Editorial Viewpoint
The war of the worlds
Tumultuous events in the community's history produce in their wake new institutions and movements. They serve as a cathartic release for pent up community energies. Thus it is not surprising that after the watershed Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India meeting in Ahmedabad last December, a flurry of activity occurred.
The rational minded, moderate Zoroastrians who supported a representative world body found their efforts of over four decades dissipated. The orthodox who subverted the proposed world body were stung by the criticism in the media and elsewhere over the raucous behavior of their supporters at the meeting. Thus surprisingly instead of merely rejoicing over their triumph, the orthodox lobby decided to form a counter federation and world body solely of Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians whose membership will be by virtue of birth.
As Justice Frank C. O. Beaman noted in the Parsi Punchayet case of 1906, "The orthodox Parsi... are prepared to overlook immorality, bastardy - anything but alienage. They are ready to admit any and every Irani Zoroastrian about whose antecedents they cannot possibly know anything. But they will not admit the purest, most blameless foreigner of whose character and conduct they may have the completest assurance. They will admit all the illegitimate children of Parsi parents, begotten of prostitutes or kept-mistresses, but they will not admit the noblest, most exemplary foreigner. Why? Because a foreigner is outside the caste, and caste is an institution into which you must be born. This is not religion, it has nothing to do with religion: it is essentially distinctly irreligious; but it is pure unadulterated Oriental caste."
Forming a world body is a fairly simple exercise. Collect half a dozen people, call yourself a world body, print some letterheads and visiting cards, maybe create a website and periodically issue directives and fatwas. And if you feel people are not taking you seriously enough call a meeting at the Framjee Cowasjee Hall and attack all your adversaries, real or imagined.
Perhaps the orthodox should take a leaf from the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO). When it was first mooted around 1980 by the office bearers of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), they found few takers. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet turned down an invitation to join and questions were raised as to who the U.K. Zoroastrians thought they were to form a world body.
Pressured by the Iranian Zoroastrians to create a global organization to assist their co-religionists wishing to flee persecution from the Ayatollah Khomeini regime and spurned by other overseas associations, the ZTFE office bearers formed a world body of individuals instead of anjumans.
And in that genesis lay the major hurdle for the future legitimacy of the WZO. How would they enroll federations and associations when an individual member's vote would be the same as say that of the BPP? (Ironically we see the same anomaly in the Federation where the combined vote of say Panchgani, Belgaum, Khergam, Mahuva, Solapur and Suvali which represent under 200 Parsis would be greater than that of the BPP which represents 46,000 pure bred Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians and has five votes.)
Over the years Shahpur Captain and his WZO team visited India, attended Federation meetings and put forth their case.
At first they were not taken seriously. People questioned their credentials, their membership numbers, assets and so on. But over time and through substantial legwork and social service, especially in the villages of Gujarat, WZO was catapulted to the forefront at times even eclipsing the punchayets of Bombay and Surat. It could no longer be ignored. WZO members in the Federations in North America and in India stymied any effort to create a parallel world body.
Faced with the inevitable, both the Federations and WZO climbed down from their previous positions and a
The rational minded, moderate Zoroastrians who supported a representative world body found their efforts of over four decades dissipated. The orthodox who subverted the proposed world body were stung by the criticism in the media and elsewhere over the raucous behavior of their supporters at the meeting. Thus surprisingly instead of merely rejoicing over their triumph, the orthodox lobby decided to form a counter federation and world body solely of Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians whose membership will be by virtue of birth.
As Justice Frank C. O. Beaman noted in the Parsi Punchayet case of 1906, "The orthodox Parsi... are prepared to overlook immorality, bastardy - anything but alienage. They are ready to admit any and every Irani Zoroastrian about whose antecedents they cannot possibly know anything. But they will not admit the purest, most blameless foreigner of whose character and conduct they may have the completest assurance. They will admit all the illegitimate children of Parsi parents, begotten of prostitutes or kept-mistresses, but they will not admit the noblest, most exemplary foreigner. Why? Because a foreigner is outside the caste, and caste is an institution into which you must be born. This is not religion, it has nothing to do with religion: it is essentially distinctly irreligious; but it is pure unadulterated Oriental caste."
Forming a world body is a fairly simple exercise. Collect half a dozen people, call yourself a world body, print some letterheads and visiting cards, maybe create a website and periodically issue directives and fatwas. And if you feel people are not taking you seriously enough call a meeting at the Framjee Cowasjee Hall and attack all your adversaries, real or imagined.
Perhaps the orthodox should take a leaf from the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO). When it was first mooted around 1980 by the office bearers of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), they found few takers. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet turned down an invitation to join and questions were raised as to who the U.K. Zoroastrians thought they were to form a world body.
Pressured by the Iranian Zoroastrians to create a global organization to assist their co-religionists wishing to flee persecution from the Ayatollah Khomeini regime and spurned by other overseas associations, the ZTFE office bearers formed a world body of individuals instead of anjumans.
And in that genesis lay the major hurdle for the future legitimacy of the WZO. How would they enroll federations and associations when an individual member's vote would be the same as say that of the BPP? (Ironically we see the same anomaly in the Federation where the combined vote of say Panchgani, Belgaum, Khergam, Mahuva, Solapur and Suvali which represent under 200 Parsis would be greater than that of the BPP which represents 46,000 pure bred Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians and has five votes.)
Over the years Shahpur Captain and his WZO team visited India, attended Federation meetings and put forth their case.
At first they were not taken seriously. People questioned their credentials, their membership numbers, assets and so on. But over time and through substantial legwork and social service, especially in the villages of Gujarat, WZO was catapulted to the forefront at times even eclipsing the punchayets of Bombay and Surat. It could no longer be ignored. WZO members in the Federations in North America and in India stymied any effort to create a parallel world body.
Faced with the inevitable, both the Federations and WZO climbed down from their previous positions and a
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