“Poor Parsis do exist”

I am currently in London, UK and have been here for the past three years. I went through the article "They know how to survive” and the box item "Poor Parsis do exist” (Parsiana, July 21, 2006) by Kaevan Umrigar. There is a reference to Dinu Chhoga. If this is with reference to the couple living in the Parsi Panchayat allotted houses in Camp, Poona, I am, rather was, closely related to her, have visited Dinu and her husband Noshir’s house and am aware of the situation and their life.

I’m not sure from where Umrigar has got the statistics but all references are stated in the present like "She is in her seventies... Her husband Noshir is well into his seventies,” etc. According to me Umrigar needs to get the facts right as neither Noshir kaka nor Dinu kaki are alive, Dinu kaki having passed away in early 2005 and Noshir kaka mid 2005. Even if Umrigar has been to their house, the July 2006 issue should not have portrayed them as if they were still living in such conditions, something that may have been aeons ago. The same house is now being occupied by some other people.

VAHBYZ CHHOGA

London, UK

The editors reply

The information was carried on the basis of a research report written by Kaevan Umrigar prior to commencing shooting for the documentary film in September 2003. The research notes had been distributed at a meeting in Bombay convened by the National Commission for Minorities and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on January 10, 2006. Umrigar was not aware that extracts from the research report would be published. Parsiana apologizes for any embarrassment the article may have caused to any of the parties. The report did not mention "not for publication.”

•••

It was somewhat depressing to read "They know how to survive,” (Parsiana, July 21, 2006). And Kaevan Umri­gar’s experiences primarily relate to Bombay, in theory at least a prosperous metropolis. What then is the situation of poorer Parsis in rural Gujarat? And then the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) annual report arrived, highlighting the numerous charity funds that exist to help destitute Parsis. And yet obviously much more needs to be done. One can only hope that organizations, large and small, that advertise in Parsiana contribute a percentage of their profits to worthy causes — indeed there should be a requirement if there isn’t one already, to disclose charitable donations in their annual accounts. To depress one further there was then a recent appeal from the WZO to help poorer Parsis affected by the floods in Surat. Will this sequence continue?

I recall a recent letter in Parsiana wherein Parsis were compared with Jews. Poignant perhaps because had it been a "Jewish situation,” I can almost guarantee that there would be no poverty – they do help one another. I wish we did the same, and to the same degree. For once, let’s be like the Jews!

Other than in an emergency (Bam earthquake, Surat floods), the analogy, "give them a fishing rod, not a fish” should always hold true. And I wonder whether Zoroastrian poverty is discussed at all by the participants at the numerous congresses that seem to abound. Or are these congresses held merely to facilitate the massaging of the egos of certain people? Perhaps a comment or two on this point in a future issue would not go amiss? Or are the rank and file, reasonably affluent Parsis to blame for the perpetration of this Zoroastrian poverty? The situation could be similar to that experienced here during the Thatcher years — continuing unemployment, or threat of unemployment meant if you were in a well paid job, giving to charity was not high on your list of priorities, as you were never too sure if you would have a job next week, let alone in a year’s time. India, by all accounts, is thriving, but at what price? Market forces can be productive as well as brutal, but if the latter, charities invariably suffer. Family needs obviously come first.

Parsiana could do its charitable bit by providing a full page listing of Zoroastrians that need financial support (Surat floods, Bam quake, Gujarat farmers, medical needs, mobed funds, etc), and providing addresses, both in India and overseas, where donors could send their remittances.

BOMI MEHTA

Middlesex, UK

The editors reply

The suggestion is welcome but we’ll have to devote considerable effort to compile a list of genuine causes and organizations. We’ll examine the possibility for a future issue.