Quotes
So they say
"It is fine if a non-Parsi spouse feels the same way about the religion as the Parsi partner and wants to convert. Our prophet converted people to the religion. If Jadhav Rana were alive today, he would have approved of accepting non-Parsi spouses into the religion."
-- Hafeez Contractor, architect, Mumbai Mirror, August 24, 2005
"Oh! She is old, just like me. I could paint her, spruce her up a bit. But what if she gets attractive enough to be stolen? I'd lose a dear companion."
-- Merwan Irani, president of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman referring to his cycle, Mumbai Mirror, February 22, 2006
"In a milestone event in the history of the Western Zarathushti diaspora, the North American Mobeds' Council included exploration of requirements for establishing consecrated places of worship in North America, on its agenda."
-- Behram Pastakia, FEZANA Journal, Fall 2005
"The blood of the world flows through the veins of Americans. We are not a narrow tribe."
-- Herman Melville, 19th-century American author, American Center Bulletin, February 2006
"It is easy to forget that India supplies barely 0.5 percent of world trade and most of its population has borderline education and lives without clean water, primary health care or stable electricity."
-- Brij Khindaria, international affairs columnist, Business India, February 26, 2006
"When have we demonstrated against Saudi Arabia's policy to prevent Christians and Jews from stepping on the soil of Mecca? They may come for rare business trips, but nothing more. As long as Rome welcomes non-Christians and Jerusulem embraces non-Jews, we Muslims have more to protest than cartoons."
-- Irshad Manji, Hindustan Times, February 8, 2006
"These were men of integrity not because they were Parsis, but because integrity was universal at that time. An ICS officer received a salary of about Rs 4,000 a month which in today's terms should be equivalent to rupees three or four lakhs... There was shame attached even to a whisper of corruption... It was an 'age denoted by simplicity, austerity and economy'..."
-- K. F. Rustamji and Jamsheed Kanga, being quoted by writer Cyrus Mistry in his review of Enduring Legacy, Sunday Hindustan Times, February 12, 2006
"No one, including myself, believed that I could carry off a dhoti and the Sanskrit shlokas. But I did: I'm proud to be part of a film like Water."
-- John Abraham (whose mother is a Parsi), actor, Mumbai Mirror, February 16, 2006
"The crying need of the hour is to preserve that spirit of tolerance in all religious communities which is a must for creating an atmosphere conducive to mutual trust and understanding so essential to the welfare of our multi-religious, multi-cultural nation."
-- Soli J. Sorabjee, former attorney general of India, The Indian Express, February 18, 2006
"Indians coming back to India really go through a cultural shock. They give up a lot in terms of the quality of life, the education of their children, the availability of medical facilities. This will also have an impact when we want to hire people who are not Indians, as we will have to do in a world without boundaries. Even if we start only with pockets of the country and make those pockets less of a cultural shock, the benefits will spread."
-- Ratan N. Tata, chairman, Tata Group, Print Bulletin, January 10, 2006
"I congratulate the Danish government for standing firm, insisting that its media have freedom, and refusing to apologise. Somebody has to stand up for basic freedom."
-- Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, referring to the publication of cartoons in Danish newspapers depicting Prophet Mohammed, The Times of India, February 12, 2006
"There's nothing wrong with being rich. And getting richer. But what I feel is that the rich should also take care of the
-- Hafeez Contractor, architect, Mumbai Mirror, August 24, 2005
"Oh! She is old, just like me. I could paint her, spruce her up a bit. But what if she gets attractive enough to be stolen? I'd lose a dear companion."
-- Merwan Irani, president of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman referring to his cycle, Mumbai Mirror, February 22, 2006
"In a milestone event in the history of the Western Zarathushti diaspora, the North American Mobeds' Council included exploration of requirements for establishing consecrated places of worship in North America, on its agenda."
-- Behram Pastakia, FEZANA Journal, Fall 2005
"The blood of the world flows through the veins of Americans. We are not a narrow tribe."
-- Herman Melville, 19th-century American author, American Center Bulletin, February 2006
"It is easy to forget that India supplies barely 0.5 percent of world trade and most of its population has borderline education and lives without clean water, primary health care or stable electricity."
-- Brij Khindaria, international affairs columnist, Business India, February 26, 2006
"When have we demonstrated against Saudi Arabia's policy to prevent Christians and Jews from stepping on the soil of Mecca? They may come for rare business trips, but nothing more. As long as Rome welcomes non-Christians and Jerusulem embraces non-Jews, we Muslims have more to protest than cartoons."
-- Irshad Manji, Hindustan Times, February 8, 2006
"These were men of integrity not because they were Parsis, but because integrity was universal at that time. An ICS officer received a salary of about Rs 4,000 a month which in today's terms should be equivalent to rupees three or four lakhs... There was shame attached even to a whisper of corruption... It was an 'age denoted by simplicity, austerity and economy'..."
-- K. F. Rustamji and Jamsheed Kanga, being quoted by writer Cyrus Mistry in his review of Enduring Legacy, Sunday Hindustan Times, February 12, 2006
"No one, including myself, believed that I could carry off a dhoti and the Sanskrit shlokas. But I did: I'm proud to be part of a film like Water."
-- John Abraham (whose mother is a Parsi), actor, Mumbai Mirror, February 16, 2006
"The crying need of the hour is to preserve that spirit of tolerance in all religious communities which is a must for creating an atmosphere conducive to mutual trust and understanding so essential to the welfare of our multi-religious, multi-cultural nation."
-- Soli J. Sorabjee, former attorney general of India, The Indian Express, February 18, 2006
"Indians coming back to India really go through a cultural shock. They give up a lot in terms of the quality of life, the education of their children, the availability of medical facilities. This will also have an impact when we want to hire people who are not Indians, as we will have to do in a world without boundaries. Even if we start only with pockets of the country and make those pockets less of a cultural shock, the benefits will spread."
-- Ratan N. Tata, chairman, Tata Group, Print Bulletin, January 10, 2006
"I congratulate the Danish government for standing firm, insisting that its media have freedom, and refusing to apologise. Somebody has to stand up for basic freedom."
-- Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, referring to the publication of cartoons in Danish newspapers depicting Prophet Mohammed, The Times of India, February 12, 2006
"There's nothing wrong with being rich. And getting richer. But what I feel is that the rich should also take care of the
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