Two Israeli women light lamps at ancestors' graves in Jabalpur's Ranital Jewish cemetery

The only Jewish cemetery in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is in Jabalpur. On Tuesday, two women from Israel visited the historic cemetery at Ranital, lit lamps on the graves of their ancestors and offered prayers. The atmosphere was deeply emotional.

About 100 years ago, the British government settled the Jewish community near the Ranital cremation ground. Around 5,000 square feet of land was also given for the cemetery. Under British rule, Jabalpur was a major centre for the army and the railways, and about 200 Jewish families lived in the city at the time. The district administration of the day allotted this land at Ranital to the community.

The cemetery has more than 100 graves. They include the graves of several senior officers of the British-Indian Army, such as Brigadier David Abraham Kolatkar. Graves of soldiers who served in the First and Second World Wars are also here.

Before Independence, these Jewish families were associated with the British Army and local trade. Today their descendants live in different countries around the world, but they still have an emotional bond with Jabalpur.

One of the women from Israel said she was born in Jabalpur in 1951. In 1977 she left the city with her family, first moving to Ahmedabad and then to Israel. She said her ancestors' graves are here and that visiting reminds her of her parents and forebears. She expressed sorrow that some people have begun to occupy the land on which her ancestors' graves lie.

After the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, most Jewish families of Jabalpur and Madhya Pradesh moved to Israel, Britain or the United States. Only three to four Jewish families now remain in Jabalpur. The Ranital cemetery, the only one in Madhya Pradesh, is currently suffering from encroachment and neglect.

A petition has been filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court to save this historic heritage. Members of the Jewish community of Jabalpur origin living in Israel have, through social media and diplomatic letters, asked the Government of India and the Ministry of External Affairs to protect the site and conduct a joint inspection. The Jabalpur cemetery is not merely a place of graves but an important part of India's pluralistic cultural and historical heritage.