Nov 1981

I ¦>- November 1981 Volume4 Number 5 Price Re.1 t Of Trusts and Distrusts “Thicw axe some trusts where the trus ­ tees cannot carry out the work regularly because they don’t meet. In another a corpus of 1.75 lakhs is locked up because the trustees are not willing to noted, “today ’s complex community cany out their responsibilities. Educa ­ tional trusts are paying taxes because the scholarship money is not distrib ­ uted... in 61 such trusts the income dynamic professional people...the most exceeds the expenditure, die excess is 32 important area is economic develop- lakhs. Sixty trusts with a corpus of 2.64 ment of the community, hence as a first crores earn ^n interest of only five per- cem when the mthimum return availa ­ ble is nine percent ..by investing the corpuses of these trusts at only two per­ cent more, an income of 5.28 lakhs can of Publie Trusts Registered under the be generated. ” 1' ( th nt. h IhStilvAe.oml'A xtwmxt iht on October 17 at Bombay ’s Taj Mahal that the information would not be mis­ Hotel. used, Dalal ’s task would be infinitely In his introductory address. Modi simplified, she added. /_____ /______ Jamshed Guzdar, a tnistee of the SEE TABL.E ON PAGE 7 Bombay Parsi Punchayet ¦ comu^nted ------------ : -------------------- —. ....... . that “the ego is the main reason for not problems require the attention of divulging the infortnation. With flattery J •------i-_. T----------------------------------------------- application of reason, the data can be acquired ”, he said. Guzdar assured the gathering that the BPP would extend cooperation. Guzdar also noted that henceforth tory is i^r^accurate than the Dwectory puterized by the BPP to determine the Bombay Public Ti^sts Acts. 1950 Th^e are some of the findings of a Greater Bombay, Bombay Suburban survey of community trusts conducted District Volume One, prepared by the by Hormuzdyar S. Dalal for the Charity Commissioner’s office, Maha- Zoroastrian Commmunity Develop- rashtra. However, he notes, “We must ment Institute (ZCDI) a project of the ^avrashta Foundation founded by Dr. thjnshed Modi and others. ___ _ sThe ZCDI presented the main find- point to various conclusions...butthese of the report ‘What our forefathers must be treated as tentative conclusions or working hypothesis, to be further investigated before they are adopted as true. ” “Dalal had an up hill battle even when collecting the most innocuous, basic, non-confidential information ”, noted Modi. “Despite persistent efforts he has not succeeded in getting informa- tion on the 1,210 trusts of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, ” he said. step we have endeavoured to take stock of our community ’s resources. ” Dalal claims that the Institutes direc- applications for housing would hw comr not jumi) to any hard and fast conclu ­ sions from the figures (arrived at by the study) ...studies of this sort seem to b^ve left for us - A study of Parsi Trusts fl td & d s til Modi: a first step lhe remark triggered off the second session of the seminar, which was a dis­ cussion amongst the hanctfui of trustees of various trusts, present. Trustees inay withhold infoipiation, said Ms Neri^sh Palkhivala, for fear of complication and consequences. W the most worthy candidate. Also all spven trustees would now be on the hou^g A. detailed report of the project covlr- committee tI»t^Uocates flats. ing 566 trusts in MalM^^i^tra excluding the 5(M) Baj-Rojgar trusts, b available in four typed volumes a| t^ Institutes office at Bisni Building, Na^bhai lane. Flora Fountain, Bombay 46^23. The Institute is considering compu ­ terization of the data gat^red by Dalal. )Btai: minbmm retvums l‘^t 7 THeFfwsi orsi Petit vs Jeejeebhoy II The Evidence of Soonabai f ' THE JUDGEMENT SO FAR In 1903. R D. Tata married according both non-Zoroastrian parents —who to Parsi rites, a French lady, after having her navjote performed. Tata claimed his wife “had become a Institution. His salary is now Rs. 140. Twenty odd years ago, it was possibly The Plaintiffs attempted to prove that- there was, at least, one instance known of an entire alien —a person born of smaller. He is burdened with a family of his own, but that does not deter him. He not only takes this little parentless / was admitted into the Zoroastrian faith and enjoyed all the rights and privileges Hindu waif, but he suddenly develops a of a born Zoroastrian. They called five Parsiprofessing the Zoroastrian religion witnesses to prove this one instance. wealth of affection for the child. He admits treating her as his own daughter. They examined Soonabai, a girl alleged He brings her up with his own children, to be born of Hindu father and mother ; e------ -------------------------- and consequently she was entitled to .. participate in all the charitable to be born of Hindu father and mother ; dresses her as his own children, teaches and religious Funds and Institutions of they called her husband Byramji; they her Gujerati and the prayers of his own “ ” " ' religion, and gets her to be admitted into the Zoroastrian faith by having her Navjote ceremtmy performed with that of his own children. The child is given a performed her marriage ; and lastly they Parsi name and is trained to address called Dhunjishaw Motabhai Vakil, the him with the affectionate appellation of gentleman who was supposed to have bawaji (father). His disinterested benev- taken the Hindu girl when she was 3 or 4 olence does not end here. He knew there and brought her up and converted her were two Parvara families at Surat. He to Zoroastrianism. This witness Dhun­ jishaw is an Hospital Assistant, in the the Parsis ” including the right to enter fire temples and have her body consigned to the Towers of Silence. Thus the scene was set for the historic court case o/Petit vs Jeejeebhoy, also known as “The Parsi Punchayet Case.” The question before the two judges of the Bombay High Court, Justice Beaman and Justice Daver, was whether a person born in another faith but converted to Zoroastrianism was entitled to the benefits of certain community trusts. The Plaintiffs (Sir Dinsha Manockji Petit, Tata and others) contended Zoroastrianism enjoins and practices conversion and that converts are entitled to all the benefits provided. The Defendants (Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy and others) while admitting that Zoroastrianism permits conversion state that “ever since their (Parsis) advent into India (they) have not admitted a Juddin (person belonging to another religion) into their fold. They admit, however, that children bom of a Zoroastrian father by an alien mother have been allowed to come into their fold by the performance of the Navjote ceremony. ” The Plaintiffs called certain witness’ to give some concrete instances of conversion of Juddins to Zoroastrianism. Daver in the part of the judgement printed in the last issue of Parsiana discredited the evidence presented by the first witnesses. called Furdoonji Hotelwalla, who arranged for her marriage wnth his wife’s brother Byramji; they called Nowroji Lalina, one of the priests who knew one Furdoonji, who belonged to one of these two families. He calls him service of the Nawab of Cambay, get- all the way to Cambay from Surat, and ting only Rs. 140 a month. He has been asks him to find a suitable husband for in such service for sixteen years. Before this girl, who had by then grown up. that he was in charge of a hospital for five years in the Junagadh State. He Furdoonji arranges for the marriage of _ this girl with his wife’s brother Byramji. says, while he was at Junagadh, a Bawa The marriage is celebrated at the came to the hospital suffering from expense of Dhunjishaw, who gives the cough and fever. He was accompanied bride a small dowry and she is now by his daughter 3 or 4 years old. Her name was Sunder. The Bawa told him that his wife had died on the way to Junagadh. The Bawa died in the hospi- settled in life at Surat. Dhunjishaw was by no means a trut ful witness. He was confronted with h ____„___ . own letters, written to Mr. SheriarjiBha tai, and the hospital peon reported to rucha and Mr. Jiwanji Mody. They ar him that there was no one to take care of not straightforward letters, and contaij the child and it was crying. Dhunjishaw a statement about the child ’s father an* says he gave orders that she should be niother dying of cholera, which does n< made over to some man of the Hindu religion who would be willing to take charge of her. Then we have the astounding statement that, in a city like His whole conduct towards this girl So^ Junagadh, “none such was found,”with nabai, every action of his in connectio the result that he took pity upon her and with her, all the proved cireumstanct kept her in his own house. ............... * This charitable gentleman under- harmonise with his evidence in this cas He made an untruthful statement aboi the reply he got from Mr. Jiwanji Mod’ relating to this girl’s life, point to h4 being something a great deal more takes the burden of taking over the child Dhunjishaw than Dhuiyishaw is willing 01 a wandering Hindu Bawa, because no to admit. It is most difficult to believt Hihdu was found who would either take that a Parsi living away from his t^tivf her or put her in some charitable Hindu place, in a Native State, by no means ii ( 2r Would the Hindu Mahajan of Junagadh allow the child of a Hindu Bawa to be brought up in a Parsi house ? tn > r affluent circumstances, should deliber­ ately impose upon himself the burden of bringing up th^hild of a man who casu ­ ally turns up in his hospital and dies. Surely there must have been plenty of Charitable Institutions and numbers of Hindus at Junagadh willing to rescue the child of a Bawa from want or starva- ____ _____ _ tion ! Would the Hindu Mahajan of think that I ought Junagadh allow a child of a Hindu Bawa to be brought up in a Parsi house and make no effort to rescue it from alien hands. Soonabai herself says she has a recol ­ lection that before going to Dhunji- shaw ’s house she used to live in the vicinity of his dispensary at Junagadh. was living. This contradicts Dhunji- shaw ’s story about the sick father bring­ ing the child with him to the hospital. I am inclined to believe that this woman ’s recollection is correct. She probably lived with her mother in the vicinity of Dhunjishaw ’s dispensary, where Dhun- people do that. People worth lacs of rupees are in the habit of doing this. Even if they have their wives they still keep mistresses. ... For the last forty visited the Kadmi Atash Behram. years, I have been settled at Surat. It has been a very common thing during the time I have been at Surat for rich Parsis to keep Dubri women as mistresses. ” I _ t not to pass on to the and after I came to Bombay this time. .. On the Hamkara of Ardibehesht, I visited two Fire Temples, and next day I One of the questions before the Court is the right of a converted Judd in to enter Atash Behrams and Agiaries. That right is claimed in this suit in con ­ nection with a very modest Institution, .• This woman, according to the Plaintiffs, is wholly a . - — — non—Zoroastrian parents. This woman is made deliber­ ately to visit all the three Atash Behrams in Bombay in the course of two days poena to give evidence in this case, and then the Plaintiffs instruct their Counsel to examine the woman on her visits. That right is claimed in this suit in con- consideration of other evidence without the Godavra Agiary. noticing certain incidents which Soona- ____ bai has deposed to, incidents which, if Juddin, born of both true —and I have no doubt they are true —reflect no credit on the Plaintiffs ’ case. This woman Soonabai is a per- ]........................... .. years of age. ’The last time she was in manent resident of Surat now. She is 25 after she came to Bombay under a sub- vears nF lact firviA cHa ««« _ ____ . She does not remember with whom she Bombay, before she came to give evi- Ti... dence in the case, was when she was 12 __ I IJ ^1 mv Wk/iiiaii vil llCI VISUS. f n bring her Each one of the Plaintiffs must have to Bombay for the purpose of giving known perfectly well that such visits ^idence and put her up m Panday ’s would be regarded by the great bulk of Dharamsalla at Charni Road. In the ’ course of her examination, she said:- “In Bombay I have attended Fire Tern- jishaw kept her mother and visited her. pies. I have been into the Anjuman ’s The witnesses Byramji, Furdoonji, Atash Behram, the newly-built one I Nowroji and Soonabai herself can give have also been to the Wadiaji ’s Atash no evidence as to the origin of this Behram. I have also been to the Kadmi woman. Dhunjishaw alone knows the Atash Behram, near the Railway line The witnesses Byramji, Furdoonji, Atash Behram, the newly-built one I origin of this Behrani. I have also been to the Kadmi truth, and that truth it seems to me is opposite to Panday ’s Dharamsalla that during his residence in the Native where I am States he formed a liaison with some was made to my going in I came to woman who gave birth to this child, he Bombay fifteen days ago. I came in obe- hrAllftnt I. _ ___ J _ 1 »• * no evidence as to the such visits „________; the Parsi community as a sacrilege, if she was an entire alien as they say. They must have known that such visits would wound the feelings of the major portion of the community. They must have known that if any one had known that this woman was born of Juddin parents, as they say she was, she would never have been allowed to ,enter the precincts now staying. No objection of any one of these Fire Temples in- was made to my going in ... I came to spite of the Navjote ceremony being of these Fire Temples, in- bro„gh.Soo„abai„pashisow„daugh: Tu" "" ter, because I believe Soonabai was, as a that I came to Bombay with Dr Dhunii- It wnnld hp a- ¦ u e matter of fact, his own daughter. While shaw when I was a child 19 nr 11 he idle to disguise the fact on Furdoonji’s evidence, I think i 01^X0^ eaXto X till nLwTj: F ” t ’ > »as ever taken to the cXf ™evWeS«t the ‘^e’TwouW have lent their names to the case and they have entrusted the conduct of their case to responsible Solicitors, and their Counsel was deliberately instructed to examine the witness on these visits to the three most sacred Fire Temples in Bombay. I cannot sufficiently express my sense of disapprobation of tactics such as these. dience to a witness r ___ __ was, as a that I came to Bombay with Dr. Dhunii- , . V xU r -- - ---------- —AA > VTOa VVCt ____________ Which throws a flood of light on the Atash Behram then. That explains the conduct of the Plaintiffs in the Atash Behrams that I spoke of going to Surat in search of their evi- " " ’ dence on this head of their case. After stating that his mother, who is still alive and living with him, i woman, he says “It is a common thing in Surat for Parsis to keep alien women as their mistresses. .. . Many people keep Dubris as mistresses at Surat. Even rich ------: were all after I was served with a subpoena is a Kharwa This womau was made to go into the Fire Temples purely for the purpose of creating evidence. 3AEK ATMAKATHA The life of Dastur Dhalla XIX DANCE From the time our forefathers settled in Iran, their contacts with the surround­ ing Semitic races strengthened and, under the influence of their culture, we adopted more of their customs and tra ­ ditions. Living midst the Hindus of Gujarat in India, our men and women used to chant their raas and garbas. Later we 1 'V I J iT composed Parsi garbis and garbas and I 1 l\ZI began to sing those. Our men also hummed the khyals and kalgis of the Muslims when they came to live in our midst. We drew upon the music of both these communities, but we remained distant spectators of their dance and drama. The English brought with them their music, their plays and their dances. For quite some time, we were not lured by any of the three. On all festive occa ­ sions, it was the custom for every com ­ munity to entertain their guests till late at night with songs and dances. Imitat ­ ing the Hindus and the Muslims, the rich of our community also followed this practise. From the beginning of the last cen ­ tury however, a new trend found its way amongst us. When a Viceroy or a Gov­ ernor or a British business magnate was to retire, our wealthy Sethias arranged a farewell function at which, in place of local dancers, a western-style ball was organized. In Bombay the first ball of this kind was given by Sir Jamshedji Jeejibhoy in 1824 to Remington Crawford. In Cal ­ cutta Seth Rustomji Cowasjee Banaji organized • a ball at the inauguration ceremony of his newly-built residence in 1837. After that, ballroom dancing Aek Atmakatha is the autobiography of the late Dr Maneck Nusserwanji Dhalla, hi^ priest of the Pakistan Parsis and a scholar of world repute. This is the. 19th edited and condensed extract freun the book ‘‘Dastur Dhalla - The Saga of a soul” - an English translation by Gool and Bchram Rustomji of the original Gujarati, published by the Dastur Dhalla Memorial Institute, Karachi. 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, fie 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. With the assistance of the Karachi Parsis, Dhalla studied Iranian languages in Bombay and then proceeded to Columbia University in New York, where he was awarded a Ph. D. in 1908. On his return to. India, he was nominated high priest of Karachi Parsis in which capacity he tried to critically evaluate old religious beliefs and customs in the light of his broadened outlook. Dhalla was active in forming a Zoroastrian Conference to study the problems of the community but his efforts met with severe criticism from orthodox groups. The conference floundered on the issue of religious controversy and in 1919 after the seventh session, closed down. Due to their numerical strength and the support of the Press, the orthodox group forged ahead of the reformists. Amid the controversy, the emotionally charged issue of performing the Navjote ceremony of non-Parsis arose, to be followed by controversies over individual rights and community mores. The first ball was given by Sir Jamshedji Jeejibhoy in 1824. became a fashion with the aristocracy. Parsis did not participate in these dan ­ ces because they were unfamiliar with this art; but even the Hindus, for whom dancing had formed a traditional part of their religion and culture, and the Muslims too, did not get involved in it. The reason for this detachment was that the Hindu men and women who esteemed the art of dancing, always per­ formed their distinctive dances individ­ ually, hence these western dances which necessitated the physical contact of the sexes did not meet with their approval. Even in our community formerly a handful of men and women participated in these dances and communal news­ papers branded their deeds as flippant and frivolous. Today in Bombay, Kara ­ chi and other cities, many are constantly enjoying the pleasure. In this respect Karachi seems more advanced than Bombay. Here approximately 200 men and women have taken to dancing. What Bombay has not yet started is already in vogue here and that is the introduction of dancing as part of the entertainment accompanying Navjote 1 and marriage festivities. On the soil that has produced renowned dramatists like Kalidas and Bhavbhuti, our forefathers may have been ardent admirers of the art, but we A handful participated in these dances and communal newspapers branded their deeds as flippant and frivolous. have no reference to their being drawn to dramatization or drama writing. We were attracted to it only towards the middle of the last century. In 1853 Dad- abhoy Navroji and other educated Par ­ sis founded the first dramatic society. They had performed the play ‘Rustom and Sohrab ’ and a farce called ‘Dhanji Garak ’. Kaikhushru Kabraji, the renowned reformist Editor of the ‘Rast Goftar’, founded in 1868 the Victoria Dramatic Society, a commitee of two Hindus and nine Parsis under the presidentship of a Hindu 'sethia‘. Under the auspices of this Society, many Shakespearean plays were enacted in Gujarati. The following year they staged the historical play of ‘Bejon and Manijeh ’ in Persian cos ­ tumes and in a Persian setting. A love for acting increased in the community and under the directorship of Khurshedji Balivala a drama troupe travelled to different parts of India to perform their plays. Outside India, under the patronage of King Thebo it regaled the people of Burma and in 1855 at the time of the ‘Indian and Colonial Exhibition ’ held in London, it per­ formed its plays there with 22 Parsi actors. During the last 75 years we have created talented playwrights and actors who have produced many Persian, his­ torical plays and later some depicting 4Nizam ’s government pays an emolu­ ment to our dasturs. In 1807, Alexander Adams had the death anniversary i I I gifts were offered by ceremony of our respected leader, Dadi- seth, performed at his own expense and gave a dinner to the Parsis that night. On such occasions it was not a ques­ tion of cash but of fostering the friend- contribute the proceeds of some shows to our charitable institutions. There have been instances when they have not on the night of the performance, or at most deducted the expenses, and have generously offered to contribute towards our funds and we have accepted Parsi social life. dress shows were organized under the Until the beginning of the last century patronage of the Commissioner or the song; and folk music composed by the General in aid of the soldiers wounded Hindus and Muslims as well as by in war. Parsi ladies, together with oth- members of our community were ers, took part in these functions. At a chanted by us. Western music had similar public gathering, Parsi ladies When the first AtHShbchrum already found its way into the country had performed before a crowded Sanian WaS established and it had been admitted initially into audience. Yet, only 14 years ago, Zar- ’ Parsi homes. thosti Banu Ma nd al organized a suc- At first only our men-folk knew how cessful communal concert in aid of Parsi the Hindu Raja, to perform upon instruments, but later charities. female education seemed incomplete Upon special request from prominent without the accomplishment of music; leaders of other communities to repeat and so the art of playing and singing was the performance before a cosmopolitan introduced in our families. audience and while arrangements were Since singing and dancing had been in progress, the Karachiites objected to relegated to wognen of low standing in it. Money was refunded to those non- our country, ladies of every community Parsi guests who had purchased tickets ship and good-will of other still performed only before their own for the function. communities. Nearer home, I pointed families and friends. When young girls of respectable out~examples of Hindu and Muslim dra- Our women sang for the first time Hindu families perform before Parsi matic or circus troupes coming to Kara- before a mixed cosmopolitan audience audiences from the Parsi platform of the chi. At times we request them to in 1883. Kaikhushru Kabraji had trans- YMZA itself, the conservatives and lated the National Anthem of‘God Save reformists alike enjoy the performances the Queen’ into Gujarati. Under the and applaud heartily. In spite of this, the Chairmanship of Sir James Ferguson, step that was taken to stop the Banu charged even for the expenses incurred the Governor of Bombay, a grand func- Mandal from acceding to the noble tion had been organized by the various request of performing before respecta- communities. ble members of sister communities was The first concert performed by Parsi not only selfish but tantamount to ladies at the Town Hall in 1887-before degrading the Mandal and the commun- their kind offer with deep gratitude, the Governor of Bombay, Lord Ray and ity in the esteem of other communities, his wife and other prominent ladies and Another excuse that was put forward gentlemen, was also organized by by the leaders of the opposition for pre- Parsis and throw open the least expen- Kabraji. Again in 1894, Mrs. (later venting the performance was that it sive benches to other communities and Lady) Dhanbai Jehangir Readymoney would not be proper for our communal add the income of such shows to our organized a concert at the Town Hall in institutions to receive help from outsid- funds. The exhibition of articles made aid of the Parsi Hospital. Together with ers. by the students of the Technical Classes other Englishmen she personally partic ­ ipated in the singing on that occasion. After that, such concerts were per- valued our self-respect dearly and that entrance plus the sale proceeds of the formed frequently at Bombay, Karachi everyone was equally anxious to see the and qther places. At the end of the century, two Parsi enough to stand on its own resources, ladies had ventured to take up acting as Yet, under such circumstances, just as a profession in Bombay. This gave rise we continue to contribute towards the to a heated controversy which resulted up-keep of other institutions, the gra- founded under the patronage of the at times in opposition against concerts cious acceptance of their assistance at Commissioner’s wife, prepare house­ times is a token of respect and a sign of hold linen which is distributed to the city mutual comradship. hospitals. We willingly accept the share To state that we can always give and that comes to our Maternity Home and never receive sounds arrogant at such our hospital. Through this graceful times. Besides, history tells us that our acceptance, we are cementing the bonds Over and above that, on such occa ­ sions we reserve the highest seats for the institutions to receive help from outsid- After this affair, I delivered two talks of our Girls’ School is open to all at a in reference to it wherein I stated that we nominal entrance fee. The income from articles is credited to the Income community self-supporting and strong Account of our institution. Besides all this, from die time of the last World War, various societies such as the ’Linen League*, which have been At the end of the century, two Parsi ladies had , . , .. 11111V3. iiiavuiy iciiai us mai uui avwputiiuc, wc ttic ixnicnung wic Donas ventured to take up acting as forefathers did not find it improper to of goodwill and friendship in which lies a profession in Bombay. accept assistance from sister communi- our security and our self-esteem. Fifty years ago we never heard of a accept assistance from sister communi ­ ties in their mutual dealings. When they established the first Atashbehram at Parsi beggar. Today, to our disgrace also. In time, Karachi felt the effects of Sanjan, the gifts that were offered by the and dishonour, despite all the help ren- the disturbances at Bombay. The pres- Hindu Raja were gratefully and gladly dered by our own community which ence of non-Parsi leaders in concerts accepted by them. exceeds that given to its poor by any given by Parsi ladies was not uncom ­ mon in Karachi. ciously exempted us from paying tax on and women begging for alms from all During the great World War of 1914 the sandalwood that was consumed in and Sundry on the streets of Bombay. to 1918, various concerts and fancy the Atashbehram at Udvada. The Utopian arrogance will serve no pur­ Balajirao, the Gaikwar, had gra- other community, we find Parsi men ciously exempted us from paying tax on 5 IWhenever some controversial ques- The stage has found a place in society tion is being discussed in Bombay, I since almost 2,000 years and from the lecture upon that subject in Karachi, outset men played the parts of both Thus I talked on the challenge posed by sexes. Even in the West, the custom of society to appropriate individual free- women playing their own roles com- dom. I declared that mankind has freed menced only from the turn of the last itself after years of struggle, from the century. In our country, they made an appearance on the stage as recently as --------:-------------- --------------------------- 50 years ago. The audience applauded. We find Parsi men and but society ’s disapproval of ladies per- f forming in public continued. Women begging foF Meanwhile, at the beginning of this BlmS from all and Sundry On century, there was a move by women of the Streets of Bombay, our community to take up acting as a profession which was crushed by a ' strong wave opposition. A decade bondage of such narrow-minded think- ago it came to light that a highly edu- ing that the state and society are all-in- cated young lady of a respectable family all but the individual is was to make a debut on the stage as an individual lives for the sake of society amateur together with other non-Parsi alone, youths. She was prevented from doing so , ’ ¦ ' strong opposition has abated now. In qualifying my statements, I reminded the audience of the event that had occurred in the community. The darkest chapter in the social life of a community, is the cheapening of its women’s honour through the profession of prostitution. In 1870 when the law regarding contagious diseases was passed, two Parsi women of Bombay applied to the government for a licence to practice prostitution. The feelings of the community were sorely injured and a requisition was made to the Trustees of the Anjuman to take stern action against those women. A meeting of the Samast Anjuman was called at Albless Baug where it was resolved that such women would be not - that the debarred from taking advantage of communal, charitable, institutions dur­ ing their life-time and, in death, their corpses would not be placed in the Tower of Silence. In other words a reso­ lution was passed that was tantamount to the ancient practice of excommunica ­ tion that was exercized by the Pun- chayat against a wrong-doer. Khurshedji Rustomji Cama and ' other reformists protested against this action taken by the Anjuman and the resolution was shelved. For the first time the community realized that it no longer enjoyed the privilege of prevent ­ ing an individual from entering, of his • or her own free will, into the cheapest ’ and lowest of professions. Up-to-date we have succeeded in pre­ venting our women from pursuing act ­ ing as a profession, but it will no longer - -------- ------ .J sur­ render serenely to the changes of time. Two reasons can attract our women towards this profession. One of these is that some who have been born with the * r xu -T r , , * ----------------- natural gift of drama and dance will be signatures of the Zoroastrians of many and h^ve become famous in the art of guided by an irrepressible instinct to , acting. give expression to their hidden talent. The progress of society is dependent under threat of picketing. Such upon the freedom of the individual. Liv- “2 -7---" - ’ ------ ing in an enlightened age, as an edu- This controversy was tinged with a cated community, we are reared on new colour in 1935. The appearance of lessons of freedom oi thought, freedom two Parsi ladies on the screen gave birth to a heated discussion in the commun ­ ity. Vehement protests appeared in the Press. All kinds of efforts were made to nip this new move in the bud. With the mistaken idea that if such activities .iWere forcefully quelled and Community tO tUKC up HCting conquered once and for all, they would aS a profession was never be reborn, some people offered the impracticable suggestion of buying . . over the film at a fantastic price in order WavC of opposition. to save the proprietors of the company --------------------------------------------------- venting our women from pursuing act- from incurring a loss. ; - • - • .©“vi Guided by the quaint conception that that the morality of a woman appearing be possible to do so. It is wise to the intervention of government could on the stage or the screen is endangered, prohibit by law Parsi women appearing I stated that such a fear is not either on the stage or the screen. Bom- unfounded; yet in countries of the West bay was considering sending to the many respectable and talented ladies government a memorandum with the have managed to preserve their honour c ’---- « places. of speech and freedom of conscience. Giving due support to the argument A move by women of our crushed by a strong acting. Gift shopping at its best at Gifts& IWttflSl Bombay Sir P.M. Roa< the friendly Gift Sh(^ at ' Swadeshi Stores Ltd, Road, Bombay 400 001. Tel: 253443/252730 ZOROASTRIAN ARTEFACTS & SILVER PENDANTS AVAILABLE ord post cards etc./wanted Advertiser wishes to buy OLD picture postcards, photographs, cards, playing cards, pastors, prints, illustrated books, albums and other related material. Willing to pay top prices far single items or entire collections. Please send, detailed list with expected prices to The Advertiser, (OLD) C/o. Parsiana, GT.O. Box 892, Bombay 400 OQl. ( f I . i ,6 I)'• Others will be drawn by the pious ideal of earning an honest and independent living through their innate art. Strange and varied are the venues of man ’s capacity to earn through his intel ­ ligence. A Charlie Chaplin or a Greta Garbo or a boxer earns a much larger income than the President of the United States or a Professor Einstein. We can ­ not but relinquish the idea of forcibly debarring women who honestly believe that they will shine out on the screen from taking to that profession. Before we talk about women losing Corpus of their self-respect by joining the profes- ' " sion and thus degrading the commun ­ ity, it is necessary^o ponder calmly over the fact that, as in all communities, all over the world, amongst us also immor­ ality is now not a veiled evil but has made its shameful appearance in public. Our ancient pride that public prosti ­ tution does not exist in the Parsi com ­ munity does not hold ground any more. We have to live in a world of reality, not in a world of dreams and to direct the course of our lives in consonance with the change of times and circumstances. OF TRUSTS AND DISTRUSTS Number of Trusts Corpus in Crores Income in Crores Inoperative Trusts Inoperative Trusts Trusts with Income In Excess of Expenditure Surplus Per Annum in Lakhs Trusts with Corpus Invested at 5% Average Corpus Invested at 5% Average Tal-lnuicaiitiMnui HaM —Bombay J iiil IE R,s Multi- Purpose Trusts 316.00 14.95 2.02 18.00 9.17 Educa­ tional Trusts 133.00 13.08 1.51 6.00 3.82 Medical Trusts 55.00 4.11 1.30 9.00 4.90 27.00 61.00 10.00 14.83 92.00 7.73 .161.00 61.00 24.00 3.07 .0264 .6584 Housing Trusts 62.00 1.15 .1848 8.00 6.57 12.00 3.61 12.00 .0731 Total 566.00 34.01 5.01 41.00 24.46 110.00 58.17 257.00 4.60 ZCDl data on community trusts LET’S BUILD THEM TOGET Whether it's a five-star hotel, a Sultan's Palace, a hospital, a chemical factory, a fertiliser plant or a housing project— we have the expertise and experience—to handle any turn-key construction project anywhere in ths world. Over the last 100 years we have not only pioneered the I construction industry in s our country but spread our I wings to Muscat and the I Middle East—where against competition from the test construction companies, we won the contract i'rtJ MU iia;) f for putting up the Imposing Muscat Palace complex of His Majesty the Sultan of Oman—and completed it in time. The multiplicity of projects carried out by us over several decades has resulted in the building up of ] expertise in numerous aspects of the construction j industry. We proudly offer J this expertise for any J construction project 1 and proposals for joint j ventures would be j welcome. 1 Obwal-aiMMon HoM —Bombev Sulwi afi SHAPOORJI PALLOWJI & CO. (PVT.) LTD f <