Editorial Viewpoint
Tweaking the Punchayet
In the controversy over the formation of a world body one unexpected outcome has been the resurrection of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India as the focal community body in the country.
Up till now many, especially the orthodox, were dismissive of the all-India body, terming the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) instead as the premier or apex community institution. Former BPP trustee Rustom Tirandaz had once gone so far as to say that while the community had the BPP it didn't need a world body. In short the Bombay Punchayet was the world.
But then the orthodox unwittingly propelled the Federation to the forefront. Unable to penetrate into the BPP, they took advantage of the Federation clause that permits anjumans to appoint representatives to the Federation. Rule 6 of the all India body states: "An anjuman being a member of the Federation shall by a resolution of its managing committee or other body or by writing under the hand of its duly authorized attorney, authorize from time to time any one or more persons, being preferably members of such anjuman, as it thinks fit and in such order as it specifies to act as its representatives at any meetings of the Federation. (A liaison member may also likewise depute a duly authorized representative to attend the meetings of the Federation.)"
Thus anjumans that had never bothered to join the Federation, or if members had never bothered to attend the meetings, suddenly appeared on center stage. As a practise the Federation permits non-member anjumans to attend if they so wish. So at the Ahmedabad meeting obscure anjumans with miniscule Parsi populations started to tweak the most powerful punchayet of all, the BPP.
Delegates from Belgaum, Khergam, Mahuva, Suvali and so on not only began to dominate the proceedings and dictate the timetable but disrupted the functioning of the all-India body for half an hour. Never before in the Federation's history had such an occurence taken place and it earned the event international notoriety.
While the disrupters no doubt had the tacit support of the larger punchayets like Ahmedabad and Poona, the fact remains that the unknown anjumans dominated the scene.
So how did it come to pass that the once 'apex' body of the community was reduced to a bystander status and even had to resort to subterfuge to avoid joining the world body (they insisted the leaders of the proposed body would have to be Parsi Zoroastrians, a condition unlikely to be accepted by the foreign associations whose membership includes non-Parsis).
The genesis of the Federation goes back to the 1960s when several prominent Zoroastrians mooted the idea. The BPP was not much in favor of the proposal initially but finally agreed and the body was formed in 1971.
The first interim executive council members were BPP president, Nadirsha Mulla, BPP trustees Lady Hirabai Jehangir, Erach A. Nadirshah, Maneck P. Mistry and B. K. Boman-Behram; Dr Adarbad Irani, president of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman, Maneck J. R. Gheyara, president of the Surat Parsi Panchayat and Shiavax D. Nargolwalla, president, Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA).
As Nargolwalla stated in an interview with Parsiana ("From Delhi with love," December 1973): "The idea for the Federation of Zoroastrian Anjumans was born after the second Zoroastrian Congress had met in Bombay in (1964). It was felt each country should have a national federation and that there should be a World Federation under the United Nations. The Federation in India is representative of about 50 to 60 percent of the anjumans. A number of anjumans have very few members, so it is not possible for them to join... The Federation holds three to four meetings a year, by rotation in Bombay, Delhi, etc. Two to three years were spent in framing the constitution. The DPA took a leading part in this.
"The Parsi Punchayet had a suspicion that they would become a number two body if the<
Up till now many, especially the orthodox, were dismissive of the all-India body, terming the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) instead as the premier or apex community institution. Former BPP trustee Rustom Tirandaz had once gone so far as to say that while the community had the BPP it didn't need a world body. In short the Bombay Punchayet was the world.
But then the orthodox unwittingly propelled the Federation to the forefront. Unable to penetrate into the BPP, they took advantage of the Federation clause that permits anjumans to appoint representatives to the Federation. Rule 6 of the all India body states: "An anjuman being a member of the Federation shall by a resolution of its managing committee or other body or by writing under the hand of its duly authorized attorney, authorize from time to time any one or more persons, being preferably members of such anjuman, as it thinks fit and in such order as it specifies to act as its representatives at any meetings of the Federation. (A liaison member may also likewise depute a duly authorized representative to attend the meetings of the Federation.)"
Thus anjumans that had never bothered to join the Federation, or if members had never bothered to attend the meetings, suddenly appeared on center stage. As a practise the Federation permits non-member anjumans to attend if they so wish. So at the Ahmedabad meeting obscure anjumans with miniscule Parsi populations started to tweak the most powerful punchayet of all, the BPP.
Delegates from Belgaum, Khergam, Mahuva, Suvali and so on not only began to dominate the proceedings and dictate the timetable but disrupted the functioning of the all-India body for half an hour. Never before in the Federation's history had such an occurence taken place and it earned the event international notoriety.
While the disrupters no doubt had the tacit support of the larger punchayets like Ahmedabad and Poona, the fact remains that the unknown anjumans dominated the scene.
So how did it come to pass that the once 'apex' body of the community was reduced to a bystander status and even had to resort to subterfuge to avoid joining the world body (they insisted the leaders of the proposed body would have to be Parsi Zoroastrians, a condition unlikely to be accepted by the foreign associations whose membership includes non-Parsis).
The genesis of the Federation goes back to the 1960s when several prominent Zoroastrians mooted the idea. The BPP was not much in favor of the proposal initially but finally agreed and the body was formed in 1971.
The first interim executive council members were BPP president, Nadirsha Mulla, BPP trustees Lady Hirabai Jehangir, Erach A. Nadirshah, Maneck P. Mistry and B. K. Boman-Behram; Dr Adarbad Irani, president of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman, Maneck J. R. Gheyara, president of the Surat Parsi Panchayat and Shiavax D. Nargolwalla, president, Delhi Parsi Anjuman (DPA).
As Nargolwalla stated in an interview with Parsiana ("From Delhi with love," December 1973): "The idea for the Federation of Zoroastrian Anjumans was born after the second Zoroastrian Congress had met in Bombay in (1964). It was felt each country should have a national federation and that there should be a World Federation under the United Nations. The Federation in India is representative of about 50 to 60 percent of the anjumans. A number of anjumans have very few members, so it is not possible for them to join... The Federation holds three to four meetings a year, by rotation in Bombay, Delhi, etc. Two to three years were spent in framing the constitution. The DPA took a leading part in this.
"The Parsi Punchayet had a suspicion that they would become a number two body if the<
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