A tale of two worlds

A "thumping majority” passed the resolution that "the Parsi/Irani Zaratoshti community present here have unanimously decided that the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) should not join the cosmopolitan world body whose membership clause is not restricted to the Parsi/Irani identity.” The vote at Bardoli on February 27, 2005 had a single opponent though there were people who chose not to vote either way. And while it was not put to a vote, there was also a concerted bid to launch a World Alliance of Parsi/Irani Zarathoshtis, in a sort of Parsi replay of Mahatma Gandhi’s salt march to Dandi in defiance of British authority which had begun in Bardoli 75 years ago. The Alliance is sponsored by Rasna kingpin Areez Khambatta to the tune of one crore rupees. "You people are making history. All you adults can become the first members of the Parsi/Irani world body...If our membership is in thousands, we will represent the community,” declared Zoroastrian Studies founder Khojeste Mis­tree.

The Bardoli anjuman may be small but it is a wizard at organizing and catering for large meets. In November 2003 it had hosted the two-day executive council meeting of the FPZAI with remarkable aplomb. Now it welcomed over 1,000 Parsi Irani Zar­athushtis with free bus service and lunch to hear Mistree’s messianic oration. Like an Old Testament prophet Mistree foretold doom for the Parsi/Irani Zarathushtis of India if the FPZAI, led by its foremost constituent the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), joined the proposed International Zoroastrian Organisation (IZO) — the world body of Zarathushtis that has been the com-munity’s holy grail for the past 40 years. The initial suggestion for such a body had been made at the First Zoroastrian World Congress held in Tehran in 1960.

From left: Mistree, Khambatta and Mohta (The organizers refused to provide Parsiana photographs or CDs of the Bardoli event)

"I have not come to create controversy but to inform you soon chaaléch (what’s going on), what the ‘cosmopolitan’ world body is all about...All of it is for paarkom (converts from other communities), not for us,” Mistree told the assembled Zar­athushtis from the mofussil in a mixture of Gujarati and English. The more technical English as well as a power point presentation were translated/interpreted in Gujarati by a lady referred to as Katymai from Ahmedabad for the benefit of the people from the small towns of Gujarat. Although the audience also included members of the community from neighboring Surat and three busloads from Navsari (whose signatures, it seems, were collected on a list) "the grass­roots do not know, do not understand the issues,” noted Bardoli president Jamshed Mohta in his welcome address in Gujarati. Much of what follows in this report is a free translation of the Gujarati utterances.

According to Mistree the draft constitution of the proposed body is flawed because there is "no definition of who is a Zo­roastrian.” Its membership would be open to all who profess the Zoroastrian faith instead of being restricted to Parsi/Irani Zarathushtis. He also believes that the Indian Federation will be sidelined over the years. "People say Khojeste Mistree is doing scare mongering. I am not here to spread fear or to hypnotize people. My position is totally transparent. You decide if what we are saying is positive or negative.”

Describing the IZO with its two arms, WZOI [world body of individuals — a continuation of the present World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO)] and WZOF (world body of federations), Mistree registered distress that both arms would send two representatives each to the IZO even though he estimated the membership of the WZOI at less than 5,000 (which, he claimed, included converts) and of the WZOF as representing 1,16,487 Zoroastrians from the main areas of the world, viz India, Iran, Europe and North Ameri­ca. "Is this fair? What’s the logic? Should we agree? Does it benefit us as a community? They have been working on the draft constitution for so many years. But if the voting is so imbal­anced it is not worth having a world body. The tragedy is that it is done by our people against us. Our population is 96 percent versus the WZO’s four percent. Still the voting is 50/50. The WZO will control the IZO. Where’s the fairness? Have I got the maths wrong? The Yasna, Nirangdin, Vendidad are done here, thanks to the beautiful hospitality of mother India...It means that the WZO will eventually control our community assets...Look at it 20 years hence, for the future. Does it not show marginaliza­tion?” he asked. "Aapri vasti, aapro dha­ram, aapraa makaano (our numbers, our religion, our properties). Yet the converts will tell us what to do!” he added.

Mistree did not explain that the IZO is merely an umbrella bridging two disparate organizations involved in clearly demar­cated areas of activity, that it has no policy making power and that it has been evolved in response to a passionate Zarathushti desire to have one, not two world bodies. Instead he panned the Parsi Press: " We have no support from the Parsi media. Parsiana baddhu oodhu lakhéch (presents a false picture), Jam-e-Jamshed says we are brainwashing you. Thank God for the secular press!”

(From left) Dastur, Khambatta, Desai and Vakil: " you cannot change your religion” Photo courtesy Vakil

Moving on to the proposed voting pattern of the WZOF, Mis­tree weighed it in the context of the population estimates he gave of the four areas involved: The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE) with 4,500 people (four percent of the total number involved) enjoys a voting right of 16 percent; the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) with a popula­tion of 15,168 (13 percent) has 24 percent of the vote; Iran with 27,500 people (24 percent) has 25 percent of the vote; India with 69,601 population (59 percent) has 35 percent of the vote.

"How can our leaders agree to this? We are marginalized, sidelined. Our power base will yield nothing. Our wealth of crores in India...We are the richest, largest Parsi/Irani pocket in the world... Dharamno savaal chè (it is a question of religion). Our leaders are sethias, a law unto themselves...They are not answering straight; they just say ‘We know what we are doing.’...But now we will question them all the time, with your support...

"The world body accepts anybody professing the Zoroastrian faith,” continued Mistree and warned, "It is a very dangerous path we are on. Rastaa no maanas kéh ké hoon Jarthosti chhèon (A man from the street can say I am a Zoroastrian). What happens to you and me? To the Parsi/Irani community? What about all the institutions created by our forebears? Not tomorrow, not day after, but 20 years down the line?...Neo-Zoroastrians will rise in geometric proportion 20 years down the line. The membership clause has no mention of Parsi/Irani, there is no definition of who is a Zoroastrian in the constitution. I am not against the idea of a world body, but against the injustice. We have 3,000 years of reet-rivaj (tradition) but they want to sever the Parsi/Irani connection to the religion.”

Conscious of the irony of stating what he did while standing in front of a banner proclaiming "Bardoli Jarthosti Anjuman wel­comes you all,” Mistree hastened to add that there was a time when Parsi and Zarthosti were interchangeable terms ("For 3,000 years Zarthosti étlé Parsi/Irani; Parsi/Irani étlé Zarthosti”), hence many an anjuman had no need to include both nouns, but the influx of converts in the West had made the double-barreled definition necessary from his point of view. By breaking the Parsi/Irani Zarthosti link "they are trying to jettison 3,000 years of tradition,” he maintained, disdaining the fact that the Parsi (as the Indian Zarthosti is known) has been in India for only about 1,300 years.

Mistree said that the West looks upon Zoroastrianism as a "designer religion.” It is attracting converts all over the world, he notes. Ascribing the popularity to the pressures bet­ween religions and countries, Mistree broached the most sensa­tional part of his discourse: "The Oxford University Press’ 2001 publication World Christian Encyclopaedia shows where Zoroastrian converts are to be found. My figures and data is from there. In Iran in 2001 it says there were 1.9 million Zoroastrians; three lakhs in Afghanistan and 10,468 in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It means that 2.2 million converts from the Islamic belt can poten­tially join the world body!” (Mistree later told Parsiana on the telephone that his information was based on a web site report published in Change, the Godrej house journal. Parsiana has not been able to access a copy of the Encylopedia to verify the figures). He castigated the leaders of the Federation: "Tamé aapuné hul aapoch ké aapré baddhu kariéch aapraa Parsi/Irani Zarthosti né kaaran (You are deceiving us by saying you are pursuing the world body for the benefit of Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians). The reason why the world body is being created is so these converts can become members later. They are 22 lakh at present. Can we match them? No! The entire world body is created not for you and me but for the converts. It is a roundabout way to conversion. Ék Mussalman Brazil jai né Pedro né Shahpur banavéch (a Muslim man goes to Brazil to convert a Pedro into a Shah­pur). Conversions are going on in black Africa; in Sweden, Russia they are coming out of the woodwork. They can become members of the WZOI. Later, when there are enough of them they can form associations and become members of the WZOF. Can’t we read between the lines?”

Claiming that he had shown the draft constitution to leading Indian and international lawyers including a friend in the UK who is a Queen’s Counsel, Mistree said they had all endorsed his fears that "the constitution does not in any way protect our majority and our position.”

Then, playing the demography card, Mistree went on to enum­erate the Parsi/Irani population in other parts of the world in addition to the four main regions: 2,200 in Australia, 1,071 in New Zealand, 194 in Hong Kong, 150 in Singapore, 1,182 in the Emi­rates, 15 in Malaysia, 2,150 in Pakistan, 250 in Africa, arriving at what he called "the most accurate figure of 1,25,000 in round terms...They are yelling from the rooftops that the Parsi popula­tion is declining. Was it much higher 100 years ago? No. A 100 years ago it was less than 1,25,000 globally.” The spea­ker maintained that talk of a low birth rate had only one reason: "They want to convert. If you want the community to increase in numbers you have to increase fertility...With 2.2 million con­verts we will account for only five percent (of the Zoroastrian population).” Mistree presented slides of navjote ceremonies performed by Ervad Kamran Jamshidi in Europe which had featured in a past issue of Hamazor, the publication of the WZO, as proof of their membership of the WZO.

Mistree described the community attitude: "Javaa deo, kahan controversy maa pariyé. Dadar Hormuzd samaali lésé (Let it be, why get involved in the controversy, Dadar Ahura Mazda will take care of everything),” adding, "We can’t afford to be complacent; God helps those who help themselves.”

Many of these points were repeated with varying emphasis. "Isn’t it ironical that I want to strengthen the hands of the Indian leadership yet they are giving us dago (being treacherous)? Isn’t it strange Ahriman kévi rité goosi gayoch (how the devil has wormed his way in)?” Mistree asked rhetorical­ly. Reiterating that converts can be members of the WZOI and of the WZOF if they form a federation, he took a swipe at his bête noire Ali Jafarey, founder of the California based Zara­thushtrian Assembly, and his "conversion natak (farce)... converting people for money all over the world,” and tried to instill some fear based hyster­ia in the simple country folk who listened to him by adding that Jafarey’s Spenta University is in our backyard, in Poona. "I have come here only to save the religion...it is better we remain few but pure...Pro rata we are the richest community in the world...

"WZOI will accept all Zoroastrians as office bearers. (The WZO has stated it will have only Parsi/Irani office bearers for the first 10 years.) I am not happy to criticize anyone involved in this but it is my duty as a Parsi Zoroastrian,” stated Mistree and challenged the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly: "Why is the Jam-e-Jamshed not analyzing the constitution? Why are they (the Parsi media) not opposing me point by point? Because they know that what I’m saying is the truth and the truth is bitter to them.”

Mistree insisted that among the member associations of FEZANA are those who have converts as members, citing the example of the Washington body. "We cannot tell local associations how to work. But when you institutionalize a world body, you legitimize them. The office bearers will only be Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians according to our leaders? Absolute nonsense! It is not tenable in law. A convert can be head of the world body in future. Is this the legacy we want to leave to our children?”

Referring to an interview of Federation president and BPP chairman Minoo Shroff by Sarosh Daruwalla published in the Jamé (November 7, 2004) Mistree said Shroff had been pointedly asked and had steadily denied that the world body would include converts. Mistree now asked, "How can he say this? On what authority?” Shroff had added that there are enough safeguards so that this would not happen but Mistree questioned the accuracy of the chairman’s statement and returned to the attack against the media: "Our community media is totally biased, keeping you in the dark. Don’t take it lying down. If you think what we are saying is worthy, write to the media so they know that our silent majority is strong. What does the media think? That those who support me are my chamchaas (toadies)? I don’t even know their names. Aapré baddha choost Mazdayasni Zarthosti chhaiyé (All of us are pure Mazdayasni Zarthostis). That is what the media won’t be able to break.”

Referring to a clause in the draft WZOF constitution which includes defunct anjuman properties within its purview, Mistree took umbrage: "All our institutions are for Parsi/Irani Zoroast­rians yet the cosmopolitan world body is talking of defunct anjumans!” He did not mention that such properties may exist in Iran, Burma, China and even an old aramgah in Germany, apart from the many that exist in India. Instead he took the FPZAI to task for considering the Mt Abu anjuman as defunct, because he be­lieves 25 Zarathostis exist there."We will challenge them at each Federation meeting,” he promised. "The Poona, Surat trustees can question them. Our mobeds should also oppose (the world body). Make them realize we are not buddhus (fools). Our religion can’t be bought.”

Maintaining that Zoroastrianism cannot survive without the Parsi/Irani ethnic link, Mistree stated, "Zoroastrianism has never survived outside the culture of the Iranian people. Zo­roastrians went everywhere but the religion was lost in all cases except that of the Parsis in India.” He said he was happy that "49 of the roughly 56 functioning anjumans have supported us despite the hamla (attack) of the media.” He visualized the "solid majority” support of Poona, Surat and Ahmedabad in the tussle with the Federation leadership and, as is his wont, dragged in a distorted version of the issue of the replacement of the Delhi Parsi Anjuman by the Delhi Parsi Anjuman Trust as Federation member in 1978 (see "World body stymied,” Parsiana, January 2005 for details). According to Mistree, "Delhi na sethiao aapra oopper daadaagiri kariné jaayéch (The lords from Delhi bully us and go). The time has come when you, when we, have to say enough is enough. Aapro dharam (our religion) is not negotiable.” Yet Mistree maintained, he was "offer­ing a hand of friendship to the BPP. Let us work together.”

A meeting had been organized at his residence on January 16, 2005 to discuss the course of action, Mistree told the assembled gathering. He said that at the three-hour discussions attended by trustees of various anjumans including Poona, Nagpur and Ahmeda­bad’s Khambatta as well as the two senior High Priests Dasturs (Drs) Kaikhusroo JamaspAsa and Firoze Kotwal, it was decided to set up a world body of Parsi/Irani Zarathustis which would define clearly, as per the FPZAI constitution, who could be a member. "We told the High Priests that if you think the world body of Parsi/Irani Zarathushtis nahi thavu joiyé (should not be formed), then the matter ends, meeting closed. If you say we should do it, we want your blessings.” Mistree told the gathering that "Kotwal gave 100 percent support. I am sure the feeling is shared by the Surat Dasturji (Cyrus Noshirwan Dastur who was sharing the dais at Bardoli that morning).” Mistree made no re­ference to the opinion of Dastur JamaspAsa who had later told Parsiana in a telephonic chat that he was not in favor of either world body (see "World Zoroastrian orthodoxy?” Parsiana, February 2005).

After Yazdi Desai had read the resolution and the hand vote had been duly recorded on video, Khambatta, in his rambling, bilingual speech criticized the Federation leadership for for­warding the memorandum of disagreement presented by 24 individu­als, ostensibly on behalf of their anjumans, to the negotiators from FEZANA, ZTFE and WZO as "a waste of time (because) with hundreds of mixed marriages and converts, they will never agree. É tau aapuné bhulaava maagech (It is an attempt to make us forget).” Calling himself "blunt” and referring to the Federation leaders as " puppets because they behave like one,” Khambatta said, "If seven High Priests have written against the world body, all this is not necessary.” He stated that he never starts his day without praying the Khorshed, Mehr and Atash Niyesh. Describing himself as "sikhélo bhanélo, hoshyaar, chaalaak (educated, intelligent, astute),” he nonetheless claimed he never understood the danger of the "cosmopolitan” world body until Hushang Vakil of Dahanu showed him the literature. "I was a novice in the Fed­eration.” Reiterating his implicit faith in the High Priests, he said, "If my Vada Dasturjis say hamnaa raat chè tau I will agree hamnaa raat chè (If my high priests say it is night time right now, I will agree).”

To Khambatta mixed marriages are a "fad.” He was all for forming a world body of Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians in Bombay. He countered a suggestion from the floor to base it in Surat, main­taining that the larger community is in Bombay. "It will help Bombayites in business, professions, jobs. Everyone has respect for Parsis. It helps me in business,” he said, interspersing the history of Cyrus’ conquest of Babylon and the liberation of the Jews, who with Persian help rebuilt their temple. "We must know how to command respect. If you give respect, you get respect. Broad-mindedness is more profitable. We must not be narrow-mind­ed.” He urged Mistree to proceed with the formation of the Al­liance without further waste of time and pledged one crore rupees towards it on behalf of his wife Persis and himself. Telling the audience how he had helped the Federation of Zoroastrian Youth Associations of India with the initial one lakh rupee donation and advice to collect a five lakh rupee corpus, Khambatta now suggested that the Alliance to be formed collect a corpus of five crores.

Khambatta spoke of his successful career in the Home Guards and his various jousts with international food giants like Coca Cola and General Foods’ Tang — an international precursor of Rasna — demonstrating only a tenuous connection with the matter at hand. Claiming "We businessmen are our own solicitors,” Kham­batta said. "Why go to London to draft the constitution? We have the best lawyers. There are solicitors galore in the BPP! We are second class citizens in UK.” With lunch (catered by Khushru Kasad of Surat) on peoples’ mind, Khambatta noted matter-of-factly, "People are dri­fting away; I will have to make it short” and appealed, unsuc­cessfully, to them to stay.

In his welcome address Mohta noted, "Our problems are creat­ed by us... Khojeste has shown us what ‘professed Zoroastrians’ means.” Voicing his disapproval at the "khichree (mess) of a cosmopoli­tan world body,” he said, "If you open the floodgates you will have all kinds of names like Jalilluddin and Narottambhai... A lot of journalists are telling us to save the religion. Unfor­tunately, journalists from my community have not come despite our invitation.” He said he was pained by the Jame’s write-up that morning. Jame’s editorial comment had noted, "The purpose of the bash is to brainwash the simple Zoroastrians of the hinterland of Gujarat into believing that by creating a world body of Zoroast­rians, the religion will be imperiled and a mass exodus of con­verts will descend on our holy places...We are sure there will be a good turnout, what with free transport, and free meals being thrown in to lure the poor unsuspecting Zoroastrians of the hinterland of Gujarat. The real test would indeed be to see a turnout where no perks such as free transport and free meals would be offered.”

A very welcome congratulatory message couched in shuddh (pure) Gujarati from the state’s chief minister Narendra Modi was read out by Bardoli anjuman secretary Pervez Mehta. After a short benediction Surat High Priest Cyrus Dastur told the audience, "Just as you cannot change your parents, you cannot change your religion.” According to him Zarathushtra improved the decaying Mazdayasni religion through the institution of the Vendidad and ascribed the Prophet’s injunction to spread the religion in the seven regions of the world to mistranslation: "Soodhaarvaané badlé vatlaavaanu translate kidhu (‘to improve’ was translated as ‘to convert’) by mistake. If a man is not loyal to his own reli­gion, how will he be loyal to Zoroastrianism?” he asked and prayed that juddin navjotes and weddings are eliminated from the community. He also recited a long poem with the recurring theme "Jéna kammar par sadro kusti, té kharo Jarthosti (only he who wears a sadra and kusti is a true Zarathushti).”

The post-lunch question-answer session seemed to have re­mained in limbo. The Parsi anthem, Chhaiyé Hamé Zara­thushti had been played almost immediately after Khambatta’s one crore rupee announcement and the ensuing three cheers for the Khambatta family. The buses left immediately after lunch and so did some of Parsiana’s sources of information. Despite repeated requests, the organizing committee of the meet refused to part with an authenticated video though the Bardoli anjuman had initially agreed to provide the material. Democracy, though professed, can sometimes get skewed.