CHAPTER1
Armenians in Delhi
There are few records about the Armenian settlement in Delhi. There is a
reference regarding the arrival of the English delegation from Calcutta to Delhi
in 1715 to obtain Grand Firman from Emperor Farrukh Siyar. Khojah Israel Sarhad,
an Armenian merchant, was a member of this delegation. On their arrival in Delhi,
the envoys were received by an Armenian priest, Rev.Stephanus.36
Since an Armenian priest in the Imperial capital was given such a responsible
task, it can be assumed that there was an important Armenian colony in Delhi in
the early 18th century. And as there was a priest, there must have been a church
as well. However, nothing can be found at present, as during the devastation of
Delhi in 1739 and Indian Mutiny in 1857, all the Christian churches and cemeteries
were destroyed.
Father Felix, a research scholar on Christianity during the Moghul period, writes
the following about the Armenians in Delhi:
“Delhi also had a fair
congregation of Armenian Christians, but it gradually died away after Nadir Shah
had taken possession of Delhi in 1739.”37
The only traces of the Armenians in Delhi are a few scattered graves bearing Armenian
inscriptions and a memorial tablet in the Delhi Museum which states that an Armenian
chapel was built in Delhi in 1781. At present a few Armenian families live in
Delhi.