ABSTRACT
By 1918, most Indians were convinced that independence was more important than the reform of their society. The nationalist movement had intensified during the war, and at its conclusion, many Indians expected some sort of responsible government for India as a reward for their cooperation. Indeed, the 1919 Government of India Act, which implemented the Montagu-Chelmsford findings, did provide a nominal measure of representation to Indians. The Bene Israel ambivalence vis-à-vis politics was revealed at the third annual meeting of the All-India Israelite League in December 1920. The Bene Israel community did not suffer, but the Baghdadis were accused in the press of having participated in the riots, a charge that created some confusion in the public mind over whether the Bene Israel were also among the street rioters. The efforts of Baghdadis in India to establish their status as Europeans intensified right after the war.
