Presented here are the functioning, decommissioned but still standing, and some of the recently lost synagogues of India. Throughout the large country, there are some sixty existing or former Jewish houses of prayer built by distinct communities of Jews who arrived in India are various times and settled in an assortment of places (see map). These Jewish houses of prayer date from the sixteenth to the current century, and they vary in scale and appointments from the large and grand to the one-room and modest.
Synagogues were constructed by the Bene Israel Jews based in the State of Maharashtra, and today five still stand in Mumbai, two in its suburbs Kurla and Thana, ten in the Raigad District/Konkan Region, and one in Pune. One Bene Israel can also be found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. For the Baghdadi Jewish community, two synagogues still exist in Mumbai, one in Pune, and three of the five in Kolkata (Calcutta). One of the two synagogues constructed across the border in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) still stands. The synagogues of the Cochin Jews of southernmost coastal India are the oldest in India, and seven of their buildings are extant. In the State of Andhra Pradesh of central eastern India, the Bene Ephraim Jews constructed two synagogues in recent years. The B’nei Menashe community living in India’s northeastern hill states and neighboring extreme western Myanmar have come to realize more than twenty-five synagogues over the last few years. In the national capital of New Delhi, one synagogue standing on a prime site and dating to 1956 remains open and active.
This website sets out to assist those wishing to be introduced to the many synagogues of India as well as those wanting to learn more about them and the communities served by the buildings. For travelers planning a trip to India that includes visits to these synagogues, this website intends to aid in finding and accessing them. For each synagogue site, its name, address, current status, location map, recent exterior and interior photographs, an abbreviated history and description, contact information when available, and practical suggestions for visiting the sites are included. Should more information be needed or questions answered, please contact this site or the author of this information, Professor Jay A. Waronker (USA) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Namaste.
