Pure Zoroastrians?

For a miniscule community, we Parsis have an awful lot of grand sounding "world” organizations. The latest manifestation, WAPIZ (World Association of Parochial Indian Zarathushtis) has been making holier-than-thou pronouncements that theirs is the "only true way,” to wit, if you aren’t born into the faith, you don’t belong.

I would like to ask these so-called "defenders of the faith” clamoring to proclaim their "purity,” to point out a single passage in the Zoroastrian holy books which forbids conversion. And what "pure” strain of Zoroastrianism are they talking about anyway? The one where, on auspicious occasions, a coconut is passed seven times over an individual’s head or vermilion is applied to the forehead or rangoli (chalk) is spread near thresholds? Such practices are unheard of in the birthplace of Zoroaster and are clearly customs borrowed from the Hindu religion. And are they really naïve enough to think that over the centuries that Parsis have settled in India, there has been no intermingling of races? How do they explain the hundreds of dark-skinned Parsis, particularly in the hinterland of Gujarat? A self-styled "apostle” stated that the aim of WAPIZ is to encourage Parsis to rediscover their roots. By all means do so, but an objective study may not throw up the results so dear to these "custodians” of the religion.

There was even an eminent tax expert and apparent historian who proclaimed that throughout history Zoroastrian kings had never converted people from other religions. I am no expert, but I believe that at its height, the Persian Empire under Darius II stretched from Eastern Europe up to present day Afghanistan, and Zoroastrianism or the Mazdayasni religion was the state religion. You can draw your own conclusions.

In short, centuries of Parsi domicile in India has resulted in a certain degree of assimilation with the people and customs of the host country. This is inevitable, even necessary and the way of all civilizations. It is certainly not the evil it is portrayed to be. All other communities in the country have maintained their distinct identities without resorting to closed-door policies. I am a Parsi and proud to be one, but I would feel affronted to be told that the only way I can preserve my identity is by shutting everyone else out.

FIROZE HIRJIKAKA