“An unzoroastrian act”

The recent incident in Poona ("An unzoroastrian act,” Parsiana, June 7, 2006) where a Parsi lady, married to a non-Parsi, was denied admission to the fire temple has raised the following questions:

If one has to be born to Parsi parents only to be a Parsi and no one else can otherwise become a Parsi, does it not become one’s birthright to remain a Parsi all life long, irrespective of where one stays or what one does or whom one marries? One’s genes do not change by marrying outside the community! Can anyone take away what is genetically acquired? Is it not similar to an Indian born being denied of his/her birthright to be an Indian which no one can take away? How would Eruchsha Dastur feel if he was deported from India where he was born, for no reason?

May I request our legal pundits to throw some light on what are our birthrights?

What is more holy and powerful — the rays and flame of our atash pad­shahs or the shadow of a non-Zoroastrian? One would have thought that instead of the fire being polluted by such a shadow, the non-Zoroastrian will get purified by the sight and the power of our atash padshah. By suggesting that the fire would get polluted, is one not really degrading the power of the atash padshah?

This practice of shielding the fire from the shadow of a non-Zoroastrian has been adopted in India only or did it exist in Iran also?

Would some of our religious scholars care to throw light on the where and how this practice has started?

KERSEE KABRAJI

Poona

The editors reply

In Iran anyone can enter a fire temple. Entry is not restricted to Zoroastrians only.