Decline of vultures

There is an article in the West Side Plus of April 21, 2007, written by Dr Vibhu Prakash, titled "Indian vultures could be extinct” in which he has clearly stated that the future of these birds is grim. Due to the use of diclofenac on the animals that vultures feed on, the latter suffer from dehydration and kidney failure. Nearly 99 percent of the birds are dead or dying.

I have no wish to write a treatise on the decline of the vultures since they come into the life of a Parsi only after he is dead. Why are some members of our community so pig-headed as to prevent others, even forcibly, from using other methods of disposal? Why are we being denied the blessings of Sarosh Yazad who leads our souls to the abode of the Almighty? Yes it amounts to that when funerary prayers are denied. Heaven and hell are destined for those who have lived a life of truth, compassion and nobility, or otherwise. The destination does not depend on whether a person is cremated or buried. Are the souls of our beloved ones who have not had the facility of the dakhma being tortured and denied the peace they deserve because vultures did not eat them? Perish the thought!

It is my request, and I speak for many of my fellow Zoroastrians, that the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, with the blessings of our priestly brethren, allot a bungli in the Doongerwadi compound for those who opt for different methods of disposal. If this is done an unholy controversy will be laid to rest once and for all and we will be able to focus on the other problems facing our community. While electing future trustees we must have a definite goal of progress and not waste time on breeding vultures and other non-issues lest we ourselves become extinct due to such infighting.

There are plenty of issues that need to be settled, such as conversion, navjotes of children born of marriage outside the community and how to increase the birth rate of our community.

GOOLOO R. MEHTA