Jews of Andhra Pradesh: Contesting Caste and Religion in South India

This is the first book devoted to the Bene Ephraim--a group of former untouchables in Andhra Pradesh who have claimed Jewish identity for themselves. Why would a community adopt Jewish identity as a social liberation strategy? What does it mean to be Jewish in the twenty-first century? Egorova and Perwez address these questions by focusing on this group in India whose unique circumstances provide a new perspective on communities claiming the status of the Lost Tribes of Israel.

Résumé
The Jews of Andhra Pradesh is an engaging and thought-provoking ethnography devoted to the Bene Ephraim--a Dalit group in India that has embraced Jewish tradition. Egorova and Perwez offer a nuanced and theoretically-informed account which explores how the story of the Bene Ephraim challenges and extends contemporary understandings of Jewishness and illuminates radical new directions in Dalit discourse.