Parliamentary mention

"The Parsi community is facing very serious demographic problems and may vanish entirely in the next few decades,” the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Tarlochan Singh cited Prof Ashish Bose’s report to express his concerns at the Rajya Sabha, according to a synopsis of the proceedings of August 1, 2005, forwarded to Parsiana by Lt Gen Adi Sethna, Zoroas­trian representative on the NCM. Singh further added, the "NCM has already recommended that there should be one person from the Parsi community in the list of the nominees of the President of India to the Rajya Sabha and similar provisions be made for them in the legislatures of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The ministry of health also may devote proper attention to the genetic problems of this community and to open pro fertility clinics. The Government of India may make special provision for celebration of the Parsi New Year.”

Parliament House: Parsi nominations?

"This week’s special mention in Parliament, therefore, on the position of the Parsi community ought to provoke all Indians into action,” noted an editorial in The Statesman of August 4, 2005 titled, "Community in peril: Government must address Parsi problems.” The editorial continued, "The Centre must assume responsibility to ensure that governments, especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and to an extent West Bengal where Parsis largely live, take urgent steps to rejuvenate the community…The Parsi contribution to Indian public life has been hugely disproportionate to the size of the community. Be it in business, the legal profession or the armed forces, the community has excelled. To help the community at a time it faces extinction is therefore of paramount importance, not just for its survival but also because India needs the stellar contributions of Parsis… Civilized societies respect their multi-culturalism; indeed they rejoice in ensuring that the smallest of their minorities are able to preserve their identities and thrive.”