Ruchira Paul linked to In pictures: Calcutta’s Armenians and it brought to mind two more stories that India Ink (h/t Amardeep Singh) had highlighted about Indian Jews in Israel who are now fully assimilated.

Saris and Chuppahs for the B’nei Israel Jews of India

A Childhood Passage to Israel for Baghdadi Jews of India

Its interesting that India, which is at its heart has always been an esoteric and cosmopolitan society (notwithstanding the last century or so hardening of the communal lines) is now seeing an end to these minorities (the Parsis will probably endure in their final holdout) much like the wider Muslim world & the end of Arab Christianity (though of course there is the additional pressure of instability and persecution for Christians in ME). Ultimately identity, or a large part of it, is dependent on economic utility and whether it “pays” to be a part of a group.

Demographics matter but only to a limited extent; even to this day in London certain parts of Huguenot heritage and history are rigorously maintained (here’s an example I just googled). These vanished communities will live in on the public imagination (when I was in Marrakesh a few years ago the Jewish quarter was still known and maintained even though its inhabitants had been replaced with Muslim bazaaris who would shout out “Shah Rukh Khan” to any passing Desi) and in their buildings & institutions left behind. Also wealth has a habit of subverting demographics; my Lebanese friends assure me that even though Maronites are dwindling in their population share the Maronite Church still owns a huge portion of Lebanese land (I was told around half but how does one verify such numbers?).