Chapter 17 — India, a Home to Many

The chapter explores how different communities from various parts of the world came to India, either escaping persecution or seeking a better life, and settled here over many centuries. It covers groups like Jews, Parsis, Syriac Christians, Arab merchants, Armenians, Baha'is, and Tibetan refugees. It also explains the Indian values that made this acceptance possible.

The Bene Israel are a Jewish community that came to the Konkan coast, just south of Mumbai, around 175 BCE from the ancient Kingdom of Israel. According to scholars, their ship was caught in a storm and wrecked near the coast; the survivors settled in India and started a new life. Over time, they grew to become the largest Jewish community in India, numbering over 25,000 shortly after India gained independence.

Parsis are followers of Zoroastrianism, which was the state religion of the Sassanid Empire in Persia. After the empire fell to Arab Muslim forces in the middle of the 7th century CE, Zoroastrians faced forced conversions, religious taxes (jizya), and the destruction of their sacred fire temples. Unable to practise their faith freely, groups of them sailed across the Arabian Sea and reached India's western coast (present-day Gujarat) between the 8th and 10th centuries.

When Parsis arrived and sought shelter from Raja Jadi Rana of Sanjan in coastal Gujarat, the Raja showed them a jug full of milk to indicate the kingdom was full and could not take more people. A wise Parsi dissolved a spoon of sugar into the milk without spilling it, showing that his community would blend into the kingdom and enrich it just as sugar sweetens milk without overflowing. The Raja was pleased and gave them a secure place to settle.

Syriac Christians used the ancient Syriac language in their worship. From the 4th century CE, they faced difficulties in West Asia — the Roman Empire treated some of them as heretics because their beliefs differed from the official Church, while the Persian Empire suspected them of secretly helping Rome and persecuted them. To escape this, they travelled east along trade routes and reached the Malabar coast of India (present-day Kerala), where they could live and worship freely.

The Siddis are of African origin and were brought to India as enslaved people by Arab, Portuguese, and British traders between the 7th and 19th centuries. In the 18th century, some Siddis gained prominence in Muslim rulers' armies and briefly controlled parts of Bengal. Their cultural identity is a fusion of African and Indian traditions, including a distinctive dance with African-style drumming. The Siddis are designated as a scheduled tribe in India.

Hirabai Lobi was from the Siddi community that settled in Gujarat. She worked for the upliftment of women in her community by connecting them with banking services and educating them on organic farming and livelihood options. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2023 for her selfless service.

The "Good Maharaja" refers to Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja of Nawanagar State (present-day Jamnagar). During World War II (1939–1945), thousands of Polish families were torn apart and many children were orphaned. The Maharaja mobilised the Red Cross and other organisations to bring the children to Jamnagar, and provided them shelter, food, and care. He is credited with saving around a thousand Polish orphans between 1942 and 1946. A monument in his honour stands in Good Maharaja Square in Warsaw, Poland.

From 1950 onward, the People's Republic of China overran Tibet in several waves and eventually annexed it. In 1959, after a popular uprising in Lhasa against the Chinese presence, the 14th Dalai Lama was advised to flee across the Himalayas. India granted him asylum, and he has since lived in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, from where the Central Tibetan Administration functions as a government-in-exile. The Indian government also rehabilitated Tibetan refugees, provided education to their children, and helped create Tibetan settlements.

Vasudhaiva kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the whole world is family". It comes from the Hitopadesha, and is quoted at the very start of the chapter. The chapter uses it to show that India's tradition of welcoming people from other parts of the world is not just a slogan but has been a practised value for thousands of years. Other similar Indian values mentioned are atithi devo bhava ("a guest is like God") and sarve bhavantu sukhinah ("may all creatures be happy").

In his famous speech at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, Swami Vivekananda said he was proud to belong to a nation that had sheltered the persecuted and refugees of all religions and nations. He specifically mentioned that India had given refuge to the Israelites (Jews) when their holy temple was destroyed by Roman tyranny, and that India had also sheltered the Zoroastrian (Parsi) nation.

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