Kannur: The Israeli police force shares a notable link with the southern Indian state of Kerala. The south Indian state, in addition to being home to two major centres of the Jewish community in India, Kochi and Kozhikode, also houses a company in Kannur, Maryan Apparel Private Limited, which has been producing uniforms for the Israeli Police for the past eight years.
The company is situated in Kannur district, lies approximately 463 km north of Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, and purportedly manufactures an average of 1,00,000 units of Israeli police uniforms annually.
The factory’s notable feature lies in its support of a workforce of approximately 1,500 local employees, with an impressive majority of over 95% being women, according to a report by India Today.
Every year, Israeli police officials make visits to the factory for quality inspections of the uniforms. The company is owned by a Mumbai-based businessman hailing from Kerala named Thomas Olickal.
Thomas stated that the Israeli police reached out to the company after the war began and made further requests for additional uniforms, as per a Hindustan Times report.
The company’s inaugural outlet in Kerala was situated in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. However, it subsequently shifted operations to Kannur.