99.9% common genes

According to some religious scholars the holy Vendidad states that bunak pasbani meaning preservation and purification of bunak — the seed of sperm tokham will be adversely affected by mixed marriages. It is also stated that during a man’s life the bunak contains 40,000 nar seeds, while actually the adult male’s semen contains 50 million sperms per dl and any quantity less than two million will most probably cause infertility in the males. It is also stated that all religions have three khao, whatever that means, while a Zoroastrian has four khaos. These teachings may have had relevance in older times when precious little knowledge, understanding and information were available in the scientific knowledge and application of one of the most complex and still less understood subject of genetics. The present available information has thrown light on our knowledge of the role of genes in causing different diseases and the trait observed in different human beings.

A very concentrated effort was made to ascertain the location of these genes on the chromosomes and to find out how hereditary traits like color of eyes, skin, hair, etc and diseases are transmitted from one generation to another. To reach this goal, an international project, named Human Genome Project, situated at Human Genome Research Institute at Bethesda, Maryland, USA was instituted in 1990. After intensive research, for 10 years by 3,000 scientists at a cost of three billion US dollars, Celera and Sue Meyer announced successful mapping of 50,000 to 100,000 genes on the 23 pairs of chromosomes (in each cell of a human body) which regulate the hereditary traits of an individual.

The research shows that 99.9 percent of the genes are common to all in a given species and have no molecular support for race discrimination. It is therefore not correct to assume that our Parsi community has any specific tokham. What makes a Parsi a lovable Bawaji, is his love for good food, sense of humor, fair play and honesty in his dealings, etc, qualities which have been endowed by virtue of upbringing and environment. A child whose parents are well-known pianists need not become a good pianist unless a suitable environment is created by purchase of a good piano, taking music lessons and putting in long hours of practice. Of course, the inherited trait for music is there but it cannot be achieved without adequate exposure to a proper environment.

Most of us may have knowledge about our ancestry up to perhaps a great-great-grandparent but our ancestry as a human race goes beyond 60,000 years and during the creation of several generations different characteristics may have been inserted by the process of mutation or exposure to different environments.

It has been a well accepted fact that certain diseases are more common in some communities than the others. This is due to the coming together of two "recessive genes” (alleles), from each of the parent, which up to now were remaining dormant. This becomes more evident in excessive inbreeding within the same species, more particularly consanguineous unions. It is an accepted fact that the incidence of certain diseases like breast cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, etc, is relatively more in our community than in other communities.

The problem facing our community currently is the acceptance of children of mixed marriages into our Zoroastrian faith. Lest I may be misunderstood, let me make it abundantly clear that I do not advocate inter-caste marriages as a way to eugenics or to combat the frightful decline in number in our already depleted community. I, for myself have been happily married to a Parsi Zoroastrian (Dr Gool) and we recently celebrated our golden wedding anniversary. This was made possible as we both belonged to the same caste and religion viz. Parsi-Zoroastrian and had common environment exposure to our profession and the rituals and social customs of our community. Of late there is an alarming proportion (more than 30 percent) of mixed marriages in our community and surprisingly, a fair percentage of these marriages are children from the athornan (priestly) class who have been brought up in an orthodox environment.

The goal of limiting or abolishing inter-caste marriages can never be achieved in light of the present situation of young girls and boys having higher education, independent lifestyles and migration to western countries where inter-community exposure is very much in existence. What we must earnestly try and achieve is to salvage the children of these marriages when either or both the parents have no objection to bringing up their children in the Zoroastrian faith.

It is a sorry state of affairs that even today, we deny inducting a child of a Zoroastrian mother into the Zoroastrian faith, even when the non Zoroastrian father has no objection. Worst still, certain anjumans even deny entry to the agiary and to other religious functions to a child born of a Zoroastrian father and an alien mother, till the navjote is performed. This unreasonable attitude deprives our young children from understanding and appreciating our noble religion during the most formative years of their lives.

Let us hope that in the coming years our community will move with the changed times and not deprive children of mixed marriages from their legitimate aspirations to adopt and practice our noble religion. This will, even in a small measure help to stall the dangerous fall in our numbers to self extinction due to reasons which are now getting beyond our control.

Dr M. D. DISAWALLA

Bangalore