The first First Minister of Singapore David Marshall was a Baghdadi Jew. In India, Lieutenant General J. F. R. Jacob, a Baghdadi Jew from Calcutta, won national fame as Major General and chief of staff of the Indian army that defeated the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, later serving as governor of the Indian states of Goa and Punjab. The Baghdadi community, however, never saw their exodus as a tragedy. Memoirs written by Baghdadi Jewish authors spoke fondly Burma, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong and of the fact in India they had never experienced antisemitism, which was viewed as a unique treasure. The network of Baghdadi Jewish schools, both English, Jewish and aspirational in orientation had primed them for life in Britain or Israel, not in postcolonial Asia. Rather that focus on what pushed, these memoirs focus on what pulled the Baghdadi Jews to leave Asia, chiefly a sense that the opportunities that had drawn their ancestors there had dried up, and new glittering prizes lay in the West. In the early twenty first century the Baghdadi communities of India and Burma are at the point of disappearing completely. However small Baghdadi communities of Hong Kong and Singapore have endured and Baghdadi synagogues still operate in both cities, though now greatly outnumbered in both by Jews from especially the United States, Israel, France and the United Kingdom draw to business in contemporary Asia. Today synagogues and associations upholding Baghdadi Jewish traditions exist in Britain, Israel, Australia and the United States. But in the historic Baghdadi communities in Asia only the synagogues originally founded by Baghdadi Jews in both Hong Kong and Singapore continue to operate regular services. Families of Baghdadi Jewish descent continue to play a major role in Jewish life particularly in Great Britain, to which the leading families were draw after the Second World War. Established in London, the Sassoon family enjoyed the friendship of Edward VII, established a baronetcy and saw Philip Sasson became a minister. Meanwhile, other Baghdadi families such as the Reubens have played major role in British business whilst others have gained notable prominence in arts and journalism, such as Gerry Judah and Tim Judah. Traditional Baghdadi Jewish cuisine is a hybrid cuisine, with many Arab, Turkish, Persian and Indian influences. Famous Baghdadi dishes include beef curry, Baghdadi biryani and Baghdadi Jewish parathas. A Baghdadi version of tandoori chicken is also popular (using lemon juice to cook the chicken instead of the cream used in the usual Indian recipe).