Indian allies

▶ Karen Glaser highlights the importance of establishing good relations between the Jewish community, and the Hindu, Sikh and Chinese communities (Why are the Jews overlooking their natural allies? 12 April). She will be pleased to hear about the British Indian Jewish Association (BIJA), which was set up in 1996 to develop and strengthen relations between the Indian and Jewish communities in the UK.

We have an Advisory Board of eminent peers and people from both communities. During the Covid period, we focused on impactful projects such as our “Bagels and Samosas” lunchtime webinars attended by hundreds of people, and also raised over £120,000 for Covid relief efforts in India. On our 25th anniversary, we received a congratulatory letter from Rishi Sunak. In the past couple of years we have organised very popular events on media, heritage and history, including a brilliant one at the RAF Museum.

The reason BIJA is needed is that the Jewish and Indian communities have the most natural of friendships. Whilst there are around 300,000 Jews in the UK, there are 1.5 million British Indians. The demographic imbalance belies the common value system. We both place strong emphasis on education, aspiration, family and community.

This has been mirrored by a burgeoning of relations between India and Israel over the past 30 years. The famous rabbi and poet, Judah Halevi, said: “My heart is in the East and I am at the edge of the West.” In forging interfaith relations in the UK, the Indian and Jewish communities can look to each other to find our most natural of friends and allies.

Dr Peter Chadha and Zaki Cooper

Co-Chairs, British Indian Jewish Association