Jun 1981

Price Re. 1 i 6 I June 19S1 Volume 3 Number 12 * Just a Rump 5 pained” to read Palkhivala’s letter. “It appears to me that you have not only been misinformed but misled interested parties.” Outlining the re- " cent history of the strife tom Fcdera- visit to Bombay a day or so prior to the Delhi meeting approached Palkhi­ vala to head the Federation. Palkhi­ vala accepted and a triumphant Nar- gOlwala returned to Delhi with the news. The Bombay Samachar issue of tion, Nargolwala noted, that many ctf 26 April made mention of Palkhi- the Panchayats keep their funds with vala’s election and two weeks later of the BPP “they were... forced to witb- his declining the post. In his letter to Nargolwala turning down the post,.Palkhivala stated: “I was under the impression that the Federation represented all the import- and Parsi Anjumans of India except Executive council ct the Federation? the Bombay Parsi Panchayat. But Equally, would the leader of the now I find that the Parsi Anjumans CER, Mr Jamshed Kanga have agie- *" ¦ ¦ " ‘ : - • ¦ . _ . - J Gujarat as well as the Anjumans of of the Federation? I hope you will ~ ~ ‘ soon see that the Anjuman Cranmittee of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat und­ er their young leaders initiates moves for ths Bombay Parsi Panchayat to rejoin the Federation.- If and when this happens, the stoqjes and satelli­ tes of the Bombay P^i ^nchayat will automatically rejoin the Federa- titm... “You were elected as the President of the Federation in the sincere hope that you would bring about the much desired unity within the community. “Further, I was not aware that Your hasty action in declining to under the constitution of the Federa- cept the Presidentship of the Federa­ tion, the President of the Bombay tion is a severe blow to the unity xif Parsi Panchayat is also the ex-officio the community, apart from the President of the Federation and that that you would be shirking the ^al- i" '-- ¦ ¦ ’ “ ¦ ’ ’ dent of the Federation, you were re- • “If the above facts had been known to me, I wWld not have given my - „ . consent to be elected the President of paraHd ail-India body; barring Delhi, the Fed««^oft.' “My dear Shiayax: When I indicated to you my willing­ ness to accept the ftesidentship of the Federation the Parsi Anjumans of India, it was, I am afraid, in ignor­ ance of the material facts... I have, regretfully, to withdraw and decline to accept the office.” With those words, Nani Palkhivala, the noted jurist and ’India’s former ambassador to the United States of America, in a letter to Shiavax Nar- golwala, the controversial president of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman and vice president of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India . . _ - „ ¦ (FPZAI), threw the well laid plans of of Surat and other small Anjumans of ed to serve on the Executive Council the community’s apex body in a tizzy. ' ' ........................ An exfraondinary meeting of the Poona, Madras and Bangalore have Fedctation had been convened in resigned from the Federation. I under- - New Delhi on 12 April with the ex­ it the head of the Federation (see ing of residing. This means that now Parsiana May 1981 issue). The mem- ’---••• hers present first voted to amend the Federation’s constitution which speci­ fied the President of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP) was the ex- officio president of the Federation, severe Wow tO the unity and then voted unanimously to elect of the community.” Palkhivala. The BPP’s abrupt withdrawal from the Federation in February 1978, over some critical rem golwala at the TW an Congress held left the apex body without a head for over three years. Nargolwala’s earlier gOlwala returned to Delhi with the 1 26 April made mention of Palkhi- the Panchayats keep their fonds with I draw from the Federation-... “If the Federation twe^* ___ _ Rump”, would the Pa^ Mtember of Parliament from the south (Mrs Roda Mistry) have agreed' to serve on the Just a resigned from ths Federation. I under- ____ _ __ stand that both the Ahmedabad and press purpose of placing Palkhivala Hyderabad Anjumans are also think- ths Federation is just a rump and re­ presents a very small minority of the Parsis of India. is “Your hasty action... is a ac- •ks made by Nar- } World' Zoroastri- two weeks prior. in order to have appointed me Presi- lenge and the confidence reposed in ... -- --- —, j— ----- ... you by the community... attcmfrts to amend the constitution quired to change its Constitution. “I sincerely hope Uw* were kept in abeyance on the assump- • - - - tion di|it the BPP aaay rejoin. But the BPP instead is trying to set tip a Nargolwala, then decided to go ahead with the amendment and on a you by the community... \ “I sincerely hope dwt Mr know­ ing all the facts yrai will agree to re- consider your decision,” Whether Palkhivalr deeisirm or not, the gtwm>qi' . .. w for an all-India body has « wala replied he was “surprised and another set-back. In a tett^ dated 14 May, Nargol- yet “J'sf t I * ? I 1 NEWS FROM THE MEDIA Piloo’s Pineapple I A week back Delhi newspapers carri- I ed a photograph of Mrs Gandhi in a I round-table discussion with opposition I leaders. According to the photograph I captions the PM was discussing the I Gujarat agitation, but those present at' the time the lensmen were clicking away say that Mrs Gandhi was in fact grumbling about the number of man- days lost in the country because each community insisted on a national holi- | day for observing, its religious festiviti­ es. It seems that the papers concerning Gujarat took quite a while in arriving and in the meantime Mrs G. was forc­ ed to make small talk with her not-so- loyal opposition. Piloo Mody, Janata MP and Parlia­ ment’s leading quipster, pointed out that while others might be insisting on holidays, his own community, the Par­ sis, had not got a single national day off for its festivals. Mrs Gandhi, who was herself married to a Parsi, discus­ sed knowledgeably with Piloo on “Pa- teti”, “Jamshedi Navroz”, and “Khor- dad Sal”, while the other opposition leaders ranging from the far right to the ultra revolutionaries were all at sea about what was being talked about. Parsis being an unknown com­ modity outside Gujarat and Maha­ rashtra. The conversation about Parsi festiv­ als reminded Mrs Gandhi that the next day was in fact Navroze and Mrs G., who believes in the little gracious touches, sent the country’s only Parsi - MP a pineapple. Hearing of the regal gift a Confess (I) MP felt that in view of Piloo’s constant snipes and cracks at Mrs G. it would be fairer if the pineapple was handed over to him. But the bulky gourmet Piloo re­ fused to part with his gift, whatever his opinion of the sender. It was, he noted with a connoisseur’s knowledge, best quality pineapple from Guinea, having arrived along with the Presi­ dent of Guinea, Ahmed Sekou Toure. (Free Press Bulletin 27 March 1981) was employed in restoring limbs or their parts to those who might lose ; them in accidents. The technique made it possible to harvest bones and skins from certain parts of the bodies into tfie areas defi­ cient in them. Dr Ghacha, an orthopaedic surgeon i H ¦ *- * — ¦ Modi : Gandhi’s gift S» and an F.R.C.S., has hirhself perform ed over 50 finger implantations, ' severed limb attachments, U numerous free skift flap and bone grafts in patients with the aid of micro , SIX besides scopes, which yield a magnification of 25. With that magnification the thin­ nest of damaged blood vessels and nerves c _ sutured perfectly, he said. 25. With that magnification the thin of human beings could b If*.. Dead may help limbless in medical adduces The dead may tell no tales but there might well be stories of how the de­ ceased have helped the limbless lead a more pleasant life. The possibility of the dead bring­ ing sunshine into the lives of the liv­ ing by providing their skins and bones for implantation of full limbs has Already micro-vascular surgery hasj Temporary attacks of paralysis haye also been effectively checked by constructing the blocked blood vessels.. Dr Chacha, who set up the npero- ¦vascular surgical technique in Singa­ pore, had learnt the procedure all. lsyi himself. “I had bought books and J helped arthritic patients get relief. Temporary attacks of paralysis haye also been effectively checked by brightened, thanks to advances made ' in the science of immunology. An eminent international surgeon. Dr Pesi B. Chacha, an Indian expat­ riate with permanent residence now in Singapore visualised such possibi­ lities when outlining new horizons in medical science. Dr Chacha, who has a group prac­ tice at Singapore, told this ffeporter that the knee-joint transplant in China had already been reported. The mod­ em micro-vascular surgical technique pore, had learnt the procedure all. Isyi equipment, practised at clinical ratories and achieved expertise all by , myself,” he said. He had tried hard to secure a tea^- ing-cum-research assignment in India’ but without much success. He nit­ rated to Singapore on .fbc recommend-, ations of his professor in En^and. Dr Chacha envisioned bright Chacha: promising prospects (Photo courtesy The Times of India)' : i.. w p * ¦ ( ¦ h II ¦ si I I ills ¦Mb ! I k 7'- J-J I X ¦ Mi 3.1 J? • 4 i i 4 a k •va si < ir - y* la UtSkj' '*£» ¦iii Boyce: students in horse-drawn cars sibilities of certain implantations of those deprived of their limbs or fine- the deceased being accepted by the ers, Dr Chacha cautioned against un- certain cases, like the brain due optimism. “Much of the success and kidney tissues, for instance, the of an operation would depend on the regeneration, might be difficult in view ---- - - — of the^ highly specialised constructions of the organs. . Limb attachments i L, grafts held out promising prospects dream" might take our lifetime, he soM Although the micro-vascular surgi- ,(Pho:o courtesy The Times of India) ers, Dr Chacha cautioned against due optimism. — eschews coffee within two hours of the commencement of stvrgical work lest it should induce tremors in the fingers. The operations require steady fing­ ers and sustained application. The operations stretch out into long peri­ ods of time and should be employed only as a last resort. Dr Chacha came to Bombay to give a demonstration in the latest sur­ gical techniques at the first workshop on micro-vascular surgery organised at the Tata Memorial Hospital recent­ ly- R. K. RANGA^i (Times of India 7 April 1981) ‘‘Alma Mater” then and now As Elphinstone College, Bombay, completes 125 years, the first Indian woman to secure an M.A. degree from this institution recalls her early years as an Elphinstonian. Mrs Piroja Boyce, now 102, occa­ sionally spends her time seeing her college certificates, letters and so on. There are any number of them and all these mementoes are stacked in the comer of her beautiful house at Vaccha Gandhi Road. In the sitting room itself there is a photograph of her graduation day. “I remember students used to ar­ rive in horse-drawn cars or walk to the college all the way from home and wait for two bells for the classes to begin.” The lecture rooms were on the second floor and the professors, most of them from Oxford and Cam­ bridge, put on a special gown before getting on to the lecture platform to start a session. Those were the days when “intel­ lectual dialogues and debates” bet­ ween students and teachers were a regular feature of the college, accord­ ing to Mrs Boyce. Women students were just three and had a room for themselves and the men never bother­ ed them. In short, Mrs Boyce remem­ bers men giving way to women when they crossed each other in the corri­ dor. Unlike today the college had no social life, but occasionally the princi­ pal himself entertained the students at tea at his residence. The women, moreover, never took part in sports. There was no canteen and neatly- dressed secants brtaught lunch for t !s extent o’! the damage caused”, he said. There had also been instances of bone with tissue and skin being graft- as also skin ed on parts of the body excised for body acceptance of on the malignancy of the tumour, he observed. Dr Oiacha, who works for nine - * • ------- ---------- •...rxv M-iuw awvuiaiivc VI Mthpugh practical realisation of the the transplanted part would deoend saM Mw*^* v,u<*V“^« wiiv wuiKd ipr nine cSf technique opened new vistas for hours daily at his operation theatr^ 4 ^e stude^ from t|feir homes. The college semnts wens disciplined and used to wear a thick band around their waists while on duty. Examinations were held in ths Town Hall, which now houses the Asiatic Society. Articles for the col­ lege magazines were assigned by the professors themselves. * ¦ in the Asiatic Society. Articles for the col- ir r I k t R I; ( ' I Mrs Boyce, who got her M.A. deg- H|R fee in 1901, revisited her alma mater ^H| two years ago to attend a function. RjRI She spent exactly half and hour and found everything had changed. It If j seemed as though she had entered another college altogether. | (CITY LIGHTS, Times of India, 2 March | 1981) I Those days at the I Coroner’s Court I In a rented apartment in an old build- ? ing in Bandra, Bombay, Homi Chi- i noy, the ex-City Cornor looks at me t with sharp eyes and announces, judge- | like, “I was a strict disciplinarian. My •. order in the Ccffoner’s Court was al- ways final”. Coming from a lesser man this Chinoy: ‘niggardly amount’ would have sounded like a boast, but Chinoy and his decisions created his­ tory a number of times and his judge- Bombay, ments, though questioned and fought to the level of the Supreme Court, were always upheld. As the City Coroner he gave the accused the right to cross-examine a witness — the first time in a hundred years of the Coroner’s Court’s exist­ ence that cross-examination of wit­ nesses was allowed. Though question­ ed and fought, this judgement was taken after the holy bath. Though m himself a Parsi, Chinoy, despite the HH hue and cry in the community, and ki the possibility of being excommuni- I* cated, ordered the exhumation. Chinoy also remembers the Central Railway accident in 1965, when, again for the first time in the history of the , Coroners’ Court, the court was tem- t porarily shifted to the site of the acci- ,1 dent to facilitate people in recovering the bodies of dead relatives. •- Today, despite Chinoy’s pioneer- j ing efforts, he has to live on a meagre pension. “Please write that we are paid a niggardly, amount,” he insists. Commenting on the medical staff of those days he points out: “At tim­ es doctors would suggest a post­ mortem. I would decline. What for? The cause is already known, I would also upheld, by the High Court of say. Then they would admit: it is for Even after burial, if there is any doubt regarding the cause of death, the Coroner has a right to get the body exhumed. This, however, hap­ pens rarely. And with Chinoy some­ thing even rare happened. He recover­ ed the dead body of a Parsi female , . from a bunglee (the place where the the handkerchief and don’t insult thi body rests before it is carried to the dead. " Tower of Silence) where it had been ¦ I 1 I ¦ Ba Id !¦ ¦¦ academic reseatch. I would then per­ mit it only if the relatives consented.” He once admonished a forensic stu­ dent who entered the morgue with a handkerchief over his nose: “You will be a doctor one day and will have to work in this stink. How' will you do it if you can’t bear it? Remove a (Sunday Standard 29 Maivh 1981) I I I TaVinMxontliMntal HoMi ~ Bombay II - ? I I LET’S BUttD THEM TOGETHER! Whether It’s a five-star hotel, 1___ _ _ . a chemical factory, a fertiliser plant or a housing project— we have the expertise and experience—to h#rtdle any _____ _____ turn-key construction project • carried put by us over i-' ss ws 1 X for putting up the imposing of His MSjesty the Multan of- Oman—and completed . It in time. The multiplicity of projects __l, ..zt several decades has resulted in the building up of expertise in numerous aspects of the construction industiy. We proudly offer this expertise for any construction project and proposals for joint ventures would be weicome. a Sultan's Palace, a hospital, Mu^t Palace c^rtylex, t-1___ plant or a housing project— we have the expertise and experience—to fiaridle any anywhere in the world- Overthe last 100 years we L have not only pioneered the construction industry in our country but spread our ® wings to Muscat and the S Middle East—where against competition from the best I construction companies, I we won the contract in the buiMing up of aspects of the construction jMium fmci of Hl» M'ljMiT.itie Sulun af Ominj ' Okam-Sti^Mn K«M - k —lambayy I 1 I SHAPOORJI PALLOIMJI & CO- (PVT.) LTD vj^’r ? 5AEK ATMAKATHA THE DASTUR OF KARACHI The life of Dastur Dhalla—XIV Aek Atmakatha is the autobio­ graphy of the late Dr Maneck Nusserwanji Dh^, high priest of the Pakistan Parsis and a religious scholar of world repute. This is the 14th edited and condensed extract from the book, ‘Dastur Dhalla. The Saga of a Soul,’ translated from the original Gujarati by Gool and Behram Rustoniji and published by the Dastur Dliaila Memorial Institute, Karachi. ap- res- no ar- The culmination of the move to ap­ point me as a dastur took a whole year. During that period I had given serious thougth to the risks and ponsibilities involved in dasturship. Mobed is a word of deep signifi­ cance but it does not command the same i ' ' which the first batch of K. R. Camaji’s educated priests were known. To a ceriain extent I had already attained some publicity as an ervad. Now I was to become a dastur. Dastur is an elevated position. But _____ , _ _____ , ....v. the word dastur had become cheap and and "earn a smaller income Than ' the commercialized in the community. It dasturs of the first category. was an appelation given to white-tur- " ‘ ¦ baned men and was freely ridiculed. Should any mobed pass by. laymen spending many hours performing joked about him as a jokta, badsha or -----’ ” ’ • • ¦ dastur. He who distributed invitations for a wedding or a navjote was a das­ tur; he who prepared food for ceremo­ nials was also a dastur; the supervisor of some inn in a small village of 12 or ________ 15 Zoroastrians was also a dastur; he' The Anjuraan had decided to also taught little children the alphabet and he was of service to laymen in many small ways. The illiterate and the educated alike _________ ____________ used the word dastur flippantly and cial standing was unstS. the Parsi press also most unconcernedly • - • carried on this confusion of termino­ logy. I was confident that I would be , ____ aWe to raise the status of my piestly beware of the nialady’^ bc^rng plocc Ku QPOAnfin/v T _ _ 1 1 ® I had accept^ the offer. When a rdigious leader selfishly claims his own clientele and makes it h^editary, attempt of the Parsis of Karachi to avail of a dastur failed within four years. Thirty five years later, I was the third probationary candidate. The community has made rangement for the maintenance of das- turs. Some dasturs have their own respect as the term ervad by clientele and are able to earn a good firct kotz-k V o /-< income from the prayers and ceremo­ nials performed for the laity who come within their jurisdiction. Those who are not pimthakies themselves perform marriage ceremonies, navjotes, jaresh- tas, jashans, afringans, and uthamnas 4 I was neither a punthaky dastur nor did I wish to earn a livelihood by ‘ . - ' * ‘ ¦ jcere- mcHiies. 1 did not wish to become a ceremonial dastur. My desire was to be a student of religion. The kind of arrangement that had been made for my maintenance differed from the traditional practice of our community. \ .4 pay me a monthly emolument of Rs 150. It had collected this amount by voluntary monthly or annual donations from members of the community. My finan- ._________ When I had incured my life’s very first debt through the publication of Goolshan-e- Danesh, my uncle had advised me to J a not save myself I i I THE STORY SO FAR Born to a poor dastur family in Surat on 27 August 1875, Dhalla moved with his family to Karachi three years later. He was married to five-year-old Cooverbai when he was eight years old. After failing his matriculation, Dhalla sought employment while educating himself in religious matters. The Parsis of Ko'ochi made arrangetnents for him to study for his masters degree in Iranian languages at Bombay University. While in Bombay, Dhalla came into contact with several prominent Parsis of the tin^, with whose as.sistance he went to New York’s Colutnbia University, There under the guidance of Professor A. V. W. Jakson, a well-known Zoroastrian scholar of the west, Dhatta secured his Ph.D. in 7905. Four years in the west had altered DhalltTs outlook to life and religion. He was now the propagator of new concepts, examining Parsi customs and traditions in a scientific light. Dhalla returned from New __ „aii5- York, an admirer of western culture. iat^ into Guiai^i*the’persian*Farlto On returning to Kafachi. Dhalla "--------- - ---------------- - found plans afoot to establish a seat for a dastur to which he was to be. nominated. class by accepting the dasturship, hence debtor. But I could from this weakness. The allowance I was to receive was not sufficient for the upkeep of my family. Every month I bought books worth Rs 12 or Rs 15. At short inter- decline sets in. " booklets were printed and distri- —¦ ¦" —¦¦I III . ... .... buted gratis. My life of learnnig de- Another reason why I wished to be- manded certain unavoidable expenses, come a dastur was that a life of study To meet these expenses. I had the was very dear to me. Our sacred lite­ rature has suffered many setbacks due ------ ------- ------- e,— — to the scourge of time. There is a great I was able to accept the dasturship of dearth of good literature amongst__ By lectures and be sermons I was eager to render verbal service to my religion, and it was my ardent hope to contri­ bute as much as I could towards the enhancement of Zoroastrian literature. This was not the first attempt at establishing a dasturship at Karachi. In 1848 the community had elected as its high-priest Ervad Fardoonji Beh- ramji Jamaspashana, who had trans- Nama written by the well-known Das­ tur Darab Pahalan. ended within a year. Again in 1871 the Zoroastrian s of Karachi had appointed Ervad Kawasji Jamshedji as their dastur. He belonged ___________ . - ___-_________ to the dastur family of the Shahanshai changes with the times, not many diffi- Atashbehram at Surat. This second culties arise. But if the condition of us. come a dastur was that a life of study To meet these expenses. ~ support of the illustrious family of Tatas. On the strength of this support. ' ” ¦ , - j Karachi. On Amer dads al, 19 th September 1909, my 35th birthday, I was invested with the dasturship of Karachi. On the occasion I delivered a lecture before the assembly. The contents of that talk I compiled into a booklet entitled. Why I accepted the Dasturship and distri­ buted it amongst the memebers of the community, to give an idea of my views at that time upon wl;i^t the duties of a dastur should be: / “When a? community advances in His dasturship education its outlook on certain matters undergoes a change. Similarly, its ide­ as about what the duties of the priest class should be, also alter. Under such circumstances, if thp priestly class also I This second 6I te I I I ? ? false, is able to weed out the unworthy, and the majority of the community has a large majority of the community, leadership people are turning away bring in reforms. Consequently their need is not so keenly felt and respect for them is on the ebb. “People must realize that the duty troduce of a dastur is not the blind guardian­ ship of ancient creeds and customs, nor is it to pamper popular sentiment. lack of prestige, or, possibly, thev fear !' ¦ ¦ . - - the freedom of thought commensurate with their high training. “The Kadmis have not yet been suc­ cessful i young man to accept the leadership of their group. But when a religious leader selfishly claims his own clientele and makes it hereditary, declines sets ii capability, character or quality is not orthodox and to uphold old ideas 1---. .1- • ’ . ' . •. 2 J ---- ' is the only criterion of nomination, leadership. It is not the path oFrighte- ThiQ tinrmfni fj,.. —ousucss prcachcd by Pronhet Zara­ thustra. “The onslaught of education is i„ full force and today’s illiterate will be y«ar a fairly large batch of eduJ which our community can ill afford. It WiUing to is t’ ’ ¦ to check our educated youths from may evoke applause, it may gain cheap the priest class remains as it was and false, is able to weed out the unworthy, times and circumstances. laymen advance on the strength of and the majority of the community has “In our communty the word ‘reform’ their scholarship leaving the priestly not the vision to accept his freedom has become distasteful and unpalatable class behind in the race, then step by c* *i.„_ k- j------ . * ,• ... ' step the feeling of respect for that illi- 1 terate priestly class abate. Thus when profession. sentiments slacken for tHe custodians of religion, then ultimately faith itself falters. “This is the state of affairs of the community at present. When the you­ nger generation notices a lack of res­ pect-and independence in the priestly _ ______ ____ _______ profession they refrain from following necessary to adhere to "the w^hes of that profession. a large majority of the community. “Today highly educated young men Yet, day by day for guidance and do not become priests as they did in ’ • - • days gone by. Many a young, well- educated mobed graduates from our Madressah every year, but all of them turn away from that vocation and not one seems eager to attain the dastur- ship. This may be due to more lucra­ tive outlets in other professions, or the I • \ that they may not be able to enjoy Such an attitude may be simple; it with their high training. renown; but'"it does not'tehove the “The Kadrais have not yet been sue- stature of a dastur who bears upon cessful in persuading any educated his shoulders the responsibility of being wn.m« .K, a true disciple of Zarathustra. Those who are under the impres­ sion that a dastur has no concern with our so-called wuuvaitu in. Thus a custom commences whereby youth, but only to affiliate with the evaluated but the right of succession quite mistaken. This is not true This is harmful to the mobed flock itself. Religion suffers and people lose faith. “Educated youths do not embrace ---------- - „„„ , imicrare pi testhood, as they deem it safer to the enlightened ones tomorrow, remain aloof from this profession for - . . fear of coming into conflict of thought with their uneducated brethren and also because they find that laymen do not distinguish between the work of edu- cated and uneducated priesls and an- fecimiM preciate their services accord!,Iply to “The orthodox members of the_ munity believe that the duty of dastur is only to safeguard zealously age-old customs and traditions. These gentlemen place the precepts of reli­ gion and practice of its rituals on ths same level and firmly declare that these cannot be altered. Such a religiosity has never borne good results anywhere. Among the mahy epuses of the down­ fall of Persia, was ithaf during the Sassanian period our priest class had become less tolerant. Blind bigotry is not the true test of faith and it is im­ proper to evaluate a community’s strength of faith on such findings. “An educated mobed evaluates things in the light of knowledge,, be­ gins to distinguish the true from the of thought, then he does not shoulder According to our religious literature greatest reformist was Prophet Zarathustra himself. His religion was a religion of reform. It was a faith that wiped out false practices from a nation and introduced newer and better ways of living. “if. with the passage of time and of religion has been lost sight of and I __ ---- XIMVV vivpi liJ, IS the duty of a true Zoroastrian the responsibility of such a thankless “Our social history shows that any necessary reforms or changes that have been made have not originated from our leading educated men of religion but from outsiders. Among the many __ ___ reasons why religious men do not take alteration of dynasties? the ttue*spirit a lead in such matters is that it is of religion has been lost sight of and undesirable elements have crept in, it is the duty of a true Zoroastrian to remove such misunderstandings and to > - i — ------- o -----J reforms. These discrepancies religion regarding such might have been bom out of centuries ... - - of ignorance or through contact with different nations. It is a sacred injunc­ tion for a dastur particularly, to in- ’ such sound and necessary reforms. “As a true reformer, a dastur has not to introduce reforms merely for self-aggrandisment or just for the sake of doing something new. His is not the role so much of a destroyer as of a co-ordinator. He should hold before him Zarathushtra’s example of tole­ rance and perseverence. The most important characteristic ...... -------- a religious leader is independence irreligious educated thought. Undeterred by seqning be- .......... . ’tefif, he should not become a pardsite dependent, but be prepared to endure any opposition arising from following the dictates of his own con­ science^_______ Old post cards etc./wanted m Advertiser wishes to buy OLD picture postcards, photographs, cigarette Ibus cards, playing cards, posters, prints. illustrated books, albums and other related material. a dependent, but be prepared following the dictates of his cated boys and girls is drifting away , J - -I — — iv ------ = -J pay top prices for single the twunden duty of a true dastur items or entire collections. “ “ " ’ ' Ptease send, detailed list with Ttie^ Advertiser, (ULD) c/o, Parsiana, G.P.O. Box 892, Bombay 400 001. religion, for which they should be pre­ pared to serve according to changed com- a Gift shopping at its best at the friendly Gift Shop at Bombay Swadeshi Stores Ltd. SirP.M. Road, Bombay 400 001. Tel: 253443/252730 ZOROASTRIAN ARTEFACTS & SILVER PENDANTS AVAILABLE I 1