An Indian Jew holds a sheet with letters

An Indian Jew holds a sheet with letters of the Hebrew alphabet while taking part in a class at Hebrew learning centre set up in a synagogue in Aizawl on November 29, 2008. Thousands of Bnei Menashe from the north-eastern state of Mizoram and neighbouring Manipur have migrated to Israel after the Israeli government recognised their claim to be Jewish in March 2005. Around a thousand Bnei-Menashes in the state believe that they are the descendants of the Menashe, one of the Biblical lost tribes of Israel, and are planning to migrate to that country. According to an estimate by 'Chhinlung Israel People Convention' - an NGO working for the official recognition of the Mizo-Chin-Kuki tribes as descendants of Menashes from the state - as well as the Centre, there are over 200,000 in Mizoram who are convinced of their Menashe ancestry. The last batch of 218 people from Mizoram and Manipur migrated to the 'land of milk and honey' in November 2006, after converting into Judaism. Israel has reportedly given a nod to 150 Bnei Menashes from the North-East to migrate to that country early 2009. Over 7,000 Bnei Menashe live in the states of Mizoram and Manipur which border Myanmar and Bangladesh. AFP PHOTO/Diptendu DUTTA (Photo credit should read DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP via Getty Images)