The Baghdadi Jews were the last among three historical Jewish communities (the other two being Cochini and Bene Israel) to arrive in India between the 1790s and 1830s, with immigration continuing until the mid-20th century. They settled along the emerging colonial port cities of Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata). The Baghdadi Jewish community as a whole was pro-British and possessed a neutral and ambivalent attitude towards the Nationalist struggle in India. They tried in vain to regain the European status after losing it in 1885.

Since the late 1930s, many within the community gradually drifted towards the Indian national struggle, inspired by the inclusive ideas of M. K. Gandhi. However, their participation remained passive, and they never openly supported the freedom struggle at the community level. Nevertheless, there were a few Baghdadis, such as Hannah Sen, David Haskell Cohen, and Maurice Japheth, who actively participated in the movement in their individual capacities. David Cohen was one of the few Baghdadis to serve prison sentences for his involvement in communist activities. This paper aims to discuss such individual Baghdadi Jews who took part in India’s nationalist movements, going against their community’s general trend. Due to the shortage of materials, the research is primarily based on online sources.