Armenian Heritage in the Culture of India

The Indian news portal Hindu told about the Armenian heritage in the history and culture of India.

Back in the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar I the Great invited the Armenians from the regions of Nakhichevan and Julfa to settle in Agra. Here, by the middle of the 17th century, a prosperous Armenian community had grown.

“In 1642, the emperor built an Armenian church in the city. The church is distinguished by the presence of national features (most of the Armenian churches in India resemble Catholic and Protestant) and a cross that would soon be depicted everywhere – even on the walls of residential buildings – and become a symbol of healing from any disease,” Hindu writes.

Hindu notes that Khoja Petrus Arafon, an Armenian merchant who is considered a saint because he handed out all his property to help British fugitives during the plunder of Kolkata, left a noticeable mark in Indian history.

The portal writes that the most famous Armenian in the history of India was Shah Nazar Khan in whose hands was the entire firearm production industry of India. He along with the Minister and Commander-in-Chief in Bengal Gurgen Khan was considered the most prominent specialist in firearm production in the country.