it is only after death, when they become an ancestor, fully involved in the lives of their descendants.

Initiates are welcomed back from an initiation school by their friends and families in Orange Farm, South Africa.
Lucky Maibi/Daily Sun/Gallo Images via Getty Images

Not just humans

“Persons” are not even necessarily human. In Mande cultures in West Africa, such as the Dyula communities where I have done research, every clan is associated with a “ntana,” a large and dangerous wild animal species: lions, leopards, elephants, crocodiles or pythons, for example. Members of the species are considered persons, but only for individuals in the associated clan.

Each one has a story about the origins of their relationship with their ntana – typically of how the ancestor of the species rescued the ancestor of the clan, such as by pulling him out of a pit into which he had fallen. Members of the clan must not kill or eat their ntana, and contact with or even sight of the remains of the dead animal is considered dangerous.

Two aspects of personhood stand out in particular when we compare how paradigms vary from culture to culture.

First, personhood is sometimes viewed as a process, not a steady state, and is not something each individual automatically possessed. Second, personhood is not a purely individual phenomenon, but intrinsically caught up in social relationships – especially between parents, siblings and children; between spouses and in-laws; and between the living and the dead. Christianity, on the other hand, emphasizes the soul and individual salvation: A being either possesses a soul or doesn’t, and this soul’s salvation or damnation is the individual’s responsibility.

In Christian-majority societies, it may not always be apparent to what extent our taken-for-granted notions of personhood derive from a Christian foundation, until they’re compared with other religious traditions. From my perspective, to embed these ideas into law – notably by banning abortion or even allowing its prohibition – is to embed theology into legal principle.

(Robert Launay, Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

An ancient stone pillar dating back to the 13th century CE in southern India was found containing inscriptions relating to the area’s old Jewish community, according to Indian media reports.

History and archaeology researchers stumbled upon a 13 AD stone pillar, which reportedly had information on Jewish trade links, in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district.

Scholars and students of the Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation said that the stone pillar, which was unearthed at Valantharavai in Ramanathapuram, is a pointer to the trade that had taken place in this area with foreign areas.

The pillar is three feet long and one foot wide and on all four sides, there are inscriptions. The first side, according to scholars, has 21 Tamil lines, the second side has 14 lines while the third side has 15 lines. The inscriptions on the fourth side are not clear.

On the eastern side of the pillar, details of Valaicherry and narrow way are inscribed, while on the southern side, the estates of Thirumudhucholasilai Chettiar, Pathinenbhumi Jeyabalan and Koothan Devanar are mentioned, and Nalu Natani Sona sandhi, Srichola peruntheru, tharisapalli wall, Pizhar Palli, tharisapalli south wall are inscribed on the western side.

“Suthapalli is a Jewish worship place. The trade guild of Ainutruvar had built a Palli (church) for Jews in Periyapattinam. A Hebrew epitaph of a Jewish woman named Mariam at Periyapattinam is mentioned in the Archaeological Survey of India’s Annual Report on Epigraphy 1946-47,” he explained. Nalu Natani Sona sandhi is said to be a meeting place for nanadesi (Tamil word: Nalu Natani) traders.

“There are places and gardens here that once belonged to the trade guilds of Ainutruvar, Pathinenbhumi, and Nanadesi. Based on the writing style, the inscription apparently dates between 1200-1250 AD,” he added.

“The inscriptions begin with ‘swasti shri’ and mention the boundaries of the land donated to Suthapalli or Ainutruvan Perumpalli,” scholar and Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation President V. Rajaguru told IANS.

He said that Suthapalli is a Jewish worship place and according to the Archeological Survey of India records on epigraphy had mentioned a Hebrew epitaph of a Jewish woman named Mariam at Periapattanam. He also said that based on the writing style the inscriptions apparently dated between 1200-1250 AD. 

As per reports, considering how vast India is and the varying backgrounds of these communities, they formed some distinct traditions, learning different languages and so on. One of these Jewish communities were known as the Jews of Madras, also known as the Chennai Jews. These consisted of Paradesi Jews, meaning Jews who came to India following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, with the world Paradesi being derived from a Malayalam word for “foreign.”

As they came to India following the Alhambra Decree expelling all Jews from Spain, these Jews were largely Sephardi, and as such had many links to other Sephardi Jewish communities. In particular, the Paradesi Jews who came to Madras – now Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu – tended to work as traders and merchants and spoke Ladino, though they soon learned Tamil.

Today, this community largely no longer exists. In fact, it was reported in 2020 that Tamil Nadu’s last Jewish family left.

However, while this is the longest and most established Jewish presence in Tamil Nadu, it doesn’t seem to be the earliest. After all, the Paradesi Jews only came to Tamil Nadu in the 15th and 16th centuries, whereas this latest finding is several hundred years older.

Three of the other groups of Jews in India claim to have been there longer. The Bnei Menashe and Bene Ephraim Jews are both groups who converted to Judaism but claim ancestry from the 10 lost tribes.

Another relevant group were the Nagercoil Jews: Arabian Jews who supposedly came to India around 52 CE and were known to have been as far south as Cochin, also in southern India. But overall, Jewish history in India may predate most of these groups.

The Cochin Jews traditionally date their arrival in the subcontinent during the reign of King Solomon, specifically some immigrating after the destruction of the First Temple. There are records that seem to show the presence of Jews near Cochin after the destruction of the Second Temple, as well, but the first significant piece of evidence is a trade deed from 849 CE with a Hebrew signature among it.

“Jewish trade links with southern India going back to 9-10th centuries (CE) are well established and documented,” Indian Ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Singla said in an emailed statement. “During his historic visit to Israel in July 2017, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gifted a replica of two copper plates one of which was inscribed in mid-9th century in an ancient Tamil script and is believed to be the earliest documentation of Jewish trade with India.”

These copper plates are arguably the most famous relic relating to the presence of Jews in Cochin, which are a royal charter given to Jewish merchant Joseph Rabban, who was involved with the Anjuvannam, around 1,000 CE and is clear evidence of Jewish presence in the area.

Noably, Cochin is located in the modern state of Kerala, itself one of the southernmost states of India directly bordering Tamil Nadu.

The stone pillar

The stone was supposedly brought to the area where it was discovered by a resident of nearby Valanthariai 80 years ago for use in construction.

It was now found by Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation president V Rajaguru, who claimed that the stone was being used to wash clothes, according to a report in the Times of India.

According to Rajaguru, the stone had 50 total inscriptions, though one side of it had its inscriptions destroyed.

The text, analyzed by epigraphist S. Rajagopal, reportedly spoke of a trade guild known as Ainnurruvar constructing Suthapalli in the Ramanathapuram district, specifically in the port village of Periyapattinam, as well as further mentions to the construction of Tharisapalli and Pizharpalli.

Now, what does this mean?

First off, the Ainnurruvar are a well-known medieval merchant guild from Tamil Nadu who were one of the most prominent merchant guilds of their era – and merchant guilds already had significant influence at this time.

Several inscriptions have been found attesting to their existence and activities, and they were heavily intertwined with the expansion of the Chola Empire and have even been found in faraway Sumatra in modern-day Indonesia.

They also were known to have operated around the same time as the Anjuvannam, another merchant guild that mainly consisted of non-Indian traders, which usually included Arabs and Persians – specifically including Syrian Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians and Jews. 

Next there is the term Suthapalli.  Note that the inscription was written in Tamil. As such, the exact spelling of these transliterations may differ.

This is important because Suthapalli may actually be pronounced as Yudapalli, due to how the Tamil language works. The suffix “palli” means place of worship that were not temples associated with Shaivism and Vaishnavism, with Yudapalli therefore meaning Jewish place of worship.

This is further supported by other lines in the text. Tharisapalli is known from other evidence in Kerala and is considered to be a Syrian Christian church.

Pizharpalli, meanwhile, is Islamic and, according to reports, likely refers to Periyapattinam’s Jalal Jamal Mosque.

We can see more evidence for this in Malayalam, where “palli” is also used to refer to an Abrahamic house of worship. There, a synagogue would have been called Jootha Palli.

“The recent archaeological discoveries in Ramanathapuram are yet another proof of the fact that the Jewish community lived peacefully in India throughout the years.”

The implications of the findings

Though the Chennai Jews would not properly arrive in Tamil Nadu for some time, the activity of Jewish merchants and the prominence of the Cochin Jewish community shows that it is far from unfeasible. 

Interestingly, the Cochin Jews built a number of synagogues in Kerala throughout their history, supposedly including in the 12th and 13th centuries. However, this is backed by some shaky evidence rooted in oral tradition rather than archaeological findings.

Currently, despite the long presence of the Cochin Jewish community in the area, the oldest known synagogue in recorded history in southern India was the Kochangadi Synagogue, built in what is believed to have been in the 1340s CE.

However, the synagogue was eventually destroyed, believed to have been by Tipu Sultan’s troops during the Second Anglo-Mysore War in the late 18th century.

It was never rebuilt, though a stone from it containing a Hebrew inscription about it, including year of construction, was taken by the community and later used in the wall of another synagogue – today, it can be found in the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry Jew Town in Kerala.

The Kochangadi stone is the oldest known Jewish relic from an Indian synagogue. However, with the discovery of this stone pillar in Tamil Nadu, that might not be the case much longer.

According to reports citing Rajaguru, the inscription on the stone dates between 1200 and 1250 CE. As such, it would indicate that a synagogue was built in Periyapattinam before the Kochangadi Synagogue was built.

And this isn’t too unfeasible either. Periyapattinam is a historic port city and the Ramanathapuram district was visited by several well-known historic travelers and chroniclers, such as Marco Polo. As such, it was a well-known place for merchants – the kind of place Jews would have been found.

But it is likely that this synagogue is no longer around. What fate befell it, though, remains a mystery. It is still proof, though, of how far back the Jewish community in India goes.

“The recent archaeological discoveries in Ramanathapuram are yet another proof of the fact that the Jewish community lived peacefully in India throughout the years,” the Israeli Embassy in India said in a statement following these discoveries. “The foundation of the strong friendship between Israel and India were laid centuries ago and it is part of the basis of our relations in modern days.”  (With inputs from Jerusalem Post)