Parsis in India are on brink of extinction

NEW DELHI: Lt. Gen (Retd) A M Sethna, member, National Commission for Minorities, and president, Delhi Parsi Anjuman, is touching 80, and has an interesting story to tell about the Parsi identity crisis that dates back to the 1940s.

This was a time when the affable general was a cadet and it was mandatory to wear a badge with one’s religion inscribed on it. “It was part of the uniform.

For Christians, you had to even mention if you were Pros [Protestant] or RC [Roman Catholic],” Sethna remembers. “When I was asked what I was, I said ‘Parsi’, and the attending officer who was writing down my personal details said, ‘Parsi? Never heard of it. I’ll put down RC’.”

Which was strange, considering that the Parsis — Zoroastrians of Persian origin, who were dubbed ‘Parsis’ in India because they hailed mostly from a region called Pars — had been around since the 10th century.

But that marginalisation is now down to a rather frightening numbers game: the 2001 Census reveals that Parsi community in India, collectively, stands at 69,601 heads (33949 males and 35652 females) — down from 76,382 in 1991.

“The 2001 Census is particularly significant, it’s been by far the most thorough Census, at least for the Parsis, because we have made it a point to include everyone,” says Sethna. The sub-text clearly is: chances are that there were probably many Parsis who didn’t take part in the 1991 Census, but still the number was considerably higher. “The 2001 figures are downright scary — if we don’t do damage control rightaway, three generations down the line, we could well be extinct.”

Agrees former Tisco chairman, the 86-year-old Russi Mody: “The number of Parsis are reducing every year, it’s a dying community.”

The two community elders are not exaggerating. According to the Delhi Parsi Anjuman, in 2003, the number of recorded Parsi births in the city was 2 while the number of deaths was 8. Worse, only 4.7 per cent Parsis fall in the 0-6 age bracket — compare that to the national average of 15.9.

Sooni Taraporevala, scriptwriter, photographer, writes in her book Zoroastrians of India: Parsis that, “By the year 2020, India will have achieved the dubious distinction of being the most populated country on earth with 1,200 million people. At that point, Parsis who will number 23,000 or 0.0002 per cent of the population, will cease to be termed a community and will be labelled a ‘tribe’, as is any ethnic group below the 30,000 count. Demographically, we are a dying community — our deaths outweigh our births.”

Most community members Hindustan Times spoketo felt there are three reasons for this: late marriages, a high incidence of intermarriages that leads to loss of faith, and a self-imposed ban on conversions.

“Parsi girl are usually well-educated and they are serious about pursuing a career, so by the time they are in a position to settle down they’re in their late 20s or, at times, well past 30 and their biological clock is already ticking away,” says 45-year-old Kemran Mehta, who runs a religious/interactive club for children in the Parsi Dharamsala on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg in Delhi. “Most times, they opt for a single kid, and many of them prefer not to go the family way.”

Inter-marriages should normally help a community grow, right? No so with the Parsis. For one, girls who marry outside their community are not considered Parsis by virtue of their new status. “It’s a patriarchial society, and when a Parsi girl marries a non-Parsi, her kids cannot be Parsis even if they want to,”

says M K Meherji, a 34-year-old event manager working in New Delhi. “If a Parsi boy marries a non-Parsi, only then can their kids be allowed to do the Navjot [the baptism ceremony].” The wives, however, don’t qualify to be Parsis.

A landmark judgement in 1902 [Davar vs Beamont] is considered to be a referral for intermarriages. The judgment laid down that non-Parsi spouses would have no legal standing in the Parsi fold. The sentence is still serving its term.

But there’s hope yet. The Delhi Parsi Anjuman has broken out of that stranglehold, and is now permitting non-Parsi spouses to be part of the community affairs, although the Fire Temples and the Towers of Silence remain out of bounds. “The problem is none of the other Anjumans all over the country are willing to be part of this change process,” says Sethna.

The issue of conversions is largely one of deemed superiority. One cannot adopt the Zoroastrian faith if you want to because the community forbids it.

Now here’s the catch: this has nothing to do with the scriptures. As popular VJ Cyrus Broacha, says: “The ban on conversions has to do with preserving the purity of the community but that was not what Zoroastrianism was all about when we came to India more than a thousand years ago.”

Television actress Tanaaz Currim, who is married to a Muslim, feels likewise: “We can prevent the community from dying out by accepting children of mixed marriages.”

What is somewhat baffling is the straitjacket that the community has donned by choice: why are the Parsis, otherwise a progressive and visionary group of people, willingly being shackled by traditions? “It’s a conundrum,” shrugs Sethna, “one that cannot be explained rationally.”

Maybe it’s a matter of faith. But in this case, faith seems to be moving the community to extinction.

Zoroastrianism (also sometimes known as Mazdaism) was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia between 1400 and 1200 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimate as late as 600 BC).

Overview Zoroastrianism combines elements of monotheism and dualism. Some modern scholars believe that Zoroastrianism had a large influence on Judaism and Manichaeism, and thus indirectly influenced Christianity and Islam.

The holy book of Zoroastrianism is the Avesta. Of the Avesta only the Gathas (the hymns) are attributed to Zoroaster.

Ahura Mazda (literally: "the Wise Lord" like the Sanskrit "Asura Medha"; later transcription: Ohrmazd, Ormazd or Ormus) is revered and worshipped by Zoroastrians as the good God. Opposed to Ahura Mazda stands Ahriman (Angra Mainyu), who in some traditions is Ohrmazd's twin brother, in others the twin of Spenta Mainyu; modern Zoroastrianism considers itself monotheistic and looks upon Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu as allegorical personifications.

According to Zoroastrianism, the earth was created by Ormazd as a battlefield to fight Ahriman (where Ohrmazd is destined to win approximately 3000 years after Zoroaster, that is, circa AD 2400). Human beings have free will to choose between Ohrmazd and Ahriman, however once this choice is made it is impossible or nearly impossible to change. Those who align with Ohrmazd are believed to go directly to Heaven after death or resurrection (depending on the tradition), whereas those who align with Ahriman go to Hell for a period of time before then going on to Heaven. Unlike Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism does not associate matter with evil. On the contrary, material pursuits such as raising a family and creating wealth are considered to aid Ohrmazd. "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" is a common slogan.

However, Zoroastrianism is not simply the purely ethical religion it may at first seem. Purification rituals are important. Indeed a religious Zoroastrian must constantly be involved in a meticulous struggle against the contamination of death (which is associated with Ahriman) and of the many other causes of defilement, and against the threat - even in sleep - of demons. Fire is an important religious symbol, and once started a ritual fire must be kept continually burning. The dead are not buried (so as to not defile the soil) or cremated (as fire is considered sacred), but left for vultures to devour in specially constructed Towers of Silence.

History By the 6th century, Zoroastrianism had spread to northern China via the Silk Road, gaining official status in a number of Chinese states. Zoroastrian temples still remained in Kaifeng and Zhenjiang as late as the 1130s, but by the 13th century the religion had faded from prominence in China.

In the 7th century, the Zoroastrian Sassanid dynasty was conquered by Muslim Arabs, and Zoroastrians were awarded the status of People of the Book by the Caliph Omar, although some practices contrary to Islam were prohibited, such as sibling marriages. Before this took place, however, many thousand of Zoroastrian priests were executed, hundreds of temples destroyed, and religious texts burnt. Further, the use of the ancient Avestan as well as Persian languages was prohibited. Islamic invaders attempted to distort the teaching of Zardusht by presenting Zoroastrianism as polytheistic cult thus facilitating the annihilation of the Iranian culture and its peoples.

Arab invasion and the subsequent repression by Islamic authorities left the deepest scar in this ancient monotheistic faith that was once dominant in a region stretching from Anatolia to Persian Gulf and Central Asia. The Persecution of Zoroastrians by Muslim rulers of theocratic Iran continued after the Arabs left; even today, however, one can find Zoroastrian communities living and practicing their faith in remote regions of the country.

In the 8th century, Zoroastrians fled to India in large numbers, where they were given refuge by Jadi Rana, a Hindu king of Sanjan (the modern-day province of Gujarat) on condition that they abstain from missionary activities and marry only in their community. Although these strictures are centuries old, Parsis of the 21st century still do not accept converts and are endogamous. The Parsis of India speak a Gujarati dialect.

The earliest English references to Zoroaster and the Zoroastrian religion occur in the writings of the encyclopaedist Sir Thomas Browne.

It is widely believed that the Three Wise Men said to have borne gifts for Jesus of Nazareth were Zoroastrian Magi. The Achaemenid Persian Kings Xerxes and Darius had previously assisted the Jews in rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem.

Adherents Small Zoroastrian communities survive in Iran and in India (where they are called Parsis or Parsees), totalling 140,000 followers. Iranian Zoroastrians are called Gabars (a name deriving from the Arabic word kaffir meaning infidel), but this is a pejorative term. Some Zoroastrians in Yazd and Kerman still speak an Iranian language distinct from Persian. They call their language Dari (not to be confused with the Dari of Afghanistan). Their language is also called Gabri or Behdinan. Sometimes their language is named for the cities in which they are spoken, Yazdi or Kermani. Other small Zoroastrian communities exist in large cities in the United States, England and Canada.

Famous Zoroastrians One of the most famous Zoroastrians is the late Freddie Mercury, the frontman of the group Queen. He was given a traditional Zoroastrian funeral after he died of AIDS on the 24th of November, 1991. Famous Indian Parsis include symphonic conductor Zubin Mehta, the Tata and Godrej industrial families.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Parsi

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