Parsis

This article is about the Parsi community in and from the Indian subcontinent. For the Persian-language meaning of the term, see Fars and Persian language.

Parsis Modern Bombay Parsi Family in traditional dress Regions with significant populations c. 70% in India, 5% in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, 25% elsewhere. Languages Gujarati, English Religion Zoroastrianism Related ethnic groups Iranis

A Parsi (IPA: /ˈpɑːɹ.siː/) is a member of the close-knit Zoroastrian community based in the Indian subcontinent. Parsis are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to the Indian subcontinent over 1300 years ago to escape religious persecution after the Islamic conquest (Jhabvalla, 1973).

Definition and Identity

As an ethnic community

Although the Parsis of India originally emigrated from Persia, they no longer have social or familial ties to Persians, and do not share language or recent history with them. Over the centuries since the first Zoroastrians arrived in India, the Parsis have integrated themselves into Indian society while simultaneously maintaining their own distinct customs and traditions (and thus ethnic identity). This in turn has given the Parsi community a rather peculiar standing - they are Indians in terms of national affiliation, language and history, but not typically Indian (constituting only 0.006% of the total population) in terms of consanguinity or cultural, behavioural and religious practices.

Genealogical DNA tests to determine purity of lineage has brought mixed results. One study supports the Parsi contention (Nanavutty, 1970:13) that they have maintained their Persian roots by avoiding intermarriage with local populations. In that 2002 study of the Y-chromosome (patrilineal) DNA of the Parsis of Pakistan, it was determined that Parsis are genetically closer to Iranians than to their neighbours (Qamar et al., 2002:1119). However, a 2004 study in which Parsi mitochondrial DNA (matrilineal) was compared with that of the Iranians and Gujaratis determined that Parsis are genetically closer to Gujaratis than to Iranians. Taking the 2002 study into account, the authors of the 2004 study suggested "a male-mediated migration of the ancestors of the present-day Parsi population, where they admixed with local females [...] leading ultimately to the loss of mtDNA of Iranian origin" (Quintana-Murci et al., 2004:840).

The Rivayat epistles suggest that at some point between the 15th and 17th centuries non-Zoroastrians were accepted into the fold. (See also History of the Parsis)

Self-perceptions

Parsi Navjote ceremony (rites of admission into the Zoroastrian faith)

The definition of who is (and who is not) a Parsi is a matter of great contention within the Zoroastrian community in India. Generally accepted to be a Parsi is a person who a) is directly descended from the original Persian refugees; and b) has been formally admitted into the Zoroastrian religion. In this sense, Parsi is an ethno-religious designator.

Some members of the community additionally contend that a child must have a Parsi father to be eligible for introduction into the faith, but this assertion is considered by most to be a violation of the Zoroastrian tenets of gender equality, and may be a remnant of an old legal (see below) definition of Parsi. Nonetheless, many Parsi Zoroastrian priests will not perform the Navjote ceremony - i.e. the rites of admission into the religion - for children from mixed-marriages.

An often quoted legal definition of Parsi is based on a 1909 ruling (since then nullified) that not only stipulated that a person could not become a Parsi by converting to the Zoroastrian faith (which was the case in question), but also noted that "the Parsi community consists of: a) Parsis who are descended from the original Persian emigrants and who are born of both Zoroastrian parents and who profess the Zoroastrian religion; b) Iranis from Persia professing the Zoroastrian religion; c) the children of Parsi fathers by alien mothers who have been duly and properly admitted into the religion."

Wedding Portrait, 1948

This definition has since been overturned several times. The equality principles of the Indian Constitution void the patrilineal restrictions expressed in the third clause. The second clause was contested and overturned in 1948. On appeal in 1950, the 1948 ruling was upheld and the entire 1909 definition was deemed an obiter dictum, that is, a collateral opinion and not legally binding (re-affirmed in 1966).

Nonetheless, the opinion that the 1909 ruling is legally binding continues to persist, even among the better-read and moderate Parsis. In the February 21, 2006 editorial of the Parsiana, the fortnightly of the Parsi Zoroastrian community, the editor noted that several adult children born of a Parsi mother and non-Parsi father had been inducted into the faith and that their choice "to embrace their mother's faith speaks volumes for their commitment to the religion." In recalling the ruling, the editor noted that although "they are legally and religiously full-fledged Zoroastrians, they are not considered Parsi Zoroastrians in the eyes of the law" and hence "legally they may not avail of [fire temples] specified for Parsi Zoroastrians" (Parsiana, 2006-02-21).

Demographic statistics

Parsi Wedding (exchange of rings)

Indian census data (2001) records 69,601 Parsis in India, with a concentration in and around the city of Mumbai (previously known as Bombay). There are approximately 5,000 Parsis elsewhere on the subcontinent, with an estimated 2500 Parsis in the city of Karachi and approximately 50 Parsi families in Sri Lanka. The number of Parsis worldwide is estimated to be fewer than 100,000 (Eliade, 1991:254).

Indian census data also established that

• the number of Parsis has been steadily declining for several decades: The highest census count of the Parsis was of 114,890 individuals in 1940/1941, which includes the crown colony populations of present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Post-independence censuses are only available for India (1951: 111,791) and reveal a decline in population of approximately 9% per decade. They do not however take immigration into account. As of 2001, Parsis constitute 0.0069% of the total population of India.
• the gender ratio amongst Parsis is unusual: As of 2001, the ratio of males to females amongst Parsis was 1000 males to 1050 females (up from 1024 in 1991). The national average was 933 females to 1000 males.
• the age composition reveals an inverted pyramid: As of 2001, Parsis over the age of 60 make up for 31% of the community. The national average for this age group is 7%. Only 4.7% of the Parsi community are under 6 years of age, which translates to 7 births per year per 1000 individuals
• the Parsis have a high literacy rate: As of 2001, the literacy rate amongst the Parsis is 97.9%, the highest for any Indian community. The national average is 64.8%.
• Population distribution: 96.1% of Parsis reside in urban areas. The national average is 27.8%.

According to the National Commission for Minorities, there are a "variety of causes that are responsible for this steady decline in the population of the community", the most significant of which were childlessness and migration (Bose et al., 2004). Demographic trends project that by the year 2020 the Parsis will number only 23,000 or 0.0002% of the total population of India, which - with 1200 million inhabitants - "will have achieved dubious distinction of being the most populated country on earth." The Parsis will then cease to be called a community and will be labelled a 'tribe'. (Taraporevala, 2000, intro).

History

Arrival in Gujarat

Subsequent to the fall of the Persian Sassanid Empire, after which Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam, Zoroastrians became an increasingly persecuted minority and many fled to other regions in the hope of preserving their religious tradition. Among them were several groups who eventually migrated to the western shores of the Indian subcontinent, where they finally settled.

According to the Qissa-i Sanjan "Story of Sanjan", the only existing account of the early years of Zoroastrian refugees in India and composed at least six centuries after the tentative date of arrival, the immigrants originated from (greater) Khorasan and were granted asylum by the local ruler Jadi Rana on the condition that they adopt the local language (Gujarati); that their women adopt local dress (the Sari); and that they henceforth cease to bear arms (Hodivala, 1920). The refugees accepted the conditions and founded the settlement of Sanjan, which is said to have been named after the city of their origin (Sanjan, near Merv, in present-day Turkmenistan). In addition to the Khorasanis or Kohistanis (mountain folk, as the Sanjan group was initially called), other groups also migrated to India, at least one of which is known to have come overland from Sari (in present-day Mazandaran, Iran). This latter group would subsequently found the Indian city of Navsari. (Paymaster, 1954)

Although the Sanjan group are believed to have been the first permanent settlers, the precise date of their arrival is a matter of conjecture. All estimates are based on the Qissa, which is vague or contradictory with respect to some elapsed periods. Consequently, three possible dates - 936 CE, 765 CE and 716 CE - have been proposed as the year of landing, and the disagreement has been the cause of "many an intense battle [...] amongst Parsis" (Taraporevala, 2000).

Even so, the Sanjan Zoroastrians were certainly not the first Zoroastrians on the subcontinent. Western Gujarat and the Sindh had been the eastern-most territories of both the Achaemenid (550-330 BCE) and Sassanid (226-651 CE) Persian empires, which had maintained military outposts there.

The early years

The Qissa has little to say about the events that followed the establishment of Sanjan, and restricts itself to a brief note on the establishment of the "Fire of Warharan" (Middle Persian: Atash Bahram), which is probably the first fire temple on the Indian subcontinent (it was finally moved to Udvada in the 18th century, where it continues to be known as the Iranshah). According to Dhalla, the next several centuries were "full of hardships" (sic) before Zoroastrianism "gained a real foothold in India and secured for its adherents some means of livelihood in this new country of their adoption" (Dhalla, 1938:447).

Inscriptions at the Kanheri Caves near Mumbai suggest that at least until the early 11th century Middle Persian was still the literary language of the hereditary Zoroastrian priesthood. Nonetheless, aside from the Qissa and the Kanheri inscriptions, there is little evidence of the Parsis until the 12th and 13th century, when "masterly" (Dhalla) Sanskrit translations of the Zend commentaries of the Avesta began to be prepared. From these translations Dhalla infers that "religious studies were prosecuted with great zeal at this period" and that the command of Middle Persian and Sanskrit, among the clerics, "was of a superior order" (Dhalla, 1938:448).

From the 13th century to the late 16th century the Zoroastrian priests of Gujarat sent (in all) twenty-two requests for religious guidance to their co-religionists in Iran, presumably because they considered the Iranian Zoroastrians "better informed on religious matters than themselves, and must have preserved the old-time tradition more faithfully than they themselves did" (Dhalla, 1938:457). These transmissions and their replies - assiduously preserved by the community as the rivayats (epistles) - span the years 1478-1766 and deal with both religious and social subjects. From a superficial 21st century point of view, some of these ithoter (Gujarati: questions) are remarkably trivial - for instance, Rivayat 376: whether ink prepared by a non-Zoroastrian is suitable for copying Avestan language texts - but they provide a discerning insight into the fears and anxieties of the early modern Zoroastrians. Thus, the question of the ink is symptomatic of the fear of assimilation and the loss of identity; a theme that dominates the questions posed and continues to be an issue into the 21st century. So also the question of conversion of Juddins (non-Zoroastrians) to Zoroastrianism, to which the reply (R237, R238) was: acceptable, even meritorious. (Dhalla, 1938:474-475)

Nonetheless, "the precarious condition in which they lived for a considerable period made it impracticable for them to keep up their former proselytizing zeal. The instinctive fear of disintegration and absorption in the vast multitudes among whom they lived created in them a spirit of exclusiveness and a strong feeling for the preservation of the racial characteristics and distinctive features of their community. Living in an atmosphere surcharged with the Hindu caste system, they felt that their own safety lay in encircling their fold by rigid caste barriers" (Dhalla, 1938:474). Even so, at some point (perhaps not long after their arrival in India), the Zoroastrians determined that the social stratification that they had brought with them was unsustainable in the small community and they did away with all but the athornan hereditary priesthood. The remaining classes - the ratheshtaran (nobility, soldiers, and civil servants), vastaryoshan (farmers and traders), hutokshan (artisans and laborers) - were folded into an all-comprehensive class to this day known as the behdini ("followers of daena", for which "good religion" is one translation). This change would have far reaching consequences. For one, it opened the gene pool to some extent since until that time inter-class marriages were exceedingly rare (this would continue to be a problem for the athornan until the 20th century). For another, it did away with the boundaries along occupational lines, a factor that would enamour the Parsis to the 18th and 19th century British colonial authorities who had little patience for the unpredictable complications of the Hindu caste system (such as a clerk from one caste who would not deal with a clerk from another).

The age of opportunity

Following the commercial treaty of 1600 between Mughal emperor Jahangir and James I of England, the British East India Company obtained the exclusive rights to reside and build factories in Surat and other areas. Many Parsis, who until then had been living in farming communities throughout Gujarat, moved to the British-run settlements to take the new jobs they offered. In 1668, the British East India Company leased the seven islands of Bombay from Charles II of England. The company found the deep harbour on the east coast of the islands to be ideal for setting up their first port in the sub-continent, and in 1687 they transferred their headquarters from Surat to the fledgling settlement. The Parsis followed and soon began to occupy posts of trust in connection with government and public works (Hull, 1913).

Where literacy had previously been an exclusive domain of the priesthood, the British schools provided the new Parsi youth with the means to not only learn to read and write, but also to be educated in the greater sense of the term and become familiar with the quirks of the British establishment. These latter qualities were enormously useful to Parsis since it allowed them to "represent themselves as being like the British," which they did "more diligently and effectively than perhaps any other South Asian community" (Luhrmann, 2002:861). In turn, it allowed the British, who were otherwise quite convinced of their racial and intellectual superiority, to deal with the other native communities through the offices of the Parsis. While the British saw the other Indians, "as passive, ignorant, irrational, outwardly submissive but inwardly guileful" (Luhrmann, 1994:333), the Parsis, though certainly not considered equals, were seen to have the traits that the colonial authorities tended to ascribe to themselves. Mandelslo (Morgenländische Reyse, 1638) saw them as "diligent", "concientious" and "skillful" in their mercantile pursuits. Similar observations would be made by James Mackintosh, Recorder of Bombay from 1804 to 1811, who noted that "the Parsees are a small remnant of one of the mightiest nations of the ancient world, who, flying from persecution into India, were for many ages lost in obscurity and poverty, till at length they met a just government under which they speedily rose to be one of the most popular mercantile bodies in Asia" (loc. Cit. Jeejeebhoy, 1938:33).

One of these was an enterprising agent named Rustom Maneck who had probably already amassed a fortune under the Dutch and Portuguese. In 1702, Maneck was appointed the first broker (so also acquiring the name "Seth") to the Company, and in the following years "he and his Parsi associates widened the occupational and financial horizons of the larger Parsi community" (White, 1991:304). Thus, by the mid-18th century, the brokerage houses of the Bombay Presidency were almost all in Parsi hands. As James Forbes, the Collector of Broach (now Bharuch), would note in his Oriental Memoirs (1770): "many of the principal merchants and owners of ships at Bombay and Surat are Parsees." "Active, robust, prudent and persevering, they now form a very valuable part of the Company's subjects on the western shores of Hindustan where they are highly esteemed" (loc. Cit. Jeejeebhoy, 1938:33). Gradually certain families "acquired wealth and prominence (Sorabji, Modi, Cama, Wadia, Jeejeebhoy, Readymoney, Dadyseth, Petit, Patel, Mehta, Allbless, Tata, etc.), many of which would be noted for their participation in the public life of the city, and for their various educational, industrial, and charitable enterprises." (Hull, 1913).

Through his largesse, Maneck helped establish the infrastructure that was necessary for the Parsis to set themselves up in the city and in doing so "established Bombay as the primary center of Parsi habitation and work in the 1720s" (White, 1991:304). Following the political and economic isolation of Surat in 1720s and 1730s that resulted from troubles between the (remnant) Mughal authorities and the increasingly dominant Marathas, a number of Parsi families from Surat migrated to the new city. While in 1700, "fewer than a handful of individuals appear as merchants in any records; by mid-century, Parsis engaged in commerce constituted one of important commercial groups in Bombay" (White, 1991:312). Maneck's generosity is incidentally also the first documented instance of Parsi philanthropy. In 1689, the Anglican chaplain John Ovington reported that in Surat the family "assist the poor and are ready to provide for the sustenance and comfort of such as want it. Their universal kindness, either employing such as are ready and able to work, or bestowing a seasonable bounteous charity to such as are infirm and miserable, leave no man destitute of relief, nor suffer a beggar in all their tribe" (Ovington/Rawlinson, 1689/1929:216) .

"Parsis of Bombay" a wood engraving, ca. 1878

In 1728, Rustom's eldest son Naoroz (later Naorojee) founded the Bombay Parsi Panchayat (in the sense of an instrument for self-governance and not in the sense of the trust it is today) to assist newly arriving Parsis in religious, social, legal and financial matters. Using their vast resources, the Maneck Seth family gave their time, energy and not inconsiderable financial resources to the Parsi community, with the result that by the mid-18th century, the Panchayat was the accepted means for Parsis to cope with the exegencies of urban life and the recognized instrument for regulating the affairs of the community (Karaka, 1884:215-217). Nonetheless, by 1838, the Panchayat was under attack for impropriety and nepotism. In 1855, the Bombay Times noted that the Panchayat was utterly without the moral or legal authority to enforce its statutes (the Bundobusts or codes of conduct) and the council soon ceased to be considered representative of the community (Dobbins, 1970:150-151). In the wake of a July 1856 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruling that it had no jurisdiction over the Parsis in matters of marriage and divorce, the Panchayat was reduced to little more than a Government-recognized "Parsi Matrimonial Court". Although the Panchayat would be eventually be reestablished as the administrator of community property, it ultimately ceased to be an instrument for self-governance.

At about the same time as the role of the Panchayat was declining, a number of other institutions arose that would replace the Panchayat's role in contributing to the sense of social cohesiveness that the community desperately sought. By mid-century, the Parsis were keenly aware that their numbers were declining and saw education as a possible solution to the problem. In 1842, Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy established the "Parsi Benevolent Fund" with the aim of improving the conditions, through education, of the impoverished Parsis still living in Surat and its environs. In 1849, the Parsis established their first school (co-educational, which was a novelty at the time, but would soon be split into separate schools for boys and girls) and the education movement quickened. The number of Parsi schools multiplied but other schools and colleges were also freely frequented (Hull, 1913). Accompanied by better education and social cohesiveness, the community's sense of distinctiveness grew and in 1854 Dinshaw Maneckji Petit founded the "Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund" with the aim of improving the conditions for the less fortunate co-religionists in Iran. The fund succeeded in convincing a number of Iranian Zoroastrians to emigrate to India (where they are today known as Iranis), and may have been instrumental in obtaining a remission of the jizya poll tax for their co-religionists in 1882.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Parsis had emerged as "the foremost people in India in matters educational, industrial, and social. They came in the vanguard of progress, amassed vast fortunes, and munificently gave away large sums in charity" (Dhalla, 1948:483). By the close of the 19th century, the total number of Parsis in colonial India was 85,397, of which 48,507 lived in Bombay, constituting 6% of the total population of the city (Census, 1881). This would be the last time that the Parsis would be considered a numerically significant minority in the city.

Nonetheless, the legacy of the 19th century was a sense of self-awareness as a community. The typically Parsi cultural symbols of the 17th and 18th centuries such as language (a Parsi variant of Gujarati), art & crafts and sartorial habits developed into Parsi theater, literature, newspapers and magazines and schools. The Parsis now ran community medical centers, ambulance corps, boy scout troops, clubs and masonic lodges. They had their own charitable foundations and housing estates, legal institutions, courts and governance. They were no longer weavers and petty merchants, but now established and ran banks, mills, heavy industry, shipyards and shipping companies. Moreover, even while maintaining their own cultural identity they did not fail to recognize themselves as nationally Indian, as Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Asian to occupy a seat in the British Parliament would note: Whether I am a Hindu, a Mohamedan, a Parsi, a Christian, or of any other creed, I am above all an Indian. Our country is India; our nationality is Indian (1893).

Factions within the community

Parsi Jashan ceremony (in this case, a house blessing)

Calendrical differences

This section contains information specific to the Parsi calendar. For information on the calendar used by the Zoroastrians for religious purposes, including details on its history and its variations, see Zoroastrian calendar.

Until about 1129, all Zoroastrians followed the same 365-day calendar, which had remained largely unmodified since the calendar reforms of Ardashir I (226-241 CE). Since that calendar did not compensate for the fractional days that go to make up a full solar year, with time it was no longer accordant with the seasons. In 1006, the roaming calendar and the solar calendar overlapped perfectly, and it was resolved – in both India and Iran - that henceforth every 120th year would have a thirteenth month, and so keep the calendar in step with the seasons.

In 1129 or therabouts, the Parsis inserted an embolismic month to level out the accumulating fractional days. However, the Parsis would be the only Zoroastrians to do so (and would only do it once), with the result that - after 1129 - the calendar in use by the Parsis and the calendar in use by Zoroastrians elsewhere diverged by a matter of thirty days. The calendars still had the same name, Shahenshahi (imperial), presumably because none were aware that the calendars were no longer the same.

In 1745, the Parsis in and around Surat switched to the Kadmi or Kadimi calendar on the recommendation of their priests who were convinced that the calendar in use in the ancient 'homeland' must be correct. Moreover, they denigrated the Shahenshahi calendar as being "royalist".

In 1906, attempts to bring the two factions together resulted in the invention of a third calendar: The Fasili, or Fasli calendar had leap days intercalated every four years, and it had a New Year’s day that fell on the day of the vernal equinox. Although it was the only calendar always in harmony with the seasons, most members of the Parsi community rejected it on the grounds that it was not based on scripture.

Today, the majority of the Parsis are adherents of the Parsi version of the Shahenshahi calendar. The Kadmi calendar has its adherents among the Parsi communities of Surat and Bharuch. The Fasli calendar does not have a significant following among Parsis, but it is used by the majority of Zoroastrians elsewhere, where it is also known as the Bastani calendar.

The effect of the calendar disputes:

Since some of the Avesta prayers contain references to the names of the month, and some other prayers are used only at specific times of the year, the issue of which calendar is "correct" has theological ramifications as well.

To further complicate matters, in the late 1700s (or early 1800s) a highly influential head-priest and staunch proponent of the Kadmi calendar - Phiroze Kaus Dastur of the Dadyseth Atash-Behram in Bombay - became convinced that the pronunciation of prayers as recited by visitors from Iran was correct, while the pronunciation as used by the Parsis was not. He accordingly went on to alter some (but not all) of the prayers, which in due course came to be accepted by all adherents of the Kadmi calendar as the more ancient (and thus presumably correct). However, scholars of Avestan language and linguistics attribute the difference in pronunciation to a vowel-shift that occurred only in Iran, and that the Iranian pronunciation as adopted by the Kadmis is actually more recent than the pronunciation used by the non-Kadmi Parsis.

The calendar disputes were not always purely academic either. In the 1780s, emotions over the controversy ran so high that violence would occasionally errupt. In 1783, a Shahenshahi resident of Bharuch named Homaji Jamshedji was sentenced to death for kicking a young Kadmi woman, and so causing her to miscarry.

Of the eight Atash-Behrams (literally Fire-Royal Sanctum, equivalent to High-Cathedrals) in India, three follow the Kadmi pronunciation and calendar, the other five are Shahenshahi. The Fassalis do not have their own Atash-Behram.

The Ilm-e-Kshnoom

Main article: Ilm-e-Kshnoom

The Ilm-e-Kshnoom ('science of ecstasy', or 'science of bliss') is a school of Parsi-Zoroastrian philosophy based on a mystic and esoteric, rather than literal, interpretation of religious texts. According to the adherents of the sect, they are followers of the Zoroastrian faith as preserved by a clan of 2000 individuals called the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart') who are said to live in complete isolation in the mountainous recesses of the Caucasus (alternatively, in the Alborz range, around Mount Damavand).

There are few obvious indications that a Parsi might be a follower of the Kshnoom. Although their Kusti prayers are very similar to those used by the Fassalis, like the rest of the Parsi community, the followers of Kshnoom are divided with respect to which calendar they observe. There are also other minor differences in their recitation of the liturgy, such as repetition of some sections of the longer prayers. Nonetheless, the Kshnoom are extremely conservative in their ideology, and prefer isolation even with respect to other Parsis.

The largest community of followers of the Kshnoom lives in Bombay, where they have their own Fire temple (Behramshah Nowroji Shroff Daremeher), their own housing colony (Behram Baug) and their own newspaper (Parsi Pukar). There is a smaller concentration of adherents in Surat, where the sect was founded in the last decades of the 19th century.

Exclusion versus inclusion

Parsi rites of admission into the Zoroastrian faith

Among the Parsi community, no issue is more controversial than the exclusion of offspring of a "mixed marriage", that is where one parent is a Parsi and the other is not. Within a wider scope, the issue extends to questions of

• gender equality (whether males and females are to be treated differently),
• exclusion of women (and men if the gender equality question is taken into account) that marry out of the community.
• whether Zoroastrians that are not Parsis have a right to use Parsi-Zoroastrian facilities such as Fire temples and Towers of Silence.

At its core, the conflict is a manifestation of centuries-old anxieties and fears of assimilation and the loss of identity. Those in favor for restriction of the term "Parsi" or even "Zoroastrian" to only those whose parents are both Parsis/Zoroastrians are most numerous among those that come from deeply conservative backgrounds, in particular (but not always) among the priesthood and the priestly class (the athornan). Consequently, the exclusionist stance is frequently equated with fundamentalism and its by-products of social and religious intolerance. Inversely, the inclusionist stance, i.e. that Zoroastrianism is a world-religion not limited by boundaries of gender, race or national origin, is denigrated as "heterodox", and its defenders are accused of being "anti-traditional", "neo-liberal" schismatics.

The "official" position of the communities is often one of exclusion. This is however not necessarily a stance that has been democratically determined since the panchayats or anjumans (the local trusts that manage and maintain community property – primarily the Towers of Silence - and administrate policy as to their use) are predominantly conservative, usually having five priests on a nine-member board. In accordance with Indian statutes, the anjumans have the domestic authority over trust properties and have the right to grant, prohibit or restrict entry and use. Thus, they can (and do) legally prohibit their use by anyone they might consider unentitled, or – in the case of properties administered by less exclusionist trustees – the priests employed at that facility make their opinion known by other means, for instance, by refusing to recite the names of "half-Parsis" or non-Parsi spouses during the tan-darosti.

However, in questions of practice, the conflict is (almost) academic. In cities with larger Parsi communities, there is almost certainly at least one Fire temple run by priests that are not exclusionist. In any event, the Zoroastrian faith does not prescribe worship in a fire temple, so – in principle - a Zoroastrian who has been banned from entry to a particular temple could worship from his/her own home. Self-help groups such as the Association of Inter-Married Zoroastrians for "those who still believe that equality is a basic tenet of Zoroastrianism" attempt to ensure "that the rights of inter-married Parsees are not compromised" by organizing the initiation rites ('Navjote') for children of mixed parentage or by maintaining a list of Fire temples where Parsi spouses of mixed marriages are not ostracized. Nonetheless, with respect to last rites and use of the Towers of Silence, the anjumans continue to be selective about who may be interred according to Zoroastrian tradition.

Recent years have also seen an increasing unwillingness to accept a priest's exclusionary stance. Where a priest's opinion had previously been accepted as canon, this is gradually changing with respect to who and who may not be considered a Parsi. Following a 1990 debacle in Bombay, a highly respected High-Priest was dismissed from his post after he publicly declared that women that married out of the community were adulterous and were hypocrites if they continued to consider themselves Zoroastrians. This particular episode is however not representative of all the priests. The priests in Calcutta for instance have for decades been pragmatic when it came to implementing the exclusionary stance of their superiors in Navsari – they "import" priests from Jamshedpur when ceremonies need to be performed for individuals that would otherwise not be considered eligible.

Whatever the outcome of the conflict, it probably will not influence the primary issue that contributes to the decreasing number of Parsis: the low birth rate.

Prominent Parsis

Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) was probably the most famous Parsi in the West

For a list of Parsis with Wikipedia articles, see Notable Parsis.

The Parsis have made considerable contributions to the history and development of the Indian subcontinent, all the more remarkable considering their numeric insignificance. As the maxim "Parsi, thy name is charity" reveals, their greatest contribution, literally and figuratively, is their philanthropy (the term "Parsi" in Sanskrit means "one who gives alms"). Mahatma Gandhi would note in a much-(mis)quoted statement, "I am proud of my country, India, for having produced the splendid Zoroastrian stock, in numbers beneath contempt, but in charity and philanthropy perhaps unequalled and certainly unsurpassed" (Rivetna, 2002).

Famous Parsis include the legendary industrialist J. R. D. Tata, symphony conductor Zubin Mehta and rock icon Freddie Mercury, nuclear scientist Homi J. Bhabha and the similarly-named cultural studies theorist Homi K. Bhabha. The first field marshall of India Sam Manekshaw, screenwriter and author Sooni Taraporevala; and authors Rohinton Mistry, and Bapsi Sidhwa are all Parsis. The efforts of Parsis significantly altered the face of the city of Bombay, as is evident in the name given to what is perhaps the most expensive real estate in the world: Nariman Point. Parsis prominent in the Indian independence movement include Pherozeshah Mehta, Dadabhai Naoroji and Bhikaiji Cama. Illustrious Parsi families include the Tata family, the Godrej family and the Wadia family.

See also

• Parsi cuisine
• Parsi festivals
• Zoroastrians in Iran

Bibliography

• "Parsi". Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd ed. New York: Random House. 1993.
• For an example of the use of "Parsi" as the name of a religion, see National Geographic: list of religions in India.
• Nanavutty, Piloo (1970). The Parsis. New Delhi: National Book Trust.
• Qamar, Raheel; Qasim, Ayub; et al. (2002). "Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan" (PDF). American Journal of Human Genetics. 70: 1107–1124. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Quintana-Murci; et al. (2004). "Southwest Asian mtDNA Phylogeography" (PDF). American Journal of Human Genetics. 74: 827–845. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
• Legal rulings:

  i) Sir Dinsha Manekji Petit vs. Sir Jamsetji Jijibhai, (1909) 33 ILR 509 and 11 BLR 85, Justices Dinshaw Davar and Frank Beaman

  ii) Sarwar Merwan Yezdiar vs. Merwan Rashid Yezdiar, (1948) Parsi Matrimonial Court, Justice Coyaji

  iii) Merwan Rashid Yezdiar vs. Sarwar Merwan Yezdiar, (1950) 52 BLR 876, Justices Chagla and Gajendragadkar

  iv) Jamshed Irani vs. Banu Irani, (1966) 68 BLR 794, Justice Mody

• Parsiana Editorial (2006-02-21). "How trust-worthy?". Parsiana (48). {{cite journal}}: External link in |title= (help)
• Eliade, Mircea & Ioan P. Couliano (1991). The Eliade Guide to World Religions. New York: Harper Collins.
• Bose, Ashish; et al. (2004-12-04). [Growth of the Parsi population in India. Mumbai: National Commission for Minorities. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
• Hodivala, Shahpurshah Hormasji (1920). Studies in Parsi History. Bombay: (Privately Printed).
• Paymaster, Rustom Burjorji (1954). Early History of the Parsees in India. Bombay: Zarthoshti Dharam Sambandhi.
• Taraporevala, Sooni (2000). Zoroastrians of India. Parsis: A Photographic Journey. Bombay: Good Books.
• Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1938). History of Zoroastrianism. New York: OUP.
• Hull, Ernest R. (1913). "Parsi". Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Luhrmann, T. M. "The Good Parsi: The Postcolonial 'Feminization' of a Colonial Elite". Man. 29.2 (June, 1994): 333–357.
• Luhrmann, T. M. "Evil in the Sands of Time: Theology and Identity Politics among the Zoroastrian Parsis". The Journal of Asian Studies. 61.3 (August, 2002): 861–889.
• White, David L. "From Crisis to Community Definition:The Dynamics of Eighteenth-Century Parsi Philanthropy". Modern Asian Studies. 25.2 (May, 1991): 303–320.
• Karaka, D. F. (1884). History of the Parsis. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Dobbin, Christine (1970). "The Parsi Panchayat in Bombay City in the Nineteenth Century". Modern Asian Studies. 4.2: 149–164.
• Jeejeebhoy, Jamset Rustomjee Byram. Introduction. In Darukhanawala, Hormusji Dhunjishaw (1938). Parsi Lustre on Indian Soil, Vol. I. Bombay: Claridge.
• Ovington, John, Rawlinson, H. G. (ed.) (1929). A Voyage to Surat in the Year 1689. London: Humphrey Milford. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Rivetna, Roshan (ed.) (2002). The Legacy of Zarathushtra: An Introduction to the Religion, History and Culture of the Zarathushtis". Hinsdale, IL: Federation of the Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA). {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)

Further reading

• Passion of Indian Parsis in discovering their root in Iran (BBC Persian) (in Persian)
• Christian Science Monitor: Oldest Prophetic Religion Struggles For Survival
• UNESCO Parsi Zoroastrian Project
• Searchable record of Parsi-related subjects