Editorial Viewpoint
Reason and religion
which was the peak period of Parsi and Zoroastrian religiosity in India? If one were to judge by the number of fire temples consecrated the answer would be the 1800s and more specifically the mid-1800s.
Of the 200 or so atash behrams, agiaries and dadgahs consecrated in India, around 100 were built in the19th century (data computed from Marzban Giara’s Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples). Of these almost 30 were built between 1840-1860, an average of 1.5 a year!
The mid 1850s saw the start of a decline in the fertility rate of Parsis. Did the channeling of religious energy into constructing fire temples possibly coincide with the realization of a need to curb population growth? Could the energies and money conserved from having large families have been directed into creating fire temples? Or alternatively, as the community prospered, did a more leisurely life style impact fertility?
The mid 1800s also saw the advent of the Parsi Marriage Act which amongst other things restricted the number of spouses a Parsi male could have to one. This would also lower the number of children in a family.
In the 1800s the shift from agriculture to trading and/or manufacturing may have resulted in surplus wealth. Parsis ventured to China, Aden, Africa and made their fortunes. Part of this money must have been funneled into creating houses of worship.
Around this time the British may have been building churches in India. This may have been a source of inspiration to Parsis to do likewise. Or as Rev John Wilson converted two Parsis to Christianity, the community may have felt the need to reinforce its religious commitment. Or maybe the Parsis wanted to demonstrate that their religiosity could match that of the other communities that had built magnificent edifices in the times of the Mughals and before.
The later shift from constructing houses of worship to housing colonies, hospitals and schools may have come with the realization that religious charity alone was not the need of the hour. Parsi social reformers must have surfaced in these dynamic decades.
Of the 200 or so fire temples in India, 37 closed down at some time or the other. Eleven had their fire shifted to another location. This reflects a certain pragmatism. If you can’t manage an institution, you have to consider the alternatives, no matter how unpleasant they may be. When there is a dearth of worshippers Christian churches are shut, their properties sold or used for other purpose and their parishes consolidated. Or the church attempts to attract and adapt to newcomers, even those of different origins.
What should the Parsis of India and especially Bombay do? We have around 50 fire temples in the coastal city or almost 25 percent of all the houses of worship built in India. Of the 200 today around 160 survive. So the Bombay percentage has increased to 30 percent. This means that though over 60 percent of the Parsi population resides in Bombay and 40 percent elsewhere in the country, the number of fire temples is determined not by the size of the population but by the shifts in its geographic location. Thus Dadar with around 6,000 residents has two fire temples in its vicinity while Mhow, with a population of under 200, has one.
In 1940, the peak population point in the community, we numbered 70,065 in Bombay. Sixty years later the 2001 census data puts the figure at 43,241, a drop of around 40 percent. But just when one expected the number of fire temples to decrease they increased. Did reason and reality take a backseat to religion?
With the shift of the Parsi population to the suburbs especially after independence, new fire temples emerged. With the construction of new housing colonies a dadgah was established in Vasai in November 1999, at the Salsette Parsis Association housing complex in Andheri in January 2000 and at Behram Baug, Jogeshwari in March 2000.
Yet again with<
Of the 200 or so atash behrams, agiaries and dadgahs consecrated in India, around 100 were built in the19th century (data computed from Marzban Giara’s Global Directory of Zoroastrian Fire Temples). Of these almost 30 were built between 1840-1860, an average of 1.5 a year!
The mid 1850s saw the start of a decline in the fertility rate of Parsis. Did the channeling of religious energy into constructing fire temples possibly coincide with the realization of a need to curb population growth? Could the energies and money conserved from having large families have been directed into creating fire temples? Or alternatively, as the community prospered, did a more leisurely life style impact fertility?
The mid 1800s also saw the advent of the Parsi Marriage Act which amongst other things restricted the number of spouses a Parsi male could have to one. This would also lower the number of children in a family.
In the 1800s the shift from agriculture to trading and/or manufacturing may have resulted in surplus wealth. Parsis ventured to China, Aden, Africa and made their fortunes. Part of this money must have been funneled into creating houses of worship.
Around this time the British may have been building churches in India. This may have been a source of inspiration to Parsis to do likewise. Or as Rev John Wilson converted two Parsis to Christianity, the community may have felt the need to reinforce its religious commitment. Or maybe the Parsis wanted to demonstrate that their religiosity could match that of the other communities that had built magnificent edifices in the times of the Mughals and before.
The later shift from constructing houses of worship to housing colonies, hospitals and schools may have come with the realization that religious charity alone was not the need of the hour. Parsi social reformers must have surfaced in these dynamic decades.
Of the 200 or so fire temples in India, 37 closed down at some time or the other. Eleven had their fire shifted to another location. This reflects a certain pragmatism. If you can’t manage an institution, you have to consider the alternatives, no matter how unpleasant they may be. When there is a dearth of worshippers Christian churches are shut, their properties sold or used for other purpose and their parishes consolidated. Or the church attempts to attract and adapt to newcomers, even those of different origins.
What should the Parsis of India and especially Bombay do? We have around 50 fire temples in the coastal city or almost 25 percent of all the houses of worship built in India. Of the 200 today around 160 survive. So the Bombay percentage has increased to 30 percent. This means that though over 60 percent of the Parsi population resides in Bombay and 40 percent elsewhere in the country, the number of fire temples is determined not by the size of the population but by the shifts in its geographic location. Thus Dadar with around 6,000 residents has two fire temples in its vicinity while Mhow, with a population of under 200, has one.
In 1940, the peak population point in the community, we numbered 70,065 in Bombay. Sixty years later the 2001 census data puts the figure at 43,241, a drop of around 40 percent. But just when one expected the number of fire temples to decrease they increased. Did reason and reality take a backseat to religion?
With the shift of the Parsi population to the suburbs especially after independence, new fire temples emerged. With the construction of new housing colonies a dadgah was established in Vasai in November 1999, at the Salsette Parsis Association housing complex in Andheri in January 2000 and at Behram Baug, Jogeshwari in March 2000.
Yet again with<
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