David Jacob Cohen OBE (died 9 February 1959) was an Indian politician and a leading figure of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Calcutta.[1][2] He served as honorary secretary of the Beth-El Synagogue.[3] Cohen, then serving as vice president of the Calcutta Jewish Association, was to the Bengal Legislative Council from the Calcutta South Central non-Mohammedan constituency in 1921.[2][4] Being elected to the Legislative Council was the highest political office obtained by a Calcutta Jew.[5] He was defeated in the 1923 election, but was nominated by the Governor to remain in the Council in 1923 and 1926.[2]

Cohen was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1941.[6]

Cohen died on 9 February 1959 at the age of 75.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Adler, Cyrus and Henrietta Szold. The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 62. American Jewish Committee, 1961. p. 381
  2. ^ a b c Egorova, Yulia. Jews and India: Perceptions and Image. London: Routledge, 2006. pp. 92-93
  3. ^ Roland, Joan G. The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era. New Brunswick [u.a.]: Transaction Publ, 1998. p. 117
  4. ^ The Indian Year Book, Vol. 8–9. Bennett, Coleman & Company, 1921. p. 65
  5. ^ Roland, Joan G. The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era. New Brunswick [u.a.]: Transaction Publ, 1998. p. 338
  6. ^ JTA. Retrieved 14 November 2014