Author of the e-book (CD-Rom) The Indian Jewry and the Self-Professed 'Lost Tribes of Israel' in India, 2006, Lucknow (India) based Dr. Navras Jaat Aafreedi is a Researcher in Indo-Judaic Studies. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Medieval & Modern Indian History, University of Lucknow in 2005, followed by post-doctorate from the Graduate School of Historical Studies, Tel Aviv University in 2007, supported by a scholarship from the Israeli Government and a supplementary grant from the Tel Aviv University. His lectures have been well appreciated in the US, Israel and India. He is the first person to make any worthwhile contributions to Jewish Studies in the Urdu language, the lingua franca of almost all South Asian Muslims. He currently works for the betterment of inter-faith relations, including Jewish-Muslim, in Lucknow, for the Centre for Communication and Development Studies, Pune, a social change resource centre focusing on the research and communication of information for change, under the auspices of its civil society and youth outreach initiative called Open Space. His interest in Jewish History was triggered by the fact that the Afridi tribe he comes from, has been identified by many Jewish and Muslim scholars, from the medieval to the modern times, with Ephraim, one of the ten lost tribes of Israel. There is also a centuries-old tradition of Israelite origin that has lived on in his people, the Pathans/Pashtuns/Pakhtuns. He hopes to continue his study of Indian Jews and the World as a life-long vocation. He hopes in the fullness of time to find for himself an academic position at a reputable university, which will enable him to realise that goal. He also seeks to establish a centre dedicated to Indo-Judaic Studies in India, a country where Jewish Studies are not recognized as an academic discipline.

Press reports on his research can be read in nine languages, viz., English, French, Hebrew, Russian, Slovak, Dutch, Finnish, Turkish and Hindi, on his blog: http://navrasaafreedi.blogspot.com

One can read about his hometown, the Afridi settlement of Malihabad on his blog dedicated to the place: http://malihabad.blogspot.com