Two times Kerala proved significant for PM Modi's global outreach

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifted his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu replicas of two sets of relics from Kerala, regarded as key artefacts of the long Jewish history in India.

The gifts comprise two different sets of copper plates which are believed to have been inscribed in the 9th or 10th century, according to the PMO.

The first set of copper plates is a cherished relic for the Cochin Jews in India. It is regarded as a charter describing the grant of hereditary royal privileges and prerogatives by Hindu King Cheraman Perumal (often identified as Bhaskara Ravi Varma) to the Jewish leader Joseph Rabban. According to traditional Jewish accounts, Joseph Rabban was later crowned as the Prince of Shingli, a place in or equated with Kodungallur.

The first set of copper plates is a cherished relic for the Cochini Jews in India. pic.twitter.com/ZcR2AmICyW

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 4, 2017

Kodungallur, located between Kochi and Thrissur, is where Jews enjoyed religious and cultural autonomy for centuries before they moved to Cochin and other places in Malabar. Local Jews consider Kodungallur as a holy place and a "second Jerusalem". The replica of these plates was made possible with the cooperation of the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry, Kochi.

The second set of copper plates is believed to be the earliest documentation of the history of Jewish trade with India. These plates describe the grant of land and tax privileges by the local Hindu ruler to a church. And oversight of trade in Kollam to West Asian and Indian trading associations.

The second set of copper plates is believed to be the earliest documentation of the history of Jewish trade with India. pic.twitter.com/GmWGQPHp1M

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 4, 2017

The plates bear their signatures that appear to have been cut into the plates by a local workman unfamiliar with the script, the PMO tweeted. The replica of these plates was made possible with the cooperation of Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in Thiruvalla, Kerala.

This is not the first time that PM Modi has gifted something related to Kerala to dignitaries during his foreign visit.

Modi had gifted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz a gold-plated replica of Kerala's Cheraman Juma Masjid back in April 2016. The mosque in Thrissur district is believed to be the first mosque built in India by Arab traders around 629 AD. "Cheraman Juma Masjid is symbolic of active trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia since ancient times," the PMO had tweeted back then.

Cheraman Juma Masjid is symbolic of active trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia since ancient times. pic.twitter.com/SoypfTUVlS

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) April 3, 2016

According to oral tradition, Cheraman Perumal was the Chera King and a contemporary of the Holy Prophet who went to Arabia and embraced Islam after meeting the Holy Prophet at Mecca. Before he died in Oman due to some illness on the way back to India, he wrote letters asking the local rulers, to whom he had handed over his empire, to extend all help they could to Arab merchants who were planning to visit India.

The mosque has an ancient oil lamp that is always kept burning and believed to be over a thousand years old. People from all religions bring oil for the lamp as an offering. Many believe that the mosque is a testimony to Islam's arrival to India long before the Mughals came in from the northwest.

Since Kerala and its history seem to be important to the PMO, one can now hope that PM Modi will do more for the state in the near future.

(with PTI inputs)

• PM Modi
• Kerala
• Israel
• Saudi Arabia