Armenians in India
The association of Armenians with India and the presence of Armenians in India are very old, and there has been a mutual economic and cultural association of Armenians with India for the last several centuries. Their presence has enriched India in several ways.
Antiquity
It is believed that the Armenians might have first come to India around 2000 BC, along with Semiramis, the warrior queen of Assyria who had invaded India, as faithful allies. Several centuries later, in 327 BC, Armenians are believed to have come to India, when some Armenians joined the auxiliary elements of the forces under the command of Alexander the Great when he crossed Armenia en route to India. The earliest documented references to the mutual relationship of Armenians and Indians are found in Cyropaedia (Persian Expedition), an ancient Greek work by Xenophon (430 BC – 355 BC). These references indicate that several Armenians traveled to India [1], and they were well aware of land routes to reach India, as also the general and political geography, socio-cultural milieu, and economic life of the Indian subcontinent.
History
Armenians had trading relations with several parts of India, and by the 7th century a few Armenian settlements had appeared in Kerala, an Indian state located on the Malabar Coast. Armenians controlled a large part of the international trade of the area, particularly in precious stones and quality fabrics.
An archive directory (published 1956) in Delhi, India states that an Armenian merchant-cum-diplomat, named Thomas Cana, had reached the Malabar Coast in 780 using the overland route. Seven hundred years thereafter, in the year 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the Malabar Coast. Thomas Cana was an affluent merchant dealing chiefly in spices and muslins. He was also instrumental in obtaining a decree, inscribed on a copperplate, from the rulers of Malabar, which conferred several commercial, social and religious privileges for the Christians of that region. In current local references, Thomas Cana is known as "Knayi Thomman" or "Kanaj Tomma", meaning Thomas the merchant.
The Armenians in India can justly be proud of a glorious past but their present and future are not at all bright. They have greatly decreased in number. Now there are hardly 100 Armenians in India, mostly in Kolkata, where the Armenian College still functions.
Settlements
Several centuries of presence of Armenians, described as "The Merchant Princes of India”, resulted in the emergence of a number of several large and small Armenian settlements in several places in India, including Agra, Surat, Mumbai, Chinsurah, Candernagore, Calcutta, Saidabad, Chennai, Gwalior, Lucknow, and several other locations currently in the Republic of India. Lahore and Dhaka – currently respectively in Pakistan and Bangladesh, – but, earlier part of Undivided India, and Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, also had an Armenian population. There were also many Armenians in Myanmar and Southeast Asia.
- Akbar (1556-1605), the Mughal emperor, invited Armenians to settle in Agra in the 16th century, and by the middle of the 19th century, Agra had a sizeable Armenian population. By an imperial decree, Armenian merchants were exempted from paying taxes on the merchandise imported and exported by them, and they were also allowed to move around in the areas of the Mughal empire where entry of foreigners was otherwise prohibited. In 1562, an Armenian Church was constructed in Agra.
- During the 16th century onwards, the Armenians (mostly from Persia) formed an important trading community in Surat, the most active Indian port of that period, located on the western coast of India. The port city of Surat used to have regular sea borne to and fro traffic of merchant vessels from Basra and Bandar Abbas. Armenians of Surat built two Churches and a cemetery there, and a tombstone (of 1579) in Surat bears Armenian inscriptions. The second Church was built in 1778 and was dedicated to Virgin Mary. A manuscript written in Armenian language in 1678 (currently preserved in Saltikov-Shchedrin Library, St. Petersburg) has an account of a permanent colony of Armenians in Surat.
- The Armenians settled in Chinsurah, near Calcutta, West Bengal, and in 1697 built a Church there. This is the second oldest Church in Bengal and is still in well preserved on account of the care of the Calcutta Armenian Church Committee.
- During the period of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a decree was issued which allowed Armenians to form a settlement in Saidabad, a suburb of Murshidabad, then the capital of Mughal suba (province) of Bengal. The imperial decree had also reduced the tax from 5% to 3.5% on two major items traded by them, namely piece goods and raw silk. The decree further stipulated that the estate of deceased Armenians would pass on to the Armenian community. By the middle of 18th century, Armenians have become very active merchant community of Bengal. In 1758, Armenians had built a Church of the virgin Mary in Saidabad’s Khan market.
Personalities
Armenians in India share a history of 2000 years with Indians. In India, they had remained involved basically with trade and commerce, but had also contributed for enrichment of the Indian civilization and culture. Several Armenians in India rose to prominence at different point of time and under different rulers.
- Abdul Hai was the Chief Justice of Mughal Empire during the time of Akbar.
- Domingo Pires was a Portuguese interpreter of Akbar’s court, and he was sent to Goa in September 1579 to present royal invitations to Jesuists to come to Akbar’s court for religious discussions.
- Lady Juliana, believed to be a sister of one of Akbar’s Armenian wives, was a doctor in the royal harem of Akbar. Lady Juliana built the first Church in Agra. She was later married Prince Jean Philipe de Boubon of Navarre, a royal house of France.
- Mariam Zamani Begum, one of the wives of Akbar, is believed to be an Armenian. Marium Zamani Begum’s palace still stands in Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- An Armenian lady, Nawab Sultan Mariam Begum Saheba, also known as Vilayati Begum (literal meaning English Queen) was married to King Ghaziuddin Hyder, who became a king of Oudh, when the British conferred on him the title of King in 1814.
- Mirza Zul Quarnain, adopted son of Akbar and his Armenian wife, was an Armenian. He was well versed in several languages, particularly Portuguese. Upon the death of his father in 1613, he succeeded as a collector of tax levied on salt produced in Sambhar (Rajputana). His rise was fast and he held positions in turn as the Governor of Sambhar, Mogor, Babraich (Oudh), Lahore and Bengal. Emperor Jahangir conferred on him the title of Amir. He also maintained very cordial relations with Jesuits in India of his time. Mirza was also a poet, singer and playwright, and he composed verses in Urdu and Persian.
- Sarmad (an Arabic word for “eternal”), an Armenian of Aurangjeb’s (1658-1707) time was a scholar and a mystic saint and his grave is near the Jama Masjid. His poetic talents are often compared with gifted poets like Firdausi, Sayadi, Hafez and Khayam. He was allegedly executed by Aurangjeb in 1671.
Thackers Indian Directory (1864-1960) lists many Armenian names in business and government.
Contributions
Medical profession
Armenians in India have also contributed to the medical profession, and some prominent Indo-Armenian personalities associated with medical sciences include:
- Dr. Joseph Marcus Joseph, M.D., an Armenian joined the Indian Medical Service in 1852 and rose to the level of Deputy Surgeon General by 1880. The Indian Army, under the British, had several Armenians Lieutenant Colonels, Surgeon Captains, and Surgeon Majors.
- Stephan Manouk, son of a prominent business man, Hovsep Manouk, obtained a Diploma Of Doctor Surgeon from the Royal Medical University, London, in 1862. His services during a cholera epidemic of that time earned him a Certificate of Honors by the British Government.
- Dr. Sargis Avetoom of the Indian Army, participated in British Army’s actions in Afghanistan, Egypt and Burma, and was honored by the British Government, Medal and Clasp and Khedives star with Clasp from Egypt, and Medal and Clasp from Burma. He discovered a medicine for dysentery, and was fluent in many languages like Armenian, Russian, English, German, Hindi, Bengali, Belugi and Pashto.
- Doctor Arthur Zorab, an eye specialist, perfected an operating style for glaucoma, which was named after him as the “Zorab operation”.
- Dr. Stepen Owen Moses pioneered St. John’s Ambulance Courses in Calcutta, and initiated the first Red Cross ambulance in Calcutta during the World War I.
- Dr. Marie Catchatoor, an Armenian lady, was the first woman of India to be appointed as Presidency Surgeon of West Bengal. She retired in early 1980s as the superintendent of Lady Dufferin Hospital, Calcutta.
Legal profession
The Indo-Armenian community in India had produced a number of leading barristers, solicitors and advocates, including members of the Bengal Assembly and the Bengal Legislative Council. Some such illustrious Indo-Armenians are:
- M. P. Gasper, a leading barrister of the Calcutta High Court, was the first Armenian who passed the Indian Civil Service Examination in 1869.
- Gregory Paul, who had graduated from Cambridge University, held different posts in the High Court in India.
Other areas
Contributions of Indo-Armenians in several other fields are also notable, like:
- Joseph Melik Beglar, an archeologist in the Public Works Department of British India, was associated with significant archeological excavations, which included excavations of Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya, India.
Further reading
- Armenians in India - From the Earliest Times to the Present (ISBN 81-206-0812-7) by Jacob Seth Mesrovb
External links
correction:
Armenians in India by Mesrovb Jacob Seth, b 15 Mar 1871 New Julfa, Persia d 31 Oct 1939 Calcutta, India
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